Retina Macbook Pro and other random questions

Posted by popsicle on July 26, 2012 02:07 pm 33

I've tried searching for answers to the following questions, but have come up short. Sorry for the long list, but any insight would be appreciated:

On the Retina Macbook Pro, is it technically possible at this time that a GPU with 2GB or 4GB of VRAM could have been used, or are those not available for laptops this size? Or are they available, but not feasible because of the heat, cost, or battery drain for a laptop this size?

The Retina Macbook's GPU has 1GB of VRAM. How much VRAM is in the integrated Intel CPU graphics chip?

Is the DDR3L low-voltage RAM in the Retina Macbook less powerful or slower than the 'normal' RAM in previous Macbooks?

The main unibody chassis of my current Macbook Pro 2011 does not flex, but the top lid has a little bit of flex to it. It doesn't bother me, but occasionally there are smudges on the screen in the shape of the keyboard because while holding the laptop when it's closed, with one hand, the pressure exerted from the thumb downwards flexes the lid and pushes the screen onto the keys. Is this flexiness also present on the Retina Macbook? Is the flexiness caused by the Apple logo cut out of the aluminum, or would it be just as flexy if it was solid aluminum throughout, with a logo either engraved on it or even omitted?

The Retina Macbook, along with the other Macbooks have a battery separated into smaller pieces. Couldn't they stuff more battery capacity into the laptops if they eliminated the spaces in between the pieces and only had one or two large batteries? Or is this infeasible technically or costwise?

The new non-Retina Macbooks have one subwoofer. Wouldn't it be better sound quality to have two subwoofers for a stereo (as opposed to mono) experience, or does it not matter in regards to subwoofers? In other words, can stereo sound come out of a single subwoofer, or does the technical definition of stereo sound only apply to non-subwoofer speakers? I notice that many expensive television home entertainment centers with elaborate surround sound speakers, only come with one subwoofer, and this has always confused me.

Can Ivy Bridge laptops handle RAM at speeds of 1866 or 2133? If not, then how soon will Intel's CPU's support the faster RAM - Haswell, Skylake?

Is there any indication from Intel that near-future CPU's like Skymont, for example, will be so heat-efficient, that laptops could eliminate heat sinks, fans, air vents, and those little bumps on the bottom of the chassis that lift the laptop slightly up off of a table to increase air flow?

Is there a way to turn off the light on the Magsafe charging cable, or the Apple logo on the top lid - other than covering them up with tape? Is the light emitted from the Apple logo dependant on the screen brightness or can it be independently increased or decreased?

Why do some Windows computers have separate ports for USB2 and USB3 if, as the new Macbooks show, they could all just be USB3 and be backwards compatible?

Is there a technical reason why I never seem to see laptops, desktops, cellphones, tablets, or MP3 players with the capability to listen to digital AM radio? Is the antenna necessary for AM reception just too big for these devices? And why don't laptops or desktops ever seem to have FM radio or HD radio? I realize there aren't a lot of customers clamoring for these features, but with all the dozens of manufacturers out there, it would seem like at least one would experiment with them. And wouldn't the digital music stores such as Amazon, iTunes, and Google Play appreciate the revenue generated by a click-to-buy feature from people listening to songs on over-the-air radio, either through RDS metadata, or Shazam or Midomi-powered song recognition?

With all of the jailbreaking and unlocking of the iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV - is there a technical reason why no one has hacked these devices to enable use of the included-but-disabled FM radio?

Are mini and micro versions of HDMI, USB, and DisplayPort cables less capable than full-sized versions? If not, and since miniaturization is so important, then why aren't the smallest possible versions used exclusively? Are they slower, or take longer to charge devices, or cost more?

I've read that iOS devices can't replace 30-pin dock connectors with Thunderbolt because Thunderbolt uses a different underlying technology. But couldn't a hypothetical internal adapter solve the problem? Or is it the case that Thunderbolt can't charge devices as well as the 30-pin USB cable?

Is there any manufacturer (tv, computer, cellphone, tablet, MP3 player) that uses a bezel that matches the same color as the screen when the screen is powered off? If not, is there a technical reason for this? Wouldn't it be cool if you couldn't tell where the screen ended and the bezel began?

Is there a technical reason why the light next to the front-facing camera on cellphones, tablets, laptops, and all-in-one desktops couldn't be used as a blinking notification light, similar to Blackberries, for new emails, missed video calls, missed phone calls, and so forth? The same question applies to the light on the Magsafe charging cord, when the laptop lid is closed. Wouldn't these be cool accessibility features for those with impaired hearing?

Are there any laptops or desktops that act similarly to cellphones by allowing audio notifications (dings, ringing) for new emails, incoming video calls, alarm clock apps - while being in a sleep state, especially if the lid is closed (on a laptop)? If not, is there a technical reason preventing it? With Power Nap on Mountain Lion, it seems they are moving closer to this functionality.

Is there a technical reason why iPod Touches can't receive audio notifications for new emails while in a sleep state?

Is there a technical reason why there doesn't seem to be a screen in existence with a 179-degree viewing angle? I mean, I get why there's no 180.

Since GAAP rules seem to prohibit or at least complicate the process of giving away free OS updates for major releases, and since the rules doesn't seem to apply to minor updates, then couldn't companies just classify major updates as 'minor' ones by using a decimal (for example, going from version 1.0 to 1.1, instead of jumping to 2.0)? Or is there a legal definition of what is a minor and what is a major update, regardless of the number assigned to it?

I've read reviews in the past of non-iPod MP3 players where some of them seem to imply that the internal sound quality going though the headphone jack is better that on iOS devices (and I assume the same applies to Macs), and preferable for audiophiles. Is there some kind of objective industry standard of headphone jack sound quality, and if so, how come I never read any reviewers or even manufacturers mentioning the tech spec of this part (for example, reviews distinguish between Bluetooth 3.0 and 4.0 - why not distinguish between 'headphone jack sound quality 3.0 and 4.0,' or whatever it's called)?

Since it seems all video is captured by collecting many frames per second, is there a technical impossibility of just recording pure video without any frames whatsoever? In other words, is there a feasible way that in the future, video will not exclude all the stuff that happens in the nanoseconds between frames - and just record everything without taking rapid snapshots that make our eyes think we're watching a smooth visual experience? Do our eyes take in pure visual light, or do they take rapid snapshots that simulate a smooth video-like experience?

Is there anywhere to download a pristine copy of the theme songs to the two Verge podcasts, or the On the Verge show? I've only found versions that cut off the beginning or ending, or have been remixed.

Thanks.