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Apple Announces New Aluminum MacBooks

Exclusion of Firewire is pretty dumb. It makes their iLife suite useless especially iMovie users who import video from their DV and HDV camcorders. How are they supposed to import video?

EPIC FAIL OF EPIC PROPORTIONS. Stupid Apple.
 
Apple is going to get sued...

Okay everyone. I noticed something.... don't know if this has been brought up yet.

Go to the apple store, and select the low end (new version) model... the $1299.

Check out the keyboard select. It's listed in both Spanish and English as BACKLIT.

Everywhere else on the site (tech specs included) it's listed as not.

So Apple, which is it? There are going to be some mighty unhappy folk when they turn on their $1299 macbook to see the keyboard as not backlit, even after they've selected that option on purchase...
 
DrivinWest said:
You're obviously not the head of business studies.

It's called product differentiation. If you include all the same features in your cheap product as you do in your expensive product, what incentive is there to buy the expensive one?

Apple bumped the feature set for the new MBs dramatically - the high end MB is much closer to the MBP than it has ever been. In order to do that and not cannibalize their high-end line they have to remove features - it's that simple.

Vista? Please. You're all talk, but you'll be buying MBPs, especially with Apple's discount. I'm willing to bet on it.
Click to expand...

And you have quite obviously avoided his point.;)
Schools have a budget and if they can buy 6 pc laptops "WITH FIREWIRE"
for the same price as 2 MBP "WITHOUT FIREWIRE" What will their budgets force them to do?
Features? As far as bang for the buck their standard white Macbook will have to do, not enough features in the new macbook without the firewire to make it worth it to me.
Interesting to see how this plays out for apple.
Don't get me wrong, i've got 3 macs, but no firewire is a bad idea.:rolleyes:
 
One thing that I don't quite get is why the low end laptop is exactly the same as the old one. My school district has this laptop program where middle and high schoolers get their own MacBooks to take home. If they keep the program next year, chances are they will buy new MacBooks. I'm 100.3141592535% sure they would by the cheap plastic one, instead of the awesome aluminum one.

I also wonder what that glass trackpad would feel like.

However, I am very pleased with the update! Why more negatives than positives?
 
DrivinWest said:
It's called product differentiation. If you include all the same features in your cheap product as you do in your expensive product, what incentive is there to buy the expensive one?
Click to expand...

Product differentiation is fine, but you do it buy making your high end product better, not by leaving off standard features (at least until this point) in the 'cheap' model that a lot of us require.
 
bobertoq said:
One thing that I don't quite get is why the low end laptop is exactly the same as the old one. My school district has this laptop program where middle and high schoolers get their own MacBooks to take home. If they keep the program next year, chances are they will buy new MacBooks. I'm 100.3141592535% sure they would by the cheap plastic one, instead of the awesome aluminum one.

I also wonder what that glass trackpad would feel like.

However, I am very pleased with the update! Why more negatives than positives?
Click to expand...

If you're talking about the WHITE Macbook it's the same notebook as the "last one"
 
Peace said:
Nope..

The presentation was a typo. I just chatted with the Apple rep

Here it is verbatim

You are chatting with Lori A, an Apple Expert
Hi, my name is Lori A. Welcome to Apple!
hi lori. I have a question
Would you like help with your shopping?
sort of.
I ordered the new Macbook 2.0
when I did the configure my mackbook it said it comes with a backlit keyboard now people are telling me it doesnt. I've already ordered it and got a confirmation
I have screenshots
It does.
Please don't be concerned.
the 2.0 comes with the backlit keyboard?
Yes.
ok thank you
If you have questions about an order you already placed or need verification you can also phone customer service.
Click to expand...

You're really making my day here! :D

So you think Lori A and one incorrect screen is right, compared to every other countries Apple site, the press release and Steve's own words about the backlit keyboard only being in the 2.4ghz

Thanks for cheering me up :cool:
 
Superman07 said:
Nice math. Where in your calculation is tax for the 'old' model?...

What I don't see a lot of people addressing is the cost to Apple for this new processing technique, or the worth of having a device that is more structurally sound.
Click to expand...

I'm talking about the newest model; which is $1400CAND + ($100+ )tax. how about that ?
 
DrivinWest said:
You're obviously not the head of business studies.

It's called product differentiation. If you include all the same features in your cheap product as you do in your expensive product, what incentive is there to buy the expensive one?

Apple bumped the feature set for the new MBs dramatically - the high end MB is much closer to the MBP than it has ever been. In order to do that and not cannibalize their high-end line they have to remove features - it's that simple.
Click to expand...

The MacBook had FW400, and the MBP had FW800. That was differentiation enough! To drop FW from the consumer line completely is just plain taking a step backwards.
 
phatspider said:
You're really making my day here! :D

So you think Lori A and one incorrect screen is right, compared to every other countries Apple site, the press release and Steve's own words about the backlit keyboard only being in the 2.4ghz

Thanks for cheering me up :cool:
Click to expand...

Like I just said, don't forget about the tech specs listed for the macbook.

Apple needs to release a statement on the truth of this matter ASAP.
 
I am actually completely confused about what to do now, i have been looking forward to replacing my 4 year old iBook for ages and now i don't know if i can afford to as a student. Does anyone in the UK know the higher education discount prices? The one where you have to be on your campus? This has totally thrown my plans out of whack :( :(
 
Lovehater said:
It cost Apple 10 cent per Macbook to include Firewire.
Click to expand...
This 10 cent number is ridiculous, sorry.

10 cents would maybe cover licensing costs. Or the port connector along. But they don't just need a port on the books (which alone could be at around 10 cents), they'd also need a FW chipset. And I'd guess these came at more than a dollar. Just look at current FireWire hardware: Across the board it's about 10$ more than USB-only versions.
 
I'm drunk and tired ... of course ... and 28 pages to get through ... cheered by all the negative responses though ... why? because it's good to shout at corporations ... I'm at last part of the MR majority ... instead of lone, retarded wolf, pissing on his paws in long shot. And here's the point ... no one should buy these latest offerings ... the value aspect alone should be complete argument. Apple were already at a faux premium .. all the parts are just the same as PC tat and yet Apple Gimmick ltd thought it was time to raise their prices! I want power for less .. not cards that satisfy gamers .. what is their market for this ... W.O.W. retards? Fat Yank kids with comfy dollars? The eliptical generation? Computational power please.

And to the bloke who said complain now or lose FW in the next iMac iteration ... thanks for a ****** night's sleep. God ... Apple are wank. And to Fanboys .. whose gibbering ******* are convulsing at that blasphemy ... suck it up babies.

Yeah yeah ... I know ... quick kiss of the cats and off to bed for me.
 
reclusivemonkey said:
Very disappointed. UK consumers have been completely shafted. I was ready with credit card in hand to buy a MacBook at £499. I would of still come in at £599. Heck I would of even stretched to £699. But £949?! WTF, I'm getting an Eeee PC and building a hackintosh. Will it be worth the hassle? At about £700 you better freaking believe it. If they had dropped the price of the old white MacBooks they might of just recouped some support but this takes the p***.
:mad::mad::mad:
Click to expand...

I agree this sucks - but its not Apples fault that our currency has taken a noise dive of late, particularly compared to the $ and with Apple being a US based company thats always gonna hurt. But dont blame Steve - blame Gordon!
 
need help

Hey guys I need your advice on something please help me out if you can :)

I'm going to buy a Macbook but don't know if I should go for the 1299 (1349 in Canada with 50 dollar student discount) or the 1599 (1649 with 100 dollar discount).

This is the first time i've ever bought a mac so here's my question!

I am a graphic communcations student that will be running programs like adobe photoshop... indesign... and quark express.

Do you think that i need the 2.4 processor or will the 2.0 be fine? I like the backlit keyboard on the higher model but if i don't need it then it's not a big deal.

Also, since i may be running two big programs like photoshop and indesign at the same time... do I need to go for the 4GB ram?


Thanks in advance!
 
Question for everyone:

I am a writer. I therefore use my computers mostly for web browsing and word processing, but the dork in me also likes to play the Sims every now and again. I am also hoping not to have to replace whatever I purchase for at least 2 to 3 years (but over the course of those 2 to 3 years I will be using it for the same things I listed above). These things considered, should I spring for the 2.4 or would I be fine with the 2.0? Any and all opinions/explanations are welcome. Thanks in advance!
 
Be careful what you wish for…

So, are all the whiners who posted on this thread* happy now? Great GPU update, right?

* I'd be one of them.

And a price increase doesn't surprise me, as I already kinda predicted it a while ago.
 
marbles said:
...was thinking about the profit margin dip that is expected by Apple...

....is it forecast for Q1 or Q2 2009 ?
Click to expand...
Wasn't this announced for the 4th quarter? :confused:

marbles said:
maybe they have hiked the prices up to cover the costly 'first run' of new machines via this new manufacturing process they have
Click to expand...
Technically speaking they haven't "hiked up" prices.
MacBooks yesterday: 1099$ - 1299$ - 1499$
MacBooks tomorrow: 999$ - 1299$ - 1599$

marbles said:
just a thought because maybe they will be dramatically reducing prices after Christmas at Macworld 09
Click to expand...
They won't. Not unless low sales forces them to do so.
The statement from yesterdays should be pretty clear:
Hell is gonna freeze over before Apple reduce prices "dramatically".
 
Just an FYI, for all those people saying that firewire users should simply buy a Macbook Pro...

The Macbook Pro does NOT have a firewire 400 port! Only a firewire 800 port!

Which means that even on the pro machines, you can't connect your firewire camcorder or audio interface unless you purchase a third party adapter, and even then it's anyone's guess as to whether finicky audio interfaces will even run using this adapter.

So, sounds like a lose-lose proposition to me...
 
Peace said:
so you're still stuck inside that GHz myth eh ? :)
Click to expand...

Yes it's true that CPU speed can be overrated, but it is still disappointing that the new Macbooks at 2.0 and 2.4GHz are using the low-end of the new Penryn Core 2 Duos. The high-end ones are 2.53 and 2.8GHz, and it would be nice to see a Macbook model with at least the 2.53 version.
 
dog13000 said:
Okay everyone. I noticed something.... don't know if this has been brought up yet.

Go to the apple store, and select the low end (new version) model... the $1299.

Check out the keyboard select. It's listed in both Spanish and English as BACKLIT.

Everywhere else on the site (tech specs included) it's listed as not.

So Apple, which is it? There are going to be some mighty unhappy folk when they turn on their $1299 macbook to see the keyboard as not backlit, even after they've selected that option on purchase...
Click to expand...

I noticed this as well. What does the back light give you exactly? This must have been an error on the shop. Wonder how much longer it will be up, until they fix it.
 
phatspider said:
You're really making my day here! :D

So you think Lori A and one incorrect screen is right, compared to every other countries Apple site, the press release and Steve's own words about the backlit keyboard only being in the 2.4ghz

Thanks for cheering me up :cool:
Click to expand...



Hmmmm I don't think so. Although she said that, Steve wouldn't say that the 2.0 doesn't have illuminated in the presentation by mistake.

Plus, all the literature on the Apple site except when you order says that the 2.0 doesn't have backlit keyboard.

like when you go here: http://www.apple.com/ca/mac/whichmacbook/compare.html

it says in other features for the macbook:

MagSafe power port

Two USB 2.0 ports

Mini DisplayPort

iSight camera

Illuminated keyboard*

*Only available on 2.4GHz model.
 
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