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apple needs a small pro laptop and a larger consumer laptop. I'm not sure where or how they're getting the idea that all pros want large laptops or all students want small laptops, but those assumptions just aren't correct.
 
been mentioned before, but i agree with the posts that say the macbook should be a low-priced product, NOT equivalent to a 12" powerbook. apple might be getting rid of the 12" powerbook, but i would rather see a sub-$1000 macbook than a replacement for the 12" powerbook. a $1499 macbook is not going to fly, IMO.
 
First time poster... long time reader... so be gentle... Like a lot of you I have put off updating an old ibook. I was told wait for an event and it yielded a speaker, wait for the 30th Year and it yieled Boot Camp... and now rumors are wait for May/June. I have a couple of questions and an observation.

The question is if I wait until May/June what does that mean? I know it's a guess but the MacBook Pros were announced and then you couldn't get them for 30 days plus or so and even still now my Apple store is swapping out the first issued ones do to fixes needed. So is May/June announcement a delivery in Aug/sept?

My observation is based on the rumors.. but it seems like Apple, again based on the rumors, is pricing itself out of the college market. I can't imagine any of the rumors allowing for a sub $1000 laptop( and the $999 ibook for the average kid was too much already)... I'm thinking we are going to see prices in line with what I have below..

13.3 MacBook $1199.00
13.3 MacBook $1499.00 ( superdrive, isight)
15 MacBook Pro $1899.00
17 MacBook Pro $2399.00

So to all the gurus out there... at what price point do the G4s make sense for a college kid. Perhaps Apples going back to school notebooks will be something like this? bump up the RAM and HD a bit for the base models and apple can clear out old inventory... they can stay competitive in the back to school market year after year with this approach.. it is college afterall... ichat, email, word, excel..price point needs to be sub $800.00

iBook G4 $799.00
PowerBook G4 $ 1099.00
 
kugino said:
been mentioned before, but i agree with the posts that say the macbook should be a low-priced product, NOT equivalent to a 12" powerbook. apple might be getting rid of the 12" powerbook, but i would rather see a sub-$1000 macbook than a replacement for the 12" powerbook. a $1499 macbook is not going to fly, IMO.

Its not like theyre going to release only one 13.3" laptop. One model of the 13.3" macbook may be the 12" powerbook replacement at $1499 or so, but there will be some model in the low $1000 range to take the place of the iBook.
 
*brings something old into the topic*

On the Mac Mini platform being used by the MacBook (iBook, whatever):

Take that with a bag of salt. A desktop does not use the proper components to be considered a laptop, and even if you did just spread things out in laptop form and add the proper features, it'd probably STILL be way too large.

That, and we'd better hope not. Intel GMA 950 is a piece of :mad: no matter what the intel fanboys say.
 
appleguyincbus said:
I'm thinking we are going to see prices in line with what I have below..

13.3 MacBook $1199.00
13.3 MacBook $1499.00 ( superdrive, isight)
15 MacBook Pro $1899.00
17 MacBook Pro $2399.00

hey. the 15.4 inch macbook pro currently has two options right now.

$1999 1.83ghz
$2499 2ghz

so did you just overlook that or think apple is going to just have one 15.4 option. what do you think?
 
digitldrew said:
hey. the 15.4 inch macbook pro currently has two options right now.

$1999 1.83ghz
$2499 2ghz

so did you just overlook that or think apple is going to just have one 15.4 option. what do you think?

Maybe they'll consolidate them, and just have a faster processor as a BTO option.
 
Question about XP . . .

Sorry if this sounds like a dumb question but here goes: I'm running Virtual PC with XP Professional for a couple of apps. I'm thinking of getting one of the new Intel Macs & being able to run XP is a plus for me. I'm wondering if the copy of XP that I got with VPC will work and if so how do I tell if it includes service pack 2?
 
mark88 said:
I agree, they've still got the Imac so I dont see why they couldn't keep iBook.

but iMac still has the 'Mac' name in it. Which jobs wanted (Macworld 2006).

but I don't care what they call the white 13.3 ibook cos I want the biggest MBP they come out with :D
 
appleguyincbus said:
My observation is based on the rumors.. but it seems like Apple, again based on the rumors, is pricing itself out of the college market.

I agree.. If the specs the rumour sites are mentioning are accurate I really can't see the next iBook (MacBook) coming in at the same price point as the old iBook. And Apple are happy to change the entry price point too.. look at the Mac Mini - when it was first released you could get a Mini for £339 now the cheapest Mini is £449 (UK prices).
 
mixel said:
Other (smaller) platforms cope fine supporting multiple hardware architectures, I don't see why it's going to be a bad thing for mac users.
It's a bad thing for Mac *developers*, which indirectly makes it a bad thing for Mac *users*.

A port (from PPC to x86 and then to x64) costs money - we all know that Jobs' claim that all you need to do is to "check a box" to get a universal binary isn't true for many apps.

A company still needs to test and QA both (someday all three) architectures. Tech support needs to understand any specific issues about the platforms. Ka-ching! Ka-ching! Ka-ching!

mixel said:
Apple could have long term plans to keep 32-bit support anyway, for much smaller (handheld? Tablet?) devices.
Interesting point, except that "OSX Mobile" will probably be a subset of full OSX (like Windows Mobile is a subset of XP).

Once you have a subset, you have to recompile. Once you recompile, it hardly matters what the underlying architecture is. (Windows Mobile runs mainly on the ARM architecture - it doesn't use x86 processors for most devices. It has run on PPC as well as x86, and probably will morph over time.)
 
Peyton said:
but iMac still has the 'Mac' name in it. Which jobs wanted (Macworld 2006).

but I don't care what they call the white 13.3 ibook cos I want the biggest MBP they come out with :D


can't see the MacBooks being white.... a GIANT part of Apple is the whole sex appeal of the silver case... to get rid of the powerbook 12 and replace it in white would be a major goof. Apple White = college, home.... Apple Silver = Business user... you can't get rid of the 12 Powerbook and lose the "sex/apple appeal" it had in business situations.. If the logic is business users are now 15MBP and UP then that's a bad idea as well...

At the same time they can't all be the same either. Apple has always been about look and appeal. The college kid paying $1200 should not get the same Sex/Apple appeal as the CEO paying $2500.... so Im guessing they'll all be silver but different somehow so the casual person can still tell the difference...
 
OK. It's time for the idiot to step forward. I'm planning to return to the Apple family after years with PC's. The kids have Ipods and love them. My 12 year old has a videocamera and wants to start editing etc. So I was looking at the MacBook Pro unit. The IMac would be great, but I think I want something portable that he can share with his sister. With the educational discount, were talking about $1,800. Kinda steep. The IBook sounds like the ticket, BUT I hate to wait.

Don't flame me, but what am I getting by upgrading to the Pro. I know about screen size, faster processor etc. Does it make any sense, or am I flushing money down the toilet? We will use it for wireless internet, pics, itunes, video and basic stuff. Is the Pro overkill. It sure looks cool, but $1,800! Yikes. Add to it all the new software etc and the ticket goes up really quick.

I know you guys may not be thrilled with the new "Boot Camp" but it does make it easier for me to make the switch. Any help/guidance would be appreciated. I haven't owned a mac since the Mac II days.
 
merlin said:
Sorry if this sounds like a dumb question but here goes: I'm running Virtual PC with XP Professional for a couple of apps. I'm thinking of getting one of the new Intel Macs & being able to run XP is a plus for me. I'm wondering if the copy of XP that I got with VPC will work and if so how do I tell if it includes service pack 2?

You can (legally) burn a copy of XP with the service pack on it. Here's how you do it: http://forums.infoprosjoint.net/showthread.php?t=5797

You can use this CD to install XP SP2 on your Mac via BootCamp or whatever it will be called in Leopard. (I kinda like the "Boot Camp", they should keep that name).
 
DaveP924 said:
The IBook sounds like the ticket, BUT I hate to wait.

Don't flame me, but what am I getting by upgrading to the Pro. I know about screen size, faster processor etc. Does it make any sense, or am I flushing money down the toilet? We will use it for wireless internet, pics, itunes, video and basic stuff. Is the Pro overkill. It sure looks cool, but $1,800! Yikes. Add to it all the new software etc and the ticket goes up really quick.
I'd recommend waiting for the iBook. There is a good possibility it will be shipping by month's end, if not, certainly by May. Can you hold off for a few weeks? If you need one tomorrow then the Macbook Pro would be the way to go. But I think the MBP is really overkill for your uses and a Macbook will suit you just fine.
 
MrCrowbar said:
You can (legally) burn a copy of XP with the service pack on it. Here's how you do it:
Yes it is legal to create an SP2 CD from an SP1 CD or earlier.

It may not be legal to use the CD, but it's OK to burn it.


MrCrowbar said:
You can use this CD to install XP SP2 on your Mac via BootCamp or whatever it will be called in Leopard. (I kinda like the "Boot Camp", they should keep that name).
This is where you need to read the EULA that came with VPC and the bundled XP.

That EULA probably says that the XP copy can only be used with VPC - it's common for discounted, bundled versions of XP to have an "original computer only" clause that prevents using that copy on any other computer (virtual or real).

It might also be the case that the copy of XP furnished with VPC is modified so that it only install and run under VPC. That's perfectly reasonable.
 
mikemodena said:
I think since there's still the iMac it will be the iMac, the iBook, the MacBook Pro, and the Mac Pro... just losing the Power prefix. That's just my guess, and it's not based on anything really, except the fact that the iMac is still the iMac.
Well what were they going to call it the MacMac, they should call it the BigMac and throw a couple pickles and seasme seeds and pickles in er
 
My Expectations...

...for the "MacBook" and remaining MacBook Pro models. This also includes my guess that Apple will also make a 20" MBP.:eek:
 

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count chocula said:
just a minor detail, but do you guys think the low end intel ibook/macbook will have backlit keys?

If they can fit the technology in the MacBook, I think it'll be available at least as an option. Seeing how it has been around for three years, it can't be too expensive anymore...maybe. :confused:
 
My 2 Cents on Integrated Graphics

I know a lot's been said about Intel IG on this thread, but I just had to say I'm really hoping the new MacBook has a separate video card.

Compare the copy from Apple's old Mac mini page to the copy on its new page:
Go ahead, just try to play Halo on a budget PC. Most say they’re good for 2D games only. That’s because an “integrated Intel graphics” chip steals power from the CPU and siphons off memory from system-level RAM. You’d have to buy an extra card to get the graphics performance of Mac mini, and some cheaper PCs don’t even have an open slot to let you add one.

vs.
Mac mini features a graphics processor integrated into the system, and one that's no slouch, to boot. The Intel GMA950 graphics supports Tiger Core Graphics and the latest 3D games. It shares fast 667MHz memory4 with the Intel Core processor, for an incredible value proposition.

Um...someone's not telling the truth.
 
rwclark said:
I know a lot's been said about Intel IG on this thread, but I just had to say I'm really hoping the new MacBook has a separate video card.

Compare the copy from Apple's old Mac mini page to the copy on its new page:
Go ahead, just try to play Halo on a budget PC. Most say they’re good for 2D games only. That’s because an “integrated Intel graphics” chip steals power from the CPU and siphons off memory from system-level RAM. You’d have to buy an extra card to get the graphics performance of Mac mini, and some cheaper PCs don’t even have an open slot to let you add one.

vs.
Mac mini features a graphics processor integrated into the system, and one that's no slouch, to boot. The Intel GMA950 graphics supports Tiger Core Graphics and the latest 3D games. It shares fast 667MHz memory4 with the Intel Core processor, for an incredible value proposition.

Um...someone's not telling the truth.


uh........ riaaaght. **** apple.
 
rwclark said:
I know a lot's been said about Intel IG on this thread, but I just had to say I'm really hoping the new MacBook has a separate video card.

Compare the copy from Apple's old Mac mini page to the copy on its new page:
Go ahead, just try to play Halo on a budget PC. Most say they’re good for 2D games only. That’s because an “integrated Intel graphics” chip steals power from the CPU and siphons off memory from system-level RAM. You’d have to buy an extra card to get the graphics performance of Mac mini, and some cheaper PCs don’t even have an open slot to let you add one.

vs.
Mac mini features a graphics processor integrated into the system, and one that's no slouch, to boot. The Intel GMA950 graphics supports Tiger Core Graphics and the latest 3D games. It shares fast 667MHz memory4 with the Intel Core processor, for an incredible value proposition.

Um...someone's not telling the truth.


apple screwed us bigtime with that. im appauled
 
animefan_1 said:
...for the "MacBook" and remaining MacBook Pro models. This also includes my guess that Apple will also make a 20" MBP.:eek:

I like your pics with the specs. Gomme the high end 13.3" version in a nice metal case with good keyboard and I'm in.
 
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