i really dont mind the changes they made to the MB. The only thing i find stupid is it still costs 1k. They should only be charging 799 for the MB. I find it really stupid that they overcharge for a computer that is not even in the same league as 1k windows laptops. Also the excluding of an sd slot is blasphemy.
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The problem is that the differentiation is entirely artificial. The message is "professional users should buy professional grade machines, and plain old consumers should stick to consumer grade machines." Which granted is effective marketing because it gives Apple an excuse to remove features to lower the price or to increase the margin. And I bet there's more than a little ego-stroking going on. "Ooh, I don't want people to think I'm just a wee little consumer... I want them to think I'm a pro!"
But, in this day and age, these lines are more blurred than they ever were. Video editing was once truly the domain of the professional user. A home user could dub tapes between two VCR's and that was about it. Today, a skilled 11-year-old child can make videos that rival what professionals were putting out 10-20 years ago. Print publishing was once firmly rooted in big design companies. Today anyone can buy a color printer for $20 and churn out anything they want.
Server grade machines and the Mac Pro are firmly pro territory. I'm OK with that. Most home users truly don't need all that power (especially for that price). But the MacBook versus MacBook Pro? Purely artificial distinction. That said, I'm OK with that, but I think in this case the price differential between the MacBook and the Pro is not very compelling ($200).
Guess my next laptop is gonna be a Macbook Pro. The price point makes sense. Back when I got my Macbook, I got the $1199 model, which is now the 13 inch Macbook Pro. Back then my Macbook not only had IR, but CAME WITH the remote. It also had Firewire.
Gotta say I'm also not liking the lack of rubber tabs on the bottom.
Gotta say I'm also not liking the lack of rubber tabs on the bottom.
i thought apple was going to lower the price of this revision to $899, and with the changes they should have... now im thinking they want to keep it at the same point through the holidays since people will still be buying them strongly, then perhaps a price drop in Q1 2010. May never happen though. Apples sales figures are so good they dont seem to see a need to drop prices, but to cut things out that were part of their justification of the pricing scheme and then not lower the price does not really make sense...
Lack of FireWire : not bothered the only thing I have that has firewire is my external hard drive, and that's a crappy FW 400, not even compatible with my new iMac which has FW 800.
Lack of battery indicator: not bothered i can just look at the menu bar.
Lack of IR: that's a big deal, I like front row, if they included it in the Apple Cinema Display I could understand, but I don't think they do yet.
Lack of SD slot: nether use them.
Lack of battery indicator: not bothered i can just look at the menu bar.
Lack of IR: that's a big deal, I like front row, if they included it in the Apple Cinema Display I could understand, but I don't think they do yet.
Lack of SD slot: nether use them.
What a silly response, completely missing my point, using hyperbole to try and exaggerate what I said to make me look stupid, and then the typical 'spend more and get over it' closer.
I never stated it should have 'everything' the pro has, and you know that. But better to debate a straw man you invented, than a rational argument. The pro still retains the advantage of a completely different look, unibody aluminum, edge-to-edge glass, backlit keyboard, both thinner and lighter, firewire, and should be higher specced (cpu/hdd) by default (but isn't). Also, if we are to believe nitial reports, the pro screens are still better. I think thats enough different to justify the $200 difference in pricetag. SD didnt need to be on the chopping block, since I believe its one of those features that should be unified across their entire computer line. Like I said, my sister's $299 netbook has one. One can argue firewireis more of a 'pro' feature, thats not the case with SD.
My point stands, thats its a cheap trick at differentiation, that they really didnt need to pull. This doesnt directly affect me- I have a 15' pro. I just think they shoud have added SD to their list of standard features like bluetooth, wifi, USB ports, etc.
Its even worse with IR. Controlling itunes by remote falls under 'pro' now? Come on. They also lost tons of potential sales of their remote by chopping this one off, a very odd and cynical move.
IR port
Regarding the missing IR port, I wonder if Apple's next step is to make a bluetooth remote?
I don't think there's anything in this update that will have me upgrading from my 2.16ghz macbook. I was thinking to get a new one because my case is cracked to hell, but I'll look for other option for that.
The only think I would like is the new track pad, but I don't really need that. What we need is an app that will turn the iphone into a trackpad.
Regarding the missing IR port, I wonder if Apple's next step is to make a bluetooth remote?
I don't think there's anything in this update that will have me upgrading from my 2.16ghz macbook. I was thinking to get a new one because my case is cracked to hell, but I'll look for other option for that.
The only think I would like is the new track pad, but I don't really need that. What we need is an app that will turn the iphone into a trackpad.
The lack of infrared port surprises me given the new remotes. Are they now a "pro" feature too?
Before you know it, Apple will say it's too much of a pro thing for MacBooks, but people who use MacBook Pros are too "Pro" to want a remote. So eventually no one will have one.
Pretty much looks like an educational build / entry level price model...they made it easy to step to the next level once they have you "in the door." Smart move in my opinion.
They most likely will build on this "toilet seat chassis" for more affordable notebooks in the near future.
I want to see a teardown of the new iMacs, to see if they finally made it easier to do hard drive swaps.
The difficulty of swapping the hard drive (a component that fails often) is what keeps us from outfitting labs with it here.
The difficulty of swapping the hard drive (a component that fails often) is what keeps us from outfitting labs with it here.
Are you serious?? There's tons of apps for that.
Search 'Touchpad' on the appstore. It's the one I use, and its excellent. It's either 0.99 or 1.99.
The apologists here need to realize something: just because you don't use a feature, doesn't mean it won't be missed.
Two days ago, you could get a brand new Macbook with an IR port, external battery indicator, and firewire port. Now a brand new Macbook has none of these things, and only a case redesign and an LED display to make up for it at the same price. It's not that the Macbook has bee crippled, but you have to acknowledge that Apple has taken away value.
Part of the so-called "Apple Experience" is all the extras you get when you buy your first Mac. My first-and-only 2007 Macbook Pro came with lots of features I had never dealt with. Firewire 400 and 800, a battery indicator, an Apple Remote, DVI-out. Guess how many of those features I use today? All of them. The reason people buy Apple is to get something "more" than the typical PC, and since they are removing features from products, it seems Apple forgets that that.
Luckily you can still buy old machines refurbished.
Two days ago, you could get a brand new Macbook with an IR port, external battery indicator, and firewire port. Now a brand new Macbook has none of these things, and only a case redesign and an LED display to make up for it at the same price. It's not that the Macbook has bee crippled, but you have to acknowledge that Apple has taken away value.
Part of the so-called "Apple Experience" is all the extras you get when you buy your first Mac. My first-and-only 2007 Macbook Pro came with lots of features I had never dealt with. Firewire 400 and 800, a battery indicator, an Apple Remote, DVI-out. Guess how many of those features I use today? All of them. The reason people buy Apple is to get something "more" than the typical PC, and since they are removing features from products, it seems Apple forgets that that.
Luckily you can still buy old machines refurbished.
Because all of those things are so heavy, bulky and super expensive to build in
I get it, these are not crippling features. But when we used to be able to tell friends that one of the great features of mac's were that they came with not only the things you need, but also the extra nice touches then this becomes a bit bothersome.
IR Port - I know a lot of college students that liked this to watch movies etc. in their dorm rooms (hardly a 'pro' feature)
Battery light - Has saved me more hassle than I can even say, being able to hit the little button before powering up, nice for pros but also for students walking into a classroom where plugs may or may not be available.
FireWire - Nice for connecting devices, but also for helping fix stuff, transfer files, or booting off of another machine using Target disk mode. I'd take less USB ports and add in a FW port any day of the week.
Apple giveth and Apple taketh away, only to giveth if you can pay for it or wait long enough.
Seems like they're always adding things while taking things out. Only certain thing is some people will like the changes, but most people will hate them.
Hmm
I just went to have a look at one this morning, and while they do feel like the most tactile laptop I've ever held, I am not a huge fan of the glossy upper surface. It just isn't quite 'out-there' enough to be revolutionary in design and frankly looks awful when there are finger marks on it.
However, it is one snappy laptop, that's for sure.
I just went to have a look at one this morning, and while they do feel like the most tactile laptop I've ever held, I am not a huge fan of the glossy upper surface. It just isn't quite 'out-there' enough to be revolutionary in design and frankly looks awful when there are finger marks on it.
However, it is one snappy laptop, that's for sure.
The Camera Picks up IR
No recent mac has had a separate IR port. Instead, they use the camera to pickup IR. I'm sure the remote works just fine with the new macbook, just as it does with every other mac in the last few years, none of which include a separate IR port.
No recent mac has had a separate IR port. Instead, they use the camera to pickup IR. I'm sure the remote works just fine with the new macbook, just as it does with every other mac in the last few years, none of which include a separate IR port.
The things the MacBook is missing are the things its target audience would neither use nor care about.
People like us - who are into computers enough to be on a Mac forum - should just go for the MBP. We use our Macs for more than browsing and writing papers.
It's nice that you say that with such authority, but it's also completely false. No they don't use the 'camera to pick up IR'. My new 15' MBP has an IR port, as do all macs that can use the remote.
I understand what you're saying and for some people I agree but
My wife, my mom, and several others I can think of are not Techies or Pro's and make use of these three specific features on a daily bases.
They could actually do with less processing power rather then to go without these features. They don't want to pay more for the MBP and don't need all the extras the MBP has (Backlight keyboard etc.)
HAHAHA!!! I thought we were the only ones having that problem!!!
Our MacBook is kept in our living room on one of our shelves for easy access at that end of the house and everytime we go to watch our
TV the damn thing was turning on. I had to go in and turn off the IR on the MacBook. Tell you the truth, I have only used the remote on the MacBook twice and both were for work projects using Keynote. Other than that, nada....My personal opinion though is that if Apple is going to take away features, then the new MacBook really should have started at $899.
It is still a VERY capable Apple laptop, even without FW and IR. How many average college kids need FW in a laptop? They need something that does internet, email and word processing. This laptop is more than capable to be on the Facebooks and interwebs and still do iChat video (which is something Apple still needs to work on to make better. My wife and I couldn't iChat last night because the hotel she was staying at was using a network hub that was interfering with the video chat.)
The lack of the battery indicator bothers me though. I rely on that quite a bit so I don't have to open it up.
The best thing that you can do is let Apple know that you dont like what theyve done. Its worked before.
http://www.apple.com/feedback/macbook.html
Im really surprised they dropped Firewire again since they received so much hell for it last year.
I dont necessarily think dropping the IR receiver is the end of the world. If the rumors of a bluetooth Apple media remote are true (and they might as well be since rumors have been spot on lately), we wont need IR for much longer.
Maybe they planned on having that remote available by now and it got delayed? Its either that or Front Row is on life support.
http://www.apple.com/feedback/macbook.html
Im really surprised they dropped Firewire again since they received so much hell for it last year.
I dont necessarily think dropping the IR receiver is the end of the world. If the rumors of a bluetooth Apple media remote are true (and they might as well be since rumors have been spot on lately), we wont need IR for much longer.
Maybe they planned on having that remote available by now and it got delayed? Its either that or Front Row is on life support.
I apologize if my post was directly more broadly than at just yours. I too think it odd that there is no IR, but maybe the reasons remain to be seen (or not), and as far as the SD slot, it sucks that its not there if you want it, but they likely didn't have room for it and maintain their form factor. Obviously that sucks for some, but for others it is perfect. My point was that its not a cheap trick at differentiation, its differentiation and it has to cross some feature, unfortunately one of the features is one you want on the Macbook. Also, "pro" obviously don't designate it as a professional machine, its just a name at this point. You were bitching about lack of a feature that YOU want, so the only appropriate response is to either bitch with you, or tell you to get over it and don't buy it.
I may be a apple apologist sometimes, but only because I don't understand the point of bitching about something like a product. If you like it you like it, and well if not, I guess you come to the internet to complain about it, but don't expect apple to include every feature a $200 netbook has and you wont be disappointed. The Macbook is obviously not aimed at you.
Right, and that's it exactly.
Why do Macs have premium pricing? I thought part of the reasoning we always used was "Well it comes with everything you'll ever need to use". I remember a few years ago when we were doing a cost-comparison between a typical PC and a Mac, for example, you'd have to add in the $50 for an add-on Firewire card, because every Mac had one built in.
That doesn't seem to be true anymore.
Now, I will grant that prices have come down severely. I remember my 12" PowerBook G4 came in at well over $2500 when it was all spec'd out, and today most of the features that were add-ons then (SuperDrive, Bluetooth, Airport) are all standard features on $999 machines.
But the fact is that Apple takes away one or two key things every time it adds new stuff, and it's always some strategic "They took away WHAT?!" that causes us much anguish. Every single product release is always summarized by three words: "Awesome! Except... what?!" What bugs me is that they are clearly doing this intentionally, for purely marketing reasons.