March 1st as Possible Date for New MacBook Pros?

[Yinmay]

I thought Feb 20th was when intel allowed companies to start selling them and that they were already available for production?

Correct, Intel's official release date is for consumers only. Manufacturers have been receiving Sandy Bridge shipments since at least December.

It's really the same with pretty much every product launch. I'm surprised people even ask the question.

Same thing for example when a new version of Windows is officially released: on that day you can start buying the boxed version at your local retailer, and you can also already start buying computers with the newest version already preinstalled, i.e. OEMs have had it for weeks.

 

[aiqw9182]

Yes, but everything would be smaller - so, less scrolling, more squinting. No thanks. A 15" 16:10 display is physically taller than a 15" 16:9 display, so not only are you cramming in more vertical pixels, you have less physical space to put them, resulting in much higher resolution.

Until MacOS X gets resolution independence and UI elements are measured in physical size, not number of pixels, cramming more pixels isn't the answer. Just imagine if the iPhone 4 measured their UI elements in pixels rather than points - the buttons would be too small to click, and the labels would be too small to read. That's what we're trying to avoid on the desktop.

Another person who thinks a 10 DPI increase is end all be all. I'm willing to bet that you haven't even used a monitor at 140 DPI for you to tell if it was useable. Well I have (a 13" Sony laptop with a resolution of 1600x900) and the difference in UI elements and text is hardly noticeable between the high res 15" MBP. As it should be since the difference is only 10 DPI.

This is not even mentioning the fact that Apple could change the 15" to 16" which would result in only a 5 DPI increase over the previous 16:10 15".

Your iPhone 4 argument is irrelevant. This is a desktop OS, where you aren't using something like a finger to control it, you are using a pin point cursor and the amount of potential resolutions are endless. You are (conveniently for your argument) thinking that a slight DPI increase will make the machine unusable while this is as far from the truth as can be.

Actually I don't. On my desk at work, my MacBook is parked right next to my external display. I'm sure I'm not alone in this.

Congratulations, you are in the minority.

 

[cvaldes]

I thought Feb 20th was when intel allowed companies to start selling them and that they were already available for production?

That just doesn't seem likely. Intel only publicly disclosed that they had identified a problem with Cougar Point on January the 31st which prompted retailers to yank product from store shelves. It probably took a couple of weeks to retape the Cougar Point chipset. It just don't see how they could turn it around so fast as to let PC manufacturers ship product on the 20th.

Of course, there are perhaps other manufacturing corrections, not just a retape. I don't know what Intel did to correct Cougar Point.

That said, from some articles like this one from Cnet, it appears that manufacturers are pushing back ship dates to some unspecified time in March, so it appears that February 20th would not be the retail availability of the fixed Cougar Point chipset, but indeed wholesale (i.e., channel) availability.

 

[supasubu]

I highly doubt they remove the optical drive from the Macbook Pro... All of Apple's "pro" applications are CD based and can't see coming to the Mac App Store

I can't imagine the usefulness of an optical drive if Apple continues to pursue their app store hobby. Think about it.

 

[gnasher729]

For one, a 512 GB SSD is around 1000$ and Apple won't even have to pay that much since they buy in bulk.

So if a 512 GB SSD is $1000 retail, and Apple pays say half of that, what do you think will the end user pay for that SSD drive in their computer?

Hint: You can add a 512 GB SSD drive when you order a MacPro from the Apple Store; it will add $1400 to the price.

 

[mcmlxix]

If the Pro gets SSD, thinner, and goes without ODD, what would the point of continuing the Air line?

If this happens, perhaps they're rebrand, and the 11" 12/13" will rebranded MB and the 15" & 17" will be the sole MBPs. But then what would the differentiator between the MB and MBPs be?

I'm not so sure they will go without ODD this year. I expect they will next year after the Mac App Store is more robust, and people are more conditioned to get all their media via streaming and software via download.

Also what is Apple's history of refreshing their major product line only months before a new OSX release? Would it make more sense to release them simultaneously?

 

[aiqw9182]

I highly, highly doubt that Light Peak will ever take off. USB 3.0 is said to currently exceed the speed of Light Peak, which isn't even being produced yet, just developed. Light Peak will use fiber optic cable which is considerably more expensive than the type of cable used for USB.

From what I've seen, Light Peak offers slower performance than USB 3.0 at a higher price. No way would I want that on my machine. At least not yet.

USB 3.0 Max theoretical speeds - 4.8 Gbps
Light Peak - 10Gbps/100Gbps by 2020

So if a 512 GB SSD is $1000 retail, and Apple pays say half of that, what do you think will the end user pay for that SSD drive in their computer?

Hint: You can add a 512 GB SSD drive when you order a MacPro from the Apple Store; it will add $1400 to the price.

Hint: The Mac Pro was refreshed last July.

Also if Apple pays half of that then the consumer pays whatever Apple wants them to pay. Apple can do whatever they want with the price as long as its above what they payed for it they'll be making a profit. You didn't prove anything.

 

[apeman88]

MBP vs Air

My conundrum is that I really just want a 13" Air w/ a Sandy Bridge Core i series proc.

The optical drive, as many suggest, is barely used by a majority of users. Usage is probably dropping as well. I never use mine.

I don't need FW speeds: 802.11n, Gige, and USB are enough.

I plug into a display for long/serious work.

I really dislike carrying at 5.5lb + bag + power adapter around.

I don't need for than 256GB of storage. My music is stored on a media server in my house, which is the lion share of my data...

So, I may end up waiting for the next MBA refresh, and the C2D chip, which is slower than the 3+ year old MBP I am typing on...No way I am going to buy nearly 4 year old tech in a new machine...

Anyway, my .02

Ape

 

[cmaier]

Also what is Apple's history of refreshing their major product line only months before a new OSX release? Would it make more sense to release them simultaneously?

If I recall correctly, the unibodies came out in the First refresh AFTER leopard. (I was stuck with a Santa rosa MBP - the first model with Leopard pre-installed).

 

[dagamer34]

But the optical drive is about the only common element, and not the differentiation. It is the difference in processor speed, graphics, ram, HD size, body and many more that make the Mac Book not a Pro. To remove the optical drive is to take out a truly standard feature in 95% of all computers sold. And yes, I've heard the "but we said the same thing with removal of the floppy". But that was because it was replaced with a much higher capacity, better physical media. USB is good, but is not able to affordably replace a 8.5 GB DL DVD that I can get in bulk for 20 cents. And can't touch a 50 GB blu-ray (which Apple is the sole abstainer from). I have Adobe CS5 Design. Downloading that is still not a realistic option for most ISPs (not without doing it over-night), and that would be a lot of USB drives, or one expensive one. And some of the files I created, I am not going to share via email, ISP's are not anywhere near that yet for upload, nor is Mobile BB. You could use an entire year's upload with AT&T with just a few files

Casual users may be able to get by without the Optical, but to me, a "Pro" capability means being able to easily use pro software, author and distribute massive files to co-workers etc. And at times, Optical media is still hard to beat for affordability and capacity. (I recognize I don't set the "casual user" definition- so just an opinion)

In my opinion, a Pro laptop is going to be normally plugged in at a job-site anyway. Sure, you want the ability to work unplugged TOO, but I view that as the Air's position. Ultra-portable, ultra-light and long battery life gained through trade-offs such as no optical, SSD etc. But I don't imagine a lot of people spending the whole day at a desk using an 11 or 13 inch air as their regular "work computer" that is plugged in at home and plugged in at work, with a larger screen/work space. To me, a Pro computer should have the most capability crammed into it, and today, Optical is still a regularly used capability. But that is just me, can't decide other people's use of course, and don't want to offend anyone by saying what is or is not Pro"

Either use Remote Disc or buy a USB SuperDrive. When you take a look and see how much space the SuperDrive + HDD take up in a MacBook Pro, you can see why we'd want them removed. It's 1/2 the laptop!

http://guide-images.ifixit.net/igi/FkpKKrqQlYsgNBq6.medium

95% of people would probably rather have a laptop that can get 12 hours battery life than the ability to install Adobe CS5 ONCE.

And I'm not calling for the death of optical media, but there's little reason it needs to be standard in all laptops when most people don't use it besides DVDs (again, external SuperDrive is available for them).

 

[Dr Kevorkian94]

i dont think the removal of the optical drive will be welcome, but i think everyone will love the SSD and sandy bridge. just my 2 cents

its great not to have an optical drive it takes up space yada yada yada. but it is much easier to just keep it, no one wants to get a laptop and find out they either have to buy a drive or use another one. most of apples market is not geeks like u or me lol, it is the casual consumer. and the casual consumer is not up for using the external, super drive when they can get another and most likely less expensive laptop. also no one wants to load everything from there discs if they don't have to, and those with dvds they don't want to but the digital if the don't want to. so in the grand scheme of things the optical drive is better to have in the pro. the only reason it isn't in the air is because they wanted a designated thin light laptop and they will want to keep the separation between the regular laptops and the air.

 

[McGigio]

Something about change glossy screen to matte screen? I suppose still no. IMHO a screen like a mirror is not a "Pro" screen.

I hate that effect...

 

[fil3333]

Build a bridge and get over it!



The flaw wasn't in the CPU, it was in four of the six SATA connections supported by the chipset which, more likely than not, won't affect the 13" model and might cause slight delays for the release of the 15" and 17" models. No biggie.

yeah i know... but this could mean some 15" and 17" get SBQs and so they are slightly affected and the 13" gets the dualcore which aren't released yet, so they wont be affected... what do you think? just wishful thinking...

 

[powers74]

uh, OK

big news...

 

[dagamer34]

yeah i know... but this could mean some 15" and 17" get SBQs and so they are slightly affected and the 13" gets the dualcore which aren't released yet, so they wont be affected... what do you think? just wishful thinking...

All quad core mobile chips use 45W, something no Apple laptop has enough cooling for. You'll have to wait until 2012 for that.

 

[brownpaw]

First, I don't foresee Apple dropping the ODD. The only real reason to do that would be to make things more compact and have a much thinner notebook. However, that already exists, and it's called the Macbook Air.

Also, just because YOU don't use your ODD doesn't mean you can speak for a "majority" of the people...

However, the only possible way for the ODD to go is if they add more USB ports. A lot of external ODDs need to be plugged into two USB ports to draw enough power to work properly.

I also don't think that a resolution bump on the 13" is going to happen. When you bump that much, it's a pretty substantial increase on how much the graphics card is taxed in 3D applications. So the only way for this to happen would be with a discrete card probably, which I don't think will happen because that's the point of the 15" and 17" MBPs...

Clearly the MBPs are tiered in power based on size. If you could get the power of the 17" in a 13" then who would buy the 17"? Most times that you might need a screen that big to work, you'll probably be at a desk and could have a dedicated monitor.

I think you're not going to see any major changes to the 13" MBP except the addition of Sandy Bridge and then the removal of the current nvidia graphics.

In terms of real possibilities after that... I would put a Blu-Ray drive above the chance of SSD or any of that other stuff. But even then, it's not likely.

 

[fswmacguy]

USB 3.0 Max theoretical speeds - 4.8 Gbps
Light Peak - 10Gbps/100Gbps by 2020

Precisely. But by 2020 we'll likely have USB 5.0 at ~500Gbps.

If I remember correctly, people speculated we would have flying cars in 2000.

 

[bo-waleed]

What's about the imac ?

i already own MBP and i think it's imac turn now.

 

[jhall527]

I can't imagine the usefulness of an optical drive if Apple continues to pursue their app store hobby. Think about it.

I totally agree with this statement. I just don't think that it's the right time. There are many important applications that aren't available on the Mac App Store yet (like MS Office) and while you can still get most of these applications in a downloadable format from other places I just don't think that's the user experience Apple wants its users to have. Once the Mac App Store contains more of these applications I think it will be prime time for Apple to remove the optical drive as they can say, "hey, there's no need, we've got everything you want right here".

 

[aiqw9182]

Precisely. But by 2020 we'll likely have USB 5.0 at ~500Gbps.

If I remember correctly, people speculated we would have flying cars in 2000.

We aren't going to have to wait till 2020 though to get LightPeak, it will gradually evolve from 10Gbps. It's still on schedule for 2011 last I read.

Something about change glossy screen to matte screen? I suppose still no. IMHO a screen like a mirror is not a "Pro" screen.

I hate that effect...

Chances are the matte screen option will remain for $50.

First, I don't foresee Apple dropping the ODD. The only real reason to do that would be to make things more compact and have a much thinner notebook. However, that already exists, and it's called the Macbook Air.

I stopped reading there. Anyone that says this has zero credibility in my book. Does the Air have an as powerful CPU and GPU as the MBP's? Does the Air have a firewire or ethernet port? Is the Air expandable to 8 GB's of RAM? Does the Air have a 15" or 17" screen?

The added benefits of removing the internal ODD are endless. Discrete graphics in the 13". Dual HDD/SSD setup in the 15" and 17". Stronger internals. Better battery. Just to name a few possibilities.

 

[dagamer34]

First, I don't foresee Apple dropping the ODD. The only real reason to do that would be to make things more compact and have a much thinner notebook. However, that already exists, and it's called the Macbook Air.

Also, just because YOU don't use your ODD doesn't mean you can speak for a "majority" of the people...

However, the only possible way for the ODD to go is if they add more USB ports. A lot of external ODDs need to be plugged into two USB ports to draw enough power to work properly.

I also don't think that a resolution bump on the 13" is going to happen. When you bump that much, it's a pretty substantial increase on how much the graphics card is taxed in 3D applications. So the only way for this to happen would be with a discrete card probably, which I don't think will happen because that's the point of the 15" and 17" MBPs...

Clearly the MBPs are tiered in power based on size. If you could get the power of the 17" in a 13" then who would buy the 17"? Most times that you might need a screen that big to work, you'll probably be at a desk and could have a dedicated monitor.

I think you're not going to see any major changes to the 13" MBP except the addition of Sandy Bridge and then the removal of the current nvidia graphics.

In terms of real possibilities after that... I would put a Blu-Ray drive above the chance of SSD or any of that other stuff. But even then, it's not likely.

It's been said already that the MacBook Air is NOT just a MacBook Pro without a ODD. It's incredibly underpowered for any significant amount of work.

And Apple's USB SuperDrive requires only one USB port to function.

 

[G77]

New MacBook Pros

 

[aiqw9182]

OK, I kept reading and I wish I hadn't.

However, the only possible way for the ODD to go is if they add more USB ports. A lot of external ODDs need to be plugged into two USB ports to draw enough power to work properly.

Apple's external ODD uses one USB port.

I also don't think that a resolution bump on the 13" is going to happen. When you bump that much, it's a pretty substantial increase on how much the graphics card is taxed in 3D applications. So the only way for this to happen would be with a discrete card probably, which I don't think will happen because that's the point of the 15" and 17" MBPs...

13" MBA already has the 1440x900 resolution. Also the discrete graphics in the 13" still won't be as powerful as the 15" or 17" so this is completely irrelevant. What is relevant though is that Apple can only put discrete graphics in the 13" if they remove the ODD.

Clearly the MBPs are tiered in power based on size. If you could get the power of the 17" in a 13" then who would buy the 17"? Most times that you might need a screen that big to work, you'll probably be at a desk and could have a dedicated monitor.

Who made any reference to the 13" having the same TDP parts that the 17" has?

I think you're not going to see any major changes to the 13" MBP except the addition of Sandy Bridge and then the removal of the current nvidia graphics.

Well, get ready to be surprised.

In terms of real possibilities after that... I would put a Blu-Ray drive above the chance of SSD or any of that other stuff. But even then, it's not likely.

I lol'd.

 

[Bill.the.Cat]

New MacBook Pros

Is 200 forints to the USD a reasonable approximation? If so those prices are outrageous! (Even if they include some form of VAT)

 

[themacmeister]

For all you ODD proponents, Steve has this quote for you.

"If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses."
-H Ford