Forums | MacLife

There are always rumors of a "slim" notebook, but even if such an animal is created, I wouldn't bank on it meeting your very specific needs.  I could be wrong, but it seems to me that the Macbook is Apple's answer to such a form factor.  Small, light, rugged and a very good performer.  The availability of a black model seems to me a very deliberate attempt to integrate it into the corporate environment.  The performance differences between the Macbook and Macbook Pro are so minor that I'm not sure the higher cost of a smaller pro model is worthwhile for Apple at this point. 

You mention concern over integrated graphics, but unless you are gaming, I think the dedicated graphics are overrated.  I wouldn't consider anything with less than a 15" screen for gaming or graphics work, anyway.  Do you do the bulk of your work docked at a bigger display?  If you work primarily on the laptop display, then I just can't see graphics being a huge issue.  The strength of a sub notebook is portability, and you are extending battery life by going integrated graphics to make that portability even better.

If the expansion slot is your make or break feature, then you must go with a pro model, but don't expect a slim version in the immediate future.

macrule413 wrote:

It's true, the MacBook is a very good computer for the average home and office user but those like me who require the features of a 15" MacBook Pro in the space of a 12" PowerBook G4 we feel left out! Even though we are a smaller percentage of the population there is no doubt that we are out here. So everyone out there who is wating for apple to release a full featured Sub-Notebook why not post your minimum specs here and see which points we all seem to agree on!

I REQUIRE the following:

At-least: 100GB Hard Drive
512mb-1GB of minimum ram
SuperDrive
Intel Core Duo or Core 2 Duo running at 1.83Ghz or higher
Full Blown PCI-Express or similar Graphics card (i.e.. same graphics cards from the MacBook Pros) with atleast 256MB Ram
Size MUST be similar to a 12" PowerBook i.e. 12-13" display (widescreen or not)
MATTE SCREEN with the option for Glossy
Metal or Black plastic case
Good speakers
VGA/DVI/SVideo/Composite Out

I would appreciate
Optical Audio out/in
Express Card Slot
Backlit Keyboard

I don't need (may even make case smaller?):
Remote or infrared
iSight built in

Not trying to give you grief or anything, but what are you doing on a 12" display that requires PCI-E graphics capabilities?  Do you use the expansion slot for a wireless internet modem?  I saw no mention of needing Firewire?  I am just curious, because I have never seen the appeal of performing heavy desktop work on a tiny screen, and it is interesting to me to see what people are doing with sub notebooks.  Other than weight, is there a reason why the sub form factor is so essential to you?

FWIW, I wouldn't relegate the Macbook to home or light office work.  It is a machine that will absolutely smoke your old G4 powerbook in every respect.  Was the Powerbook underpowered for what you needed it for?  You are going to get near G5 tower speeds out of a Macbook.  With the exception of full time video, graphics or gaming, this machine is capable of handling everything you throw at it.

I don't think we will see a 12 inch.

macrule413 wrote:

At-least: 100GB Hard Drive
512mb-1GB of minimum ram
SuperDrive
Intel Core Duo or Core 2 Duo running at 1.83Ghz or higher
Full Blown PCI-Express or similar Graphics card (i.e.. same graphics cards from the MacBook Pros) with atleast 256MB Ram
Size MUST be similar to a 12" PowerBook i.e. 12-13" display (widescreen or not)
MATTE SCREEN with the option for Glossy
Metal or Black plastic case
Good speakers
VGA/DVI/SVideo/Composite Out

I would appreciate
Optical Audio out/in
Express Card Slot
Backlit Keyboard

I don't need (may even make case smaller?):
Remote or infrared
iSight built in

Sorry, but you're going to be hard pressed to get all that in a 12" notebook. If the current MacBooks already get pretty hot with an integrated card, imagine how hot it would be if you had a high end graphics card in an even smaller case. That's assuming you can even physically fit it in the available space.

I REQUIRE 12 GHz
tito

The Cynic wrote:

How about:
{
·Low-clocked C2D (1.3Ghz?)
·something like an 40-80GB drive
·starting with 512MB ram, upgradable to 1-2GB
·preferably a low-end X1k series powering the screen (X1300) if not just the intelish DMA stinker that is used right now
·some sort of small screen (it's a minibook, something that fits)
·mini-dvi like the 12" powerbook
·built-in iSight to follow the new trend of notebooks
}
?

Nothing incredible, just a machine that would chug through most tasks you can toss its way along with some simple games in case all that productivity starts to get to you.

I appreciate what you are trying to do with the computer described above.  I understand very well that there is always going to be a sub-group of users that really, really want something like that.  I wouldn't want to have to be the product-line decision makers at Apple, because they must know that too, and have to balance it against the benefits of having a streamlined, simple product line.  It must be a tough debate for them - it would be interesting to listen in to the debates on things like the laptop you described, the consumer tower for Pariah, the 24-inch iMac, and see how they come to their decisions.

Most subnotebooks use integrated graphics.  They don't have room for a large enough battery to provide power to, or to dissipate the heat generated from a discrete GPU.  Also, many use low-end chipsets that "support" up to 512MB, but using HyperMemory or TurboCache - there's about 32-64MB of actual VRAM, the rest is system memory.

As for CPU, you'll the the ULV versions of the Core processors, which run at significantly lower clock speeds.  Expecting good speakers on a laptop - much less a subnotebook - isn't terribly reasonable.  I don't see an optical drive in the wish list, good since it would likely need to be external.  The backlit keyboard won't make it in either - just as it didn't with the 12" PowerBook or the MacBook (no room for the ambient light sensor I would imagine).

Apple made the PB 2400 and Duos back in the day and while they had loyal users, they didn't sell terribly well.  Even Dell doesn't sell a lot compared to their 14 and 15" offerings.  I do hope that as Apple's sales and marketshare increase, but for now are focusing on models with more mainstream appeal.  To be fair, they also don't make a behemoth gaming notebook with SLI graphics for LAN partiers or a tablet.

Aqua OS X wrote:

Snow-i wrote:

also, the 12 inch powerbook didn't have many of the things you list as needing such as expansion slot, full blown graphics (it was a 64 mb card) optical out, backlit keyboard, or the ability to hold more than 1.25 gb ram.

The macbook is much more capable then the 12 inch powerbook was....I have both.

Oh, and the macbook's screen is a HUGE step up from what the 12 inch PB had.

Agreed. I fail to see how the 12 PB was a "Pro" machine. It felt more like a aluminum iBook to me

Yes I think if they would have introduced the same exact MacBook model in aluminum rather than black/white, people would have easily saw it as the small pro computer.

I think we would see a 12 inch (Newtown-ish) tablet Mac before we see a 12 inch laptop from Apple again.

Snotbook™

"New! The iMelt! Heats up to temperatures of over 2000 degrees within minutes!"

Sheesh, somebody's got a sense of entitlement.

Get on it, Steve.