Intel iBooks with Front Row?

[MacQuest]

It could be worst. HP desktop line name is torturous e.g. d4100y series

Cinch

Exactly! The other guys don't get it. It has often been speculated that the reason that Sony's attempts to knock Apple's iPod off it's pedestal failed in large part because it's mp3 players names were something like: NW-E407.

Dumba$$'s don't understand that by keeping it simple, it makes it personal for the consumer as well. They're naming products in a way for them to keep track of inventory, but who cares if that inventory isn't selling because something as simple as the name sucks?!

 

[MacQuest]

...do you really think that the iSight will be built in to every mac? including the desktop units? if so... then a lot of ball sacks are going to be the main focus of all video conferences...

I know that my sack, aka "coin purse" [ -Stewie Griffin from Family Guy] does most of my better thinking, therefore it deserves to be the ... ahem... focus [pun fully intended]... of my video conferences.

still that guy stating that he wanted to use the remote while the laptop was on his belly was hilarious. im lazy but not THAT lazy

I want a remote for my remote to control the laptop on my belly... and I'm tired of getting up to go to the bathroom.

Get to work on the iPee and iPoo, Apple!!!

Or MacPee/MacPoo.

 

[yankeefan24]

That computer in the first link is FAR worse looking than the MPB. Also, why would you need to use the IR if your computer is right next to you? I think it designed to be used from across the room while hooked up to your TV.

I don't know about front row, but can you use the arrow keys. Also, more things can block the IR reciever when its on the bottom vs. when its on the top of the screen. If something is blocking the top of the screen, then u can't see the screen. I know nothing about front row, but if you can use the arrow keys that great. I just feel that having the IR sensor on the top is better.

 

[MacQuest]

those Duo chips aren't cheap in any configuration ( single or dual ).

Duo chips come in a single configuration?! Now that's just silly...

I'm sure you meant those Core chips...

 

[ChoMomma]

I don't know about front row, but can you use the arrow keys. Also, more things can block the IR reciever when its on the bottom vs. when its on the top of the screen. If something is blocking the top of the screen, then u can't see the screen. I know nothing about front row, but if you can use the arrow keys that great. I just feel that having the IR sensor on the top is better.

Hmm I was really hoping that they wouldn't use IR for the remote.. but bluetooth instead. Just so line of sight wouldn't be an issue and the range would be better. But for now the one on the iMac seems to work well. I wonder if I can use the IR from my cell phone to sync with my iMac .. hmmmmmmmmmm...

 

[mrgreen4242]

For all the people griping about a Core Solo ibook being a dog with Rosetta... I don't think Apple is going to go after people who need to run high requirement legacy applications, like PhotoShop for example, with this sort of computer.

It'll be aimed squarely at consumers for whom Safari, Mail, and iLife cover 80% of their needs. The sort of person for whom PS Elements is abotu as high end as it gets. Plus, by the time these are released a lot of the smaller products, and more of the larger ones will be Universal.

My guess is that the iBook line (12 and 14") will be replaced by a single 13.3" widescreen model (as in the rumor), and there will be a 12" MBP launched about the same time (within a month).

I'm gonna guess specs/Prices something like...

iBook 13"
1.67ghz Solo
512mb STD/1.5gb MAX
60gb 5400rpm STD/100 OPT
x700-esque GPU 64mb VRAM (maybe 128 as an option or if we are lucky std)
Combo STD/SD OPT
iSight, Front Row ready (remote for extra $)
$899 for base model (512/60/Combo/64mb VRAM)
$1099 for higher end (768mb/80/SD/128 VRAM)

MacBook Pro 12"
1.67hz Duo
512mb std/2gb max
80gb std/120gb opt
x1300-esqu GPU
64/128mb VRAM (depending on model)
iSight, Front Row w/ remote
SD standard

$1399 for 512/80/Combo/64mb VRAM
$1599 for 1gb/100/SD/128 VRAM

 

[iEric]

I WANT A NEW iBOOK DESIGN.

AMEN to that!

 

[AidenShaw]

Actually intel doesn't really make core solos. The available core solo is a duo where one of the chips is disabled afterwards. So productions costs are the same.

Not quite true in the sense that you imply.

True that the Solo started out with the potential to be a Duo....

It's better to characterize the Solo, however, as a Duo that only had one correctly functioning CPU, or maybe too many defects in cache.

Intel can, after the fact like you say, disable the defective CPU and/or defective cache - and sell the chip as a solo. (They don't need too many part numbers, so a chip with two good CPUs and defective cache would be downgraded to a Solo, not sold as a Duo with half cache.)

So, instead of throwing the chip with defects in the trash, they can sell it to Apple for the iBook.

The same thing is done with Celerons (and Celeron Ms) - a Pentium 4 chip (or Pentium M) with defects in cache, or one that won't run quite as fast, has half the cache disabled and is sold as a Celeron (or Celeron M).

It's a great way for Intel to increase the effective chip yield.

 

[Elrond39]

Its too bad it wasnt his idea.

It's true, many times things are not original...

 

[Mal]

I'm gonna guess specs/Prices something like...

iBook 13"
1.67ghz Solo
512mb STD/1.5gb MAX
60gb 5400rpm STD/100 OPT
x700-esque GPU 64mb VRAM (maybe 128 as an option or if we are lucky std)
Combo STD/SD OPT
iSight, Front Row ready (remote for extra $)
$899 for base model (512/60/Combo/64mb VRAM)
$1099 for higher end (768mb/80/SD/128 VRAM)

MacBook Pro 12"
1.67hz Duo
512mb std/2gb max
80gb std/120gb opt
x1300-esqu GPU
64/128mb VRAM (depending on model)
iSight, Front Row w/ remote
SD standard

$1399 for 512/80/Combo/64mb VRAM
$1599 for 1gb/100/SD/128 VRAM

Now that's an idea that's both reasonable and enticing. I would buy that $899 laptop ($799 edu?) in a heartbeat, and I'm sure just as many people would jump at $1399 or $1599 for a MacBook Pro 13" like the one you described. I think Apple may surprise us though, with something we never expected, though not anything that'll make people looking at a MacBook Pro turn their heads and think twice.

jW

 

[milkaxor]

i know! i was like...uh....wait.....huh?
and again....uh wait...huh? you seemed to have joined ranks with the person stating that he wants to use the remote while the laptop is sitting on his belly. do you really think that the iSight will be built in to every mac? including the desktop units? if so and apple agrees with you, than a lot of ball sacks are going to be the main focus of all video conferences, meaning that a lot of desktop users have their macs below their desks.

Uhh, what? iSight is built into the top of the lid on the MBP, so it will be looking directly at your face, since it is above the screen. Same goes for the iMac. I don't see it as too much of a far fetched idea for apple to build iSight into their next revision of monitors. So that powermacs and minis will be able to take advantage of them. I am curious to know where you think they would have put the cameras.

I'm gonna guess specs/Prices something like...

iBook 13"
1.67ghz Solo
512mb STD/1.5gb MAX
60gb 5400rpm STD/100 OPT
x700-esque GPU 64mb VRAM (maybe 128 as an option or if we are lucky std)
Combo STD/SD OPT
iSight, Front Row ready (remote for extra $)
$899 for base model (512/60/Combo/64mb VRAM)
$1099 for higher end (768mb/80/SD/128 VRAM)

1.33GHz PowerPC G4
512K L2 cache @1.33GHz
512MB memory (DDR333 SDRAM)
12.1-inch TFT Display
1024x768 resolution
ATI Mobility Radeon 9550
32MB DDR video memory
40GB Ultra ATA hard drive
Combo Drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
Built-in AirPort Extreme
Built-in Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
Scrolling Trackpad
Sudden Motion Sensor
$999

Above are your proposed specs and the current iBook specs. Why would they offer you considerably more computer for less money. The logic just doesnt' make any sense to me. Apple isn't saving oodles of money by switching. Also, the initial investment costs a lot more. Why would they suddenly start dropping prices when they have held, and sold well, at their current spots for over a year now.

 

[Norse Son]

At least we're commenting on a more reliable rumor...

If this was a rumor from one of Think Secret's daydreaming, I'd be much, much, MUCH more skeptical... They've really bloodied their nose in the past year.

I still hope there is room for a 13" MacBook Pro at $1499..the MacBook should retain its $999/1299 price tag. Main drawbacks to this will be:

Intel Core SOLO processors
X1300 Chipset w/ 64Mb VRAM
Possibly retain CDRW/DVD Combi on the cheaper model
FrontRow ONLY with no iSight on any of the models
No Modem built-in, and despite rumours I'm still betting bye bye to firewire..

Advantages will be:

Old PowerBook quality displays (finally)
Retain Airport and Bluetooth
Better form-factor and newer software (iLife 06..dunno if its currently bundled with the iBooks)
Same Prices

The MacBook Pro 13" should come with a Duo Processor and iSight and 128Megs of VRAM (X1600 I think is too farfetched for a $1499 computer with a Core Duo and iSight built in)

Remeber folks, lets not dream..this is Apple they always seem to 'think different'...even to the consumer

Well, I believe it will get the 1.6GHz Core Solo - that chip was on Intel's newest pricelist (post-CES & pre-MWSF). However, if the iBook-Intel won't appear 'til around March-April, I'd think that by then Intel will have the 1.83GHz Core Solo, as well. So we could see two differently-specced iBooks (I still have a gag reflex on "MacBook Pro").

So, if Apple wishes to make a bold statement with the Intel-powered iBook, it will likely be as follows (approx.):
• $999(US) MacBook/iBook/iMacBook 1.6GHz Core Solo: 13"WS, Intel Integrated Graphics (64MB shared), 512MB DDR2, 60GB ATA-133 hard drive, Combo Drive, Centrino 802.11g, Bluetooth, 2 @ USB 2, 1 @ FrWr400, iSight, FrontRow, PhotoBooth, iLife '06...
• $1,299(US) MacBook/iBook/iMacBook 1.83GHz Core Solo: 13"WS, Intel Integrated Graphics (128MB shared), 512MB DDR2, 80GB ATA-133 hard drive, SuperDrive, Centrino 802.11g, Bluetooth, 2 @ USB 2, 1 @ FrWr400, iSight, FrontRow, PhotoBooth, iLife '06...

I mean, face it, it doesn't matter if there's a "mere" $20 difference between the 1.6GHz Core Solo & Core Duo... Consumer notebooks have no realistic and/or practical need (at this time - by or at next MWSF) for a dual-core cpu. The Core Solo reads like it's twice the chip the ancient G4 is. Also, a Core Solo would have better energy useage than the Core Duo, which means Apple could use less-heavier-duty batteries, further slimming the cost. S-ATA is on the Napa chipset, but (yet again) the iBook's target market does not truly need that extra "oomph". And with regards to the Intel Integrated Graphics, it sounds like they are quite good - perhaps on par with the "legacy" gpu in the present iBook, maybe even better, definitely cheaper to incorporate.

Bottomline: Apple will try to wow us with the new iBook/whatever. Performance is only part of the equation. They may want to shave a hundred bucks off the price of each configuration - let's face it; $999 is a grand, no matter how you try to whitewash it... And if any of you dreamers out there think that Apple can afford to put a dual-core Yonah & ATI Radeon X1600 128MB in a $999 notebook - look how much the PC crowd is charging for their Core Duos... If you need all those bells & whistles, time to lift the couch cushions for spare change to buy a MacBook Pro.

And in regards to a Core Duo MacBook Pro 13" - I agree. For many people a sub-note or ultra-portable suffices. And there needs to be a pro model smaller than the 15"... I'm just not wild about one myself - I can only afford one Mac every 3-4 years.

 

[TheMasin9]

consolidation

im glad they are finally consoidating the line. i think having two separate models with virtually the same system (sans superdrive) was stupid. having a 14 inch model with the same resolution as the 12 was just dumb, the only difference was the optical and hd. glad to hear the 13.3 is going to be widescreen. it had better have a 64 vid card at least.

 

[mrgreen4242]

Uhh, what? iSight is built into the top of the lid on the MBP, so it will be looking directly at your face, since it is above the screen. Same goes for the iMac. I don't see it as too much of a far fetched idea for apple to build iSight into their next revision of monitors. So that powermacs and minis will be able to take advantage of them. I am curious to know where you think they would have put the cameras.



1.33GHz PowerPC G4
512K L2 cache @1.33GHz
512MB memory (DDR333 SDRAM)
12.1-inch TFT Display
1024x768 resolution
ATI Mobility Radeon 9550
32MB DDR video memory
40GB Ultra ATA hard drive
Combo Drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
Built-in AirPort Extreme
Built-in Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
Scrolling Trackpad
Sudden Motion Sensor
$999

Above are your proposed specs and the current iBook specs. Why would they offer you considerably more computer for less money. The logic just doesnt' make any sense to me. Apple isn't saving oodles of money by switching. Also, the initial investment costs a lot more. Why would they suddenly start dropping prices when they have held, and sold well, at their current spots for over a year now.

Uh, cuz that's how the computer industry works? You get more for less money every time there is a system update.

$2299 - 933Mhz G4, 60GB, SuperDrive, GeForce4 MX, 256MB

$1999 - Dual core G5 @ 2ghz, 512MB, 160GB, SuperDrive (double-layer), NVIDIA GeForce 6600 LE with 128MB

Why would Apple sell this G5 for LESS than the significantly slower G4?

 

[Norse Son]

PowerBook 100 had a 68030 in it - not a PowerPC...

It seems like every other person posting here has some kind of psychological problem with the new laptop names. Why?

Is it mysticism over previous names? Because names change with product changes. Doi. And "Power" is kind of retarded if it doesn't run on a PowerPC chip.

... Jobs said he wanted "Mac" in the name... it IS the biggest part of what sets them apart, ain't it?

I just don't get it. Macbook seems like a good name to me - Macintosh + Notebook = MacBook... There is already a bias against Mac users in that some people consider them to be marked by irrational behaviour and thinking...let's not further it along by having emotional attachments to product names...

The very first "true" Mac laptop - not that luggable crate the Mac Portable - was the PowerBook 100, designed for Apple by Sony. It was powered by a Motorola 68030. The later PowerBook 540 had a 68040. Neither of those chips was a PowerPC. So you see, the name PowerBook predates PPC. That's why so many Mac fans are attached to the name.

Yes, I figured there'd be some kind of name-tweaking with the change to Intel, but I felt PowerBook was a "known entity"... And MacBook Pro still doesn't roll off the tongue quite as easily (or as sexily & authoritatively) as PowerBook.

As for Mac users being marked as displaying irrational behavior and thinking... Well, I'd say the same about 90% of the world that invests - no, "dumps" so much time, effort, money, anxiety & stress into a rickety, viral, bug-ridden and swiss-cheesed-security mess that is Windows... But, hey, they do, and in droves. So if you can give all us irrational Mac users a rational - I mean it, I want rational! - explanation for that, then I'll start a mantra of "Mac-Book-Pro, Mac-Book-Pro, Mac-Book-Pro, Mac-Book-Pro, Mac-Book-Pro, Mac-Book-Pro, Mac-Book-Pro, Mac-Book-Pro,..."

 

[mrgreen4242]

im glad they are finally consoidating the line. i think having two separate models with virtually the same system (sans superdrive) was stupid. having a 14 inch model with the same resolution as the 12 was just dumb, the only difference was the optical and hd. glad to hear the 13.3 is going to be widescreen. it had better have a 64 vid card at least.

Ya, the only thing that ever turned me off the 12" iBook was the no SD option. I think it was just a ploy to get people to buy 12" PowerBooks; something Apple is famous for that I hope stops (or at least decreases) with the Intel transition, with a greater variety of CPUs and other hardware available to them.

Something I was just thinking about was how everyone seems to be sure that they will be using a Yonah chip in a 13" iBook. The Pentium M is a great CPU still, with life left in it. The price for a decent Pentium M seems about the same as a Core Solo, so I can't see any reason they would use anything but that... unless they use a Pentium M Celeron...

This was mentioned earlier, and while it would probably keep me from buying one (I'll likely wait till the second generation anyway), it wouldn't be all that bad. A 1.6ghz Pentium M Celeron is about 25% less than a Core Duo, and may make it possible to get a decent GPU (with healthy VRAM levels) into a significantly-sub-$1000 laptop...

 

[Norse Son]

The G4s never had options like the Intel's, that's why

Thats what I was thinking, or they could up the MacBook Pros to 1.83 and 2.0 and then put the Low voltage CoreDuo 1.67 in the iBook(MacBook, whatever). The price points on the processors may have gone down a little bit especially if there is any speedbumps from intel. There has never really been that much of a speed difference(processor wise) between the iBook 14" and the Powerbooks. Right now the fastest iBook is at 1.42ghz and the Powerbook is at 1.67ghz, only a 250mhz difference. Powerbook has always been single core and so has the iBook, so I doubt if theyll try to differentiate the lines that way. Theyll prolly use a small difference in processor speed and other added "pro" features to differentiate as they have in the past.

Moto only had a single-core G4 that barely improved over the, what, 5+ years Apple's been stuck with it. That's why the iBook moved from the then-plateued G3 to the G4. But when IBM's G5 didn't make the cut for a laptop, that meant Apple was stuck with marginal increases in the G4. So when the iBook had no choice but to move to the G4, Apple had no choice but to see the speed-differential between the iBook & PowerBook slowly erode.

That is no longer the case with the move to Intel. So the argument that there's "always" been a small speed difference between the two doesn't hold a gram of water now. The MacBook Pro (there, I said it without the gag reflex) will receive the Core Duos, at low to mid-range for now, then "bumping up" when the 17" (and 12/13"?) versions finally ship later this Spring. But I've read that Intel doesn't expect Yonah to surpass 2.33GHz before Merom debuts, so don't expect a series of speedbumps, maybe just one.

And, grab your hankies now; the iBook will receive the Core Solo - which is by no means a "crippled" cpu or machine - that's like saying the first PowerBook G4s were crippled, even quadrapolegic, because they had a lowly 400 & 500MHz G4 in them, far beneathe the current iBook's 1.42GHz... The soonest Apple even needs to consider giving the iBook a Core Duo is around MWSF '07, when all the MacBook Pros will have (likely) transitioned to the 64bit Merom. Same "crippled" myth-debunking goes for Intel Integrated Graphics, 4200 or 5400rpm hard drives, etc...

Listen closely, "It's supposed to be a low-end consumer laptop, not a supercomputing Unreal Tournament screamer!"

 

[gregarious119]

Flash Card Readers

Has it ever caused anyone to pause that Apple hasn't included any type of Media Card reader in any of their new form factors? For as much as they're pushing iLife, I thought for sure they'd start integrating some sort of multi-reader into new case designs.

I know that most new camera's have USB 2.0, but even my 1.5 year old Canon Digital Rebel still runs on USB 1.1, and there's no WAY you'll catch me downloading my RAW pics off using that.

Anyway, just pondering...Anyone care to start this rabbit trail?

 

[hulugu]

It seems like every other person posting here has some kind of psychological problem with the new laptop names. Why?

MacBook Pro just seems like the result of an insistence to change rather than creating a necessary or important change.

Is it mysticism over previous names? Because names change with product changes. Doi. And "Power" is kind of retarded if it doesn't run on a PowerPC chip.

There were more than 10 models of Powerbook before the PowerPC was even introduced in these machines. So, Power never refered to the chip, but was just a name.

Is it that you don't like Macs? Jobs said he wanted "Mac" in the name of Macintosh-running products, and I think he's right - it IS the biggest part of what sets them apart, ain't it?

The insistence on putting the word 'Mac' creates a wierd naming system:
Powerbook = MacBook Pro
iBook = MacBook
iMac (G3, G4, G5) = iMac
Mac Mini = Mac Mini?
Powermac = MacMac/MacPro

I just don't get it. Macbook seems like a good name to me - Macintosh + Notebook = MacBook. Better than Sony T-Series X12951 or whatever crud the competition calls their poop.

I'm glad with Jobs' return he rid the company all the different models and simplified the lines to what we have today. Apple's naming system works.

The other day I saw someone's signature that said "I'll NEVER call it a MacBook" or something...you know, that's just plain irrational. There is already a bias against Mac users in that some people consider them to be marked by irrational behaviour and thinking...let's not further it along by having emotional attachments to product names. I am sure the average Mac consumer doesn't really care that much about the name, MacBook versus PowerBook. Any other company could have chosen to call their machine a powerbook. At least MacBook is distinguishing!

I'll pretend that Windows users don't have their own irrationality and websites that celebrate the greatness of Gates, but this site is not a PR site, not for the aveage user to come and see how well-mannered all we Mac users are, this is for people to talk about, bitch about, and sometimes praise Apple and its products. And no, another company couldn't call their machine a Powerbook because Apple has been calling their laptops Powerbooks for a long time. This is similar to IBMs Thinkpad, if you know anything about computers, you know what a Powerbook is.

 

[Stella]

Duo chips come in a single configuration?! Now that's just silly...

I'm sure you meant those Core chips...

Intel will release Single core chips ( sorry if i called them duos... ) and they aren't that much cheaper than the Duos.

On another topic.. ( not targeted to you, MacQuest ) I really wish people would stop whining about the name MacBook / Pro. Its a name, get over it. Get a Life.

Seriously.

 

[beatle888]

I know nothing about front row, but if you can use the arrow keys that great. I just feel that having the IR sensor on the top is better.

i understand. it was just funny hearing the guy say he wanted a remote for a laptop that he uses while it rests on his lap (or was it belly?).

 

[nataku]

Honestly, I don't think that the next iBook (MacBook without the Pro) will feature a dual core processor. Besides, most iBook users are people who have iMacs, dual core if Intel version, and college students. I do believe that they will use Core-Solo to keep prices down, also, it has enough power to do multimedia tasks without all the bells and whistles of a Pro-grade machine. However, if they do use Core-Duo chips, it would be at lower clock speeds, which might not be advisable (ex. the G4 vs. G5 on a laptop. G5 is technically better but realistically sucked because of the lower clock speeds.) iSight... I would definitely say yes to that. FrontRow, gee.. I don't think looking at a 12/13/14 inch screen, widescreen or not, all the way from the couch, would be a nice thing to do but considering Apple's current lineup, it would be sad to see the next iBook be the only one without FrontRow.

 

[dornoforpyros]

well if the macbook pro has a dual core chip & the macbook just has a single chip than it would actually make a big difference between the two lines for once.

 

[danielwsmithee]

Which would they choose?

Has it ever caused anyone to pause that Apple hasn't included any type of Media Card reader in any of their new form factors? For as much as they're pushing iLife, I thought for sure they'd start integrating some sort of multi-reader into new case designs.

I know that most new camera's have USB 2.0, but even my 1.5 year old Canon Digital Rebel still runs on USB 1.1, and there's no WAY you'll catch me downloading my RAW pics off using that.

Anyway, just pondering...Anyone care to start this rabbit trail?

There are too many formats. I could see if every camera used the same type of memory. I can't see Apple putting 8 ugly wholes on a machine when only one is used.

The external readers available are great for that sort of thing. If you are getting the new MacBook Pro an Express Card based reader will be along soon enough.

 

[danielwsmithee]

Line UP

The way I see apples line up.

MacBook mini -
This is the new 12 PowerBook. But it is now using a 10" WXGA screen, 2 lbs, and the new Ultra Low Voltage Core Duo CPU. Price ~$1400

MacBook -
The iBook replacement 13.3" widescreen economical. But there is an option to upgrade to dual core. Price $999 and $1300

MacBook Pro -
Current 15" offering will be upgaded to 1.83 -> 2 Ghz same price points.

MacBook XL -
Top of the line 17"