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Pogue's review of the rMB

maflynn

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
Original poster
May 3, 2009
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https://www.yahoo.com/tech/reviewed-the-thinnest-loveliest-macbook-youll-115905930724.html

The new MacBook is really small and thin and great-looking. I mean, you could practically fold it into a paper airplane. And when the FedEx man arrives, he can slip it under your front door.

But unless you’re a well-heeled executive who doesn’t do much besides write, email, and surf the Web, the price you pay — in speed, utility, and, yes, price — is just too high.
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He seems somewhat positive, though he does highlight the power and expense of the MB
 
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3bs said:
Not happy to hear that apps take 7-8 secs to open compared to 4 on his Air. I didn't see any mention of this in The Verge or The Loop's reviews.
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But it shouldn't be surprising

Here's what he wrote
You can certainly be productive reading, typing, spreadsheeting, and watching videos. But you pay a speed penalty when you open a program. In a series of app-opening races against my year-old MacBook Air (Core i7), the new MacBook lost every time, and sometimes by a lot. A program that opens on the Air in 4 seconds might take 7 or 8 seconds on the newer laptop.

You’ll also notice the difference in labor-intensive tasks like applying Photoshop filters and exporting video.
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The benchmarks being released, indicate that its no faster then a 2011 MBA, so opening up apps is understandably slow.

As for the Photoshop comment he writes about is a bit unfair imo. Clearly the rMB is not aimed for Photoshop users.
 
maflynn said:
But it shouldn't be surprising

Here's what he wrote


The benchmarks being released, indicate that its no faster then a 2011 MBA, so opening up apps is understandably slow.

As for the Photoshop comment he writes about is a bit unfair imo. Clearly the rMB is not aimed for Photoshop users.
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what concerns me is Mashable's review talking about how there is a very noticeable slowdown when she has a few tabs open and using textedit. That to me is ridiculous.
 
3bs said:
Not happy to hear that apps take 7-8 secs to open compared to 4 on his Air. I didn't see any mention of this in The Verge or The Loop's reviews.

Edit: any ideas if the 1.3 GHz version would handle things like opening apps any better compared to the 1.1 GHz model the reviewers had?
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His language there is very vague, both in the preceding sentences, and up to the use of 'might'. I would guess his example is the exception, and not the standard. I wouldn't be too worried--you could also interpret the same sentences as saying the rMB is pretty close in speed for opening most apps compared to his Air.
 
maflynn said:
But it shouldn't be surprising

Here's what he wrote


The benchmarks being released, indicate that its no faster then a 2011 MBA, so opening up apps is understandably slow.

As for the Photoshop comment he writes about is a bit unfair imo. Clearly the rMB is not aimed for Photoshop users.
Click to expand...

scottomfg said:
His language there is very vague, both in the preceding sentences, and up to the use of 'might'. I would guess his example is the exception, and not the standard. I wouldn't be too worried--you could also interpret the same sentences as saying the rMB is pretty close in speed for opening most apps compared to his Air.
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Most other reviews didn't say anything close to what he's saying and I generally don't have many tabs/apps open so I don't think it'll be much of an issue for myself.
 
I'm still in the midst of giving this laptop a thorough evaluation, or rather..the best I can without buying one. Normally I'd just buy it and decide based on how it performs the work flow I have for it.

The one criterion it meets ideally is being so thin and light it'll fit in my laptop bag easily alongside my 15" MacBook Pro Retina which travels with me daily when I'm in the U.S. They I'd have it to use in the plane. Currently my MacBook Air is a bit too big to carry along with the MBPR.

It's just hard to justify the expense considering my MBA is excellent except for the grainy low res display. Yet as I write this it's hard to pass up because it_does_have that gorgeous display.
 
My Summary from reading a few of the reviews: 4/10

engadget: 1.1 HOT! (not good,and this is only the 1.1!)

"At one point during my testing, I was typing this review in a Chrome browser tab while streaming music through the Spotify desktop app. I only had three browser tabs and three applications open, and yet the heat coming off the bottom side was so intense that at one point I could feel it through my pant legs"

theverge: Slow! (were paying $$$ for this?)

"Chrome has really become something of a resource hog for me lately. It’s not a problem most of the time, but load up enough tabs, and any computer will start to chug. On my MacBook Air, that happens at around 20 tabs. On the new MacBook, it’s about half that"

Hot and Slow= 4/10....will sit back for rev B:
 
tom vilsack said:
My Summary from reading a few of the reviews: 4/10

engadget: 1.1 HOT! (not good,and this is only the 1.1!)

"At one point during my testing, I was typing this review in a Chrome browser tab while streaming music through the Spotify desktop app. I only had three browser tabs and three applications open, and yet the heat coming off the bottom side was so intense that at one point I could feel it through my pant legs"

theverge: Slow! (were paying $$$ for this?)

"Chrome has really become something of a resource hog for me lately. It’s not a problem most of the time, but load up enough tabs, and any computer will start to chug. On my MacBook Air, that happens at around 20 tabs. On the new MacBook, it’s about half that"

Hot and Slow= 4/10....will sit back for rev B:
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Yeah, I thought the verge review was spot on.
 
The Ars review is worth reading slowly. Among other things, he discusses some UI lag at the highest display setting. None of this is a surprise, but it is clearly a Gen 1 product. What was really funny was reading the link in the re/code review to Mossberg's 2008 MBA review, much of which could have been copied and pasted into a review for this one. Wait a couple of years, add a few features, change a few user attitudes, and it becomes an icon.
 
newellj said:
The Ars review is worth reading slowly. Among other things, he discusses some UI lag at the highest display setting. None of this is a surprise, but it is clearly a Gen 1 product. What was really funny was reading the link in the re/code review to Mossberg's 2008 MBA review, much of which could have been copied and pasted into a review for this one. Wait a couple of years, add a few features, change a few user attitudes, and it becomes an icon.
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Good points. I think the big difference is that the new Macbook is much less expensive than the original Air was, so I'm willing to test it out this time around. The price and hard drive space was the main reason I didn't buy the first Air.
 
maflynn said:
But it shouldn't be surprising
Click to expand...

It`s not to me. The new MacBook is absolutely one Notebook you must try before you commit. If your needs fall within the Macbook`s performance envelope you will love this diminutive Mac, if not you may well curse the day you bought the MacBook, as many did with the first iteration of the MacBook Air.

For me it would be used as an ultralight portable for meetings and on the go during the day. Worst case scenario backup to either 13" or 15" MBPr in the unlikely event of a primary system failure in the field. Equally I have not discounted a maxed out 11" Air as frankly it has far more potential for longevity with it`s significantly superior CPU and Chipset. I could run it docked as a desktop, as a backup portable on the road, passing the package down to one of the kids. The obvious downside no Retina.

The new Broadway Macbook I fear will have a very short lifecycle, with Skylake looming and potential other improvements from Apple, nor is it likely to have adequate performance in a moderate desktop scenario. Same as the MacBook Air the 2016 - 2017 machines will be significantly improved. The single USB C port is far from insurmountable, for me "the jewel in the crown" is Retina and OS X in this small platform.

Time to think, look and see...

Q-6
 
douglasf13 said:
Good points. I think the big difference is that the new Macbook is much less expensive than the original Air was, so I'm willing to test it out this time around. The price and hard drive space was the main reason I didn't buy the first Air.
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I had forgotten that they had to use an iPod HDD to slim the original Air down!

----------
Queen6 said:
It`s not to me. The new MacBook is absolutely one Notebook you must try before you commit. If your needs fall within the Macbook`s performance envelope you will love this diminutive Mac, if not you may well curse the day you bought the MacBook, as many did with the first iteration of the MacBook Air.

For me it would be used as an ultralight portable for meetings and on the go during the day. Worst case scenario backup to either 13" or 15" MBPr in the unlikely event of a primary system failure in the field. Equally I have not discounted a maxed out 11" Air as frankly it has far more potential for longevity with it`s significantly superior CPU and Chipset. I could run it docked as a desktop, as a backup portable on the road, passing the package down to one of the kids. The obvious downside no Retina.

The new Broadway Macbook I fear will have a very short lifecycle, with Skylake looming and potential other improvements from Apple, nor is it likely to have adequate performance in a moderate desktop scenario. Same as the MacBook Air the 2016 - 2017 machines will be significantly improved. The single USB C port is far from insurmountable, for me "the jewel in the crown" is Retina and OS X in this small platform.

Time to think, look and see...

Q-6
Click to expand...

Excellent points, as always, and the bottom line in my opinion is exactly as you state at the end.
 
newellj said:
I had forgotten that they had to use an iPod HDD to slim the original Air down!

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Excellent points, as always, and the bottom line is exactly as you state at the end.
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Yeah, and portable, external HDD options weren't nearly what they are today. The 64GB SSD option in the original Air made the machine something like $3K, IIRC. The hard drive situation alone makes the new Macbook a much different release than the original Air, IMO.
 
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