The rumors of an ultraportable MacBook pro are as old as the MacBook Pro itself and while Apple has thus far remained mum on the topic, there’s no denying that the company’s patent filings have done more to fan the flames of rumor and speculation than just about anything else. We’ve already seen a concept for a space-saving underside optical drive, now, the company is looking at another space saving idea: collapsible ports. Say what? “Instead of having the ports be directly on the side of a notebook, they would be placed on a pivot that allowed them to rotate,” Ars Technica explains. “When needed, individual ports or combinations of ports could be rotated or flipped down, and then retracted when no longer in use. It would work something like those pop-up power outlets you see in conference or training rooms, except the power would be pulled down instead of popped up.” Ultraportable MacBook Pro in time for Christmas? Keep your fingers crossed.

For more on the patent filing:
– see this Ars Technica article