MOST COMMENTED ARTICLES
IN THIS MONTH'S ISSUE!
September 2008
iDEALS
The video player requires Flash 8 Player or later.
Please download the latest Flash Player.
Sub-Compact MacBook Image Surfaces!
Posted 01/02/2008 at 3:46:33pm | by
Roberto Baldwin
Finally, after weeks of waiting, the first pre-Mac Expo leaked "image" has surfaced.
Is it real? is it fake?
The image popped up on a MacRumors forum thread and was posted by new user.
I'm gonna call shenanigans on it. Typical barely focused, very little lighting, staged "work area" photo we've seen before. The least they could have done is thrown it in a elevator.
How would you type with a track pad that wide? Do we really need a button that wide?
Leave your thoughts below.
Ipod
Submitted by Big Hairy Sally (not verified) on Wed, 2008-01-02 15:00
I thinkthe iPod might be a first gen nano but i'm not sure because of the width.
yeah...
Submitted by Roberto Baldwin on Wed, 2008-01-02 15:05
I realized that after I posted it. Silly me.
Submitted by OsbotTheRobot (not verified) on Wed, 2008-01-02 15:02
That photo is fake - I agree. I have no idea why the iPod is altered however....
Submitted by chad (not verified) on Wed, 2008-01-02 15:10
This looks pretty real to me but there are extremely talented photoshoppers out there...
Submitted by James (not verified) on Wed, 2008-01-02 15:30
Definitely fake - they screwed up the shadows in front, always the telltale failure of photoshopping (that and imperfect blur matching).
Submitted by Jonah Eaton (not verified) on Wed, 2008-01-02 15:58
i think it is fake too.. it is supposed to be flash based.. and by the looks of it it has enough applications that would take up way too much space.
Submitted by Michael Dunlop (not verified) on Wed, 2008-01-02 16:00
why are we talking about the ipod? it looks exactly like the first gen nano. as for the notebook, it looks pretty awesome! but Im glad it is a fake (that shadow does look kind of strange) because no one needs a trackpad that wide! what the heck? my macbook still drives me crazy sometimes when typing with the 'touch-click' on. It would be AWESOME if it had the swivel touch screen like the think-pad. AWESOME.
Submitted by Taos (not verified) on Wed, 2008-01-02 16:08
Apart from the clear line half way up the track pad, the button would make it impossible to type.
Submitted by techfreak85 (not verified) on Wed, 2008-01-02 16:48
you can see a vertical line(paralell to the trackpad of course,) in the middle of the pad, showing were its layered.
Submitted by Felix (not verified) on Wed, 2008-01-02 17:07
As cool as it sounds I just don't believe that Apple would bother making a button that large! What the hell is the point of that?!
Submitted by Thomas (not verified) on Wed, 2008-01-02 17:13
The textbook to the right of the ultraportable appears to be a school textbook, which is not likely something an Apple employee with this on their desk would have. One should also note that the computers appear to be clones of each other featuring the exact same volumes and applications in the dock. Hats off the Photoshopper though.
Submitted by mattpiper (not verified) on Wed, 2008-01-02 18:10
Also, the keyboard is the old PowerBook/MacBook Pro style, and I really think all future Apple keyboards will be MacBook/iMac chiclet-style keys...
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 2008-01-02 18:42
the subnotebook is going to include some form of multitouch... its not just going to be some mild thing... its going to be something big.....
i would imagine that the pro line will be upgraded with some form of multitouch aswell......
i think its about time we upgraded to star trek like controls that conform to the app your using dont all of you?
get rid of the keyboard all together
this would definitely require developers to get to work fast to make use of it... but at the least you would still have a normal keyboard projected on a multi-touch screen....I can tell you I would buy one in a heartbeat!
Submitted by Profet (not verified) on Wed, 2008-01-02 19:07
I was always taught that proper typing is done just like playing the piano, with your hands elevated as if you had tennis balls under your palms. This not only allows you to type much faster, but also keeps you from getting carpal tunnel. So, I don't care if the whole thing is a trackpad, aside from the keys.
Too bad it's a fake - it looks pretty sweet.
Submitted by Rezmason (not verified) on Wed, 2008-01-02 21:36
Don't the Docks on the two machines look identical? Thanks, but I'll wait till the 14th to hear about subnotebooks.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 2008-01-02 21:52
could the larger trackpad possibly be put into place for the multitouch abilities..but still looks like a photoshop to me
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 2008-01-03 14:57
Perhaps this link from Appleinsider will help explain how this type of configuration COULD work (or perhaps it is where the idea for this mock-up came from LOL). Time will tell!
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 2008-01-02 23:32
I'm waiting till the 14th but if the apple legal team doesn't ask to have it taken down it's probably fake.
Submitted by Frank (not verified) on Thu, 2008-01-03 00:23
I'm sorry but the MacBook Pro keyboard is much nicer than the MacBook chiclet keyboard. The latter may look cooler but it is not easier to type on it.
Submitted by jaarimutt (not verified) on Thu, 2008-01-03 04:07
If it has the same screen size as the MacBook, what makes it a subcompact? It can't be any smaller.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 2008-01-03 07:55
Looks like someone got Photoshop fo Christmas!
Submitted by Bill Henning (not verified) on Thu, 2008-01-03 08:11
...replace the keyboard with a touch screen.......
Submitted by Dave Buchanan (not verified) on Thu, 2008-01-03 11:07
This photo is fake. Apple will not use the current style of Macbook Pro keys and keyboard as is shown in this photo for the new sub-compact MacBook. They won't use the current style of MacBook Pro keys for the next revision of the MacBook Pro either. Both will use a variant of the current MacBooks and the current iMac flat key keyboard.
Submitted by Eliot (not verified) on Fri, 2008-01-04 01:02
The photo is probably fake, but the idea of a wide trackpad may have some validity. Apple got the patent for it in 2004:
http://www.gadgetreview.com/2006/03/apple-notebook-wide-touchpads.html
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 2008-01-06 20:20
On the AppleInsider website, it mentions an apple patent application for a trackpad that can recognize unwanted input, and it's wide. I'm not sure about the button, though. It seems odd. The iPod on the stand is definitely a first generation nano.
Submitted by ZEROCRATES (not verified) on Sat, 2008-06-21 15:51
fake... they don't just let that kind of stuff be taken home or even left out like that on some ones desk top. the ports on the side of the unit make no since and you are all right about it being to dark to have much telling. plus... like the post says... wth is up wth that trackpad and button... lol!
© 2008 Future US, Inc. All Rights Reserved.