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Apple Notebooks to See Major Design Changes?

i remember waiting for the update last november when rumors were about of new aluminium enclosures.

i personally hope there is, that my my white plastic macbook will look kinda old skool and retro, and make me seem like a long time and wise mac user to other people :) (even though i'm quite obviously not :p)
 
hob said:
The deals are presumably to move "old" stock... or rather, the current stock. They won't bring out a new MBP whilst the back-to-school thing is on... or at least, they don't tend to...
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I think it has more to do with getting people to jump onto the mac platform at a young age and increasing the presence of macs on university campuses than pushing out older stock. Although I'm sure that is part of why they do it in some cases.

MPB's were updated a day before the promotion last year; conversely imacs were revamped towards the end of the promotion.

My point being, there's no reason to think they'd wait until after the promotion to update anything.
 
I have made the sacrifice on behalf of this post ;-)

After waiting since macworld for the new style macbooks I have finally thrown in the towel and ordered a blackbook.

The law of Murphy states that now I have laid down my cash a revision will arrive.

If the above proves correct I will spend the next six months convincing myself that retro is cool!

But at least I can leave my HP laptop in it's bag and save my windows experience for the working hours.
 
It confuses me why some people are so SURE that they won't change the macbook pro... Don't be jealous just because your case is going to be 'obscelete'. The design is old. The design is hot (literally). The design is hot (sexually)...but get over it. They need to revamp it.
 
masse said:
It confuses me why some people are so SURE that they won't change the macbook pro... Don't be jealous just because your case is going to be 'obscelete'. The design is old. The design is hot (literally). The design is hot (sexually)...but get over it. They need to revamp it.
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I don't think it's jealousy that makes people say the MBP won't get a new case, but history and common sense.

The MBP case goes back to the original TiBook. Over the years it's had a few facelifts, but nothing major, and here is why... There is no need. It's like a Porsche 911 or Jaguar XJ; a timeless design that only needs a few stylistic tweeks to fit in the time. (Both date back to the 1960s).

The MBP will get modern ports as they come along. It already has the latest LED screen. As flash RAM gets cheap I suspect we'll see the HDs go away and the body will get thinner and lighter.

Many times Apple's mantra is form over function. However, with the MBP, the case is both form and function. The heat issue is not going to go away as long as Apple uses metal as the chief material for the case regardless of design and I don't see Apple going back to plastic. Indeed they are trying to get away from it when design makes it possible. Also without the metal case the MBP would be a lot thicker to accommodate the heat sink.
 
masse said:
It confuses me why some people are so SURE that they won't change the macbook pro... Don't be jealous just because your case is going to be 'obscelete'. The design is old. The design is hot (literally). The design is hot (sexually)...but get over it. They need to revamp it.
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I agree with Chupa Chupa as well, and would like to add my spin on it.

I think the people clamoring for a redesign are uber consumers that just want a new "cool" looking computer. They probably don't even need a MBP let alone a computer in the first place.

Redesign the case ONLY because Apple intends on putting in more hardware, like more PRO ports, eSATA, HDMI; more HDDs; or redesign it to get the case up to the level of the MB's, like magnetic latch, user replaceable HDD, slightly larger trackpad, etc.

Don't just make it look different to make it look different for the sack of some preceptively trendy consumer that's going to get a 15" MBP to go on Facebook. Redesign it so that professionals get far more use out of it then they do now. If not, then just leave it the same and move on.
 
Tallest Skil said:
+1? More like +∞.

And masse, we're not jealous. Because it isn't going to be obsolete. In the one field on the planet where everything is outdated in one month, the MacBook Pro case has stood the test of time for six years. NOTHING on the market matches it yet.
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Thanks Tallest, and others on the forum have been saying it too. Namely Eidorian is preaching to the MacBook users about how the redesign should only allow for a dedicated GFX card as BTO at least, otherwise it's great.

And as far as design goes, the 17" MBP is the poster child for it, being the lightest 17" book 6+ years running, and lighter than many 15" PC models.
 
did I use the word jealous once?

I consider a revamp to be something small...like pb -> mbp change. Different keyboard and maybe a slightly different look. How much can they really even change? Make the hard drive user replaceable, remove the plastic edges, change the keyboard maybe....

small changes. Revamping an old design.
 
and I can't use the edit function because it doesn't work on the pc's at work.

but whatever so i contradicted myself. The point is none of us know anything about what's going to happen so never say never. They have to change it eventually. They will change it eventually.
 
masse said:
did I use the word jealous once?

I consider a revamp to be something small...like pb -> mbp change. Different keyboard and maybe a slightly different look. How much can they really even change? Make the hard drive user replaceable, remove the plastic edges, change the keyboard maybe....

small changes. Revamping an old design.
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I wouldn't consider those small changes, but that's just me. A revamp is bringing in a magnetic latch and changing the internals slightly, maybe even getting rid of the grey border that constantly falls off, like the PB --> MBP change.

A redesign is putting in the God awful keyboard from the MB/wireless keyboard, changing the case materials, making it look like the Mac Book Air or some other notebook, etc.... Along with changing the internals like the iBook --> MacBook change.

They will change it eventually, they don't have to though. And personally, it's been that way for a very long time, much like the G3-->G4-->G5-->Mac Pro. They "redesigned" the case and internals but the same basic design is still there. The handles, placement of optical drives, ports, structure of the tower hasn't changed since the G3 IMHO, it's just been refined to the point of perfection (the Mac Pro).

The only thing they can do to change the tower is to make it accept more internal hardware and more ports, and make it more tool-less. Same thing with the MBP, just give us more hardware or slightly refine the design.
 
masse said:
and I can't use the edit function because it doesn't work on the pc's at work.

but whatever so i contradicted myself. The point is none of us know anything about what's going to happen so never say never. They have to change it eventually. They will change it eventually.
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Sure, nothing is forever, but when it comes to the pro laptops Apple tends to change to accommodate new technology not fashion.
 
masse said:
The design is hot (literally). The design is hot (sexually)...but get over it. They need to revamp it.
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The design is currently a tin-can-esque piece of ugliness. Aesthetically, I'd take the Macbook (white OR black) over the MacBookPro. Come on Apple, (color is the new (black and white is the new tin-metal-iness))!
 
ManWithhat said:
The design is currently a tin-can-esque piece of ugliness. Aesthetically, I'd take the Macbook (white OR black) over the MacBookPro. Come on Apple, color is the new black and white!
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Ever used a MacBook Pro? How can you call something that has repeatedly won design awards for the past six years a tin can? What does that say about your vaunted MacBook?
 
Tallest Skil said:
Ever used a MacBook Pro? How can you call something that has repeatedly won design awards for the past six years a tin can? What does that say about your vaunted MacBook?
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Yes, my father has one that I've used quite a few times on many occasions. Even if I hadn't used one, I can still judge it aesthetically (visually). I can call the MacBook Pro a tin can because I'm referring to the fact that I think it's ugly. The design has worn out for me. Grey is not a pretty color. Also, my opinion doesn't sway due to awards or reviews; nor does it hold less value because I disagree with the awards (which I doubt were purely based on looks alone).
 
Badandy said:
I, personally, type faster on my God awful Macbook keyboard than any other keyboard I've ever used.
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Agreed. On my wife's Macbook, the keys are a perfect fit for my misshapen claws. I love programming with it (spaces helps with the lack of screen space).
 
Nearly a 1000 posts in this thread and not a shred of substance! We need an insider to spill the beans so we can avoid all this banter and conjecture.

It's all meaningless until Apple announces what they're planning to do, and seeing how they never do that...
 
lupin..the..3rd said:
Nearly a 1000 posts in this thread and not a shred of substance! We need an insider to spill the beans so we can avoid all this banter and conjecture.

It's all meaningless until Apple announces what they're planning to do, and seeing how they never do that...
Click to expand...

It will happen once we reach 1000 posts, let's make it there, then they will give us the update :D ;)
 
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