Posted by: Arik Hesseldahl on May 10, 2007
MIT’s Technology Review has a story up called Objects Of Desire in which it quizzed some influential industrial designers on the objects they consider important to their work. Two Apple-related items made the list: The MacBook Pro 15-inch model, and the Next Operating System circa 1988, which as most know is the ancestor of today’s current Mac OS X.
Bill Morridge, who designed the first laptop in 1979, called the MBP: “…the nearest to the ultimate laptop that has been achieved to date…”
No one asked me, but I think its simply the best notebook that’s ever been made. Period. Nothing could change on the outside for the rest of my life (internal components like microprocessors and hard drives would naturally improve over time), and I would be satisfied with the design as it is forever.
What else made the list? The Polaroid Camera, the Atari 2600, the first Motorola handheld cellular phone, the first Sony Walkman personal stereo, and the Palm V PDA among others.
I tend to think in terms of the MacBook, MBP, and even the iMac that the designs have evolved to where they are getting "perfect".
I agree with you that of course internals will change, and certainly smaller dimensions may be achieved, but only as a matter of degree.
The only bad news here is that there are always people calling for change. Like a radical new design is called for. I wonder when that occurs if they won't just make the products worse?
On the other hand, maybe there is one more great design change for these products in Apple. The iMac would seem to be the most likely candidate for this.
I would change the MBP keyboard should have a forward delete, another row of function keys for the volume etc to free up the keys for games and stuff. Also, the trackpad doesn't have good sensitivity at the edges and the sq. inch is just too large...Also, I liked having my ports at the rear so my mouse doesn't bump into the firewire or usb dongles.
I love the MacBook Pro. It is the sexiest looking laptop on the market and I fear that changing would be a very difficult task indeed.
But then again, if anybody can do it, it is Apple.
The 17" model, not the 15" model.
I am awaiting my first ever MBP! 17" glossy, 3 mb ram, 160gb HD. From all accounts, i will not be displeased.....I cant wait :)
"I am awaiting my first ever MBP! 17" glossy, 3 mb ram, 160gb HD. From all accounts, i will not be displeased"
With 3 MB of RAM, I would prepare yourself to be displeased ;)
Eeet just come today. Eeeyeeeee aam in looooooooooovvvveeeeeee....
i want... :/
A blog on the daily doings of Apple and the many companies in its orbit, with insight and analysis by two longtime Apple-watchers BusinessWeek Senior Writer Peter Burrows and BusinessWeek.com Senior Technology Writer Arik Hesseldahl.
Leave us a voice message. Learn more.