Updated: Apple notebook wish list countdown, Part I: ExpressCard port

As promised and without any ado, here comes the first wish I have for Apple notebooks!

Wish 1 of 10: ExpressCard in all notebooks, no questions asked.

You know that little slot on the side of most Windows PC notebooks?  If you purchased a notebook recently, chances are your notebook has one, and it’s called an ExpressCard (EC) slot. It can do wonders for you.  Maybe not in the immediate present, but in the near future.  What is it?

It’s a PCI express connection directly to the motherboard of the computer, which in simple terms means really really fast data transfer speeds.  What’s it for and why should you care?  Read on to find out and why it’s only in Apple’s best interests to install it in all of their notebook products.

The ExpressCard slot is home to (surprise!) ExpressCard cards.  These cards – available at any tech/computer store – perform an infinite amount of functions.  Here are some photos of an EC slot/port along with a card that plugs into the port:

 

Perhaps sometime in the future, you will be interested in configuring a surround-sound speaker system through your computer.  Unless you use a USB connection, there is no way to get that true surround experience without the help of an EC card (and, of course, an EC slot).  There is a multitude of such surround-sound EC cards out on the market right now: buy a card that fits your need, plug it into your slot, and off you go with an easy and inexpensive upgrade.  Yet the possibly best part of having an EC slot is the upcoming external graphics cards using the port.  For those not familiar with the concept, here’s a brief overview: you have a notebook which has a great CPU, a good amount of RAM, and a very weak graphics card – the part that is crucial to playing graphics-intensive games – you know, like Half-Life or CouterStrike (sorry, Solitaire doesn’t count).  Without this powerful graphics processor, you’re out of luck – games will look and feel slow and laggy and you will need to buy a new computer to play these games.  However, with these new external video cards, the problem of a weak notebook graphics card is solved: plug one in through the EC slot and play games to your heart’s delight.  Asus is scheduled to release one shortly as are other component makers.

So the great thing about having an EC slot (and an external graphics card to go along with it) is that you are able to turn your gaming-incapable notebook computer (or maybe even desktop, with the introduction of EC into desktops) into a capable gaming center, instead of spending upwards of $1500 for a new PC that is powerful enough to run games: it’s like getting a supercharger in your car: instant gratification.  And those are just a few uses for EC slots of the numerous other possibilities: there are many more, including docking solutions.  

In the Windows PC world, Dell, Sony, HP, Acer, Toshiba, Asus, Samsung (need I go on?) offer the EC port.  Apple does… on only half of its notebooks.  And the MacBooks that don’t have the port are the ones that need it the most!  Sure, regular non-pro or non-gaming users might not use it all that much, if at all.  But as I said in the begging, it sure will come in handy when an unsuspecting user wants to get some more “oomph” out of their year-old MacBook and find that it’s not possible – all because Apple was lazy on the engineering front.  The port should be included, as it:

• can’t cost much to build in
• will delight users when they find out that in fact they can use that ExpressCard peripheral on their 3-year-old MacBook.  It’s all just part of good marketing: instead of forcing your customers to buy a new computer, let them have the choice of upgrading their current set-up; when they’re really delighted that they can in fact do so, they will remember that great feeling when it’s time for a new computer, and that great feeling will ensure that new computer is an Apple Mac.  (Perhaps there can be an ExpressCard docking solution made exclusively for MacBooks at that time?)
• is included in almost every notebook from every PC manufacturer, other than Apple.  There is an argument going around that the slot takes up too much space and that’s the reason for its exclusion from the smallest MacBook.  Not being an engineer, I can’t be sure, but I think that’s a poor excuse.  If Dell – with its less creative engineering and design team – can fit it into the company’s smallest Inspiron 13″, so can Apple.

 

Catch you online,

Post-new MacBook release update: after Apple updated the MacBook line-up and left out FireWire from the smallest 13″ MacBook, there has been what could be called an upheaval of comments and complaints about such a move by Apple.  Afterall, Apple was the company that made FireWire in the first place!  Thus, it should follow that any user who desires a FireWire port on the 13″ MacBook could just pop in an ExpressCard with the ports and be all set… right?  Wrong!  Apple also left out the ExpressCard slot from the 13″ MacBook.

Leaving out FireWire isn’t so bad, since it it considered more of a “pro” feature (however it is used by non-pro users with DV cameras).  What is a miscalculated thought on the part of Apple, however, is leaving out the EC port, leaving absolutely no possibility for expansion.  By doing this, Apple’s message is loud and clear: “we try our hardest to screw you over and force you to purchase the gargantuan 15″ Pro model if you need to either use FireWire or ExpressCard, even if you want a notebook that’s smaller in size.”  Great going, Apple.

On a final note, lest you think I’m complaining, I’m not.  I’ve come to expect great value from Apple and a move like this one simply falls short of any expectations.

Posted in Apple, Blogroll, Decisions, Wish List