Any dirt on whether or not Apple will release a small macbook?

[Touchdown]

A friend of mine had this Dell with a 9" screen and solid state memory. It's perfect for me, but I'm a Mac user, and have no use for Windows.

He said a friend of his loaded OSX on one, but I'm not that skilled at making a windows machine a Mac.

Any speculation on this or a tablet computer?:shrug:

[Lost-in-FL]

1. Someone at work...

Loaded Leopard into one of those ASUS Mini Laptops and it looks so sweet!!!!!

BTW, I read at macrumors that No... no mini laptops for Apple.

[struggle4progress]

2. Goggle: Hackintosh "Dell Mini 9"

There are very detailed instructions available on the web and they don't seem complicated. Other people have done the hard work and reports from the Hackintosh community suggest the Mac Mini 9 is the most compatible netbook for a Hackintosh:

If you go that route, you'll probably want to buy Leopard from Mac which will set you back $130. It will be a violation of your EULA to install Leopard on a non-Apple machine -- but if you buy software from Dell, that you wouldn't otherwise have bought, you might not feel particularly guilty about that

The $250 price on the Dell Mini 9 is misleading. You'll want more than minimal SSD. I put my OS X on a 16GB stick and checked I could run my mac off the stick; you might want to get a cd reader so you can reinstall the original operating system (say, ubuntu) if you decide to. With 1GB memory, 32 GB SSD, and an external CD reader, you're looking around $350 and with Leopard you're to $480. It'll be higher if you want add-ons like camera, speakers, and so on. You'll also need a flashdrive for the installation process

I thought about doing this myself and pretty much convinced myself by the googles that it would be pretty easy and likely to work: all recent webreports I could find seem positive and uncomplicated; I think all known features work with the hack. Of course, if it doesn't work, you'll just re-install ubuntu and learn to enjoy it -- but you'll be out the price of the Leopard disk you bought

There might be other issues. For the hack, you're trusting a piece of software you downloaded from the web, so if some jackass has put a malicious rootkit into it, you could have trouble. There may also be warranty issues: you assume the downloaded software handles the hardware correctly enough not to damage it; but if the Dell Mini 9 burns itself out for whatever reason, Dell may blame your hack and refuse to honor any warranty. So I wouldn't buy any of the extended service

[AlCzervik]

3. not anytime soon, that's from my source.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

4. so why did Apply put in an order on

several million super duper high tech 10 inch touch screens?

[struggle4progress]

5. For their tablets maybe?

[Touchdown]

6. They're making a tablet????

:woohoo:

When?

[struggle4progress]

9. Just rumors so far. But lots of rumors.

Report: Steve Jobs to unveil Apple tablet on his return
Chris Keall | Tuesday April 14 2009 - 06:54am
The rumour mill has the absent chief executive working hands-on from home, driving a touchscreen netbook/tablet project to be released soon after his scheduled comeback ... http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/report-steve-jobs-unveil-apple-tablet-his-return-101160

March 16, 2009
Computerworld - Apple Tablet to be announced tomorrow
... Computerworld’s Seth Weintraub ... states that ... that with the rumors that Apple is buying up a ton of 10-inch touch-screens ... an Apple Tablet makes sense ... http://jkontherun.com/2009/03/16/computerworld-apple-tablet-to-be-announced-tomorrow/

Thursday, August 28, 2008
Apple details next-gen multi-touch techniques for tablet Macs
By Sam Oliver
Published: 10:10 AM EST
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/08/28/apple_details_next_gen_multi_touch_techniques_for_tablet_macs.html

[Stinky The Clown]

7. They're planning to sell a "retro" iPhone to pay homage to this .....

[av8rdave]

8. Either Mac Life or Mac World had an editorial on this last month...

Can't remember which one.

The author seemed to feel that it was unlikely, and if it were to come to fruition, it would be considerably more expensive than the netbooks out there.

I almost bought a netbook like you describe to replace my old and worn Vaio. I'm SO glad I opted for the MacBook, even though it's a bit larger. I like having that much capability with me.

[Touchdown]

10. A "Possible" look of a "possible" Mac tablet/netbook.

Looks like the KB slips into a slot behind the touchpad. But it's just an imagined device. Too bad, looks cool!

Another rumor pic, with a blackberry type keyboard (I'm sure much larger and easier to type with)... or just a screen touch KB.

[supernova]

12. I like the bottom one

better than the top one. IBM tried to build a similar thing, tablet version of the ThinkPad, but it never got off the ground.

It would essentially be an oversized iPhone or iTouch, as far as form factor goes. It would be very doable.

[Deja Q]

11. Like a Mac Netbook?

Oh, I've played with OSX86 just for the sport. Some distros install better than others, and if the hardware isn't 100% supported, problems occur. Even if it is, you might still encounter problems because hacks were used (then wonder if the hackers put in code to snoop while you're browsing online and doing online banking.)

Never mind potential legal issues; the EULA states "Apple-labeled hardware", but is slapping an Apple logo on any PC branded device acceptable?

Not to mention, trying a system update - you'd brick the laptop soon enough; the hacks override some intertwined basic OS functions in the first place.

And, personally, I'm not keen on netbooks. Cheap restrictive, poorly made plastic garbage. Adding a crippled version of Windows ("Starter edition") merely adds insult onto injury.

A tablet Mac would be nice -- indeed, with the iPhone, a touch Mac might be reality in the future. Still, I've noted most people with tablets use them as standard notebooks and never make use of tablet features, so I can see why Apple hasn't bothered in that area...

[Touchdown]

13. The rumor mill is buzzing on a tablet w/ expanded iPhone OS.

Some Asian news outlets are reporting rumors that suggest Apple is working on a touchscreen device. This larger format iPod touch has been rumored for a while, and it’s said to be a “netbook” type device. The question is: How likely is it that Apple will release a touchscreen, no-keyboard netbook? My best guess is that Apple is indeed working on a device similar to that being talked about in the blogs today.

Just as it redefined the MP3 player experience (with iPod) and reinvented the smartphone (with iPhone), Apple is going to pursue the netbook opportunity. But it won’t be with anything like the cheap, anorexic laptops being sold as netbooks today.

When Apple COO Time Cook was asked about netbooks during his conference call with analysts in February 2009, he said that the company was “watching the space,” but he dismissed the idea of offering a device that had “smaller screens, cramped keyboard.” In other words, if Apple does make a device that sits between an iPod touch/iPhone and a laptop, then it would mostly likely be a touchscreen device.

Some other clues that point toward the development of this device are found in the user interface on the recently released Safari 4.0 Beta. Charles Ying, who develops for WebKit, notes on his blog the similarities between Safari 4.0 and the iPhone Safari browser.

http://gigaom.com/2009/03/09/why-i-think-apple-touchscreen-netbook-is-real/

A little birdy tells me that Apple will announce a 12 or 13-inch tablet in the fall of this year. Most likely in the September or October time frame. It will run the full Mac OS X and have a slot loading SuperDrive, an “iPhone-type” GPS chip and an Intel Core Duo processor, presumably Intel’s Atom.

Whether it’ll be a based on the iPhone or MacBook form-factor remains to be seen. You’ll recall that Intel Germany CEO Hannes Schwaderer spilled the beans that an “iPhone” that will be using Intel’s new Atom processor after which he was quickly corrected by Apple. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire indeed.

This particular birdy has been reliable in the past so I’m optimistic about the rumor, but as always, nothing’s for sure. Apple’s had tablet Macs in the labs for years but hasn’t decided to make one a real product, until now.

I’m excited as hell about an Apple tablet and think that it would be a great accessory/vertical market Mac, i.e. a perfect second Mac that you can commute with or take to meetings, classes etc. A tablet would be ideal for consuming Web-based content like RSS feed, Web pages, email, etc. The larger screen area will improve data input, providing more on-screen real estate for an iPhone-like virtual keyboard, as will haptic feedback. The new Apple tablet would also mark the return of handwriting recognition to the Mac for the first time since the Newton was killed on February 27, 1998 after Jobs returned to Apple.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/?p=1786

Other rumors is that it's a Kindle clone...

Apple has repeatedly said that it won’t build a Mac netbook because it doesn’t know how to make a sub-$500 portable Mac that would be worthy of the Macintosh name.

But what about an Apple tablet that isn’t a Macintosh? According to Business Week, Apple is working on a ‘Media Pad’ that would be smaller than an Amazon Kindle but have a larger touch screen display. The Media Pad will allow users to listen to music, view images, watch HD videos, and read eBooks. Think supersized iPod touch, with more storage, a faster processor, and more capabilities.

The Media Pad will include Wi-Fi as well as some type of cellular data service, but it won’t be able to make cell phone calls. Rumor has it that Apple is looking for a distribution partner to handle the cellular data side of the business, just as it did with the iPhone. The leading candidates are AT&T and Verizon; Business Week gives the edge to Verizon.

http://macs.about.com/b/2009/04/28/apple-tablet-coming-this-year.htm

Then...

Reuters is reporting that Apple has ordered 10-inch touch screens from Wintek, a contract manufacturer in Taiwan that makes the touch screens used in the iPhone and iPod Touch. The screens are expected to be ready by the third quarter of this year, setting the stage for a possible late 2009 introduction of the long-rumored Apple tablet and/or Netbook.
But one interesting possibility for that rumored device comes from longtime Apple writer Andy Ihnatko, who is wondering if Apple has some sort of Kindle clone in mind. Ihnatko told Newsarama that he has heard several times that Apple has been receiving truckloads of books--actual real paper-bound books--at its headquarters in Cupertino, Calif. He cautions that this doesn't "rank as high as a rumor, but it's an interesting story that I keep hearing."
The thinking is that Apple is scanning the books as to have a library of electronic titles available when it decides to launch an e-book section on the iTunes Store, perhaps accompanied by the iTablet or MacTablet Pro or whatever Apple appears to be cooking up in its labs that isn't quite an iPhone, and isn't quite a MacBook....
... However, it does seem people are interested in something that falls between a smartphone and a laptop, and if Apple was able to integrate a portable tablet computer, gaming machine, and e-book reader all in one using the maturing iPhone OS X operating system, it would be able to justify a higher price for that gadget and therefore better margins than the rest of its competitors.


http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10193965-37.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1040_3-0-5

[Jakes Progress]

14. Make it the size of a daytimer.

Heaven knows I carried one of those for years. And it didn't serve as phone, computer, map, photo album, and music device. I just want an i-phone with a bigger screen. Put in in a case that also holds a couple of credit cards and few bills - I'm set.

[Touchdown]

15. The rumors so far...

http://gizmodo.com/5249808/apples-tablet-the-story-so-far

"A large screen that serves as the primary input device, a minimalist design, a proprietary Apple input system and better-than-average battery life? That describes the theoretical devices of 2009 nearly as well as it does those of 2002. Anyway.

The Most Compelling Evidence
Hidden somewhere amidst all the patent-filing and reputation-staking are some legitimately convincing pieces of information:

• Steady allegatons of Apple's long, storied interest in tablets—buoyed by occasional patent filings—count for something, as does their consistent cynicism about netbooks (the only real alternative to tablets in the ultramobile computing space).
• The late 2008 patent app for a multitouch tablet interface is thorough, practical, timely and contains a plausible (if basic) mockup.
• The Wintek 9.7" panel order is the closest thing to hard evidence that we've got. It's a good bet that Apple has them, or will soon, and that they're putting them to use—but not a sure one.
• That the device has no keyboard, is moderately sized, and that it's media-centric are all ideas shared by those who've separately floated sourced tablet rumors (TechCrunch, BusinessWeek, MacNewDaily).

It looks like there's a good chance a tablet is on its way. Separate rumors point to similar launch dates: Some say Q3, some say June, but they all could be talking about the same date, or at least the same swath of time."

[supernova]

16. Then it would look like

the bottom pic in your post #10.

It would essentially be an outsized iPhone or iTouch.

Which would probably work just fine for most people.

[MilesColtrane]

17. BidnessWeek says it's a done deal.

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/ByteOfTheApple/blog/archives/2009/05/dont_hold_your.html