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MacBook and MacBook Pro Unpacking, Disassembly and First Impressions

Sanchez27 said:
I went in early this morning to the Apple Store in Glasgow to buy the new MacBook. Opens at 9am and i was there at 9.50am. Walked up to one of the employees:

Me - "Hi, I would like to buy the new MacBook please."

Rep - "Um, have you booked a personal shopping session?"

Me - "No I just thought I would buy one seeing as I'm like the only guy here."

Rep - "Well we aren't selling them to just anyone, unless you have an appointment I can't sell you one."

Me - "Hang on, so you have them in stock?"

Rep - "Yeah, about 40 units."

Me - "So why can't I buy one, I've got cash on me now?"

Rep - "Cos we can't sell them to anyone like I said, I can book you an appointment for early next week"

Me - "Nah mate, just forget it. If you don't want my money I'll just go and buy a PC"

I've waited since June for a MacBook and to be treated like a piece of dirt by those guys is unforgivable. Thank you Apple for the iPhone but I won't be buying any more products from you if your gonna treat people like this!! :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

I posted this on another thread, but had to post it again cos I'm so mad and people should know before being confronted with rude staff.
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Then you go up to the next employee and say "You want to make a sale in less than a minute?"

If that doesn't work, you go up to manager.

I walk into the Apple store and am done with all sales within 10 minutes. The longest was activating our iphones, and that was because the Verizon jagos didn't want to give up my account info.
 
Pro Upgraders Perspective

For some one considering an upgrade from the previous 2 generations MBPs (Merom, Penryn), this update has little to entice.

Reason for potentially considering the upgrade is seemingly only one -
1) Relatively more durable due to uni-body construction , new fresh look and feel

Reasons not to upgrade are plenty -

1) No improvement in battery life whatsoever
2) No to little improvement in graphics performance
3) No change in screen resolution
4) Reduction in number of available ports (given that the prev gens were already thin on ports and the new ones have one side completely unused - this sure is an odd design choice.)
5) New investment required for your DVI display (sure it may not be much to some but still it is an added headache for no perceived benefit)
6) NVidia chipsets are not proven reliable at least yet - they are new and Nvidia has said it is possible they will find problems - this is even more serious since Intel chipsets are very reliable
7) The dual graphics card feature offers little (my 8600M MBP has already got simlilar performance and rated as 5hr battery life) and requires a logout to switch display


So bottom line - only enthusiasts will want to upgrade - even new buyers will have to see if they can live with the 13.3 inch MBP which offers better value.
 
peterdevries said:
Do you see a professional photographer or designer buying a top of the line laptop and applying a 5$ piece of film on it? :rolleyes:

Me neither..
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those niches had it their way for years .. no make that decades ... it's refreshing to see Apple break up that elitist structures finally

after all what speak against letting another professional install a good anti glare film in front of it if he earns money with the system

sure better than crippling consumer products with intel graphics and combo drives (you can't apply a film to improve 3d performance)


it's better for apple to soly focus on consumer products than on half baked pro solutions: no blu-ray, no finger print scanner, no option for fire gl or other mobile CAD chipsets, no E-SATA, no dual video outs... oh wait that would include more professionals than apple professionals which include only photoshop, print and video cutting
 
TBi said:
Except the 9600GT has hybrid SLI which allows it to work with the onboard GPU to seamlessly and automatically switch between low power mode and high performance graphics on the fly without needing a reboot or logging out.

Which begs the question... why do you need to log out on the Mac?
Click to expand...
Using Intel's X4500 together with the nVidia 9600GT is even better because the 9400 isn't really a power saver but obviously Apple wanted to save some money.
 
For those mad at the lack of FW800/400 on new MB...

Maybe I am off base on this, but the two ports can work together...
here is a very cheap adapter solution...:

http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-TO-1394-FIR...39:1|66:2|65:12|240:1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

And there are others out there that are not as "cheap"... I really fail to see the belly ache that has been going on. The ONLY thing I can really get behind is the lack of fixing the graphics card in the 17" pro laptop. People who try and do 4k video editing or extremely large canvas on a 15in screen are just making themselves hurt.

Apple made the right call to have the 17" be the TRUE pro... now lets see apple fix them.

Cheers

-LP
 
KALLT said:
Outside? It's hard to see clearly, sometimes even impossible. I've had a laptop once that had a glossy screen. The most disturbing is the reflection, at it's worst when there is much black on your screen (like watching a film) or when the brightness is low (which is standard for me when not connected to a power adapter). I couldn't work at my desk properly (too much sunlight), so I returned it to the store. Then I bought one with a matte screen, and it was just perfect.

Last week I visited an Apple retailer and saw a MacBook and a MacBook Pro with a matte screen. There is a real difference between the two, mainly caused by the reflection. But I will see both of them myself in a few hours, then I decide if I can live with it.

By the way: here are some pictures. The last one let's you see how horrible a glossy screen can get. Isn't that disturbing? :(
Click to expand...

Invest in that company that makes the anti-glare film for the iPhone. Expect anti-glare film for the MacBooks... Is this as good as a matte screen? I couldn't tell you, but when I get my MacBook, I'll let you know.

What I'd love to see, since they are so close now. How about a 1499 13" MacBook Pro. Just take the MacBook and add FireWire 800 port and throw in a bigger hard drive...
 
radicalevan said:
What did you people do when CRT's were around? There are tons of anti-glare films and screens and coatings available. Why can't you use one of those, if you really can't stand it.
Click to expand...

Because it should be an option from Apple. CRTs had anti-glare screens too!
 
eXan said:
The lack of FireWire is saddening, but it could be much worse. And seriously, how many % of MB users need FireWire? I bet no more than 5.
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Anyone doing video editing is using FW because it works so much better. That's probably 20-30% right there.

But then there's Target Mode. That's probably 70%-- ANYONE migrating from an old Mac.

So total, probably 70-80%.

How do you plan on doing your migration? Are you going to reset all your settings from scratch? Copy all your data to a USB disk? Copy data over a LAN?
 
Compile 'em all said:
Stop comparing macs to PCs. You pay a premium for a well designed piece of machinery that runs one of the best unix variants out there. If you don't care for either then Macs are not for you.
Click to expand...

I do care for those two things, a lot. I also care to run my GIS software which MUST be run in a Windows envrionment. More processor = better in this case.

I'm torn while doing this switch because I'm debating between a better built product with a better built OS and one that simply has more horsepower and costs less money.

I have never had a problem with a Dell...never had a problem with a Lenovo/IBM...never had a problem (hold your breath) with Vista.

I think I would prefer OSX and a Mac and that's why I'm switching. I am not switching out of disgust. Therefore, if this machine I'm leaving to see in 5 minutes does not meet some very high expectations, I'm going to have to go for the horespower. I think Mac would have a much greater market share if this weren't the debate going through my head right now. If this weren't an option, if I didn't need to run GIS software, I'd be buying the MB for certain.

So, I understand your point but keep in mind that there are factors when choosing horse beside a pretty face and well built haunches (sp?).
 
flottenheimer said:
To all those of you who are complaining about the glossy screens:

Hold your breath for a couple of weeks, and you will watch a whole eco-system of 3rd-party suppliers offering "anti-glare matte film" with perfectly rounded corners for MacBooks, MacBook Pros and the new ACD.
Go buy one, apply it and enjoy your new wonderful piece of Apple hardware.

Now, could we move on, please.
Click to expand...

Sure, but applying a film, or just "moving the laptop" isn't a solution, it's a workaround. Don't get me wrong, I just ordered a MacBook Pro, but I have to say not offering a matte option seems like a step in the wrong direction. I'm baffled by it, honestly. I can understand that with the new design it might be more costly to produce, but at least offer as BTO. I'll pay for it. Like I said, I bought it, so I'll probably learn to live with it, but I'll continue to exercise my right to whine about it on public forums. :p
 
Laughingpain said:
Maybe I am off base on this, but the two ports can work together...
here is a very cheap adapter solution...:
Click to expand...

This will not work with a tape-based FW camcorder. USB is not isochronous, FW is. "Isochronous" means both ends share the same time base. Obviously this is needed when unloading data from a mechanical tape. I don't know if other FW devices will work but this surely won't.

Moreover, if you could use this with a FW based disk, you would surely lose the isochronous property, so you could not bulk download a FW camcorder to a FW disk attached to the MacPro via this adapter.
 
peterdevries said:
Do you see a professional photographer or designer buying a top of the line laptop and applying a 5$ piece of film on it? :rolleyes:

Me neither..
Click to expand...

Nope. The professional photographer or designer will go for the (imagined example) $35 razor-ultra anti-glare-proII film by 3M. It was reviewed on antiglaremac.com and recieved a top rating of 4.75 out of 5 stars.
 
salmon said:
I don't know how Apple does it, but they are consistently able to produce products that make me drool and "want". I don't do that with anything else (OK, except camping gear); I'm not a materialistic kind of person.

Up until yesterday, I had no interest in getting a new laptop. Now, I'm drooling. I'll be waiting until Snow Leopard is released, but maybe then...

I suppose I do know how they do it - paying attention to the little details. It makes all the difference.
Click to expand...

Hi Steve. How ya feelin' today ? :rolleyes:
 
Okay, I want to get one now...If my Apple Store does not have them in but they said they should have them in today, do you think they will be available to buy today?
 
mondesi43 said:
Then you go up to the next employee and say "You want to make a sale in less than a minute?"

If that doesn't work, you go up to manager.

I walk into the Apple store and am done with all sales within 10 minutes. The longest was activating our iphones, and that was because the Verizon jagos didn't want to give up my account info.
Click to expand...

You shouldn't have to talk to a different employee or manager to buy a freaking laptop. Boo to apple, that is inexcusable. There is no way to justify it.
 
tgildred said:
Sure, but applying a film, or just "moving the laptop" isn't a solution, it's a workaround. Don't get me wrong, I just ordered a MacBook Pro, but I have to say not offering a matte option seems like a step in the wrong direction. I'm baffled by it, honestly. I can understand that with the new design it might be more costly to produce, but at least offer as BTO. I'll pay for it. Like I said, I bought it, so I'll probably learn to live with it, but I'll continue to exercise my right to whine about it on public forums. :p
Click to expand...

Having to buy an external HD because the internal drive isn't big enough for your iTunes collection, having to buy a special keyboard overlay because the keyboard doesn't have the Final Cut Pro shortcuts stamped on them, having to buy a new mouse because you don't like the included Apple mouse, those are also workarounds. Modding/customization/workarounds is a big part of buying a new computer these days. Nothing fits everyone.

And to quote one of my earlier posts "Hold your breath for a couple of weeks, and you will watch a whole eco-system of 3rd-party suppliers offering "anti-glare matte film" with perfectly rounded corners for MacBooks, MacBook Pros and the new ACD. Go buy one, apply it and enjoy your new wonderful piece of Apple hardware".

Remember, this whole matte vs. glossy thing is not a black and white argument. Both have their own strenghts and weaknesses. Apple has chosen what they believe in. If you're not a believer, then a matte film should be able to make you happy as well. PS: I also just ordered a MBP today.
 
Baffles said:
You shouldn't have to talk to a different employee or manager to buy a freaking laptop. Boo to apple, that is inexcusable. There is no way to justify it.
Click to expand...
This misbehaving of one Apple employee justifies the fact that one should hate the whole company. True. :rolleyes:

It's apparent that this Applemployee got lack of communication skills. There must have been some proper reasoning why they don't sell their current stock to just anyone... but he made it sound awful, indeed. Hate him, not the company.
 
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