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Another Look at Apple's Core 2 Duo Choice for New 13-Inch MacBook Pro

iMacmatician said:
Don't those ports take up a comparatively small part of the notebook? So that removing them doesn't really free up space for better components?
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That's true. I'm just saying that from a utility standpoint the optical drive is more important to me.

If it's a question of trading the optical drive for an i5, I don't know which I would opt for. I'm not looking to upgrade right now so it's academic to me; hopefully in another 18 to 24 months Apple will have a better solution for the 13" customers.
 
macUser2007 said:
So, Jobs is full of crap, as usual.

His explanation was not about space constraints, or about a licensing dispute, but "killer graphics" over "very a very small CPU speed increase."

So does this mean that the Core i processors used in the 15" and 17" Mac Books Pro provide "very a very small CPU speed increase," or is it just BS, like the excuses for not allowing Flash on the iPad?

I suppose next we'll be hearing from Jobs how Intel was being lazy.....
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Well - some people are full of crap but Steve is not one of them IMO
 

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m85476585 said:
Unfortunately Apple is kind of neglecting the 13" because they don't make as much money off it. However, I would gladly pay $2000 or more for a 13" if it had the same specs as a larger MBP but in a smaller package. Apple's excuse for not upgrading the 13" (to i5 processors or discrete graphics or giving it an expresscard slot) is that they can't fit everything in and maintain the battery life. The solution is to ditch the optical drive since it is becoming less relevant every day. For as often as I use it, I'd rather buy an external and use the space in the computer for something else. If they could fit discrete graphics, an i5, an expresscard slot (or alternatively USB3, eSATA, or LightPeak), 2 hard drives, and a high res matte display (1440x900 or 1680x1050 or more), that would be the ideal computer for me, and I would pay a lot of money for one.

Apple needs to stop watering down their products to sell to more people, and focus on what real "pro" users want. The macbook is their consumer line.
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I agree, but it's tough to say how many people would see it the same way as us. I personally have little to no use for a built-in optical drive, but I guess a lot of people still do.
 
Please don't

orbital.zero said:
I agree with Apple's decision, but I have a much better idea:

REMOVE THAT DVD DRIVE !!!

It will make room to:
- Discrete GPU
- Right side USB ports
- MORE BATTERY
- ExpressCard slot
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I have an even better idea - leave the dvd drive alone, adjust the design and get intel and nvidia to sort out their differences. At the moment a dvd drive is an indispensable part of my everyday computer usage - notebook and desktop. Even if they did remove the drive ala macbook air they would probably come with some ultra slick fancy design and up would go the price :(
 
In the 13" MacBook Pros, is it worth $300 more for the one with slightly better specs? (2.66GHz and 320GB compared to 2.4GHz and 250GB)
 
Mal67 said:
I have an even better idea - leave the dvd drive alone, adjust the design and get intel and nvidia to sort out their differences. At the moment a dvd drive is an indispensable part of my everyday computer usage - notebook and desktop. Even if they did remove the drive ala macbook air they would probably come with some ultra slick fancy design and up would go the price :(
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I have an even better one: if AMD (ATI) and NVIDIA would agree not to produce cards that can work with the new Intel processors for just a year (so that if you want Intel you have to use Intel's integrated gpu) ... It won't happen but :rolleyes: :D
 
DontMacTheGyver said:
It is a Pro, but in retirement... :)
Seems like we have to wait another round for a 13" Pro machine.
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Yeah, i'm thinking that next year's models are going to be a major leap forward kind. But who can wait that long?

I'm going to take the plunge in a couple of weeks.
Take the base model for $1199 and be happy with it. And then in 2 years I can consider upgrading.
 
The only thing I am worried about is the lack of a discrete GPU. I am going to be a graphic design major, and I enjoy a few games from time to time (Crysis, Americas Army) and I just dont know if it's even possible to make happen. It's really the only macbook pro in our budget. Or maybe I need to do some serious begging.
 
OutSpoken said:
:confused:

Yeah..you sure about that? I would beg to differ. I would say the 13" is probably their most popular size and model, all imo of course.;)
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Also, "making" money (net profit), is a lot different than gross profit from sales.

I would think that the profit margin (sale price - cost) is smaller on the 13" than the 15" or 17". However volume of sales is probably a lot higher. Hard to say which makes more profit for Apple.

Any numbers out there on the Inter-Webs?
 
DontMacTheGyver said:
It is a Pro, but in retirement... :)
Seems like we have to wait another round for a 13" Pro machine.
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Damn right:) I have no other option, the 15" is a little to expensive, so it will be the 13" Pro. It's going to replace my old macbook 2.0. Better performance and I'm getting a least half of the price that I paid for my old one:D
 
DontMacTheGyver said:
This really depends on the point of view... I really never use my optical drive. Even SL entered my MacBook via flash drive.

I wan't to give the pictures from the weekend to my friend out of town? Not a problem, I just put it on his flash drive he has on his bunch of keys. I am a student at university and everyone I know has one in his pocket.
And yes, even my car and my friends' cars have a USB input jack...

I know Apple is not gooing to drop the optical 'cause most of the common people are still using it. But please... make it optional! And don't come with this "there is the MBA for you..." I just need a 13" PRO machine, and to be honest, at the moment Apple offers none! :(
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That makes sense that most university students have flash drives now. I'm sure they've replaced floppies as they are superior in every way that I can think of (except that they're probably easier to lose... ; ).
When I was in college we still used floppies. No folks in my crowd carry flash drives. But then, Apple may not be targeting my crowd (thirty-something professionals). Even many of the twenty-somethings I work with don't carry flash drives, though.
I agree, flash drives have a lot going for them over CD/DVD, but then, just today a coworker burned a DVD of pictures to send to a partner organization.
We don't have extra flash drives lying around the office that we can treat is disposable (though, maybe we should.) Another upside of CD/DVD? No accidental deleting! ; )

What cars have USB inputs?! I live in a city and most folks I know don't have cars, and if they do, their '02 Jetta or Civic doesn't even have an aux in (my '06 Tacoma doesn't either), let alone a USB port. How standard is USB input for your average ~$20k car with standard audio package?

Clearly our experiences demonstrate the broad range of a potential customer base Apple is looking at.
It also highlights one of Apple's biggest failings, in my view, over the years: lack of options.
 
Does anyone have any idea how long it would take for the new Macbook Pros to show up refurbished. I want one only because I don't want the nice box the new ones come with. If I buy a new one I will like the box and never throw it out.
 
junko said:
Does anyone have any idea how long it would take for the new Macbook Pros to show up refurbished. I want one only because I don't want the nice box the new ones come with. If I buy a new one I will like the box and never throw it out.
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Refurbs come in new boxes, they are just aren't the shiny, white retail boxes with the graphics on them. ;)

To answer your original question, they'll be showing up at all intervals but they don't last long. If you are ready to pull the trigger on one, you'll need to check on a frequent basis and you'll need to complete the transaction before someone else snags it out from under you.
 
I know I have to watch the refurb site. If I get a new one with the nice box I'll never throw it out. If it's a regular box I won't care.

I want to know how long do you think it would take for the new models to start appearing in the store? 1 month?
 
junko said:
Does anyone have any idea how long it would take for the new Macbook Pros to show up refurbished. I want one only because I don't want the nice box the new ones come with. If I buy a new one I will like the box and never throw it out.
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Usually it takes about half the life-cycle of the product (eg. 5-6 months fr a yearly refreshed product). Just check the refurbished section of the store and there are still plenty of previous gen MBPs. Imo edu discount seems to be the better deal than waiting for refurbished.
 
$

sturmnacht said:
The 13" MBP, no.
The 13" Vaio Z, yes.
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Why do people keep comparing the MBP 13 to the Vaio Z!? It's much more expensive (in the UK it is at anyrate).... The MBP provides the right cost/lightness/robustness and performance out there...!!! It does for mobile (pro, not playing games) pro work at any rate!

The Vaio ships with SSD, Apple have backed off pushing SSD because people think they cost too much... Did anyone else notice how the Original Hatched Battery Uni Body has a faster HD controller the next gen... this was because so few people wanted to pay the extra cash, so it wasn't worth putting in an over-specified disk controller chip!

I which people thought less with their dangly bits!
 
pika2000 said:
1. Yes, OS X supports 8GB RAM. However, you need 64 bit apps for them to utilize the extra RAM.
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You don't. You can easily have four 32-bit applications each using 2 GB of RAM. You need 64 bit apps for a single application to use more than about 3.5 GB all on its own.
 
gnasher729 said:
You don't. You can easily have four 32-bit applications each using 2 GB of RAM. You need 64 bit apps for a single application to use more than about 3.5 GB all on its own.
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Err, yes, that's what I said, that you need 64bit apps for the apps (them) to utilize the extra RAM.
 
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