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MacBook and MacBook Pro Unpacking, Disassembly and First Impressions
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Do we have a definitive answer as to the 2.0 MacBooks having a backlit keyboard? I was just at my local Apple store and the guy told me they did, but that it was too light in the store so you wouldn't be able to tell.
Belive it or not, this is actually a dealbreaker for me if they don't have a backlit keyboard.
Belive it or not, this is actually a dealbreaker for me if they don't have a backlit keyboard.
I believe the more expensive one ($1599) does, and the $1299 model does not.
I was just over at the
Store on Boylston St (Boston) checking out the new machines at lunchtime. They are sweet. I like the bigger trackpad a lot, although clicking and dragging on the pad would take some time to get used to I think. I found myself subconsciously looking for the button to click. 
Yes, it's definitive: the MacBook 2.0 Ghz does not have a backlit keyboard. Only the 2.4 Ghz version has one.
DV video is a well-established, proven standard, and there are many still in use.
Aside from the ability to use DV camcorders, including those of others while traveling,
I have 6 external drives. Of those 6, one is firewire only, and 4 are firewire/USB 2.
Firewire backups and file transfers are MUCH faster than USB. I have DVD burner in
a firewire case that I use with my MacBook and iMac, since it burns more than
twice as fast as these built-in burners. I use Target Disk Mode often to troubleshoot
and/or update older machines, especially pre-USB 2 machines.
I would gladly trade one of my USB ports for a firewire port. Again, my 400 Mhz iMac
from 2000 can do all of the above - the new MacBook cannot. This is a HUGE step backward.
I am in the exact same predicament. My 12" powerbook is going on 3.5 years, and I was going to wait until this coming summer to update it. HOWEVER, I do not want to be stuck with the new macbook pro in its current form after seeing it in the store. So do I buy the old high end 15" for $1600 with the educational discount (which is a fantastic deal), or wait and see if apple listens and offers what we want in the new generation? I don't *need* a new laptop yet, but will within the next year.
I just got back from my local Apple Store, and though I was, at first, disappointed by the case redesign after I saw the pictures, let me tell you that in person they blow you away. The case is infinitely more solid, everything feels more polished, and the black around the screen does NOT look gaudy or unprofessional ie HP, and I actually love the chicklet keys compared to my current MBP keys. I am very satisfied with Apple on this, and would prefer it if my current MBP were out of date - I'd love to be upgrading now (or rather, when the 17" come out).
The Store was just updated about an hour ago... It's now confirmed that only the 2.4 GHz model has a backlit keyboard.
Why is it a deal breaker for you? A back lit keyboard is not a huge deal. There is enough light from the LED display to see the keys in a dark location.
I am in the exact same predicament. My 12" powerbook is going on 3.5 years, and I was going to wait until this coming summer to update it. HOWEVER, I do not want to be stuck with the new macbook pro in its current form after seeing it in the store. So do I buy the old high end 15" for $1600 with the educational discount (which is a fantastic deal), or wait and see if apple listens and offers what we want in the new generation? I don't *need* a new laptop yet, but will within the next year.
Look at it this way: a new (although old model) 15-inch MacBook Pro is very cheap at the moment, I bought mine with 4GB of RAM for less than 1500 euro (a new model MacBook Pro with 4GB of RAM costs almost 2000 euro).
This is also a great moment to sell your Powerbook 12-inch. I've seen offers of almost 400 euro's! If you keep on using the old Powerbook well into 2009 it might die on you and you've missed to opportunity to fetch a good price for it. It all makes sense.
I would say yes... Because the front side bus is 1066. Not all speed enhancements come from a processor speed bump.
++ ! There are many reasons to get the old MacBook Pro as I wrote in my posts earlier - the glossy screen is only one of them.
I only hope that you did not buy the old one at store as Amazon is selling it for a hefty discount ($2499 one is for $1644) since y'day.
"Faster" is a tricky word to qualify. It depends entirely on what application(s) you are running. If what you do is CPU and memory intensive then the faster bus and memory speed of the new systems should perform better. But if what you do is heavily IO-bound you probably won't see any difference.
I just checked out one of the new macbooks at Best Buy. Amazing build quality. Solid as a... brick. You would not know the trackpad is glass unless someone told you. Even the screen/lid is very rigid as well.
The more i think about it, the macbook is a bargain. This thing is basically a macbook pro with some terrific new features, like the trackpad. I know it has a slower processor, but the GPU gains may negate that. I think most people, especially switchers could care less about the lack of firewire. I know that no one has ever plugged anything into any of the firewire ports on any of our three mac laptops. Have not needed to.
I recently went shopping for a windows laptop (for someone else...) while comparing these windows laptops I was struck by how very u-g-l-y most of them are. Flimsy, creaky, festooned with stickers and more ports and gee-gaws than anyone could need. This was especially true of the cheap ones. Some of the more expensive ones were OK, but none were even close to the class and build quality I saw today.
Bravo Apple.
Oh look, the stock price is up to about $100 again...
The more i think about it, the macbook is a bargain. This thing is basically a macbook pro with some terrific new features, like the trackpad. I know it has a slower processor, but the GPU gains may negate that. I think most people, especially switchers could care less about the lack of firewire. I know that no one has ever plugged anything into any of the firewire ports on any of our three mac laptops. Have not needed to.
I recently went shopping for a windows laptop (for someone else...) while comparing these windows laptops I was struck by how very u-g-l-y most of them are. Flimsy, creaky, festooned with stickers and more ports and gee-gaws than anyone could need. This was especially true of the cheap ones. Some of the more expensive ones were OK, but none were even close to the class and build quality I saw today.
Bravo Apple.
Oh look, the stock price is up to about $100 again...
No problem.
Here's an example of a Sony HD DV camcorder. It is not a pro model or anything but I am certain that it shoots excellent quality video and will output via USB 2.0.
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Sony-Handycam-HDR-SR11-60GB-Hybrid-Hard-Drive-HD-Camcorder-HDRSR11/sem/rpsm/oid/202873/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do?cc_fm=Featured+Item+Mod
Yes but like I have said previously - the MacBook is aimed at the consumer marketplace and as such this refresh is Apples pitch for the next couple of years.
increasingly the camcorder market in the consumer arena is USB based.
This is regardless of whether we like it or not - many switchers from the Windows world will be unaware of Firewire and this marketplace will form a large part of the sales the MacBook has to cater for. The device market in the Windows world is predominantly USB based so it makes sense that, if something had to give in the design of the new MacBook, that Firewire should get the chop.
Your setup sounds great but surely you don't expect Apple to keep supporting a technology, albeit a superior one, that has not made much impact in the consumer marketplace.
It's not like they removed it from the Mac Pro or the MacBook Pro - you do still have choices.
Very excited!
I just ordered my macbook yesterday. Should be getting it in the mail Monday or Tuesday!!
I just ordered my macbook yesterday. Should be getting it in the mail Monday or Tuesday!!
I'm getting a new MacBook sometime this week (or the beginning of next - dependent on FedEx's reliability on 2-3 day shipping.) I'm turning my old MacBook Pro into a desktop workstation. It has a better variety of ports while the MacBook has greater portability, but it isn't as limited as the MacBook Air.
Honestly, I can focus on the game and not the people. I give credit to the glossy screens on the old Game Boys with no back light for this ability.