Higher Quality MacBook Pro Case Photos

[payado]

iMac Style Docking Station

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Well, one huge advantage is that you call leave all your devices connected to the dock and never have to think about unhooking and hooking them to the macbook.

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Another feature would be that the dock could have so many more connection options, including all the firewire and usb you'd want.

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The docking station seems to tie together some of the rumors and pictures so far and to me it makes a lot of sense.

I agree with your assessment. Here's another thing to consider for the docking station. What if it had its own hard drive and WIFI built in? It would be a giant Time Capsule! You could keep your printer connected to it and print from anywhere in the house. Not only could you let Time Machine back up regularly, but it would make sure your backup started as soon as your MB was docked.

I have been following this thread periodically since early this morning. My first concern when I reviewed the case design was that the Firewire port was missing. I'm convinced it doesn't show up in the latest photos, but feel that Apple would be shooting itself in the foot if it removed it from the latest design. I just can't believe that they would only incorporate it into the dock and skip the MB case itself. I'm holding out hope.

 

[Porco]

As far as I'm concerned having no firewire would be an epic fail unless this thing is very cheap indeed.

 

[Maximillian]

Standards are impeding progress and innovation.

It's sticking to standards that impedes progress.

Standards were once innovations.

 

[slowpoe]

Sweet

I agree wholeheartedly, I really didn't mean to come across as hostile. More sarcastic than anything, but I can see how it could be misconstrued. My apologies, and let me tell you this. I had made an oath to hold onto my PBG4 until a new design was released and, although it's taken a few years longer than I expected, I'll be one of the first in line (online) to get my new notebook. After my PB was stolen I decided to put the money towards what I really needed for my career and I bought my dream Mac Pro, but I miss my portable companion more than anything in the world and I can't wait for these to finally be released.

Long overdue.

oh sweet it was mutual then i should put more smileys when im being sarcastic...i just ahve to say im so exited...my first mac...im typing on an hp right now...cant wait to switch...however i do have hdmi on this compy...guess how many times ive used it...twice...in a year

maybe hdmi isnt as pressing as i thought...apple doesnt put something in til its mainstream no matter how cool it is

 

[AppliedMicro]

Apple hasn't had a machine with a small footprint since they killed off the 12" PowerBook… what makes you think they'd go back to having one now?

Well... they have, relatively speaking.
For instance, the MBP does has a pretty small footprint for a 15" widescreen book, doesn't it?

Of course there won't (ever?) be a PowerBook 12" again.
That's the statement they made with the MBA.

 

[grue]

Instead of trolling, why not say what you mean. If someone assumes something that is wrong, you could correct them instead of acting 12.

Ok, fine.

Since I apparently wasn't being clear enough, I'll spell it out:

Standards are good.
Proprietary dongles that you have to buy from Apple are not.

DVI is a standard, and can easily be converted to VGA, Svideo, or composite. Or hell, component in some cases.

DisplayPort is an emerging standard, and presumably has some of the above compatibilities. I'll be the first to admit I don't know much about it.

Mini-DVI is not a standard.
Micro-DVI is not a standard (But has a demonstrable necessity on Air, which is not present on the MacBook Pro)
Whatever this new port is, also not a standard.

Thus, since it's not a standard, people are forced to buy additional hardware to hook their machine up to external display devices. While it's all well and good for those of us with our **** together to plan ahead and carry those adapters around, it'd be really nice for people who forget stuff from time to time NOT to need to track down an Apple reseller every time they need a new dongle, and be able to go to a basic computer/electronics shop.

 

[SmokyD]

No. 1080p is a TV resolution (it's 16/9, not 16/10), and 17" already has above 1080p as an option (1920*1200).

Now they could make 1920*1200 the base/standard 17" resolution instead of a $100 option (and maybe add it as an option to the 15"/16" MBP as well, given that there have been 1920*1200 15" laptops for years), but definitely not 1080p, that's nonsensical.

1080p is not at all nonsensical if Apple goes with a 16:9 screen form factor, like Sony has with the VAIO FW and AW series which both have 1920x1080 resolution (1080p) screens. Their TT series is also 16:9 but that's 1366x768.

A 16:9 screen would be great in a media laptop from Apple. If the screen is large enough (like 18.1 inches) then 16:9 is even ideal for viewing two documents side-by-side.

Not sure if Apple will go this route but I think it would be a good thing if they did.

 

[grue]

Standards are impeding progress and innovation.

I wish I had an appropriate emoticon, showing a face slapping itself on the forehead.

Progress and innovation are well and good when they're used to create new standards. Using stupid little home-grown plugs is not an example of this.

 

[AppliedMicro]

It's sticking to standards that impedes progress.
Standards were once innovations.

Touché

 

[grue]

Well... they have, relatively speaking.
For instance, the MBP does has a pretty small footprint for a 15" widescreen book, doesn't it?

Of course there won't (ever?) be a PowerBook 12" again.
That's the statement they made with the MBA.

Yeah, it's not bad for a 15", I'll grant that.

As for the MacBook Air, that unfunny joke just makes me sad.

 

[grue]

Guys I am sorry but what is going on with the MBA? Some say that it will not even show up in Tuesday and some say it will. Are we going to see an upgrade of MBA, a 2ng generation of MBA or nothing related to MBA?

One that's actually small would be nice, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

[aleksandra.]

You're really comparing a desktop to a notebook? Really?

C'mon.

BJWanlund: The day the MBA is the most expensive notebook Apple offers will be a very sad day. Your pricing structure is absolutely ridiculous. You're talking about price drops of about $500-600, on a completely redesigned family of notebooks.

I want some of what you're smoking.

Masklinn: Well said, I'm really hoping there is a 1920x1200 option for the 15" with the same resolution standard for the 17"
My sister has had a 15" 300lbs Dell for nearly 3-4 years with a 1920x1200 resolution screen. The MBP needs this option across the board.

If they're so heavy, maybe we'll be better off with lower resolutions

The iMac is pretty much a notebook desktop thing.

iMac is not supposed to look cool when you're on-the-go and people are jealously eyeing your MacBook .

So it's miniDVI? I still have to plug separate audio cable if I want to watch a movie on my Plasma?

It isn't mini-DVI. Actually it seems there's no port of this size and shape, so we can only speculate what Apple put there. It might be another version of DVI port (nano? micro dual link? who knows), and then you'd still need separate audio cable. It might be mini-DisplayPort Apple was apparently developing, in which case you won't need audio cable anymore. Or it might be something else.

I'm a poor college student in school for audio/sound tech. We use Macs at school, and a Mac at home would mean I could do more work. I need it to even keep up. My Hard drives, audio interfaces, camcorders, etc all use firewire. Even my Mackie Mixer is firewire. The new Macbook would be fine for everything I'm doing, but now they don't even have a single firewire port ? So if I want to have a mac that works for me I have to spend an extra $1000 on the Maccrook Pro? I'm basically screwed.

Wait until you see specs and prices. Then, if you don't like what you see (i.e. MBs don't have FW), you might consider a refurbished MBP, assuming current models will be good enough.

 

[Brien]

Guys I am sorry but what is going on with the MBA? Some say that it will not even show up in Tuesday and some say it will. Are we going to see an upgrade of MBA, a 2ng generation of MBA or nothing related to MBA?

Thank you..!

And yes it will be a pitty if MB has no firewire but if there are going to be 3 MBP then the cheapest it will be probably the best solution for someone who can afford the MB but wants something more like firewire.. personal opinion.

The current cases show 16:10 is still here, so I would guess since they don't need to go 16:9 on the MBA, just a spec bump.

BTW, is there usually a line launch day for the 'Books? iPods and iPhones, I know, but I'm hoping if I get to the store that afternoon they'll still have plenty of MBPs.

 

[Maximillian]

DisplayPort is an emerging standard, and presumably has some of the above compatibilities. I'll be the first to admit I don't know much about it.

Wasn't Firewire included on Apple computers first and later became a standard? Heck, PC mobos even have it built-on now. Before that, it was just something that Apple bet on being big.

Why can't mini-DVI be the same thing? If everyone picks it up, you'll be able to get adapters all over the place.

 

[slowpoe]

erm

Touché

standards and progress are cool with innovation and stuff...with like impeding progress and...um progress...

 

[Cousin Dirk]

1080p is not at all nonsensical if Apple goes with a 16:9 screen form factor, like Sony has with the VAIO FW and AW series which both have 1920x1080 resolution (1080p) screens. Their TT series is also 16:9 but that's 1366x768.

A 16:9 screen would be great in a media laptop from Apple. If the screen is large enough (like 18.1 inches) then 16:9 is even ideal for viewing two documents side-by-side.

Not sure is Apple will go this route but I think it would be a good thing if they did.

I still don't get this obsession with 16:9 laptops.

 

[UMHurricanes34]

The current cases show 16:10 is still here, so I would guess since they don't need to go 16:9 on the MBA, just a spec bump.

BTW, is there usually a line launch day for the 'Books? iPods and iPhones, I know, but I'm hoping if I get to the store that afternoon they'll still have plenty of MBPs.

I think it'd be fine, I don't think people rush out so quickly to spend thousands on a notebook compared to dropping a couple hundred bucks.

 

[grue]

Wasn't Firewire included on Apple computers first and later became a standard? Heck, PC mobos even have it built-on now. Before that, it was just something that Apple bet on being big.

Why can't mini-DVI be the same thing? If everyone picks it up, you'll be able to get adapters all over the place.

FireWire did (and does) things differently and better than other buses. Mini-DVI does nothing that DVI doesn't already do.

I could grit my teeth and accept it if Apple were trying to turn it into an actual standard, but insofar as I'm aware, they're not.

 

[Maximillian]

BTW, is there usually a line launch day for the 'Books? iPods and iPhones, I know, but I'm hoping if I get to the store that afternoon they'll still have plenty of MBPs.

If the new books are in stores right after the announcement, you'd be better off if you go to your local Apple store during the announcements and just asking if/when you can buy one. You never know, they may be able to sell you one right then or tell you that they can ring you up in an hour. Plus, then you'd beat any line.

As far as I can recall, there have never been lines for computers.

 

[Clayne]

Where'd this come from? Details anyone?

 

[Masklinn]

DVI is a standard, and can easily be converted to VGA, Svideo, or composite. Or hell, component in some cases

DVI-I is (and so is DVI-A which I've never seen), but DVI-D isn't, even dual link as it's solely digital, you'd need a complete converter.

DisplayPort is an emerging standard, and presumably has some of the above compatibilities. I'll be the first to admit I don't know much about it.

As far as I know, it has none of the above as it's completely digital. It is however compatible with HDMI and DVI-D.

1080p is not at all nonsensical if Apple goes with a 16:9 screen form factor, like Sony has with the VAIO FW and AW series which both have 1920x1080 resolution (1080p) screens. Their TT series is also 16:9 but that's 1366x768.

So you're one of those fabled 1080p fans? I didn't think you guys really existed.

A 16:9 screen would be great in a media laptop from Apple. If the screen is large enough (like 18.1 inches) then 16:9 is even ideal for viewing two documents side-by-side.

Short answer: no

Long answer: **** no, it's blasted stupid

 

[UMHurricanes34]

Where'd this come from? Details anyone?

I don't think it'd be too farfetched to expect a minor speed bump for the MBA, it's been 9-10 months.

Also, I'm on Masklinn's side. I don't see the NEED to lose vertical space for a wider screen. I much prefer 16:10 to 16:9.

Leave 16:9 for the HDTVs, not the notebooks. It's dumb.

 

[Maximillian]

I still don't get this obsession with 16:9 laptops.

It's like shooting a college video project in 24p. It's just too cool NOT to do it.

16:9 seems to be a holy-grail for some. People think 16:9 is the best aspect ratio instead of 4:3, 16:10, or cinemascope for some reason.

 

[slash]

I hope to see at least an update for MBA.

 

[alphaod]

Oh no. Chiclet keys.