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And who still wants a polycarbonate MB? I think it should be aluminum all the way from now on...

Hey, I like my polycarbonate MB. I don't care for aluminum or other metal. This is much more transparent to wi-fi and gets better range from my experience.
 
I agree! They need to do away with that all-white poly shell! OR, if they insist on poly, bring back the BLACK!!!

Yep. The white models are horrible (as are the white keyboards) because they get very dirty very quickly. Black would make much more sense, especially now that the iMac is no longer white plastic either.
 
"Never ever buy a plastic computer again!"

These are the words repeated after you use the unibody Macbook pro...
I'm just saying.
 
I'll buy one but I hope they didn't lower the quality of parts to get the price down. Or maybe Apple is ready to flood the market with MACs and really show how crappy Dell/Windows is.

We'll have to see! Merry Christmas everyone!

LanPhantom

So so true!!!!

Proud owner of 24" imac at the mo and previous ibook G4 is just over 4 yrs old and still going

I needed a windows computer for my job as the software I need (NVIVO) is windows only, and I didnt like the fact the MBP 13 was glossy only, and in all honesty thought the current MBP line up were expensive for what they were, so plumped for a dell studio 1555 with a few bells ans whistles (bluetooth, backlit keyboard, blu ray, 9 cell battery, 8 gigs ram, 4 yr warranty)

Came to £1138

Arrived on wednesday, build quality was questionable, I had to do a full reinstall of vista on the first day because of a software problem (vista did not like the mcafee that was shipped with it and even after uninstalling, stuff like sidebar etc still wouldnt load), and the software they shipped for the blu ray also would not work properly and would not play some of my later Blu Rays, like The Dark Knight.

Patience went very quickly, refund arranged despite the best efforts of their call centres who can barely speak English, as soon as the £££ goes back in will look at a MBP.
 
Could the new macbook be more along the lines of the ibook?

Imagine the ibook, updated to today's tech. Multi-touch pad, sd card reader, ect, but at the same time a smaller footprint, say by 15%.

I'd be on that pretty quick.
 
People need to remember though, its a budget computer. Hell apple are tight enough re specs for your £££ with their higher end models.

Cant see beyond the existing Macbook specs (maybe a slight bump) at a cheaper price

Intel 2.26ghz Core 2 Duo
2GB DDR2 Ram (outside chance of 3GB)
NVidia 9400M
200-250GB HDD
Outside chance of a SD Card slot

For £649 UK price
 
Yes!

If they want to gain marketshare the way to do it is to drop the price. Apple makes insane profits, and lets face it - their hardware is overpriced by a couple hundred, especially laptops. I'm glad paying for the machine, but most people are not.

The number one reason people don't buy macs is because they're ''too expensive'' with a MPB for 1099 with student discount, i'm excited to see what they'll price the regular macbook at. Probably 899 or 749 for the base model which would be huge.

And people thinking the'll sacrifice on quality... what quality?!
Have you used a white macbook? The display is a piece of ****, the speakers suck and are super quiet, the plastic develops cracks all the time, etc.

Apple has the design going for them, but the parts they use are the same as everyone else and crappier on some apsects (display/speakers) I"m not talking about the new MBPs which are amazing.

There's nothing magical about the macbook (not pro) hardware, it's just a regular laptop that looks pretty and runs OS X. They could price it cheaper and hopefully they will.
 
october?

It must since because August and October seem to be the Mac Months coming up.. Well August is gone, but October could easily be the month!
 
Mini DisplayPort on the new MacBook?

Do any of you here think the new MacBook will have Mini DisplayPort?

(Just in case you want to know why I'm asking, it's because that will be the deciding factor for me since I want to run a 2560x1600 resolution on a 30" Apple Cinema Display. The current MacBook only has Mini-DVI which limits me to 1920x1200.)
 
Do any of you here think the new MacBook will have Mini DisplayPort?

(Just in case you want to know why I'm asking, it's because that will be the deciding factor for me since I want to run a 2560x1600 resolution on a 30" Apple Cinema Display. The current MacBook only has Mini-DVI which limits me to 1920x1200.)
I think it is certain that any redesigned MacBook will get mini DisplayPort. However, the current mini DisplayPort can't drive the 30" Apple Cinema display without using that wacky and seemingly always problematic mini DisplayPort to dual-link DVI adapter (which costs $100 U.S.). My suggestion would be don't do it unless Apple redesigns the 30" display to interface directly over mini DisplayPort.
 
Lowest prices often rules with the consumer. Will be good to see Apple an even better value proposition.
 
I'm thinking what they'll do is a plastic unibody enclosure. I'm not a materials engineer so I wouldn't know how they can make it 100% constrained every time (plastic deforms much easier than metal). Maybe a completely different plastic material? (Carbon fiber comes to mind but I'm guessing a big no when it comes to bean counters)

But I guess what we can expect is the buttonless trackpad (probably glass as well, but with a white enamel finish) Possibly a matte finish instead of glossy. Much lighter than previous generations due to some sort of unibody design. Enclosed battery. 1 inch or less than 1 inch design (I'm sure they won't make it too thin otherwise they'll be competing against the metallic 13inch)

And a big improvement on the industrial design to make it feel less bucky?
 
I agree but for some people they like the white. Options are good to have especially in the world of Apple.

I'm not a fan of the white but to each his own. Updates are good all around to me.

Yea I want colors. Why can't I have an Orange MBP? They make iPods like that....why can't they make computers that way?
 
And who still wants a polycarbonate MB? I think it should be aluminum all the way from now on...

For a computer that is handled roughly the polycarbonate is better than aluminum. It has better wifi reception. I am not sure gloss white is the best color for rough handling. How about matte slate grey to be closer in color to the MacBook Pro's. Related to another thread I just posted to, it would be exceptionally cool if an upcoming MacBook line had card readers in the side that could read SD, MS and CF in one compact rectangle. Similar to a Targus TGR-CRD-25. Kill the XD.

I have said this before, but Apple should release a SDK for camera file format standards.

Rocketman
 
It Needs...

In my opinion the updated MacBook should have color options. Not just white and black, they should add red, blue, and orange(or more) This would bring some fun back to Apple. Just white and black (really just white) is super boring and dull. I would love a color change and maybe a bit thinner design, with an LED screen! :D
 
For a computer that is handled roughly the polycarbonate is better than aluminum. It has better wifi reception. I am not sure gloss white is the best color for rough handling. How about matte slate grey to be closer in color to the MacBook Pro's. Related to another thread I just posted to, it would be exceptionally cool if an upcoming MacBook line had card readers in the side that could read SD, MS and CF in one compact rectangle. Similar to a Targus TGR-CRD-25. Kill the XD.

I have said this before, but Apple should release a SDK for camera file format standards.

Rocketman

I'm thinking that it will still be plastic (because of cost), but I wouldn't be surprised if they replaced the polycarbonate to a co-polyester. (Something like Eastman's Tritan) They can also claim "Bisphenol-A free" to score more Green points.

I think it'll be thinner and slightly narrower too.

They'll keep the iconic white, but colors could make a comeback.

Price drops to $899.
 
I'd really like to see a black Mac book again. It wouldn't hurt if it came with 4 GB of DDR3 Memory. Also the option of a matte screen would be nice. I'm not asking for much, just keep it under a grand. I mean after all it is a Mac book. :D
 
When I hear "Macbook" now, I have a hard time remembering that it only means the white one ...

Here's one to confuse you ... yesterday I went into one of the high street chain stores to look at their sale prices (only 5% off) and on the small Apple stand they had one each of the new white MacBook and 13" MacBook Pros, but right beside them was an older model white MacBook and older 13" aluminium MacBook (not "Pro") still being sold, and not that much cheaper. :rolleyes:
 
MacBook for the last time

Somebody mentioned continuous price reduction. What I know is that three years ago I purchased a MacBook for around £800 with 2 GHz C2D. It had an 80Gb HDD. Since then, I purchased several, most of them I either sold or returned. My last MacBook (Pro) is the same screen size (13.3"), also a Core 2 Duo with 2.26 GHz and a pathetic 160 Gb HDD. I paid not much less than £1000 for it. This time, I wasn't prepared to go for the most powerful 13.3" one. I already burnt myself with the first unibody prototype. Shame on Apple for it, by the way! No Firewire and mega-glossy screen, my a@@@!

In 2006, you could have purchased the mid-range Apple portable for less than what it would cost you today. Unibody construction is not that expensive. The cheap computer elements that you can find in several cheaper PCs can neither justify the price tag. Meanwhile, performance has hardly improved. I mean, a jump from 1.83 to 2.1 GHz as an entry level in three years is unparalleled! We've had budget laptops from 2004 with SD card reader, for Christ's sake! For Apple, it took a while. What's next for them? Proper screens in 2015? Optional Blu Ray in some models by 2013? Optional colours or finish when personal computers become obsolete? There is no denying that OS X is stable and visually pleasing. But it's not as capable for certain tasks as Windows is. I hate Finder, I hate iTunes, I want to do different things than these predetermined tasks for housewives!

I can completely identify with people who complain about the price and performance. But meanwhile, as a medium-term Apple-sufferer, let me tell you this - WAIT FOR YOUR TURN! WE ALL PAID HIGH PRICES FOR OUR MACS. I DON"T WANT ANYBODY PICKING UP BETTER COMPUTERS FOR A LOT LESS THAN WHAT I HAVE! Do you think we pay purely for performance? No, it's vanity, being snobbish and stupid enough to spend that kind of money on a tool. It might be an overpriced product, but what gives me some comfort is that apart from posers in public places, cafes and around universities, I (Also, I am locked in some softwares that don't run on anything else, so it has to be Apple hardware for me, unfortunately. Otherwise, I would become a switcher - from Mac to PC.)
 
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