Prior to the announcements, I was considering ditching my iMac for a portable, as i needed some flexibility with where i work.
As a Quark/Photoshop user though, i really had doubts that the Macbook would be powerful enough to do what i want it to (forgetting the screen size, which isn't an issue), whilst the MBP was just out of my price-range.
So doesn't the new Macbook now fit perfectly between the two?
Can it be considered a 'Pro' machine?
I would say definitely yes, considering that your work doesn't require an FW port.
I'm amazed at how ticked off so many Mac users are at the loss of something that almost NO ONE in the Windows world gives the slightest crap about (i.e. Firewire). How is it they can do without it and you guys can't?
The only piece of hardware I have here that even has Firewire on it is an external hard drive I use to backup my PC's Windows drives and my PC doesn't have Firewire so it's still not getting used. My Mac has no firewire devices, although now that I've ordered an MBP (the old model that has two ports and a matte screen 😛 ) and want to start doing some multi-track recording with my Roland Digital Piano, Fender guitar and a microphone, I might get a PreSonus Firewire device, but seeing as Firewire is going the way of the Dodo, I'd probably be better off finding one that either has USB or USB in addition to Firewire or I might regret it at some point in the future.
But seriously, I get the distinct feeling a lot of people are upset about something they don't actually use either. They just don't like the idea of Stevie taking something away. They feel like he's trying to screw them over (well, he probably IS... 😉 Steve is out for $$$ and a power trip and nothing else).
The difference is that in the Windows world just about every laptop has a PCMCIA or ExpressCard slot so they can get by without it or add FW if they ever need it. With the new MacBook you just don't have the option - that is why people are ticked.
They already sold Mini-DVI adapters for both DVI and VGA...and I don't think they are selling any HDMI adapters, at least not yet.
DVI and HDMI are compatible. You should be able to use the adapter to go from the port to DVI and then just use any old $10 cable with DVI on one end and HDMI on the other. I've done this to hook up an HDTV to the mini-DVI on my Aluminum iMac.
I hope you don't mean film students, music students, or graphic design students. for them, firewire is a NECESSITY.
It is, but the question no one seems to be asking is whether or not a LAPTOP is necessary. For most people, an iMac would be fine. Maybe I'm just old, but I don't know why most students need a laptop anyway. When I started college in 2002, I got an iMac G4 that lasted a year until I decided that I needed a laptop so that I could take it to the lab, library, class, etc. I ended up taking out another student loan for a $2500 for a 15" Aluminum PBG4. Considering it is only 1" wider and about a half pound heavier, the 15" G4 is essentially equally as portable as the plastic MB's that everyone seems to consider essential to students. I tried to bring it back and forth to campus, but it got old real quick. The only time I was glad that I had it was when I left to study abroad - but even then it was just nice to get it over seas where it promptly sat on a desk for 95% of the time I was there. It spent most of my senior year hooked up to an external monitor and keyboard. In grad school in '07, I decided it was time for a new machine. I decided if I was going to get another laptop, it would need to be more portable to be worth it, and I was in no position to spend more than $1300 this time around. Apple didn't have anything that fit this bill, so I bought an aluminum iMac and couldn't be happier. Fact is, the iMac was, is, and unless Apple gets rid of the FW ports (which I doubt will happen in the near future after all of the complaints here) will continue to be the best option for most graphics/design/film students whether they want to admit it or not. About the only people I can see this being a real issue for is audio pros who want something smaller than an MBP. Having a portable machine in college is nice for impressing friends, or maybe showing off/collaborating on a project, but is really less necessary than most people seem to think. I take my huge projects back and forth to campus on a tiny 250GB 1.8" USB hard drive and use lab computers and couldn't be happier. Much more portable than a MacBook.
On another note FWIW, I would have a very tough time giving up FW. I use my 800 for external drives, and the 400 for my DV cam, using my PB in target disk mode, and actually (my favorite feature) to bridge my ancient B&W G3 that onto my AirPort network. But I also can't see myself (or many people for that matter) using a tiny 13" laptop as my main computer, so I think if I ever was in the market for another laptop, I'd be willing to give up the FW knowing that I have it at home.
PS - It never ceases to amaze me that with 512MB of RAM and a clean install of 10.4 on a 10GB drive, that old 400MHz G3 beats my 2.0GHz/2GB iMac from a cold boot to the desktop by at least 15 seconds.
