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Apple Announces New MacBook Pros, Updates MacBook Air

7on said:
Have you even used an Aplpe glossy monitor in your workspace? I've never had a problem with my 06 Macbook. I would ask someone to borrow their MB and look at it. The glossy is ALRIGHT!

Geez, and I wonder how you people would have survived on CRT monitors :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

A huge number of people positioned in a certain way, added anti-gloss shielding (huge ugly things) and huge "caps" that extended around the screen circumference – sometimes by a foot at the top corners.

"rolleyes" indeed.
 
digitalbiker said:
I agree.

People are making way too much of this glossy/matte issue. Remember people these are one solid piece of glass. No aluminum bezel, all glass.

The glossy displays are more accurate, have higher contrast, and brighter due to the fact that they do not have a smeary matte coating on the glass.

I think people are thinking these will look like the older cheaper MB glossy displays of the past. Thats not correct. These will be like the MBA glossy displays. Higher-res with led backlight.

Yes, there will be more glare outside but there will also be more contrast and more brightness. All iphones have glass glossy displays and no one rants about the poor quality of these displays outside.

Some have said that glossy displays are impossible to calibrate, that just isn't true. It is very easy to calibrate a MBA display and it is glossy.
Click to expand...


You're on drugs if you think that a glossy screen is as easy to deal with as a matte screen... I was at the Apple store today, and spent an hour in front of an iMac... I could very clearly watch the people behind me talking to an Apple employee. I'm now at work in front of a MATTE cinema display, and can't see anything behind me in my screen. Which. Is. The. Way. It. Should. Be. I really need to be looking around reflections while I'm scrutinizing pixels during my day to day job? Bollocks to that.
 
w00master said:
You do know that Firewire 800 is backwards compatible, don't you?
Click to expand...

Actually, no I didn't (EDIT: until recently because it now looks as though I am contradicting myself). But at least you can buy them, I guess. Of course I can't speak for everyone, but in this field a LOT of people use FW400 so it makes no sense (to me) that they remove it. And by my working practices of keeping the audio/data chain as short as possible, an adapter can only create problems. It just seems silly to me, but you've probably got that by now :p.
 
7on said:
It's taken from an Angle and no telling the showroom light. Not to mention the camera is auto-focusing on the glare, the human eye looks past it. It's how glasses work - you don't see the lens do you?
Click to expand...

dont know, went to the local apple store and looked at the imac...glare was evident there as well.

Peace

dAlen
 
7on said:
It's taken from an Angle and no telling the showroom light. Not to mention the camera is auto-focusing on the glare, the human eye looks past it. It's how glasses work - you don't see the lens do you?
Click to expand...

Glasses are smaller, heavily coated with expensive anti-glare coatings, are under a cm from your eyeball, and don't have a light source between your eye and the surface that can reflect. It's an utterly different scenario.
 
i REALLY don't understand how they expect to sell any of these without a firewire 400 port. Many external audio devices are 400 only, including the one i use. Guess i won't be upgrading!:mad:
 
Poor. Could Do Better!

I am NOT impressed by Apples recent efforts, to me the glossy displays are a step back as far as usability is concerned, and designing them in a way which does not allow the user, particularly office based, a choice of matt displays is a big no no.

The only place you can use these glossy displays without glare is in the basement in the dark, and dont give us that shtick about brighter LED's.

The black screen surround against the aluminium makes them look like a cheap generic laptop.......And all of this in an increasingly desperate time for consumers.

Apple cannot afford to keep making these "better judgements" on behalf of the buying public.

I know Apple are trying to unify their product lines aesthetics, but come on!!

And as someone rightly said earlier in the post, "no firewire....no sale"!
 
Two comparative questions ...

I'm in the market for a new macbook / macbook pro, which I use for heavy scientific /statistical computing. I'm comparing the 2.4 MP with the 2.4 MBP, and was wondering the following;

  1. How much cache does the 2.4 Macbook processor have? Is this 3mb as well? What would be the speed loss / gain should it be otherwise?
  2. How does the dual-GPU relate to the upcoming openCL in Snow Leopard? What speed bumbs are to be expected from that, how long will it take before software is adapted to use it?
 
No incentive to buy

:(

There are way too many negatives on this announcement for this to be a significant release for users; for Apple maybe, but not users.

Negatives:
  • No refresh (yet) of the top-of-the-line model, the 17" MBP
  • No change of the keyboard to support both a Backspace Key AND a Delete Key - some of us have to type for a living
  • I was really hoping to see Apple (Steve?) finally support the right-mouse-button. You can't use any significant software programs without using it (yes I know about the Ctrl key, but that's NOT a right-mouse-button)
  • Glossy screen ONLY
  • No support for Blu-Ray - Come on. What a wimpy excuse for not supporting Blu-Ray, now or in the future. Steve is worrying about us users and the complicated license issues. Blu-Ray is in Windows, it's in PC hardware, it's in the home theater devices and most of all it's in the stores to buy and rent! So what is it I'm being protected from??? Viewing high-quality video?
  • Insignificant cost reductions

Positive
The only positive I see in this for users is the upgraded graphics chips which "may" allow more games to be played.

Apple sees this as significant because of the fancy manufacturing process they brought into play, but how does that impact me as a user? I could care less how they make it as long as device doesn't bend, break or fall apart during the lifetime I expect the device to have. If it helps them makes the product significantly cheaper then hurray for them, but it doesn't appear like any significant saving are going to be passed down for customers.
 
Nice Work

Apple bought out Logic to screw over PC music production users. Now they force them to get the MB pro by removing firewire from the MB since the high end soundcards use fw. One FW port on the pro....I was gonna make my first mac purchase aswell.

Apple is lagging in price/performance due to their focusing on and over-spending on gimmicky multi-touch trackpads (2 mouse buttons has always worked well for me thanks) and a new tougher aluminium case because their old ones dented easily. I can get a 17" HiRes Laptop with Quad core extreme 2.5 and 4GB Ram for the same price. As their mid line MB pro

Price reductions? Price increases! The whole 'were not clever economists' line bugged me. No **** - A masive worldwide recession on the horison and you give people similar performance, a far from beautiful product at a huge price! They must be in a world of their own. Whilst i'm not very into the old MB Pro look (all silver is dated - early 2000's) it the new design's don't look to bad but are hardly cutting edge. High gloss all black would have been stylish (think the screen bezel but all over).

I also think it's very hypocritical to file a lawsuit against 'hackintosh' whilst promoting their bootcamp software.

I might have a 1 fingered gesture aimed at Steve Jobs
 
I didn't think I'd be saying this but I really, really dig the way the MBP looks. Granted, I have a MacBook and will be thinking long and hard about any machine with a glossy screen, not because of the glossy finish (that's a minor annoyance), but the MacBook's LCD is REALLY CRAPPY - it's like what my dad's old Toshiba laptop had, terrible viewing angle, lousy colors, terrible contrast.. etc.

The MacBook Pro had a lot nicer LCD though, hopefully this move has come back to the new MacBooks :)

That said, they and the new cinema displays are neat :)
 
valkman said:
:(

There are way too many negatives on this announcement for this to be a significant release for users; for Apple maybe, but not users.

Negatives:
  • No refresh (yet) of the top-of-the-line model, the 17" MBP
  • No change of the keyboard to support both a Backspace Key AND a Delete Key - some of us have to type for a living
    [*]I was really hoping to see Apple (Steve?) finally support the right-mouse-button. You can't use any significant software programs without using it (yes I know about the Ctrl key, but that's NOT a right-mouse-button)
  • Glossy screen ONLY
  • No support for Blu-Ray - Come on. What a wimpy excuse for not supporting Blu-Ray, now or in the future. Steve is worrying about us users and the complicated license issues. Blu-Ray is in Windows, it's in PC hardware, it's in the home theater devices and most of all it's in the stores to buy and rent! So what is it I'm being protected from??? Viewing high-quality video?
  • Insignificant cost reductions

Positive
The only positive I see in this for users is the upgraded graphics chips which "may" allow more games to be played.

Apple sees this as significant because of the fancy manufacturing process they brought into play, but how does that impact me as a user? I could care less how they make it as long as device doesn't bend, break or fall apart during the lifetime I expect the device to have. If it helps them makes the product significantly cheaper then hurray for them, but it doesn't appear like any significant saving are going to be passed down for customers.
Click to expand...

I missed a right mouse button on the trackpad until I found that the two finger plus click worked even better than a right mouse button.
 
tjanuranus said:
i REALLY don't understand how they expect to sell any of these without a firewire 400 port. Many external audio devices are 400 only, including the one i use. Guess i won't be upgrading!:mad:
Click to expand...

After some recent research you can buy 800>400 cables. That sounds pretty good. Still, doesn't excuse the fact that many pro audio users will have to buy them if they want to upgrade.

However, that also doesn't excuse the fact that you can't have a high speed bounce disk running on FW800 whilst your audio connections are running on the FW400 port. I would not expect to buy a 3/4 express card to get around this problem.

It just seems that Apple has ignored a particular market segment for this product (however big it may be). Unless they are pushing for more manufacturers to create FW800 audio devices...
 
valkman said:
:(

There are way too many negatives on this announcement for this to be a significant release for users; for Apple maybe, but not users.

Negatives:
  • No refresh (yet) of the top-of-the-line model, the 17" MBP
  • No change of the keyboard to support both a Backspace Key AND a Delete Key - some of us have to type for a living
    when you hold FN and BACKSPACE, you delete
  • I was really hoping to see Apple (Steve?) finally support the right-mouse-button. You can't use any significant software programs without using it (yes I know about the Ctrl key, but that's NOT a right-mouse-button)
    left or right bottom can be used as right click too, just as the tap with 2 fingers on older trackpads
  • Glossy screen ONLY
  • No support for Blu-Ray - Come on. What a wimpy excuse for not supporting Blu-Ray, now or in the future. Steve is worrying about us users and the complicated license issues. Blu-Ray is in Windows, it's in PC hardware, it's in the home theater devices and most of all it's in the stores to buy and rent! So what is it I'm being protected from??? Viewing high-quality video?
  • Insignificant cost reductions

Positive
The only positive I see in this for users is the upgraded graphics chips which "may" allow more games to be played.

Apple sees this as significant because of the fancy manufacturing process they brought into play, but how does that impact me as a user? I could care less how they make it as long as device doesn't bend, break or fall apart during the lifetime I expect the device to have. If it helps them makes the product significantly cheaper then hurray for them, but it doesn't appear like any significant saving are going to be passed down for customers.
Click to expand...

edit is post
 
just bought a MBpro

however, it's a refurb MBP:

2.5GHz Penryn
250GB HD 5400RPM
2GB Ram
8600GT 512MB
matte screen 15.4 inch 1440x900
5.4pounds

$1592 incl tax and expedited shipping

I agree with many that the new MBP's look much cooler but it's about $500-$1000 cheaper than the comparable new MBP.

And i also like the looks of the new MB and it's light and portable. But i need FW. And it costs the same as the refurb MBP.

The matte screen is a major plus for me and i guess the older look is still ok. In terms of processing power the old and the new MBP's are about the same.

I however sacrifice battery life and the user replacable HD. Both are important but i decided for me that I won't spend the extra bucks for those. (I replaced the HD on my PB without problem so i guess i can do that on the MBP as well).
 
Multi Touch Gestures

Do the new Multi-Touch gestures include a big middle finger to the matte screen user fan base? :rolleyes:
 
I used to be an Apple fan until....today. The new MBPs look like #@$% and they cut the student discounts in half. In a crappy economy lets keep the prices the same on all our laptops and then cut the student discount in half? I'm a little confused...hehe
 
bikemonkey said:
Although I am still shocked. Yeh you can get adapters for FW800>400, but surely this will just take away from the quality of the audio signal, nevermind having to buy an adapter.
Click to expand...

Erm, you do realise that FW uses a digital connection don't you? The bits either get there or they don't. It's not analogue.

Your FW audio equipment will encode/decode the audio into a stream of bits which will fly across the FW as a load of ones and zeros... As long as it meets the specification it doesn't matter how many adaptors, or indeed bits of wet string, are between the source and the destination.
 
Pro no longer means pro.

Pro means advanced enthusiast.

If you have a camera/camcorder with firewire 400, then you need a macbook pro. (wow, sounds nice, Im a pro.) ;)
Sarcasm aside, that is really what is happening here.

Yes, pros will probably still buy as they have a lot of software invested in apple...at least for a time they will buy.

But now apple can get another crowd with the macbooks, or actually make the macbook users now pay for a more expensive macbookpro. (which is the point. Get more sales out of the macbook pros by crippling the macbooks...and strangely enough crippling the macbook pros to the true professional) ...whatever 'true professional' may be. ;)

Look at the pro apps...no updates, some apps left without any info as to where its going...if anywhere at all.

Look at the 17 laptop with the faulty Nvidia graphics card still in it, and yet apple has the nerve to call it new in the online store. lol

Look at the guys who have been asking for mac pro updates. (you remember those things...tall shiny towers.)

Steve got what he wanted...market share.
This is courtesy of ipod and iphone. ;)

The pro market really isnt as important anymore.
I will be watching to see who is the next 'king' of the pro world.
There is some potential out there if someone would just harness what is already available. ;)

Peace

dAlen
 
New macbooks and macbook pros! They sound as a joke.

First of all the design. It is a repetition of the (ugly) macbook air and the imacs. No innovations, ok, you might have a different opinion, design can be a very subjective story.

But what about things that can be evaluated in an objective way?

1) Only glossy displays. Why? Lots of people for their own good reasons want a matte display.

2) FW port: Where is the firewire port? Macbook pros have only one, macbooks have no fw port. Why? Firewire is far faster than usb 2. Firewire was the sole serious way for backing up files into an external hard disc. Firewire was the sole port that you couldnt find among comparable to the macbook pc laptops. Firewire was cool for connecting video cameras and high quality peripherals. Firewire... bye bye.

3) Weight and dimensions. The new laptops aren't significantly lighter. The new macbook's display has still a lot of useless plastic around it, covered with glass. They could keep the same absolutely footprint and give us a 14" display laptop. My powerbook is only 1cm bigger (less that 1/2 inch) and it does have a 15" display, whick is for me crucial working space.

I never understood why apple destines big screen laptops for the rich people only... Someone who is not a video editor, a journalist for example or even a scientist, could need a bigger screen, too . Apple says clearly to us: you want to have a big laptop? Then you have to spend more than €2500.
No comment.

4) Remote control: one year ago it was free. Since the last macbook update earlier this year it is not. And it is not free now as well.

5) Price.... $1300 for a laptop that has a 2.0 Ghz processor. Ok, i do admit that the new macbooks have a better graphics circuitry and a better trackpad. But for most of people this is not essential. And honestly the nvidia graphics processors wouldnt justify such a high cost. The new macbooks are not good value for the money they cost.

Tell me which machine is better? The new 2.0 macbook or the past generation macbook at 2.4? Both are supposed to cost the same. Keep in mind that the latter has a far faster processor, firewire and will probably have a significant cost drop.

Yes, the trackpad of the new macbook is better, but again, the 99% of people use mice.

In times of a universal financial crisis, we would expect from Apple steps forward not backwards. Last generation macbook models were at 2.1 and 2.4 Ghz. Now we start from 2.0 Ghz without firewire and a raised cost of $200. No options, not even a 3rd usb port (the most miserable pc laptop has 3 usb ports...) and a higher cost, absolutely prohibitive for students and people with a really tight budget.

No Apple thanks, i wont take this crap. The more you tend to a lifestyle company the more serious customers you are going to loose because you do sacrify substance and good faith in the name of profit. Design is only the excuse. We are not idiots. We are not actually customers, we are something more than this: users.
 
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