Huh? They're different, but the Rain doesn't walk all over the MBP by any means..
The Rain has 2 extra Firewire 400 ports, an eSATA port, the ability to take 8GB RAM (vs. 6GB), a slightly higher-res screen, a crappy card reader, and... a modem
.
The MBP has better video out (2560x1600 digital vs. 2048x1536 analog), digital audio out/in (an odd feature to be missing on an "audio" machine), a faster base processor, a FireWire 800 port (vs. only 400), LED backlighting, and a faster FSB (1066MHz vs. 800MHz).
Add to this the fact that the MBP is beautiful, while the Rain just looks like any other laptop, and... most importantly, the MBP runs a non-crap OS.
More ports is not the be-all and end-all of notebook performance.
Screen Resolution (native):
MBP: 1440 by 900
LB: 1680X1500
(i.e. the NATIVE resolution is much higher on the livebook –*you know - the native resolution that is the most important on a laptop).
Firewire:
MBP: ONE firewire 800 port, using the Agere chipset
Livebook: Two FW-400 ports – using TI-chipsets.
– yes, the MBP's port is quicker than a FW400 port, in that it is FW800, but as it's using an inferior Agere-chip, it's rather irrelevant. Secondly, the LB has a second chip in the express-slot. Yup, that's right. And speed wise? Well, that's a moot point as well, given that the livebook has esata.
Video out:
MBP: DVI output (using an adaptor), VGA (using another adaptor), Dual-link DVI-output (using a third adaptor).
Livebook: HDMI (this also means audio out) and VGA.
You talk about the Livebook having a lesser analogue out. But it has both. It has a VGA AND an HDMI out.
RAM:
MBP: According to Apple, the MBP supports up to 4, not 6GB.
Livebook: up to 8GB. RAM matters if you work with lots of (real, not virtual) tracks.
Further, the livebook does have mic-in. It's true, tough, that it doesn't have a minijack for audio-out, except for the headphone plug (which is just an ordinary headphone plug), but pros seldomly use minijack plugs, especially optical ones. No, firewire, esata, PCI Express/express card is where it's at.
When it comes to your argument that it has faster "base" processor, I can't see how that's relevant. You can get the same processor speed on both if you want. They both top out with the same 2.8GHz.
The only thing the MBP has is, as you point out, the backlit keyboard and faster bus.
One could much better argue,that backlit keyboards and slightly faster bus doesn't matter much if you're not able to get the audio properly in and out of the thing.
The OS, then? Well, my clients don't care about what OS I use. They care about money, deadlines and quality of the end product. No more, no less.
And I'm sorry to say, you completely lost me in your fanboyism when you try to make the argument that pros should by the MBP because "it's beautiful". Really? Again, my clients really don't care. Neither do I when push comes to shove: I want it to WORK "beautifully", not just LOOK beautiful.
Further, I think it's good it looks like "just another laptop" – I really don't like to broadcast (yes, pun intended) a "steal me"-signal every time I use my laptop.
No, ports aren't the end-all of audio production on a laptop. But without the proper ports, chances are you won't get anything done.
So, I agree: The MBP certainly does look like a toy when compared to this thing. Hell, it even has a num-pad to add insult to injury.
Will it be my next laptop? Nope. It doesn't come with a danish keyboard, nor do they sell it in this country. I will be going for a Thinkpad instead.
