75% chance Ultralight MacBook will debut at Macworld

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I'd buy one for school if it's not to expensive...

engadget says that it wouldnt have an optical drive.

i'd need one of those aha

but meh i just wait and see

well lets wait and see. i like it when new products are released. - just the way steve does it. ' one more thing.... '

danny800 said:

engadget says that it wouldnt have an optical drive.

i'd need one of those aha

but meh i just wait and see

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I've found I don't really use my optical drive all that much. If you really need one, Lacie sells a slim portable DVD burner that is bus-powered. Don't get me wrong - I love the MacBook - but an ultraportable is what I really want.

Omitting the optical drive could set up Apple to sell HDDVD and Blu-Ray external drives. That way, no matter which format you prefer, Apple has you covered.

And

What would be cool, is if Apple sold their software on Apple-branded flash drives. So one could proudly carry their data and advertise the computer of choice!

no external drive means cannot install winxp on bootcamp...

kitaeshi said:

no external drive means cannot install winxp on bootcamp...

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You can always use an External CD-ROM drive to install Windows XP. I've done it before...that's how I managed to use a Windows XP Upgrade disc with Boot Camp, hehehe.

Rumors are just that...rumors, and ill believe it when i see it.

JerrfyLube said:

Rumors are just that...rumors, and ill believe it when i see it.

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Well this is the "Apple Rumors and Reports" section

I love my macbook and i wouldent want anything smaller than it as it would be more difficult to work with. It will however be intresting to see what the new macbook's will look like and be like to use

im still holding out for the G5 powerbook

I think apple is slowly trying to do away with the optical drive. At the August 7th keynote for instace, Steve kept referring to the DVD as old fashioned. I think they might start some sort of digital download/installation of Leopard and other such things since speed is really not an issue these days in many parts of the world... but then again, who am I to say such great things?

I believe the above poster is right, I think just as the original imac did away with the 3.5 inch drive (which was a pretty big deal in 96) jobs seems the optical drive eating dust. But I think it is a bit premature, apple is uniquely fortunate that they make there own software and could, I suppose, make everything digital (and make third parties do the same) but people still like burning dvds and CD's and while it may be decreasing, if apple was to sell it optical drive-less, and its billed as a premium notebook is should IMHO could with an exterior matching unit to give the purchaser the choice of lugging it should they need it, I would purchase such a notebook with that kind of included attachement.

smaller (and thinner) is better, and 90% of the time I dont need my optical drive, usually data transfers are either wireless or usb, i wouldnt mind bringing with me a thin discrete, aluminum drive for those few times i require it, wouldnt hurt if it was blu-ray either

caloge said:

I believe the above poster is right, I think just as the original imac did away with the 3.5 inch drive (which was a pretty big deal in 96) jobs seems the optical drive eating dust. But I think it is a bit premature, apple is uniquely fortunate that they make there own software and could, I suppose, make everything digital (and make third parties do the same) but people still like burning dvds and CD's and while it may be decreasing, if apple was to sell it optical drive-less, and its billed as a premium notebook is should IMHO could with an exterior matching unit to give the purchaser the choice of lugging it should they need it, I would purchase such a notebook with that kind of included attachement.

smaller (and thinner) is better, and 90% of the time I dont need my optical drive, usually data transfers are either wireless or usb, i wouldnt mind bringing with me a thin discrete, aluminum drive for those few times i require it, wouldnt hurt if it was blu-ray either

Click to expand...

The only time I use my drive is when I watch DVDs - and I usually use my external normally.

I think it would suck if Apple did away with the optical drives. I love watching movies on my MacBook Pro. With a big, beautiful display, it is the best personal DVD player. Also, what about backing up large amounts of data? Personally, I love being able to back up my DVDs in case something should happen to them.

Rather than ditching optical drives, why not progress to a Blu-Ray or HD DVD player?

With the price of USB sticks dropping so much now it's almost at the stage now where developers could distribute their apps on a write protected USB stick. I already know of a few Aussie music artists who included with their VIP tour packages rare tracks on a USB stick to the public.

If this ever happened, I could see the life of the cd drive in a computer at least slowly dying. The only think holding this back in the music insustry. And all the music cds still floating around. But if they added new ipods/music systems with a USB port so you could like buy the music on a USB stick instead of a cd, then it'd work. The store could even for a reduced price just sell the tracks (you download them to your USB stick instore) for a reduced price. And just hand you a little booklet with all the albums info on it. No need for a cd or cd case anymore. And the same could be said for dvd movies.

Personally I think for the time being this is one day of replacing the cd/dvd disc idea format. Sure they can in theory go up to 1 TB is size I believe. But at that size even the slightest scratch would result in loss of data. The USB stick would be much easier to store and have less data loss after multiple uses of it.

I'm sure the desktops and such will carry an optical drive for at least a few more years so those wanting to 'backup data' and such will can do so using their desktops. I'm talking about the portables. Most people with portables also have a desktop around for backups. And if they don't they can have an external drive that they can use once they are home. Think of how much thinner the MBP will be without the optical drive (well maybe not thinner, but lighter for sure).

Cause when apple did away with the floppy back in 98, everyone thought they had gone mad. Look at what has happened now...

Call me old fashioned, but why does the MacBook Pro need to be any thinner or lighter? According to Apple, it's already the lightest 15" notebook on the market. I mean, heck, it's already only an inch think. I'm fine with it becoming thinner or lighter, but not at the loss of function.

Thundermoon1994 said:

Call me old fashioned, but why does the MacBook Pro need to be any thinner or lighter? According to Apple, it's already the lightest 15" notebook on the market. I mean, heck, it's already only an inch think. I'm fine with it becoming thinner or lighter, but not at the loss of function.

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The point is not to make the existing MacBook Pro smaller, the point is to make a smaller MacBook Pro, period. Like a 12" MacBook Pro instead of a 15" MacBook Pro - something closer to a MacBook in size - smaller screen, lighter weight, etc. The 15" is great and the 13" is as well, but an 11" or 12" or even ultralight 13" would make me super estatic because it's easier to tote around. I was always jealous of my friends with the 12" iBooks and PowerBooks because of how portable they were...it was like a small notebook rather than a large textbook.