Apple patents underside laptop optical drive

When rumors of an ultra-portable, 12" MacBook Pro emerged, I couldn't help but be a little skeptical. Don't get my wrong--I'd love nothing more than to be able to upgrade my 12" PowerBook to the new hotness without having to sacrifice my existing machine's portability. But let's be realistic: a dual-layer DVD burner, Intel Core 2 Duo chipset and 2GB of RAM in an enclosure less than 1" thick does sound a bit dubious. Apple, however, may have an ace up its sleeve. Gizmodo is reporting on a recent Apple patent that would allow for an optical drive to remain hidden (and ostensibly, cool) in the belly of the beast. That is to say, the optical drive would be stashed away on the bottom of the machine. It would certainly be a novel way of dealing with the problem and if it leads to an ultraportable MacBook Pro becoming a reality, I'm all for it.

For more on the patent:
- see this Gizmodo post