[MacAgent]

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[tooki]

I certainly hope that doesn't happen! That clear plastic would get scratched up so fast in everyday use (crystal clear is OK on desktops since those stay put, but notebooks get battered).

tooki

[Cipher13]

I wannit rectangular.
That has too much wasted space.
Doesn't fit as neatly certain places. Etc.

Cipher13

[sine -''-..-]

I think it looks pretty sexi

The transparent plastic would pose a problem as noted... possibly a translucent "icy" plastic would serve better (such as on the rev A ibook)
I sure like the shape tho...

s i n e
-''-..-

[tooki]

Indeed! Frosted finishes don't mar anywhere close to as easily as glass-clear ones!

tooki

[micha schraven]

I'm starting to have serious doubts about selling my pismo for one of those things..

Why is the Apple logo so huge?
It looks unbalanced.
What am I looking at beneath the translucent plastic? The backlight of the tft? anyway, this does not seem like a practical computer.

esthetics schmetics

[Ivan]

That thang looks like it fell from space....looks neat though

I doubt they would change the powerbook into such a radical machine. Wild designs are left to the other machines such as the iMac/iBook and the Cube.

[MacAgent]

well, they need to change it to something other than the *UGLY* Pismo design.

They've had that for what, 3 years now? Mine may be radical, but what's wrong with radical? The G4 Tower is radically different from PCs and it looks excellent IMO (even though it's time for a change), why not let the PowerBook have a nice design like that too?

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[tooki]

Well, except for the keyboard-marring-the-LCD issue, and perhaps Apple's quality control, the Wallstreet/Lombard/Pismo design is functionally solid, and a lot of people do not think it's "*UGLY*."

To be honest, more people complain about the G4's looks than they ever did about any of the platinum G3's, iMacs or iBooks. It's just the fact that a LOT of people don't like the funky designs; they want a machine that disappears optically, not a machine that stands out (I have heard this from many business clients, especially).

I have very, very serious doubts that the above rendering is actually from Apple -- the shape is extraordinarily inefficient (unless they're using an oval LCD panel, LOL), it'd look like doodie after a week, and, well, Apple seems to understand that business customers want low-key designs for their notebooks.

tooki

[El Berserko]

I have very, very serious doubts that the above rendering is actually from Apple -- the shape is extraordinarily inefficient (unless they're using an oval LCD panel, LOL), it'd look like doodie after a week, and, well, Apple seems to understand that business customers want low-key designs for their notebooks.

No one said it was. It is a mere rendering done with images of the Apple pro mouse and Cube. MacAgent is sporting the same thing is over in the AppleInsider forums.



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http://www.macmaster.org/

[MacAgent]

I'm a "business customer" who doesn't want a "low key" design for my notebook. I would buy that on looks alone and if someone wants a square black box, they can buy a PC notebook. One of Apple's biggest things is design and the Pismo isn't very nice design wise.

Oh, and that's not a photo from Apple. I created that in Photoshop.

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[tooki]

Agent, my point was that MOST business customers want low-key stuff. Also, it is improper and rude of you to declare that the Pismo is a bad design. I, for one, love it, and a lot of people agree with me (I've sold many PowerBooks).

We already figured out that that pic is not from Apple (I don't think any pics sneak out of Apple any more...they haven't in years).

tooki

[MacAgent]

Improper and rude to voice my opinion? I don't think so.
Ok, it's not a bad design compared to PC notebooks but compared to the rest of Apple's product line, it's boring.

What I want:

A G4 Processor
Removable bays
16.5" Screen
A case that people see and say "What IS that?" or "WOW! Can I see that?" or "And I thought Apple made junk!" etc...

And don't tell me to get an iBook. While I love the design of the iBook, I'm looking for something more professional, while being sleek, glossy, sexy, etc. Maybe I'll just buy a PBG4 no matter what it looks like and then have my own case made like this? That would be pretty cool

Anyway, it looks like it won't be like this. As the current rumors are saying, it's the bluish color on the front of G4s and has graphite and ice areas as well. It should be good no matter what they do to it.

Also, I was confirming that it was not a photo from Apple.

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[SillyPooh]

This is a very nice rendering and I hope it will stay that way, a rendering. The other rendering we saw from that russian site in our previous thread was much worse tho.
I fear however that, whatever Apple will come out with, we will have this sort of chock. I felt the same when the ibook came out...

Well, I thought Apple had agreed on making a machine that looked like the viao, I must have been misled. Anyway, I feel that, since the machine is targeted for "professionals on the go" - read serious people - , the machine should as well look serious.

[tooki]

Originally posted by MacAgent:
Improper and rude to voice my opinion? I don't think so.

Maybe I'm just being pedantic, but it's not what you said, it's how you said it. You weren't "voicing an opinion," you were trying to profess it as fact. You didn't say "I don't like the Pismo design," you said "the Pismo is a bad design," which are two very different statements.

Ok, it's not a bad design compared to PC notebooks but compared to the rest of Apple's product line, it's boring.

You think it's boring. A lot of people think it's just right. But I do agree that it is by quite a bit the most conservative member of Apple's family.

What I want:

A G4 Processor

Maaaaybe. I'm betting it'll have a faster G3

Removable bays

definitely

16.5" Screen

I certainly hope not. That'd make it so big it wouldn't fit in even the biggest bag, and it would raise the price significantly. If it weren't for that, I'd be all for it!

A case that people see and say "What IS that?" or "WOW! Can I see that?" or "And I thought Apple made junk!" etc...

hehe

ttyl
tooki

[This message has been edited by tooki (edited 01-05-2001).]

[MacAgent]

Ok, if that's how it sounded, I apologize. What I meant was that I personally don't like the current PowerBook design in comparison to the rest of Apple's product line.

1. It's almost certain that it will have a G4 processor.

2. Almost all rumor sites say that it will not have removable bays in order to make it lighter. I'm betting that what they're talking about is ACTUALLY the rumored "CubeBook."

3. Samsung has a 16.5 TFT that they're selling to Apple.

4.


If the PowerBook stays somewhat plain, I hope Apple makes the "CubeBook" into a nice computer.

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[Misha]

If Apple scraps drive bays they'll piss a lot of users off. Everyone I know who owns Pismo never has the DVD in the bay unless they need it. It makes it heavier (if you don't have a second batter; if you have a second battery then you'll use it instead) and it slows down startup/shutdown.

Admitedly, I've never bought any other removable drive bays items (Zip, CD-RW, etc.), simply because they're too expensive. But the freedom of having to batteries is not to be discounted.

Additionally, if you, like me, own three or more batteries, by having two in at a time you can swap each one out without needing to sleep (they'll always be one in to power the unit), which is another nice perk.

And widesceen makes no sense... it would make the whole thing far too wide... some have said it will be 15x10, to make it narrower, but that's a flat out stupid for various, obvious reasons (FYI current PowerBooks are 4:3, or 12:9).

[luca16]

I really hope apple changes the powerbook design,
I mean seriously, I love the iBook, but some of the
limitations kept me away from it.
Apple has a beautiful line of computers, except
for the ugly aging powerbook, I think they have
to do something radical, about it, and yeah if the
powerbook doesn't change I hope the CubeBook will be nice.

And for all of you saying you need a serious machine, go buy a
pc rectangle, and stop bothering us, (open minded people who want
innovation)

[MacAgent]

Finally someone who thinks like me!

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[Cipher13]

The PB should be conservative.
The iBook is the outspoken one in that family.
I won't argue any more cause theres no point.
The above is simply my opinion.
If it is outspoken like the iBook I won't be gettig one I don't think. Or as long as they keep the colours in the pro scheme...
MacAgent, those samsung screens are for a 17" LCD ASD

Cipher13

[This message has been edited by Cipher13 (edited 01-05-2001).]

[MacAgent]

They're laptop screens.

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[Cipher13]

They're not.
Are they normal aspect ratio?
Then they're not.
Too big for a laptop.
Lap tablet? (Albie?)... maybe, but probly not.
They are for a 17" flat panel ASD.

Cipher13

[MacAgent]

I read on samsung.com something like "Samsung has recently sold several types of TFT-LCD displays to Apple Computer. One of which is a 16.5 laptop screen."

I believe the link to that page is somewhere on AI.

Also, why would a 16.5" screen be used for a 17" screen? Sounds a lottle odd to me.

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[tooki]

Agent, nobody ever told you about "visible diagonals"? A 17" CRT never has more than 16" of visible area. So an LCD can be a bit smaller because LCDs have much less "border" than tubes.

That aside, 16.5" rounds to 17", so legally, they could market it as such. (Sneaky, I agree, but that's how everyone does it. Remember when Apple sold their 14" monitor as the "Apple 13" RGB"? Well, people would compare them to PC 14" monitors and say "Well I can get a bigger monitor on a PC for the same money!!" when in reality they were the same thing, cuz Apple was being honest and telling you how much you could actually see. They eventually wised up and marketed them the same as everyone else, by tube size, not visible.)

Also keep in mind that just because Samsung says it's a laptop screen doesn't mean that it can't be used in a desktop LCD. Sony makes an LCD that is only 1/2" thick, so it must be based on laptop technology. I for one don't want to think about how big a laptop would be if you stuck a 16.5" LCD in it. I know I wouldn't buy it!

tooki

[drewman]

CRT screens are measured with actual viewing size since an image would get distorted if it used the whole screen. LCD screens do not get measured this way since they can use the whole screen edge to edge...

drewman