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sbc · Apr 25, 2004, 12:54 PM

what would it be?

1. 4-6 battery life for the 12"/15.2"
2. SXGA+ or UXGA resolution for the 15.2"

Michel_80 · Apr 25, 2004, 03:04 PM

The feature that is missing is 2nd battery and 2nd hard drive option (like in thinkpads and toshibas). Fixed cd drive should be changed to that one of the Pismos.

SEkker · Apr 25, 2004, 03:12 PM

Wow -- you mean add a universal expansion slot that allows either an extra battery, hard drive, or optical drive? I wonder where I can find that?

Oh -- next to me in my wife's Pismo!

Konsole · Apr 25, 2004, 03:55 PM

having the universal bay is very handy, my dell has that, but i understand why they used the slot loaded cd drive. It allows them to build a more rigid chassis and keep the pieces to a minimum. The batt in the alu's is fairly large percentage wise compared to most thin/small PC laptops.

You have to at least give apple credit for having the feature that allows you to switch batteries on the go. without plugging in the machine or turning it off. That feature alone lets you have multiple batteries, just not in the machine all at once.

Mskr · Apr 25, 2004, 04:28 PM

The killer feature for me, as a developer, would be to have a dual-processor laptop. I wouldn't care if it were a dual 1.0 GHz 17" laptop where the second processor would be disabled if running off battery. I just want a more responsive machine while I'm compiling code and/or doing something else that is very processor intensive.

BUT, I'm not hodling my breath. My guess is that this will only happen when multi-code processors become available for low-power use, and are cheap enough to go into a consumer laptop.

mrmister · Apr 25, 2004, 05:03 PM

Two batteries is my killer feature--and if we can't have that and we're dreaming, super improved battery tech that gives at least 10 hours life.

That's TEN. Not ten that turns out to be 4...TEN.

I know it's a pipe dream, but hey--while we are wishing, why not shoot for the moon?

kdixey · Apr 25, 2004, 05:57 PM

I'd like a PC card slot on the 12" and IR.

Ryan1524 · Apr 25, 2004, 06:02 PM

i don't care much about the dual battery, how bout we get one single battery that can at least last 15 hours.

i'd prefer that than having to switch around all the time. and an optional high-cap battery that can last 30 hours. - ok that might be pushing it...

todrain · Apr 25, 2004, 10:26 PM

More LEDs on it so that it would look like the new HPs! .......argh, or second thought, maybe not!

On a serious note, I would buy a 17" if Apple would include a numeric keypad, like the 17" HP. Since I enter data often, it would be a big help!

StiZeven · Apr 25, 2004, 10:51 PM

Doable and realistic improvements for the current PowerBooks:

Better battery life (say, 4-5 hours with real world usage a la Centrino)*
Small unobtrusive LEDs (think Xserve, but tiny) for HD, WiFi and BT
Built in touch pad scrolling (how the hell isn't this natively supported yet?)*
Right touch pad button (or have the one button use right click when hitting right side)*
Higher resolution *option* (for the love of god, PLEASE!)*
User accessible HD (same kind of lid as memory, but over the HD - still clean looking)
Built in Memory Card Reader(s) (SD card would be nice, Digital Hub anyone?)
Backlit Keyboard in the 12" AlBook (no room for 'Ambient light sensors'? Leave them out and let the user toggle the light via Function keys)

*These desired features REALLY should already be included - what is holding them back? (...i am sure there will be many sniffing this one out and telling us some brilliant idea as to why Mac users don't *need* such features!)

discotronic · Apr 25, 2004, 10:52 PM

Originally posted by kdixey:
I'd like a PC card slot on the 12" and IR.

I'm not bashing you with this question but why would you want a PC card slot and IR?

Ryan1524 · Apr 25, 2004, 11:00 PM

Originally posted by StiZeven:
Doable and realistic improvements for the current PowerBooks:

Better battery life (say, 4-5 hours with real world usage a la Centrino)*
Small unobtrusive LEDs (think Xserve, but tiny) for HD, WiFi and BT
Built in touch pad scrolling (how the hell isn't this natively supported yet?)*
Right touch pad button (or have the one button use right click when hitting right side)*
Higher resolution *option* (for the love of god, PLEASE!)*
User accessible HD (same kind of lid as memory, but over the HD - still clean looking)
Built in Memory Card Reader(s) (SD card would be nice, Digital Hub anyone?)
Backlit Keyboard in the 12" AlBook (no room for 'Ambient light sensors'? Leave them out and let the user toggle the light via Function keys)

*These desired features REALLY should already be included - what is holding them back? (...i am sure there will be many sniffing this one out and telling us some brilliant idea as to why Mac users don't *need* such features!)

i like all of your suggestions. but really...for battery, we need some sort of breakthrough technology that cracks the 5 hours barrier and goes up to 10+ hours. it is a portable after all. having that much battery life would really help mobility.

StiZeven · Apr 25, 2004, 11:09 PM

10 hours would be nice, but for right now (and realistically), I think 5 hours would do and would be much better than the 2.5 hours of real usage you get with the 15" AlBooks. There is no 5-hour barrier with Apple as that claim is ridiculous. The only way your PowerBook will last 5 hours is if you sit there with a dim screen and stare at it!

Again, speaking in realistic terms (not a dream wish list) for what is available today, they need to either use larger batteries (and suck up the added weight), or a processor that can throttle on the fly without noticeable system slowdowns. I agree, why have a portable if you need to find an outlet in under 3 hours?

Does anyone know if the slightly larger battery in the new Rev B 15" AlBook will last longer, or will the added speed make it a wash? Then again, isn't Apple supposedly using a new G4 that sort of acts as a Pentium M?

Ryan1524 · Apr 25, 2004, 11:40 PM

i'm not saying there's a 5hr barrier on anything. what i'm saying is that most notebooks today run out of power around 5 hours with some extreme cases of 6-7 hours. if only we can have the technology available that breaks that trend...

as for the new 15". the new chip can either be more efficient and combined with the new batt give us up to 4 hours. or it can suck up more power and the battery life will stay as miserable or even worse..less than what it was.

chabig · Apr 26, 2004, 08:11 AM

The killer feature for me, as a developer, would be to have a dual-processor laptop. I wouldn't care if it were a dual 1.0 GHz 17" laptop where the second processor would be disabled if running off battery. I just want a more responsive machine while I'm compiling code and/or doing something else that is very processor intensive.

Why not just connect it to a second Mac via ethernet and let the second Mac (desktop or another powerbook) take up some of the compilation load?

Chris

nate_02 · Apr 26, 2004, 10:06 AM

I wish the CD/DVD loaded on the side, because I usually have my BT keyboard right in front of my PB and whenenver I have to load or eject a CD, I have to move my keyboard out of the way. It gets very annoying when I have to make several copies of the same CD. I know I could buy an iCurve or whatever the PB stand is called but I don't want to.