brain21 said:
It *certainly* does not justify the huge jump in price! Too many people want the fastest CPU simply because it is the fastest. By how much, they don't care. In the end it really is for ego, personal gratification, & bragging rights. Big deal!
Not entirely, your argument is short sighted. I ordered the 1.8 GHz MBP. Why? When I buy a machine, I want the fastest available at the time because I expect longevity out of them. I know as time marches on the differences become small compared to the new hardware, but just for example, I have a 1 GHz Thinkpad that I paid extra for 5 years ago when I could have gotten a 700 or 800 MHz model. However, today a 1 GHz P3 running XP is just on the edge of usable, whereas a 7- or 800 MHz P3 is too slow for active use. When buying I consider what the delta in price for the best system is versus upgrading to an entirely new system that much sooner.
FWIW I'm not so sure about the 2.x GHz Yonah chips. IBM/Lenovo announced a new Thinkpad X60 at CES and I'd swear they had the 2.1 GHz chip, but their website today only lists the 1.67 and 1.83, same as Apple. So I think Intel may be backing off.
A dirty little secret of the chip manufacturing process, there really is no difference between a 1.67 and a 1.83 GHz processor of the same family. It's all in the mean time between failure when clocked at that rate. It just means the slower processor is more likely to fail when clocked at the higher rate so they sell it clocked slower. That's why overclocking works -- the chip CAN go faster but you decrease its lifetime and increase the chance of a failure.
So I'm guessing Intel planned to go as high as 2.1 GHz but maybe the MTBF is too high and they're backing off.
brain21 said:
8) Battery power - battery power is reported at 6 hours from what I've read. I imagine that being the best case scenario. I think 4-6 hours is probably a goot estimate when all is said and done. They are probably not hiding it, there is no great "it really has only 45 minutes of battery life, so lets just keep our mouths shut and ignore the issue" type of conspiracy going on at Apple. Since the MacBooks are not shipping till Feb. I would bet that have not yet done enough tests to make certain claims yet (you gotta test more than just one to get an accurate estimate). Calm down everyone. All is well.
I agree here; I was skeptical about the Yonah core, but again with IBM's X60 announcement at CES... The X60 is the ultraportable that replaces the X40, which I have. They are claiming a 30% increase in battery life X60 over X40, which already got 6-8 hours with the 8 cell battery. So apparently Yonah will do better than the last gen Pentium M did. Now IIRC the MacBook has a new battery type over the old PowerBook, HOPEFULLY this also means better battery life or why would they switch?
brain21 said:
9) No Modem - God, *who cares!?!* I know that some of you use dialup when travelling, etc.
Good riddance to the modem. The last two times I needed/had the opportunity to use a modem:
(1) In JFK waiting for a flight. Shockingly, no wi-fi access but they do have a dial-up bar. WTF? I have cable modem, I don't maintain a dial-up and the free ones like NetZero are gone. I desperately needed internet access, but who the heck do I call?
(2) In a Tokyo hotel that, shockingly, also did not have wi-fi access. They had dial up, but again, who am I going to call, let alone on the international phone bill?
brain21 said:
10) iSight & security - This is just silly. If you are in a sensitive area, esp. where an iSight could constitute a breach of that security, the simple fact that the laptop has Wifi is a FAR greater risk. Furthermore most places that have that kind of security (DoD, DoE, CIA, etc., etc.) won't let you bring the device in, period. I have been to the DoE visting. Neither myself nor any employees there are allowed to bring in laptops, cell phones, USB thumb drives, etc. And I can't get much further than the lobby!
Exactly... I know several people who worked for Lockheed Martin. You come in to your workspace scrubbed clean. They won't even LET you bring a personal machine, iSight or not.
On the other hand, maybe someone is worred about people with MacBooks in the bathroom, or looking up skirts in public...
