Apple Releases the MacBook Pro

[strange days]

i think we're going to see these Macbook Pro models sold at iBook prices on eBay in 9 months when the new Macbook Pro models come out with 64-bit dual-core Merom ( larger L2 cache, on-die memory controller ), maybe Blu-Ray burners and case redesign.

9 months for a 900$ price drop is ok with me; i'm not in a hurry...

 

[Lollypop]

Nice feature set, definitely compares very well with the alternatives from dell and Sony, I think if windows runs on these babies there will definitely be a few more switchers! But the name... what were they thinking????????!?!?!?

 

[nagromme]

They're estimating early 2007. And "fine for casual Photoshop use" is debatable. Many believe that Rosetta "emulates" at a G3 level.

Apple said a year ago that Rosetta only worked with G3-compatible apps. "G3" in that case simply meant that AltiVec-dependent code was not compatible... and now it may be (rumors say so--but do we know yet?). Either way, though, "G3" does NOT mean "the speed of a G3" it means "the code compatibility of a G3." And Steve demoed Photohop on Rosetta a full year ago doing quite well. So "fine for casual use" seems very fair to predict.

How well do you think Dreamweaver or GoLive are going to perform using emulation?

Very well, I think. Developers have reported surprising results from Rosetta--not for heavy-duty rendering but for daily use certainly. And even complex 3D games--like Alice (Quake 3 engine)--played excellently on the dev kits, which were slower by far than these MacBooks. (How do I know about Alice? Because the developer commented at InsideMacGames that it wasn't even worth porting Alice and Q3 games because they ran so well on Rosetta already. And yes, Alice states that it needs a G4--but many apps say that just because no G3 had the raw speed, not because they truly used AltiVec.)

the fact that they upgraded some stuff and downgraded others is kind of disconcerting.

But less disconcerting when you realize that doing so is extremely commonplace in ANY product from ANY manufacturer.

Here we have Apple backing off on a few small specs, while leaping forward massively in general. Nothing unusual about that really.

There are little things (having to tote a modem, in my case) that sound disappointing. Until you put them up against the BIG things

 

[digitalbiker]

Apple has in recent years added video out (composite and S-video) to all of its machines at least as a cheap adapter option. Even the lowly eMac! And pro laptops are often used to give presentations to TV (not to mention watching DVDs or any other FrontRow usage).

Therefore, although I too wonder about it being missing from the MacBook specs page, I think it's a near certainty that video-out is on the way. Probably (like with the 12" PowerBook) by an optional $20-$30 adapter that is not yet seen on Apple's site.

The only reason I can think for the adapter not being there yet is that it's a different part: it connects to a full-size DVI port, unlike past adapters which connected to mini-DVI or mini-VGA. I expect to see this adapter show up at Apple's site around the time the MacBook ships if not before.

A firm answer on this would be cool--sorry if I missed it on this thread. But I'm hopeful regardless.

I'm sure your right about this. I kind of think Apple was in a hurry just to show something at this MacWorld. The MacBook was probably a little rushed for it's stage performance and the various adapters will follow.

I can't imagine that it won't support svideo. An adapter for the DVI connector surely will follow.

Honestly if Apple didn't have the MacBook to show this would have been a very weak MacWorld. Pages 2 and Keynote 3 just don't carry much wow factor. Same with iLife'06. I mean come-on upgrading every year just to have a current number in your title is getting a bit old.

Pages has to be the worst application Apple ever conceived. They got my money once but I wouldn't shell out a penny for version 2. Apple should have paid me to try and use version one. It is that bad. I think Apple ought to bow out of the Office suite business and focus on keeping the Apple-MS Office unit happy for a good long time.

 

[macidiot]

There are several things I don't like about the MacBook...

Before I even get to that, can anyone explain why the equivalent 15" PB is the identical price? What incentive is there for me to buy any of the PPC PBs if I can get 4x the performance (even if it's only 2x real-world) by going x86? That's just plain bad planning. Now they're gonna be stuck with a boatload of PPC PBs (especially the 15" one).

I see no reason for them to effectively withdraw FireWire 800 from the market. And, as others have mentioned, why aren't there MORE USB ports? What, does Steve still hold a grudge over USB winning out over FireWire?

Since Apple is now producing (so to speak) an "x86 notebook", they'd better start being feature-competitive with other notebooks. Yes, arguably they've got a much better graphics card than most notebooks do, but unless you're a gamer who uses a notebook, I'd think more ports, not less, would be the way to go.

I also think Apple should have further cosmetically changed the new PB to differentiate it from the PPC PBs. But, that's just me, I suppose.

Because corporations and businesses(and quite a few individuals) aren't going to touch the new pb for quite some time. At least until there is more software support. And after they've been proven to be reliable.

But I agree that the prices should be lowered on powerbooks.

 

[dreamcast]

Oh suck it up and stop complaining... Oh and the screen is NOT duller, can you say 67% increase in brightness. Also I highly doubt real "Pros" would need a dual layer DVD burner, they would have a main machine for that. Also there is no way it will now take you 7 hours compared to you so called 2 hours... just please, suck it up, nobody wants to hear your whining, if you would like join another thread full of whining

Not so much duller, but more like LESS pixels and less dots and less information and less Resolution.......

You doubt real Pro's would need a dual layer dvd drive, well you just stay in your single layer world, no pun, and cram those movies on a single layer drive and lose video quality in the process. With a dual layer, you can hold Twice, i repeat Twice the amount of data. My movies don't have to be compressed at all as well. Moreover, did you bother to see the slower write speeds of only 4 times versus the 8 for the older powerbook.

And finally, you obviously don't know the speed benefits of a firewire 800 drive versus firewire 400 or USB 2.0. Well, im here to tell you your flat out wrong, when i back up my 340 gigabyte of music, it takes 7 freaken hours, but firewire 800 cuts this tim by more than half.

 

[ibilly]

I would like to add to the pool the following:
No built in modem!?! WHY?
To me, I would want a portable that can connect to the internet most anywhere, esp at the top of the line. They've got ethernet and wireless well covered, but why sacrifice one of the scarce USB ports? Why? *tear*
well, that was enough dramatic exaggeration for one night, but seriously, wtf?

 

[geoffism]

I just bought a 17" PowerBook G4 (last Saturday). I've been a PC user for years, and decided to get the PowerBook without doing a lot (none) of research on the Powerbook lineup...(condensed)

Any advice/thoughts from current Powerbook users on whether to keep what I have, or return and wait it out?

You're actually in a good spot. Don't feel bad about picking up a 17" PB. That's a solid machine. It's not going to do you wrong and will handle everything you throw at it.

As a standard thought on Macs, I always wait for the first round of fixes - whether that is a Rev b or Ver X.1, but that's just me. As far as that machine you have now, it just depends on whether or not you really need it now. I'm just guessing that a 17" MB won't make it until springtime, and then shipping/stocking is another story. When they came out with the Rev D or the PB last year (this time), there was crazy wait times. People were using this forum as free therapy and group counseling.

Good luck. It would be great to have the latest, but having to send back your machine and wait for another SUCKS!!

 

[macidiot]

I tend to concur with others who have stated that they feel like we have yet to see the real Intel notebook. I think Steve just wanted to get something out the door several months earlier to please his ego, inflate the RDF, and keep Wall Street happy. I think we'll see the true "screamers" in a few months. This is just an appetizer.

Wall St. played no part in the release. sheesh. This is so tiresome.

 

[Ninjabelly]

God. One of you people.* You know. I've come to the conclusion that you guys are like a frog dropped into a pot with the water slowly turned up. At some point you are boiling and you don't even know it. Of course you don't have problems with your current hardware. Its all you've ever experienced. The initial benchmarks on a 2.0Ghz Core Duo at Anandtech , to a certain extent, substantiates his claims. But whatever floats your boat.




*Those who make excuses for dilapidated hardware by claiming that its plenty fast for what they do.

If im correct these tests were ran on a Windows XP system which would be running all of it's software native. I think the real problem for the "Pro" end users is that all the software currently avaliable is all going to run on Rosetta and not native. The problem isn't with the system, but the lack of software avaliable that runs native. As for the price, it's not bad. If your a student you get ti for $1799 with the discount. If your looking for a machine on a budget you can pick up a refurb'd 12inch PB for $1050 which still has excellent performance.

Dude. Basically you are flipping a coin. It’s just as likely to HAVE it then not. And considering that the first two x86 Macs out of the gate are dual core I'm guessing it does. thank about it a second. Apple has spent all this time developing , or codeveloping this program with the obvious intention that future Macs are going to be dual core. (With the possible exception of the no pro hardware.) why would they not take advantage of this?

The developers worked with dothans though. The Yonah has only recently shipped. Even if Rosetta we're developed to take in the benefits of running on a dual core system, the software it's emulating isn't and you can almost be sure it's not taking complete advantage of it.

It has hardware support for it, but ironically enough, no drivers yet.

You can't really be suprised by that though.

 

[dmeakin]

What about Classic?

I'm ready to buy.....but one question remains:

Does the MacBook Pro still support OS9?

For me, that will be the deciding factor.

Derek

 

[darwin022]

More info and speculation on the battery situation - I noticed that they don't have the polymer battery available for individual sale, but it works with standard lithium ion batteries. So, it leads me to believe that they may be using ion batteries at the show which is why you are seeing ARS technica reporting 3hr battery life - polymer batteries for laptops are state-of-the art and they may not have them finished yet thus have not tested them with the new batteries, thus no battery life estimates. just a thought

Sweet! This would be good news to me... It is almost a sure sign of "Everyone gets new batteries due to a recall in 6 months!"

 

[geoffism]

I miss the discount

Student discount is nice

Whats better?

• 120GB Serial ATA drive @ 5400 rpm
• 100GB Serial ATA drive @ 7200

I'd go with the 100G/7200. Higher spin rate = faster data transfer rate. 100G is plenty. Def go for the faster drive.

 

[SiliconAddict]

The Powerbook line hasn't see a significant update in nearly a year.

The new MacBook released today is using the Yonah processor, which is the dual core successor of the Pentium M CPU.

While the update is respectable (especially the 256MB PCI Express graphics system) I think Apple will be releasing a completely redesigned Pro Laptop once Intel's Merom mobile chip is released sometime near the end of 2006.

Merom, Intel's next generation Microarchitecture, will be 65nm process, run at higher clock speeds, have a larger shared L2 cache with on-die memory controller and consume significantly less power than the 95nm Yonah.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Next_Generation_Microarchitecture

Well first off the Duo is 65nm. That is how they upped the clock speed: by dropping the size. Otherwise you are pretty much spot on. Merom is going to kick Duo's butt around the block which is fine. My personal intention is to hang onto this laptop until 2008/2009ish. By then I expect some new technologies to be matured. OLED displays, hard drives with insanely large caches, Blue Ray DL drives, etc. That and my head would have exploded if I had to wait another year for a new laptop

 

[SiliconAddict]

Student discount is nice

Whats better?

• 120GB Serial ATA drive @ 5400 rpm
• 100GB Serial ATA drive @ 7200

I personally got the 100GB 5400RPM drive with the intention of upgrading in the next 6 months to a 160GB (I have a 60GB iPod. See how that works? )

But unless 20GB makes a huge difference to you go with a faster rotational speed. You won't regret it.

 

[macidiot]

Mac users love to whine! Get used to it!

It is the principle reason why the Mac is a great platform. If we raved about everything then Apple would crank out ***** and we'd eat it up.

Ha, mac users do rave about everything Apple and eat it up. But they whine about it at the same time. Go figure.

 

[geoffism]

Not sure

I'm ready to buy.....but one question remains:

Does the MacBook Pro still support OS9?

For me, that will be the deciding factor.

Derek

I'm not 100% on this, but I did hear that the new Intel chip and Rosetta were closing the book on OS9.

 

[SiliconAddict]

I'm ready to buy.....but one question remains:

Does the MacBook Pro still support OS9?

For me, that will be the deciding factor.

Derek

Nope. That's not to say that someone won't come out with a emulator just as there is Virtual PC on the PPC Mac. . Oh the irony.

 

[macidiot]

Of everything that everyone says, I think its kind of funny that you guys think that a new machine is "lacking" or "causing concern". Have you ever known Apple to take a step back with a Mac? I mean, as far as I can remember, I've never seen a new machine, let alone an announcement worthy machine, to not meet and exceed the specs and performance of it's predicesor (is that spelled right?).

Anyway, enjoy the new MacBook. I'm sure it's more than everything you could need or use.

Me personally, I'll wait until the tires get kicked and some of the kinks get knocked out.

THere have been several times where the updated machine was in some way inferior to the prior machine. Usually happened with the towers. And usually, for some reason, it involved audio or video capabilities.

 

[digitalbiker]

I'm ready to buy.....but one question remains:

Does the MacBook Pro still support OS9?

For me, that will be the deciding factor.

Derek

NO!

Classic died remember! Steve burried it. Now in the intel world it is a vague memory. Classic is truly gone!

 

[macidiot]

Student discount is nice

Whats better?

• 120GB Serial ATA drive @ 5400 rpm
• 100GB Serial ATA drive @ 7200

The 7200 rpm drive.

 

[nydoofus]

Stupid idea, but since the new Apple laptop uses SerialATA, is it possible that the reason why there is no Dual Layer burner is because one does not exist for the form-factor/interface?

 

[jlewis2k1]

which i personally find that this new laptop is a rip off.

 

[p0intblank]

it doesn't feel like Apple anymore.

Come on, people! Sure the MacBook Pro has some drawbacks, but it also has some excellent features. This is the first Intel notebook from Apple. We're going to have to deal with change, but it will get better. This transition will be smooth, just like Jobs has been saying all along. And if I'm not mistaken, don't we use a Mac for the operating system? I for one am happy with the results. I don't use anything that uses FW800, so this doesn't really affect me. I have confidence in Apple and I know we'll be seeing some excellent products in the coming months.

 

[macidiot]

I would like to add to the pool the following:
No built in modem!?! WHY?
To me, I would want a portable that can connect to the internet most anywhere, esp at the top of the line. They've got ethernet and wireless well covered, but why sacrifice one of the scarce USB ports? Why? *tear*
well, that was enough dramatic exaggeration for one night, but seriously, wtf?

Well, in the US you pretty much can connect from anywhere with wifi. I mean, aren't all McDonalds access points now? And there's a starbucks every 20 ft. Besides, here in L.A. you don't even need that. Just walk around a bit and you'll find some unprotected wifi router you can leech off of. My nintendo ds found 6 wireless networks, 4 of which were open. Funny thing was it didn't find mine... I forgot that I had it hidden