Macworld rumors du jour: external optical drives, multi-touch trackpad
By Donald Melanson 
posted Jan 1st 2008 11:13AM
posted Jan 1st 2008 11:13AM
While anything is obviously possible, it sure seems like the safe bet is that Apple will unveil some form of ultraportable laptop at MacWorld in a couple of weeks, and it now looks like the rumor mill is starting to pick up again with even more purported details. This latest round comes to us from the folks at Mac Rumors, who say they've heard "reliable confirmation" about a couple of the new features, including an external optical drive on the aforementioned ultraportable. What's more, they say that Apple will also be introducing "more than one notebook revision," including at least one that will incorporate a multi-touch trackpad. Again, a reasonable bet, but we'll just have to wait until the man himself takes the stage on the 15th to finally put this rumor to rest and gear up for the next.
External optical drive? That's pretty stupid, cumbersome, and annoying.
i think it seems pretty logic... (if the external drive is included in the price)
i use my macbook's optical drive like less than once a month, almost all the softwares are downloadable off the web. so you can have always the external drive in your bag to use it occasionally.
The only time I use the CD-drive on my laptop is when I want to install a new software, hardware or do my quarterly backup. If I would want a laptop to be light and portable as possible I could easily live without an internal optical drive, and the same goes for the people in the market for an ultra portable laptop.
It won't be a typical laptop for the home user who want a card reader, tv-tuner, built in web cam, powerful GPU, 15.4 inch screen and the whole 9.
I agree with the two above. I have a Windows laptop, and even then I don't use it much. Maybe the odd time to rip some CDs, which I don't buy many of any more, and purchase online, play a game or watch a DVD. But even those last two are a rarity. And even then I'd do them at home. So yeah, I see no problem in it, in-fact I think it's ideal, cuts down on individual unit cost, you can use a variety of USB optical media drives from CD drives to HD DVD or BluRay drives not just the Apple variety which could cost a bomb. Overall, this is a good move.
I've read about the external drive rumor, starting several weeks ago, and I was incredulous too. But it just hit me now: What if the external optical drive is made to match the footprint of the current, or a revamped, Apple TV? The AppleTV USB port would then be activated for use by a software update and the optical drive could serve as an extension to the AppleTV but also double as a portable drive for the Macbook. It might not serve everyone's needs, but Apple could create one product that would serve in a couple of different situations.
As much as it sounds cumbersome, it actually is a great idea. Take a look at all of the UMPCs that have come out in the past year, do they have optical drives? No.
I use an optical drive-less UMPC every day, and doing without CDs as an installation medium really isn't a problem. Plus, as much as I hate to admit it, one of OS X's best features is it's disk mounting (.dmg) functionality. I have no doubt that apple will incorporate some similar functionality with this product.
Who knows, if this ultraportable is a great product, I might swallow my pride and get one...
As much as it sounds cumbersome, it actually is a great idea. Take a look at all of the UMPCs that have come out in the past year, do they have optical drives? No.
I use an optical drive-less UMPC every day, and doing without CDs as an installation medium really isn't a problem. Plus, as much as I hate to admit it, one of OS X's best features is it's disk mounting (.dmg) functionality. I have no doubt that apple will incorporate some similar functionality with this product.
Who knows, if this ultraportable is a great product, I might swallow my pride and get one...
it sounds good to me. This way, if your drive craps out, they will be able to replace it for you regardless of the condition of your case. I definitely just got screwed a drive by Apple because there's a little dent in my case. It's apparently against their policy to open it up unless i pay up the crack for it. Stupid jerks
its just another add-on that they can charge you $50 for that you'll miss once you dont have it; kinda like those A/C power adapters for iPods. The adapters used to come standard now its $39.99 add-on..and the iPod unit prices didnt come down.
Second comment on the second post ;)
Aren't the trackpads already multi touch? Last time I checked I used 2 fingers to scroll and right click on my macbook.
I'm thinking it would support Iphone-like gestures (zooming in and stuff)
That can be done with software, rather than a new pad. I had a trackpad on a laptop a few years ago that could track 3 fingers at once. Couple that with the software in the i-phone and you have multi-touch.
The only reason it hasn't been done before is there is really no point to it.
yes, they are, but Apple might decide to use multi-touch as a marketing term as a way to describe advanced multi-touch capabilities and refer to the current two finger operation as dual-touch.
I'm calling a tablet PC form factor with a multi-touch display.
yea.. multiple pieces and external optical drives does not sound like Apple at ALL..
Actually, for Apple to come out with a sub-$700 laptop would be great - strip out the extras,(DVD) make them available externally, and make a solid, lightweight, affordable laptop - ideal for students or travelers that are sick of carrying around 5-6 pounds of laptop for basic communication use. You won't do any 3D rendering on it, but then again, if you do that, you can afford a MacBook Pro. I can see a MACeeePC....
what do you mean exactly by "multi-touch trackpad"?
macbooks already include trackpads which can accept two finger gestures... so what more?
I have a two-finger gesture for you...
;)
Hey guys
I was talking with a friend of mine who does testing for apple and he told me the things apple's gonna unveil this macworld, i feel a bit guilty telling you this but the most jaw dropping thing he told me is a psp competitor from apple. It's gonna be a multitouch mac with three buttons, one for power and two joysticks which can be used for gaming and using the mouse. It's gonna be a bit smaller than a 13" mac and like iphone filled with gesture controls. The interesting thing is they apparently ran nfs prostreet on it with great quality. The bad thing is its due for end of 2009 so its a long way off.
Mmm.. least believable performance ever.
Hmmm I didn't think Apple did hardware testing outside of Cupertino...
And considering that not even the Staff at APPLE STORES can talk about future Apple products (I genuinely talk a guy who works at the Regent Street Apple Store and he can't tell me anything) I doubt a beta tester can tell you what Apple is planning... plus, having Hardware Beta testers means you get leaks and not once have I seen an actual Apple hardware leak that wasn't from inside Apple itself (Alum Keyboard)
three word about you / your friend : Lier , lier lier .
13" psp competitor ? everything is told !
Interesting comments guys but its all right you dont believe me, this means my mate won't get in trouble for it but keepin mind what I told when this years mac world roles around. By the way something else which is obviouse is that they're gonna announce a 3g iphone and it's gonna be tested in Uk which im really happy about.
So many words. So much fail.
Look Sadr, i wouldn't be surprised to see a PSP competitor from Apple but im sure that they wouldn't let anyone let the secret out from Cupertino... and if it was for 2009, why would they be testing anyway? But maybe an update to the iPod Touch to give it gaming is more of reality and less of fantasy. Well, Think people, Apple is capable of anything... iCar anyone??? rofl
Hey guys
I think I caused some confusion. It's not an actual psp competitor, thats just my personal opinion but It's made for gaming and also by saying it's smaller than a 13" mac I meant a lot smaller. It's like a blown up iphone. and guys please don't be so brutal, i'm just trying to share the info i know.
Engadget already previewed the iCar.
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/29/what-would-the-icar-be-like/
You make me want to cry :(
@ all of Sadr's comments
Your inside source might be using Engadget for his information. A device larger than the iphone but smaller than 13" would be the supposed Newton next-gen that Apple was/is/might be supposedly launching using multi-touch.
NOT a PSP competitor. Apple hates gaming.
hey thanks 4 ur comment but he isn't because he;s actually used it and they have had a demo of the product.
I want to see the macbook mini - $500-$600, 12" screen, C2D processor, and a return to dedicated GPUs.
A dedicated GPU on a Macbook mini?!? The regular Macbook has an integrated Intel GPU. What makes you think that the Macbook mini would be dedicated?
hope?
Since when is a 13.3" widescreen considered ultra-portable? Apple already had a 13.3" laptop in the past. My Dell Inspiron 700m is a 12.1" and when it came out it wasn't even considered ultra-portable. If Apple can make anything 12.1" or less, I would buy it in a heartbeat but 13.3" isn't ultra-portable to me.
Because since then technology has moved on, components have become smaller, lighter, screen technology has moved on and enabled much bigger LCD screens on laptops.
@ssuk
But if components have become smaller and lighter, how come screens haven't done the same? I notice more 17" laptops than 12.1" laptops. It seems laptops now stop at 13.3" inches and below that you will have UMPC's but nothing in between. Sony and Dell have had 12.1" laptops and lower and now it seems only Fujitsu enjoys going towards 10" in a fully featured laptop.
I never considered my Samsung Q45 ultra portable, although it's under 2KG and 12" screen is pretty small. I just considered it smaller than a 15.4" and twice as expensive.
Well first off, the 12.1 in that you have is probably a 4:3 screen, whereas Apple is only going to release 16:9 screen from now on, so 13.3 isn't that much more screen real estate than the number might suggest. I'm typing this on a 13.3 in MacBook, and you're right, this ain't no ultra-portable.
However, I'm looking at this screen, and if they could have an enclosure that has minimal excess in the margins of the screen and around the keyboard/touchpad.... that is, if you can imagine a portable that is exactly the size of the 13.3in screen and not much wider, and you made it half the thickness and half the wight of the Macbook... then, I think you get something that does qualify as an ultra-portable.
At least, I'd be Buying it Now the moment it goes up on Apple Store ;-)
Basically what people are asking for something in between an iPod touch and a Macbook. The odd UMPC/Foleo/sub-notebook area with little success. *cough*eeepc*cough*
Here are the options for Apple:
- Make the Macbooks slimmer with aluminum enclosure (Macbook). Then, continue with a different 2-model lineup. No opt. drive with external SuperDrive or SuperDrive built-in. $1299. However, the size won't have the widest appeal.
- Make a true ultraportable (MacBook Lite). 10-12" screen @ 1024x640 or 1280x800. External SuperDrive. Aluminum enclosure for everything. Price won't have the widest appeal and could vary depending on its configuration. $999/$1499+.
- Make a slate computer (MacBook touch/true iTouch).
Regardless, MWSF better have Mac Pro and MBP updates to Penryn! Mac mini with X3100 integrated graphics already!
Perhaps its not the screen size that makes it an ultraportable.
I would think a weight of 3.5 to 4.0 lbs would qualify.
maybe the touch pad will have an lcd screen under it a la the iPod.
You know, that actually sounds believable. It would be sort of like Sideshow, right? Or maybe Apple's take on the Optimus mini.
i need iTablet. & must be
This is the return of the eeeMac. *badoom-tish*
MANY business people just need a laptop for Word, Excel, and email/internet. A subnotebook with external optical DVD would fit the bill nicely for someone interested in something primary for travel.
The touchpads that are used in current laptops aren't truly multitouch - they interpret two fingers as a large blob. The iPhone uses the exact same technology, actually. Apple's just designed the UI to take advantage of expanding/contracting blobs.
Also, in fairness to non-Apple trackpads, the Synaptics stuff in Ubuntu (and other Linux distros) successfully simulates multi-finger interaction as well. Two fingers is a middle click, three is a right click.
I bet it is an Asus Eee running Max OS, with a higher resolution screen, a claim that Apple invented it, a snazzy box design, and a $1500 price tag.
-m
...well... that was supposed to be Mac OS, of course.
Since there has been much talk of a multi-touch iPhone-like trackpad, I suspect Apple is going to do something completely different. Steve Jobs LOVES to give surprises and a multi-touch track pad- as cool as it would be- really wouldn't be enough of a "jaw dropper" for Jobs. So that begs the question what will be a jaw dropper? First, it's almost a given (but not a certainty) that an ultra portable Macbook (pro) is long over due. Say something under 4 lbs with a widescreen 11" display? Optical drive would likely be excluded, but solid state hard drives would definitely be an option.
But imagine, if you will, that the ENTIRE screen has multi-touch feature like the iPhone. Yes, it would be like a tablet, but only better. Now imagine that the laptop, instead of having a conventional keyboard has a second screen of the same size! One screen would act as a virtual keyboard, the other the screen, but both be touch screens so that the user could use either for data entry.
Imagine a dual LED touch screen ultra portable MacBook (pro) that is under 4lbs and 3 to 4 hours of battery life- it would be like no other laptop in the world- that would drop my jaw for sure.
I'm a huge Apple fan, but that sounds HORRIBLE.
Who in their right mind would want to switch a laptop keyboard with a touch screen keyboard.
That's a pretty dumb idea.
@ Miles: Given the commerical success of the iPhone, a virtual keyboard isn't necessarily a dumb idea. If nothing else, it's a radical idea.
A PC and phone are two different things.
That'd be like saying the thumb pad from a phone is a good input interface for a computer.
I disagree with your thumb pad analogy. I'm not drawing a direct correlation between a phone and a laptop (that would be ridiculous); I'm pointing out the relative change to the products themselves that is at once forward thinking and usable. Apple likes to be different; their products tend to be cutting edge items that are a result of "out-of-the-box" thinking. The best example is the iPhone. I wouldn't be surprised if they attempted something different (meaning non-conventional) with whatever they have in mind for an ultra-portable laptop (assuming that's what they're announcing).
@ rawhead
My 700m is a 16:9 12.1" ultraportable.
Anyways, Apple already released a 12" iBook so why wasn't that called an ultraportable? If a 13.3" is bigger than a laptop already released by Apple, how can a 13.3" possibly considered ultraportable when the iBook wasn't? Even if the iBook was 4:3.
Bottom line, come on Apple, return to your roots, go 12.1" or less and I will be there day one to make the switch.
@ rawhead
My 700m is a 16:9 12.1" ultraportable.
Anyways, Apple already released a 12" iBook so why wasn't that called an ultraportable? If a 13.3" is bigger than a laptop already released by Apple, how can a 13.3" possibly considered ultraportable when the iBook wasn't? Even if the iBook was 4:3.
Bottom line, come on Apple, return to your roots, go 12.1" or less and I will be there day one to make the switch.
Apple hasn't called anything an 'ultraportable.' Heck, vis-a-vis what's being written about and discussed here, Apple called anything anything.
It's a lot of posts conflating short-handed words based on multiple layers of speculation.
Are you kidding me?
People are COMPLAINING?
CD/DVD drives are pretty useless nowadays.
The only time I use them is for installing an OS, and my Macbook came with an amazing OS on it from the start :)
Get with the times you haters! You don't need CD/DVD drives at all! Apple knows that it's an outdated medium and knows that you can just buy movies, music, and software online that you can download.
The new medium is digital, and they are the first to notice this.
Apple is doing another revolution guys!
Miles - I'm with you on the get rid of the CD/DVD drive on these sorts of devices and yes, "The new medium is digital" but where's Apple's support for the MP3 of video in their products ... Xvid?
iSight
I'm in the market for a new MacBook (by the end of the month, anyway), so I'm hoping for something relatively minor...
I don't need an ultra-portable, I just need a basic notebook. Really, the current MacBook is perfect for me, except for the ComboDrive. Hopefully they eliminate that (really, there's no reason not to have a DVD burner).
I wouldn't mind a price drop, or RAM/HDD/CPU bumps, but the drive is really my biggest issue.
The MacBook I'm writing this on has a Superdrive. So whats the problem?
@ ard buijsen
I'm guessing "Eric" has a stick up his butt about paying more for a DVD burner on the MacBook. Want more, pay for more.. crazy concept, I know.
If Apple goes ahead and gets makes the optical drive external it would be great if they released an Itunes for software downloads.. Just like no one buys music on CD's the same could be done with software. Then there would be really no need for a drive
A touchpad keyboard wouldnt be a good idea for a laptop. Works for a phone because you dont sit there and use it as a constant rate but I need a physical button to press down in a productivity based keyboard.
A multitouch screen would be neat though.
PLEASE apple, don't make the CD drive external. I understand the need to balance a slim, light design with features. But I don't need (nor think) an ultraportable device needs to be as powerful as your MacBook Pro's. Make it somwhere in between the MBP's and the regular MB's. Market it for it's slimness and regular capability, not as the most powerful, smallest thing out there.
Just PLEASE don't take out the dvd drive - I want to watch dvd's on this thing, and lugging an external drive around, however tastefully designed, is a pain.
Also, a lit up keyboard would be magic :)
If you want to watch DVDs, why can't you rip them? All my DVDs are backed up as .avis, if you can't be bothered doing it yourself there are plenty of torrent sites out there to help you. Spinning a DVD for 2 or so hours isn't the best use of your battery while travelling, might I add...
What about an a trackpad, built into the screen?
i bet that external drives are now gonna be hailed as the biggest new thing, just like when apple invented the mp3 player and pay to download music
I like the idea of a nintendo DS style keyboard if it allowed for a smaller overall case design it'd be awesome. BUT I have the feeling that it will not come to be.
however a smaller than current Mac book (10 inch?) configured with 200 gig nand flash memory and 8022.11n could be the sweet spot for a UMPC
When I tried to pick up another Airport Express over the holiday, they where out. Everywhere was out, not just the Apple Stores in town.
Since this is the only device with remote printing, music and wi-fi internet access, I would guess they are going to roll out an 802.11n model.
Extending Lofish's idea. What if that 13" screen was two parts, so that the new super compact was something like 7", but unfolded to reveal a 13" screen. Then you could have a full size virtual, multi-touch keyboard. No longer would typing be a two thumbs operation, but rather you could use standard all fingers approach. External optical drive and flash memory would reduce the weight. And we would have a 13" two-piece screen concealed in a true ultra-compact case.
If the external portable uses firewire I'd consider this..generally I find externals slow, but if the ultraportable really is, and the drive comes as blu-ray or such.or simply a good superdrive it'd be worth a shot!
Why FireWire? An optical drive would not be able to come anywhere near close to saturating a USB 2.0 bus, or FireWire either obviously. USB would be more practical for this application.