The Digg Crew wants to hear your thoughts!
Please take our short survey about Digg and potential feature ideas.
MacBook Touch Concept BasedTransparent Displays Patent
gizmodo.com — This concept, based on one of Apple's latest patents, which uses a transparent touch screen that can work as control surfaces on two sides, while the device is open and close.
diggleague- 1462 diggs
- digg it
- fluidfoundation, on 03/22/2008, -8/+111I give it a 10 for style and minus several billion for accuracy.
Its pretty, don't get me wrong, but one of the reasons a laptop is stable is because the weighty parts are in the bottom chassis. If you make the bottom panel transparent, well, its hard to be transparent when you have a hard drive, processor, battery, and all that in the way.
So if all those components are in the display side, well... you've got a weeble thats wabbles and will fall down.- yokozuka, on 03/22/2008, -18/+8No, I'm sorry but you don't get it. The bottom is not transparent. The front cover is the only transparent part, covering the display itself (which also has the CPU and the rest of the systems). While in that position, it acts as a multi-touch surface. Then, when you open it, it works as a keyboard, displaying keys, or as any other control surface.
Whether this technology is doable now or not, we don't know. But that's what Apple patented. No transparent bottom computers and/or boats.- MyNameIsJoe, on 03/22/2008, -0/+12Ok, but if that is the case then it wouldn't be a tablet. Also, wouldn't it make more sense to just have a normal keyboard and a touch screen.
- BlueStarr, on 03/22/2008, -16/+1The transparent touch screen can output more than just keyboard controls. Superior to any tablet. So you're right, it's not a tablet it's much, much better.
Apple is the new 800 pound gorilla. Good god they have amazing products. - BlueStarr, on 03/22/2008, -15/+2opps....not an apple concept but its still nice. Apple should pay this person and start mass production.
- phantom_mullet, on 03/22/2008, -3/+6"Apple is the new 800 pound gorilla. Good god they have amazing products."
I'm sorry, but I can't quite hear you with Steve Jobs' dick in your mouth.
- BlueStarr, on 03/22/2008, -16/+1The transparent touch screen can output more than just keyboard controls. Superior to any tablet. So you're right, it's not a tablet it's much, much better.
- MyNameIsJoe, on 03/22/2008, -0/+12Ok, but if that is the case then it wouldn't be a tablet. Also, wouldn't it make more sense to just have a normal keyboard and a touch screen.
- 5urr3al5am, on 03/22/2008, -5/+5This is exactly the reason I kinda hate these type of concept drawings. They are 100% fashion and 0% usability. This is the same artsy mindset who create those fancy chairs that you can't really sit in. Nobody likes typing on a crappy key board. This is why most of the touch screen phones have been redesigned to have both keys and/or a fold out keyboard
- appletalk, on 03/22/2008, -1/+10Not usability.. this is highly usable.. it's 0% applicability or feasibility
- Snakedal337, on 03/22/2008, -1/+5I think Yoko had it right. The "Screen" part of the laptop is transparent, then when you shut the laptop, the keyboard area switches over to display whatever was on the screen, thus creating a tablet like PC without the rotating hinge.
Of course it would be easier just to put a keyboard on it, have a dual display on the laptop I suppose. One screen on each side. Then they can put some fancy looking apple logo swoosh loop or something for when you have it open, since you won't already be drawing enough attention to yourself..- ElbertF, on 03/22/2008, -0/+4If you look at the image, you can see through the keyboard and see the surface under it.
"The moment the computer is opened, using a normal clamshell move [..]"
You'll have to flip it first, and when it's open the glass you would look through in tablet-mode is be facing down, getting dirty and more likely to be scratched..?
- ElbertF, on 03/22/2008, -0/+4If you look at the image, you can see through the keyboard and see the surface under it.
- Snakedal337, on 03/22/2008, -0/+5EDIT: Sorry. I just took a closer look at the concepts, judging by the location of the isight, this concept is completely retarded, and wouldn't work in its present form,
- fluidfoundation, on 03/22/2008, -0/+3Exactly! Gracias.
- etandrib, on 03/22/2008, -1/+3I buried it as Gizmodo, I mean lame…
- SSUK, on 03/22/2008, -0/+1With how light the MacBook Air is, just weigh down the side with the transparent panel. They could put some metal strips along the plastic sides to do that. It'd double the weight, sure, but it still wouldn't be THAT heavy.
- Ashoro, on 03/22/2008, -1/+0"well, its hard to be transparent when you have a hard drive, processor, battery, and all that in the way"
Did you not see how little space all that sans the battery took for the MBA? The only thing that would be in the way would be the battery, which isn't that heavy to cause the instability you have mentioned.
And also look at all that border territory, that would be where the battery could go, plus additional ones on the display, just enough to balance things. Also there's the route of sticking out the back battery that so many laptops have that I kinda hate. But a stick out from the back battery will give more than adequate stability and not block the transparency. - Archer007, on 03/22/2008, -0/+2Weeble wobble.
- se1zure, on 03/23/2008, -0/+1SOmething like this is far into the future. Look at how much computers have shrunk in 30 years. I imagine in another 100 years they would be able to fit most of the nessecary stuff in the border around the frame in conjunction with the space behind the monitor.
Or just imagine sticking a macbook air onto the back of the monitor. - shaun1018, on 03/23/2008, -0/+2Now there is one hippy frood who really knows where his towel is.
- fluidfoundation, on 03/23/2008, -0/+2I love this guy already.
- yokozuka, on 03/22/2008, -18/+8No, I'm sorry but you don't get it. The bottom is not transparent. The front cover is the only transparent part, covering the display itself (which also has the CPU and the rest of the systems). While in that position, it acts as a multi-touch surface. Then, when you open it, it works as a keyboard, displaying keys, or as any other control surface.
- BlueStarr, on 03/22/2008, -23/+18Get the ***** out of here. This thing is insane. I wants it now!
- rsc0, on 03/23/2008, -0/+1You get the ***** out of here
- FeelThePain, on 03/22/2008, -41/+14Say it loud and say it proud!
***** APPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!- bjornski, on 03/22/2008, -0/+10I give Apple a lot of crap, but you're not any better than their fanboys.
This is tech. I read all tech stuff. It's interesting. But seriously, use what the ***** works for you, and get off your fanboy high-horse (for all THREE platforms). - q1006662, on 03/23/2008, -0/+1In every thread you say this your string of exclamations is the same length; have you got it saved on Notepad for easy copy/paste?
- bjornski, on 03/22/2008, -0/+10I give Apple a lot of crap, but you're not any better than their fanboys.
- SuperSunny, on 03/22/2008, -9/+2Holy *****
- JamesMorris, on 03/22/2008, -17/+29Looks UGLY.
- thehuntedpossum, on 03/22/2008, -11/+6why not just used infrared keyboards like they already have in production?
- Erik1, on 03/22/2008, -1/+5Because they are buggy as hell.
- BassJunkie, on 03/22/2008, -5/+3Shame it's just a concept, as this could be quite a nice laptop, judging from the desciption of the apple patent rather then the glossy CGI pics. Guess we'll just have to wait and see if anything develops from it
- FoxOrian, on 03/23/2008, -0/+1Good thing its only an unofficial concept. I'm pretty sure the folks who just bought Air's would riot Infinite Loop if this was an official announcement.
- bassoondux, on 03/22/2008, -5/+12But then you'd have a keyboard with no force-feedback. . .
- bjornski, on 03/22/2008, -0/+18Steve hates buttons.
- quelcertoleo, on 03/22/2008, -1/+5Good point. I don't think a flat keyboard would feel very comfortable.
- fluxion, on 03/22/2008, -2/+17it's okay, looking cool is more important than tactile feedback and comfortable keyboards
- vertinox, on 03/22/2008, -1/+3Explain Star Trek TNG then!
- emailingRob, on 03/22/2008, -1/+1Audio feedback - every button beeps and/or chirps
- bjornski, on 03/23/2008, -0/+3That would be annoying as hell.
- emailingRob, on 03/22/2008, -1/+1Audio feedback - every button beeps and/or chirps
- se1zure, on 03/23/2008, -1/+2thats simple, use some form of memory matter which changes form depending on the current running through, then when you need keys, have bubbles rise where the keys are.
..in about 300 years. - FoxOrian, on 03/23/2008, -0/+2I, too, like my keyboards with rumble support.
- nutzngum, on 03/22/2008, -3/+83I must be getting stupid in my old age - i had to read the submitter's headline four times to figure out what the hell they were talking about. Is it me or is the internet killing the written word?
- Goombellaofgoom, on 03/22/2008, -0/+30It's not you.
- secleinteer, on 03/22/2008, -1/+22idk y u cnt red th title. srsly wtf r u tlkin abt?
- rnbw, on 03/22/2008, -0/+4i'm with you on that one. i also like the way you refer to your "old age", yet your screenname is "nutzngum" giving me the impression that you are a 16 yr old cheerleader..
- nutzngum, on 03/24/2008, -0/+1it's a product Homer Simpson purchased - after extolling the virtues of being a white male aged 25-40. I guess I'm a Simpsons fan.
- griz, on 03/23/2008, -1/+1Wasn't the photo a big enough clue?
- scrag10, on 03/23/2008, -0/+1I think the idea was to get the key words across regardless of the sense they made (which I don't mind), at least the description made sense aside from one spelling error.
- getrdone656, on 03/23/2008, -0/+1yeah nubs tend to spam key words to try and get their name out there in the Digg community
- hotchkikr, on 03/22/2008, -7/+0What's with apple and all these "clamshell" ideas lately?
- monospaced, on 03/22/2008, -0/+3You mean this guy's rendering? It's a laptop.
- Syphon8, on 03/22/2008, -2/+27Gizmodo, get off Macrumor's dick.
- Jondi10, on 03/22/2008, -3/+5I'll take 2 please!
- davidwasman, on 03/22/2008, -9/+6F*ck you, Gizmodo.
Original Link: http://forums.appleinsider.com/showthread.php?t=85 ...
Buried for Gawker Media spam - Radigg, on 03/22/2008, -2/+5wow, if they can get that to work, it'll be some machine!!
- DestroyingAngel, on 03/22/2008, -3/+0meh... Look at the screen corners. Why rounded?
- gormlens, on 03/22/2008, -0/+2yeh, a CONCEPT DRAWING was made ***** cos of the rounded screen corners
- candyman420, on 03/22/2008, -5/+0is it just me, or does this type of page render broken in safari? I've seen it on several sites now
- tbull, on 03/22/2008, -6/+1This would definitely be hard to deal with for a serious typer, I have tried to type away on my iPod Touch albeit smaller still gives me fits, maybe it should be a little more sensitive but I am having a hard time with it.
Check out latest Apple news at
http://maxthemac.com
Take care - TomPhoolery, on 03/22/2008, -1/+4This is a really cool concept, but it's more realistic if we just had 2 touch interfaces much like a huge version of the Nintendo DS, with the ability to customize your own keyboard layouts. As a DJ, the practical applications of such a machine are endless...It could essentially put all of those all-encompassing mini studio controller companies out of business if it was made affordable.
- miket, on 03/22/2008, -1/+2made affordable? Um, APPLE?
- ChayD, on 03/23/2008, -0/+1I wouldn't want to take something nice like that to any of the clubs that *I* play at - I'll just stick to the CDJs :)
- UrbanVoyeur, on 03/22/2008, -2/+3It's one thing to have an idea of how something would be cool - that's called Star Trek. It's quite another to produce a working prototype. What this patent means is that when some engineers actually produce a working prototype after years of persistence & creativity, Apple will swoop in and demand royalties, saying."We dreamed this up years ago."
Might as well patent a Holodeck and FTL drives. - JazzFlight, on 03/22/2008, -2/+1So, you type and get the keyboard side all smudgy with your fingerprints, then when you close the laptop to use the transparent touch-screen side, it's all dirty.
This laptop would require wayyyyy too much cloth-wiping.- ChayD, on 03/23/2008, -0/+1Haven't you head of Apple's amazing self-wiping glass? :)
- marcoabuso, on 03/22/2008, -2/+1Yea right dude!!!!! That's not going to happen for so long....And plus when your typing you rest your hands on the keys, hows that gona work>
- Nino9782, on 03/22/2008, -5/+0please familiarize urself with cloud computing. Processors, hard drives etc. will not be needed. An Internet connection and battery will suffice for the future of computers.
- Zaeboes, on 03/22/2008, -0/+1You do know that thin client computers still need things like processors and ram, right? They just don't need to be nearly as powerful as true computers.
- ricoboy24, on 03/22/2008, -1/+2So what about the people with sweaty hands? how will they cope with the constant slippage of not knowing where the key's are without looking down.
- Zaeboes, on 03/22/2008, -1/+0Thats the kind of comment I knew would come up. I've been using touch screens for typing for so long, I don't need to look. I've even used it from the other side of my desk without turning the display around. Trust me, this does work well, you'll just need some practice.
- pyroben92, on 03/22/2008, -1/+3where does the hardware go?
- roflbrothel, on 03/22/2008, -1/+10wat?
Also, a lack of a tactile keyboard on a computer is an awful idea.- blup3ace, on 03/22/2008, -0/+1look what they did in the iphone...if it's apple, they'll do it.
- ELLIS1128, on 03/22/2008, -2/+2Its fugly
- hamGrenade, on 03/22/2008, -0/+7burried for another goddamned speculative mac concept. go look at the old iphone speculations... no, really. go do it.
- Squaros, on 03/22/2008, -1/+2iphone concept images
http://images.google.com/images?q=iphone+concept&i ...
- Squaros, on 03/22/2008, -1/+2iphone concept images
- kirado4, on 03/22/2008, -2/+3yeah they stole this idea from some university students.. read an article about it on popular science.. it's been done.. and patented.. oh my god.. mac patenting other peoples ideas.. what a surprise..
- SeveringGecko, on 03/23/2008, -0/+1if its been done and patented then how did apple get the patent? did you even think or did you bash because you are an uneducated windows fanboy?
- ripple123, on 03/23/2008, -0/+1Apple got the patent cause the patent office is a ***** joke. And your a idiot.
- SeveringGecko, on 03/23/2008, -0/+0im an idiot for pointing out the flaw in your blind fanboy rage?
- ripple123, on 03/23/2008, -0/+1Apple got the patent cause the patent office is a ***** joke. And your a idiot.
- SeveringGecko, on 03/23/2008, -0/+1if its been done and patented then how did apple get the patent? did you even think or did you bash because you are an uneducated windows fanboy?
- johnstar, on 03/22/2008, -4/+2DO WANT!
- JackandCoke, on 03/22/2008, -1/+2I like it, think of the customibility for people who do video and audio mixing. Virtual instrument keys,( a real f*ing piano keyboard for garageband.
- bracketdash, on 03/22/2008, -1/+0Where's the battery going to go? I can understand the hardware somehow fitting in, but I'd imagine the battery life to be very short if Apple makes anything that resembles this. If they sorta flipped it, and made the display the keyboard and the transparent part the display (not sure that will make sense on the first read), then they can fit all the fun junk in the bottom like normal laptops. Good concept nonetheless, but not 100% accurate as to what's feasible today.
- nbx909, on 03/22/2008, -0/+1somebody in the comments over there had a similar point:
"If the keyboard is transparent then the display side would carry the full weight of the battery, cpu and memory. It would topple backwards in "laptop" mode. "
this design though pretty won't happen due to that, unless the bottom part is really thick glass/ whatever the display would be made out of.
- nbx909, on 03/22/2008, -0/+1somebody in the comments over there had a similar point:
- jerbaker, on 03/22/2008, -1/+2"MacBook Touch Concept BasedTransparent Displays Patent"
Can't all laptops display a patent? - DeFex, on 03/22/2008, -1/+31: get a touch screen monitor.
2: take off the monitor part.
3: patent transparent touch panel.
4: WTF
Watch out. apple is going to patent the wheel. and we will all have to pay and pay them forever.- se1zure, on 03/23/2008, -0/+1what you just said, and what the pattent are are two completely different things. Go try and make what you just said and you will realize how idiodic your comment is.
- coldfire201, on 03/22/2008, -0/+0Vaio Zoom is cooler.
http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2007/09/vaio_ ...- se1zure, on 03/23/2008, -0/+1that does look nice.
- rnbw, on 03/22/2008, -0/+1it should be harder for idiots with no aesthetic sense to download 5000$ software, seriously.
- jabberwolf, on 03/23/2008, -2/+1CAN THEY PLEASE JUST MAKE A ***** MAC TOUCPAD - A NORMAL ONE ALREADY? THEY ARE 3 YEARS BEHIND ALEADY!
And I tried that laser keyboard touch thing they have out already. No tactile sucks! Ok get already - less is not more! It sucks on the iPhone, it sucks on a computer. Knock it off already Jobs ! - digitalpencil, on 03/23/2008, -0/+1McMillain needs to watch the 'you suck at photoshop' series.
But seriously.. can you imagine the cost of this machine! 1 13" multi-touch display + 1 transparent! double-sided! 13". - se1zure, on 03/23/2008, -0/+2Wouldn't it make more sense to have a second screen which is touchscreen? why does it have to be transparent?
- Iggins, on 03/23/2008, -1/+1The display isn't transparent is it? What's the point of being able to see your lap through your computer? This is so stupid. If you look online you can find concept G5 glasses. Yeah.
- tdogzthmn, on 03/23/2008, -0/+1Im an industrial designer and give it a thumbs down. If ur gonna post your mock-ups make them good ones.
- dbalieiro, on 03/23/2008, -0/+1[>][I need one!!!! like this, I understand the idea, and it's just perfect.]
- dshey, on 03/23/2008, -0/+1I'm was in love til I read the thread. *diggers bring me back to sense accordingly* sigh*
- pcsperson, on 03/23/2008, -0/+1It could definitely be a great tablet if there are not too many compromises to the speed of the machine as compared to other line of MacBooks or laptops.
- crashlock, on 03/23/2008, -0/+1I'm a huge Mac fan. But this concept doesn't work for me. Why does it have to be transparent??? It serves no purpose.
- nullcodes, on 03/23/2008, -0/+1Why not just have a display on the outside and inside .. yeah it's not transparent but maybe it'lll be cheaper?
- jdubsta235, on 03/23/2008, -0/+1sort of like the transformers keyboard. i like the idea... but prolly not the pricetag!
- radiopolice, on 03/24/2008, -0/+1No one could say that it wouldn't feel right typing on glass or that it would be non-responsive. Have you ever been to the future? I rest my case. Score another one for Apple.
Digg is coming to a city (and computer) near you! Check out all the details on our 
© Digg Inc. 2008 — Content posted by Digg users is