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Apple Releases New MacBooks
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I disagree. The weakest part of the macbook depends on what you do with it. I use my laptop for mail, web, code development, compilation, neooffice, Skype, remote desktop (to PCs), VMware and processing raw images using bibble. Oh, and I also play... bridge. None of these would benefit from a better graphics accelerator. The added 200 MHz is nice, but probably won't make a big difference either. The added RAM in the base configuration and added disk space is a welcome upgrade, though.
Our consumer users are big fans of iPhoto, iMovie and buying music on iTunes, so there is a big demand for more storage, said Benjamin.
Apple explained that instead of moving to Intels new Santa Rosa chip for this update, the company decided to focus on the value of the MacBook line.
MacBook already offers some of the technologies available in Santa Rosa, said Benjamin. We decided with this update that we would add more value with processor speeds, RAM and hard drive space. We feel this is the prefect line-up for the Spring.
Apple explained that instead of moving to Intels new Santa Rosa chip for this update, the company decided to focus on the value of the MacBook line.
MacBook already offers some of the technologies available in Santa Rosa, said Benjamin. We decided with this update that we would add more value with processor speeds, RAM and hard drive space. We feel this is the prefect line-up for the Spring.
And in the same regard, why buy a Mac Book Pro
When you can get the same features in a Mac Book?
Of course they are gonna make the more expensive end more attractive. They are in the business to make money. The more expensive end should be better in every way imaginable.
Me? I'm waiting for the Mac Book Pro which is what everyone else here apparently seems to want even though some of them want a MB.
Good update for people who need a great computer.
I bought my iBook when I knew the macbooks would be coming out, but instead of waiting, I bought the iBook and haven't looked back.
Again a great computer for people who need a good computer.
I bought my iBook when I knew the macbooks would be coming out, but instead of waiting, I bought the iBook and haven't looked back.
Again a great computer for people who need a good computer.
I'm really not sure why the lack of SR comes as a shock to anyone. If you remember last year, when the C2D replaced the CD, it took about 3 months from the time Intel announced them before the change was made in the MacBooks. To think that Apple could ramp up to a new chipset in just one week this time around was unrealistic wishful thinking to say the absolute least.
I'll give Apple credit for at least bumping the specs of the current machine, instead of waiting until August or September to release any kind of an update to the MacBook at all. That would have been the alternative here. The bottom line is that the MacBooks have better specs today than they did yesterday, and the price is still the same, so it certainly could have been a lot worse. They're still excellent notebooks and that definitely hasn't changed.
I'll give Apple credit for at least bumping the specs of the current machine, instead of waiting until August or September to release any kind of an update to the MacBook at all. That would have been the alternative here. The bottom line is that the MacBooks have better specs today than they did yesterday, and the price is still the same, so it certainly could have been a lot worse. They're still excellent notebooks and that definitely hasn't changed.
For all the people whining about so-called "crybabies", what's worse to me are the dependable and predictable reactions of some people who will think ANY Apple update is a great thing just because it's an update of any kind.
"You're getting MORE for LESS than what you paid yesterday!!! I don't understand you people."
Well yeah. That's technically true. But...ya know.
"You're getting MORE for LESS than what you paid yesterday!!! I don't understand you people."
Well yeah. That's technically true. But...ya know.
In that the Apple store is down (still/again), anyone think a MBP update is still coming today?
Too bad Apple doesn't let us build our own computers. That way, we can choose which features we want. On the other hand, that would mean less stable configurations if we used any old component off the shelf. Also, for some things (eg motherboard, gpu, etc), there's no one model that has all the features I want. Example: I wouldn't mind using an nVidia 680i in a computer. I like how AMD procs have their own memory controllers, but I also want a quad core proc, which only Intel provides. Oh well. Current Macs are good enough for what I need.
Oh cool, I didn't realized that. Well I guess there was hope for today then. Too bad it didn't pan out
The death of the GMA 950. Plain and simple. It's not so that I can play Doom 3 on ultra-high end mode, but simply put the GMA 950 is garbage that is not future proof
This update is a "speed bump" pending Santa Rosa chips being available in sufficient quantity and motherboards being debugged with them installed. But for a "mere" speed bump, look at what you DO get. 802.11n, which is a big deal for wireless users. Slightly bigger HD, iSight, which is a "fad" thing, but "free". 20-30% faster performance. For a speed bump, that is massive.
This is a surprise release to me because I predicted a SR MB after MBP is updated, perhaps in September. This makes the September date for a MB large update far less likely. We'll see.
One thing that will remain true is selecting a mac remains a "money purchase" decision. You can reliably by pricepoint alone determine which Mac is right for you (and select a portable or desktop form factor), and you are nearly guaranteed to not make a "mistake". That is good engineering and marketing.
As for the GMA950 graphics, they are sufficient for most things. Some games and most 3D stuff suffers hard. So get a MBP if you do that stuff. Or beter yet a MP or XS.
10 pages of mostly whining so far is silly. But when you see the sales figures, you will see people are not comparing each little hardware spec to a PC box, but are buying the "capabilities of the ecosystem". To be fair, the hardware features currently keep up with those needs really well.
I see nobody saying otherwise about that.
Let the whining re-commence.
Rocketman
This is a surprise release to me because I predicted a SR MB after MBP is updated, perhaps in September. This makes the September date for a MB large update far less likely. We'll see.
One thing that will remain true is selecting a mac remains a "money purchase" decision. You can reliably by pricepoint alone determine which Mac is right for you (and select a portable or desktop form factor), and you are nearly guaranteed to not make a "mistake". That is good engineering and marketing.
As for the GMA950 graphics, they are sufficient for most things. Some games and most 3D stuff suffers hard. So get a MBP if you do that stuff. Or beter yet a MP or XS.
10 pages of mostly whining so far is silly. But when you see the sales figures, you will see people are not comparing each little hardware spec to a PC box, but are buying the "capabilities of the ecosystem". To be fair, the hardware features currently keep up with those needs really well.
I see nobody saying otherwise about that.
Let the whining re-commence.
Rocketman
To be fair, the pro line still has vastly better graphics, larger screens, and probably much more in a month or so. I don't think even a fully SR-enabled MacBook would be nearly as good for pro apps like Aperture, FCS, etc. So saying SR would have been impossible because it matches the pro line (as some others have) is, I think, misleading.
SR would have been ideal for casual gamers, like students and general consumers. The MacBook would have benefited quite a bit. Ah well. Maybe in six months....
Great post. This is exactly why the SR waiters are upset. This bump could have come 2 weeks ago or before, which would still have told us that they won't be using SR (yet). Their timing on this update is just rude. Not to mention my original point (and a few others') that this IS the MacBook for the next several months. And don't try to argue that this particular update wasn't timed. We all know SJ and his MO. Just. Plain. Rude.
HAHA. I pictured a very
dude in a boat on a street wondering why he wasn't moving. Priceless. x3100 would still be slow as molasses. And as much as we all want to be Apple-lovers, if someone wants to buy a laptop in order to play games on it, he should really look at PC-laptops. Getting a Mac for gaming just doesn't make that much sense. Getting a low-end Apple-laptop for gaming makes even less sense.
Unrelated to the above quote, but related to lots of comments here, Apple does not really want you to *wait* for updates when they have unsold product in stock. You know. They'd like to sell what they have. That's why they moved away from the big giant convention announcement model. Buy what we have now if you're in the market, don't worry about what you'll buy next time. And unlike a huge number of people on these forums, most of us don't buy a new laptop every six months or every time they update it, no matter how grand the update. I keep mine for two and a half or almost three years; and for what I do with it, upgrading even than often is a bit of a luxury.
As for the Santa Rosa being required for the better graphics processor, out front I have to say I do not play games on my MacBook. I play games on consoles and prefer it that way. So I can't speak for people who want to play computer games, but as for all other tasks, Mac OS X eye-candy, HD video playback, all that stuff, the 950GMA is just outstanding. I haven't once wished I had a better or dedicated graphics processor in this computer, for my needs, which granted, I'm not a 3D illustrator or anything, but I do like to get all the visual features of OS X and have acceptable video playback.