Since my PowerBook died, I've been using a Vista powered Lenovo T60p, which isn't bad as far as PC laptops go. I do really miss the reliable sleep, overall sleek design, and ease of Wi-Fi handling that my deceased PowerBook had, though. I really don't need the optical drive except for the occasional ripping of a CD that I buy, or the even rarer DVD based software install. I'd be perfectly happy to leave the optical drive at home, only for use in those special cases.
The current line up of Mac Books is already very slim, it's hard to image how much more slim they'd get without the DVD drive baked in.
My main concern with the ultra-portable would be the limited size of the flash disk: I'd want enough space to stash media and a parallels vm.
Some interesting trends for Mac OS X market share. When do you think they'll crack 10%?
I am also interested to see how they will make it much thinner. Originally the rumor was that they were going to make one with a smaller screen, but now it seems the bet is on 13.3" with LED back light.
You know if they would just listen to me and bluetooth enable the HD iPods your media problem would be solved. Sadly, Steve does not return my phone calls.
That's because Steve only takes iPhone calls.
Can I borrow yours?
iMac as docking station.
It sounds a bit more expensive than a standard LCD monitor if you ask me. Besides a Macbook doesn't take up that much space on your desk. How about just create a simple connector dock that stands your Macbook up vertically? Oh, what do I know?
Maybe Apple will make it uber cool (and more expensive) by making the slot motorized like their DVD drives. -Oh and it will have a one button interface and come in 5 colors uh, I mean flavors. It will be slick and cable-less, well except that you'll still have to connect your ipod to it with a cable since no one is smart enough to figure out a solution for that. (Hint, I call it a 'dock').
And just think, 2 years down the road when you upgrade your laptop to the latest model you can also upgrade your LCD monitor / docking station since the specs of the slot have changed. As Steve would say, "Is that cool or what"?
I don't think that I've ever used the same hardware for more than 2 years, the exception being my Powerbook.
I'm still running my AMD64 system that I built in 04. I upgraded a few pieces of course. That has been my typical desktop model. And I've certainly used my monitors longer than 2 years.