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Aluminum MacBook and MacBook Pros Spotted?

fishy007 said:
I really hope they slap an HDMI output onto one of the models. My 2 year old Asus G1S has HDMI WITH audio. I can hook it up to my HDTV and play movies and games.

Hell, I could always buy a cheap external Blu-Ray drive for $120 and suddenly I have a blu-ray player for my home theatre now!

It'd be really nice if Apple put HDMI onto one of their laptops.....REAAALLLY nice.
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I thought the words "cheap" and "blu-ray" were still mutually exclusive. :(
 
MugsyMD said:
Why a DVI port when a HDMI port would be better. Technically HDMI and DVI are the same except HDMI adds sound - wouldn't that be better, and an HDMI port is about the size of the smaller DVI port - heck all the newer laptops on the PC side have HDMI - what gives?
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HDMI is single-link only. A lot of people use 30" displays with their MBPs. I personally know two architects and one graphic designer who use 30" ACDs on a regular basis with their MBPs. This can't be done with HDMI. Ditching the dual-link DVI would be a major step backwards for the MBP.

How about this? What if the DVI-I spec was changed to allow the analog pins to be switched between analog video and digital audio? That would be the ultimate in connectivity: dual-link digital, analog VGA, and HDMI A/V.
 
Spades said:
USB and PS/2 keyboards have been the same price for ages.
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Not at retail (or at least, not at any of the four stores I looked at).

iAthena said:
I thought the words "cheap" and "blu-ray" were still mutually exclusive. :(
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"Cheap" and "Blu-ray", perhaps, but not "affordable" and "Blu-ray". Standalone players are already down in the <$250 price range; I suspect they'll be under $200 by Christmas.
 
matznentosh said:
No one is mentioning licensing fees. I tried to google this, had read it (on RoughlyDrafted maybe?) but I can't find it now, but apparently part of the problem of replacing a dvi port (or as supposed the mini-dvi port) with HDMI or DIsplayPort is the licensing fee for the newer types of ports. I thought Apple had purposely avoided those kinds of ports as a result. Anyone have more info on this?
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DVI and HDMI are in some parts patented by Silicon Image, the same company that produced (patented) SATA. So licensing fees are involved in all of these. HDMI is however latest, most sold to consumers (has highest recognition among non technical consumers), and as such demands bigger licensing fees.

DisplayPort on the other hand is license free!!! It comes built into the latest Intel chipsets (at least ones with built in graphics). So it has cost advantage as well as size, being ever so slightly smaller then HDMI. Another advantage is that it was designed to be a... jack of all trades. It can quite easily be converted to most other signals with a dongle.

Problem with DisplayPort is that until monitor/tv manufacturers release new DisplayPort products (Dell will have a line available first half of next year), the solution looks damn ugly by having to carry an ugly dongle hanging off your laptop.

I am not sure which port will be prominent in the future. HDMI has nice user base already. But DisplayPort comes at no cost with new chipsets, so price will drive it...

Miki.
 
Any word on the iMac? or is it not getting an update? Any new rumor floating around about it?
 
MikiJ said:
DVI and HDMI are in some parts patented by Silicon Image, the same company that produced (patented) SATA. So licensing fees are involved in all of these. HDMI is however latest, most sold to consumers (has highest recognition among non technical consumers), and as such demands bigger licensing fees.

DisplayPort on the other hand is license free!!! It comes built into the latest Intel chipsets (at least ones with built in graphics). So it has cost advantage as well as size, being ever so slightly smaller then HDMI. Another advantage is that it was designed to be a... jack of all trades. It can quite easily be converted to most other signals with a dongle.

Problem with DisplayPort is that until monitor/tv manufacturers release new DisplayPort products (Dell will have a line available first half of next year), the solution looks damn ugly by having to carry an ugly dongle hanging off your laptop.

I am not sure which port will be prominent in the future. HDMI has nice user base already. But DisplayPort comes at no cost with new chipsets, so price will drive it...

Miki.
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Thanks for the info. I know I read somewhere there was some reason why HDMI was being used instead of DisplayPort, but I can't find it now tho, so maybe I misremember.

Wikipedia has this info on DisplayPort. If this is true, why wouldn't everybody be using it? Bold added by me:

"Advantages over DVI

1. Based on micro-packet protocol
* Allows easy expansion of the standard
* Allows multiple video streams over single physical connection (in a future version)
2. Designed to support internal chip-to-chip communication
* Can drive display panels directly, eliminating control circuits and allowing for cheaper and slimmer displays
* Aimed to replace internal LVDS links in notebook panels with a unified link interface
3. Dual-mode DisplayPort is capable of backward compatibility with single link DVI/HDMI (active converter adapters or dongles are required for dual link DVI/HDMI and analog VGA)
4. Supports both RGB and YCbCr color spaces (ITU-R BT.601 and BT.709 format)
5. Auxiliary channel can be used for touch-panel data, USB links, camera, microphone, etc.
6. Fewer lanes with embedded clock reduce RFI
7. Slimmer cables and a much smaller connector that doesn't require thumbscrews. Connector pins don't run the risk of bending if improperly handled
8. The DisplayPort connector is easier to connect guided only by touch"

Smaller connector - touch panel compatible - backwards compatible with an adapter - Apple should love all this. They sure don't mind making you use an adapter to connect to external monitors.
 
Drag'nGT said:
Any word on the iMac? or is it not getting an update? Any new rumor floating around about it?
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Not a chance, iMac is the machine that was most recently updated. The MacBook, the MacBook Pro, the Mini, the Mac Pro and the MacBook Air will all see updates or replacements (or even be discontinued) before the iMac does. I got my iMac 24" 2.4GHz in late December of 2007, new models came out only a few months later, they're not gonna update them twice in less than a year.
 
digitalbiker said:
Except there was a warning at the last quarterly shareholders meeting about less profit margin from a future product update.

It is speculated that this means Apple is going to target the macbook for under $1000.00 to be competitive with other notebook manufacturers.
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God I hope so. Not because I want Apple to cheapen out on their product line prices, but I'd LOVE to see the price of G4 iBooks and Powerbooks drop to more a reasonable level. I don't believe for one single minute that the market is driving a $450 pricetag for a goddamn TiBook 500!! I have no doubt that no one is buying them at that price.

D4F said:
Design I agree. It's good.
OS X? well I found it extremely 'narrow minded' so had to move to 64Bit Win system to run apps that I need.
Reliability... Sweet. You must be lucky then. My iMac had a Logic Board replaced already and a screen.
My macbook was in repair for 10 days and my Pro simply died.

Sorry man. Apple is gonna fall. you'll see. They are as fake as US economy now. Pure marketing.
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To each his own.

Sorry to hear of your misfortune with Apple products. I've had my share too, with Apple, Dell, and HP products.

Your last line is just a poor attempt at a troll. I hope no one was stupid enough to bite.
 
matznentosh said:
Thanks for the info. I know I read somewhere there was some reason why HDMI was being used instead of DisplayPort, but I can't find it now tho, so maybe I misremember.

Wikipedia has this info on DisplayPort. If this is true, why wouldn't everybody be using it?
Click to expand...

:) Small reason, but very persuasive one is... DisplayPort existed only in the imagination of its makers until very recently.

DisplayPort existed last year as an external chip to convert from one singal type to DP etc. But its cost savings start only when companies start building it directly onto their chip set silicon, what Intel, AMD etc are only now starting to do. Its just timing. Silicon Image released HDMI first ans was able to profit. Now a cheaper solution is tyring to catch up.

Miki.
 
chedda said:
The more i consider this thread and it's implications the more i believe it was the macbooks that were spotted. I am confident that apple will surprise and astound us all with the new mbp design (if it is new).
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Spotted... new design...

Do you mean like this?

imac_bd.jpg


:D;):D
 
Eidorian said:
https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/6305899/

https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/6305983/
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I think the article is what's new, not the fake image.

I hear that the new MacBook Pro will forgo the drastically tapered edges from the popular MacBook Air design (as seen in the purported “leak” above) and instead stick with a more traditional, pro-like, boxy design. Sources tell me that the new MBP will be thinner and as much as a half-inch narrower than the current model with less bezel around the screen.
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No word on whether the display bezel will be black, as in the photo, but you can say goodbye to the last Apple keyboard with silver concave keys. The new MBP will sport the same black “flat top” keyboard that’s in the MacBook Air as the company continues to standardize parts.
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The new MBP’s rumored “glass” trackpad will inherit full Multi-Touch capability from the iPhone and iPod touch. Multi-Touch allows you to pinch and stretch with two fingers on the trackpad to zoom in and out. When I dug a little deeper no one could confirm that the “glass” trackpad is actually manufactured with glass which presumably would pose a breakage problem. People that have seen it say that the new trackpad is “shiny,” rather than the flat, matte finish found on current trackpads.
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The biggest boon will come for virtualization software (like Parallels, VMWare) users if a feature spotted on some prototypes comes true. Some MBP development mules have been seen with a split trackpad, which would be a first for the company. The addition of a second trackpad button would be a huge for contextual menus in OS X but even moreso in Windows. The multi-button trackpad has been a long time coming and it’s about time.
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mjteix said:
The biggest boon will come for virtualization software (like Parallels, VMWare) users if a feature spotted on some prototypes comes true. Some MBP development mules have been seen with a split trackpad, which would be a first for the company. The addition of a second trackpad button would be a huge for contextual menus in OS X but even moreso in Windows. The multi-button trackpad has been a long time coming and it’s about time.
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I guarantee you there will be no split trackpad. Happy to take bets on that one if anybody wants.
 
Anyone know what kind of new hardware might be released with the next MBP? (mainly the type of CPU, Video Card, and CD drive). I'm looking to switch to a Mac from being a PC user for over 15 years, and have finally decided to get a system (either MBP or iMac) during their next update since I'll be doing a lot of graphic design work (amongst other things).
 
definitive said:
Anyone know what kind of new hardware might be released with the next MBP? (mainly the type of CPU, Video Card, and CD drive). I'm looking to switch to a Mac from being a PC user for over 15 years, and have finally decided to get a system (either MBP or iMac) during their next update since I'll be doing a lot of graphic design work (amongst other things).
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If someone knew it would be Page 1 MacRumors "news".

There's plenty of speculation based on Intel's roadmaps and the hardware of other computer manufacturers.
 
definitive said:
Anyone know what kind of new hardware might be released with the next MBP? (mainly the type of CPU, Video Card, and CD drive). I'm looking to switch to a Mac from being a PC user for over 15 years, and have finally decided to get a system (either MBP or iMac) during their next update since I'll be doing a lot of graphic design work (amongst other things).
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Here is what I am guessing will be the specs of the new & upcoming MBs & MBPs.

MBs

Use Intel G43 chipset
Core2duo P8400 2.26Ghz or P8600 2.4Ghz 3MB L2 cache (these processors run 30% cooler than the previous gen 8100 & 8300)
1GB RAM upto 4GB (ofcourse Apple might continue charging arm & leg for upgrades)
Intel X4500 video
Superdrive?
multitouch trackpad (glass??)
other features as previous gen
Price - $1000 & $1200 respectively ??

MBPs
Core2duo T9400 2.533Ghz or T9600 2.8Ghz 6MB L2 cache
2GB RAM upto 4GB
nvidia 9600M GT with 256MB & 512MB
other features as previous gen
Price - starting from $1800 ?? or would that be cutting too deep into Apple pockets??

Comments?
 
Tosser said:
You don't get it, do you? We ALREADY HAVE FW800 on the MBP in ADDITION to FW400. Nixing the fw400 connector is in no way "better".


Exactly. Optical aren't really "pro" either. Neither is gaming, for that matter.


I'm sorry, but iTunes? Seriously? We're talking a supposedly "pro" computer here, discussing the nixing of ports.
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I'm sitting here with a pro in my lap, and know everything that is has, and use every bit of it. So you don't need to really educate me.

I'm just considering the pros and cons of the suggested I/O change, and can live without a FW400 if it can effect the footprint, but only in a significant matter. I use the 800 a lot more than the 400.

On another note, an HDMI would be handy. But I personally(I'm not forgetting about the masses this is just my input), it wouldn't be a big deal for it. I set up DVI to my HDTV, and go plug my audio straight into my sound system.
 
here is my amature prediction

october laptops
all with alum
entry level specs stay the same and get a SSD and a small price increace
other macbook gets 2.5 ghz 300 GB hard drive and small grafics card
mac pro up to 8 gig ram and 2.6 entry ghz up to 2.8 500 GB hard drive with 350 7200 rpm option
november small spec increaces in other computers
january a major over haul hopefully tablet game system the imac needs to be able to have 8 gigs of ram and the pro gets speed bumps

just had fun doing this prob am wrong
 
Piplodocus said:
Whhhaaaaaoooooooaaaaahhh! If that's a real pic with the dock in a display in the glass touchpad I no longer give a sh*% if it loses FW 400. I'll happily buy the 400 to 800 cable and daisychain.... :D
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Hehe, and just when we stopped the discussion on "consumers" vs. "professionals" and why and if it sucks to introduce lowest common denominator consumer "features" into what is supposedly "pro" equipment :p :rolleyes:

;)
 
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