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Apple Releases New MacBook Pros with Santa Rosa
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This low-salaried employee is there to answer general consumer questions about the whole product line.
She's not there for your snobby amusement.
A $300 price cut in Australia too.
I love Apple.
If the USD keeps falling, it'll be 2 USD/Aussie dollar.
Any thoughts about the following?
1. 15.4" C2D 2.4 Glossy
2. 2GB RAM -- plan to upgrade to 4GB (though the Apple Store rep said that I could only use "Apple Certified" memory so as not to void my warranty) -- what 3rd party memory is "Apple Certified", and this sounds hokey anyway, what gives?
3. 160GB 5400 RPM drive -- this is where I'd like some counseling and consolation from the group. I needed the computer now rather than in 4 weeks when there would of course be some problem and I'd have to send it back, leaving me Mac-less for longer. I rationalized that I could always upgrade the HD via an Apple certified shop and with an Apple certified drive (one Genius said this is true, another said not true, so any clarification would be great). I don't do significant audio/video editing, but do do some, and hope I don't take a huge hit. This one factor delayed my purchase all day, but I finally thought that the 5400 wouldn't be bad (would use external 7200 anyway for significant work and to back stuff up anyway). I'm staring at the unopened box still sweating the decision (10% restock fee if opened). I hope I made the right decision with the 5400. 4200 perpendicular architecture was a strong consideration and I did read the logic from many others today and while theoretically sound, didn't find hard data corroborating the theory. Thought 5400 was good compromise.
4. AppleCare -- when does AppleCare kick in anyway ?-- after the 1 yr warranty on the computer runs out, or right away? Should I have therefore waited a year to get Apple Care?
Also:
5. an 80Gig black iPod $150 after $199 rebate (is there another iPod revision due soon? -- what is expected in revision? if anything significant will save this one unopened and sell on eBay when new one comes out and use proceeds to buy new one),
6. one of the basically free Canon printers ($9.95 after rebate), the MP460
7. and a MagSafe airline adapter.
All sitting unopened (have infant son very time demanding need to wait till he is asleep).
Total with institutional discount after tax right at $3000 (for computer and acessories, not infant son
My take is that I will probably get the 5400 rpm drive and think about upgrading it later either to higher RPM, or an SSD drive next year. I would go for the 7200 rpm, if it wasn't for the 4-6 week delay.
As for the ipods, I would expect some new Nano's around September, and possibly the new 6G regular ipods around November. I would suspect the nano's would mostly just be larger size (4/8/16?). The regular ipods will probably get the iphone multi-touch interface and widescreen I would think.
IMO, the iMac has not improved. The G4 iMac still is the most beautiful computer ever made, it's very hard to beat. That said, the current models are not ugly either, it's just they're not beautiful.
I might some day buy a G4 iMac just for web surfing purposes. It would look great sitting anywhere in my living room
I agree. I was in an office today that has both. The G4 looks fantastic, partly because it's playful. It's inviting and you want to touch and position its screen.
The replacement is austere, utilitarian. Impressive but cold. Quoting Dieter Rams' Braun work could only make it so:
http://www.37signals.com/svn/archives2/dieter_rams_less_but_better.php
NY Apple Store (5th Ave)
I went at 8 PM tonight to the 5th Ave NYC Apple store. I told them I wanted to buy a new Macbook Pro and did they have any in stock. They asked if I wanted a 15 or 17 inch model. I told them 15 and they said good because they don't have the 17 inch. I spent about 5 minutes going over the options and in particular glossy versus matte (using older Macbook pros as new ones were not on display). Despite some glare concerns, I thought the glossy was brighter with richer color. I asked to buy the 15 inch 2.4 with glossy screen. After all this, they checked and found they don't have any of the glossy models left, only matte. I asked why and was told they had received a "full" shipment of matte units and a "limited" number of glossy units. Needless to say, was very disappointed. They had no idea when they would get more glossy units but was advised to check back periodically, perhaps by next week. Still deciding, but will probably buy glossy off web. Any ideas on why glossy was limited? Expected to sell less? Or, perhaps was more popular and sold more/sold out quicker? So if travelling to NYC store for this, be prepared only 15 inch matte units there as of 8:30PM tonight.
I went at 8 PM tonight to the 5th Ave NYC Apple store. I told them I wanted to buy a new Macbook Pro and did they have any in stock. They asked if I wanted a 15 or 17 inch model. I told them 15 and they said good because they don't have the 17 inch. I spent about 5 minutes going over the options and in particular glossy versus matte (using older Macbook pros as new ones were not on display). Despite some glare concerns, I thought the glossy was brighter with richer color. I asked to buy the 15 inch 2.4 with glossy screen. After all this, they checked and found they don't have any of the glossy models left, only matte. I asked why and was told they had received a "full" shipment of matte units and a "limited" number of glossy units. Needless to say, was very disappointed. They had no idea when they would get more glossy units but was advised to check back periodically, perhaps by next week. Still deciding, but will probably buy glossy off web. Any ideas on why glossy was limited? Expected to sell less? Or, perhaps was more popular and sold more/sold out quicker? So if travelling to NYC store for this, be prepared only 15 inch matte units there as of 8:30PM tonight.
Yes, you are....
Almost everyone in this thread who's contemplating buying or upgrading to the Santa Rosa MBP certainly is a "rich kid".
Those who aren't "rich kids" are trying to decide whether to pay the rent, put food on the table, or put gas in the car - because they don't have enough money to do all three.
I once thought that I was one of the "poor kids" because I could only afford to spend one week in Aspen over the New Year's holidays, while some of my friends did two weeks. As I matured, I realized that I wasn't really one of the "poor kids".
Almost everyone in this thread who's contemplating buying or upgrading to the Santa Rosa MBP certainly is a "rich kid".
Those who aren't "rich kids" are trying to decide whether to pay the rent, put food on the table, or put gas in the car - because they don't have enough money to do all three.
I once thought that I was one of the "poor kids" because I could only afford to spend one week in Aspen over the New Year's holidays, while some of my friends did two weeks. As I matured, I realized that I wasn't really one of the "poor kids".
I'm very sure they speak about 128MB GDR + eventuall TurboCache, which obviously would be better than only 128MB GDR. Not just 128MB TurboCache and that's all.
Something like this, first hit:
http://www.pclaunches.com/notebooks/benq_joybook_s41_santa_rosa_notebook.php
"Nvidia GeForce 8600M GS(1GB TurboCache) graphic card"
We can only hope, since even if it's slower it would allow us to run those 256MB vram games or Vista Aero 3D on two displays.
You must not be a student or teacher
Not for research, class notes, and power point presentations.
Not true. Our local, state-run college is now requiring students to bring laptops or buy them through the school. It's tuition is moderately priced and many students still struggle to be there.
Some schools have laptop loans through the library with tracking devices on them in case of theft. Most are purchased through student organizations and donated to the library.
Tell me who, because no school that I know of has GIVEN any computer to any student without charging them for it.
Not for research, class notes, and power point presentations.
Not true. Our local, state-run college is now requiring students to bring laptops or buy them through the school. It's tuition is moderately priced and many students still struggle to be there.
Some schools have laptop loans through the library with tracking devices on them in case of theft. Most are purchased through student organizations and donated to the library.
Tell me who, because no school that I know of has GIVEN any computer to any student without charging them for it.
First Impressions...
Just picked the 2.4Ghz 15" model up from the Apple Store.
First impressions are disappointing:
Screen - (Anti-glare verion) looks good at first glance provided you don't go too far out of the sweet spot. The LED backlight discolors the pixels more at extreme angles than the LCD's i'm used to working on. However, once you open the calibration utility, that's where things get bad. Really bad. My display is unable to be calibrated because the slider on the right defaults to a location off the color swatch. See the image...
Clicking within the swatch, brings the cross hair back, but the colors within the swatch are way to blue or pink. Basically, you have to accept the default calibration the screen ships with. So if you need accurate color, then you'll be wanting to use an external display. Very frustrating for graphics people.
The screen is CRAZY bright. I'm excited to see if this makes it more useful outdoors -- although cranking up the brightness won't help my battery life.
Speed - I'm still installing apps as I write this, so stay tuned. But everything feels nice and zippy so far. I did just boot Photoshop to see how fast it came up, and it smokes my dual 2.0 G5.
Heat - REALLY HOT. I nearly burnt my hand feeling the underside after installing MS office. The laptop is on a hardwood table. Haven't heard any fans come on yet, at all, so I'm hoping that I don't have a dud.
Noise - Really quiet. (well, duh, the fans haven't made a peep yet)
Mfg Quality - Mediocre. The keyboard has sags a bit in near the E,R,T keys, and bludges up around the U, I, O keys. Small potatoes, but I noticed it within about 10 seconds of opening the lid.
My monitor is slightly racked. Not an issue when it's open, but when I close it, the left side remains about 1mm from the palm rest portion. I solved this by sticking a little rubber foot (LRF support!) in each corner, of the monitor bezel, then slicing off layers until the clasping was nice and tight. Yes I should probably march back to the store and pitch a fit to the 'geniuses', but I really hate dealing with them.
I also swear that i'm getting shocks from the wrist rest portion of the unit when it's on the table, and plugged into the wall. Doesn't seem to be a problem when it's on my lap. I'll see if I can replicate with other people tomorrow at work.
Wireless - airport (N) seems consistent with that of a macbook I played with a few months ago. Was able to keep both my G5 mounted and my Air Disk mounted as I walked thru the apartment. Definitely gets better reception than the Titanium model it replaces.
Overall, the largest problem I have is the screen quality. I wish that apple had the option to choose the new LED or the old LCD depending on your interest - battery life or color accuracy. Seems a shame to hurt the graphics pros on your most popular portable for pros. Sigh.
Just picked the 2.4Ghz 15" model up from the Apple Store.
First impressions are disappointing:
Screen - (Anti-glare verion) looks good at first glance provided you don't go too far out of the sweet spot. The LED backlight discolors the pixels more at extreme angles than the LCD's i'm used to working on. However, once you open the calibration utility, that's where things get bad. Really bad. My display is unable to be calibrated because the slider on the right defaults to a location off the color swatch. See the image...
Clicking within the swatch, brings the cross hair back, but the colors within the swatch are way to blue or pink. Basically, you have to accept the default calibration the screen ships with. So if you need accurate color, then you'll be wanting to use an external display. Very frustrating for graphics people.
The screen is CRAZY bright. I'm excited to see if this makes it more useful outdoors -- although cranking up the brightness won't help my battery life.
Speed - I'm still installing apps as I write this, so stay tuned. But everything feels nice and zippy so far. I did just boot Photoshop to see how fast it came up, and it smokes my dual 2.0 G5.
Heat - REALLY HOT. I nearly burnt my hand feeling the underside after installing MS office. The laptop is on a hardwood table. Haven't heard any fans come on yet, at all, so I'm hoping that I don't have a dud.
Noise - Really quiet. (well, duh, the fans haven't made a peep yet)
Mfg Quality - Mediocre. The keyboard has sags a bit in near the E,R,T keys, and bludges up around the U, I, O keys. Small potatoes, but I noticed it within about 10 seconds of opening the lid.
My monitor is slightly racked. Not an issue when it's open, but when I close it, the left side remains about 1mm from the palm rest portion. I solved this by sticking a little rubber foot (LRF support!) in each corner, of the monitor bezel, then slicing off layers until the clasping was nice and tight. Yes I should probably march back to the store and pitch a fit to the 'geniuses', but I really hate dealing with them.
I also swear that i'm getting shocks from the wrist rest portion of the unit when it's on the table, and plugged into the wall. Doesn't seem to be a problem when it's on my lap. I'll see if I can replicate with other people tomorrow at work.
Wireless - airport (N) seems consistent with that of a macbook I played with a few months ago. Was able to keep both my G5 mounted and my Air Disk mounted as I walked thru the apartment. Definitely gets better reception than the Titanium model it replaces.
Overall, the largest problem I have is the screen quality. I wish that apple had the option to choose the new LED or the old LCD depending on your interest - battery life or color accuracy. Seems a shame to hurt the graphics pros on your most popular portable for pros. Sigh.
I am holding out hope for at least an upgrade to SR with an x3100 integrated GPU shortly after/alongside Leopard. It's not the greatest, but its sure beats the 950. Perhaps Apple will consider a Blackbook with dedicated graphics, but they might be saving that option for their upcoming sub-portable.
Centrino Pro aka Santa Rosa models -
MSI MS 1636 - 15.4" wxga (glossy) Nvidia 8400 256mb dedicated
MSI MS 1637- 15.4" wxga (glossy) Intel Integrated x3100
MSI MS 1221 - 12.1" wxga (glossy) Intel Integrated x3100
Mac used to produce best of class laptops.
Now they sell dated technology for twice the price.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=127191
Configure it yourself here:
http://www.rkcomputer.net/store/index.php/action/item/id/181/
more Santa Rosa laptops from MSI:
http://www.msicomputer.com/NB/product_spec.asp?model=MS-1636
http://www.msicomputer.com/NB/product_spec.asp?model=MS-1637
MSI MS 1636 - 15.4" wxga (glossy) Nvidia 8400 256mb dedicated
MSI MS 1637- 15.4" wxga (glossy) Intel Integrated x3100
MSI MS 1221 - 12.1" wxga (glossy) Intel Integrated x3100
Mac used to produce best of class laptops.
Now they sell dated technology for twice the price.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=127191
Configure it yourself here:
http://www.rkcomputer.net/store/index.php/action/item/id/181/
more Santa Rosa laptops from MSI:
http://www.msicomputer.com/NB/product_spec.asp?model=MS-1636
http://www.msicomputer.com/NB/product_spec.asp?model=MS-1637
You can get good reviews about best laptop hard drives currently on market from the links I posted here
http://digg.com/hardware/Best_Laptop_Notebook_hard_drives_a_recent_review/
My take, forget about 4200 or 5400 rpm, get 7200 rpm - either Hitachi 7k100 or Seagate 7200.1 FTW!
Their so-called "review" measures transfer rates at the outer edge of the disk, which is what you get when your harddisk is empty. That gives you the greatest numbers, but is completely misleading. Once the disk fills up, you move to the inner areas which are slower. That's where the 100GB drive loses.
Yippie !!
Thanks to all of you who said to wait to buy my first Lappy. I was gonna buy in early May a PRO, was waiting for the cash, then read about the changes coming soon. Then forums about the New MacBooks came out on my Birthaday May 15,was temping. I waited, I still wanted a Pro and someone said wait. I did, saved money everywhere. Thanks MacForum peeps!
Better everything on my new Lappy! Happy Lappy?
Thanks to all of you who said to wait to buy my first Lappy. I was gonna buy in early May a PRO, was waiting for the cash, then read about the changes coming soon. Then forums about the New MacBooks came out on my Birthaday May 15,was temping. I waited, I still wanted a Pro and someone said wait. I did, saved money everywhere. Thanks MacForum peeps!
Better everything on my new Lappy! Happy Lappy?
Any reason not to get Crucial Ram
...at 1/2 the price?
I ordered a 15" 2.4 GHz, 200 Gb HD MBP with 2 Gb of RAM and a 4 Gb (2x2Gb) set from Crucial (specified for the 2.4 Ghz MBP).
Does anyone have an opinion about whether this combo will work - I don't see why not, but some posts have implied that the RAM MUST be Apple RAM...
...at 1/2 the price?
I ordered a 15" 2.4 GHz, 200 Gb HD MBP with 2 Gb of RAM and a 4 Gb (2x2Gb) set from Crucial (specified for the 2.4 Ghz MBP).
Does anyone have an opinion about whether this combo will work - I don't see why not, but some posts have implied that the RAM MUST be Apple RAM...
MacBench is an absolutely completely flawed piece of garbage.
The "User Interface" test is especially stupid. They try to measure things like how many times per second the title of a button can be changed. And then comes MacOS X and says that clearly changing the title more than sixty times per second is nonsense, because you can't see it anyway, so it just won't do it! So even though your graphics card could do an operation 1000 times per second, the operating system doesn't do it because it is just a waste of battery power. Completely misleading.
vecLib FFT is a piece of software that was hand-optimised for Altivec when Apple thought Altivec and putting lots of time into developing that kind of libraries was a good idea. It was designed to show Altivec in the best possible light when Macs had PowerPCs and everyone else had x86 processors. That test is of no practical value whatsoever.
...at 1/2 the price?
I ordered a 15" 2.4 GHz, 200 Gb HD MBP with 2 Gb of RAM and a 4 Gb (2x2Gb) set from Crucial (specified for the 2.4 Ghz MBP).
Does anyone have an opinion about whether this combo will work - I don't see why not, but some posts have implied that the RAM MUST be Apple RAM...
Umm, it doesn't need to be "Apple RAM", it's not like they manufacture it. Even if for some reason it didn't work, crucial guaruntees compatibility, so you're good to go. This is what I am leaning towards doing, but with the 7200rpm drive.
...at 1/2 the price?
I ordered a 15" 2.4 GHz, 200 GB HD MBP with 2 Gb of RAM and a 4 Gb (2x2Gb) set from CXrucial (specified for the 2.4 Ghz MPP).
Does antone have an opinion about whether this combo will work - I don't see why not, but some posts have implied that the RAM MUST be Apple RAM...
No, it doesn't have to be Apple RAM.
If your laptop doesn't work because you put in the wrong RAM, then clearly it's not Apple's fault and they won't fix it. On the other hand, Crucial explicitly sells RAM for your particular model, and _they_ will replace it if it doesn't work (if it is the wrong memory then it is their fault, and if it is they right memory but faulty it is their fault as well). But if anything else is wrong with your MacBook, and Apple finds that you have Crucial RAM, that doesn't affect the warranty at all.
Interestingly Crucial has different part numbers for their RAM for the old and the new MBPs, but the description and the price are identical. I suspect the memory is the same, but they won't guarantee it.
Okay, I just got a 15-inch MBP today (2.4 GHz matte screen). I've been talking about it for a long time, so I figured that I should spill the beans now that it's actually sitting in my lap.
I'm sure everybody else is bragging about their machines as well, but I'd like to write a quick review anyway.
First impressions:
Very impressive display—as bright as a 17-inch MBP and brighter than a MB screen. Not as much grain as previous generation screen. Color seems warm and natural, but I'm no color expert. Other forum members would probably be a better judge of the color as I'm not extra particular about color. Whites on this screen have a slight yellow cast. My previous MB screen had a pinkish cast. My fiancee's 17-inch MBP has the purest whites out of the bunch. Good contrast on this screen from edge to edge, much better than my previous MB's screen. Even lighting corner to corner. ADDENDUM: Just went through color calibration. No problems with the sliders as mentioned earlier. White much whiter now and contrast even better. I've calibrated monitors before and this went smoothly. Should probably take the computer to a photo lab and have it calibrated by an expert.
Fast as sh*te. Absolutely no lag using Aperture. Improvement in responsiveness when compared to the last generation (but I've only played with them in stores).
Excellent build quality. Solid, with straight seams and no creaks or groans. Tough as nails keyboard that really flies. No sagging in keyboard.
Cool and quiet. Even during a two-hour data transfer via FireWire from my last MB, the computer made little noise and didn't get very warm. The MB, on the other hand, was hot and howling like a jet engine. Both were plugged in, the MB was in FireWire disk mode. Two fans in this baby running at right around 2000 rpm. Could probably step them down without burning anything, but I'll trust the Apple engineers. The machine's sitting directly on my lap right now and it's in no danger of jeopardizing my ability to produce offspring.
Haven't tried any games yet, but I'm sure that the new GPU will be blazing-fast. Planning on picking up Call of Duty or something to test it out (and have fun, of course!).
I'm one lucky guy!
Cheers!
I'm sure everybody else is bragging about their machines as well, but I'd like to write a quick review anyway.
First impressions:
Very impressive display—as bright as a 17-inch MBP and brighter than a MB screen. Not as much grain as previous generation screen. Color seems warm and natural, but I'm no color expert. Other forum members would probably be a better judge of the color as I'm not extra particular about color. Whites on this screen have a slight yellow cast. My previous MB screen had a pinkish cast. My fiancee's 17-inch MBP has the purest whites out of the bunch. Good contrast on this screen from edge to edge, much better than my previous MB's screen. Even lighting corner to corner. ADDENDUM: Just went through color calibration. No problems with the sliders as mentioned earlier. White much whiter now and contrast even better. I've calibrated monitors before and this went smoothly. Should probably take the computer to a photo lab and have it calibrated by an expert.
Fast as sh*te. Absolutely no lag using Aperture. Improvement in responsiveness when compared to the last generation (but I've only played with them in stores).
Excellent build quality. Solid, with straight seams and no creaks or groans. Tough as nails keyboard that really flies. No sagging in keyboard.
Cool and quiet. Even during a two-hour data transfer via FireWire from my last MB, the computer made little noise and didn't get very warm. The MB, on the other hand, was hot and howling like a jet engine. Both were plugged in, the MB was in FireWire disk mode. Two fans in this baby running at right around 2000 rpm. Could probably step them down without burning anything, but I'll trust the Apple engineers. The machine's sitting directly on my lap right now and it's in no danger of jeopardizing my ability to produce offspring.
Haven't tried any games yet, but I'm sure that the new GPU will be blazing-fast. Planning on picking up Call of Duty or something to test it out (and have fun, of course!).
I'm one lucky guy!
Cheers!
going, going, but not quite gone
I'm glad to see these upgrades as I have seen way too many non-mac santa rosa implementations happening, turning the mac from a trend setter to a follow the leader situation.
I think I will keep the 1.5 GHz PowerBook 17' humming a little longer, (a relocation of the OS to a different area on the HDD has provided relief from frequent spontanaeous system data hemorrhaging) until the next revision which I am guessing will deliver LED backlighting to the awesome 1920x1200 screen.
I'm also hoping this will come with nand boot, Leopard and resolution independance, I'm also hoping for scalable application and finder windows with that, or am I dreaming here?
I'm glad to see these upgrades as I have seen way too many non-mac santa rosa implementations happening, turning the mac from a trend setter to a follow the leader situation.
I think I will keep the 1.5 GHz PowerBook 17' humming a little longer, (a relocation of the OS to a different area on the HDD has provided relief from frequent spontanaeous system data hemorrhaging) until the next revision which I am guessing will deliver LED backlighting to the awesome 1920x1200 screen.
I'm also hoping this will come with nand boot, Leopard and resolution independance, I'm also hoping for scalable application and finder windows with that, or am I dreaming here?
I didn't see this mentioned yet but, Amazon is not offering the $150 rebate on the new MBPs...
Anyone wanna guess why?
Anyone wanna guess why?
Um, because Amazon is evil?
Sh*te, wanted to link to buyblue.com, but it's down. . . Anyway, Amazon is a major contributor to the GOP.