New MacBook Pros to Carry Larger Trackpads, Dedicated SSD for Mac OS X?

[3282868]

Just an fyi, you're able to change the location of your home directory from within the accounts page of system prefs... right click on your user name and you can edit the path there.

NOT something i would recommend doing in the middle of a production day, but the functionality exists to do so. Saves you making those aliases!

Thanks! I found that out after I set everything up

Next time for sure, although I have a sense SSD's will drop in price enough so I can store more personal documents on the main drive. Until then, the "Advanced Options" selection to change your home folder is a great idea.

i'll have to see if i get to return my laptop this weekend based on thursday release.

I know Apple revised their return policy so there is no restocking fee. I'm not sure if the return policy is still 14 days. If you have a good report with your local Apple store, it never hurts to try (and if that fails call Apple)

 

[aznguyen316]

An SSD to host only the OS and apps; genius!

This is what I did with my 13" MBP with a caddy. I had a 120GB SSD + a storage HDD. It's quite easy to set up really, all I had to do was change the "HOME" folder account directory to my HDD and apps and OS still installed and loaded from the SSD. So yeah would be nice if they did that here too.

And damn how many new MBP threads am I subbed to now?

 

[Gorki247]

I'm not aware of 500GB SSD drives, reasonable price or not. Can you point to one? Biggest i know of is OWC's Aura, at 360GB.

Apple is offering 512GB SSD's as an option on their current MB Pro range. £1000+ though, so not really reasonable.

 

[nyctravis]

I'm probably one of the few people in here that care very little about the internals and more about hardware. Give me liquid metal!

Me too. Give me Liquidmetal!!! But then again, reading over your posts, I see we have more in common than just our wish-list for MBPs. We are both in medicine too. So I take that to mean great minds think alike.

FWIW, with iPad stocks dwindling and rumors of an iPad2 refresh coming soon, I suspect any event might be reserved for those. Plus, with Steve being out perhaps we may still have hope that a big update in the design/hardware just might still happen as an event might not necessarily be a requirement this time around. Besides, if the rumor of an SSD/HDD is true, that would certainly seem "event worthy" so all hope is not lost. One can dream....

 

[TigerWoodsIV]

There is more than one way to shave weight. I just have a hard time believing Apple will ever switch to liquidmetal until they have completely mastered the process of it. It might be easier to mold and thus cheaper, but there is a lot of unknown costs involved with any new process that makes it a risky investment. If Apple is gonna do it, then they will have been testing the process on a large production scale for over a year now. It is possible, but so far there is no evidence of it.

I hope to be surprised by what Apple has in store.

One thing to think about...Liquidmetal has been being used in products for almost 8 years I believe. I know they were or are used for golf clubs and other sporting goods like baseball bats and tennis racquets. Also, from the Liquidmetal website:

# Pure Energy TransferTM with less vibration
# Excellent inherent low frequency vibration damping
# 10 times as elastic as comparable super metals
# Nearly 3 times the strength of its counterparts with superior weight advantages
# 2-3 times more resistant to permanent deformation than conventional metals
# Ideal mid-range density between titanium and steel
# More than twice the hardness of titanium and stainless steel
# Superior edge retention and wear resistance
# Non-corrosive
# Stain and rust proof
# Ability to net-shape cast very complex and unique designs

I'm not saying it's likely, but I think people think it's impossible just because Apple recently began working with it. However, it's been used for practical applications for quite some time.

 

[DrJohnnyN]

Me too. Give me Liquidmetal!!! But then again, reading over your posts, I see we have more in common than just our wish-list for MBPs. We are both in medicine too. So I take that to mean great minds think alike.

Good deal. What do you do?

 

[yukio]

When I read about Synaptics ClearPad at CES, I kept thinking that it would make a great new trackpad for Macs - a "mini me" display that also functions as a trackpad.

That would definitely warrant a larger trackpad.

http://www.synaptics.com/solutions/products/clearpad

 

[robwormald]

I'm not a programmer, but I am a designer.
I don't want to have to deal with the silicon cracking when it overheats.
For the moment, it is more expensive to replace and to put in machines, but eventually the will drop, and maybe one day running the entire system on the solid state drive will be the norm.
For now, and with professionals I've talk to...one of whom has been doing this for many years...solid state is for storage...not for running a operating system off of.
When I think of running an operating system off a solid state solution, I think of hand held gaming systems.
I assume that's how they run such kick ass graphics on PSPs and their operating systems.

Personally, I wouldn't turn a computer off that much.
I've looked and I know what I want...27 inch iMac, Intel i7 processor, 2 TB hard drive, 16 gigs of RAM-no solid state. New processors...the Sandy Bridge...haven't looked at the specs, but it's generally accepted that new ***** is bigger and better.
So we'll see on that.
There's a reason my university used and still uses Mac Pros with traditional hard drives to instruct...because it's reliable, it works, it handles the 24/7 operation that we out them through. Solid state drives...in a larger housing, I suppose the cooling system would be powerful enough, but for laptops, if you're going to do serious work, I can't imagine it handling 24/7 operation running something like Creative Suite.
However, despite my adamant traditional drive stance...I'd be willing to try out the solid state drive holding the OS on it.
I supplier I'll be skeptical until I see how they work, wait for other designers to try it out...see how accepting they are of it...see if it handles the workload.

I'd usually leave this kind of nonsense alone, but its filled with so much rubbish I've gotta comment...

I don't want to have to deal with the silicon cracking when it overheats.

You keep going on about heat and such. Let's compare an SSD and platter drive for a second. We'll use the ones I have in my machine at the moment.

My main boot drive is an OCZ Vertex 256GB SSD. A quick check on the specs on the OCZ website gives me some interesting information - the operating temp of this SSD is 0C - 70C. I'm sitting on the sofa with a big video rendering from FCP - my processor temp is around 65C... the case sensor (where the SSD sits) is reading 38C. Nowhere near the limits of the SSD.

Interestingly, the WD Scorpio platter drive lists its operating temp as 0-60C - lower than the SSD.

For now, and with professionals I've talk to...one of whom has been doing this for many years...solid state is for storage...not for running a operating system off of.

This is completely bass-ackwards. SSDs shine on read times, that is, pulling information off the drive and loading it into memory. Hence why Apple wants to use it to load the OS and apps. Platters are cheap, and they're great for storage - where you don't care how fast the drive is reading, as long as its keeping up with playing your iTunes.

The 2 main "drawbacks" to SSD's - price, and limited write cycles.

Price is subjective. Your "too expensive" upgrade was probably the best money I've ever spent. Yes, you get more gigs per dollar on a platter, but tradeoff is a huge boost in performance. I'd imagine the reason your university still uses platters in the macpros is because they are cheap.

Limited write cycles are contentious - technologies like TRIM and better controllers are designed to extend the lifespan of an SSD. I've yet to have an SSD fail on any of my systems. Can't say that about many of the platter based notebook drives I've had.

edit : re-reading that I'm coming off a bit indignant. My suggestion to bean gibbs would be to actually pick up an SSD and try it out. I will NEVER go back to having a platter based drive as my main boot.

 

[diddl14]

I'm not a programmer, but I am a designer.
I don't want to have to deal with the silicon cracking when it overheats.
For now, and with professionals I've talk to...one of whom has been doing this for many years...solid state is for storage...not for running a operating system off of.

Just a thought but you might want to start talking with some other people. The guys you are currently talking to might be professionals but it doesn't sound like they have been able to give you a good understanding of the actual benefits and risks of the latest technologies. And that's nicely put. Some of the earlier comments are speaking for itself.

 

[ppc_michael]

It's good to see that implemented. I've done exactly the same thing on my Linux box for the past couple years: SSD for the system and hard drives for my user. Works fantastically.

As long as we're not somehow locked out of the SSD.

 

[badpinoy]

Thanks! I found that out after I set everything up

Next time for sure, although I have a sense SSD's will drop in price enough so I can store more personal documents on the main drive. Until then, the "Advanced Options" selection to change your home folder is a great idea.



I know Apple revised their return policy so there is no restocking fee. I'm not sure if the return policy is still 14 days. If you have a good report with your local Apple store, it never hurts to try (and if that fails call Apple)

i actually got my MBP thru bestbuy. since i am a premier silver member. i have 45 days to return and no restocking fee.

 

[cmaier]

Wonder if they'll update migration assistant to copy applications to one drive and the home directories to another.

 

[mdgm]

I'm not aware of 500GB SSD drives, reasonable price or not. Can you point to one? Biggest i know of is OWC's Aura, at 360GB.

The Mercury Aura Pro Express (goes up to 360GB in capacity) utilises the blade SSD design from the MacBook Air 2010, and is not in the standard 2.5" form factor. See http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/OWC/

You can get 512GB SSDs, but with over-provisioning you can get up to 480GB 2.5" SSDs from OWC.

The new MBPs should be able to take a standard 2.5" SSD instead of a mechanical hard drive.

 

[fblack]

Wait doesn't Snow Leopard take like 5gigs by itself and the whole iLife suite is another 5, right? An 8-16GB then would seem a little on the small side. Or am I not remembering the sizes of OSX correctly?

 

[robwormald]

Wonder if they'll update migration assistant to copy applications to one drive and the home directories to another.

presumably. the way myself and several other posters are doing it (SSD + platter + remove optical) is great, and i'm a techie so I know what I'm doing, but the average apple user would be lost in space.

I wonder if the OS will present the drives to the user as a single partition and let the system manage what's where.

 

[I8P'CS]

Happy for you all but i will not be being this product as i bought an 13" MBP last year and and Imac/ I'm very happy with my purchases, The longer i keep them now the better product i will get in a few years time.
I don't understand people's need to always have the latest products so they can keep up with the joneses. mostly the ones that just surf the web or go on Fb etc!! Good luck to them!!

Yes i could by one if i wanted to but i'll like to get my money's worth and as i said will have a better mac in about 2-3 years!! I am web designer!!!

 

[gkarris]

I personally don't like hybrid drives - either go all regular or all solid-state.

Plus, Hybrid drives are more expensive - but I guess you're paying more for a Mac anyways...

 

[ttuff]

The small SSD could be for the "launchpad" feature of Lion. Works like an ipad or a mac by switching back and forth between the two drives. This would give you long battery life, fast internet surfing, and apps in launchpad while still providing a heavy lifting machine in normal mode. This could explain the larger trackpad for interacting with the ipad/mac hybrid.

 

[vectus]

This would be exciting!

 

[ghsDUDE]

So is it still going to have a drive to put my dvds/cds into?

 

[Ironduke]

An SSD to host only the OS and apps; genius!

lol your easily pleased and its been done before

 

[applefanDrew]

Any larger of a track pad and you're ghost clicking on your palms.

It won't be that big of a problem

 

[robwormald]

So is it still going to have a drive to put my dvds/cds into?

rip them all and be done with it!

 

[davidcmc]

So is it still going to have a drive to put my dvds/cds into?

Yes, and you can find it here: http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC684ZM/A?fnode=MTY1NDA0Nw&mco=MTk0MjUxMTE

Be happy that they still sell it.
I'm pretty sure that those things are going to be pretty rare in about 4 or 5 years.

 

[Reggi]

No Optical Drive Might Be Dead On!

Something tells me there won't be an optical drive! At least not on the 13" model

So check this out, these guys upped the ante - not only SSD for the OS, but basically a massive MBA! ALL SSD! Can Apple afford that? They also claim with LP (lightpeak) since this past November. No way they get this right. If they do, I'm payin' attention.

http://t-gaap.com/2011/2/21/macbook-pro-refresh?site_locale=en