If it's a choice between market share and profits, Apple will take profits. By at least one measure they're already the second largest corporation on the planet. I think Steve's doing just fine.
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Apple Finishing Up Work on an Ultra-Thin 15" Notebook
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If it's a choice between market share and profits, Apple will take profits. By at least one measure they're already the second largest corporation on the planet. I think Steve's doing just fine.
No, the "haters" will point out that
1. The adapters are over-priced for some things that other laptops include from the factory. (Even if they're $39.99, that's a lot compared to "free" on other laptops.)
2. They're ugly warts that take up additional space in your laptop bag.
3. The "daisy-chain" aspect is a big problem when you want to add or remove a device without shutting your system down.
If you need two spindles, Apple laptops are not the best.
If you need a matte screen, Apple laptops are not the best.
If you need a Quadro or FireGL GPU, Apple laptops are not the best.
If you need a portable workstation, Apple laptops are laughable compared to what's available from other vendors.
You have to make a pretty narrow definition of "best" in order to say that MacBooks are the best.
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So long as these new UltraThin MacBooks don't replace the existing MacBook Pros, because there is always a need for someone to have the option to have an optical drive.
TEG
TEG
Don't see what the big deal about an optical drive is... I haven't missed one on my Air. Sure I had to buy an external one, but have you seen them, they are tiny and super light - you could easily carry one with you if you needed, or you could use the DVD drive from another machine, which works pretty well I've found.
Awesome. I hope it still deserves the 'Pro' moniker, you know, the fact that the 13" MBP seems a lot more mainstream than back in the day when we had PowerBooks for the Pros and iBooks for the general consumer.
Pro should have blade-type SSD (used in MBA) AND a 1TB hard drive, no CD and dedicated graphics. Oh and while I'm at it Apple, ditch USB and just throw in some thunderbolt ports. That will force adoption of those sexy ports!
Pro should have blade-type SSD (used in MBA) AND a 1TB hard drive, no CD and dedicated graphics. Oh and while I'm at it Apple, ditch USB and just throw in some thunderbolt ports. That will force adoption of those sexy ports!
If you need to upgrade your hard drive and RAM, and want to reinstall your operating system but don't want to call India to get an activation key, Apple laptops ARE the best.
I don't get what the big deal is with the lack of an optical drive.
I've never used mine on my current machine, which I got in April 2010.
I've only burned a handful of discs in my life, and the only discs I use on a daily basis are my dvd's. And I use my Xbox to play them.
Everything else, I download. Movies, software, music... why buy discs if you can buy them online as a download?
Download is the future, not optical drives. They are slow, have low capacity, drain battery and weigh a lot. Why would anyone want one in their laptop? It makes no sense,
For me, the omission of a disc drive is a welcome one. If you have an untamed desire to absolutely need a disc drive, you can buy an add-on Superdrive for 99$.
Really, 10 years from now we will be laughing at this decision, just like we laugh now about Apple's omission of the floppy drive in the iMac.
That said, boy, do I want a 15" MBA! With Quad Core i7 please!
I've never used mine on my current machine, which I got in April 2010.
I've only burned a handful of discs in my life, and the only discs I use on a daily basis are my dvd's. And I use my Xbox to play them.
Everything else, I download. Movies, software, music... why buy discs if you can buy them online as a download?
Download is the future, not optical drives. They are slow, have low capacity, drain battery and weigh a lot. Why would anyone want one in their laptop? It makes no sense,
For me, the omission of a disc drive is a welcome one. If you have an untamed desire to absolutely need a disc drive, you can buy an add-on Superdrive for 99$.
Really, 10 years from now we will be laughing at this decision, just like we laugh now about Apple's omission of the floppy drive in the iMac.
That said, boy, do I want a 15" MBA! With Quad Core i7 please!
This is how many times I used the CDROM for my Dell laptop from 2006 - 2008
Twice
How many times I removed my battery from my Dell:
Once - it fell out
This is how many times I used the CDROM for my MBP
Three times (twice to reinstall snow leopard, until I realized I can simply put it on a usb key)
How many times I had to remove the battery from my MBP?
Once, to replace the ram
Twice
How many times I removed my battery from my Dell:
Once - it fell out
This is how many times I used the CDROM for my MBP
Three times (twice to reinstall snow leopard, until I realized I can simply put it on a usb key)
How many times I had to remove the battery from my MBP?
Once, to replace the ram
Optical drive is a bag of hurt. Just look how much space it occupies inside. Very inefficient use of space.
So, basically, the tried and tested dock port that many laptops sported a generation ago.
The thing is, if all you want from this is a usb 3.0 port or two then the whole dock/hub is serious bloat as an add on for what other pcs, incl. netbooks have internally.
Indeed...
I just hope that it's a 15" MBA, not a MBP. I really want a DVD drive. No, don't bring up the argument on how many times I've used it. When you need to use it, you don't have to be in the fuss of plugging in an external just to burn something or rip music off a CD.
Haters gonna hate.
Not thin just more useful features
HP can figure out how to put a numeric keypad on their laptops. Apple isn't even smart enough to do it with their 17" PowerBooks or Intel MacBook Pro modes. I have a few 17" Mac laptops that I have to carry a keyboard with a numeric keypad. This then makes the scroll pad to be unusable with out stretching or moving the keyboard off of it. I then have to add a Kensington trackball to my formerly portable Mac. All of this takes a lot more space.
If the laptops get any thinner then there will be lack of room for many useful features. Not everyone wants to pay hundreds of dollars for the tiny SSD drives that are available. I figure that my next Inel MacBook Pro will have at least 1 - 1 TB drive in it. Then if the DVD drive is still there it can be removed in some situations & replace by a second hard drive. But it can always be replaced for those time when more CDs or DVDs are used. I still buy all of my music on CDs except for that which comes on DVs.
HP can figure out how to put a numeric keypad on their laptops. Apple isn't even smart enough to do it with their 17" PowerBooks or Intel MacBook Pro modes. I have a few 17" Mac laptops that I have to carry a keyboard with a numeric keypad. This then makes the scroll pad to be unusable with out stretching or moving the keyboard off of it. I then have to add a Kensington trackball to my formerly portable Mac. All of this takes a lot more space.
If the laptops get any thinner then there will be lack of room for many useful features. Not everyone wants to pay hundreds of dollars for the tiny SSD drives that are available. I figure that my next Inel MacBook Pro will have at least 1 - 1 TB drive in it. Then if the DVD drive is still there it can be removed in some situations & replace by a second hard drive. But it can always be replaced for those time when more CDs or DVDs are used. I still buy all of my music on CDs except for that which comes on DVs.
So Steve is the only one who is capable of deciding what you want or need? If you had four or five choices you wouldn't be able to make a choice you were happy with?
Best argument I've heard so far. Hopefully they'll keep some sort of Pro line around, whatever the naming scheme is going to be though.
I'd be fine with a 15" MBA. Better processor and bigger battery, more RAM, and more SSD - all of that should be doable.
Gone will be: Dedicated gfx - this will simply be impossible; all sorts of ports that nobody needs (use a Thunderbolt dongle if you need FireWire 800 or Ethernet or a freakin' SD card reader, the existence of which I find baffling). USB is still useful of course. DVD.
Unfortunately it still won't have a retina display but hey, it's only a few more years..
You've never heard of an external number pad then? Might be easier than carrying a whole external keyboard?
Anyway - I am very happy with the fact that my 17" MacBook Pro isn't compromised by an off-center keyboard, or 20 (?) keys I never, EVER, need. Apple's got this one right.
Sounds like the 15" would be a real winner.
Personally, I have basically zero need for an optical drive in my laptops. I own a 13" Macbook Air, and have never ever needed to use a CD. Sure, I had previously ripped my entire CD collection using my Mac Pro - but my days of actually buying CDs are long gone. The only optical media I buy now is Bluray, but I don't rip that - I have a dedicated Home Theater room and PS3 for that.
I can see Apple ditching the optical drives completely in both the 15" and the 17" in the next update. I think as much as Apple would like to go ONLY SSD/Blade, they will probably need to fit a standard sized HDD/SSD in there. So most of their space savings will come from the removal of the optical drive, and the redesign of the other elements they can shrink. I also have a feeling they will ditch the ethernet port, but ship all macbook pros with the USB > Ethernet dongle. Looking at the side of my Air, you can see why they don't include an ethernet port at all! It wouldn't fit.
Personally, I have basically zero need for an optical drive in my laptops. I own a 13" Macbook Air, and have never ever needed to use a CD. Sure, I had previously ripped my entire CD collection using my Mac Pro - but my days of actually buying CDs are long gone. The only optical media I buy now is Bluray, but I don't rip that - I have a dedicated Home Theater room and PS3 for that.
I can see Apple ditching the optical drives completely in both the 15" and the 17" in the next update. I think as much as Apple would like to go ONLY SSD/Blade, they will probably need to fit a standard sized HDD/SSD in there. So most of their space savings will come from the removal of the optical drive, and the redesign of the other elements they can shrink. I also have a feeling they will ditch the ethernet port, but ship all macbook pros with the USB > Ethernet dongle. Looking at the side of my Air, you can see why they don't include an ethernet port at all! It wouldn't fit.
Adding a number keypad is not a rocket science, so i guess Apple chooses not to for other more important reasons.
Optical drives are on the way out. At least in some Apple notebooks. Thank God.
Apple DOES care about the tech nerds and DOES care about the professional user. Maybe you just can not see it but I am so glad that Apple do.
If they didn't they'd be in the race to the bottom of the barrel just like every other PC hardware vendor is.