Ok, 1Ghz Tibook is here...so what's next?

[primalman]

Originally posted by backdraft
....Now take into account deadlines and you should begin to see the problems that arise from not having a built-in floppy on a Mac.

-backdraft

Wouldn't you think that if you had a viable business and deadlines were very important, that an internet connection would seem to be mandatory in this day and age?

Again, I meet deadlines everyday and work with clients who are PC only, who give me lots and lots of small files from word et al, and I haven't used a floppy in 3 years.

 

[beatle888]

Originally posted by backdraft
How about an internal 120mb Floppy Superdrive? Unfortunately floppies are standard in 90% of the computers out there and YOU must use them for work, school etc... They 120mb is plenty for photoshop (more than that use a CD-R/CD-RW or DVD-R/DVD-RW) regular floppies great for text files, word etc...

Apple wants open standards right? So how about the floppy?

-backdraft

FLOPPY LOL

 

[GeeYouEye]

Originally posted by backdraft
Not all PC's have usb drives. At least OS X should be compatible with usb floppy drives, its really a pain in a PC dominated world.

And not all Macs don't have a floppy drive. Just everything made in the past 4 years. If whoever you need to send a floppy to doesn't have USB, it's long past time for them to get a new computer. And OS X does support USB floppy drives, just not internal ones.

 

[beefstu01]

Yeah, I saw ads for a keychain 2 gig HD (may have been upto 20 too, don't remember). That would be sweet to use as a floppy replacement I'd say.

Rightnow I'm in a delima-- do I buy the Ghz TiBook because the prices aren't going to get much better, or do I wait for the new revision? I'm leaning towards waiting, because I see these in the close future.

Internal Bluetooth
Upgrade to the 802.11a or 802.11g standards (upto 55+ (?) MBps for wireless networking)
Firewire 2
USB 2

I think I want to hold off til USB2, because soon enough there will be more and more USB 2 devices (it took a few years to get USB fully inplemented, so it should be the same with USB 2). However, I'm not sure, it's pretty confusing. I am slightly dissapointed by the drive speed (4200 RPM? Not too bad, but IBM just announced laptop drives with their "pixie dust" technology that'll be 80+ gigs and spin at 5400 RPM's), but it's just going to be a game of wait and see.

 

[Over Achiever]

Originally posted by beefstu01
I am slightly dissapointed by the drive speed (4200 RPM? Not too bad, but IBM just announced laptop drives with their "pixie dust" technology that'll be 80+ gigs and spin at 5400 RPM's), but it's just going to be a game of wait and see.

IBM already has the 5400 RPM Hard drives, and they've been using "pixie dust" which is the element Rb i think for over a year now. The big announcment was that the newer drives will be even quieter than they are now (for the 5400 RPM models) that there will be 7200 RPM HDs coming early next year.

As for apple including them...don't be so sure about it. They'll be noisy, expensive, draw a lot of power, and give off a lot of heat.

 

[sboy]

Bluetooth built-in

Apple should include built-in bluetooth in the next revision of the Powerbooks and the iBooks. Microsoft has announced upcoming support in the next version of Windows, new Palms can now support bluetooth as well as newer cell phones.
I believe people will start using the easy syncing capabilities from the computer to the cell phones & other devices.

Apple needs to move on Firewire II as well as USB II.

Also, faster and larger hard drives. 4200rpm does not cut it for Audio and Video.

 

[primalman]

Re: Bluetooth built-in

Originally posted by sboy
Apple should include built-in bluetooth in the next revision of the Powerbooks and the iBooks. Microsoft has announced upcoming support in the next version of Windows, new Palms can now support bluetooth as well as newer cell phones.
I believe people will start using the easy syncing capabilities from the computer to the cell phones & other devices.

Apple needs to move on Firewire II as well as USB II.

Also, faster and larger hard drives. 4200rpm does not cut it for Audio and Video.

A few more thought...

About the 4200rpm HDs in the TiBooks - I think that these are in there for power savings mainly. Yes, you can have faster drives, but they draw more power. If you choose to be an A/V person with a TiBook, your best bet would be to replace the drive or see if it is a BTO option to get 5400rpm.

Has anyone ever thought of the implications of a notebook with an always on Bluetooth option on an airplane? Not only is the computer creating a magnetic field with the spinning HD and battery etc [which is the reason they ask you to not have them on during takeoff and landing], but also a broadcasted radio signal with the BT. Perhaps this may be something that the computer industry and the airlines/aircraft makers are or need to address.

Just a thought...

 

[Natron]

I currently have a TiBook 550Mhz with a DVD drive, but I am really wanting a new 1Ghz Superdrive Ti now, but I think I'm going to TRY and wait on built-in bluetooth.

Faster Airport would probably be cool to, but it isn't essential.

As for USB 2, I don't really see the need. I've got Firewire (and soon Firewire 2) so having another high-speed port is kind of repetitive, since it's not needed for disk drives, keyboards, or mouses (I believe it's mouses when talking computers).

However, I do think Apple should implement it, if only so the lay person doesn't see that as lacking on a Mac. As USB 2 becomes more popular, people are probably getting USB 2 CD Burners and harddrives, and if they switch to the Mac, they should be able to use them at the full USB 2 speed.

I agree that the floppy is on it's way out, but I still use them, mainly for school where it's all Pee-Cee. I do like using disks, only because they are reusable and it is faster to put a small file on a disk, than to burn a small file on a CD. Also, a lot of the people I know don't have CD burners, so they will often times give me something on disk.

ALSO: Will there be Superdrive's (Pioneer drives) in the future that will burn DVD-RW's? I heard from someone that they did, but my boss confirmed that they didn't.

-Natron

 

[primalman]

Superdrives in Macs...

Originally posted by Natron
...ALSO: Will there be Superdrive's (Pioneer drives) in the future that will burn DVD-RW's? I heard from someone that they did, but my boss confirmed that they didn't.

-Natron

Last I was hearing, the Superdrives in Macs are DVD-RW drives, but the -RW is not 'officially' supported, but can work. See http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/ for some info perhaps.

 

[ryan]

I too have been wondering what the next iBook, PowerBook will bring mainly in area of case design. Does everyone think it would be reasonable to expect NOT to see a major change in the design of the iBook and PowerBook until they move to the G4 and 970 PowerPC respectively in 12-18 months

 

[backdraft]

Upgrade over 5,000 computer's? I wish. The best outcome would be convincing them to upgrade to new Mac's. Though the IT department is full of Microsoft trained monkey's who think Windows is the be all (they quickly forget that Unix is on 63% of the servers).

They think they know everything just because they all have a piece of toiletpaper tacked on to their cubicles with Gates' signature (a.k.a MCSE Certified Certificates), if you as so much mention anything other than Windows they laugh. Nazi bastards.

They shall burn!

Ok, I got carried away but a internal floppy isn't a bad idea or better internal zip disks, which by the way are no longer available on the PowerMac's.

P.S. OS X supports usb floppies? Can OS X read PC formatted disks as well?

-backdraft

 

[primalman]

Originally posted by backdraft
...Ok, I got carried away but a internal floppy isn't a bad idea or better internal zip disks, which by the way are no longer available on the PowerMac's.

-backdraft

The no more internal Zip bugs me too, but a USB zip under my monitor is not a big deal.

Originally posted by backdraft
P.S. OS X supports usb floppies? Can OS X read PC formatted disks as well?

Yah! OSX still has all the disk format supports of OS9 and back. And yes, you can plug in USB disk drives of all kinds on a USB Mac, just have to plug it into the root or a powered hub if the unit has no onboard power of its own.

I bet Proline will have a Zip bezel kit for mirror doors any day now.

 

[anthonymoody]

Getting back to the size/weight argument, I agree that Apple has done an amazing job cramming in an incredible amount of technology into the relatively small, light spaces of their notebooks, particularly the TiBook.

But the reason I find it too big for frequent travel is not the physical size but the weight. Yes 5 pounds is on the lighter side for a very full featured notebook. But the Panasonic I cited, for instance (here again at: http://www.dynamism.com/t1/main.shtml) weighs less than half the iBook, has the same screen size as the ibook, etc. If this were an Apple, I'd get it in a heartbeat! I'd be so thrilled to cut another 2-3 pounds from my carry on, I can hardly describe how much I'd like to do this and still carry a Mac!

TM

 

[Laurence13]

There is absolutly no need for anyone to use a floppy. if I have a 1k file I really need to get to another computer and that computer doesn't have network access then I just burn it on a CD. CD's cost less than 10 cents each and I doubt floppies are even that cheap. Who cares if you are "wasting" all the extra space on the disk, if you look around you can find them for free (after rebate)

If the computer in question doesn't have a CD ROM drive then spend the $5-10 and get one or better yet, spend $20-30 and get a CD-RW for it.

 

[primalman]

Wasting is not a good thing

Originally posted by Laurence13
...if I have a 1k file I really need to get to another computer and that computer doesn't have network access then I just burn it on a CD. CD's cost less than 10 cents each and I doubt floppies are even that cheap. Who cares if you are "wasting" all the extra space on the disk, if you look around you can find them for free (after rebate).

Well, "wasting" isn't just about the space on the disk, it's the disk itself. Why the hell would a person consistently waste the products and resources they own just because its easy and cheap?

Oh yeah, we live in America where it is OK to use 25% of the energy in the world for 5% of the population. Forgot. I thought we lived in one of those advanced places.

Seriously, it is irresponsible to waste things like that. There is no reason or exuse except laziness and an uncreative approach to life's small issues.

PS, if a computer does not have regular network access, try this little trick: Use an ethernet crossover cable, or, if you are a lucky Mac owner, any old Ethernet cable will do since Macs have smart auto-sensing ports that know when you just want to network two computers. Zippy and easy, plug and play.

Also, any Mac with built-in Firewire can start up in Firewire Target Disk Mode and be a desktop, mounted volume on any other FW equiped Mac. Try it, its great.

 

[Laurence13]

Well, "wasting" isn't just about the space on the disk, it's the disk itself. Why the hell would a person consistently waste the products and resources they own just because its easy and cheap?

Then spend 50 cents and get a CDRW disk for file transfers or just burn a session and add more later.

I do agree that there is no excuse for wasting resources, that's why I have a few RW disks I use for this kind of thing, but I think that when you consider the manufacturing process for Floppies (moving parts, multiple types of plastic/metal) I would bet that there are far more wasted resources doing it that way.

 

[shadowfax]

we don't need to waste CD-Rs OR get some POS floppy crap back at us. there is this thing called CDRW, and you can't buy a Tibook without it. as it's name suggests, CD-ReWritables allow you to write over your info in similar fashion to a floppy. not to mention, they are faster and hold 700 MB. i don't kow why we are having this fight... this seems really simple. it's the DVD-Rs you can't rewrite, and i hear that the superdrives support rewritable DVD material, so i REALLY have no idea what you are fighting about. LOL. peace

 

[Natron]

Well, I still use floppy disks for school. For instance, in my English class we would turn in our papers on disks, he would grade them (using MS Word's Track Changes) and give us the disk back. Hey, this saves paper!! We don't have CD burners in every computer at school for miniscule uses like that.

Also, in a group project today, we had one person who was working on a file. We then saved copies of the file to each person's disk, which is much faster than burning 5 CD's, IF we had a burner.

Yea, a blank CD-R costs about 10 cents, but I do try to not burn a disk unless I'm going to fill it up.

-Natron

 

[Natron]

Yea, Shadowfax, since everyone has CD burners on their computers. Because I have a TiBook, I must never use other computers or know anyone who uses a computer.

-Natron

 

[shadowfax]

bah. so get the USB floppy drive. this is not an issue for the vast majority of the population. some small cases like your prof requiring a floppy... here is what i would do with my very outdated stuff. i would email my file to myself and check it at school and put it on a floppy there, i could alternately FTP it to my site and download it that way, i could write it to a CDRW and then take that to school... and when i get my powerbook, i'll be able to take that to school, log onto the network, and send it to other computers to save, or print.

you'd be surprised how many very convenient ways of doing this there are. i have a floppy drive right now, and i haven't used it for something that didn't relate to booting my computer to reformat or fix some stupid windows problem in well over a year. and i am a student at a high school with very nasty, old dell computers with windows 95 (98 on the very small number of crappy laptops). i have a 24X CDRW drive that i use less frequently. my mode of choice is to FTP or email my files and then print them at school.

what would be EXTREMELY inconvenient on my powerbook would be a floppy drive that added to the bulk, cut battery life (diminutively but still), and was noisy.

i think the biggest waste is floppies--they are pretty unreliable. get them too close to a magnet? wanted to store them for a really long time? the magnetic signal on them deteriorates such that at dell where my dad works they used to require that you not reads the entirety of a floppy more than 4 times before reformatting it (in their manufacturing process)... imagine how wasteful that was! now they have gotten rid of floppies in their manufacturing process.

anyways, i really am sorry if your teachers or your school (or some other circumstance) are trapping you into the old floppy way, but please try to see that Apple doesn't market to situations like that. this is how we achieve progress. you know why intel is so screwed up? because every darn thing they make is backwards compatible by default. and while i think this is a good thing as an option (like an emulator or an external piece of hardware) it's just not smart to waste space in a laptop on floppy, and inconsistent with apple's philosophy to put them on desktops. apple is trying to move the world forward. it's a really cool idea actually.

[random] and much cooler than microsoft's idea of moving the world forward with them in complete control[/random]

 

[Over Achiever]

Clarifications...

Ok, when I was talking about USB drives, I did not mean USB floppy drives. If you want a "cheap" solution, then buy a memory card reader for 10-20$ and a cheap memory card, saay 8 or 16 MB. Total that should cost you about $25 if you know where to look, and you have the storage space of about 10 floppies in a package as compact as a floppy. And you can use it on any computer that has USB...most computers that have floppy drives should have at least a USB port. Sure, its inconvienent to reach around to the back of the computer, but its a solution if you don't want to burn CDs. If you're required to use floppies...try to look at e-mail as an alternative. (I'm sure that teacher has internet access...so he/she can grade your paper and e-mail it back)

 

[shadowfax]

Re: Clarifications...

Originally posted by Over Achiever
(I'm sure that teacher has internet access...so he/she can grade your paper and e-mail it back)

GENIUS, man. i can't believe i didn't think of that! it's so obvious, too. lol

 

[Padrote]

More Power for the Powerbook

I think the latest Powerbook and iBook release might be one of the final step before a new generation of portables will come to fruition. I used to work for an apple reseller a few months ago, and there were slight rumblings about a new G4 iBook coming out, with a completely new design and stuff. I was expecting this G4 iBook to come out this latest release.

The G3 iBook is the last computer made by apple to use the G3 Processor. I know once Apple's entire line of computers make the jump to the G4 Processor, the next transition would be to upgrade to the much anticipate G5 Processor.

Again, this sounds like a lot of speculation but then again, that's one of the fun parts about being a Mac enthusiast.

 

[scem0]

Things that would be nice:

BlueTooth
Gigawire
80 GB HD
Better graphics cards
Longer lasting batterys/stronget batteries
lower prices
Mac OS 10.3 ()
An apple office program
An apple browser
(This is starting to go off into 'software-land' - I shall return to hardware)
real DDR
Faster real DDR
a g5 chip
A IBM chip
Kung Fu integration

That is about all the things I can think of. Ummmm, don't ask about Kung fu integration. I am not sure what it is yet - but it would be nice....

 

[MisterBlack]

I know about Kung Fu integration. It's going to be part of Gigawire:

You plug a Gigawire cable into the back of your head, and a few seconds later you're like, "Whoa, I know Kung Fu."