@politik: "Yeah that must be it - it's so revolutionary, it's running Tiger!"

Yeah, and what are the odds that leaked product images, images that were leaked to Wired's Gadget Lab would actually contain a desktop photo with Gadget Lab's logo! Uncanny!!

Or possibly, read the linked article and see that this is a mockup:

"Sadly, we don't have details on pricing, specs or availability. Expect reality to disagree with our photoshops."

someToast

That paper thin lappie will break in 5 minutes with "real world" use. People don't throw around laptops, but you would have to be extremely careful with a device like this.

LoopTrack

@gamecrazychris: eee does not have an optical drive.

Lizard_King

As an ethernet and Gigabit junkie, I have to day that ethernet is not needed anymore on laptops - I would have no problem buying this without ethernet - I plug my current laptop into a hub at my desk when using it, that hub connects a keyboard, mouse and a USB ethernet cable - that's one less cable to connect.

Ethernet is used to infrequently for most people using laptops that it will be disappearing soon. As long as we can add a USB dongle, we are all fine.

On consoles and desktops, that's another story....

Lizard_King

If the screen size is more than 11in I think removing the good stuff seams pointless. Hell if the EEE can keep an optical drive why should the *air* lose it (oh and thats kinda stupid removing the ethernet jack)

gamecrazychris

I doubt this is it. They would have to distribute the weight better.
If it was real then they have to make usb ethernet dongles (heh...dongle)

mferrari

I could see Apple going without ethernet port, since the calaspable idea seems prone to failure. The big missing point to all of this is the dock. I could see an apple display, a charger, hard drive, optical drive and router all in one. Apple is able to take some risks now. The only thing i am curious on is how would u charge this on the fly since it wont have a magsafe cord.

taoprophet420

@cappucino:

it folds w/the hinge on the outside silly

discounteggroll

you don't wanna know how many died to keep this info "unofficial"

discounteggroll

There is no doubt that many folks will not need Ethernet. But for some of us, you'll have to pry our Gigabit Ethernet connection out of our cold dead hands! :)

mcg1969

Can't fold it with this hinge ...Doesn't look right to me.

cappucino

Would consider buying one. However, if it doesn't have an ethernet port, wouldn't even consider it. In my line of work (network testing and troubleshooting), ethernet is king.

CruJones

I can't remember the last time I plugged any cable other than the power cord into my MacBook Pro. It doesn't seem unreasonable to jettison all those useless connectors.
However, running Tiger and that resolution on that small computer -- that's not believable.

MillardFillmore

misfuckinstake if theres no ethernet. at most hotels, ethernet's free, wireless is 10 bux a day

AznSmith

I have never had to plug an ethernet into my macbook pro.

glassonion718

My god.

th4tkid

If you ask your average college kid macbook owner if they have ever even SEEN an ethernet cable, they'll probably say no.

Padriac

that looks hot.

fussball

Wireless only? This thing better have a _real_ dock (not some USB fake one) is all I can say. Even if it did, I'd be a little worried.

I'm envisioning some sort of proprietary adapterethernet scheme, like they did with DVI. They sure as hell better not be thinking _USB_ ethernet adapters are an acceptable substitute. *shudder*

Erwos

It's not just a matter of availability. Wired ethernet is still the throughput king, even over 802.11n.

mcg1969

notice how the keyboard is not recessed into the base. this means they would press into the screen every time it closes...doesnt look right

mrbrownstone

@lolec:
good point! I noticed the fat back end not looking good.

Although at a counterpoint, iBOOK Clamshell. Not very symetrical.

teqsun.com

Looking at where most the weight is, how is that thing not gonna fall backwards off your lap? And I also don't forsee Apple creating a white MacBook again...isn't aluminum their thing right now?

cjh6793

dell m1330 anyone?

sameoldoctor

I can't fathom a laptop with no ethernet port. That just seems weird...even if wireless is pretty prevalent now, there's gotta be a few important locations left (old college libraries or something) where only wired connections are available.

EQC

Yeah that must be it - it's so revolutionary, it's running Tiger!

politik

dont think so, apple is all about symetry, that fat backside will never be in an apple product.

lolec

idk this mockup looks pretty cool, but with out ethernet ports I'm not too thrilled. Plus I'm pretty sure Apple would put up signs, "somethings in the air", just to promote the lack of ethernet ports. It would be awkward to buy a Macbook like this one, I mean you'd be best off getting the current gen if the next gen lacks various ports.

CGrant

at least more likley then the others we have seen so far.

Redwraithvienna

nice but no way.... there wouldnt be room for a fan or any type of cooling. No room for a superdrive. I don't see the magsafe either.

I'm calling BS

teqsun.com

"Apple didn't respond to a request for comment."

What the hell were they expecting? For Apple to say "Yes! That's our baby right there!"

Idiots......

ssjmichael

possibly?

EX3CUTIONR

@teqsun.com: Hope apple dont return to that UGLY age... ill bet on a simetrical, surprizingly slim ( as the new keyboards) macbook PLEASE dont call it AIR.. perhaps the nike deal reach a new level.

lolec

doesn't seem practical... The stuff you could do on it will not be worth the price. If the disk drive is gone, how do you install software??

blazedshaggy

Em...no.

ark_v2

Erroneous!

Yeah I call similar shenanigans... come on people, the keynote's like less than 12 hours away... you can wait and enjoy the surprise then. Did you all do this as children on Christmas Eve before Santa Claus came? Hmm? :

Mikey: "Billy, an inside source says this is the picture of the bicycle Jimmy's getting tomorrow morning."

Billy: "Nah look at that design, Santa Claus would never bring that. That picture's photoshopped."

Mikey: "Well I was on wikipedia too and they said that Santa Claus is gonna bring me a jet plane"

Billy: "There's no way Santa would tell what he giving us on wikipedia... probably just some Santa fanboys playing a prank."

leadster618

@ALEXPIPERDOTCOM: It's a rendering. Not a picture.

matt buchanan

I don't think Air is a new Macbook, don't get me wrong I think we will see one, but I think Air is the natural evolution of iTunes sort of iTunes 2.0 if you will. It's less and less about tunes everyday and lets face it "i" anything is just played out at this point. With the addition of apps for the iPhone, movie rentals, the possible growth of Apple TV into a viable home entertainment solution and iTunes being the grand central station of syncing from now on I think it's just the next step to evolve the product into so much more than it was intended for when it was named iTunes.

jthomasc

it's too fugly to be an apple product.

bubuli

I would realllllllly like this design if the screen opened all the way back making it a convertible (something in the air eh?) then the multitouch screen could be held like an ebook or a straight up tablet design...

thechansen

There's something in the air alright........ WOZ just farted.

JOOSH

@DeadWriter: "Lacking the one thing that I am happy that Apple hasn't gotten rid of, FW400."

There's a whole other side to paint one in.

someToast

Gorgeous screen.

But there's absolutely no reason to get rid of the ethernet port. Come on, that's worse than a lack of backwards compatibility at this point. It just seems sloppy.

Same with the optical drive.

I don't know if apple is that stupid. But Wired has always struck me as fairly credible.

WHAT IS THE TRUTH?!

strobefx

This is about as real as the iPod with a touch scroll wheel got.

defn

I know this is just a mockup, but if Apple is really considering something along these lines....

I love super slim laptops. But please remember the smaller and slimmer you make it, the more things you sacrafice (DVD drive seems gone, ethernet in this idea, you get the picture). So please strike a good balance to get me to buy it.

JoshS

Its cool to see that Apple is so far ahead of the game that they have already developed wireless electricity. I mean seriously, where the hell is the battery? Maybe the motherboard, CPU, SSD, graphics, etc, are all outboard peripherals that connect via USB. Either that or they have created a dynamo-keyboard.

know1

They took out the floppy drive? How could they possibly take out the floppy drive? This thing is useless to me.

Kidding aside, the thing has USB. Use USB on your desk for optical drives and ethernet connections (it's faster than your DSL, dammnit). Take it on the road with a feather light and ultra slim form factor. I'm sure they'd continue to sell more fully functional macbook pros, but for non-techies who have to lug around a laptop as part of their daily routine this could be great. If true, this could really be the first ultraportable to take off in the market.

seishino

Yeah this is a good attempt but it looks to much like a razor blade for an apple product I think...

redelephantlabel

Lacking the one thing that I am happy that Apple hasn't gotten rid of, FW400.

DeadWriter

It wasn't particularly imaginitive of them. basically a white X505:
[image2.sina.com.cn]

Drvec

Yep! That's it! Just called Steve and he's really ticked off someone leaked it out... Damn the Internet!

DucatiGuy

With the weight of the screen and a really minimal palm rest, this thing will be perpetually tipping backwards. The Tiger screenshot is a pretty good indication that this is a fake. Somebody's done a Photoshop of Apple's new keyboard and a MacBook Pro.

gotsmart

T@thechansen:
Unless there is some newer technology that hasn't be readily used before, I'd have to agree. Battery life would be abysmal.

I am still holding out for something about 4x to 6x times the size of the iPod Touch, that can run apps and has a touch screen and enough flash memory (HD) to keep me happy.

DeadWriter

I think maybe this is going to be a line completely separate from either the macbook or the macbook pro if it, in fact, doesn't end up with ethernet ports; a line geared towards the business class, not the creative professional, but the paper pusher kind of guy (document pusher? [bluetooth joke?]) I gather from the murmurs of WiMAX that this type of person would have infinite use for 3G or GSM wireless connection without having to pop in a PC card.

redelephantlabel

No ethernet port = no sale. College campuses usually don't like students setting up their own wireless routers. Besides, wireless speeds pale in comparison to wired.

dagamer34

No one remembers Apple's patent for collapsable ports that let them get thinner?

Oh ye of little memory.

Slappy McSlapp

@JustinD: agreed

anthonybruno

What about one of those battery things? This would have a 3 second battery life.

thechansen

I don't think I'd be a huge fan of no ethernet port, but I'm sure apple would convince me

nachobel

@redelephantlabel: processor makes as much heat as the HDD, or maybe even more. ask my dad, his laptop is running a 3GHz prescott and a tiny little laptop hard drive.....he's at the point where he never carries it from place to place, because the vent for the processor fan is like a miniature hand dryer.

rimplestultskin

Maybe Ethernet through USB? Maybe hiddden firewire?

th4tkid

Yeah I definitely have NEVER plugged an ethernet cable into my laptop and with my iPod Touch I'm beginning to realize there's almost no need for one whatsoever. You can find free wireless virtually anywhere, which is why I hope Skype releases software for the mobile OS X because I would easily ditch my cell for a Skype Pro plan to use on my iPod.

redelephantlabel

@mferrari: dongle makes me laugh too

DONGLE

discounteggroll

I cant believe people expect such a thin computer then complain about it not having a ethernet port... ports and such are some of the major reasons why the MBP isnt thinner then it is... Frickin shits really starting to piss me off... Forget about this thing... There is no market for it yet... And seriously my MBP is as light as a laptop should be, its not like your wearing it on ur fucking ear... Who gives a shit how much it weights? Why sacrifice a disk drive when some of apples core audience (photographers and graphic artists) use disk drives to burn DVD's and CDs to give projects to clients, and clients give them disk upon disk to view as well... Its just so idiotic to think that they would make this thing...

We will all see tomorrow... I need a cigarette...

JustinD

...nah. not feeling it.

i'd much rather have, say, a black aluminum (or titanium) macbook or MBP....the black aluminum laptop, for me, is more fashionable than the impossibly-thin laptop, and something tells me that hinge would be pretty fuckin' flimsy.

but this picture is vaporware. or i hope apple would never come out with this.

rimplestultskin

If you stock the laptop with only wireless prepare to lose a very large chunk of public university students. To this day I've never been to a public university that provides wireless in the dorms. MSU, UM, UAA, UAF and several others don't provide it.

nthpro

@teqsun.com: ...it's a rendering...

They say it in the article. So your call is correct.

chasema

You forget that there is great potential for the next lines of portables to adopt solid state memory, which would all but eliminate the need for a cooling fan. This is a nice mockup. I RARELY see a mockup that I'm attracted to and I'm attracted to this one.

redelephantlabel

Ah, just read that about the mockups and whatnot...

ALEXPIPERDOTCOM

@politik: That is hilarious, huh? You'd think the mock would have Leopard. Even funnier would be Vista.

@everyone: Any of you with 17" MacBook Pros...ever notice the hinge joint isn't very tight? I think it isn't as tight as a previous G4 Powerbook. Any tips on adjusting it?

johnnyabnormal

I doubt it would have problem in real world use. The Iphone has not had an issue so far.

taoprophet420

I think the big red flag that has only been brought up once is that this rendering shows the thing running TIGER! Let's just wait till tomorrow to see what has really been going on out there.

ALEXPIPERDOTCOM

This better be wireless B/G/N

satan gave me a taco

hmmm..i made a comment about it being similar to the dell m1330, looks like someone deleted it...strange.

I can believe mac users not using a ethernet cable, who uses a mac for 'real' work anyways?

sameoldoctor

Wireless-only = fail. Most colleges don't have Wi-Fi in the dorm rooms, so it would be useless for a lot of students.

Blah8

pfft. i bet the specs are out of dis world

Husher

Don't most dorms require you to use an ethernet connection to connect to the schools network?

Echo_

That is sexy if it's real.

SchruteBuck

"too many people buy a LAPTOP and use it as a DESKTOP, plugged in all the time. Why in hell are you spending the extra money for a laptop if you're going to have it plugged in most of the time?"

There are some of us who use laptops on the road AND at work, when we sometimes work on, for example large photoshop files (which top 650 mb many times). I would really not trust a wireless connection for that kind of load.

sameoldoctor

AA's FTW

GforGRENADE

Am I the only one holding out for an iBook re-hash?

God I hope so.

GforGRENADE

@know1: I mean seriously, where the hell is the battery?

You'll stuff the tubeish impossible-to-fold-hinge with 5 AA batteries, duh.

cappucino

@quendiljt: "Anyway, who thinks apple stock is going up tomorrow after the keynote? That would be a fun poll, of worshipful writers of the giz--predictions for apple stock behavior before and after major events."

[keynoteindexfund.com]

someToast

lions and TIGERs and bears - oh my...

uberfu

So many people complain about the lack of an Ethernet port... Although I could see some use to it (someone mentioned network testing/diagnostics, etc.), too many people buy a LAPTOP and use it as a DESKTOP, plugged in all the time. Why in hell are you spending the extra money for a laptop if you're going to have it plugged in most of the time?? Sort of defeats the purpose...

richard8a

Also the price will be $895

dasstrooper

damn fanboys!! grrrr! boooo!
I figure if I say something like that intermittently it'll absolve me of the guilt of fanboyism. Anyway, who thinks apple stock is going up tomorrow after the keynote? That would be a fun poll, of worshipful writers of the giz--predictions for apple stock behaviorbefore and after major events.

quendiljt

@teqsun.com: LOL cooling it's a mac it's soo cool already like my apple cube that never burns my hand on the top when I want to change discs.

Ultraorange

I feel like this is a really dumb question, but my mom said the only dumb questions are the ones you don't ask, so... why couldnt you charge the battery through a usb cable?

redkamel

www.newton.com
The new Apple Newton- full featured phone, UMPC, and digital studio with broadcast video receiver capabilities from iTunes direct.

Specs:
3.5" x 6.4" x 0.5"
Mac iPod-Leopard OS with multi-touch user interface
New Newton (they scrapped InkWell) handwriting recognition software
NAND flash- 60GB

dasstrooper

I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS YEARS MACWORLD I COULD TINKLE MYSELF WITH JOY!!! but....oh yeah the macbook in the pic doesn't look bad and it looks appleish but not verry feasible and i for one would not buy it.

SirNirian

its time now! everyone, get some pills and when you wake up youll see the new (macthing).
see ya tomorrow

lolec

As I pointed out in "The Wireless MacBook", one could offload the ports (including ethernet) to an external drive/dock.

You don't always need them on the notebook itself.

See: [www.iSights.org]

ghmlco

Wow that looks familiar...

[macnewbtube.wordpress.com]

MacNewbTube

The only thing that bothers me about it is the apparent lack of an optical media drive. I doubt Apple would expect users to cart around a separate optical media drive.

No wired Ethernet connection? Just buy a USB-Ethernet dongle. Problem solved.

UnnDunn

@AznSmith:

ummm no.... not so much. I travel constantly for work and hotels either charge for internet or they don't. They only variance I've seen is that they'll offer free wifi in the lobby but may charge in the rooms.

d_saum

affirming what Echo_ and Blah8 said. My school gave us ethernet cables when we moved in and I actually prefer it to wireless, considering it's about 65437854x faster.. I miss that connection when I'm home.

jhuang

Its very possible to create something that small. Look at the Sony TZ. Its screen is by far at least 1/3 the size of that one. Which means you could take extra hardware from the base part to put behind the screen. If you were to do that, you would get the TZ down to that size using the slim battery.

zakeen

@savager: And there's this old ass tech called ethernet that is many times faster than wireless. And get this, most of us already have it.

As to it being heavy in the back, I wouldn't worry. I have a HP laptop that is shaped the same way and it sits perfectly fine on my lap.

BoinK

First of all, for all you "too-fast-posters" the article clearly states that this is a photoshoped mock-up.

Second:I think this is a good idea.... and that it make me feel good that I already bought my black MacBook because I wouldn't live without my crapy Matshita drive. Ethernet has been useful from time to time, I wouldn't want to loose that. My laptop is already super thin, attractive and silent (you can barely hear it with the volume on maximum!) I think The current MacBooks are the best Apple laptops yet, screaming for a better disk drive, a decent cooling solution, some basic speakers and a USB port on the DVD-Drive's side. Parallel, VGA, DVI, SCSI, docking be damned but the disk drive, USB, FireWire, Gigabit Ethernet and Apple's great innovation the built-in iSight and microphone are bear necessities.

Third: if this mock up is accurate, the screen under 13" and the price sub-800$, I think it could work with a "sold-separately" 150$ superdrive, 4-USB, 2 FireWire400, 1 FireWire800, 2 gigabit dock with added cooling (fans).

Popogagnon

If you need to use/burn a DVD, as I do maybe once a month these days, just plug in an external drive. Problem solved.

If you're in a place where there's no wireless internet and you have to use an ethernet cable, good lord! You might have to pony up the $10 or so for a usb->cat 5 dongle. Wireless is everywhere these days, however. This isn't an issue for most people. If you absolutely refuse to buy a usb adapter on principle, buy a regular Macbook or Macbook Pro.

For me, this would be a godsend. When I toss my macbook in my bag, along with my cellphone and a book and other reference material for work every day it gets heavy. When I'm at a coffee shop on break and just want to get some writing/work done, who needs an optical drive? Who needs an ethernet port? What I DO need is a smaller, lighter laptop - and this fits the bill.

Blinded220

After buying that, my wallet would be as light as air.

ninjatales

@Blah8: there's this new invention called a wireless router that you can get for like 40 bucks.. and get this.. it's wireless

savager

I didn't read all of these comments, and I doubt any of you will get here to read mine, but the picture shows a notebook running tiger, not leopard. BS.

abates25

Welcome to 2004 and the Sony Vaio X505.

tifosiv122

@teqsun.com: eva heard of Passive cooling?, Superdrive?! its 2008 to hell with disc storage, Magsafe?! this thing will recharge wirelessly maybe by being placed on a charging surface. also, did i mention the built in 14.4Mbps hsdpa (my carrier will be uppgrading the net to that next year, so im expecting this to be atleast this fast)

citizen024

Fake.

Look at the bottom shell close to the hinge. Apple would have made its back a radius that merge into that of the hinge.

This thing can't close. The keyboards are above that aluminum frame's profile. Which means the screen had to be recessed. Besides, Apple would have done it in reverse, with a flushed screen and keyboard just micro millimeters below that aluminum bezel.

liin

this looks too like the Dell XPS M series notebooks. Although I do expect a ultraportable today from the Steve, I don't think it'll look like the screen pic of this one. I know from speaking to people in Europe that the iMac black-bezel isn't going down too well with would-be customers who think it's too much of a throw back to the 80s.

i'd be more atuned to the belief that it'll have a thin display but not much lost in the bottom cavity. besides which MacBooks get ridiculously hot when running so how do they cool them??

more likely to see revamped MacBook and MacBook Pro lines to be honest, and if there is a small portable Mac, I'd put my dollars on a tablet format.

diarmy

diarmy

@liin: Is it still worth saying "Fake! Fake!" if the thing is supposed to be a speculative mockup? RTFM.

strangepork

@Padriac: I replaced an internal wi-fi NIC for a college kid who didn't even know you COULD plug in an ethernet cable. He just thought the "internets waz in in the air".

BadBoyNDSU

I'm a college student. all of our dorms have wi-fi, and besides that fact should you have the kind of money it takes to buy this thing? You don't, and if you do it's your parent's money. no complaining, bitch.

MastaFalse

It could be that there is no laptoptop but rather a device to acesse cloud computers ?

geel

do.
not.
want.

munan

most likely the "something is in the air" leads me to believe that it is touch screen, BUT you don't actually need to "touch" the screen, i.e, proximity sensor for your fingers.

elmerfud

errrr, no. adium is running in the menubar. I suspect that apple might prefer to have ichat running instead.

dasmart

i love how people freak out over the stupidest things. first of all... this is a mockup. read an article if you're going to post a comment about it. chances are, this is nowhere near what the final product (if any) will look like. now, consider for a moment that Apple is planning to release a mobile that's aimed at people that are actually wanting an ultra-portable. something in the vein of this design would probably be pretty popular with that crowd. if you're a power user that requires CD/DVD access and a more powerful system.. this one won't be for you. same as the difference between a Mac Pro user and an iMac user. for you there's the MacBook Pro. remember. for an ultra-portable, don't you think shedding some weight by losing some less-needed connectors is a good move. like a lot of posters here have mentioned, how often do you really use all of those connections? and seriously... the ethernet port? c'mon. let's advance a little past the first couple years of this millennium. here's a poll: how many of you that are complaining about the (possible) loss of ethernet did the same when Apple pulled floppy drives from their lineup?

facsimil3

It could always have wireless USB, hasn't anyone here ever heard of it before? Apple might release a wireless firewire as well, and while they are at it, there could always be wireless power...

Anarian

USB ethernet adapters for people who really need it..

jnanars

Well, people who really need ethernet can always use an USB ethernet adapter, available for less than 15 bucks..

jnanars

@Echo_: I don't know about most schools, but I know that mine does. They also "forbid" the use of wireless routers... mainly because the students don't have the know-how to configure them securely and properly so that they don't start handing out private IPs.

And, as a side note, it looks as if that laptop is running some ridiculous 37657836836x28978287 resolution. Think maybe they could have done a better job with the chop?

KStrike155

Its going to be a large tablet device much like the iphone with full blown os X, no spinning HD, no optical drive, same typing like you would with an iphone... HOWEVER its going to come with a keypad that you can dock the tablet into and its the keypad that will have the optical drive or not.

cowtrails

What's with everybody and ethernet ports. You're all forgetting that this fits between an iPhone and Macbook, not a gaming rig. Last time I checked my iPhone didn't have an ethernet port and I surf the web with it just fine.

ACoBildo

Check this out. A couple of hours ago if you went to www.macbookair.com it went to this page:

[www.apple.com]

Now it doesn't redirect but the page still exists.

Nice to see Apple having a little fun on all this speculation.

yahol

Wow, I'm going to pay more attention to Wired's Apple insider from now on. And you laughed at him. Shame on you, Giz!

GumbyJump

I smirked that they called the guy their "Apple insider" since AppleInsider is a well-known rumor site.

matt buchanan

For the record:

They were right.

strangepork

Remember that apple has a collapsible port patent filed: [www.notebookreview.com]
This would probably fit the bill nicely.

Gigatexel

@KNOW1: A dynamo keyboard? Abso-fucking-lute genius.

How do you patent stuff? Anyone?

barrybell

[img225.imageshack.us]
Not being vein but I still think mine is better. Other will think differently though.

jtc42

@Padriac: true...i would say that i use wifi 98% of the time any other time im pulling internet off my mogul. i NEVER use ethernet, its just kind of there

eric.highley