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Heads up, New MacBook let down with a 480p camera.
- Thread starter clank72
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I've used the MacBook Air as my main computer for four years. I've used the FaceTime camera on it less than fives times - if that. So, that does not bother me at all. When I do use FaceTime, which is rare, it's on an iPad or iPhone. It's not on my laptop.
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Okay, so how about this. If this laptop does not fit your needs don't complain like a baby about it, just don't purchase it. Apple has two other lines of laptops and I'm sure one fits your needs.
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Okay, so how about this. If this laptop does not fit your needs don't complain like a baby about it, just don't purchase it. Apple has two other lines of laptops and I'm sure one fits your needs.
The comparison to the original MacBook Air has been used in just about every tech/media article about the upcoming MacBook.
How much? I'm not sure, but your suggested thicknesses seem crazy large.
The retina screen on this new MacBook is .88 mm thick.
A "Couple centimers" would be ~23x thicker than the screen.
A 1/4 inch would be ~7x thicker than the screen.
I'd guessing that the webcam would need to be around the same thickness as the screen...
Gives Apple something to tout for the refresh. "Now with 720p FaceTime camera!" Cue everyone goes nuts.
Apple did this with the 2010 MBA refresh when they left the backlit keyboard, only to hype up the backlit keyboard coming back in 2011. Also, the aluminum MacBook in 2008 dropped FireWire ("The engineers said it couldn't be done!"), only to get it back in 2009.
Apple did this with the 2010 MBA refresh when they left the backlit keyboard, only to hype up the backlit keyboard coming back in 2011.
Also, the aluminum MacBook in 2008 dropped FireWire ("The engineers said it couldn't be done!"), only to get it back in 2009.
Core M is faster than A8. It should handle HD video just fine.
I personally believe the display is just too thin for the camera Apple wanted to use. We will see 720p return as technology advances and these cameras get smaller.
Personally I don't care about the resolution of the webcam. I never use it anyway.
Yes you can, provided you get a Mac compatible one, but then that kind of mitigates the no wires type of philosophy of the MB. Add in the fact you have one USB port that will require a dongle, a separate webcam may not be feasible.
hallelujah, common sense.
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Or you can not be obtuse and buy a wireless webcam.
Not if it has to multitask with other processes (which it doesn't have to with the iPhone or iPad).
You're patently wrong about the display thickness. Sensor resolution has nothing to do with sensor thickness.
or try the one the mb comes with, see how your actual experience (or, more to the point, how people at the other end see you)... goes first....
I agree, given that you'll be hauling around a pound of adapters anyway, another quarter pound of webcam won't make much of a difference.
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I see the difference, big time. Little resolution compression happening where I live (USA), where bandwidths are almost at the level of modern countries.
I have literally never used the camera on my Mac, so it's of no concern to me personally. But I think they've done it as part of the future update path. I can see already that version 2 of the MB will have 720 camera, faster CPU and two USB ports.
Plus, you can have the highest res camera, but after it's been compressed to the n-th degree, does 480 vs 720 really make that big a difference?
Plus, you can have the highest res camera, but after it's been compressed to the n-th degree, does 480 vs 720 really make that big a difference?
The rMB is Apple taking a leaf out of the airlines playbook in "unbundling" services. By pushing out functionality; they can claim that they have the thinnest/ lightest laptop - just like airlines can claim low fees - except that you will have to pay nickels and dimes to even drink water on board. Some people are absolutely fine with that, but I suspect more and more people will have to carry around 0.5 - 1 lb. in cables, wires and dongles to extract functionality equivalent to a MBA out of the rMB. Now, at some point in the future - all peripherals will be wireless and there maybe no cables, but you are paying today's dollars for a future hope.
So I guess the question is, if you see the difference so much, does it really affect your ability to communicate with whoever you are facetiming/skyping?
Personally I use Skype on my phone or iPad if I use it at all (once a month maybe) and the connection is so poor that I am lucky if I can even recognise my sister in Kuala Lumpur!
So the quality of the camera makes no difference to me whatsoever. I would gladly sacrifice the camera quality for a thinner/lighter laptop, which is clearly the decision that apple made in this case.
Doesn't mean version two won't be better tho
Yes, absolutely. That's the reason technology moves towards higher resolution. Because you can see more details. I'm not sure why I even have to explain this. Clearly you're talking about a bandwidth limited scenario. That is not the scenario I find myself in 90% of the time, and my loved ones and I appreciate every little detail we can glimpse of each other while talking on Skype or FaceTime. I also like being able to give talks remotely, with my webcam pointing at the whiteboard. Even 720p is limiting in those cases.
I hear what you're saying, but I don't think it's fair, or necessarily even true. The question isn't what does it look like if you want to turn it into a stationary computer? The question is what does it look like sitting in my lap on the train or on a chair in the airport? What does it look like while you're on your way to a meeting - is it a really thin, light notebook or is it the size of a 13" MBA or rMBP?
In other words, sure, you can blow this up to be as big as one of those - but you can't strip one of those down to this size. For some people, that's gold.
what people don't seem to get is that the new MB is really an uber-iPad.
Look at the resemblance: 3 colors, no ports, under-powered.
Next look at the rumors: everybody was looking for a 12" iPad with a retina screen.
This is the lightweight replacement for those folks who are tired of lugging an iPad and a keyboard around.
If Apple had offered it in 2 versions, namely one version with wifi only, and the other version with wifi plus cellular for $135 more, the resemblance would have been obvious.
Look at the resemblance: 3 colors, no ports, under-powered.
Next look at the rumors: everybody was looking for a 12" iPad with a retina screen.
This is the lightweight replacement for those folks who are tired of lugging an iPad and a keyboard around.
If Apple had offered it in 2 versions, namely one version with wifi only, and the other version with wifi plus cellular for $135 more, the resemblance would have been obvious.
The 12" iPad is still coming.
I think your reading too much into it. It is an x86 machine capable of running all Windows and OS X software. If they really wanted an iPad with a keyboard they would have used an AX8 processor.
It is the most portable machine that can run software that the working world uses. Because they have an Intel chip in it the versatility is wide open (including Facebook and web browsing if you so choose).