New Apple Laptop?!?

[Gaz]

Hi,

I was just surfing through some posts on spymac and some people were discussing a new patent published on Aug 22 2002 by Apple.

Pic

Doc

It's accompanied by a picture which I'll link to below. The only reason it's interesting is that the diagram clearly shows 2 trackpad buttons. The patent also talks in great detail about cooling which could be an indicator of a faster processor.

If you're very bored (like me) you'll scan throu some of the other patents and there are clear some for spring loaded folders and what I reckon to be iSync.

It would seem unlikely that all the cooling relates to the current PowerBook as I believe that this would require a case redesign (shame, I like the look of the Ti-Book, mines awesome).

Anyway, that's just a little something for people to chew over.

Gaz

 

[gozman]

I believe you found an old PowerBook G3.

This is most likely pretty old, on the order of 3-4 years. Judging from the descriptions, it is most likely either the Wallstreet enclosure or more likely the Lombard/Pismo PowerBooks. I recognise the angled fans on the sides as being like those in my Pismo as is the push button release for the screen portion of the laptop. There is no such release button on the Walstreet models(they have a pull-release latch). Additionally, the drawings are purposefully vague to represent a more generic enclosure with the detail digrams focussing on the innovative and thus patented parts which could well explain the double squres represing "mouse" buttons.

BTW.... the head of the PowerBook Team has said repeatedly that Apple's reseach has found that most folks carry their internal expansion bay devices outside the Powerbook but in the same bag which means that there is little true portability gained by not providing internal expansion bays and thus the justification for dropping them on the PowerBook Ti line in favor of a slimmer design.

 

[Gaz]

Cool, cheers for that. I don't want to see the TiBoot replaced anyway. I haven't seen a better computer around. All it needs is a slightly high resolution and I'd say its near perfection (for my use anyway).

Cheers dude

Gaz

 

[Rower_CPU]

What gives with the dates though?

Does it seriously take 4 years for a patent to go through? If so, they are practically useless in the computer world...

 

[Liamcow]

havent we all learned that spymac is false 99.9% of the time? it just makes me sad when i hear "I was just surfing through some posts on spymac" in the beginning of a post

 

[Rajj]

The TiBook is immaculate!!! I wonder how are they going to top the current design?

 

[Rower_CPU]

Originally posted by Liamcow
havent we all learned that spymac is false 99.9% of the time? it just makes me sad when i hear "I was just surfing through some posts on spymac" in the beginning of a post

Check out the links. They go to the US Patent Office. Just because it was found on SpyMac doesn't mean it's complete BS. Think first, post second.

 

[kungfu]

uh, this is definitely brand new, look at the publication date on the actual document...

hmm...

[EDIT] This page explains a lot about the "invention" and what it fixes: http://aiw1.uspto.gov/.aiw?docid=us...01%26s1=Apple.AS.%26OS=AN/Apple%26RS=AN/Apple [/EDIT]

kungfu

 

[Gaz]

not wanting to argue against myself but patents can take a long long time to actually go through. On the other hand the one for (guess) iSync is pretty new so I have no idea.

 

[goobus]

Even though i would liek apple to keep the current ti design this patent i doubt is much more then 5-6 months old caus ei fu look at teh filing date that means when apple applied for this patent. So it takes quite a while to get a patent to tehy must have jstu got it and i agree with who ever sadi before that the case design was vague adn most likely a genrec drawing.

 

[Kid Red]

Originally posted by goobus
Even though i would liek apple to keep the current ti design this patent i doubt is much more then 5-6 months old caus ei fu look at teh filing date that means when apple applied for this patent. So it takes quite a while to get a patent to tehy must have jstu got it and i agree with who ever sadi before that the case design was vague adn most likely a genrec drawing.

wow, normally I don't comment on people's typing and you make some of the exact same typing errors that I do, but please read over you post before hitting reply. It seems one hand is faster then the other, knowing that, slow down and check your typing, makes it much easier to read

 

[pgwalsh]

It's about time the TiBooks were redesigned. They're two years old and it's time for a face lift. I like the old design, but I'm ready for something new.

 

[bagellls]

Just so you know this is not a patent yet, but rather a patent application. The patent process is annoying slow, but under new rules that within 18 months your application is published for the public to view. You can also have it published earlier if you want. The upshot of this is that if you get the patent issued you can claim royalties from the date of publication. This is also a new patent since it was filed in Feb of this year.

 

[gopher]

New things that could be added to TiBook:

1. Upgradable daughtercard for more memory on videocards.
2. A second Firewire port. Gigawire as soon as introduced on desktops.
3. Return of Infrared
4. Bluetooth
5. Built in power supply - I know it would make it heavier, but notebook power supplies are among the most frequently returned item. If they used standard three prong power, they could avoid a lot of returns. Leave it to Apple to figure out a way to make one lighter.
6. RAM upgradable to 2 GB.
7. Fix the airport problem - still not fixed under the current revision. Some people I know still only get 10 feet of range.
8. Use paint that doesn't scratch so easily.
9. A 17" display like the Flat Panel iMac in dimensions for better
DVD viewing.
10. A DVD burner.
11. As I mentioned before, a foldable OLED screen would be nice.

 

[technocoy]

patent

first:
you don't have to have the patent to begin manufacture of the product as long as you have filed for patent...
second:
this is a new patent
third:
it's a patent for revisions to flaws in the cd tray, latch, and cooling fans for the iBook....
these types of patents are often filed as revisions to pieces of hardware that are made.

if you look up the cube, there are like 5 patents filed for it that weren't even passed until this year

sorry to drop the bomb....
I am hoping for new PB's as well...

later

 

[cbr600f4]

On the way

I went into my school's Computer Center today and the demo PowerBook G4 was missing. I asked the sales guy what the new specs on the new one were and he smirked and said top of the line. I would say this means they are on the way!

Nick

 

[Bear]

Originally posted by gopher
New things that could be added to TiBook:

5. Built in power supply - I know it would make it heavier, but notebook power supplies are among the most frequently returned item. If they used standard three prong power, they could avoid a lot of returns. Leave it to Apple to figure out a way to make one lighter.
7. Fix the airport problem - still not fixed under the current revision. Some people I know still only get 10 feet of range.
9. A 17" display like the Flat Panel iMac in dimensions for better
DVD viewing.

5.) Power supplies are the item most likely to fail on a computer. Building it into the Powerbook means having to bring in the whole book instead of just swapping the power supply. And if the timing is critical, you can walk into a store and buy a powersupply and wind up with a spare if the other one is replaced under warranty.
7.) I get plenty of range against various brand base stations.
9.) A notebook with a widescreen 17" display would be damned difficult to carry around. And you would have to add even more supporting framework to prevent the screen from getting torqued and damaged.

Most of the other items on your list seem like a good idea. Especially a second firewire port.

 

[peterjhill]

I like my Tibook, but I agree that the time has come for more radical changes to the machine. The light grey paint around the edge is terrible. Why can't they just leave the Titanium unfinished? It would certainally help with heat disappation.

I would like them to stay with Titanium. If they switched, I want it to be as durable, strong, and light, as my current machine.

 

[sphereboy]

One thing I would love to see is a separate trackpad.. the width of your finger and the length of the current trackpad for use with scrolling up and down in your windows.

|----| UP
|    | 
|    |
|    |
|    |
|    |
|    |
|    |
|    |
|----| DOWN

This would be perfect! I hope Apple is reading this.

 

[loveshismac]

The newest version of the powerbook g4 (dvi) also already has 10/100/1000 ethernet card.

I have a 667, but alas cant afford a giga hub, or even find one for that matter!
I sure hope they dont upgrade yet, mine is just 5 weeks old.
I hate it when i invest 3k on something and bam its outdated a month later.

wait till january and I will feel better!

 

[jefhatfield]

Re: New Apple Laptop?!?

Originally posted by Gaz
Hi,

I was just surfing through some posts on spymac and some people were discussing a new patent published on Aug 22 2002 by Apple.

Pic

Doc

It's accompanied by a picture which I'll link to below. The only reason it's interesting is that the diagram clearly shows 2 trackpad buttons. The patent also talks in great detail about cooling which could be an indicator of a faster processor.

If you're very bored (like me) you'll scan throu some of the other patents and there are clear some for spring loaded folders and what I reckon to be iSync.

It would seem unlikely that all the cooling relates to the current PowerBook as I believe that this would require a case redesign (shame, I like the look of the Ti-Book, mines awesome).

Anyway, that's just a little something for people to chew over.

Gaz

i couldn't see picture, but a new apple powerbook and a new apple consumer laptop are guaranteed, it is just a matter of when...next year? two years? five years?

high end laptops are easy to call powerbook, but what would apple call its next major/radically different consumer laptop?

i still vote for the name "ibook"...even if the next major ibook machine has dual g4s and a superdrive and goes faster than 1.2 ghz and sports a titanium shell

...at that point, powerbook will have a g5

i would never want to see any future apple laptop be called the 800 series or an AP/Ltp-1A model

 

[JSRockit]

Who cares what the name will be...just bring it to us....please Apple...bring us new notebooks.