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So I guess we now have that 13" Macbook pro :)
- Thread starter JWest
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Without at least firewire and a matte screen it's far from being an heir to the 12" PB.
It certainly is. Macbook buyers would be very happy to see but unfortunately Macbook is more expensive now. The top model is 1599 and the entry model has 2Ghz CPU ( Even the base model white Macbook had 2.1 Ghz CPU)
Apple should reconsider it's price tags for new laptops, as they even charge for converter cables for external displays.
Other than that, this overhaul is good for Macbook but bad for MBP buyers.
Apple should reconsider it's price tags for new laptops, as they even charge for converter cables for external displays.
Other than that, this overhaul is good for Macbook but bad for MBP buyers.
Indeed. And since the 12" Powerbook was indeed a powerbook, not an iBook, I don't consider it the successor to anything but the iBook. Especially given the feature set.
True. I really expected them to have a sub-$1000 notebook. Not a clearance model sold in enough quantities to pretend they lowered the prices
Just a thought: Are there any expresscard firewire adapters? Not as good as built in, but a solution none the less.
Edit:
Yup, this company sells 'em.
Edit:
Yup, this company sells 'em.
Well, yes, it's a workaround. Although you will have a bit sticking out, and if you use the port for, say, a card reader or even worse, a 3G card to upload stuff from, say, a harddisc, card reader, videocam, or audio recorder, you really can't use the Expresscard port for a FW adaptor to gain what they nixed.
True. It would be a perfect solution for some though. I never use firewire, but in the rare case I'd need it, I could just pop that card in. I understand that it's a bust they didn't include it though. I'm disappointed that they didn't add expresscard/54 to the MBP, but I guess Apple will do what Apple does: make things look pretty first before focussing on features.
Edit: Oops, I thought the new ones had expresscard. Is that only on the MBP's?
Yup, my bad. Ok well, I guess that's not a solution
Edit: Oops, I thought the new ones had expresscard. Is that only on the MBP's?
Yup, my bad. Ok well, I guess that's not a solution
Haha, true. I forgot about that in the course of five minutes
I looked for an USB to FW converter but I guess due to the different nature of BUS, there are none..
Maybe we can get an expresscard/pcmcia slot that connects to the MB using USB2.0, and then stick a FW 400 card in it.
i guess it's just a matter of time till someone finds a hack to get some firewire in there. or apple see's the need to put firewire in the high end. then its a 13.3 inch MBP!
i might have bout it if it had a FW400 or better an Express card slot.
i might have bout it if it had a FW400 or better an Express card slot.
I would have actually welcomed an express card slot more than FW400, cause then I would have a choice.
What sux is that there is no direction on what course of action we can do to be able to use this system with our existing crap. Just dead silence from Apple.
Maybe we can get an expresscard/pcmcia slot that connects to the MB using USB2.0, and then stick a FW 400 card in it.
get one of these bad boy (ahem...)
http://www.datafab.com/product/p2express_USBadp.asp
and one of these
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16839104011
Sure it wont work that fast, maybe not well at all, but it will connect hehe
http://www.datafab.com/product/p2express_USBadp.asp
and one of these
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16839104011
Sure it wont work that fast, maybe not well at all, but it will connect hehe
Nope, not on OS X, in any case.
I looked for an USB to FW converter but I guess due to the different nature of BUS, there are none..
Yup. It's non-existant. But even if it did exist, it would be the USB bus' ceiling you'd hit, and that would sort of defeat the purpose, methinks.
Ever since the intel transition people have prattled on about the 12" PB like it was a smaller version of the 15" and 17". It's revisionist nonsense. The 12" powerbook was little more than an aluminum-clad ibook. Compared to the bigger powerbooks:
- slower processor
- inferior graphics (worse than the radeon 9550 that was on the last ibook, actually)
- no backlit keys
- no FW800
- lower max RAM capacity
- no express card slot (did the big PBs have that? I don't remember)
The current high end macbook as compared to the current MBP:
- slower processor
- inferior graphics
- no FW800
- no express card slot
--> but it does have backlit keys and equal RAM capacity
Bottom line is the new macbook is closer to the MBP than the 12" powerbook ever was to the 15" or 17" powerbooks.
The bigger powerbooks had a PCMCIA slot instead of the Expresscard slot. It was a bitch when it happened as no cards (that I would be using) were available in expresscard32 when it came out.
The 12" powerbook had a poor resolution by todays standards at 1024X768, but you're comparing it to a 15" powerbook with a resolution of 1280X854.
The 1.33GHz 12" PB had 64MBs of video ram, just like the 1.33GHz Powerbook, the 1.5GHz, and the 17" 1.5 GHz Powerbook.
It had the same 8X combo drive as the entry level 15 incher, and although backlight wasn't available on the 12" PB, it was merely an OPTION on the 15" 1.33ghz. Yes, an option.
Edit: Oh, I forgot to mention that I wholeheartedly disagree with your last claim. I think it's the reverse. The new MBPs are closer to a MB than ever. It's not a pro machine, but a 2008-version of a stripped iBook with some added disadvantages such as the glossy screen.
I wanted a MBPish macbook and I held out for these, but I am POed that the base model lacks a back-lit keyboard because I was gonna say to my friends that I had a MBP, hehe Oh well, might as well settle with what I'm gonna have!
Oh well, might as well settle with what I'm gonna have!I wanted a MBP and I held out for these, but I am POed that the base model lacks a back-lit keyboard because I was gonna saw to my friends that I had a MBP, hehe
the new baseline Macbook Pro does NOT have a back lit keyboard??
Comparing MB of VRAM is a pretty damn poor way to assess graphics power. The 12" had an nvidea 5200 go and the bigger ones had mobility radeon 9700s. That's a bigger difference than the integrated in the new macbooks and the 9600 the MBP has.
You're also talking about the 1.33 Ghz 15" powerbook, but I'm talking last generation. By that time, the bigger powerbooks had higher resolution and the 12" still had 1024x768. The 15" also had backlit standard by that point.
How is the MBP "not a pro machine?" What would it need to have to be "pro?" I'm sure you're thinking matte screen, but other than that?
Yes it does. The top-end macbook and all of the macbook pros have backlit keys (as does the Air). Among apple notebooks, only the white macbook and 2 ghz aluminum macbook lack the backlit keys.