Should I buy the Retina MBP?

[clyde2801]

I doubt bringing a collage of your family friend will get you a discount.

I dunno, if he uses iPhoto to make it, it could look pretty sharp.....

 

[ColoArtist]

I went with the 2.7/16/512 model, replacing my '09 MBP.

It's a pleasure to now be able to run Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Safari, Foxfire, Parallels and a bunch of other stuff all at the same time. The rMBP's display is incredible and the machine is sooooooo fast. Dreamweaver and Photoshop (CS6) both open in under 4 seconds each.

Although Adobe hasn't updated their applications for the retina monitor, they are far from unusable. They look the same way the did on my old MBP...which seemed okay for the last 4 years. Okay, until I got a retina monitor.

Here's what Dreamweaver CS6 looks like with the rMBP set at "best for retina"...

http://colorado-artist.com//mac/images/rMBP_DreamweaverCS6_01.png

Sure it looks pixilated when fully expanded, but that's double of how it's displayed when I'm working on the rMBP.

Go for it!

 

[Dralt]

sure the UI isn't as sharp..but its no worse than the old low res screens...you just notice it because it is butted up against perfectly clear UI.

Umm...it is worse in comparison to the perfectly clear UI and it is worse when compared to the same image on a non-retina display of the same size.

To understand this clearly, consider the following scenario:

Put a non-retina MBP and a retina MBP side-by-side.

The MBP is on the left, 15", 1440x900 (a.k.a., 1-to-1 pixel mapping).
The rMBP is on the right, 15", rendering in 1440x900 mode. (a.k.a, Best for Retina Display)

Now, you load a Web page that shows a 100x100 pixel image.

On both screens, that image occupies the same area.

However, on the MBP, that area is 100x100 pixels, while on the rMBP, that area is actually 200x200 pixels.

Now, the Web site didn't serve a 200x200 pixel image, so what did the rMBP do to turn a 100x100 pixel image into a 200x200 pixel image?

It used interpolation.
Images scaled up using interpolation do not look as good as their original.

I think that is as clear as I can explain it, alas.

So, updating the apps to suit the rMBP is comparatively easily, when considering that the entire Web needs to be updated for HiDPI displays.

 

[Dralt]

I went with the 2.7/16/512 model, replacing my '09 MBP.

It's a pleasure to now be able to run Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Safari, Foxfire, Parallels and a bunch of other stuff all at the same time. The rMBP's display is incredible and the machine is sooooooo fast. Dreamweaver and Photoshop (CS6) both open in under 4 seconds each.

Although Adobe hasn't updated their applications for the retina monitor, they are far from unusable. They look the same way the did on my old MBP...which seemed okay for the last 4 years. Okay, until I got a retina monitor.

Here's what Dreamweaver CS6 looks like with the rMBP set at "best for retina"...

http://colorado-artist.com//mac/images/rMBP_DreamweaverCS6_01.png

Sure it looks pixilated when fully expanded, but that's double of how it's displayed when I'm working on the rMBP.

Go for it!

I give you that it doesn't look "too" bad...but it doesn't look better, which is the most common expectation of people who buy that machine.

Personally, I wish the whole Web and all applications would look as good as the Mac UI...I always feel like I am rolling myself in a pool of mud when I use something that doesn't ship with OS X or an app that is not developed according to Apple's standards.

 

[ColoArtist]

I give you that it doesn't look "too" bad...but it doesn't look better, which is the most common expectation of people who buy that machine.

Personally, I wish the whole Web and all applications would look as good as the Mac UI...I always feel like I am rolling myself in a pool of mud when I use something that doesn't ship with OS X or an app that is not developed according to Apple's standards.

Yeah, I hear ya.

My point being it looks no worse than it has for the last 3 years on my MBP...which seemed fine until the rMBP.

Also, once Adobe gets it's collective butt in gear, it'll look even better when viewed on an rMBP vs looking the same on even the newest MBP.

I've "retinized" my clients' sites. Although they look the same when viewed on "normal" monitors I'm ahead of the curve and my clients feel I'm up with the most current technologies. Not a minor thing.