technicolor
Oct 12, 12:38 PM
And all my classes are cancelled tomorrow, so I can stay home and watch Oprah. :D
Westyfield2
Apr 30, 03:00 PM
Hey.... Where is my updated Mac Mini?
Patience child. iMac has to come first, but then the Mini :cool:.
Patience child. iMac has to come first, but then the Mini :cool:.
zin
Mar 30, 12:25 PM
Yep i have few of those...One is 24"
Not sure if that was meant to be a joke, but I found it really funny. :D
Not sure if that was meant to be a joke, but I found it really funny. :D
deputy_doofy
Aug 28, 03:28 PM
Come on Apple... open the doors. Let's not be too far behind, here...
I hope Apple is at least somewhat prepared for the demand... :)
I hope Apple is at least somewhat prepared for the demand... :)
triceretops
Mar 29, 03:34 PM
Since windows phones will be the dreaded free phone, I can see how this will happen.
I never wanted to be a member of the unwashed masses anyway.
:rolleyes:
I never wanted to be a member of the unwashed masses anyway.
:rolleyes:
Ravich
May 4, 03:32 AM
What has Apple done since the iPhone:
1. kill Xserve
2. Drop their dedicated three ACD CCFL LCD lineup that was top notch and replaced with one stripped down iMac LED LCD
3. Ditch "Resolution Independence" (it's been over 4 years, c'mon Apple!)
4. Increased focus on iDevices and iOS (yeah, it's banked them $55+ billion, great, invest a small portion back into the Prosumer market Apple pulled away from with a full display line and a re-vamp of Pro-sumer desktops and apps, they revamped a mobile device market they can do the same with the Prosumer market and make money)
5. Begin merging iOS with OS X Lion
5. Funnel less money into Pro-Apps (Final Cut X is meh)
6. Ditch ZFS+ development from Sun Microsystems to replace HFS+ before it was too late
7. Wreck .Mac w/ MobileMe to market Windows iDevices owners w/ little Windows OS integration (iDisk, iLife, and FUNCTIONAL Office syncing are lacking making MobileMe a rip-off for Windows users)
8. Replace reasonably priced PowerMac G4/5's w/ over priced/over powered Xeon Server based Mac Pro's and no serious revamp in over 8 years. PowerMac's cost anywhere from $1400+, were great for professional photographers/designers/professionals/small businesses, esp. paired w/ the late ACD CCFL line which worked perfectly with OS X.
9. Drop focus on OS X development - iOS Lion is schizophrenic w/ iOS features in OS X: Launchpad, 2D Spaces, Mission Control, lack of TRIM for 3rd party Sandforce SSD's, painful ergonomic implementation of multi-touch w/ the "Magic Trackpad," etc.
10. OpenGL is seriously lagging
11. iLife '11 in 32-bit?!
12. "Pro-sumer" App's such as Aperture "improvements" w/ "Share to Facebook." Keep that consumer shizz in iPhoto and focus on better professional tools Apple.
13. Produce more than one LED LCD and w/ longer than 2' Mini-DisplayPort/USB chords (had to buy Griffen cables to extend both of my 24" LED LCD's to my 2010 Mac Pro at ~$30 each)
15. iWork '11?
16. iOS err, OS X App Store?
17. USB 3.0?
18. Blu-Ray (need I say more)
19. Lack of "daisy chaining" display with Mini-DisplayPort. "ThunderBolt" ports can daisy chain but:
I think I covered enough :)
u mad bro?
Seriously though. Most of that is just you being angry at apple. It has nothing to do with the Mac Pro. At all. Not including a blu-ray drive is a FAR bigger nuisance to consumers than it is to professional users, yet you list it because, what? You're angry?
Apple has no reason to discontinue the Mac Pro.
1. kill Xserve
2. Drop their dedicated three ACD CCFL LCD lineup that was top notch and replaced with one stripped down iMac LED LCD
3. Ditch "Resolution Independence" (it's been over 4 years, c'mon Apple!)
4. Increased focus on iDevices and iOS (yeah, it's banked them $55+ billion, great, invest a small portion back into the Prosumer market Apple pulled away from with a full display line and a re-vamp of Pro-sumer desktops and apps, they revamped a mobile device market they can do the same with the Prosumer market and make money)
5. Begin merging iOS with OS X Lion
5. Funnel less money into Pro-Apps (Final Cut X is meh)
6. Ditch ZFS+ development from Sun Microsystems to replace HFS+ before it was too late
7. Wreck .Mac w/ MobileMe to market Windows iDevices owners w/ little Windows OS integration (iDisk, iLife, and FUNCTIONAL Office syncing are lacking making MobileMe a rip-off for Windows users)
8. Replace reasonably priced PowerMac G4/5's w/ over priced/over powered Xeon Server based Mac Pro's and no serious revamp in over 8 years. PowerMac's cost anywhere from $1400+, were great for professional photographers/designers/professionals/small businesses, esp. paired w/ the late ACD CCFL line which worked perfectly with OS X.
9. Drop focus on OS X development - iOS Lion is schizophrenic w/ iOS features in OS X: Launchpad, 2D Spaces, Mission Control, lack of TRIM for 3rd party Sandforce SSD's, painful ergonomic implementation of multi-touch w/ the "Magic Trackpad," etc.
10. OpenGL is seriously lagging
11. iLife '11 in 32-bit?!
12. "Pro-sumer" App's such as Aperture "improvements" w/ "Share to Facebook." Keep that consumer shizz in iPhoto and focus on better professional tools Apple.
13. Produce more than one LED LCD and w/ longer than 2' Mini-DisplayPort/USB chords (had to buy Griffen cables to extend both of my 24" LED LCD's to my 2010 Mac Pro at ~$30 each)
15. iWork '11?
16. iOS err, OS X App Store?
17. USB 3.0?
18. Blu-Ray (need I say more)
19. Lack of "daisy chaining" display with Mini-DisplayPort. "ThunderBolt" ports can daisy chain but:
I think I covered enough :)
u mad bro?
Seriously though. Most of that is just you being angry at apple. It has nothing to do with the Mac Pro. At all. Not including a blu-ray drive is a FAR bigger nuisance to consumers than it is to professional users, yet you list it because, what? You're angry?
Apple has no reason to discontinue the Mac Pro.
pezmannen
Apr 11, 09:38 AM
Finally!
Now I will be able to send Spotify from my ipad to my stereo connected mac-mini!
Now I will be able to send Spotify from my ipad to my stereo connected mac-mini!
dime21
Mar 23, 06:10 PM
136 negatives to this story ... nice. :rolleyes:
Any perceived hit towards censorship obviously trumps the value of human life. :rolleyes:
I wonder how many who posted here in favor of removing these apps, are also supporters of wikileaks? i'm sure it's a significant number. how ironic.
How about you duervo, you a wikileaks fan? hmm?
Any perceived hit towards censorship obviously trumps the value of human life. :rolleyes:
I wonder how many who posted here in favor of removing these apps, are also supporters of wikileaks? i'm sure it's a significant number. how ironic.
How about you duervo, you a wikileaks fan? hmm?
gnasher729
Mar 30, 01:08 PM
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_0 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8A293 Safari/6531.22.7)
'app store' means simply 'store at which apps are offered for sale,'
Go back five years. I tell you "Someone told me that I should use iMovie to edit the movies that I made with my video camera. Where can I buy it"? You say: "You should go to an app store". I say "What on earth is an app store?"
No, that wouldn't have happened. You would have said "You should go to a computer store". "You might try a games store, they might have it". You would never have said "You should go to an app store".
'app store' means simply 'store at which apps are offered for sale,'
Go back five years. I tell you "Someone told me that I should use iMovie to edit the movies that I made with my video camera. Where can I buy it"? You say: "You should go to an app store". I say "What on earth is an app store?"
No, that wouldn't have happened. You would have said "You should go to a computer store". "You might try a games store, they might have it". You would never have said "You should go to an app store".
Platform
Sep 26, 08:58 AM
That artists rendition posted on the front page is pointless. It's not as though that is the actual design. It looks too Nano-ish, and even the Nano look has changed.
Anyway, I'm not excited about an iPhone. It would need to give me at least one neat feature for this to be worth drooling over.
queen elizabeth ii wedding
royal-wedding-kiss-2.jpg
Queen Elizabeth II chose an
queen elizabeth ii wedding
Queen Elizabeth II.
queen elizabeth ii wedding
Daily — Queen Elizabeth II
queen elizabeth 2 wedding cake
queen elizabeth ii wedding.
Anyway, I'm not excited about an iPhone. It would need to give me at least one neat feature for this to be worth drooling over.
bedifferent
Apr 22, 04:17 PM
I'm sure this has been addressed but I'm tired/wiped to read the whole thread. What about the quality of the music? If one song is stored that all users stream from, is it lossless?
Someone mentioned only having 5 authorized systems for your media. I recall a few years back that Jobs, et al stated/supported burning your iTunes media to a CD-RW then re-importing it back into iTunes, stripping any copy protection. There were scripts that ran automatically, re-writing to the same disc until the selected songs were done.
Personally, I like my media on my system and iDevice(s). I don't need all of my music on my iPhone, and I have an iPod classic 60GB in my Infiniti with all my music connected via USB. I'm more interested in MobileMe revamping.
Someone mentioned only having 5 authorized systems for your media. I recall a few years back that Jobs, et al stated/supported burning your iTunes media to a CD-RW then re-importing it back into iTunes, stripping any copy protection. There were scripts that ran automatically, re-writing to the same disc until the selected songs were done.
Personally, I like my media on my system and iDevice(s). I don't need all of my music on my iPhone, and I have an iPod classic 60GB in my Infiniti with all my music connected via USB. I'm more interested in MobileMe revamping.
Misplaced Mage
Sep 18, 05:58 PM
There's no way to compare the two. Both IS-95 and GSM implement a variety of different codecs that are provided differently by different operators. In the area I live, Cingular (GSM) tries to force many phones to use something called AMR-HR, which has "acceptable" voice quality when you have good reception, and drops to barely incomprehensable with any deterioration in signal strength. T-Mobile (GSM) clearly doesn't, and I can talk and listen to someone with both of us sounding like we're on a landline with one bar of signal. On the same phone.
Likewise, Verizon (IS-95) uses some awful bitrate codec for its network where I live (I believe they're heavily oversubscribed here) where pretty much everyone sounds like they're dying from some serious lung problem, and Sprint PCS (IS-95 too) doesn't and generally the call quality, at medium to good reception, seems pretty much ok. Sub-landline, but not seriously so.
Verizon and Sprint have used EVRC (Enhanced Variable Rate Codec) for several years now. EVRC, in turn, replaced QCELP (a.k.a. Qualcomm PureVoice). Down the road we should see EVRC replaced by SMV (Selectable Mode Vocoder), 4GV (Qualcomm's Fourth Generation Vocoder), or VMR-WB.
With the variety of voice codecs the operators use, you can't really make a fair judgement merely on the basis of network technology. Either the operator's cheap, or it isn't. IS-95 was chosen by many networks on the basis that it's spectrum efficient (ie it's cheap), but on the other hand Sprint PCS was always content with call drops when I used it to handle network overloading rather than seriously compromising on call quality. Cingular's move to GSM has caused problems in that it's using a significantly less spectrum efficient technology than the technology it replaced, so Cingular's had to, in many places, hopefully temporarily, use the crappy half-rate codecs to boost capacity until it can get more towers online.
I wouldn't use voice quality as a way to judge the technologies.
Well said! People must understand that the codecs for digital phones in use today were originally designed to squeeze voice through a very narrow upstream pipe—typically 9.6kbps and under—resulting in different approaches to the problem of quality vs. bandwidth given the processing power available in phone chipsets at the time. Now that upstream data bandwidth and portable processing power are becoming less of a problem, we should start hearing improvements as newer codecs are adopted by the carriers in the phones they sell their customers. And I'm sure they'll trumpet the fact when they do. :D
Likewise, Verizon (IS-95) uses some awful bitrate codec for its network where I live (I believe they're heavily oversubscribed here) where pretty much everyone sounds like they're dying from some serious lung problem, and Sprint PCS (IS-95 too) doesn't and generally the call quality, at medium to good reception, seems pretty much ok. Sub-landline, but not seriously so.
Verizon and Sprint have used EVRC (Enhanced Variable Rate Codec) for several years now. EVRC, in turn, replaced QCELP (a.k.a. Qualcomm PureVoice). Down the road we should see EVRC replaced by SMV (Selectable Mode Vocoder), 4GV (Qualcomm's Fourth Generation Vocoder), or VMR-WB.
With the variety of voice codecs the operators use, you can't really make a fair judgement merely on the basis of network technology. Either the operator's cheap, or it isn't. IS-95 was chosen by many networks on the basis that it's spectrum efficient (ie it's cheap), but on the other hand Sprint PCS was always content with call drops when I used it to handle network overloading rather than seriously compromising on call quality. Cingular's move to GSM has caused problems in that it's using a significantly less spectrum efficient technology than the technology it replaced, so Cingular's had to, in many places, hopefully temporarily, use the crappy half-rate codecs to boost capacity until it can get more towers online.
I wouldn't use voice quality as a way to judge the technologies.
Well said! People must understand that the codecs for digital phones in use today were originally designed to squeeze voice through a very narrow upstream pipe—typically 9.6kbps and under—resulting in different approaches to the problem of quality vs. bandwidth given the processing power available in phone chipsets at the time. Now that upstream data bandwidth and portable processing power are becoming less of a problem, we should start hearing improvements as newer codecs are adopted by the carriers in the phones they sell their customers. And I'm sure they'll trumpet the fact when they do. :D
mi5moav
Sep 1, 07:10 AM
yup, this would be vertical acquisition, well probably more diagonal
Consumer Photography/Video- Apple knows something about this
Consumer Printing - Apple knows something about this
Apple has shipped over a million cameras in the last quarter alone so they do know something about the business.
Business- Canon is a big name in business Apple needs to get in
Medical - Canon is a big name in Medicine Apple needs to get in
Apple needs to grow, they must make shareholders Happy... this world revolves around shareholders, that's it, well actually making WallStreet Happy.
Then tell me what you would do with $10billion in Cash?
It's either that or give it all to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Consumer Photography/Video- Apple knows something about this
Consumer Printing - Apple knows something about this
Apple has shipped over a million cameras in the last quarter alone so they do know something about the business.
Business- Canon is a big name in business Apple needs to get in
Medical - Canon is a big name in Medicine Apple needs to get in
Apple needs to grow, they must make shareholders Happy... this world revolves around shareholders, that's it, well actually making WallStreet Happy.
Then tell me what you would do with $10billion in Cash?
It's either that or give it all to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
aohus
Apr 19, 12:28 PM
Apple should just buy out Samsung!
Simplistic, I know.
/facepalm
Samsung is a 'chaebol' corporation, a conglomerate. The company is HUGE. It would be the equivalent of Apple/Microsoft/Blackberry combined + TSMC/Global Foundries + Shipbuilding + Property Real Estate + Electronics, etc. Not only that but Apple gets their A4/A5 chips + flash memory manufactured at Samsung fab plants.
This is the GUI wars all over again... Last time Apple sued Microsoft for copying their GUI desktop to make Windows....
(and no Xerox didn't invent that they invented windowing not really a desktop Apple did that bit.)
Anyway Apple lost and Microsoft took over the world while Apple dwindled to a market share of less than 5%.
I don't think they want that to happen this time....
they didn't invent the GUI? This doesn't look like a desktop to you?
http://netdna.webdesignerdepot.com/uploads/2009/03/xerox-8010-star.gif
http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/taouu/html/graphics/xerox_star.jpg
Sure does to me.
Simplistic, I know.
/facepalm
Samsung is a 'chaebol' corporation, a conglomerate. The company is HUGE. It would be the equivalent of Apple/Microsoft/Blackberry combined + TSMC/Global Foundries + Shipbuilding + Property Real Estate + Electronics, etc. Not only that but Apple gets their A4/A5 chips + flash memory manufactured at Samsung fab plants.
This is the GUI wars all over again... Last time Apple sued Microsoft for copying their GUI desktop to make Windows....
(and no Xerox didn't invent that they invented windowing not really a desktop Apple did that bit.)
Anyway Apple lost and Microsoft took over the world while Apple dwindled to a market share of less than 5%.
I don't think they want that to happen this time....
they didn't invent the GUI? This doesn't look like a desktop to you?
http://netdna.webdesignerdepot.com/uploads/2009/03/xerox-8010-star.gif
http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/taouu/html/graphics/xerox_star.jpg
Sure does to me.
zim
Sep 16, 08:57 AM
* Firmware of iPod nano just means nano's iTunes and iTunes for ROKR are likely built from the same codebase. Remember neither are based on the Portalplayer software, and Apple isn't going to reinvent the wheel. "iTunes Phone Driver" refers to the ROKR driver, and Apple's website specifically says that's what it's for. Uploading of pictures and other features in the latest iTunes Phone Driver may simply point to updates in iTunes for Phones, or even making the code more generic. All of these pieces of evidence have logical explanations that, on occasion, contradict the notion they're part of some roll-out of an iPhone. The only evidence we have for an iPhone is actually that people like Arn are convinced that their sources are reliable. Ok, I believe you Arn. But you'll forgive me for not believing the story makes any sense.
I agree with you and what you said about the Firmware in my opinioin is just that, refering to the ROKR... in fact when I updated an old machine it actaully said that as the description in the software update.
And if Apple does make a phone then great! Our market here in the US sucks for phones and phone services. I had a friend visit from China and she had this amazing motorola... all touch screen, did her email, web, everything on it.. when she charged something she got an auto email saying you just charged something, it was amazing.
I think if anything needs to change here in the US to make phones any better it is our service plans, not adding in cameras and iTunes abilities... those are just gimmicks to make you think you have a better service. I think apple could make a better phone but it would be limited to what our US service plans can offer.
I agree with you and what you said about the Firmware in my opinioin is just that, refering to the ROKR... in fact when I updated an old machine it actaully said that as the description in the software update.
And if Apple does make a phone then great! Our market here in the US sucks for phones and phone services. I had a friend visit from China and she had this amazing motorola... all touch screen, did her email, web, everything on it.. when she charged something she got an auto email saying you just charged something, it was amazing.
I think if anything needs to change here in the US to make phones any better it is our service plans, not adding in cameras and iTunes abilities... those are just gimmicks to make you think you have a better service. I think apple could make a better phone but it would be limited to what our US service plans can offer.
Subiklim
Aug 23, 04:49 PM
Ha! Probably crossed their minds.
I highly doubt it. Remember, when Apple gets big, they'll have the group of haters that follow Microsoft claiming monopoly.
I highly doubt it. Remember, when Apple gets big, they'll have the group of haters that follow Microsoft claiming monopoly.
Dooger
Apr 30, 03:10 AM
There are two groups of Apple consumers:
Group 1: The people who jumped on the Apple bandwagon in or after Y2K
Group 2: The people who have been loyal Apple consumers prior to Y2K. I belong to this group.
Prior to jumping on the bandwagon, many of the folks in Group 1 and the rest of the world made fun of the folks in Group 2. Group 2 people were often considered crazy cultists with a "sad fetish" for Apple (it took a certain type of individual to recognize the insane greatness of Apple products). Group 2 people were also considered stupid/misguided for sticking with Apple. Many of the people in Group 1 and the rest of the world most likely agreed with Michael Dell when he said Apple should close down.
Fast forward to today. Apple now generates more revenues AND profits than Microsoft. This is an important milestone for the Group 2 folks for the simple reason that Apple has finally won the technology war. It may have lost the PC battle but Apple is now indisputably the technology innovation champion. And it became the champion WITHOUT any benefit of a monopolistic position that Microsoft had over the PC operating system for decades.
When I hear comments from people dismissing the significance of Apple surpassing MSFT in profits, I know that these people belong to either Group 1 or are MSFT fanboys. They will never understand the blood, sweat, and tears that Apple and its cult members had to go through to reach this point.
Congratulations, Apple, for reaching the pinnacle. Thanks for doing what you do best: making insanely great consumer technology.
May 2010 join date complaining about bandwagon jumping. Go figure.
Group 1: The people who jumped on the Apple bandwagon in or after Y2K
Group 2: The people who have been loyal Apple consumers prior to Y2K. I belong to this group.
Prior to jumping on the bandwagon, many of the folks in Group 1 and the rest of the world made fun of the folks in Group 2. Group 2 people were often considered crazy cultists with a "sad fetish" for Apple (it took a certain type of individual to recognize the insane greatness of Apple products). Group 2 people were also considered stupid/misguided for sticking with Apple. Many of the people in Group 1 and the rest of the world most likely agreed with Michael Dell when he said Apple should close down.
Fast forward to today. Apple now generates more revenues AND profits than Microsoft. This is an important milestone for the Group 2 folks for the simple reason that Apple has finally won the technology war. It may have lost the PC battle but Apple is now indisputably the technology innovation champion. And it became the champion WITHOUT any benefit of a monopolistic position that Microsoft had over the PC operating system for decades.
When I hear comments from people dismissing the significance of Apple surpassing MSFT in profits, I know that these people belong to either Group 1 or are MSFT fanboys. They will never understand the blood, sweat, and tears that Apple and its cult members had to go through to reach this point.
Congratulations, Apple, for reaching the pinnacle. Thanks for doing what you do best: making insanely great consumer technology.
May 2010 join date complaining about bandwagon jumping. Go figure.
generik
Sep 10, 05:27 AM
1. Apple will upgrade the Mac Pros to Octos as soon as possible
2. iMacs will take the Kentsfields
3. Mac Pro buyers will feel the pinch
It happens every time, you Appleheads should have gotten used to it be now :P
2. iMacs will take the Kentsfields
3. Mac Pro buyers will feel the pinch
It happens every time, you Appleheads should have gotten used to it be now :P
LagunaSol
Apr 19, 10:47 PM
The Beatles did this to Apple, oh wait, they had Apple Records and the Apple logo for over 5 years before Apple Computer existed. But I'm sure that is overlooked.
As I mentioned in the other thread, you might actually want to take a look at the Apple Records logo before you make silly arguments that the Apple Computer logo is a copy.
And as cmaier clearly explained to you, this is a different scenario entirely as they were in two completely different industries at that time.
Oh, and what do the Beatles have to do with partnering technology companies turning around and stabbing their partner in the back? Nothing.
As I mentioned in the other thread, you might actually want to take a look at the Apple Records logo before you make silly arguments that the Apple Computer logo is a copy.
And as cmaier clearly explained to you, this is a different scenario entirely as they were in two completely different industries at that time.
Oh, and what do the Beatles have to do with partnering technology companies turning around and stabbing their partner in the back? Nothing.
zombierunner
Mar 23, 03:05 AM
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3 like Mac OS X; en-gb) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8F190 Safari/6533.18.5)
What so you guys think about having the new iMacs in an all black colour option ... Kinda sexy if you ask me .. Matte black ofcourse!
What so you guys think about having the new iMacs in an all black colour option ... Kinda sexy if you ask me .. Matte black ofcourse!
Eidorian
Jul 14, 12:41 PM
Yup, I know Apple's marketing loves to be ridiculous. :p 95% of customers* wouldn't notice the difference. I'm one of the 5% who will notice it but its not like I'm buying one, my iMac G5 will keep me happy for another 2+ years.
*75% of statistics are made up on the spot ;)Yeah, considering we get so many posts about "Will this RAM work?". It seems like the populous is clueless about DDR/DDR2 and FSB.
*75% of statistics are made up on the spot ;)Yeah, considering we get so many posts about "Will this RAM work?". It seems like the populous is clueless about DDR/DDR2 and FSB.
LarryC
Apr 22, 03:06 PM
Sounds great!
Maybe we'll see a new Mini with Thunderbolt and an SSD option during the same time frame!
One can hope...
I thought that the biggest benefit of the mini was its low price. Stick an SSD in there and that will be gone.
Maybe we'll see a new Mini with Thunderbolt and an SSD option during the same time frame!
One can hope...
I thought that the biggest benefit of the mini was its low price. Stick an SSD in there and that will be gone.
gloss
Sep 26, 09:46 AM
I'm surprised at all the Cingular hate here. At least in the D.C. area, the word is that they have the best coverage available - better than Verizon, who was the previous benchmark before the merger.
danielwsmithee
Apr 25, 02:44 PM
But I fear what Apple has in mind is basically an entire range of Macbook Air laptops. The Air is a fine computer, no doubt, but it's not the portable desktop I want and never can be without supporting two drives and discrete graphics in one way or another.That is exactly what I envision for the next Mac Book Pro. Take a MacBook Air make it just thick enough to handle an additional 2.5" Hard Drive, dedicated graphics, and a high performance processor. Ditch the optical drive, make SSD+HD the standard configuration.
