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The supposed idea of the new notebook is that it would be ultra-slim and lightweight.  No built-in optical drive would help the size and weight come down quite a bit.

There are tons of USB and FireWire optical drives on the market, so for the time when you need to use a drive, you'd just plug in an external.  Probably a high likelihood that Apple would come out with their own fairly small external optical drive as well.

That way, you appeal to the people who want the ultimate portability, and you really don't sacrifice functionality.  People can install software, rip CDs/DVDs when they're at home, and then have a highly portable notebook to take with them that has all of their stuff stored on the HDD.

While CDs and DVDs are still widely used, I think the need to have a drive in the computer at all times has diminished for many users, and I think a lot of people would be willing to go with an external plugged in once in awhile when they need to read or write a disc for the sake of a small and light form factor.

This has been rumored, and I'm actually surprised nobody posted this here yet, so I will:



linky

I can see how a machine like this might appeal to a lot of people.  Lightweight, reasonably powerful, no optical drive, but then a machine that small isn't supposed to be used as a primary machine.

Last edited by Mr. T (2008-01-04 10:35 am)

ScifiterX wrote:

I'll admit optical drives are pretty much relegated to a few things: low volatility storage, installing & sometimes running certain software packages, and the ripping of standardized media. I just suspect that people will realize life without optical drives is more inconvenient than anticipated.

Perhaps. I think so long as people can access media from an external drive (which are relatively cheap) in their offices and homes, the added benefit of increased portability will be very attractive. Then there is the growing belief that applications will become increasingly web-based (see Google), which would eliminate concerns about software installation via removable media like DVDs and CDs beyond the computer's OS.

If anything, I think this is merely a precursor of things to come, and I have to say if this is true, Apple is slightly ahead of the curve.

Last edited by WalrusCP (2008-01-04 10:52 am)

When you take in to account the other rumor that Apple may be creating a docking station for to go along with the rumored subcompact notebook, an ultra-portable laptop is a wonderful idea. This technology would bring us back to reminiscing about the days of the Duo, where you had a very portable machine and then a dedicated dock to give you the more powerful video, audio, etc.

I think this would appeal to a huge market. For those that want a laptop, they want it for portability. For those that would want a desktop, ultra-portable laptop+docking station with built in monitor = perfect solution.

Link to other rumor:
http://gizmodo.com/339918/apple-docking … im-macbook

Just make, like, an 8x10 iPhone. A little flip down cover over the screen that has a touch sensitive keyboard. Enough flash memory to hold what you would have on an iPod, + the OS and some pared down apps like Mail and iWork.
It would still be more of a big PDA than a computer if you had to rely on a "mothership" desktop.

I would rather have a modern 12" powerbook than no optical drive.

judomeerkat wrote:

I guess just the visual of being able to carry a tiny laptop around, do a bunch of work, and then dock it to something when you get back to your "workstation"...man, that just excites me.

This is exactly how I operate now with a PC. I use my Thinkpad wherever I need it and then when I get home I drop it in my docking station which is connected to dual LCDs and my fullsize keyboard and mouse.

Its also really nice to working and realize I Need to go somewhere with my laptop, I just hit the switch which undocks it and I got out the door. If the lid is down when it undocks it automatically goes to sleep and then wakes up when I open the lid and all my software is still up and running just as it was before (albeit some things have jumped over to the single LCD on the laptop).

I love it.

It sounds neat, but I am concerned about the price. Is Apple going to follow its current trend and charge $800 since it smaller the the Mac Book or are they going to fallow the industry and charge $1800 since it is so compact?
I wouldn't mind forgoing a built in optical drive, as long as they still make it easy to use an external unit.

I'd be willing to bet that it will be closer to $1800.  You can almost count on it.

rufio wrote:

I just don't think Apple has been too keen on releasing products that do not fully function without pieces of expandability like an external drive. Steve's totally into the all in one, few moving parts, hidden hinges on notebooks, and fully functional computers.

The original iMac was released with no writable removable media at all and at the time external CD burners were over $500.

Of course a burner might be an optional thing but an optical driver is still a necessity these days. Sure you can download most software but much of the full version larger stuff is often still only on disk: the OS, iLife, Office, Adobe stuff, etc. The first thing I do when getting a new system (after "the dance," the bragging, and then clearing a spot to set it up) is reformat the drive, reinstall the OS with the stuff I need & want, and load the software I want. I imagine that's not to different for anyone else here.

Pariah wrote:

rufio wrote:

I just don't think Apple has been too keen on releasing products that do not fully function without pieces of expandability like an external drive. Steve's totally into the all in one, few moving parts, hidden hinges on notebooks, and fully functional computers.

The original iMac was released with no writable removable media at all and at the time external CD burners were over $500.

And then, optical media was not a necessity. Then, you wouldn't be talking about getting a CD burner, you'd be talking about getting a Floppy or maybe a Zip drive, which cost much less than $500.

That's like saying the iMacs now are available but without any type of high-capacity removable media, and Blu-Ray burners are $500.