Once again, Intel builds a CPU just for Apple

[Peter Köhlmann]

nobody said "ever" was, but it IS the world's most thinnest laptop
today.... and likely to be for years to come since Apple is the only
company left that actually designs their entire machines.

the MacBook Air rocks!

nobody in the industry works at this level.

http://www.apple.com/macbookair/design.html

-

Idiot

Is using Macs doing that to you, or are you simply stupid enough to buy into
that apple crap?

 

[Gene Jones]

The statement directly above is a totally different claim than the original.
The asterisks surround the original assertions.
There are two:
1. The MacBook Air is the thinnest laptop in the world.
2. The MacBook Air is the most powerful laptop in the world.

Now, #1 is almost certainly true. # 2 is certainly NOT true.
Perhaps you meant to say that the MacBook Air it the most powerful
laptop in the world FOR ITS SIZE. Since it's the thinnest, that IS true
but that's not what was originally claimed.

read the sentence again in full context:

The MacBook Air is easily the thinnest, most powerful laptop in the
world, and will be for several years to come.

-

it seems you don't understand what "commas" are used for in the english
language.

-

 

[Gene Jones]

Actually they have. As confirmed by other posters to this thread.

then please give an example.

We now see that "Gene" (alias Oxtard, I suppose?) hasn't the slightest
idea what he's talking about:

<http://www.amazon.com/Saitek-Eclipse-II-Keyboard-PK02AU/dp/B000H6AY6M/ref=pd_
bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1201621121&sr=8-1>

yes, just as I said, no backlit "keys", just a backlit keyboard.

<http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-967929-0403-G11-Gaming-Keyboard/dp/B000GP
844S>

a clear violation of patent law, they will stop selling these within 2
weeks according to federal law.

<http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Reclusa-Gaming-Keyboard-Black/dp/B000MR1XWK/r
ef=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1201620767&sr=1-1>

yes, just as I said, no backlit "keys", just a backlit keyboard.

so you have two examples of a backlit "keyboard" and one example of an
illegal keyboard. great!

-

 

[Gene Jones]

Those are all backlit with light coming out from between the keys.
Lit clear or translucent buttons have been around for a long time
too. I haven't seen anything quite like Apple's implementation.

Apple's patent is 6,776,497 dated August 17, 2004. The uniqueness is
that Apple has specific light guides to bring light to each key and
where the amount of key travel is not restricted; the patent
specifically mentions that this is for a portable computer, while
previous lit keyboards require either reduced key travel or increased
thickness. Apparently part of their patent is for a device that
routes light from the screen's backlight, which normally has wasted
light.

correct. and i will see that the 2nd example is stopped from production
since they are not allowed to light the actual "key" unless they pay
apple a royalty for each board sold.

-

 

[Gene Jones]

I'm not sure if lighting the key in and of itself is an infringement
of Apple's patent. I've seen any number of keyboards with translucent
keys and a full backlight (including glowing between the keys). I
looked up the Apple patent, and it doesn't seem to give them an
exclusive right to keys being lit. What they do have is a patent for
light guides that transmit light to individual keys and don't restrict
key travel

The Logitech glowing keyboard does seem to use a large backlight under
the keyboard that gives an eerie glow between the keys. It's also an
external keyboard and not as thin as a keyboard on a notebook
computer.

http://www.patentmonkey.com/PM/patentid/7196693.aspx

What Apple seems to have is a way to use a single source and light
guides. They can also vary the thickness of the light guides so that
the overall effect is uniform or keep it uniform so that the overall
effect is brighter keys closer to the source(s).

nice research y_p_w, yeah it tends to show apple owns the "attention" to
quality illumination of the key, which is typical apple.

 

[MuahMan]

it's just too bad the keys don't light up, nor is it a shipping product.

but if you want to limp along with a "mac wantabee" that's fine

http://www.xoxide.com/blpsilke.html?gclid=CI3Ky8P-nJECFRcesgodwSKxPA


Hundreds of backlit keyboards.

 

[John Slade]

but again you are talking about the full cap being "lit" underneath not
the actual letter ON the "key",

No the letters on the keys are lit from the light under the keyboard.
It's the same thing on other laptops. Now think about it, do you actually
think each key has it's own LED under it? That would be just plain dumb, the
power consumption would be too much. Yea you think they would have over 100
LEDs. You are clueless.

only apple can do this for the next 14
years or so. they OWN the patent. MS can't do anything about it but
cheat their users into thinking they might be close to owning an Apple
level product.

Ok let me see that patent and prove that Apple is the only one that can
do it for 14 years.

you once again fell into MS's trap.

No I fell in to your trap because I slipped on all the bullshit coming
from you.

John

 

[John Slade]

LOL! I suppose some of the M$ engineers needed to have these to let them
know when sweaty Ballmer stalks up from behind. ))))

Hehehe. Yea so they can start running before he does the Balmer
Dance.

John

 

[John Slade]

it's just too bad the keys don't light up, nor is it a shipping product.

but if you want to limp along with a "mac wantabee" that's fine

No they're shipping and for sale.

John

 

[Tim Murray]

The lights were an unexpected "Feature" when it arrived. I couldn't
care less. They seem pointless.

If you ever work with a laptop in a dark bar, the lights are invaluable.

 

[ed]

If you ever work with a laptop in a dark bar, the lights are invaluable.

i don't work in dark bars, but i do work on my laptop in bed at night
(darker than most bars), and on redeye flights w/o the lights on (darker
than the average bar, brighter than the darkest clubs), and never seem to
need it... can you touch type?

 

[Sandman]

you can learn more about the most powerful laptop for its size in the
world here:

Not so. The ordinary MacBook is the same size, but is more powerful.[/QUOTE]

Did Dan just say that the Macbook and the Macbook Air is the same size?

Haha, you crack me up, Dan.

 

[Sandman]

Unless you want firewire.

Unless you want multiple USB ports.

Unless you want more memory capacity.

Unless you want more storage capacity.

Unless you want ExpressCard/34.

Unless you want multiple batteries to quick change on a long
flight or elsewhere.

Unless you want fourteen 1TB drives in a RAID.

Unless you want four graphics cards

Unless you want 32GB of RAM

 

[Synapse Syndrome]

Unless you want fourteen 1TB drives in a RAID.

Unless you want four graphics cards

Unless you want 32GB of RAM

Yeah, like those are normal laptop features. D'uh..

ss.

 

[Lefty Bigfoot]

On Wed, 30 Jan 2008 00:01:58 -0600, y_p_w wrote
(in article
<65bd62d1-5daa-40d9-bba5-
(e-mail address removed)>):

Apple's design uses only a few light sources using "optical guides" to
route the light to each key, and can include routing normally "wasted"
light from the backlight. I have yet to see an example outside of
Apple that doesn't glow between the key, is as thin as Apple's lit
keyboards, or comes on a notebook computer. All of the examples shown
in this thread have a glow between the keys.

I can not comment on "all the others", but I can comment on my
Macbook Pro and upon a Logitech G15. On the G15, you can see
(in a completely darkened room only) a little light coming from
other than the keycaps, from the bottom edge of the keyboard,
under the space bar, under the numeric keypad, and under the
lower-left group of programming G-keys. (Not the Function keys
btw, the G15 has a separate set of 18 keys with 3 modes to
overload them).

What is /really/ surprising abut this is that the claim about
the Apple implementation above is completely wrong. The Macbook
pro keyboard leaks light between the gaps of *ALL* the keys on
the keyboard. Adjusting the brightness up and down, even at the
lowest visible setting it is quite obvious that light is being
directed (probably intentionally) at both the key caps and the
spaces between the keys. This is noticeable in front of, above,
to either side, or from any angle other than beneath the Mac or
behind the display. In fact, I think if you need to look at the
keyboard when you type, then the Apple solution of bleeding
light through the keys like that is preferable.

I don't happen to care either way, but you are quite obviously
completely full of shit about what Apple does and doesn't do.
Your response is in fact exactly /opposite/ of the truth. IIRC,
an image link posted earlier in this thread made this effect
quite obvious as well.

US Patent 6,776,497.

That doesn't mean that no other can do exactly the same thing.

It means that if they do, they likely negotiate some sort of
royalty or cross-licensing agreement. Either other companies
have filed improvement patents on variations of this, or they
have negotiated a deal with Apple, or Apple doesn't care (I find
the latter the least likely).

 

[Lefty Bigfoot]

nice research y_p_w, yeah it tends to show apple owns the "attention" to
quality illumination of the key, which is typical apple.

Except it is not correct. I've just now looked at both the
Logitech G15 (I don't know what logitech model was being
described above, because he doesn't call it out) and the Macbook
Pro side by side in an otherwise pitch black room, and the
Macbook Pro keyboard /clearly/ bleeds much more light (probably
intentionally, I think the effect is more useful) around the
keys than the G15. In fact, even on the highest brightness
setting (there are 3 positions, on, low and high) the G15
lighting is almost entirely to the keycaps, with rather faint
light bleeding between the keys, almost unnoticeable. The
macbook pro on the other hand uses it much more obviously,
probably to make the size and layout of the keys more obvious
than just illuminating the cap labels alone.

 

[Lefty Bigfoot]

Yeah, like those are normal laptop features. D'uh..

He does seem rather confused about the plot.

 

[Peter Köhlmann]

-hh wrote:

< snip Mac users bullshit >

This has what to do exactly with linux? Or with windows?

You are aware that you twits (typical Mac users, no doubt) crosspost your
inane garbage into more groups than the one reserved for cretins (CSMA)?

 

[Peter Köhlmann]

Answer: "John Slade" is **not** a Mac user. Currently, I'm not either
(check this post's headers).



Exactly.

Peter is proving that he is a hypocrite by daring to complain when
someone does to him what he is currently doing to others.

As the slang goes: "He can dish it out, but he can't take it".

You mean, when I *answer* an idiot from CSMA (like OxRetard, that typical
Mac user) or Snot, the most dishonest poster ever on all of usenet, I
should not set follow-up to your group of total cretins?

I am *not* interested in the garbage you and your ilk spout. Not a tiny
little bit. And I also don't care for what you morons take as an "answer"

For that very reason I don't care for your idiotic CSMA. I don't read it,
and you can have it for yourself. And keep your cretins there. They can
exchange their grunts there to their hearts content, without pouring their
filth across usenet

 

[Spinner]

I guarantee it isn't an infringement of any Apple patent, because
others were there first and Apple can't patent someone else's prior
art.

Light guides are old hat, too. All Apple is doing here is patenting
their specific implementation so nobody else can clone their hardware
verbatim.

I was only refuting Gene's false claim that Apple had "innovated"
backlighted keys. And note, by the way, that these backlighted PC
keyboards are targeted almost exclusively at kids, gamers, and
modders. The general PC market just isn't interested in backlighted
keyboards because most people only use their computers in well-lighted
rooms. For the relative few of us who need to use our laptops in the
dark, a USB light is a far better solution because it also provides
illumination for a scratchpad, notes, books, reference manuals,
sorting through CD's, plugging in cables, etc. There's simply no
reason for laptop manufacturers to bother with backlighted keyboards.

Apple is a somewhat different matter because, as we all know, Apple
users are real suckers for eye candy and artsy-fartsy geegaws. Notice
how Gene drools all over himself at the thought of those kewl backlit
keys?