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Apple Releases the MacBook Pro
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SiliconAddict said:
Look say what you will, and I hope that you are very happy with your purchase but please don't come complaining about poor rosetta performance when you get your new MacBook.
Even Steve Jobs says that Pros won't be happy with running PS in rosetta. The new MacBook is a nice unit but any knowledgable pro will wait until most pro apps are native and the MacBook Pro has moved onto Merom before upgrading from the PB G4. As it stands now for the Pro User the PB G4 is a better buy.
Later when most pro apps are x86 native and the MacBook has been refined a little, it wil be worth all of the substantial cost to upgrade to Intel.
For me, replacing all of my pro software is going to cost more than the purchase price of a new MacBook.
SiliconAddict said:
Basically, in order to really take advantage of the Dual Core, you need applications that has code compiled to run certain tasks in parallel to each other. As the translated programs are not compiled for Intel processors, there is a good chance that the Rosetta translator would not know how to make use of the two processors.
Of course, I might be underestimating the power of Rosetta, but in my view, it is very unlikely to really take advantage of the two cores.
Alex Cutter said:
I'm not so sure about that. Even if rosetta performance is half of a native app, that would make it about equal to a g4 powerbook. At least. THen again, I don't know what the effect of altivec enabled apps will be with rosetta, of which Photoshop is one.
And to the comments about the Macbook suitability with Photoshop, frankly, I'd have to say that Steve Jobs is probably working under the assumption that a serious "pro" photoshop user isn't even using a laptop as a primary. They'd be using a dual g5 tower with a whole lot more ram than you can put into a powerbook and a crt. The powerbook doesn't have the screen resolution, color fidelity, ram capacity, drive capacity or speed, etc. to even compare to a tower for serious photoshop use. Filter performance is only one aspect.
Either way, I really doubt that it will be equal to a g3. No way it will be that slow.
Now that I think about it, this seems to be the real reason Apple came out with what looks like a stopgap laptop. The g4 powerbooks were really sucking hard in terms of performance.
boombashi said:
I can see the need or want for FW800, but for audio expansion and external HD, FW400 is fine.It would of been nice to have two ports, but it can handle it through daisy chain.BUT, USB for audio, or HD...come on?!?Its fine for keyboards, mice, kinda the ipod.But not audio or HD's in a pro setting.I would never sit down with a band and try to record something that i may never be able to get out of them again and think that a external USB HD will definitely not stutter what they are laying down, also external USB soulutions only usally go to 2 tracks, except for the few USB 2.0 boxes out there that do 8 tracks that are barely reliable.
PowerbookG31991 said:
I suspect you'll be waiting a while. I'll bet these will sell like hotcakes, and even when demand starts to dip, Apple is more likely to bump features and speed than cut price...
The best way to get a huge discount in Australia is to salary sacrifice anyway...
Granted
I didn't expect the 2.16 GHz, but I did expect 2.0--and manufacturers are using them (Acer, Asus, Sony? [Edit: Add Gateway]). I only hope that Apple doesn't try to distinguish Pro from Consumer by using Dual vs. Single core chips, especially in light of the minimal price difference (around $40).
surroundfan said:
I didn't expect the 2.16 GHz, but I did expect 2.0--and manufacturers are using them (Acer, Asus, Sony? [Edit: Add Gateway]). I only hope that Apple doesn't try to distinguish Pro from Consumer by using Dual vs. Single core chips, especially in light of the minimal price difference (around $40).
flowerbook said:
I think you nailed it. If they had let the iBook crowd inherit the aluminum designs, almost like saying everyone gets a pro machine at cinsumer prices, but now look at this amazingly kick ass new design for the super duper pro new pro machines, I think things would be in place. As it is, this is light years away from what would be expected from a pro machine after so long of just updates, but no true upgrades. What they're doing now is just what you said: selling a used car with the stereo and a/c removed but with a bigger engine, but touting it as all new.
macidiot said:
Its not that simple in terms of calculating performances... you can't just add and divide. As for Altivec, Rosetta has absolutely no support for that...
What is certain is that when the Photoshop universal binaries are released, the Intel MacBook would be much faster than the older PowerBooks.
macidiot said:
Apple may of thought that having a intel core duo processor would help relieve the "punch" some programs like Photoshop have.
I hope so....
Yah. Should have read ALL of the previous posts instead of just your reply. Sorry. Lumped you in with several others who I've run across who think the G4 is a perfectly fine pro laptop.Alex Cutter said:
That isn't an accurate assumption to make.macidiot said:
The way Jobs phrased things also concerns me. He didn't say anything about 1/2 speed, or "slower", or make any sort of relative comparison. He said that pro users wouldn't find the speed sufficient. That's a pretty damning statement for someone prone to embellishing.
Again, this all depends on your definition of "pro user" and "usable".
flowerbook said:
You're right! I think it would be an insult to call the MacBook Pro another Powerbook.
Hey does anyone know if The Radeon X1600 has H.264 acceleration or not? I can't find any info on it on ATI's site.
Val-kyrie said:
No they have to use the WIFI radio to get the Centrino label. Core Duo is purly the CPU.
boombashi said:
Don't get me wrong. I think credit is due here, and the performance upgrade is respectable. I think it is just way overhyped for the speed bump with less features it truly is.
Much like you, I'm not jumping into a new iMac until they get to 80 or come up with something truly experience changing, like wireless integration. Video was cool, but just not enough if they ignored what is most important, storage capacity. Same goes to this. A speed bump and a better screen, big as it might be (even though we all know it's not truly 4x), but giving up important features in the process, is just not what people expected after seeing only speed bumps and better screens for the last few years. I have a 17" 1.33, the second one to ever come out, and I still don't think this is enough to shell out another 2 grand.
I guess we all thought Intel would usher in a new era. The launch, in this context, ended up pretty mediocre.
thes said:
Agreed. The point is not that the peformance of the MacBook is subpar, because it is not. The MacBook is much faster than the current G4 PB. But unfortunately that performance boost currently can't be put to much good use because only the OS, and iLife apps get the boost.
Rosetta is a stop gap. It is not going to compete head-to-head with a G4 or G5 on Alti-vec enabled pro-apps. It just isn't.
Within the next year most all of the pro apps will go x86 native and all will be right with the MacWorld again. However in that time frame the Merom Processor from intel will debut and THAT will be THE MACHINE!
Also it is going to cost a lot to repurchase pro apps for x86 therefore it is my oppinion that it is currently better to wait. Wait for new version pro x86 apps and even better intel hardware.
SiliconAddict said:
From what I read earlier on the subject (paraphrasing) - Yes, but drivers need to be written to take advantage of it. I'm just parroting what I read, so I don't know if that makes any sense.
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