Apple Releases the MacBook Pro

[TopCatz]

I agree.

No built in modem
An 85 Watt powerbrick supply
No svideo connector
No TV out
No FW 800
Single layer instead of dual layer DVD support
Apple pro apps aren't even universal binary yet, plus Apple is going to charge pro users an upgrade fee for pro apps even though they are just conversions to x86
..
My PPC looks pretty good right now.

I agree too. My 17" PB connected to my new FW800 drive and all of the above is looking very smug on its desk! This was the cheapest keynote for me for a long while!

 

[Alex Cutter]

My laptop's a portable machine. I use it where I am, not where I'm not...

As opposed to a desktop, which you can use where you're not?

 

[Staffroomer]

Ahhh, too expensive for me..

I'm going to buy an iBook instead..

 

[freeny]

apple just updates powerbook and imac and they did not even drop the prices!


the powerbook is veyr very expensive!!

but im most dissapointed that there is no intel ibook. id saved alot and waited for a new ibook, nothing! just an expensive powerbook!!!


very very dissapointed that apple did not release an ibook! cant believe this!

Just paint the damn thing white! Whats the difference?

 

[blueflame]

hey, if you are relly interested, PM me

17inch 1.67ghz. 1 gig of ram. in box with every last twistie tie
andreas

Well, I'm a little disappointed. This might seem trivial but the biggest negative is that it has the same design as the old line. I mean, this is a ground breaking shift for Apple and all they did was switch the chip out and add an iSight. No way I'm going to spend that kind of money if people don't know what I have.

And for those of you that say its all about the perforance, it's NOT> If it were you and I wouldn't be on a MAC site at all.

I was hoping for a 17" powerbook with a new design.

Any ideas on when we might see a 17" version? Since the MacBook looks the same as the PB's, would the different sizes also have to look the same?

The more I think about it, the more I think I'm going to pick up a used 17" machine to tide me over for 2 years and then when the blazing machines come out with a NEW design, I can make the jump then.

Thoughts?

Anyone have a gently used i7" PB for sale?

ev

 

[aquatwo]

Happy Me

Reading the comments here, it looks kinda 50/50 positive and negative. But I just like to share, that I did buy one as soon as I could, and am so happy!!!!

My new brothers and sisters! I have been thinking about a Powerbook for months now, and people have been saying wait wait till Jan etc, I just cannot wait any longer. I need to have one now!

This is my first ever Mac and can barely contain myself, read so much online for the last 4 months that I almost feel I know how to use it All those nights with manuals aaah. According to Apple i wont get it for another 5 weeks. Hopefully I can survive till then. Better organize my little signature for this forum I suppose, or shall I wait till I actually get it?

 

[AlmostThere]

Worth noting is that the X1600 has MPEG4 decoding and a host of video features ... whether Apple will leverage them or not we'll see.

But overall, like many, underwhelmed by this release. Loss of a few features, modem in a laptop will be missed. Well overdue CPU and GPU upgrades.

Problem is, and maybe I am catching a little bit of Mac snobbery, if I swapped my Al PB for a brand spanking new MacBook and walked into the office tomorrow ... well I very much doubt anyone would even bat an eyelid.

Best I could do is impress the techies with some numbers (who probably have their 2 Ghz Acers) but, hmm, that just doesn't seem to be the Apple way to impress.

Then again, maybe that's how Apple want it. A nonchalant change of architecture.

 

[~Shard~]

As with the iMac update, look at the benchmarks Apple is reporting - four times the speed of the PowerBook G4, and eight times the graphics bandwidth! I am very happy for all those PowerBooks users who have been dying for a significant update – looks like you finally got your wish! So, is Silicon Addict actually going to buy a Mac portable now?

 

[InsiderTravels]

Ahhh, but that's not Front Row, that's the remote. FWIW, most Bluetooth phones work with this perfectly - I've used my SE T610 with my iBook for this for well over 18 months. The remote's nothing special. You could even have used a wireless mouse and clicked that in mid-air - and you wouldn't have to point any of these at the computer, unlike the remote.

I stand by what I said about it.

Ah, but you left out part of what I said. I said I know there are other remotes out there, but what if I don't have the phones required to use those bridge apps? Plus, I shouldn't have to buy a bunch of third-party shareware apps to do basic things like that.

I also said that it would be useful for those who hook their laptops up to external displays. Some people have a laptop as their ONLY machine and might like to enjoy Front Row as well.

Without Front Row, you cannot use a third-party remote to scroll through the movies, photos, songs, etc. on your system in such a way. If you can, I'd really like to know how. I'm not talking about the usefulness of using a remote with a laptop. I'm talking about the usefulness of using Front Row, or an application with similar features.

 

[~Shard~]

I guess the rumors were true, Apple is moving away from FW800 – this new Pro portable only has FW 400 – interesting. I still wonder why this is the case though... was FW800 just not catching on?

 

[Alex Cutter]

Better organize my little signature for this forum I suppose, or shall I wait till I actually get it?

Go for it! They'll even let you put up a cool avatar once you make enough posts!

 

[iSee]

This is definitely a machine for early adopters with burning wallets!!

It may well be a big performance improvement (if you believe Apple's claims...) but in rushing this machine out ahead of schedule they seem to have binned some useful features and others have gone backwards. At a guess I'd say this is to keep the price of the machine down, though it's still pricey.

These are the main backward steps I can see compared to the PowerBook G4:

Slower SuperDrive lacking dual-layer DVD burning support.
No FireWire 800.
No PC card slot (ExpressCard/34 isn't widely supported yet).
No internal modem (not everywhere has broadband yet).
No sudden motion sensor (not mentioned in tech specs).
No S-Video output (not all video equipment has a DVI input).
Lower resolution display (nearly 9% less pixels).
Clumsy name!

I bought an October revision PowerBook G4 1.67GHz and don't regret not hanging on for these new machines. The G4 is more than fast enough for what I need and the removed/downgraded features are things I'd miss. I'll be waiting until these Intel Macs are much more mature and fuller-featured before I think about upgrading again.

The sudden motion sensor *is* mentioned--on the "Design" page.

 

[~Shard~]

This new MagSafe power connector looks pretty slick as well – I’ll have to do some reading about it on Apple’s site. Although the major updates are impressive of course, it’s these little things, these little touches, that I always love seeing from Apple.

 

[wasimyaqoob]

Just like all new products, there will be many problems with the first line of Intel based laptops - Im fine with my PowerPC G4, only bought it 2 weeks ago

 

[slffl]

Size and style

Concerning the size and style comments.

How in the world do you expect these laptops to get any smaller? Maybe making the bezel 1mm wide? You cant make the base thinner unless you invent all new ports that are thinner.

Also, IMO the current Powerbook design is perfect. From the hinge, to the side ports, to the keyboard, to the mouse, to the aluminum.

I'm very interested to hear some ideas about how you would make it smaller and the design concerns you have (other than color)?

 

[magicharm]

Now, correct me if I'm wrong because I've only been into macs for about 2 years now, but didn't apple do something similar to this back when the titanium powerbook was released? Wasn't the titanium released, and then shortly after we got the 17 and 12 inch aluminums, and then they lagged for a while before making the 15" match up with the other two? So isn't it possible that in 6 months or so apple will release a 17" MacBook Pro, 12" (or probably 13" widescreen) MacBook Pro (and a consumer version) that will be substantially better than the 15" they just released? This is what I believe will happen (based on nothing other than common sense, and the fact that this 15" MacBook Pro seems to have been rushed).

I think that something is going on with battery life that apple didn't like (hence no release of specs), but that they will iron all that out within a few months. Then they will probably add the dual layer DVD drive back in. The 17" still has a chance of getting a FW800, because apple seems to like to throw all of their bells and whistles at that model.

As for me, I'm pleased with the release, because it looks like things are moving in the right direction. I bought my first mac, a 12" powerbook a year ago (right when intel-switch rumors were starting to heat up) because I figured that by the time that a Rev B of the intel 12"/13" widescreen was out that the dust would have settled on all of the apps making the switch and the kinks worked out. I'm still hoping for that. I just really hope that they don't do away with a smaller pro model completely, unless their smallest consumer model is amazing.

Oh, and I LOVE the new magnetic power adapter - that is simply brilliant. The iSight is nothing I care much about, but I can't compain (though I don't really see how it would work in a smaller notebook and would rather them lose it if it will make a smaller machine). But back to the power adapter, that is innovative, and just what I expect from apple. They just need 2 or 3 more little (but extremely useful) adaptations like that, and they will have an amazing an cutting edge laptop again. I think we will get there though, and will refrain from making more judgements until apple releases additional laptops.

 

[BENJMNS]

If you're in the market for a PB now, tough call.

This is looking too much like an interim, lame duck product right now. In a few months, I'm guessing they'll up the power, speed immediately w/o minimal price increase if any. And perhaps even have solid, real-life testimony on battery life and heat and performance.

Evolutionary. I'm looking for revolutionary. Like a 12 hour single charge with no trade-offs. New, lighter components. New LCD technology with clearer screens.

I'm going to buy the 17" hi-res today. I'll be working with the PC side once Vista pops later this year (it's going to be impressive esp paired with the quicker hardware advancements on the PC side). Then perhaps after that, if Apple makes a compelling upgrade to software and hardware that matches the enhancements, I'll give serious consideration yet again.

I'm neutral on this keynote and the new MacBook.

 

[Krevnik]

As someone whose latest portable was a Pismo 400 (yes, a Pismo) during college... I am definitely getting one of these. While, yes, it is a step back in some ways, it is also a step forward in others. Those steps forward are what are currently important to me in getting a laptop.

Seeing as this thing will likely be visiting Redmond with me, once we get XP or Vista running on these, it makes a great machine for those who would like to straddle the two platforms using one box.

 

[iN8]

I guess the rumors were true, Apple is moving away from FW800 – this new Pro portable only has FW 400 – interesting. I still wonder why this is the case though... was FW800 just not catching on?

I guess it didn' tge the adoption Apple expected. I don' tremember seeing any DV cams adding it, mainly hard drive manufacturers.

 

[Lacero]

How in the world do you expect these laptops to get any smaller?

True. The 15" is already thinner than the previous 17" so that is nothing to sneeze at. All this AND they've managed to put in a dual core chip and a camera. Very impressive.

Here's to the Crazy Ones ​

 

[dreamcast]

Wow! Well, if you can afford to buy that many songs, you can probably afford an ExpressCard FW800 port for your Macbook. Let's see, at 4MB per song, that around $75,000 in music!

And with 300GB of music to carry around, you're going to need one of those 8 lb. iPods

haha, well i actually encoded all my songs at 320aac with a sprinkling of apple lossles for my favorite albums. to be specific, i have 34,426 songs taking up 338.52 gb at 95.3 days ...all with cover art from itms or other high quality cover art.

 

[Chooser]

Change is good...I think

Not sure if I can get used to the new name, 'MacBook'. The first thing that comes to my mind is, 'I'll have a MacBook value meal with supersized fries and a coke.'

I'm gonna miss the Powerbook name, it just had a sense of prestige to it. MacBook sounds kiddish.

Oh well, I'm still excited to see what's in the near future.

 

[ieani]

Well as much as I want this machine. Ill wait and see. I do not need a notebook until next fall so I am waiting.

 

[2nyRiggz]

MacBook is just to wet the mouth until the powermac(whatever) comes out. its good enough to compete.


Bless

 

[Krevnik]

Evolutionary. I'm looking for revolutionary. Like a 12 hour single charge with no trade-offs. New, lighter components. New LCD technology with clearer screens.

No trade-offs on a 12 hour charge? Wow, you aren't asking for much, are ya, just some bending of the laws of physics.

Smaller/Lighter, Faster, Longer Battery. Pick any 2, but the third will suffer horribly. The real problem is that to get around the current limitations requires some RADICAL new material engineering, and technology for those is still very much in the research phase.