To the person speaking of Aperture - check out Adobe Lightroom. It's in beta, it's free, and it kicks the pants off Aperture.
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Apple Releases the MacBook Pro
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mongoos150 said:
i don't mean to go off topic. but i just have to say, that after using aperture and then trying out lightroom, i feel that adobe still has a lot of catching up to do. Aperture is no comparison to Lightroom.
Lightroom feels like the Help section of Adobe. It will probably be a great tool, but right now it certainly feels 'beta'.
Good, but not good enough.
I'm simultaneously impressed and disappointed. The speed boost is mind-boggling. And the MBP is (theoretically) 4 to 5 times faster than the 1.67GHz PBs. My 15" PB is about 2 and a half years old and only 1GHz. So the speed on the MBPs blows this old guy out of the water.
The built-in isight is ugly and strikes me as sortof tacky. From Apple's point of view, it makes all the sense in the world to include it. The only complaint anyone could have had about Apple's video-conferencing technology was that nobody used it. Now that everybody with an iBook or an MBP is going to have an iSight (whether they want one or not), the usage of iChat's video-conferencing features is going to skyrocket. I still think it's ugly and unnecessary, but if I had one, I'm sure I'd use it.
Now the real complaints: All the features omitted seem to reflect a trend in Apple's recent products. I recently had to buy a new (video) ipod, because my old ipod broke. I'm generally happy with the thing, but I also had no complaints about my old (and comparatively clunky 3G ipod). What irritates me about the new ipod (and the new MBP) is the omission of firewire support in the name of creating a thinner product. Don't get me wrong, thin is great. But i never had a problem with the size of my older 3G ipod, and i certainly would have preferred the video ipods be a little bit thicker and maintain firewire support. Similarly, I'd be much happier if the MBP were say 1.1 inches thick or even 1.2 inches thick if that meant maintaining features like firewire 800, 8x superdrive, screen resolution, built in modem, etc., etc. Thin is great, no doubt, but how many features are they going to declare "unnecessary" in the name of slimming things down further? Next they'll be shipping 0.2 inch thick PBs/MBPs that have no displays or keypads because those features are too thick.
I certainly wouldn't mind if somebody handed me a new MBP, but I'm also not racing to buy one. It's getting to be about time to replace this PB (it's still titanium! remember those, guys?), and it's seen better days. Still the first generation of MBP is not gonna cut it. Maybe by the second version they'll work out details like battery life, screen resolution, superdrive, and so on. Hell, maybe they'll figure out how to make that IR remote bluetooth by then, too, and get rid of the ugly IR sensor. It looks like they're off to a pretty good start, but I've got my fingers crossed for Rev B.
I'm simultaneously impressed and disappointed. The speed boost is mind-boggling. And the MBP is (theoretically) 4 to 5 times faster than the 1.67GHz PBs. My 15" PB is about 2 and a half years old and only 1GHz. So the speed on the MBPs blows this old guy out of the water.
The built-in isight is ugly and strikes me as sortof tacky. From Apple's point of view, it makes all the sense in the world to include it. The only complaint anyone could have had about Apple's video-conferencing technology was that nobody used it. Now that everybody with an iBook or an MBP is going to have an iSight (whether they want one or not), the usage of iChat's video-conferencing features is going to skyrocket. I still think it's ugly and unnecessary, but if I had one, I'm sure I'd use it.
Now the real complaints: All the features omitted seem to reflect a trend in Apple's recent products. I recently had to buy a new (video) ipod, because my old ipod broke. I'm generally happy with the thing, but I also had no complaints about my old (and comparatively clunky 3G ipod). What irritates me about the new ipod (and the new MBP) is the omission of firewire support in the name of creating a thinner product. Don't get me wrong, thin is great. But i never had a problem with the size of my older 3G ipod, and i certainly would have preferred the video ipods be a little bit thicker and maintain firewire support. Similarly, I'd be much happier if the MBP were say 1.1 inches thick or even 1.2 inches thick if that meant maintaining features like firewire 800, 8x superdrive, screen resolution, built in modem, etc., etc. Thin is great, no doubt, but how many features are they going to declare "unnecessary" in the name of slimming things down further? Next they'll be shipping 0.2 inch thick PBs/MBPs that have no displays or keypads because those features are too thick.
I certainly wouldn't mind if somebody handed me a new MBP, but I'm also not racing to buy one. It's getting to be about time to replace this PB (it's still titanium! remember those, guys?), and it's seen better days. Still the first generation of MBP is not gonna cut it. Maybe by the second version they'll work out details like battery life, screen resolution, superdrive, and so on. Hell, maybe they'll figure out how to make that IR remote bluetooth by then, too, and get rid of the ugly IR sensor. It looks like they're off to a pretty good start, but I've got my fingers crossed for Rev B.
DVK916 said:
Care to give a reason why?
The SPEC tests on Apple's website show that the iMac can do roughly twice the floating point and three times the integer calculations of the old G5. Dividing those statistics by two ('cause the Duo is dual core) results in equal or 1.5 times the performance. That's not really a huge leap, and I'm willing to bet that, in the cases when it can use AltiVec, the G5 does significantly *better* than the Duo.
absurdio said:
They already do.
FW800 etc
Thought this might help some people, from MacDailyNews:
Apple's new MacBook Pro features an ExpressCard/34 slot. This slot can be used for hot-pluggable I/O expansion cards that the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) plans as the replacement for CardBus as the preferred solution for personal computers. Uses for that ExpressCar/34 slot can (or will soon) include such solutons as: TV tuners, hot pluggable FireWire 800 adapters, extra FireWire 400 port(s), Bluetooth mobile phone connectivity products, CompactFlash adapters, Flash memory cards, Gigabit Ethernet networking cards, External SATA (eSATA), which claims peak interface speeds up to 3 times faster than FireWire 800, and more.
read more at http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/8219/
Thought this might help some people, from MacDailyNews:
Apple's new MacBook Pro features an ExpressCard/34 slot. This slot can be used for hot-pluggable I/O expansion cards that the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) plans as the replacement for CardBus as the preferred solution for personal computers. Uses for that ExpressCar/34 slot can (or will soon) include such solutons as: TV tuners, hot pluggable FireWire 800 adapters, extra FireWire 400 port(s), Bluetooth mobile phone connectivity products, CompactFlash adapters, Flash memory cards, Gigabit Ethernet networking cards, External SATA (eSATA), which claims peak interface speeds up to 3 times faster than FireWire 800, and more.
read more at http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/8219/
SiliconAddict said:
IIRC it was bitching that got us this update in the first place. Bitching is what drives the market. People complain about something, they fix it and sell it back to us. That's how basic economics works.
I wish, just wish, that people can stop just saying "look they gave us an update quit bitching and be happy," and actually look at the updates with an objective eye. It's not bitching, it's pointing out flaws.
Let me give you a more obvious example. Let's say Apple gave us a dual core 2.5GHz G5 in the new PowerBook and they even kept the FW800 and FW400 ports. They then removed a USB port so we'd only have one and they gave us the same 2x SL DVD burner that's in my PowerBook. They then gave us the same 64MB video card my PowerBook has. They come with the same standard 1GB of RAM and 100GB 5400 RPM SATA drive.
If Apple produced that people would say OMG look it's 5x faster and it's got a G5! They said they couldn't do it but they did! Oh, it's only got a 2x SL DVD burner, oh well I never produce DVDs anyway. It's only got one USB port? Well I really only use my mouse, if I need my printer I can unplug the mouse. 64MB video card? How often do I really play games or render video? Sweet SATA too!? I'm sold, let me just lift out my heavy wallet.
You know what I'd say to that computer? It's only got a 2x drive, not enough USB ports, and the video card is severely lacking.
Now, from the top, let's stop name calling and start learning how to be objective and respect other people's opinions, shall we?
ZorPrime said:I don't know what I said but you're welcome.
Once again, I totally agree with you.
I was on a 4-day business trip, to meet with a new client who wanted some promotional video postproduction done, culminating in a DVD they could package for a product launch. To make a long story short, with my "out-dated" G4 PowerBook and my client's "useless" FW800 hard drives enabled me to produce a demo two hour enhanced Standard Definition DVD with multiple angle tracks, subtitles, dolby audio voiceovers in three languages, that was just shy of 8.5 gigs. I secured the contract worth just under $10k USD from that one business trip. My "obsolete" G4 with its Dual Layer DVD made me some nice "Gs" (aka $$s), so I guess it's not completely useless.
Nice
See that everybody? A PowerBook Pro* would have cost him TWELVE GRAND! Two to buy it and 10 in sales!*I'm not using it's stupid name
Brian Hickman said:
God yes, then it would at least look a little bit better. Probably would add about 60px to the screen real-estate too. That is 60x1440.
rugonnaeatthat said:
It'd be even nicer if they had done the smart thing and made it a bluetooth remote instead of an IR remote. Then it might actually be useful and not put an ugly RF receiver on the laptop. You probably can't turn off the RF ability either so you'd be wasting battery, albeit a small amount.
Mini pro features
Considering how features dropped in the MBP for space reasons (DL superdrive, FW 800 etc) how much more do we stand to lose in the potential 12"/13.3" MacBook Pro (or whatever it gets called)?
I'm holding out for a small pro notebook but I'd want it to have most of the features the MBP is sporting. Wishful thinking?
Considering how features dropped in the MBP for space reasons (DL superdrive, FW 800 etc) how much more do we stand to lose in the potential 12"/13.3" MacBook Pro (or whatever it gets called)?
I'm holding out for a small pro notebook but I'd want it to have most of the features the MBP is sporting. Wishful thinking?
Basic economics works because people buy the product they like. And a company that produces a bad product doesn't survive. In theory.zync said:
It is obvious that more and more people believe the way to get more is to complain louder. It's an unfortunate belief. Personally I prefer the friendly approach, and do my best to use it and to help people who use it.
Anyway, I'd guess that as long as you're buying the product, the bean-counters don't care if you smile or complain.
Well, after a quick look for reasons not to, I ordered mine the morning after release (UK time). I've burnt two DL dvds in my life - an average of one for each writer I own. So I can live without that, though I wouldn't have said no. FW800 seems a curious omission too, but I don't have anything that uses it, neither will most users (even most of those with 800-capable enclosures but slower devices inside) so I can probably cope with 400 for a year or two. And I'm not impressed with the integration with the iSight, it's not a showstopper, but its functionality is minimal, and its design is rather lacking.
But my biggest WTF ? The modem - what are all you guys on ? Some places don't have wifi or broadband ? Well duh, but I carry a modem everywhere with me anyway. No, not a horrible wired one, but if your mobile/cell phone can't get you nice speedy gprs, or even voice-grade data (and of course voice and fax services) then how can you claim such connectivity is vital to you ? Hotels aren't exactly cheap for phone usage, at a push you can use it internationally - yes it costs more, but you don't need some weird adaptor to plug it into the foreign phone jack. And no cables to get tangled, the beauty of bluetooth. Carrying my phone with me is something I'd do regardless, there can't be many people who'd take a laptop somewhere but not their mobile.
In my defence, I know I'm joining a bit of a beta programme, I'll take that risk, and if anything's dire, I trust apple to fix that for me. I've been waiting 2 years to commit to apple hardware, if they'd given me a g5 powerbook I may have taken a little longer to decide whether I need a new lappie now, but still maybe not. Roll on February, 1.83GHz and 120GB,
But my biggest WTF ? The modem - what are all you guys on ? Some places don't have wifi or broadband ? Well duh, but I carry a modem everywhere with me anyway. No, not a horrible wired one, but if your mobile/cell phone can't get you nice speedy gprs, or even voice-grade data (and of course voice and fax services) then how can you claim such connectivity is vital to you ? Hotels aren't exactly cheap for phone usage, at a push you can use it internationally - yes it costs more, but you don't need some weird adaptor to plug it into the foreign phone jack. And no cables to get tangled, the beauty of bluetooth. Carrying my phone with me is something I'd do regardless, there can't be many people who'd take a laptop somewhere but not their mobile.
In my defence, I know I'm joining a bit of a beta programme, I'll take that risk, and if anything's dire, I trust apple to fix that for me. I've been waiting 2 years to commit to apple hardware, if they'd given me a g5 powerbook I may have taken a little longer to decide whether I need a new lappie now, but still maybe not. Roll on February, 1.83GHz and 120GB,
grahamtriggs said:
Who gives a flying **** about the G4. The G4 or its Freescale brother is dead. Steve shot it in the head and it fell head first off the pier. Its gone. Forget the thing and move on.
absurdio said:
No it detonates a 30 kiloton nuke in your boat is what it does.
zync said:
I didn't call anyone names. I'm just sick of people bitching and that IS what is going on. There is a difference between talking rationally and going "OMG this thing sucks." It doesn't suck. It's a perfectly good update. May are bitching for one and only one reason: It's an Intel system. Many people, but not all, are being overly critical because there still are those who are PPC fanatics. If you've been reading multiple forums and news posts you would see it goes WELL beyond critiquing the new PowerBooks*. This is bitching to make you PPC system feel superior. I've already read some threads that are fair and ballancedTM this thread is NOT one of them. When you are at 1170 some odd posts. Yah I hink not.
sunfast said:
No. FW800 was not included because it is not a function of Intel's 945 or whatever chipset Apple is using right now. Yes, the SL drive is due to space constraints.
I'm going to say that I generally agree with SiliconAddict when he says that nobody is really looking at this objectively. I can't believe that everybody who is complaining about the lack of an internal modem has actually used one in the past 12 months. If you have, get an adapter and stop complaining. This is a very insignificant issue. For the umpteenth time, just for fun, I will say this again: The MacBook Pro Has S-Video Out. It is on a $20 adapter. Buy it and have fun. I bought a very similar adapter for my (almost) 3 year old iBook, and it works very well. Again, stop complaining about a problem that doesn't exist. You have every right to complain about the lack of a DL drive, because I see that as kind of important. DL media is still expensive now, as SL media was once. But prices drop, as SL prices have. I remember when it was $4 a DVD-R, then $2, then $1, and now they be had for like $.25 for a decent brand. The same is happening for DL media, I think you can find them for $2 a disc if you look, and soon they'll drop. I am seriously considering this machine, and I'll tell you right off the bat a SL vs DL drive will not make or break the deal for me. It would be annoying to not be able to utilize a fairly common technology in my laptop a year or two down the line, since I'll likely use this as my main machine (replacing my desktop G5 and almost dead iBook) for the next 3 to 4 years (which, I know, is ages).
To go back to a previous mention of benchmarks: prepare to be shocked, but APPLE LIES WITH BENCHMARKS. Many companies do, but it's easier for Apple since they're comparing two different platforms. When the G5 came out, it "blew Intel out of the water," according to Apple's benchmarks. Of course, when the benchmarks were conducted, they didn't allow any Intel optimizations on whatever compiler they were using to get the results, while the G5 test was optimized to the point where it didn't reflect real world results. Now that Macs have Intel chips and they want to show how much faster they are than the old G5s, Apple allowed all the Intel-specific optimizations and didn't as fully optimize the G5 tests. So, benchmarks lie. The question remains, which is the bigger lie: is the G5 faster than the Core Duo? Absolutely not. Watt for watt and MHz for MHz, the Duo is a better chip. It's faster than the G5 at comparable clock speeds and runs a hell of a lot cooler. There's no comparison.
I guess that's about it.
-Jim
Stella said:
I believe that the iBook line may continue using the G4 processor for some time. Remember when the Powerbook first came out, the iBook carried a G3 for a while before making the transition to G4. But we also have to remember that Stevie is transitioning the entire Mac lineup to intel which would probably mean them getting the slower, low power version of the chip to be released later this year.
Also of note is that many Core Duo processors announced at CES were 2GHz, Apple tops out at 1.83GHz. Are they saving the 2GHz model for the 17" Macbook Pro, or will there be an update to the 15.4" a little later in the year.
Also note that, when the 17" and 12" alu books came out, we had to wait a long time for the 15" to be updated to alu status. Now the 15" got the spotlight first, how long before we see 17" and 12"/13" Macbooks?
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