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Full Laptop Refresh By Holidays?
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deputy_doofy said:
I'd assume the next MBP will do 802.11n, since the latest iMacs had a silent (and unmentioned by Apple, I think?) upgrade to a chipset capable of 802.11n.
Note that 802.11n is somewhat in flux in that the spec. hasn't yet been ratified. Inter-operatbility is currently not great.
However, I doubt Apple would pull already-built machines to replace a card.
ergle2 said:
That's definitely why I said it's a "big if." I agree with you, though. It does seem as though Apple already thought of n with the iMacs. Even though it's not standardized yet, everyone wants to be the first to have/offer it.
deputy_doofy said:
If it were a "simple" card swap out, I could see that as a possibility.
It's much better than the "we're still waiting because of heat issues" theory. I say this mainly because they've had chips in hand (for testing and R&D) for what now, over three months? If Apple's engineers couldn't have solved it in that time, they need new engineers. The only possibility is a shift in the release timeline, which could have moved it to the right a tick.
One possibility might be that the supply of chips still isn't up to speed enough to launch the new line(s). Last I read they had only shipped 5 million chips total so far about a week or so ago, and that was between all manufacturers and not just for Apple. If the supply availability hasn't come up to speed yet, it could be a possible reason for the trigger not being pulled yet.
At this point, it's anybody's guess.
In the end, it doesn't matter (to me). I'll wait. As much as I WANT a C2D MBP, I don't actually NEED one.
ergle2 said:
Exactly...it's when we Americans eat turkey, get a bit toasted, and watch football (the American kind)...all in an attempt to forget about the race of people we (not Americans at the time) nearly made extinct back in the day of Columbus.
anim8or said:
wasn't it yon kippor? or some other jewish holiday? im not jewish so i wouldnt know, but two of my professors (who are jewish) did take monday off... i wasnt quite paying attention in class, but i believe they mentioned a holiday? so 10/2 was a holiday i think....
next monday 10/9 is columbus day... so yet another holiday... for this week and next... im praying for a wednesday update!!
New/old theory.
Apple is waiting to release new MBPs (and possible MBs) to coincide with the release of Xserve, the new Shuffles but more importantly an updated Airport Extreme. The ship time on Airport base stations were recently 5-7 weeks, IIRC. If Apple wants to tout the 802.11n capabilities of its new notebooks, in addition to a CPU and whatever else they've elected to change, it may very well be that Apple's marketing department is waiting for Airports to be ready in sufficient quantities to sell the story.
In short, maybe Macrumors(?) was right when they said the notebooks are done and they're just waiting for marketing to pull the trigger.
Apple is waiting to release new MBPs (and possible MBs) to coincide with the release of Xserve, the new Shuffles but more importantly an updated Airport Extreme. The ship time on Airport base stations were recently 5-7 weeks, IIRC. If Apple wants to tout the 802.11n capabilities of its new notebooks, in addition to a CPU and whatever else they've elected to change, it may very well be that Apple's marketing department is waiting for Airports to be ready in sufficient quantities to sell the story.
In short, maybe Macrumors(?) was right when they said the notebooks are done and they're just waiting for marketing to pull the trigger.
ThunderLounge said:
I agree with you on this.
I think supply issues are more likely, personally, especially given they already launched the C2D iMac. If supplies are short, it's likely they can't get enough for both lines.
Apple's engineers will have likely been getting engineering samples of chips as far back as May or so, and the TDP was probably known to them before the first MBP model was released. It's unlikely there were major heat issues with even just dropping Merom into an existing MBP design, and certainly nothing that couldn't be cured with tweaking the ACPI tables...
jericho878 said:
Newsflash...Shuffles are already released.
Just not shipped.
Place your order, if you really want one.
No, I think the Shuffles have been "announced." Apple marketing may want all of these items hitting the shelves, so to speak, at the same time.ct-scan said:
October 19, 2005 Was Birthdate Of The PowerMac G5 Quad Core
I remember last October 19, 2005 as the birthdate of the G5 Quad Core PowerMac. Only 3 months later they went refurb and my life has never been the same.ik@ said:
jericho878 said:
I would completely disagree, as far as the Apple Store is concerned, it is released.
You can purchase one right now. Xserve has been announced, but you can NOT purchase it, hence, it is NOT released.
MBP - iMac common hardware
I'm not sure if this means anything, but how many parts are shared between an iMac and MBP? Considering the small form factor, it seems conceivable that they could share many of the same parts, ie. motherboard, optical drive, networking cards.
Has anyone ever seen them taken apart to compare? It seems like it would be more cost-effective if they could share many parts.
The reason I mention it, is that I was thinking the next MBP could possibly carry that same "disabled" 802.11n card that's shipping in the current iMacs. The current iMac may give us some insight into what's coming in the next MBP besides Merom.
Of course, I'd prefer to see a pair of 160GB hard drives striped in a RAID0, but I'm thinking it's more like the Merom and disabled 802.11n card - everything else the same.
I'm not sure if this means anything, but how many parts are shared between an iMac and MBP? Considering the small form factor, it seems conceivable that they could share many of the same parts, ie. motherboard, optical drive, networking cards.
Has anyone ever seen them taken apart to compare? It seems like it would be more cost-effective if they could share many parts.
The reason I mention it, is that I was thinking the next MBP could possibly carry that same "disabled" 802.11n card that's shipping in the current iMacs. The current iMac may give us some insight into what's coming in the next MBP besides Merom.
Of course, I'd prefer to see a pair of 160GB hard drives striped in a RAID0, but I'm thinking it's more like the Merom and disabled 802.11n card - everything else the same.
Perhaps Multimedia is right about the next version of the MacBook Pro getting a complete redesign. Think about these things...
— Because of the MacBook Pro's design, the 15-inch model cannot use 8x Dual Layer DVD optical drives and has to resort to 4x DVD burners.
— Due to the design of the 15-inch MacBook Pro, Apple is unable to find space to place a Firewire 800 port.
— The hinge design limits the maximum angle the display can be opened.
— The design of the MacBook Pro does not allow for user accessibility to the internal hard drive.
— The design of the MacBook Pro does not allow for the proper dissipation of heat from within the machine.
— The current design of the MacBook Pro does not adopt the latchless magnetic lid that the lower-end MacBook employs.
— The display of the MacBook Pro is often unevenly illuminated and suffers from a limited viewing angle.
Need I say more about how much the MacBook Pro's inherent design flaws warrant Apple to change the design?
— Because of the MacBook Pro's design, the 15-inch model cannot use 8x Dual Layer DVD optical drives and has to resort to 4x DVD burners.
— Due to the design of the 15-inch MacBook Pro, Apple is unable to find space to place a Firewire 800 port.
— The hinge design limits the maximum angle the display can be opened.
— The design of the MacBook Pro does not allow for user accessibility to the internal hard drive.
— The design of the MacBook Pro does not allow for the proper dissipation of heat from within the machine.
— The current design of the MacBook Pro does not adopt the latchless magnetic lid that the lower-end MacBook employs.
— The display of the MacBook Pro is often unevenly illuminated and suffers from a limited viewing angle.
Need I say more about how much the MacBook Pro's inherent design flaws warrant Apple to change the design?
Garvo said:
They don't share the same wifi card.
MBP Airport Extreme uses the Atheros AR5424 chipset.
New iMacs use the Broadcom BCM4321 chipset. The older Intel iMac used the BCM4311.
Of course, as these are all on cards, it's easy to change for a different-but-equivalent-functionality part, so there's no guarentees this is true for all. I've not read of any others in use, tho'.
DHagan4755 said:
didnt some guy from intel say the last thing intel & Apple worked together on was the Macbook Pro (as in the one due any week now) so im guessing it will be more then just a chip swap.
I need one ASAP but am ok with my powerbook & powermac for now
Phishin' it said:
im starting to think not until november because everyone is struggling to get Core 2 Duo chips, but on the other hard Apple are running out of Core Duo Macbook Pros so they will have to be soon
But it WILL the before Thanks Giving
timmillwood said:
How is everyone struggling to get Core 2 Duo chips? Apple is already shipping them in iMacs, Dell has shipped many C2D laptops, as has Sony and Toshiba. I know people who ordered C2Ds from Dell and have had their laptops for more than 2 weeks.
Hell, you can walk into Best Buy and walk out with a C2D laptop from a number of manufacturers today if you want. I really don't buy that there is a massive shortage of C2D chips.
ct-scan said:
Maybe it's when you eat turkey, get a bit toasted, and watch football and try to forget about Native Americans. Me, I just show up for the turkey, beer, football and to spend time with my family and friends.
Meanwhile back on topic: I'm in the 'don't need one but really really really want one' camp, but my enthusiasm has been tempered by reality. No longer do I expect a release every tuesday, now I am just mildly hopeful each tueday. I sure wish Apple would decide to take my 3 grand from me
Seriously I am getting pissed, like I have been without a laptop for without a few weeks now and I want an update now. Hear me Apple, update NOW. I put the time already, now give me and update.
maverick808 said:
To be fair, most of the ones in stock in stores are of the 1.66/1.83GHz variety. I've seen a few 2GHz models around. I don't think I've see any 2.33GHz notebooks in stores yet though.
There's been a few sites commented on a degree of shortages due to "stronger than expected demand".
The fact Apple's shipping them in iMacs could be one of the reasons they're not shipping them in anything else yet...
I don't think they're massively short to the point of rarity, but I do think demand is currently exceeding what Intel can supply.
I see no point in arguing semantics. We'll agree to disagree.ct-scan said:
I've seen the same. Any idea on whether Intel has any speed bumps planned for November, in which case I'd wonder if Apple is aiming to release a 2.66GHz at the top of MBP range?ergle2 said: