who the heck file Apple patents anyway? that drawing looks like its being drawn by my 5 yr old kid

OH DAUYMN!Now if only that was a touchscreen!

Clearly they're drawn by the same guy who used to draw Dr. Katz for Comedy Central.

Oh dauyMN! Now if only that was touchscreen!

By having vague drawings, it leaves the interpretation undefined, maybe in case they change the iMac design.
M

@BigDaddyM: Or so they can sue the maximum number of people.

If a toy company comes up with a handheld game that involves playing cards being inserted into something with a screen, well that's a clear case of patent infringement.

It always look good on paper, remember that.

what an awesome idea. as long as they keep the form factor for at least 10 years. only thing i would like to see is insertion as an option from either side, just flip it for access to the optical drive. i know i am probably the only one, but i can't have my imac exactly where i want it because i need access to the slot drive only putting me out 6", this would at least double that.

ahh the ol powerbook duo... i remember lusting after that in mac mall's back in the day.

Look... call me an ignoramus but I really fail to see the purpose of this. The concept is a little bit interesting, but just seems a little redundant to me. Maybe this could help cut out all the futzing with things like AV setups so that multiple users could use the same setup without having to constantly move wires around and it looks to me like there would be double the amount of ports with the macbook inside this thing. I suppose, also, people that get their jollies from working on a desktop computer but own a laptop for practical purposes would enjoy this. I dunno. All I can say is, it's fugly.

Couldn't Apple just improve .Mac synchronization and be done with it?

Well if this is showing a new ultra portable macbook, at least it settles the optical drive debate. The side view shows a laptop that definitely has an optical drive. Or maybe it's some new crazy thing they came up with. Nope, it just looks like an optical drive.

I must say of all the minimalist sleek-looking things Apple has designed this looks a little...off? Also, if they make a universal slot for docking it means the dimensions for the rumored ultra-slim MacBook would have to stay the same for quite some time.

@jsayreallen: heck, better network synching would be nice too.

why is it fugly? Dude, the macbook gets completely inside the iMac. It's invisible, just like any other iMac. What do you think this is? A NES and a game cartridge?

Unless you think the iMac is ugly, that is.

@redelephantlabel: There are plenty of people who use docking stations for their laptops. Here in my building we've got half a cubicle farm with nothing but docking stations in it. It makes sense for people who travel a lot, because when they're here in the building they have a nice, ergonomic workstation and a big monitor but don't have to worry about syncing a desktop and a laptop, or where their files are, because they're all in one place. This is just the mac equivalent of that. I think it's a neat idea but it's not quite elegant enough for apple.

@djdare: You'd only have lusted for one if you'd never actually used it before purchase...

The dock motor (yes, motor - it sucked the laptop in like a VHS tape) was prone to failure often trapping your laptop in the base or rendering it undockable. The laptop itself while a thing of beauty for it's day was essentially useless without a slew of accessories - it only had ONE serial port and a modem connector - no ethernet, no monitor out, nada. I still have mine (desk clock with Flying Toasters melting clock)

I like the principle of the screendock above - but if it ever made it to market, i'm sure it would be hideously expensive and of limited use (if it had a KVM built in that would help a lot) I wish Apple would just standardize on a high density connector across the board for all the laptops (like the iPod) instead - I think that would spur a thriving 3rd party dock ecosystem (like the iPod)

@domz: why?

You are forgeting something very important.

For this to work you CANNOT use a notebook, since it would be closed. YOU HAVE TO USE A TABLET PC...well...i mean a TABLET MAC.

Now that would be cool.

I don't want a docking MacBook. I want is a MacBook that doesn't get up to 120* on the underside while browsing the web.

@jesusdiaz: That's my fault - I didn't look at the patent app I assumed it would stay sticking out the side. That would be totally un-Apple.

Interesting idea...But I agree with Jsayreallen. Why not just synch and load info with a 802.11n wireless connection? That should be able to reasonable handle almost anything you would want to transfer. The "Back to my Mac" function within Leopard is a great idea, but the thing just doesn't work... I suspect this is Comcast's fault for blocking the UPnP or NAT-PMP functionality of my cable modem... Why reinvent the wheel, when high speed , wireless synching will do the job just fine?

I mean something like that would only make sense if u could use your laptop monitor. Think of a ultra-slim tablet macbook pro 20 " lol....

If the case has a built-in monitor its hard to justify the price. It would be be kinda expensive. I rather have a cheaper stand alone monitor.

@OMG!!! Ponies!!!: Good point.. cool that sucker down a bit more, without melting the corduroy off my pants.

@tamoko: Better venting design. Obscuring the vent with the hinge is aesthetically pleasing but hurts the legs.

I think Apple would be better served developing their own proprietary short-range high-throughput wireless technology. Either that or put 802.11n in the next gen of iPods and make them able to wirelessly sync. If there's one thing MS is getting sorta kinda right its that.

While Apple does have the uncanny ability to make anything sexy, I still feel like the price point of their device is going to be a big letdown. I'm guessing that their ultra-portable is going to have to cost at least $999. Sure it may run an iteration of Leopard and be super cool, but personally I would want my secondary device to cost LESS than my primary. This is where I feel the EeePC has an edge. It may not be as powerful but the functionality to price ratio is much better than the Apple will be. I admit that some sort of iTunes-type syncing would be great and chances are the Apple will do very well and get all of the attention.

@strider_mt2k: Not true. Apple has a history of making products that look (and sometimes work) as good IRL as in the gadget pr0n shots.

Granted, the real pretty designs sometimes skip over the "what happens when the user..." part of the design process (G4 Cube - What happens when the user accidentally drops a piece of paper on it? The Cube shuts down), but a lot of the time, what you see is what you get.

@OMG!!! Ponies!!!: Yeah..I would be perfectly willing to trade a bit of ascetics for a tad cooler laptop. Oh, and an Orange Julius attachment for those balmy nights..

@Singlespeed: +1

After paying Apple-tax on the dock AND the MacBook you'll end up paying double what the hardware is actually worth.

Hopefully that little notebook will fit completely inside the big mac.

I wouldn't want to look at that thing hanging half-way out... Looks like it is developing a growth.

i think it just makes the imac thicker for no real reason

oh, and i wonder if it would work with ipods and iphones....

@domz: I have to disagree with the idea of an Apple proprietary network format. There's no sense in fight the black & blue juggernaut that is Linksys. Apple tinkered with its own network protocols - it was called AppleTalk and it wasn't fun.

Ask Sony how its quest to dislodge dominant formats has worked out for them.

This is kinda of neat but if Apple wants to impress me why can't they build a decent docking station for the MBP? If I want to use a cinema display at my workstation I have to plug in 5 or 6 seperate cables to do so. Good design? NOT. Total Apple lameness.

are people still using the old apple costs more argument? still have yet to see a feature equivalent pc that is significantly less than an apple. (hackintosh doesn't count, hardware is not primed, form is not near as nice, os is not completely functional...)

you guys are idiots.

This is a fake concept to keep you gabbing about something so they can keep the real surprise still a surprise.

they are giving the dog (you guys) a bone (this fake set up) so you stop looking for what they will really reveal.

it is magic. one hand entertains you while the other hand does the tricks.

@OMG!!! Ponies!!!: Good point I guess that made no sense on my part.

No matter how slim/light the laptop, this just looks a little ungainly for me, and (at least with the current iMac design) easily has the potential for dropped laptops and/or knocked over iMacs. Certainly, wear to the edges of the laptop and around the slot would be hard to avoid.

I dunno, this just seems a bit inelegant and pointless, offering no real advantages over the much simpler solutions of using a cable or (better) wireless connection. This idea basically leapfrogs back to the days of physical media, with all the convenience of a giant laptop-sized floppy disk!

Oh and Jesus, before you whine at people for having the audacity to call an Apple product 'fugly', perhaps you should realise that it's your own mockup and omission to make clear in the text which suggests the laptop would stick out the side.

@jesusdiaz: Getting a little defensive over your rendition? I think it looks great. When I first saw it I thought you guys found a real spy shot. I wasn't looking at the imac but instantly started measuring how big that laptop was next to my 24" iMac. First thought: Shit that is going to be a small laptop. Sweet!

@deepdish: good thought. it also implies that the real surprise would have to be even better than this.

This just looks like some sweet Mac baby-makin' to me. Maybe nine months after your MacBook and iMacish dock bump interface uglies a smaller slimmer MacBook pops out?

I have to admit, when I saw the picture, I said, "Son of a bitch, why hadn't we thought of that yet?"

Remember, Apple invented the freakin' iPhone, have you heard of it?

Did anyone consider this may just be one of those throwaway patents that they file just so someone else can't use it? It just doesn't make sense with the speed of wireless tech nowadays for them to produce something like this.

The main issue I have with this is the wasted display, if you were to take an existing MacBook/Pro, close it and insert it into an empty iMac, you would be losing the benefit of added screen real estate. That said, I liked the Duo Dock. The duo dock let you pick your own display, which was nice, but it seems that in this case, you're stuck with whatever docking display you buy. I would love a docking station for my MacBook Pro, as I have to connect 6+ cables each time I connect, but I don't think I'd want added storage in a dock, unless it was mainly just used for Time Machine. Of course, the Patents are intended to obscure the actual product, so these items might be addressed.

@Schalliol: I'm sure the display would have a few ports on the back of it to us as a monitor. Maybe it could sport TV tuner so it would be uber useful and not just a waste of space when you weren't docking.

@DomZ: "Maybe it could sport TV tuner so it would be uber useful and not just a waste of space when you weren't docking"
that, sir, is a great idea!

@EMoShunz:

It is getting harder and harder for any company to surprise people.

The good old days of apple wooing us are gone. There are so many websites and leakers today on the internet. One company can only come up with some many great ideas.

Apple did a better job of creating great new concepts then any other company. And they surprised their customers more than any other company.

People are able to predict Steve's speeches now. They know what he will wear, when he will clear his throat and when he will say boom. They are expecting him to say "one more thing"

Steve is in a tough position. He has created expectations that he himself can not fulfill regularly.

I hope he blows my me away with something great. I need a new laptop. But to be honest, I want apple to expand into new markets, but not too quickly.

Silly Apple... THIS is how you should dock the macbook with the Mac:

[i158.photobucket.com]

Allow the entire macbook to slide all the way in, when you want it clear and uncluttered, but most people would love the extra screen real-estate & dual display, of having the display out like that. With some clever programming, you could probably work out a way to get the two computers working together (e.g. run a full screen game on the main display while being able to smoothly mouse over to the right for your office application.

You can contact me at dcartist@gmail.com to send me the royalty checks :)

Any other old guys out there who suffered the indignities of using a 2300c Duo? (cough OS-7)

What a piece of crap poorly executed and poorly supported crap.

I am just amazed that even Apple would EVER be gutsy enough to try to dust off this old concept and sell it again. This surely must be a sign that the three horseman of corporate apocalypse are stampeding the halls of Cupertino.

Turn back now before its too late.

This company will eat everything in your wallet and never look back.

1900x1200, TV Tuner, Displayport, HDMI, DVI, Hitchi 500GB 2.5" HDD (DVR functionality!), and Ultra-Slim MacBook/iPhone/iPod docking. Please?

Actually don't you think THIS would be a much better way to dock it?

[i158.photobucket.com]

You can play full screen games on the left while using the processor on the laptop to run office apps, for example... or just use it as a standard dual display... or if you just want it uncluttered, you slide the whole laptop into the Mac.

Please contact dcartist@gmail.com to send royalty checks :P

sorry... double posted because my first computer crashed and I thought I lost my post :(

@dcartist: actually, kinda cool concept.

@dcartist: Until that first guy walks past and like a dump truck meeting the open door of your Mercades you left conveniently open on the street , guess which peice of hardware wins. Will you cry, looking at your decapitated screen on the floor, as Office Guy looks back and you and shrugs with a look of, "Well that was a dumb design, what were you expecting to happen" then shambles off to find his snickers bar.

I see no reason why this can't be for the Mac Book Pro. I don't see any size specifications on the patent. The Mac Book Pro is only 1" thick when closed. The 30" Cinema Display is nearly 2" deep. I'm gonna go on a limb here and say this is not for the Ultraportable Mac Book and it is a "revolutionary" new docking station, a cinema display, and a convenient way to work on your lap top at home or the office. These are not 3 separate devices people!!! Do you