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I haven't slammed the 17" MBP. Nor have I slammed the Xserve. A note to whitedragon : you're mistaking me for someone else.

A small sample.


What about a 17" screen is required for developing ? I develop apps on a 13" MBA just fine.
Lots of professionals don't need 17" laptops
As a programmer, you should realise that screen inches means nothing. They could simply come out with a 1920x1200 15" and you'd see the same code for multiple classes or pages as you do on your current 17".
I do all of that on my 13" MBA.
17" screen is just an arbitrary spec. It's meaningless by itself. The fact that Apple insists on shipping a gimped 15" in the PPI department is the only reason for the 17" to exist.
Screen inches and real-estate have nothing to do with each other. Pixels. Only Apple links pixel count and screen size, and again, a 15" 1920x1200 display would offset the loss of the 17" to begin with.
Again, screen size and screen real-estate have nothing to do with each other.
In response to KurtangleTN saying "some people need a lot of power."
And some people don't.
 
A small sample.

None of those are a slam on the 17" MBP. You're misconstruing my posts. I'm simply pointing out to people that arguing through over-generalization and exagerations is not a good way to make a point.

And there is nothing against the MBP 17" in pointing out that screen inches != screen real-estate when our computer displays are bitmap oriented displays. Pixel number is ultimately what impacts your real-estate, not the screen size.
 
On Demand Manufacturing Prevents the MBP 17" ...

From being discontinued.

50k 17" MBP x 2800.00 = 140M

With a cost basis of 1400 per.

Netting: 70M Profits (Trust me they are not throwing 70M away)

With little over head on a CNC machine that can turn a slab of Aluminum into a case in no time.

Look for the 17" MBP to be here for many years to come.
 
Just like all iPads have a single screen size option, so should all Apple laptops. This will allow to streamline inventory management and improve profit margins.

By that logic, Apple would do best to have a single configuration of a single product.

That would be a disaster for many pros. The very install base that stuck with Apple through thick and thin now abandoned because they're not making enough profits??? Bad karma.

Apple has been abandoning that install base by stages for years now.

I use my MBA professionally. In the exercise of my profession. It's waaaaaay too much computer for my needs, which are Terminal basically (yes, all I ever need are command line tools that ran on computers 30 years ago for my profession).

That's a strange statement. What profession these days doesn't use email or the web?

Apple was close to extinction because so many "pros" were leaving. It was consumer sales - driven by the iPod and iMac - that saved Apple.

Way before there was an iPod or iMac the pros saved Apple.
 
That's a strange statement. What profession these days doesn't use email or the web?

e-mail can be had on the command-line, and really, a part from wget, pretty much any computer since 1996 can fill my web needs for my job.

I did say basically. I'm spending much more time using ssh than anything else in my job. That includes any web portals to open support tickets or e-mail services.
 
I don't get it...

I ended up buying a 17" MBP last year. It was a tough decision between it and the 15", but I went for the 17" b/c of its extra power. I absolutely love this laptop now, and can't imagine going back to a smaller screen. I'm a film post production major so the extra power and screen real estate are essential. It's going to be tough to see Apple discontinue this model. I guess a smaller MacBook Air (or iPad) and an iMac are in my future. It's just going to feel weird going from a monster laptop to a smaller one.

Since you're a film major isn't even 17 too small? Wouldn't a 13" laptop with a 24" external be best?
 
Have a pro line with the same 13-15-17 inch, maybe even a 16 inch (I like that screen size LOL )

From a SKU management point, I can't imagine they'll want to expand the range of screens. There's no return for them at all if they do so (more expense, more excess and obsolete risk, lower volumes of key components, higher SKU management costs).

However, when it comes to the 16" screen, I do think that could be a way they'd consider going. For some years, the notebook industry has been going through a transition from the 13, 15 and 17 inch 16:10 screens which are currently in use to 13, 14 and 16 inch 16:9 screens since they're cheaper to produce (sharing volumes with the TV world). In addition, if Apple is going to go retina on MBPros, I can imagine that the 17" screen would be the most difficult to product (just imagine how many pixels it would have, and hence how high the failure rate would be).

My guess would be two MB Pro platforms: A 13" mainstream one and a high-end 16" one, which gives many of the advantages of the 17" system with a package size not far removed from the 15" one.
 
Don't be so selfish and ignorant. You have no clue how many people need to do on the go editing in the field.

Yes, I have a Mac Pro with dual 27" TBD's ... and I LOVE and use my 17" on the go where it's not feasible to throw a 27" display in my bag. :rolleyes:

No a 15" won't suffice, trying working with two pages side by side compared to the 17, it sucks.

A know it all you're not!

You are wrong, it would be sufficient on a 15' retina webpages side by side, because you would see more than 17 inch does show now!
 
For some years, the notebook industry has been going through a transition from the 13, 15 and 17 inch 16:10 screens which are currently in use to 13, 14 and 16 inch 16:9 screens since they're cheaper to produce (sharing volumes with the TV world).

??? Smallest TV I can find available is a 19-incher and believe me, they aren't selling in volume!
 
Sales would be weak compared to anything else Apple sells because it's downright expensive! Not everyone wants a 17" and many who do cannot afford it. I doubt Apple will discontinue it.

Many folks still would have the perception that the 17" is big and heavy, and the price point for the 17" makes it more expensive than all the iMacs and the same as the base-model Mac Pro. This affect sales.
 
wouldn't it be imperative for an mac or iOS developer to have a 17 inch?


esp if ur working with windows programs where u would be using virtual machines even multiple.


programmers that are contracted by different companies that needs to travel from spot to spot and can't carry a big ass screen every where.


my god i have a 13 inch, mac book and i love it but its a bitch comparing codes from one view controller to the next. and i don't have nor is there room here to get another external hard drive.


apple discontinuing their macbook 17" is retarded, what the hell are all the developers on the go have to do? wouldn't make sense and I'm sure a lot of developers get an macbook pro 17" rather than a huge ass iMac or iMac Pro.

a 15 inch wouldn't be big enough, and real estate matters a lot. i.e. iPhone and the iPad.

i don't see apple upsetting their developers (that basically make them money with their apps) or guys that are going to need run multiple virtual machines or a gamer that wants a high end macbook pro to play games (if there is a such, i rather get an alienware laptop or just a custom built desktop)


i love the 13 inch, and i can live with it, but than again I'm a beginning developer, i can't say for an experienced one, but I've talked to many of them, and they need the 17 inch, and once they did go 17 inch they can't go back.
 
wouldn't it be imperative for an mac or iOS developer to have a 17 inch?


esp if ur working with windows programs where u would be using virtual machines even multiple.


programmers that are contracted by different companies that needs to travel from spot to spot and can't carry a big ass screen every where.

It's really not.
 
Discontinuing the 17" macbook pro would be a mistake. It will definitely push the Pro market elsewhere, which maybe is Apples plan. They already discontinued the extension of the professional final cut pro 7 for a consumer grade final cut pro X. In my opinion mac achieved a coolness factor with the help of the cool professionals that used their computers. It will be a shame if they lose that.
The 17" macbook pro still makes a profit so why drop it and lose the pro market. A 17" macbook pro with the new ivy processor, one SSD for OS and applications, and a second SSD (for media) to replace the unnecessary optical drive and you have a beautiful pro machine with the screen size that we need.
If consumers need more portability they go for smaller macbook pro or ipad. Why force the pro market away? It's not like your losing money by making them, they still make you a profit. Don't force us to go away from Mac
 
It's really not.

It might not be absolutely necessary, but there is always the comfort factor to take into account. Some people might enjoy working on a 13 inch screen. They can manage to cram their workload into that small a space, and thrive there. They find they don't need the extra space. Any more will feel like a waste to them.

Then you have people who can't stand working on anything smaller than a 21 inch screen. They hate laptops in general, and only have one out of sheer necessity. They find can't put pages side by side for comparing and contrasting, at least not without making the text illegibly (to them) small. Can't only have a comparatively limited amount of windows open side by side. They'd hate a 17 inch laptop, so a 13 inch to them would be completely unusable.

Now who's right, and who's wrong? Both have their preferences, their work flows, their comfort zones. To use the example you're quoting, it might not be imperative for iOS programmers to have a larger screen, but that's beside the point. It's what you're most comfortable using that matters most. Like I can drive a car perfectly with the car seat pushed forward as far as it can go, but I'd be uncomfortable as hell doing it.

One size does not fit all.
 
i don't see apple upsetting their developers (that basically make them money with their apps)

i can't say for an experienced one, but I've talked to many of them, and they need the 17 inch, and once they did go 17 inch they can't go back.

Interesting point. I think if apple listened to anyones feedback it might be their own app developers. They do get 1 to 1 time to talk to apple engineers at developer conferences. Hopefully the good will from developers and the fact that it still makes money is enough to keep it. I think a brand not offering a 17" would make the lineup look rather incomplete.
 
It might not be absolutely necessary, but there is always the comfort factor to take into account.

Don't get me wrong, I was replying to the fact the poster said "wouldn't it be imperative for an mac or iOS developer to have a 17 inch?". It's really not imperative (something the guy who quickly down-voted me seems to have missed).

Like you say, it's a preference. Me ? I'd rather have the portability of the air and the versatility of an external monitor on my desk. Best of both worlds. A 17" would be awkward to carry around and using that dinky screen on a desk with an external keyboard and mouse would be uncomfortable.

----------

Interesting point. I think if apple listened to anyones feedback it might be their own app developers. They do get 1 to 1 time to talk to apple engineers at developer conferences. Hopefully the good will from developers and the fact that it still makes money is enough to keep it. I think a brand not offering a 17" would make the lineup look rather incomplete.

A lot of developers are not using the 17" MBP. I'd wager it's not even the most popular model amongst developers. Just reading the programming forums here on Macrumors, most of the professional and hobbyist programmers use much lesser Macs to write software.

Programming just isn't ressource intensive, and with the bandwidth provided by mDP, high resolution external monitors are not an issue.
 
MacBook Air and MacBook Pro predictions/wishlist 2012

If they really remove the 17" modell they should at least increase the 15" screen's resolution. 1440*900 as standard is just bad. 1680*1050 should be standard and 1920*1200 BTO or even higher would be nice for people who need the resolution of the 17".

Totally agree with this!! No more 17" MBP and streamlined to few models:

Line up for this year's refresh:

11" and 13" MacBook (Air) i5 and i7 dual-core Ivy Bridge w/ Intel 4000 GPU

13" and 15" MacBook Pro i5 and i7 quad-core w/ discrete GPU ...

and MAYBE without Optical drives.

13" resolution upgraded to 1440x900. 15" resolution is 1680x1050 by default and BTO is 1920x1200. Both 13" and 15" will have Glossy and Anti-glare (50$ more) screen options. To compensate for the 17", 15" will have 3 USBs and MAYBE one more extra ThunderBolt in place of FireWire.

Main difference between MacBook Air and Pro:

More HDD storage on MBP vs flash storage on MBA
MBP may have Optical Drive (or NOT, not sure though)
Quad-core for MBP both 13 and 15"
Discrete GPU for 15" MBP (may be possible with 13" MPB this year if Optical Disk space can be reclaimed for this?)
Glossy vs Anti-glare options on MBP (MBA does not have any screen options)
Gigabit Ethernet on all MBP along with a 3rd USB port on 15" MBP
Bigger battery and more battery life on the MBP (doubt it w/ quad-core CPU)
 
Like you say, it's a preference. Me ? I'd rather have the portability of the air and the versatility of an external monitor on my desk. Best of both worlds. A 17" would be awkward to carry around and using that dinky screen on a desk with an external keyboard and mouse would be uncomfortable.

Yeah, I feel about the same way. I wouldn't want a 17 inch MBP myself. It's way too unwieldy to use while I'm out and about, and too small to use when I've got my big 24 inch sitting right on my desk. For me, it wouldn't fill any particular role particularly well. I could easily live with a 13 inch, but would probably go with a 15 just to have the happy medium.

But there are some people who do need larger laptops. Because of this, I think Apple (possibly) nixing the 17 inch just to homogenize their lineup could be a huge mistake. They can get away with it right now because they're the darling of everyone's eye. They've got mindshare and all those other marketing buzzwords like no other company at the moment. People are willing to accept a couple of sacrifices here and there, reconform their workflow to fit within the limitations of one of their otherwise excellent products.

But will they always be able to get away with it? Will people always want to put up with Apple's narrow choice of machines simply because Apple wants to make it easy on themselves? The ultimate goal of any company should be to make their customers happy (which is how a company gets money, cuz I know one of you is gonna end up saying it). Offering up a few not-quite-hot-seller but still necessary options so they have a product that fits everyone's needs wouldn't exactly hurt their bottom line too much.
 
Don't get me wrong, I was replying to the fact the poster said "wouldn't it be imperative for an mac or iOS developer to have a 17 inch?". It's really not imperative (something the guy who quickly down-voted me seems to have missed).

Like you say, it's a preference. Me ? I'd rather have the portability of the air and the versatility of an external monitor on my desk. Best of both worlds. A 17" would be awkward to carry around and using that dinky screen on a desk with an external keyboard and mouse would be uncomfortable.

----------



A lot of developers are not using the 17" MBP. I'd wager it's not even the most popular model amongst developers. Just reading the programming forums here on Macrumors, most of the professional and hobbyist programmers use much lesser Macs to write software.

Programming just isn't ressource intensive, and with the bandwidth provided by mDP, high resolution external monitors are not an issue.


I'm talking about the traveling programmer, the programmer that has to constantly go to different customers/companies because its an industry program (i.e. ERP, POS, etc... u get it) u can't carry an external monitor everywhere u go, and u can't expect that they will have one for you.

and esp if u need to compare codes and to see whats wrong from your ERP program, to your POS program, to your iOS program, to your database server.


ur gonna need a lot of real estate, and that would be some very tedious work on a 13 inch, the 17 inch is more powerful that can have all those windows open with the virtual machine (i.e. iOS app and SDK, with the ERP and POS being windows based programs)

which a 13 inch obviously cannot handle. and I'm glad i don't have to on my 13 inch but my colleague does.

and THIS IS FOR A TRAVELING PROGRAMMER.

a guy that constantly needs to support and implement new functions for their customers with him actually having to have to go there (for whatever reason, training etc etc, something that can't be done using pcnywhere log me in, you get what I'm saying)
 
Sad Days

I'm on the fence on this one. First I don't see how 17 vs 15 makes this a debate as to rather apple is done with Pro. The added realistate is nice however is it really worth the extra cost? To some maybe but I bet overall it is not for most people.

For me personally I have only purchases the 17" however the only reason I have purchased the 17" screen is because I am legally blind. Thus when I blow up the screen I see more on the 17" screen vs the 15.

That being said the 15 and 17 both have enough horse power for the Pro as well as the consumer.

I'm an engineer and use all the power the 17 will give me. Typically running many VM's and many apps all at once. I can sure feel it to when the fans kick in.

So what would the real disappointment be in dropping the 17"? Lets face it most people are looking for smaller light and more powerful all the time. if they can pack the punch of the 17" into a smaller and lighter laptop then does it really matter? At the office or at the home office use a 27" display or larger on the road deal with the 15".

Just my perspective on this hole thing.
 
I'm talking about the traveling programmer, the programmer that has to constantly go to different customers/companies because its an industry program (i.e. ERP, POS, etc... u get it) u can't carry an external monitor everywhere u go, and u can't expect that they will have one for you.

and esp if u need to compare codes and to see whats wrong from your ERP program, to your POS program, to your iOS program, to your database server.

Having worked with those guys a lot (and other personnel from vendors in my IT carreer), you'd be surprised how much they don't care for huge screens when on the road, but prefer portability.

There's no major code audits being conducted on customer sites anyhow, they mostly serve as consultants over best setup practices and configuring and any bug tracking is done remotely by programmers at the vendor's HQ.

I've worked with people up to "kernel engineer" level for several large OS/software vendor and never saw anyone crack open the code on site.

And frankly, for having coded iOS projects on the go on my MBA, the lack of real-estate is not that big an issue. Again, something you need to experience and see to know. It's a preference thing, it's not an absolute must.
 
Having worked with those guys a lot (and other personnel from vendors in my IT carreer), you'd be surprised how much they don't care for huge screens when on the road, but prefer portability.

There's no major code audits being conducted on customer sites anyhow, they mostly serve as consultants over best setup practices and configuring and any bug tracking is done remotely by programmers at the vendor's HQ.

I've worked with people up to "kernel engineer" level for several large OS/software vendor and never saw anyone crack open the code on site.

And frankly, for having coded iOS projects on the go on my MBA, the lack of real-estate is not that big an issue. Again, something you need to experience and see to know. It's a preference thing, it's not an absolute must.

i see, i love my 13" macbook and when a retina display version comes out for the 13" i wanted to buy that one. but my colleague says that its just tedious, and i do get annoyed with the lack of real estate AT TIMES, not all.

and plus i like how compact it is, it inst too small like an 11" but not too big like a 17 or 15

the thing is i would only get a 17" or 15" if i was getting an alien ware or something
 
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