Apple Patent Apps Surface, Hint at New MagSafe Cable and more

Patent apps show cool new features and gear

Dec 1 2010, 8:13am CST | by Shane McGlaun

Apple Patent Apps Surface, Hint at New MagSafe Cable and more

The Apple line of MacBook notebooks have some really cool features and one of the coolest coming from a Windows user point of view is the MagSafe cable. I have had a notebook broken before by getting the cord tangled on my chair and if it were a Mac the MagSafe cable would have simply pulled away and the machine would have been fine rather than being busted up.

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A pair of new patent apps have surfaced from Apple and they both show some cool tech. The most interesting is a new optical MagSafe cable that provides all sorts of connectivity and power with one cord. The art with the patent app shows a MagSafe connector that with a single wire powers the notebook and gives access to optical ports, Ethernet, and DVI outputs that are in the power adapter for the machine.

The device would function as both the power supply and a docking station, which is very cool. Another image shows a similar cable that also splits out into a fiber optic cable, perhaps we will see this when Apple tosses machines using Light Peak onto the market.

Another patent application is for something that is rather boring. The app is called "Application Programming Interfaces for Scrolling Operations." What is more interesting that the subject of the patent app is the artwork included with the app. The art shows a cool convertible notebook that would presumably use the new scrolling technology.

The notebook isn’t the typical swiveling screen style. It has a screen that pops up like a normal notebook and then can slide down over the keyboard on hinges in the side of the keyboard. I know that there are a lot of geeks out there that would really like to see Apple come up with a convertible notebook.

I think that something along the lines of the MacBook Air with a convertible screen and the sweet new MagSafe cable would be epic. There is no word on any products in the pipe that will use the tech in either of the patent apps.

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Shane McGlaun
Leading our review center, Shane knows technology inside out. His extensive experience in testing computer hardware and consumer electronics enable him to effectively qualify new products and trends. If you want us review your product, please contact Shane.
Shane can be contacted directly at shane@i4u.com.