Here are my thoughts on why it's idiotic for UMB owners to upgrade right now...

[likemyorbs]

So you just bought your unibody macbook and suddenly it's been rebranded with a pro name? pretty pissed huh? but here's the thing, this new "MBP" has the same exact internals as yours, same old core 2 duo processor, which btw is about 2 years old, same nvidia, same standard ram and hard drive. it's just a new name, and a few minor updates that they would have done even if they didn't rebrand it. so dont even think about updating now, because you'll kick yourself in a year when the i7 processor comes out along with usb 3.0, and then everyone feels stupid for updating their UMB to a 13 inch MBP, unless of course you were still within the return period

[iShater]

That is your opinion. Calling people idiots for deciding to upgrade for updates they deem worth it is? :rolleyes:

[t0mat0]

That is your opinion. Calling people idiots for deciding to upgrade for updates they deem worth it is? :rolleyes:

Idiot might be strong, but he's right -
It's a bumped CPU when a new architecture is in the wings. Nvidia GPUs aren't upgraded. The next MBP update will be better (or else they'll let people hang, but ExpressCard 2.0, USB3, Nehalem - these aren't incremental changes, they're big jumps).

[iShater]

You guys need to look at the price of the machine with the updates. For some people if they like the new changes it is not an idiotic change, because only you know what YOU WANT.

I never understand the name calling for someone who decides to replace a computer. :)

[NATO]

It's got a higher quality display, a long-life battery, backlit keyboard as standard plus it's a bit cheaper too. Not a massive upgrade, but decent enough. The base model is actually incredibly good value, none of Apple's notorious hold-back-on-keyboard-backlighting-to-tempt-people-to-buy-the-higher-model tactics. If I was in the market for a laptop right now, the base 13" MBP would be a very attractive option.

I wish they'd brought this 13" model out originally as the poor screen quality was the reason I returned it and went for a 17" model.

[likemyorbs]

That is your opinion. Calling people idiots for deciding to upgrade for updates they deem worth it is? :rolleyes:

I'm not calling anyone an idiot, i'm saying it's an idiotic move, and doesn't make much sense. i can roll my eyes too, see? :rolleyes:

[iShater]

I'm not calling anyone an idiot, i'm saying it's an idiotic move, and doesn't make much sense. i can roll my eyes too, see? :rolleyes:

Good for you. Using the words "idiotic" and "feel stupid" doesn't imply your calling anybody an idiot. Right ... Got it.

[andiwm2003]

umpf, what if someone needs the FW800 port and upgrades because of that? is he an idiot?

also your argument that you will get the i7 and USB 3.0 next year doesn't hold. why can't they upgrade next year again? what can he lose? in the worst case a few hundred dollar. so what?

people have shown that it is easily possible to upgrade every year and sell off the old mac and they come out better or equal to people who keep their machines. in that case the time to sell your macbook is now as long as there are enough ignorant people on ebay/craigslist who buy the old UMB for top dollars.

btw: i upgrade only every few years but that's because i'm too lazy to erease my mac, sell on ebay, buy a new one and reinstall everything.

[likemyorbs]

Good for you. Using the words "idiotic" and "feel stupid" doesn't imply your calling anybody an idiot. Right ... Got it.

Ohh i'm sorry let me soften that for you, my harsh language may offend your virgin ears. ill change idiotic to "silly" and feel stupid to "feel goofy". is that better for you? i feel like im in a frickin hannah montana forum, a bunch of grown men can't handle the word idiotic without getting offended. especially when it doesn't pertain to them, and especially when im not saying people who upgrade are idiots, im saying its an idiotic move and explaining my reasoning why. grow up...

umpf, what if someone needs the FW800 port and upgrades because of that? is he an idiot?

if he bought a UMB knowing that it didn't suit his needs to begin with, then yes he is indeed an idiot.

[ahjjones]

So you just bought your unibody macbook and suddenly it's been rebranded with a pro name? pretty pissed huh? but here's the thing, this new "MBP" has the same exact internals as yours, same old core 2 duo processor, which btw is about 2 years old, same nvidia, same standard ram and hard drive. it's just a new name, and a few minor updates that they would have done even if they didn't rebrand it. so dont even think about updating now, because you'll kick yourself in a year when the i7 processor comes out along with usb 3.0, and then everyone feels stupid for updating their UMB to a 13 inch MBP, unless of course you were still within the return period
I agree 100%. Those people have just "have" to upgrade because if they don't they will feel simply and utterly inadequate. :rolleyes:

if he bought a UMB knowing that it didn't suit his needs to begin with, then yes he is indeed an idiot.
Correct yet again. I think it's hilarious how everyone loved their MacBook before the upgrades and now they suddenly aren't happy with it and it doesn't fit their needs. It's quite sad.

[iShater]

Ohh i'm sorry let me soften that for you, my harsh language may offend your virgin ears. ill change idiotic to "silly" and feel stupid to "feel goofy". is that better for you? i feel like im in a frickin hannah montana forum, a bunch of grown men can't handle the word idiotic without getting offended. especially when it doesn't pertain to them, and especially when im not saying people who upgrade are idiots, im saying its an idiotic move and explaining my reasoning why. grow up...

You started a thread flaming people on making a decision to upgrade, yet you don't expect to get called out for flaming when you are pulling predictions and judgments out of your behind?

In a year, every single machine out there will be outdated, so it really doesn't matter if they upgrade or not? Heck, maybe it is an idiotic move to keep the old UMB cause someone else thinks it is. :)

[likemyorbs]

You started a thread flaming people on making a decision to upgrade, yet you don't expect to get called out for flaming when you are pulling predictions and judgments out of your behind?


yes, im flaming people with an 8 month old or younger computer who feel the need to "upgrade" to the same computer with a different name. and those predictions and judgements aren't out of my behind, i think the usb 3.0 and i7 processor are pretty solid projections for the next year or year and a half.

[andiwm2003]

if he bought a UMB knowing that it didn't suit his needs to begin with, then yes he is indeed an idiot.

wow, that is quite judgemental. i don't own a UMB but i can easily see that some people bought a UMB in addition to their other macs because it is very portable. they compromised on the FW800 port. (we all compromise on something. i would compromise on the golssy screen.) now a UMB with FW800 comes out and there is no need to compromise. so why not upgrade. what is idiotic about that?

the point i want to make is that there are many reasons to upgrade. wanting to have the latest and greatest is a not so smart reason. others like the availability of new features are perfectly justified.

it seems that you don't want to understand that there are many different people in many different situations. and they all have different reasons to upgrade. most of these reasons are not idiotic or stupid but rather reasonable. especially since the upgrade costs are negligible for many customers.

may i ask how old you are and what you do for a living?

[iLog.Genius]

It's true, if they did purchase the uMB and now complaining they are very silly. Also, I posted in another thread that I read in a few forums (not here) that they believe the new "MacBook Pro" is more powerful. Huh? When I see the term powerful, I think of the internals (not including battery). I'm pretty sure you can spec the old uMB to the new uMBP and it's the same machine. It's all in the marketing.

[ux4all]

If the revised base uMB can support 8GB RAM, then it is a huge upgrade IMO.

[iShater]

You are mixing the issue of perceived value because of the name change, and the actual fact that they did make changes. The internals ARE NOT the same.


but here's the thing, this new "MBP" has the same exact internals as yours, same old core 2 duo processor, which btw is about 2 years old, same nvidia, same standard ram and hard drive. it's just a new name, and a few minor updates that they would have done even if they didn't rebrand it.

How can you say it is the same exact internals, and then say that it has a few minor updates?

- FW800
- Better display
- SD slot
- Different battery (not saying better really, that is open for debate)
- Back-lit keyboard

For someone who is replacing their current UMB because they want/need these enhancements it makes perfect sense.

If they are upgrading because they want the latest and greatest even if they don't need it, then it maybe an "idiotic" move because they are not getting anything they really need over the current UMB (same CPU, RAM, HD).

Anyhow, this is not worth the constant back and forth, we are happy with our machines, so who cares about others? :D

It's true, if they did purchase the uMB and now complaining they are very silly. Also, I posted in another thread that I read in a few forums (not here) that they believe the new "MacBook Pro" is more powerful. Huh? When I see the term powerful, I think of the internals (not including battery). I'm pretty sure you can spec the old uMB to the new uMBP and it's the same machine. It's all in the marketing.

Nicely put.

[likemyorbs]

it seems that you don't want to understand that there are many different people in many different situations. and they all have different reasons to upgrade. most of these reasons are not idiotic or stupid but rather reasonable. especially since the upgrade costs are negligible for many customers.

may i ask how old you are and what you do for a living?

again, you dont compromise on features you need, that's not smart. if you needed firewire then you shouldnt have bought the UMB. and again, this is not an upgrade, other than firewire its the same computer as the previous one. so if you already have the UMB, why would you buy the same computer all over again? call it whatever you want, i call it idiotic. and yes, you may ask how old i am and what i do for a living, im 20 and i work at staples. i have plenty of money to walk into an apple store today and buy the new MBP and sell mine off on craigslist, but its just not a wise thing to do. i dont think im off key at all when i tell people that upgrading a computer thats less than 8 months old is not really an upgrade, and therefore idiotic.

[iLog.Genius]

If the revised base uMB can support 8GB RAM, then it is a huge upgrade IMO.

It's only a matter of time before all unibody portables support it. We know the chipset can support it, Apple needs to allow it...(come on Apple!)

[likemyorbs]

If the revised base uMB can support 8GB RAM, then it is a huge upgrade IMO.

Absolutely, but im pretty sure the old one can too with a firmware upgrade and/or snow leopard

[QCassidy352]

It's got a higher quality display, a long-life battery, backlit keyboard as standard plus it's a bit cheaper too. Not a massive upgrade, but decent enough.

plus FW800 and the SD card.

Look, it rarely makes sense to upgrade just one generation because the differences are never going to be very big (exception: PPC --> first gen intel). As upgrades go, this was neither particularly big nor particularly small.

Moreover, upgrades like a higher quality display, longer battery life, and FW will make a lot more difference to many users than a i7 processor because frankly, many of us don't even max out a core 2 duo on a regular basis, but we all look at our screens on a regular basis. ;)

So does it make sense for uMB owners to upgrade? Probably not, in most cases. Will it make sense for buyers of the current generation to upgrade to the i7 models? Probably not, in most cases. But it's always just a case-by-case decision dependant on your financial situation, your uses for your mac, and your lust for the newest toy. :cool:

this is not an upgrade, other than firewire its the same computer as the previous one.

FW, better screen, better battery, SD card, faster processor, backlit on the low-end. It's not the same computer. Similar, but better in a number of possibly meaningful ways depending on your uses.

[likemyorbs]

You are mixing the issue of perceived value because of the name change, and the actual fact that they did make changes. The internals ARE NOT the same.


OK i should have phrased that better, it's not exactly the same. but the small updates that they did would have been done even if they didnt call it pro. but the things that control the power of the computer are all basically identical, so essentially its the same computer.

[iShater]

OK i should have phrased that better, it's not exactly the same. but the small updates that they did would have been done even if they didnt call it pro. but the things that control the power of the computer are all basically identical, so essentially its the same computer.

Thank you :)

You are correct, it is essentially the same computer. I wonder now if people would have felt different if they did make the changes without the "pro" name change. I bet the same decisions would be made with less drama.

I am tempted to get one (not because of the name, I swear!), but my wife would kill me. :p

[rdowns]

These arguments are simply a

http://steeldolphin.com/htmltuts/swoosh/step3_circle.gif http://brothersinlaw.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/jerk.jpg

[Ol3s]

Do you people not see that the OP means that it is idiotic to upgrade from an UMB to a 13" UMBP. He means that it is the same computer just with a few upgrades. I think it would also be stupid to do that, you got an UMB less than a year ago and then you go and buy a new that is almost the same for almost the same amount of money.

[iShater]

Do you people not see that the OP means that it is idiotic to upgrade from an UMB to a 13" UMBP. He means that it is the same computer just with a few upgrades. I think it would also be stupid to do that, you got an UMB less than a year ago and then you go and buy a new that is almost the same for almost the same amount of money.

Please read the entire thread to see what the issues we are discussing are. Do you not see that we all came to the same understanding after we clarified everything? :confused:

[likemyorbs]

Do you people not see that the OP means that it is idiotic to upgrade from an UMB to a 13" UMBP. He means that it is the same computer just with a few upgrades. I think it would also be stupid to do that, you got an UMB less than a year ago and then you go and buy a new that is almost the same for almost the same amount of money.

They know what i mean, some just disagree for whatever reason, but im glad you see my logic.

[annk]

I think everything's been said here now.