I admit it. I'm an Apple Fan Boy. Whatever Apple makes, I buy it. If I don't need it, I'll invent the need. I don't repeat rumors on this site. But I have been known to invent a few. Let's just say I have an ongoing wish list of what I want to see in 2011 and beyond.
WISH ONE: I want a 15" MacBook Air with backlit keyboard. (I would settle for a 13" Macbook Air with a backlit keyboard -- but I digress.) Another feature I hope to see in the next MacBook Air is something other than a USB 2.0 port. How about USB 3.0? How about Light Peak? Or Copper Peak? NOTE: the 2011 MacBook Pro was released since this was first posted with a Thunderbolt port (aka Copper Peak).
Lastly, I'd like it to either have TRIM support for the SSD or for Apple to switch to a SandForce based SSD (like the OCZ Vertex 2 or OWC Mercury Extreme). The current choice for factory SSD is not only slower than the best SSDs, but it gets even slower with repeated use. (It's been said that OS X Lion will support TRIM so that's a first step. However, the factory SSD is signficantly slower than the "best performing" SSDs even when brand new.)
WISH TWO: I want an iPad with dual processors (like the Dell's Streak 7 tablet and Motorola Xoom). Did you know the Xoom runs Sunspider Javascript benchmark 3 times faster than the iPad (version 1)?
I also want LTE (4G) wireless data support. The latter thought was inspired by our recent experience with Verizon's 4G USB modems where we measured 20Mbps downloads. One more thing, I want a front facing camera with FaceTime support.
WISH THREE: I want an iPhone with dual core (like Atrix) and LTE (4G) wireless data support. Did you know the Atrix runs Sunspider Javascript benchmark 2 times faster than the iPhone 4?
WISH FOUR: I want a Mac Pro with SLI and CrossFire support under OS X for dual GPUs. And I want a Blu-ray optical drive with support for authoring, burning, and playback.
WISH FIVE: I want an iMac with easy access to the drive bay and an external hot-plug eSATA port.
WISH SIX: I want a backlit keyboard for desktop Macs.
READER WISHES
Here are some of the 2011 wishes expressed in reader emails:
- NVIDIA GTX 485M for GPU in the MacBook Pro
- External hot-plug eSATA port on all Macs -- preferably 6Gb/s
- Blu-ray option for Mac Pro, iMac, and MacBook Pro
- USB 3.0 port on all Macs
- Replace the SD slot in the 15" MacBook Pro with ExpressCard slot
- Smaller, lower-priced Mac Pro with fewer drive bays and PCIe slots while preserving the abilty to easily upgrade memory, drives, and GPU
- Anti-glare "matte" screen option for all Macs
- Thin "blotter" screen that lays flat on the desk (like in Hawaii Five Oh)
- Solar cell on the back of the iPhone to boost battery life
WHAT ARE YOUR APPLE WISHES for 2011?
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, mad scientist.
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