More MacBook LED and Santa Rosa Rumors

[kingofkolt]

Excuse my ignorance, but could someone please explain exactly what Robson does/is? I just looked on Wikipedia for info about it but it didn't completely make sense. Speaking of which, wikipedia says that Santa Rosa supports Robson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robson_flash_memory).

Intel has announced that the Santa Rosa platform and Crestline chipsets will support Intel NAND technology. This platform is slated to come out in the first half of 2007 to support Intel's Merom notebook PC processors.

So why is everyone saying only Penryn would support Robson?

 

[localoid]

Excuse my ignorance, but could someone please explain exactly what Robson does/is? ...

See Intel's pages on Overcoming Disk Drive Access Bottlenecks with Intel Robson Technology and Turbo Memory.

So why is everyone saying only Penryn would support Robson?

Err... dunno. Anyone with a CC can order a new Lenovo's new Santa Rosa notebook, the T61, and add an optional 1GB Turbo Memory (codename "Robson") card and have it delivered to their door in about 1-2 weeks.

 

[Bye Bye Baby]

Absolutely

Why can't they just update the MacBook Pro and MacBook to Santa Rosa platform and LED displays at the same time at the WWDC.

This is obviously the most likely scenario

 

[k2k koos]

MACBOOK PROs

I've just looked at the article introducing the first series of SR based notebooks, and all of them pictured are darn ugly! new platform, but non of them seems to be featuring LED technology for their screens either...

All this makes the current MBP line up still look fresh, eventhough we've seen the same case for how long now???
Anyway, if Apple introduces the new MBP's with the technology described, they are once again at the forefront of the portable computer market, I also hope they will include the Robson technologies for faster and more energy efficient booting..

 

[Kaptajn Haddock]

800 Mhz RAM

Does there even exist 800mhz RAM for the SR chipset? Or does it use the old 667mhz?

 

[kristoffer4]

Do you guys think that the new Macbook Pro will get a display that can be put different places like the new HP Pavilion HDX?
http://reviews.cnet.com/4321-3121_7-6572180.html?tag=bubbl_2
Makes it look more like a real computer...

 

[RRK]

Wow. Its nice to see someone who actually seems to know what they're talking about around here. Sure there are others like you here, but they are few and far between. You should keep coming here to correct some of the ridiculous comments that seems to pop up all the time.

Glad to have you here.

Yes he makes some good points. However, it may be a new pet peeve of mine, but can all of the smart people on these boards try to grasp the difference between touch screen and Multi-touch. It may seem a little anal but to me there is a million miles in between Multi-touch and touch screen technology. Touch screen makes everyone think of their Palm from 1997, which Apple knows is bad design.

 

[Lone Deranger]

OSX!

Hardware is only half the picture. Don't ever forget that.

But what is offering when you compare their line of products with the likes of Dell, HP, Sony etc.

 

[TigerShark]

My point is, unless both lines get the LED screens, this seems like little more than a standard speed bump. Nothing that justifies "who's waiting for Santa Rosa" threads...

I too don't know what all the hype about Santa Rosa is... do we get cheaper Macs or much faster or will the HD be replaced by flash memory...? Apologies, but I honestly don't know this.

 

[57004]

Oops - Someone else already made my point. Shouldn't be posting before reading the whole thread

 

[Kaptajn Haddock]

What RAM will it be using if the frontside bus is 800mhz?

 

[heisetax]

Nothing new

I don't know much about rumors, but the logical thing for Apple to do would be to introduce the Santa Rosa MacBook Pros with LED backlights at the WWDC keynote - unless Apple has some other new and cool stuff that will be introduced that we don't know about...

They showed off no new Mac product at Mac World this year. Even though iPhone is supposed to have a closed environment, which means that there will be little for 3rd party developers to be able to do, I look to see the iPhone released & the Mac OS 1.5 beta shown.

It would be nice to see an actual Mac product released at WWDC, but remember it is billed as Apple Worldwide Developers Conference. No mention of Mac or computer in the name so why expect to see a Mac new product. About the only thing that they would announce a update for would be the Intel MacBook Pro &/or the Intel MacBook. Maybe a new MacMini Pro for doing the little needed program modifications for the iPhone & Apple TV.

It seems rather ironic that the timing of the conference may well coincide with the release of iPhone, the tinket that has kept Apple from releasing Mac OS 10.5 on time. This shows signs of MS with delays in their OS. The iPhone is not even out yet & it is adversely affecting the Mac. Just think how things will be after it is released. Then we'll find out whether it actually was the iPhone that delayed Mac OS 10.5 or if was actually Apple's lack of commitment to the Mac, or the programming became too hard for them, just like MS said when they had to delay the release of Virtual PC for the Mac a few years ago.

We need Apple to support the Mac. There has been more than one Mac Developer that has stated on this or other forums that the lack of a finished Mac OS 10.5 to be their reason of either cancelling their registration or canceling their plans to go to the conference.

If I was going to develop a case for the iPhone or iPod, WWDC just does not seem to be where I'd want to go. What else is there to do for these new non-Mac products?

Bill the TaxMan

 

[ready2switch]

While Santa Rosa is now official, there are no SR machines shipping yet (except for a handfull of review machines), and it will be a while before they are available in the kind of volume Apple needs for a full scale release. I know they got away with that for the Octo-Pro but the volumes needed here are massivly different.

When Merom was the new Intel release, people were complaining that they could already configure Dell, HP etc machines with it before Apple anounced the updates. In terms of customers getting their products, Apple wasn't any later than anyone else, for at least one product line.

It doesn't really make much sense to announce replacements for existing products before they can ship otherwise you will just end up losing sales.

Actually, my husband had his Merom Dell laptop in hand about a month before Apple upgraded their lines. The ThinkPad was configurable yesterday with a shipping delay of 1-2 weeks (probably closer to 2 than 1).

The mentality that Apple will lose sales because they are advertising a product that isn't shipping yet doesn't make sense to me. The average consumer is going to want to comparison shop. Many won't naturally look at Macs anyway, some won't know what the difference in technology is, but some will see an 800FSB compared to a 667FSB and without knowing what that means will know that more is better.

Those who do know what Santa Rosa is and means and are still deciding between a PC and a Mac will see the lag time, be sucked into the "Macs are too expensive and have old technology" hype again and go with their PC. The longer Apple waits, the more this will happen. The Mac loyalists will sit and wait and complain themselves into an outrage and ultimately be disappointed with the update, because "if Apple is waiting, something better must be coming too!" even though it's not.

I know Apple does its own thing in its own time, but its not an unreasonable expectation to want Apple to keep on top of their market, primarily BECAUSE of the Intel transition. We know what the skeleton of the machine will be (just like all the other PCs out there). Unless they really do have something better coming, there is no good reason not to announce now.

 

[koobcamuk]

What if they just release SR updates to the entire MB and MBP line asap. This week or next...

Then at WWDC - launch a new MBP:
- 12"
- LED
- Solid State HD
- at least an 8 hour battery life
- SR
- ???

I would wee myself.

 

[Clive At Five]

OLED! *laughs*

Then again, OLED has the potential to be so cheap that Apple could include vouchers for up to 5 screen replacements, or something of that sort. I wonder if that would be cost-effective versus LCD. I mean OLED can basically be "Ink-Jet" printed on almost any substrate...

Fricken blue OLEDs. Why can't you work for more than 5000 hours?!

-Clive

 

[rolandf]

Apple became just another PC manufacturer

Since the switch the times are gone that Apple was able to provide an alternative to the other PC manufactures.

Now, they just follow the crowed: Dell,HP,..., Noname Computer Ltd. and also Apple just introduced another INTELcremental step in the PC evolution.

Without the will to have its own distinctive hard and software Apple will not survive in the long run.

Do you realise this! Probably not.

 

[johnee]

What if they just release SR updates to the entire MB and MBP line asap. This week or next...

Then at WWDC - launch a new MBP:
- 12"
- LED
- Solid State HD
- at least an 8 hour battery life
- SR
- ???

??? = margarita mixer

that would be cool. would be a great little machine for general work, not media intensive stuff.

 

[notsofatjames]

Since the switch the times are gone that Apple was able to provide an alternative to the other PC manufactures.

Now, they just follow the crowed: Dell,HP,..., Noname Computer Ltd. and also Apple just introduced another INTELcremental step in the PC evolution.

Without the will to have its own distinctive hard and software Apple will not survive in the long run.

Do you realise this! Probably not.

thats a bit exterme. I do agree in someway, but apple still have its followers, and still makes unique and desirable products. Maybe the internal components are the same as the rest of the computer world, but for the finished product, Apple still try to stand out and be different. The fact that Apple have OS X makes them a non generic company. OS X is "its own destinctive" software, and the general appearance of the hardware is distinctive. How many other computers look as stylish as the Apple range..

 

[MagicWok]

I'm still waiting to upgrade from my 15" PB, to a MBP.

I don't think I'll get one until there's a refresh, including to the poor graphics card that's currently in the MBP range

I'll be going to the states to visit some relatives in a few weeks, and hope to take advantage of the strong £/$ ratio! Here's hoping sooner rather than later. I'm getting used to waiting however, also a bit fed up now - I'm much more interested in the MBP than the iPhone.

 

[Zadillo]

Since the switch the times are gone that Apple was able to provide an alternative to the other PC manufactures.

Now, they just follow the crowed: Dell,HP,..., Noname Computer Ltd. and also Apple just introduced another INTELcremental step in the PC evolution.

Without the will to have its own distinctive hard and software Apple will not survive in the long run.

Do you realise this! Probably not.

This is really silly. Apple's platform is still unique because of OS X.

The switch to Intel CPU's doesn't prevent Apple from adding their own unique twists to their hardware (light-up keyboard, magnetic power adaptor, firewire 800, etc.).

How were things that different with PowerPC chips? The only difference was incremental upgrades with PowerPC chips instead.

Seriously, if Apple were still trying to cram the latest PowerPC chip into the mobile platform, they'd be dead and buried at this point.

The fact that Apple now gets to use the latest Intel CPU's and platform is a GOOD thing. Intel's mobile CPU's right now are excellent in terms of performance, battery utilization, etc.

The idea that the Mac was only worthwhile because it was PowerPC and not Intel seems just silly.

The Mac is still worthwhile because A) Apple still makes some of the nicest laptops bar none from any PC manufacturer. and B) Apple still makes the only machines which run OS X, which is the real difference.

It is really kind of irrelevant what is running inside. All it means to us is that we get the latest performance and aren't stuck running slow PowerPC G4's in our Mac laptops.

 

[Zadillo]

I'm still waiting to upgrade from my 15" PB, to a MBP.

I don't think I'll get one until there's a refresh, including to the poor graphics card that's currently in the MBP range

I'll be going to the states to visit some relatives in a few weeks, and hope to take advantage of the strong £/$ ratio! Here's hoping sooner rather than later. I'm getting used to waiting however, also a bit fed up now - I'm much more interested in the MBP than the iPhone.

Umm, the X1600 in the MBP isn't a "poor graphics card". Until the recent introduction of the GeForce 8600M and ATI X2600 (both of which are likely replacements for the X1600), it was still essentially about the most powerful GPU one could get in a 15" laptop (certainly a 1" thick one like the MBP).

The only thing more powerful than it in 15" laptops was the GeForce 7700, but even that wasn't dramatically better than the X1600.

-Zadillo

 

[notsofatjames]

This is really silly. Apple's platform is still unique because of OS X.

The switch to Intel CPU's doesn't prevent Apple from adding their own unique twists to their hardware (light-up keyboard, magnetic power adaptor, firewire 800, etc.).

How were things that different with PowerPC chips? The only difference was incremental upgrades with PowerPC chips instead.

Seriously, if Apple were still trying to cram the latest PowerPC chip into the mobile platform, they'd be dead and buried at this point.

The fact that Apple now gets to use the latest Intel CPU's and platform is a GOOD thing. Intel's mobile CPU's right now are excellent in terms of performance, battery utilization, etc.

The idea that the Mac was only worthwhile because it was PowerPC and not Intel seems just silly.

The Mac is still worthwhile because A) Apple still makes some of the nicest laptops bar none from any PC manufacturer. and B) Apple still makes the only machines which run OS X, which is the real difference.

It is really kind of irrelevant what is running inside. All it means to us is that we get the latest performance and aren't stuck running slow PowerPC G4's in our Mac laptops.

well said!! couldnt have put it better myself!

 

[RRK]

ATI X2600

This naming scheme is totally playing with my mind. I can't look at it without thinking of the Atari 2600. Which somehow seems like a positive association in my mind. Sorry, back to the topic. Does anyone else think lead batteries when you see the title of this thread?

 

[jellomizer]

Apple should jump on the bandwagon and ship a Santa rosa machine....it shouldn't let itself fall behind of the competition.

In that case you should get a Dell. And be the people who is playing with the untested technology. Apple is always a little bit behind their competitors for releasing modern chips. But also Apples tend to have less problems. If you look at the Mac Complaints vs PC complaints.

Mac. If I squint I can see that my Display is grainy, The case when it closes is off by 2mm, The oils in my hand are chipping off paint, the Fans make to much noise, The Laptop feels hot. Most of which is due to case issues.

PC. DOA, System is running Slow I reinstalled and still slow, I baught a system with 4 Gig of Ram and the computer only sees 3. Vista/XP/Linux doesn't seem to like this hardware.... Most of which is due to completatly untested hardware issues or bad unrelable hardware.

Some times a little of patants pays off. While the system may be unnotacably slower unless you have it on full CPU 24 hours a day. You get a system that works quite well.

 

[debrey]

In that case you should get a Dell. And be the people who is playing with the untested technology. Apple is always a little bit behind their competitors for releasing modern chips. But also Apples tend to have less problems. If you look at the Mac Complaints vs PC complaints.

I think this is right. The problem is that Apple doesn't want to make this case to the consumers. They don't want to say "yeah, we don't always have the most up to date technology, because we think that sometimes it is a bad idea." So instead, every once in a while, when they happen to be ahead of the curve, they say "Hey look, we are on the bleeding edge! We are a company that is always on top of the current technology" The problem is that this only happens sometimes, but people expect it (fairly reasonably, given what Apple says) more often. I think that Apple should just try to make less of a big deal when they happen to be on the bleeding edge because too often they aren't. But that would probably be too hard to market: "Apple: it is worth waiting a few months."