Same.. I'm not against "thin" per se, but losing things like ethernet & FW800 ports would not be a step-up in my mind. At least not at this point w/ the dearth of affordable TB externals.
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Slimmer 13-Inch and 15-Inch MacBook Pros Reportedly in Production
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Same.. I'm not against "thin" per se, but losing things like ethernet & FW800 ports would not be a step-up in my mind. At least not at this point w/ the dearth of affordable TB externals.
I'm just looking at worst case scenarios. Firewire seems to be something Apple has lost interest in. Since there has been speculation of a merging of the MBA and MBP lines and MBAs do not have Firewire, I don't think it's unreasonable to consider Apple could be trying to put an end to Firewire.
even if they do remove firewire, there will be Thunder Bolt > FW adapters that should be releasing in the next few months.
Yeah, and how much will that cost on top of an already premium priced computer? Apple seems to be turning into an adapter company. How about a product that doesn't need a dozen things plugged into it to make it work the way one wants it to? There goes the whole clutter thing that Apple seemed to be trying to get rid of at one point.
Like Apple, which is offering 2 decades old tech (dvd) in many of its products, denying to upgrade to current tech (bd)?
Maybe, maybe not. It all depends on cost. Write-once removes accidental deletes, so it is very much asked feature and optical storage can give you that. Solid state memory has made in-use-memory and archiving pretty much the same, but these two can also differentiate in the future. Think about every household on this planet having NAS box on 24/7, when most of the data it holds is accessed only few times a decade. Compare the waste of energy to optical storage just sitting on a shelf.
I just don't see why bd(-xl) would be the last mass-spread optical format. More bd-drives/players are sold than macs. I'd guess after bd there will be a new format. Same way we are still getting new data tape formats.
For 99% of usage usb3 is as good as tb. For displays dp is better. Also, current TB chip has very stupid design, sine it has only one dp out; id you want to connect 2 external monitors, you need 2 chips. Because of this (and because of not-mass-accepted tech's price), they can't even make a tb hub with 2 dp connections. So it's cheaper to buy tb-2-pcie enclosure and put inside that a real GPU-pcie-card that costs less than tb-hub, but has up to 8 dp connections.
As we have seen tb doubles the price of hdd's and has 10x price in cables. You couldn't be more far away from mass adoption.
There are these things they call "hubs".
I have already usb-powered bdxl-burner, so I don't mind loosing internal dvd.
If MBP could have internal bdxl-burner, It would be pretty hard to choose.
If there would be modularity in MBP, where you could choose second battery or mass storage, internal ODD could also be nice choise, but this is of course impossible with unibody design.
If Apple wanted to give different products for different needs, this would be nice time to have Air's in all sizes and MBP's also. So MBP's could be few millimeters thicker (eg. to have room for internal bd...
)and weight few hundred grams more and therefore have EC slots, more all kind of ports and HIGH quality IPS screen!(If $500 windoze laptop can't afford having IPS, $2500 MBP really should...)
Matrox's products have sad limitations in resolution.
If retina fashion is really moving from small devices to computers, those boxes can be thrown to recycling within this year.
But I will not buy a new MBP, before it has at least:
1) better screen than iPad
2) osx will have true resolution independence
3) usb3
Bonus) full support to bd-movies would be nice, but maybe Apple is just too scared: "Our service is way better and that's why we can't let competition to show it..."
Yeah sure, maybe with less than $500?
Pretty much same thing was said quite accurately one year ago.
Maybe Apple just thinks that they've gone too mainstream with Macs and it's again time for "show me the money"? Being costeffective is so lame...
How many years other vendors have offered a laptop with internal cell modem?But knowing Apple and its leverage upon carriers, I wouldn't be too much surprised if a next laptop iteration includes both a SIM card slot and an all-new, no-contracts 30GB data plan (let us dream lol
If Apple haven't joined the club earlier, why now?
You don't read much, do you?
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Oh ... then you haven't been using MBP's for too long. Apple until the past 2 gen's have lagged in CPU performance and GPU dedicated RAM vs the industry. Sure the NVidia 9400M & the 9600GT where great in their day but where quickly surpassed (even with equal battery life) by competing products. Don't get me wrong there is NOTHING that compares to OSX nor the beauty of the Unibody design - but this doesn't mean us as users should have to compromise with expected performance.
Build quality has ALWAYS been a hall-mark of Apple (save the Cube and G3 and a tiny few others; grey boxen), strikingly so that we go nuts when its sub-par. I'm VERY happy with my new 2011 13" MBP 2.8 i7 ... but you cannot tell me that you do NOT shudder hearing the sound of that slot-load DVD cry when you feed it a DVD & when you eject one. "eeek".
I just hope this new MBP design entices us all like the TiBook and the first Unibody depoloyment.
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Been thinking the SAME thing for 14 pages of this thread. I want the DVD to improve (make it not squeal putting one it please).
More ppl on average are stronger and in better shape than ever before in the western world ... why is 5-6lbs so heavy?!
Come to think about it ... this 5-6lbs range is something Apple has been VERY consistent about since the last 15yrs!!
3400CS > G3 PowerBook (Lombard onward)> G4 TiBook > Unibody.
I could agree with all EXCEPT the vinyl!
- There are just some specific genres (dead now) that are apart of my soul ... and the vinyl has something unique with that genre that will never happen again, not with these digital tools - unless someone is really crafty enough and daring enough to try it: a riding tempo (disco - real disco not that ABBA crap)! Funk too. BTW I love modern music as well.
I think 2 major factors will affect Apple's decision of when to forgo the optical drive:
1. CD/DVD's ... I'm curious if the sales of those or BR discs have begun to decline in N.America and Europe/Asia?!
2. Have monthly bandwidth cap avg by internet providers increased in N.America (predominantly) vs Europe & Asia.
(think its no longer the OSX you'll be streaming but also your DVD, your creative content for UPloading and sharing/interacting with social content.
A possible 2B> which nation consumes THE most internet bandwidth per user/household?:
Home internet (Cable/DSL/Satellite)
Mobile Internet (provider on cellular - regardless of tech used: cdma/edge/3g/hspa/lte whatever).
Please try to understand--just Ike I have been forced to on other issues--that you are in a MINORITY.
It's just not that common a situation (NO INTERNET+MACBOOK W/O ODD+DVD=HISSYFIT!) and it's similar to how I felt about 15" MBP losing EspressCard slot.
However, while I had no solution but to get a bigger and more cumbersome and drastically more expensive machine (17"), you have a very SIMPLE SOLUTION.
Yes, just like you and other rail and gnash about how silly it is for people to want a computer to weigh less than 5.5 lbs--it therefore seems to me downright SILLY to flatly reject the fact that you can just as easily carry the self-powered external SuperDrive to do exactly what you want. I have one, and it is equal in size to JUST TWO CD jewel cases, and weighs less than my keyring. It couldn't be easier to carry and use--which is precisely why I got it. I work in live entertainment & production, and now carry a 13" MBA for daily duties, and only burn discs for the control booth once every 6 weeks, but I usually burn 7-12 disc revisions over a two day period. Now my 15" MBP can stay with my performance rig, and I'm more mobile and less power-tethered with the MBA now.
So based on your argument, what is wrong with using the external SuperDrive?
Also, someone earlier complained of having too manu adapters sticking out of a machine, for TB dongles, or mDP->HDMI or whatnot..WHY!?!?!?!? If you're ALSO having to deal with a CABLE to lug or plug in..what difference does it make that there be a tiny dongle on the cable? Heck I keep an HDMI cabLe in my bag with a mini-DP to HDMI port connected to it...ready to go.
Like you say people are silly for not wanting a heavy laptop, I wonder why people aren't using a BAG to carry their gear.
The way folks fuss about having to use a dongle, rather than there being a port on every single exposed vertical surface on every single MacBook, REALLY makes no sense.l
That DVD you want to watch, were you carrying it in your shirt pocket? Is your power cable in your jeans?
We carry these things in computer bags, cases, or heck a plastic shopping bag, so how would it ruin one's life to put a tiny dongle in there? ROFL!
What exactly are using your optical drive so much for, when you are out on the road?
i believe It's laughable that the Internet is supposed to completely supplant our method of installing software. For me, especially, because looking at my two most frequently used programs shows they install OVER ONE HUNDRED GIGABYTES with their installation. These two programs are Apple's LOGIC Pro Studio, and Native Instruments KOMPLETE.
But I now use these products the most on my MacBook Air--which DOESN'T have an optical drive!
I installed Logic using the sensible, self-powered USB SuperDrive that Apple makes. (cost me $43, refurbished, on Amazon) and the Native Instruments software I have saved on my TimeCapsule as .DMG disc image files, which makes installation MUCH faster (1/5th the time), and doesn't require me to swap in and out so many DVDs.
So, while the Internet is NOT a solution to installing all our software, I don't see why a MBP has to have an optical drive.
I'm ready to upgrade from my original Unibody MBP 15", but even it has had its SuperDrive replaced by an SSD. And it uses the same external SuperDrive I use with my MBA...whenever I need it, which is about 1/300th as often as I actually USE my MBP.
I'm a home theater enthusiast. I used Windows for quite a long time before switching, and always sought out the best DVD software...
Because, unlike a stand-alone DVD player, playing a DVD in software allowed the HIGHEST quality in scaling up the low-resolution 480p (sometimes anamorphic) content to fit a much higher resolution projector.
I still have a single Windows machine in my home, in the viewing room's AV rack.
But it doesn't have a blu-ray player.
I can't think of any single reason why, if you want to watch a movie from a Blu-ray disc, you wouldn't instead use a BLU-RAY DISC PLAYER.
It seems little more than silly to sit in front of a computer screen to watch Blu-Ray, which is best truly enjoyed on large screens with powerful sound.
And if one has that large screen (or like me, a good HD Projector) and powerful sound in your viewing room, then why on earth wouldn't one have a Blue-Ray player?
A problem with logic:
No high resolution screen CAN'T be remedied; no external video connector, and you have NO way for video out; no Thunderbolt port, and you CAN'T access the latest and fastest storage solutions; no quality GPU graphics chips, there is NO utilizing strong hardware acceleration.
No optical drive, you...
You...
Well, you can plug in a simple external SuperDrive, and there's no more problem--which is totally unlike the brick-wall scenarios you mention above.
You bemoaned a "bulky" ODD to have to "lug" around.
The external SuperDrive that Apple has been offering for many years is only the size of about TWO CD jewel cases, requires no power adapter, and has an integrated USB cable so it's never lost.
The way I see it, you can either LUG the BULK every single time you pick up your MacBook, OR you can pick it up when it's needed--which for most of us is about every 300th time you use your MacBook.
I likely use it more frequently, because I'm always burning show audio masters for theatre (and the unavoidable 15 revisions my director demands), but I enjoy not having to lug the ODD every single time I touch my machine.
might be alright for home/work/hotel internet, but people who use it for file transfer are not going to be happy about using the adapter.
And with only two usb ports, having to use one for a *slow* ethernet adapter is kind of a joke. Just leave the freaking ethernet port.
and why are people acting like getting rid of the ODD is going to save battery life??? It's not like it sits there and spins when it's not in use.
^^ and saying that "It is quite clear from this thread alone that there are plenty of professionals who use the ODD for daily tasks, many on the road" really means nothing. This forum represents MAYBE 1% of mac users. This thread represents even LESS, and therefore the people in this thread claiming they NEED and ODD represents such a miniscule percentage of mac owners that trying to say, SEE WE NEED THEM, really means nothing.
That is the ABSOLUTE TRUTH! The USB Ethernet Adapter from Apple is spec'd as 10/100Base-T, meaning a max of 100 megabits. That's compared to GIGAbit (1000) in their on-board Ethernet jacks like the current MBPs. 1/10th.
Heck, even the wifi is much faster than that...theoretically almost 5x faster. My Mac is at the end of the hall from my TimeCapsule, but it says it's connected at 300 right now--meaning 3X of the USB dongle's maximum.
Not a huge deal with web and email, mind you. But file transfers and installing software--HUGE deal.
about the ODD--I think we expect the machine to be thinner and/or lighter, or to have room for more battery with the ODD omitted. I'll tell you though...removing the ODD in my MBP 15" and putting an SSD in its place has had a somewhat positive effect on battery--but it might it's a mix of SSD using less power than the HDD....but the HDD is still in there, and is constantly active because that's where my user root sits.
Yes, yes, and YES!
I am very much ready to upgrade my original Unibody MBP 15", but if I lose FireWire in the move to the newest MBP, I'll have to ALSO simultaneously upgrade my production audio interface(s), my performance audio interface, and a few pieces of video production equipment!!
That's an AWFUL lot to go through all at once.
While I'm now beginning to accept that I need to look at Thunderbolt devices when I add external storage from now on. FireWire has many, MANY more uses than drive storage!
In fact, while one could "make do" with USB external storage, there are numerous FireWire devices that simply have ZERO USB alternatives or methodologies.
And, like I said, having to revamp everything at once--moving to Thunderbolt--would be a ENORMOUS expense and seriously disruptive to workflow.
:-/
Here's hoping we keep FW a bit longer, at the very least.
How many years? Probably more than 10. You just don't take into account that cellular internal modems were, and are still extremely rare in laptops, even netbooks. External, subsidized USB modems are more common, and still rarely seen, because the places you can lay a laptop usually have WiFi.
Same goes for tablets. Tablet PCs existed for years, but never took off beside a very small professional market. The iPad is therefore the first, mass-adopted tablet.
I was ashamed to talk about a DVD burner's particular noise in fear of being called "picky"...
True the noise seems weird.
What part of the West do you live in? More people in the West are obese than ever before.
Doesn't it contradict the point you just made about DVD? Or do you find Blu Ray to be a sufficient resolution you don't need any sort of upscaling? I don't understand your reasoning here.
Having a BR player on a computer is helpful when you have to rip the movie on it. Or, more simply, a BR burner/player helps in storing larger amounts of information on one disc. However, as Apple never supported multisession burning (or reading) on DVDs, contrary to Windows or Linux, you'll likely have to find 25GB of data to fit on a BR at any one time. That's no small feat and, IMHO, hampering adoption by OS X users.
Glad you seem to be very organized, but most people just want to take their machine if ever they think they will need it, whatever they will happen to do with their machine. Because for the rest of us, it's more costly NOT to have what is, finally, not very bulky, than having to think what to bring every time they go out.
Please cite concrete examples, as varied as you can find. It seems too many people still don't find a use beyond high-performance (relatively) storage.
Yes it would, i dont want to carry nothing with me, but all have in my macbook. And if i wanted a slim macbook i would go for the air.Please try to understand--just Ike I have been forced to on other issues--that you are in a MINORITY.
It's just not that common a situation (NO INTERNET+MACBOOK W/O ODD+DVD=HISSYFIT!) and it's similar to how I felt about 15" MBP losing EspressCard slot.
However, while I had no solution but to get a bigger and more cumbersome and drastically more expensive machine (17"), you have a very SIMPLE SOLUTION.
Yes, just like you and other rail and gnash about how silly it is for people to want a computer to weigh less than 5.5 lbs--it therefore seems to me downright SILLY to flatly reject the fact that you can just as easily carry the self-powered external SuperDrive to do exactly what you want. I have one, and it is equal in size to JUST TWO CD jewel cases, and weighs less than my keyring. It couldn't be easier to carry and use--which is precisely why I got it. I work in live entertainment & production, and now carry a 13" MBA for daily duties, and only burn discs for the control booth once every 6 weeks, but I usually burn 7-12 disc revisions over a two day period. Now my 15" MBP can stay with my performance rig, and I'm more mobile and less power-tethered with the MBA now.
So based on your argument, what is wrong with using the external SuperDrive?
Also, someone earlier complained of having too manu adapters sticking out of a machine, for TB dongles, or mDP->HDMI or whatnot..WHY!?!?!?!? If you're ALSO having to deal with a CABLE to lug or plug in..what difference does it make that there be a tiny dongle on the cable? Heck I keep an HDMI cabLe in my bag with a mini-DP to HDMI port connected to it...ready to go.
Like you say people are silly for not wanting a heavy laptop, I wonder why people aren't using a BAG to carry their gear.
The way folks fuss about having to use a dongle, rather than there being a port on every single exposed vertical surface on every single MacBook, REALLY makes no sense.l
That DVD you want to watch, were you carrying it in your shirt pocket? Is your power cable in your jeans?
We carry these things in computer bags, cases, or heck a plastic shopping bag, so how would it ruin one's life to put a tiny dongle in there? ROFL!
I don't think it does contradict it.
HD video projectors are at 1080--the same resolution as Blu-Ray. That's why there's no reason to play a BR movie though a computer, because there is no up scaling to be done. When you watch a DVD on the same projector, the computer DOES help immensely, as it does better upscaling to HD than most any DVD player or Projector's built-in chip. Again, there's no upscaling going on with BR.
On the topic of ripping BR...why?! If you're going to do that, you might as well buy the 1080p version of the film on iTunes--because once you compress that down to a manageable size (around 5-8GB) you have zero quality advantages over the one you bought on iTunes.
It therefore makes far more sense to keep it on the disc, and watch it in a player.
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Well, for one thing, multi-channel audio interfaces like those from MOTU, Digidesign, and RME.
While there are SOME USB models, ask any sound engineer and he will tell you that FireWire allows recording and routing of FAR more audio signals (32 simultaneous channels of high-bitrate raw audio data) than USB. USB chokes out far before that number, and USB puts a strain on the processor while FW leaves it untouched. This means lower latency. DEFINITELY a "PRO" namesake feature.
Then there's digital video. While most consumer, and a few prosumer and several pro video cameras use AVCHD, the broadcast industry still treats DV/HDV as the good standard.
And what's the only way to runtime-stream that uncompressed, 15GB/hr video into your MacBook Pro? That would be FireWire.
Again, something I (personally) consider a "Pro" feature that the name needs to live up to.
I can think of other but also somewhat esoteric uses, but I think these two are the strongest and clearest reasons why FirewWire still has its place. Especially among create professionals, a market that Mac has courted and outstandingly served for many years...and something I hope continues.
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If you don't carry *nothing* with you, they you don't need a ODD because you don't have discs, much less the power cord you'll quicky have to find.
I honestly don't care that much about the slinessm. There is no room *at all* on an Air's chassis to even fit Ethernet and FireWire ports onto. It barely has room for the ones it already has.
So slim just doesn't interest me.
But if ONE THING just HAD to go from the MacBook Pro, I don't know how anyone could argue that the ODD wouldn't be the most logical thing to go. If room must be made for more battery, more ports, multiple drive locations, ANYTHING... The ODD is easily moved--not gone forever!--to the outside of the chassis.
I KNOW I'm not alone in the fact, and by sound reason in the majority, in that I only very rarely use my ODD in my MBP. Less than once a month, but on the 3 days out of siz weeks that I do, I have to create up to 15 or so.
I can't live with removing existing ports, and it's FAR easier to use an external ODD than have to switch back to Windows.
I'd rather eat ROCKS. BOULDERS, even.
I can.
I need to burn bd's few times a year.
I watch bd movies in home in 3 rooms, at my work room, at my farther's, at one summer cottage and in hotel rooms. If I would travel more in trains or planes, I'd watch bd movies also there. Now I'm travelling more in a car and there's not enough room for 17"+externalODD+inverter.
I have so much else to use my money on, that I can't afford buy a dozen of stand-alone bd-players. So I bought one compact usb-powered bdxl-burner and use it everywhere. (Well almost, my family also uses my old asus laptop, which has internal bd-player and I also use it a bit.)
Still, you gave no idea why Apple would offer now a Mac with internal cell modem.
I can.
I need to burn bd's few times a year.
I watch bd movies in home in 3 rooms, at my work room, at my farther's, at one summer cottage and in hotel rooms. If I would travel more in trains or planes, I'd watch bd movies also there. Now I'm travelling more in a car and there's not enough room for 17"+externalODD+inverter.
I have so much else to use my money on, that I can't afford buy a dozen of stand-alone bd-players. So I bought one compact usb-powered bdxl-burner and use it everywhere. (Well almost, my family also uses my old asus laptop, which has internal bd-player and I also use it a bit.)
Still, you gave no idea why Apple would offer now a Mac with internal cell modem.
Anyway, MBP has lost ports after 2008.
I guess nobody here knows if it's more because of larger battery, unibody or Apple tries to make it cheaper or they are trying to pull some other trick. I have always wondered if they have some plans for sd-card slot, since I don't see it so significant now, that you would waste real estate of "professional" laptop to it and at the same time ditch much more univesral and professional Expresscard (which is by the way as fast as Air's TB..).
Somebody once said that "there used to be only trucks". Now if Apple makes MBP like Air, they are saying that there should be no trucks at all. There should be something between all & none... (Yeah, I know, and between MP & mini...)
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Hi, I'm new to this forum and new to Macs.
I would like to get your advice regarding buying a Macbook Pro.
I've been working on Macs (Mac Pro on daily basis and MB Pro new & old occasionally) for a few months now at my office. I must admit that I got to enjoy the "mac experience) and I'm planning to buy a "13, 2,4 GHz i5 Macbook Pro to replace an old 15" Acer Expensa laptop that is slowly, but inevitably falling apart. I will stick to my old, but still kicking windows PC, because I just need to have 2 computers at home to work on - 1 for me and 1 for my girlfriend, but also 1 for media playback and 1 mobile. I have decided to go wild and make myself a treat and spend some extra $ on the Mac. But that doesn't mean I don't want to save up where and when it is possible to do so
I should mention that I live in Poland and electronics here are more expensive than in the US. For example lower model of 13" Macbook Pro costs $1,658 in Poland compared to the $1,200 in the States. And when you add that I make around $1,300/month (don't mean to brag, but it's quite a lot for Polish standards for the average wage is $800/month) then you'll know that buying a Mac in Poland is quite an expense (thus is considered irrational and snobbish. Nevertheless I've decided that MB Pro is worth it, since buying equally powerful Windows based laptop with aluminium or magnesium body isn't that much of a bargain. Plus, they aren't "unibody" like the MB is and they simply aren't that beautiful and aesthetically enchanting
Nevertheless, I've saved up some dimes and asked my distant uncle to bring me a Macbook from the States as he will be visiting his daughter there. Obviously it will be cheaper for me even if I add buying an European power adapter. But since all the signs suggest that the new MB Pros are coming I want to ask you guys, as you know a lot more of Apple, should I wait? I mean:
I think that's all I will be extremely grateful for your input: advice, comments, questions...
Thanks in advance.
I would like to get your advice regarding buying a Macbook Pro.
I've been working on Macs (Mac Pro on daily basis and MB Pro new & old occasionally) for a few months now at my office. I must admit that I got to enjoy the "mac experience) and I'm planning to buy a "13, 2,4 GHz i5 Macbook Pro to replace an old 15" Acer Expensa laptop that is slowly, but inevitably falling apart. I will stick to my old, but still kicking
windows PC, because I just need to have 2 computers at home to work on - 1 for me and 1 for my girlfriend, but also 1 for media playback and 1 mobile. I have decided to go wild and make myself a treat and spend some extra $ on the Mac. But that doesn't mean I don't want to save up where and when it is possible to do so I should mention that I live in Poland and electronics here are more expensive than in the US. For example lower model of 13" Macbook Pro costs $1,658 in Poland compared to the $1,200 in the States. And when you add that I make around $1,300/month (don't mean to brag, but it's quite a lot for Polish standards for the average wage is $800/month) then you'll know that buying a Mac in Poland is quite an expense (thus is considered irrational and snobbish
. Nevertheless I've decided that MB Pro is worth it, since buying equally powerful Windows based laptop with aluminium or magnesium body isn't that much of a bargain. Plus, they aren't "unibody" like the MB is and they simply aren't that beautiful and aesthetically enchantingNevertheless, I've saved up some dimes and asked my distant uncle to bring me a Macbook from the States as he will be visiting his daughter there. Obviously it will be cheaper for me even if I add buying an European power adapter. But since all the signs suggest that the new MB Pros are coming I want to ask you guys, as you know a lot more of Apple, should I wait? I mean:
- does the older MB Pro's price go down when the new one is introduced and if so how much? (if the price difference isn't that significant I will at least be the wiser and able to compare the new with the old and decide which one I prefer).
- and the last question. Do you know, based on Apple's policy in the past, if the old MB Pro is still available after the new one has arrived?
I think that's all
I will be extremely grateful for your input: advice, comments, questions...Thanks in advance.
My response from another thread:
- Watching movies
- Installing software (much of which is still ONLY available on optical media)
- Ripping CDs/DVDs/Blu-rays
- Burning CDs/DVDs/Blu-rays of your own stuff
- Backups
- Distributing installation disks
- Snapshots of project code
- Providing disks with content (photographs/graphics/music/PDFs) you've created to clients
- Long term data archival
- Data encapsulation and isolation
- Playing games which need the CD in drive
- Sneakernet
- Booting/installing alternate OSes.
...and probably plenty more reasons I can't think of off the top of my head. I use some of those frequently, others less frequently, but I've done ALL of them in the last 2 years.
That's great for you -- you've turned your MBP into a desktop, and your situation means the bulky external ODD doesn't need to be used much. My laptop bag doesn't have enough extra room for something that size -- it's barely large enough to carry the MBP, power adapter, and headphones. When I need to carry optical disks with me (frequently), they go in envelopes because the jewel cases are *way* too bulky. I'd have to go with a larger and heavier bag - and I have shoulder issues which make heavier bags a problem.
Um... Maybe because you're not at home and want to watch a movie? Seems like a no-brainer. Some of us travel -- it's one of the reasons to have a laptop. Sometimes the travel time is long. For example, I was driving to Florida recently from the Philly area, and about an hour after I started, I was notified of a work emergency. It's kind of hard to work while driving, so I shifted plans to take the Auto Train - a 17 hour trip. I had power outlets, and enough intermittent internet access through phone tethering for me to upload fixes (never continuous access because the train often goes through undeveloped areas...), although the phone tethering was awkward given the small table space available to me. Had I planned for that trip, I'd have brought a movie for the evening - and if I had a Blu-ray player in the laptop, it would have been a Blu-ray movie, because 98% of the movies I buy nowadays are Blu-ray. Having an external drive would have been even more awkward in that situation, if usable at all. (It would have needed to sit on the floor or in a seat pocket or on my lap - assuming it had a long enough cable for any of that...)
Um... The "bulk" is there already -- as you yourself have already pointed out, the drive is very light and has a trivial effect on the weight. (In fact, if they removed the ODD and replaced it with anything else, the anything else would likely *increase* the weight...) The size of the computer is based on the *screen*, not the ODD. So the only thing you gain in terms of "lugging the bulk" is a minuscule difference in the thickness of the computer. You might be able to put more features into the MBP if you take out the ODD, but reducing the bulk is NOT a valid reason to do it.
And what's the only way to runtime-stream that uncompressed, 15GB/hr video into your MacBook Pro? That would be FireWire.
Again, something I (personally) consider a "Pro" feature that the name needs to live up to.
I can think of other but also somewhat esoteric uses, but I think these two are the strongest and clearest reasons why FirewWire still has its place. Especially among create professionals, a market that Mac has courted and outstandingly served for many years...and something I hope continues.
And... People who want an SSD, Firewire, Expresscard slots, Ethernet, etc. can do *exactly* the same thing. Same exact "simple" solution. External USB or Thunderbolt devices exist for all of those. (Um... you might also need an external USB hub...)
That said, I'm not suggesting Apple remove any of those things from the MBP, and in fact I don't think they should - even though I don't actually use some of them, EVER. Apple ought to be *improving* the machine and adding features, not removing them. So why should *you* be suggesting Apple remove the ODD?
I happen to think the internal ODD is as much a Pro feature as Firewire or an Expresscard slot or any of the rest.
And... As I keep asking the people here - how do you know how common this is? You keep talking about "most of us" or "the majority". Has there been ANY study, statistics gathered, etc., which definitively states that people who still use the internal ODD on their MBPs are in the minority? Not one of you has provided any proof of this -- they simply assume it because *they* no longer need it. I assume otherwise because *I* definitely need it and know plenty of others who use it semi-regularly. It's not a valid argument because no actual data exists on *either* side.
In the past, it has been possible to get older models from retailers and 3rd party resellers (like MacMall) at a discount after they've been replaced by newer models. Apple usually doesn't offer older models on their own website, but will sell them in the stores until they run out of stock.
Availability and the amount of discount for the older models tends to be based on how many machines were still in the channel when the upgrade was announced and the old machines stopped being made - which can vary widely.
However, the upcoming refresh has some rumors going around about Apple possibly removing the internal Superdrive in the next version. If they actually do that, then a lot of people (myself included) who are waiting for the next Macbook Pro who need the internal optical disk will probably go for the older models, increasing demand, reducing supply, and potentially causing the price to actually go *up* instead of down - a rare thing in the market.
So while waiting might get you a bit of a price break, it might not, either. If you want to get a feel for what the price discounts are like, go to a site like MacMall -- they almost always have some older model Macbook Pros selling at a discount.
IMO, Apple feels that removing the optical disc is needed to add other features. These features are improved "lightness" and increase battery capacity.
These two features have been at the core of Apple's laptop for years. They have consistently removed ports and mechanisms that are not quite yet irrelevant in the name of lightness and battery life. Firewire, modems, and ethernet ports have all been blitzed off of the low end laptops. ODD have been left out of the ultrabooks.
Eventually, the ODDs will be dropped entirely from Apple's laptops. Maybe this revision, maybe the next ... but it will happen. Hopefully, there will be a solid and universal replacement when they do so.
I didn't put projectors or HDTV side-by-side. That makes much more sense now. When DVD first cam on the market, it simply used almost the full resolution of then-common TV sets, while analog cable and VHS were way inferior.
Ripping can be done for:
- Internet release (private copy exception to the copyright law)
- fair use 1:1 to read, and keep the original in mint condition
- store many movies to play on the road without keeping bulky cases
I stand firm on my principle that I will NEVER buy anything twice when I already own it. Hence ripping.
On MacWorld's forum, bastion argued that recent revisions of USB didn't put as much strain on the CPU than previous versions. He found this argument to have less value than before since CPUs are more powerful anyway. But I understand this example concerns "sound pros" exclusively.
Those are two categories of professionals. Sadly, I can't add my two cents about scientific applications, since most recent equipment comes cabled for Windows, or at least is Windows-compatible, even if it requires two PCs process instead of just one Mac. Last example I came across was a force-feedback haptics device that required FW400.Then there's digital video. While most consumer, and a few prosumer and several pro video cameras use AVCHD, the broadcast industry still treats DV/HDV as the good standard.
And what's the only way to runtime-stream that uncompressed, 15GB/hr video into your MacBook Pro? That would be FireWire.
Again, something I (personally) consider a "Pro" feature that the name needs to live up to.
I can think of other but also somewhat esoteric uses, but I think these two are the strongest and clearest reasons why FirewWire still has its place. Especially among create professionals, a market that Mac has courted and outstandingly served for many years...and something I hope continues.
MAybe to differentiate it as "highly mobile", where one could reasonably expect not to use it on a table? I agree that's slim evidence.
Perhaps they figured out that, even in the pro field, there were much more photographs than people requiring any Expresscard-dependant peripheral.
Hi
- does the older MB Pro's price go down when the new one is introduced and if so how much? (if the price difference isn't that significant I will at least be the wiser and able to compare the new with the old and decide which one I prefer).
- and the last question. Do you know, based on Apple's policy in the past, if the old MB Pro is still available after the new one has arrived?
However, they may have older models available as "refurbished" that come with the same warranty. Third-party vendors usually lower the older model's price to make room for the newer ones
I won't say "much" in that context. It is true that many software editors do provide an option for downloading their software.
How do you overcome the no-multisession restriction that is present in Mac OS X? Finding exactly 25GB of data to save on physical space requirements and per-GB cost isn't very practical.
What do you mean by that exactly?
The problem is you have to deal more and more with people who don't have an ODD to read the data. Even more so when this data is burnt on BD, which is still not frequently encountered on PCs.
+1. Optical discs remain the most reliable method to boot Windows and Lvarious linuses, instead of fumbling with USB keys to make them boot.