The MBP brand has been tarnished.

[173080]

While watching the WWDC keynote I began to remember the good days of the PowerBook. Owning a computer from Apple's pro lineup meant you had shelled out a decent amount of cash, and you were getting the best of the best in terms of industrial design along with the exclusivity.

I remember paying $3,100 for my PowerBook G4, and there was an incredibly clear difference between my $3,100 PBG4 and a $1400 iBook. The materials and build quality were completely different, as they should be. It was truly a special machine, and it showed.

And then comes the unibody Macbook. Apple gives their entry level customers access to the nice metal casing we've had for some eight years but at a much lower price point, and so the blending of the Macbook and Macbook Pro lines begins.

Yesterday Apple gave the final blow to the Macbook Pro brand and ruined it by adding the "13'' Macbook Pro" starting at a measly $1200. They bring the Macbook and Macbook Pro lines together by crippling the Macbook Pro enough to be somewhat like a Macbook. Now, why is a $1200 computer allowed to carry the name of what once used to be the 7-Series of computing? An atrocious democratization of the Macbook Pro!

What is Pro about the MBP anymore? There is no matte screen option. The screen bezel is huge. No ExpressCard slot. The classic keyboard had better tactile feedback. The 13" and base 15" can't run CUDA. An SD card slot is for consumers with P&S cameras. No built-in eSATA. The video adapters and remote are not included (a matter of convenience, even if it means a higher price).

And so the Macbook Pro brand has been tarnished. It is no longer a special badge worn only by the few - it has lost its essence.

 

[Bnitez]

Like World of Warcraft

 

[darngooddesign]

Boy, you should definitely blog about this.

 

[lyl]

yes they ruined their product line built up for years
anyways, it just a name

 

[northy124]

WTF is with these threads about the MBP line being ruined, I see it as a good thing myself

 

[jb1280]

get a grip.

 

[frenetic]

OP, do you use computers for differentiating yourself from the lower plebs, or because they are a tool that allow you to do something?

 

[AGSHender]

And so the Macbook Pro brand has been tarnished. It is no longer a special badge worn only by the few - it has lost its essence.

Repeat after me: It's just a computer. If there's any more than a shred of your self-image tied up in your computing hardware, then seek help.

 

[rawdawg]

I do agree that *unless* Apple's intention is to completely phase out the ExpressCard Slot the only real MacBookPro is the 17" which keeps it.

SD is not professional and belongs on a MacBook. My 5D mark II is CF and I wouldn't even want that on my Mac. What's so hard about using the cable? The read speeds in the 5Dmk2 are amazing!

Unless there is a future possibility to use the SD slot for something more useful than viewing your kids 3rd b-day party photos with Grandma I will never understand why it replaced the ExpressCard Slot regardless if people used it or not. How many overzealous Mac addicts need the power of a Pro anyways. If they want top of the line and are willing to buy into that product line, they get the best. That's the point of the MBP! In that way, yes the brand has been tarnished...... unless that feature is doomed to be phased out (perhaps fear of it catching on and hurting a FW1600 possibility?)

 

[jtgotsjets]

Whatever. The MacBook Pro line has been crippled for months and months without an option smaller than 15".

Good move, Apple.

 

[kaldezar]

Well I think it's great that elitist snobs like yourself are getting their just desserts. The proletariat are just getting better machines at lower prices.

 

[phobic99]

Repeat after me: It's just a computer. If there's any more than a shred of your self-image tied up in your computing hardware, then seek help.

Quoting for emphasis although I think the OP still won't get it. It's a shame really but seriously he has to be joking.

 

[HyperSnake]

All hardware prices have gone down during the last 10 years, wouldn't it be weird if Apple, as the only company, didn't put down their prices and let you pay $3100 for a macbook? Also I don't get what there is to complain about: Apple's strategy for a long time has been to allow anybody to have a better computer, a mac. They now have computers starting at decent hardware at decent prices, perfect for any normal consumer, but they let people customize their computers to excellent(and expensive, which seems like the only thing you think about) hardware, perfect for any pro. If you want to let everybody know that you fully customized you MBP and paid $3500 dollars for it, put a sticker on you computer saying "I paid 3500 buck for this thing, I'm superior to all you who bought it for only $1699", I bet that'll give you a lot of sympathy.

 

[cube]

There is nothing pro about any MBP or PowerBook.

 

[barkomatic]

You used to have shell out quite a bit more just to get a 15 inch notebook from Apple. Many non-professional people just wanted the bigger screen size and little else. Now they don't have to pay $1300 more to get it. What Apple did makes perfect sense.

You can still pay for premium features if you need them. Most people who consider themselves "professionals" are a joke. They create a website or two and use professional high end cameras even though they are amateur photographers. Suddenly, they are professionals who require the best tech. lol

 

[shoppy]

There was always a 12" powerbook, so how does haveing a 13" MBP tarnish the line?

 

[Jelite]

 

[mlemonds]

to OP:

were you upset when the iphone 3G came out at $199 and 'everyone' could afford one?

 

[sishaw]

I'm sure you can still find...

an overpriced computer somewhere if this is what you require to maintain a healthy sense of self. I hear Alienware machines can get up there.

 

[Skydiver32]

HAHAHA!!!!
I would probably call the OP an elist A(fill in the blank)ole, but I will not. I see it as sad and pathetic. When the rumor of Apple selling Macs at Walmart came out, he must have come closed to killing himself.

It's a tool that is ubiquitous. It doesn't make your stronger, smarter, more attractive, and sure as hell, doesn't make you better than anyone.

 

[Snowcat001]

Oh no, yet another guy that buys a mac to show off and tell everyone how expensive it was.

I really hate people like you who continuously try to make themselves feel superior to other people by buying expensive brand stuff!!

Just buy it because you like it!
And if it's below your superior elite standards than buy something else or make it yourself!

Really hate this kind of people

 

[SkyBell]

It's been going on for longer then that. Probably since at least the beginning of 2008, the MBP has been going downhill. But the "Pro" moniker sells, so I guess Apple's decided to slap it on damn near everything.

 

[zap2]

You know the old 12'' MBP was similarly priced right?

Please...if you're buying something just to give yourself a "fancy" computer...maybe you should rethink why you're buying it to begin with.

 

[bli625]

Calm down man. It's just a name. Apple could change the name to MacBook Fail next week and I bet people would still go out and buy it. You purchase a computer based on your needs... who cares what name it has. A computer is a tool; not a symbol of elitism.

 

[sishaw]

You used to have shell out quite a bit more just to get a 15 inch notebook from Apple. Many non-professional people just wanted the bigger screen size and little else. Now they don't have to pay $1300 more to get it. What Apple did makes perfect sense.

You can still pay for premium features if you need them. Most people who consider themselves "professionals" are a joke. They create a website or two and use professional high end cameras even though they are amateur photographers. Suddenly, they are professionals who require the best tech. lol

I've met graphic professionals (i.e., graphics is their actual job) who just use an iMac. Certainly the current MBP lineup would also suffice.