Maybe some day they will invent wireless power
I recommend reading about Nikola Tesla and his Magnifying Transmitter. Fascinating man!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnifying_transmitter
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MacBook Air rev C, "Everything we know, and everything we want." (orig. desperate)
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I recommend reading about Nikola Tesla and his Magnifying Transmitter. Fascinating man!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnifying_transmitter
Transmitting power by radio and/or microwave is plausible - indeed, esentially, radio transmissions are wireless transmissions of power, albeit tiny amounts that are subsequently amplified by (or alternatively, used to modulate) a local power source. Tesla's research involved enormously powerful radio transmissions across broad sections of the spectrum... something absolutely unacceptable for today's tightly-controlled FCC-assigned frequencies. Similarly a microwave beam very obviously carries significant levels of power... enough to cook a meal.
Conversely, a beam suitably powerful to charge your laptop would also be sufficient to cook you. This makes the use of microwave power as a means of transferring energy to consumer devices a somewhat iffy proposition.
(Those 1970s plans of "microwave power stations" in orbit were not pursued essentially because an accidental or intentional mis-targeting of the beam could easily cause widespread mayhem if aimed at a city.)
Not so for induction charging, which involves two adjacent coils (one in the device, and one in a charging base). If I'm not mistaken this system will be available on the Palm Pre. However, it's fairly limiting insofar as you need to place your gadget in very close proximity to a specific base. You're not plugged in but you're tethered to the spot. From my point of view, the value added is essentially zero: it's one more thing that can break. And anyway, it isn't going to happen for quite a long while.
Regarding Jobs' return at the end of June, I suspect he wouldn't sully his messianic return with anything as mundane as a MacBook/MacBookAir/MacBookPro refresh. It just doesn't warrant his attention. I'd expect something more consumer-orientated... iPod-, iTunes-, iPhone- or iTablet-related. He might pilot the launch of Snow Leopard.
Unless it's something radically new like the original MacBookAir or the unibody MacBook construction, I don't expect Jobs would deign the event with his presence. I expect an update will just randomly appear on their website.
Less caffeine, Scottsdale, less!
It's more likely that they've split the keynotes into software only at the WWDC-- so iPhone OS 3.0 and Snow Leopard-- and the hardware launch of a new iPhone with Steve-- video iPhone and new low cost $100 iPhone. It would make sense that Steve would want to return to take the iPhone to the next level.
The only "radical new Macbook Air" rumor I've heard yet it is your post. I'm still guessing November update, if at all.
Running the numbers.
The first MacBookAir refresh occurred on 14 October 2008 after 273 days.
If I take the refresh time to be constant (273), the release date turns out to be 8 July (a Wednesday). Of course this leads to a constant refresh cycle of 273 days.
If I take the refresh to occur two weeks after WWDC09, I get 22 June. This would imply a cycle refresh of 251 days. This in turn would lead to an average refresh length of 262 days.
This is all based on a single sampling and is therefore one step below meaningless.
The first MacBookAir refresh occurred on 14 October 2008 after 273 days.
If I take the refresh time to be constant (273), the release date turns out to be 8 July (a Wednesday). Of course this leads to a constant refresh cycle of 273 days.
If I take the refresh to occur two weeks after WWDC09, I get 22 June. This would imply a cycle refresh of 251 days. This in turn would lead to an average refresh length of 262 days.
This is all based on a single sampling and is therefore one step below meaningless.
Hmm.. I really don't think they will push hardware iPhone v3 announcement to the end of June. With all the build-up, everyone expects it announced at WWDC. And we already see stores updating their inventory systems and what not.
I am with you on the MBA rev.C update hitting the streets around November, right on time for the holidays.
I hope you're right, but I have a bad feeling that the previous discussion (this thread? another one? I don't remember) about Apple neglecting the Air might be spot-on. The Air got one television ad, the one with the envelope and that (IMO) horrible song that you just can't get out of your head. (Bastards.) That was forever ago and since then, the aluminum MacBooks/pros have had a couple or few frequently-airing ads. I never see ads in Macworld Magazine for the Air anymore either, and reports here indicate the retail stores are neglecting the product and even steering potential buyers toward the MacBooks instead.
I'm sure they won't eliminate the product altogether, and I hope these predictions of radical improvements come true---but I can't help but think Apple will do the minimum necessary to keep the product "alive". Again, I hope I'm completely wrong, but they just don't seem to be doing anything to increase the product's mindshare.
Yep, that was a few hundred posts ago in this very thread. Indeed it was I who promoted that theory fairly forcefully. I'm afraid I might've even been right.
By running these numbers, I'm trying to put a limit on how long it makes sense for me to wait and hope if nothing occurs. Unfortunately none of the other notebooks in the current Mac lineup satisfy my needs, mainly on the basis of portability... but eventually if there are no Air updates I'll just grab a new MPB 15.4" with an SSD.
That's my point. However, a $10 USB Hub is worthless if you have an Apple Superdrive and need to use it with another device. From what I've read, unless you hack the drive (the tnkgrl mod), it doesn't work through a hub. However, I have read that it will work when connected to a 24" ACD. In that case, the 24" ACD would be the perfect "docking station" for the Air.
That would be really nice, but in the current version, there is only possibly room for one usb port. Note that I haven't tried this, but judging from the pictures of the inside of the Superdrive, I think you might be able to mod 1 USB port in there next to the drive.
Many companies have developed their own port, but as far as I know there is no standard. Apple, of course, has the dock connector, which potentially could be extended for use on a portable computer. As far as I know, it supports/supported FireWire, USB, Audio and Video and power. That's enough that you could have a device approximately the size of an iPod classic that had full-sized ports on it (ie: a Breakout Box - the return of "Asteroid"
). Unfortunately, there is no room for it on the current design of the Air. As I said above, I think the 24" ACD is currently the best "docking station" option for the Air.I guess you're right. There was rumor of an apple tv update, but that's been floating around for a while.
Anyway, here's an article on last minute WWDC rumors:
http://gizmodo.com/5266037/last-minute-rumor-updates-on-apple-wwdc-09
That's my point. However, a $10 USB Hub is worthless if you have an Apple Superdrive and need to use it with another device. From what I've read, unless you hack the drive (the tnkgrl mod), it doesn't work through a hub. However, I have read that it will work when connected to a 24" ACD. In that case, the 24" ACD would be the perfect "docking station" for the Air.
That would be really nice, but in the current version, there is only possibly room for one usb port. Note that I haven't tried this, but judging from the pictures of the inside of the Superdrive, I think you might be able to mod 1 USB port in there next to the drive.
Many companies have developed their own port, but as far as I know there is no standard. Apple, of course, has the dock connector, which potentially could be extended for use on a portable computer. As far as I know, it supports/supported FireWire, USB, Audio and Video and power. That's enough that you could have a device approximately the size of an iPod classic that had full-sized ports on it (ie: a Breakout Box - the return of "Asteroid"
Problem is you are wrong about the SuperDrive with USB hub. Most powered USB hubs work fine with no hacks. There are reports of non-powered USB hubs working. The reason the SuperDrive doesn't work on other Mac USB ports, is the MBA USB port is providing power for the SuperDrive. Powered USB hubs provide power to the SuperDrive. Non-powered USB hubs sometimes allow passthrough of the power, but usually requires to plug SuperDrive into only one of the USB hub ports that receives the passthrough power from the MBA USB port.
You are also wrong about not being able to plug SuperDrive into 24" ACD USB hub. It works fine. Also works fine with any $12 or greater "powered" USB hub. You are getting information and hacks confused. If you want to use technology, you need to carefully read and understand capabilities and limitations. Your thinking about hacking SuperDrive is far more complex and that is what is needed to make SuperDrive work on a lower powered MacBook or MacBook Pro USB port. People have written all over this board about using an MBA SuperDrive with most powered and even some non-powered USB hub.
No criticism intended, but I think you are missing some of the capabilities and limitations or mixing those up with necessary hacks or etc to make products work. Like an MBA SuperDrive's ability to be used with most powered USB hubs. Or even the current capabilities of the 24" ACD as a docking station.
Well, I don't have to worry about what's coming up for Rev C or lines, loose hinges, bad playback of HD flash videos ram limitations anymore. I sold my RevB Air this morning. I will be ordering a fully specced out 13" Macbook (or Pro if we get a 13") with 4GB ram and SSD after Monday's keynote. I loved my Air but it's just too limited in the ports department including the other things I listed above.
You are not going to wait a few weeks for the updates at least? Pretty much nobody expects updates actually at WWDC... although we can hope. I understand someone buying the unibody MacBook now with the much improved display, but I think a rev C MBA could offer what you're looking for... or even an improved MB could be a better Mac. I wouldn't buy any Mac notebook right now unless I had to, as they are now over seven months old!
Remember that Flash (especially HD) is a CPU hog with OS X, so even a MB may struggle. My uMB 2.0 GHz does get hit really hard with Flash video. I do agree that the lines on the rev B were a ridiculous issue. A rev C may completely be rid of the lines. How about 4 GB of RAM, almost everyone would bet there will be 4 GB RAM in the rev C MBA.
I guess you just don't have the passion for the MBA form factor most of us have... although mine did have a perfect display. I am absolutely in love with the MBA, but I do find some things disappointing especially with quality issues.
Good luck with your unibody MB. I hope you enjoy yours far more than I do, as I am sick of this uMB. It does not feel like FUN using it. To each his own.
To be fair, I may have not posted my thoughts in the clearest manner. So in summary I was saying:
1) I know that the 24" ACD + Air + Superdrive combination does work. Thus my several comments stating that the 24" ACD would be a great docking station.
2) I thought that it had been demonstrated that it was a driver issue with the USB controller that prevented the Superdrive from working with other computers and not a power issue. See here , here and here. However, I will say that other threads such as this one make the entire thing confusing by stating that it is a power issue.
Also, to be honest, I have no actual experience in trying it out for myself as I have neither an Air, Superdrive or 24" ACD, so I am having to rely solely on others' experiences.
My rev B MBA worked with MBA SuperDrive and GE powered USB hub. My rev A also worked with it. I have another micro 4-port USB hub that isn't powered and one port works fine with rev B MBA and MBA SuperDrive. The other three ports work fine with other peripherals at same time.
Also, I used a rev B MBA with 24" LED ACD. Not only did MBA SuperDrive work in it, I had the powered hub connected to it with longer cable to keep SuperDrive in desk drawer.
Again, the main points of your argument seem weak. You said none of those situations work but they all do. The MBA SuperDrive can be used with one or multiple hubs and work fine with MBA. The SuperDrive can work attached to ACD and MBA.
People get pissed when the MBA SuperDrive will not work in their MB or MBP. There is a hack or workaround that allows it to work with others by removing some part that requires higher power. It doesn't matter if I am wrong about the power being the issue. The point is the SuperDrive works fine while attached to a hub between MBA and drive.
No mention of an MBA... but this is a guesser and not an information trafficker.
States MB at WWDC which is against the norm. Most think week before (not) or up to two weeks after, as that is when Apple has updated in the past. I hope Apple thinks enough of a more powerful MBA to show it off at WWDC???
Can you find any older articles to quote? My SuperDrive worked with my rev B MBA through a powered hub, one port on a non-powered hub, and even a 24" ACD.
Even the article you showed states that the SuperDrive needs more power which is put out from MBA USB port. Then it shows how to change it for $9. I would guess Apple only wanted this to work with the MBA, so it put a simple verification via power of USB port.
Why don't you ask some rev B MBA owners here if there SuperDrive worked via a powered drive or 24" ACD before assuming they don't work based on a 17 month old article.
Hey Scottsdale, you misundertand me. I loved the Air and most likely as passionately if not more than many people here. I'm an insurance agent and my work is all about travel and the Air was perfect when I'm on the go due to how lightweight it is. Once you pack the power adaptor and other essentials plus the notebook the weight grows greatly which is why I loved my Air. It was starting to bug me though. I have Skype and once I plug in my USB headset then I couldn't use any other USB device while I was on Skype and I'm not one to plug in a hub. Apple had to turn down the GPU speed to keep the Air from overheating and it greatly shows. Just try and launch the widgets, it's quite a jerky action, it's not at all smooth and fluid the way the Macbook and the other Macs work. Also the 3D dock isn't smooth on auto-hide. Each time you hide and show it the action isn't fluid either. I ended up going into the Terminal and changing it to the 2D dock for smooth action.
Also my hinge had become a bit loose for the 7 months I owned it and while that happened also on my old 17" Powerbook it didn't start getting loose until 3 years of owning it. The lines on the screen really didn't bother me so that didn't play a role in me selling it.
I was also unhappy with the wired ram of 2GB. I don't know if Rev C will have wired ram (most likely it will) but I don't like having no control on the amount of ram installed.
The biggest annoyance I had with my Air was the location of the air ducts for the fan. It was almost impossible to sit the Air on my lap without blocking the air ducts which resulted in the fans kicking in because of lack of air flow. All the other Macbooks have air ducts on the rear of the machine rather than the bottom like the Macbook Air. That was a real PITA.
The absence of the DVD drive in the Air made it nice and lightweight but it was also annoying pulling out the external superdrive when I wanted to install software for work or reinstall OS X or Windows 7 or even a game on DVD. Again, I loved the Air but even Rev C won't be for me. I need a Macbook that's much more capable.
What's the reasoning behind a November refresh? Arrendale availability? That would mean the Air would be more than a year old before refresh... and that we have another five months of waiting ahead!
I've been thinking about the lines. If the new uMB uses the same screen but doesn't have a lines issue, it means that the Air essentially had a "bad batch". Since they're still turning up in new units, we can infer that the batch-size of screens exceeds the cumumaltive sales of MacBookAirs. This would place an upper limit on sales and it would also suggest that Apple has not launched new production runs in quite a while... in anticipation either of a refresh or an EOL.
I've been thinking about the lines. If the new uMB uses the same screen but doesn't have a lines issue, it means that the Air essentially had a "bad batch". Since they're still turning up in new units, we can infer that the batch-size of screens exceeds the cumumaltive sales of MacBookAirs. This would place an upper limit on sales and it would also suggest that Apple has not launched new production runs in quite a while... in anticipation either of a refresh or an EOL.
did anyone else see this on cnet?
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-10252954-64.html?tag=mncol
as for the rumors about a 15" mac book air id definately get one.
also may be true as others seem to think there is amarket here
Lenovo IdeaPad Y650 4185 is a slim light 16" laptop
http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/lenovo-ideapad-y650-4185/4505-3121_7-33544781.html?tag=api&subj=re
is has one of the new nvidia Nvidia GeForce G 105M 256MB, 4GB RAM, and a 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
would love to see a macbook air with similar
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-10252954-64.html?tag=mncol
as for the rumors about a 15" mac book air id definately get one.
also may be true as others seem to think there is amarket here
Lenovo IdeaPad Y650 4185 is a slim light 16" laptop
http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/lenovo-ideapad-y650-4185/4505-3121_7-33544781.html?tag=api&subj=re
is has one of the new nvidia Nvidia GeForce G 105M 256MB, 4GB RAM, and a 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
would love to see a macbook air with similar
looking at the specs at that lenovo, it is more like the dimensions of a macbook pro.
There is no rumor of a 15" MBA, just scottsdale saying he wishes there would be one.
not entirely true.
at one point, 1/2009, there was was a rumor of one. http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/01/16/apple_working_on_15_inch_macbook_air_says_blog.html