jrc Posted March 25, 2007 Share #1 Â Posted March 25, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) While trying to figure out a Mac problem, I browsed a couple of Mac sites (which normally I would not do) and saw a lot of speculation about a Mac ultra-light coming this year -- and speculation that it would not have a hard drive, but rather, flash memory. May all be bs, but I can say that if Mac did come out with an ultra-light, I'd buy it in a minute. I've had both Toshiba and Sony ultra-lights (the last of which was lifted by my daughter, who claimed that the keys were made for her size hands) and they are *very* handy on the road. Â Would make a good carry companion for the M8. Â JC Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted March 25, 2007 Posted March 25, 2007 Hi jrc, Take a look here Small Mac. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
adan Posted March 25, 2007 Share #2 Â Posted March 25, 2007 Yeah - flash memory seems to be widening its reach. I saw somewhere that San Disk or Lexar were looking into WORM flash cards for cameras. $15 for 4 gigs that won't erase, but can be kept around like a roll of negatives. Â Apple already used compact laptop technology to create the iMac "computer-in-the-monitor" desktop machines. Makes sense that they'd use iPod technology to make smaller laptops (and no doubt eventually smaller iMacs as well). Â A compact device with more functionality than a simple mass-storage drive (i.e. can run PS and handle some writing/editing tasks) would be just what I'm waiting for. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LJL Posted March 25, 2007 Share #3 Â Posted March 25, 2007 Agree that it would be an interesting and nice thing to have along. That being said, for any sort of mass storage or photo editing, it will probably not be a top choice. The flash RAM, though getting less expensive, is still no match for the smaller notebook drives that can now hold 200GB. If the purpose of the device is to have along for email and stuff like that, then it might work, but could start bumping up against the new iPhone with some of its capabilities there. Â My gear for mobility includes a 15" MacBook Pro, plus 2-3 external FW drives, each holding 160GB and bus powered, so I can plug them in, download files to them and back one up to the other as needed. I still do not think the laptop screens are really that good for any critical color adjustment, even when carefully calibrated. They do o.k., but not for finished work. The other advantage of the bigger notebook is that you really can do a lot more....if that is what you need. Â This all gets back to the size of the "boxes" we need to work with. The "big box" is the desktop workstation. The smallest box is the mobile phone, for the most part. The intermediate box is still the tough one. Many need it large enough to do some more serious or critical work, while others want it much smaller for convenience and mobility. The "feature creep" that we have all becomed accustomed to on everything, translates into smaller stuff eventually getting bigger, or so complicated that it reduces utility. (Think about how many keystrokes and menus it takes to operate a Web browser on a cell phone!) Â Not raining on anybody's parade here, as I too am in constant search of smaller, lighter, and still useful tools for mobile use. For me, there is nothing that yet fills the "gap" between a good laptop and the PDA-style cell phone. If I need to do more than I can on the phone (Treo), I take the laptop and be done with it. The really small laptops like the older Toshiba Libretto and such were great for email, doing some simple word processing and stuff like that. They lacked good video cards for image viewing, and they also lacked large enough HDs for enough data storage. In other words, they were still not completely bridging the gap of needs for the right box size. Â Just my thoughts on this, but I am glad that things are progressing. If nothing else, it would be great to have a smaller unit that had enough flash RAM for the OS and some apps, and also permitted attaching an external drive for more serious file transfer and storage. If they could squeeze in a small, high def LCD like that on the Epson 4000/5000 storage thing, that would be fantastic. Be prepared for a bit of sticker shock, however. Â LJ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrc Posted March 25, 2007 Author Share #4 Â Posted March 25, 2007 I would add that there was some speculation about a two-piece unit -- a very small flash-drive based laptop that would hook into a base station (drives, printers, etc.) for home use. The one that's being speculated about is not really tiny -- it's just an ultra-thin 12-inch laptop like the small Sonys. Given the chips they're using now, there's no reason they couldn't do it if Sony does it, and it would certainly fill out the Mac line. What I really want is the familiar Mac operating system on a travel notebook... Â I also hope the WORM flash memory becomes a reality. I'd do that; they'd be really great for photo travel. You could carry 24 gigs in a shirt pocket. Â JC Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
treeplanter Posted March 25, 2007 Share #5 Â Posted March 25, 2007 I browsed a couple of Mac sites (which normally I would not do) and saw a lot of speculation about a Mac ultra-light coming this year -- and speculation that it would not have a hard drive, but rather, flash memory. Â SanDisk introduced a 32 gig flash "hard drive" at this year's CES. I wouldn't doubt that some computer manufacturer (might be Apple) will eventually bring out a really small "light-duty" laptop with this type of memory device. Price, though, could be a problem. This 32 gig drive will cost about $600.00. Â Jim Bielecki Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AaronJ Posted March 25, 2007 Share #6 Â Posted March 25, 2007 I'm still in love withh my 12" G4 PowerBook. The only drawback is that it maxes out at 1.25gb of RAM. B&H seems to be the last place that has any of them in stock in new condition ($1500). I can usually edit a couple of 400dpi 10"x15" images in PS before things start to slow down. It's definitely not a machine for pro workflows but does the trick nicely for sunday shooters like myself. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrism Posted March 26, 2007 Share #7 Â Posted March 26, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) I've been reading the rumours too. Sounds like it will be a real winner for travelling. A long time ago Apple put their Newton OS (still an OS that could do things that no other does today) in a laptop form factor and called it an eMate. You could type for 24 hours straight on one battery, and it had a great keyboard. If we can have a full OSX running from a flash drive - and if the iPhone can do it, why not? - I'll buy one too. Â Chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
losta Posted March 26, 2007 Share #8 Â Posted March 26, 2007 A small Mac would be great. While the drive it comes with might not be big enough to store lots of photos I'm sure it will have usb and possibly firewire (I could see apple leaving off firewire on a small mac but it should have a cardbus slot). I travel with a 15" MacBook Pro now and several 2 1/2 firewire HDs and an Epson P-2000 (that I need to upgrade the HD on). I have filled up a 100 GB drive on a 10 day trip. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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