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Confirmation of Fixed 17" MacBook Pro Battery, Mac Mini with Firewire

neutrino23 said:
I don't see the battery being a problem. I rarely see people with extra batteries any more. I stopped carrying an extra battery about 8 years ago. I now use a 17" MBP. Nearly any place I go I can get an AC adapter. Every meeting I go to the first thing everyone does is start looking for adapters. At conferences they generally bring out extension cords so everyone can use their adapters. Panera Bread has adapters all over the place. Most airports are starting to provide better access to adapters.

The need for a second battery is clearly fading. If you really do need longer battery life I think there will be third party, external solutions. Even if Apple doesn't open up the Magsafe connector design Xantrex and others make portable inverters with rechargeable batteries so that you can simply plug in your AC adapter and get extended power that way. No big deal.

On the plus side, if the battery is built in it makes the notebook case stronger as it doesn't have to have a hole in it. It means the battery is cheaper, smaller and lighter as it doesn't have to have its own case and connectors and built in electronics. Currently the battery shell has the same design as the notebook which surely adds to the cost.
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Are you freaking kidding? Most airports are "starting to provide better access to adapters"? You obviously haven't spent much time in, oh, I don't know, JFK, or LAX, or half a dozen other airports I can think of offhand recently. Access is limited at best, and now you are clearly making bad excuses for Apple making an inexcusable design decision that will cause the laptop to be less useful and to become obsolete even sooner than it otherwise would.

And I don't know about you, but I go to meetings constantly where the closest adapter is on the other side of the room. Ever have to travel to a client? Or take a meeting in a restaurant, or go to a conference where you want to take notes (let alone a courtroom)? I do, as do many other "pro" users, and I sure as heck can't assume they always have power conveniently situated - you are choosing to simply assume away a need in order to justify eliminating a useful feature. A need that every other laptop manufacturer acknowledges in its product, and that EVEN THE GREAT APPLE ITSELF acknowledges in most of its other laptops.

And are you seriously arguing that the addition to the cost of having the battery use the same shell design as the notebook is as much as the cost of an additional power supply and the extra weight of a whole secondary shell for an external battery?

Come on, get serious - I really WANT a new 17" MBP, but this is being an over the top apologist for Apple. I shouldn't HAVE to rely on third party solutions which are utterly lame compared to being able to simply swap batteries as almost every laptop on the market allows.

I guess this goes to show what lengths the Apple true believers will go to though, maybe Apple would be right to do it - if the fans will make any excuse and willingly be locked in and buy products with designed in early obsolescence and reduced functionality, then Apple should keep removing useful features and locking people in and the Mac faithful will keep buying no matter what. It's interesting to see people get so wrapped up in a consumer product, makes you realize that what Jim Jones did is hardly a stretch.
 
You know, we really should wait and see before we start flying off the handle kids......

These are rumors until uttered onstage, nothing more.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong here because I could easily be.
If you can't just remove you're battery to get to the ram anymore.
And opening up the computer, and removing the built in battery voids the warranty.
Would this mean replacing ram, or buying your own RAM as so many people do to avoid the inflated Apple prices would now void your warranty.
I.e. Unless you buy Apple RAM you're warranty will be void?
I could be way off with that.


This just seems to be a bragging rights thing, so they can market themselves as having 'the world's thinnest 17inch laptop', or any other blah, blah, blah they come up with.
All the while charging more for the uniqueness of it, and subsequently get even more money of stopping user replacements, and any other extortion they can think of.
 
Sgt.Pepper said:
Correct me if I'm wrong here because I could easily be.
If you can't just remove you're battery to get to the ram anymore.
And opening up the computer, and removing the built in battery voids the warranty.
Would this mean replacing ram, or buying your own RAM as so many people do to avoid the inflated Apple prices would now void your warranty.
I.e. Unless you buy Apple RAM you're warranty will be void?
I could be way off with that.


This just seems to be a bragging rights thing, so they can market themselves as having 'the world's thinnest 17inch laptop', or any other blah, blah, blah they come up with.
All the while charging more for the uniqueness of it, and subsequently get even more money of stopping user replacements, and any other extortion they can think of.
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Great post. I especially like all the fake outrage as scenarios that YOU made up.

Replacing RAM doesn't void the warranty currently, i cannot see why it would.

We have no idea whats actually in store for the 17", yes it could have this battery, but we dont know anything about size/shape/the layout of the logic board.

To go off on how apple is extorting us at this point is a little unfair .


Side note: From what I've seen, currently the RAM upgrade price from apple is fairly reasonable considering the price of DDR3 RAM right now. As those prices fall however, i dont expect apples prices to.
 
NT1440 said:
You know, we really should wait and see before we start flying off the handle kids......

These are rumors until uttered onstage, nothing more.
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Fair enough - just rumors, and where else should you find the true believers if not here. I'll just be bummed if the battery on the new 17 is non swappable, because for me, having to do many-hour meetings without AC power at times, or sometimes just work outside at a cafe, it'll nix this as a practical choice for me. :(
 
Yvan256 said:
The new 17" MacBook Pro has a non-replaceable battery because it has no battery whatsoever. ;)
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You heard it here first folks!

The new powerless MBP! Featuring a screen so glossy youll use it as a mirror seeing as it doesnt actually turn on!

Only $2399:p
 
NT1440 said:
Great post. I especially like all the fake outrage as scenarios that YOU made up.

Replacing RAM doesn't void the warranty currently, i cannot see why it would.

We have no idea whats actually in store for the 17", yes it could have this battery, but we dont know anything about size/shape/the layout of the logic board.

To go off on how apple is extorting us at this point is a little unfair .


Side note: From what I've seen, currently the RAM upgrade price from apple is fairly reasonable considering the price of DDR3 RAM right now. As those prices fall however, i dont expect apples prices to.
Click to expand...

Well before attacking me, you may want to read that I said I could very well be wrong. Yes, it was a scenario, I wasn't trying to pass it off as fact. I was asking if that scenario COULD at all be possible. I, in no way tried to make the first part of that post fact.
I was just wondering if you have to open the whole case up to replace RAM (unlike with the current 17" Macbook Pro where it's easy) could it Apple it voids the warranty, thereby locking you into Apple ram should you want Apple Care.

Once again I'm not saying it's true, I'm asking whether the scenario could happen.
If a large portion of 17 inch Macbook Pro users by third party RAM (as I did) to save money, maybe this is a way of them stopping it. Once again, just a theory, not fact.

As far as the extortion part goes, I'm willing to pay a premium for Apple, but at times it feels like they are committing extortion and I'm far from being the only person to feel that way, or say it.
 
JimAtLaw said:
Are you freaking kidding? Most airports are "starting to provide better access to adapters"? You obviously haven't spent much time in, oh, I don't know, JFK, or LAX, or half a dozen other airports I can think of offhand recently. Access is limited at best, and now you are clearly making bad excuses for Apple making an inexcusable design decision that will cause the laptop to be less useful and to become obsolete even sooner than it otherwise would.

And I don't know about you, but I go to meetings constantly where the closest adapter is on the other side of the room. Ever have to travel to a client? Or take a meeting in a restaurant, or go to a conference where you want to take notes (let alone a courtroom)? I do, as do many other "pro" users, and I sure as heck can't assume they always have power conveniently situated - you are choosing to simply assume away a need in order to justify eliminating a useful feature. A need that every other laptop manufacturer acknowledges in its product, and that EVEN THE GREAT APPLE ITSELF acknowledges in most of its other laptops.

And are you seriously arguing that the addition to the cost of having the battery use the same shell design as the notebook is as much as the cost of an additional power supply and the extra weight of a whole secondary shell for an external battery?

Come on, get serious - I really WANT a new 17" MBP, but this is being an over the top apologist for Apple. I shouldn't HAVE to rely on third party solutions which are utterly lame compared to being able to simply swap batteries as almost every laptop on the market allows.

I guess this goes to show what lengths the Apple true believers will go to though, maybe Apple would be right to do it - if the fans will make any excuse and willingly be locked in and buy products with designed in early obsolescence and reduced functionality, then Apple should keep removing useful features and locking people in and the Mac faithful will keep buying no matter what. It's interesting to see people get so wrapped up in a consumer product, makes you realize that what Jim Jones did is hardly a stretch.
Click to expand...

Seriously, if you are using the 17" and are the real pro users you would be waiting in airline lounges which have access to power points anyway (with the exception of Rome Flumicino Airport which airline lounges suck big time)

Airplane? Most long-haul flights now have power points in all seats anyway.

It seriously is the fact that there really is no need to listen to 1% of the buyers that don't agree with nonremovable battery. Similar scenario is why most of the places around the world is still non-accessible by wheelchairs.

Let me remind again, if you don't like it, don't buy it. It's not like they are forcing you to buy it. At the end of the day, the majority still rules.
 
infernohellion said:
Seriously, if you are using the 17" and are the real pro users you would be waiting in airline lounges which have access to power points anyway (with the exception of Rome Flumicino Airport which airline lounges suck big time)
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I'm srry but thats just ridiculous.
 
GQB said:
Nothing.
The usual self-proclaimed "power users" claim they need to be able to swap out batteries as they sit in the Australian Outback editing their Aboriginal documentaries 1000 miles from the nearest outlet.
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What makes this so funny is the 4 people you refer to all know the dumbest thing to do with a laptop in those conditions would be to open a big opening in the back and let vast amounts of dust get to the innards of the machine.
 
JimAtLaw said:
Exactly - people just making up stuff. 99% of people agree with non-removable batteries? All pro users are always in airline lounges?

The Apple is always right knights are just on fire tonight. :p
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Now, most people here would consider me a fanboy, but man that post of his was just plain arrogant.

Pros have access to lounges?

Pro photographers? Pro video editors? Pro software engineers?

I dont really seem to see what he thinks pro means, other than rich....
 
NT1440 said:
Now, most people here would consider me a fanboy, but man that post of his was just plain arrogant.

Pros have access to lounges?

Pro photographers? Pro video editors? Pro software engineers?

I dont really seem to see what he thinks pro means, other than rich....
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The thing is, I'm halfway a fanboy, I've switched friends, family members and colleagues to Mac, but I won't make excuses for indefensible design decisions that increase user costs and pain rather than decreasing them, and removing swappable batteries is definitely in this category IMHO.
 
Great news about the mini, not so great (IMHO) about the battery in the 17 inch. Maybe some third party will come up with a battery you can attach to the whole machine underneath.

I might actually buy a mini if it has firewire and mini displayport. Blu-ray would be the clincher.
 
JimAtLaw said:
The thing is, I'm halfway a fanboy, I've switched friends, family members and colleagues to Mac, but I won't make excuses for indefensible design decisions that increase user costs and pain rather than decreasing them, and removing swappable batteries is definitely in this category IMHO.
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Thats where we differ, im the wait and see what is offered, then voice opinion fanboy:p
 
infernohellion said:
Seriously, if you are using the 17" and are the real pro users you would be waiting in airline lounges which have access to power points anyway (with the exception of Rome Flumicino Airport which airline lounges suck big time)

Airplane? Most long-haul flights now have power points in all seats anyway.

It seriously is the fact that there really is no need to listen to 1% of the buyers that don't agree with nonremovable battery. Similar scenario is why most of the places around the world is still non-accessible by wheelchairs.

Let me remind again, if you don't like it, don't buy it. It's not like they are forcing you to buy it. At the end of the day, the majority still rules.
Click to expand...

wow, can apple do no wrong in your eyes?
 
Non-removable batteries

It doesn't matter how many people "agree with" a non-removable battery. The fact is, Apple knows exactly how many extra batteries they sell for the 17-inch MacBook Pro, which is probably not one of their most popular models to begin with. I'm sure that if the new 17-inch doesn't have a replaceable battery, it's because very few people actually replace it.

Note that that doesn't mean you can't change it when the battery gets old/worn. Any service center will probably be able to do that for you.
 
A month ago, I would have said who cares, a fixed battery is fine. However, I just came back from a trip where the flights took 24 hours+, after which, my opinion has changed entirely.
 
robanga said:
It could harness ambient energy from the environment ....

yeah that's the ticket.
Click to expand...

Not a bad idea, perhaps Apple could make uses of the massive display doubling as a solar-panel too? So it'll self recover when you ain't using it?


wait, that be useless in the UK. shere's no sunlight! :eek:
 
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