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Thanksgiving Roundup: Apple Buys Land, New MacBooks in April, App Store Sales, Black Friday Prices
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Actually, that's quite a reasonable question, but they do (try to) explain it away in their notes section: "* The 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro received a new build-to-order option for a 2.8 GHz Intel Core i7 processor on October 20th, 2010. The new option does not constitute a full update to the MacBook Pro line, but does suggest that a more substantial update to the full MacBook Pro lineup is not imminent."
Take what you want from that I suppose.
Meh, all I care about regarding the Macbook update is that the 13-inch MBP gets a matte screen. I could honestly care about if there's an optical drive or not in my machine - as of now, I only use it to play Sims and burn the occasional DVD/CD once a year. An antiglare screen for all models would be wonderful though. =)
I know I won't have buyer's remorse. That is such a stupid concept. Be happy with what you have.
Not an entirely stupid concept.. I know I, and probably many others here would be annoyed if they bought a shiny iPad and then found out the next day that for the same amount of money they could have a much better spec product.. Granted, if you received the iPad as a gift though, there's no reason to complain.. just have 2 iPads!
Removal of the Superdrive won't go far in offsetting the cost of SSD for MBP.. especially if Apple want to offer the same higher storage capacity with MBP. To be honest, I think the MBP is fine as it is in terms of form factor and features.. SSD seems overkill at the moment (due to cost) unless you're looking for extra mobility.. although quad core and a GPU bump would be nice!
dump Superdrive!
I seldom use Superdrive because of its short lifespan, so I use an external optical drive. When I'm on the road, I still don't use Superdrive because I never have a need for it, opting for flash drives instead. With the extra space, perhaps the MBP can hold 16gb RAM and 1gb VRAM to accommodate an updated FCP that offers native 64-bit editing of DVCPRO HD, XDCAM and AVCHD.
I seldom use Superdrive because of its short lifespan, so I use an external optical drive. When I'm on the road, I still don't use Superdrive because I never have a need for it, opting for flash drives instead. With the extra space, perhaps the MBP can hold 16gb RAM and 1gb VRAM to accommodate an updated FCP that offers native 64-bit editing of DVCPRO HD, XDCAM and AVCHD.
Waiting for the harddrive umpteen times a day because one does not have a SSD it what I call inconvenient. Not pulling out an external DVD drive once per week.
Let me ask you a question, Apple sells two computers without a built-in DVD drive, it sells an external DVD that works with these two computer models. Now, if Apple added a third computer model without a built-in DVD drive, why would any sane person not assume that it would also be compatible with the external DVD drive Apple sells?
Apple should stop selling their own software on DVD:
They should first move to a download only format for their own software (which most if not all their computers sold in the past 10 years can take advantage of right now!) before making an optical drive an accessory to their notebook computers. They should not assume that you will have another computer that you can use (Remote Disk) and should not charge for an external drive. Will all their software be available on the Mac App Store? Will Final Cut Studio be part of it? That will be a huge download! iWork will be part of it I'm sure, but I would place a large bet that they will still sell DVDs for a while after Mac Apps are live.
If Apple is not 100% on board with an optical disc free environment then it's too soon to drop the optical disc from anything other than "ultra portables" (which are not meant to be primary computers, a MacBook Pro as it is today can be and I'm sure is for many here.) If they do move to 100% downloads, then other companies (Microsoft, Adobe, Parallels, etc) will follow for the software they make for Macs.
I'm fine with an external drive but it should be free ($80 isn't a lot when you are buying a Mac which is already expensive, it's more about the principle. If they sell software on DVDs, their computers that seem to be made to be primary computers should be able to read them without buying an accessory)
Apple's online store listing for iWork said:
They should first move to a download only format for their own software (which most if not all their computers sold in the past 10 years can take advantage of right now!) before making an optical drive an accessory to their notebook computers. They should not assume that you will have another computer that you can use (Remote Disk) and should not charge for an external drive. Will all their software be available on the Mac App Store? Will Final Cut Studio be part of it? That will be a huge download! iWork will be part of it I'm sure, but I would place a large bet that they will still sell DVDs for a while after Mac Apps are live.
If Apple is not 100% on board with an optical disc free environment then it's too soon to drop the optical disc from anything other than "ultra portables" (which are not meant to be primary computers, a MacBook Pro as it is today can be and I'm sure is for many here.) If they do move to 100% downloads, then other companies (Microsoft, Adobe, Parallels, etc) will follow for the software they make for Macs.
I'm fine with an external drive but it should be free ($80 isn't a lot when you are buying a Mac which is already expensive, it's more about the principle. If they sell software on DVDs, their computers that seem to be made to be primary computers should be able to read them without buying an accessory)
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You are funny, what if you want a MBA but do not want an external DVD drive shipped with it (these people do exist), Apple should not let you buy it without the external DVD drive?
Personally, I wouldn't want to see the internal superdrive disappear. I buy all my music on CD (because I want to own it physically, including coverartwork, booklet, etc.) and rip it via iTunes. I wouldn't mind however having to purchase an external superdrive if its exclusion would result in a lighter, slimmer MBP version equipped with an SSD+HDD solution with LOTS of space. Just seeing the superdrive go and having the same amount of discspace as the current MBAs wouldn't cut it for me.
I shouldn't cry about it anyway, though, I won't buy a new Mac before 2012. My current 2010 MBP does everything I need just beautifully.
I shouldn't cry about it anyway, though, I won't buy a new Mac before 2012. My current 2010 MBP does everything I need just beautifully.
Rumors or Apple Advice For Christmas ?
25 December 2010
Product MacBook Pro
Recommendation: *Don't Buy - Updates soon *
Product MacBook
Recommendation: *Don't Buy - Updates soon *
Produce IPAD
Recommendation: Buy only if you need it - Approaching the end of a cycle / don't Buy - Update soon
>>>don't buy apple products for Christmas
25 December 2010
Product MacBook Pro
Recommendation: *Don't Buy - Updates soon *
Product MacBook
Recommendation: *Don't Buy - Updates soon *
Produce IPAD
Recommendation: Buy only if you need it - Approaching the end of a cycle / don't Buy - Update soon
>>>don't buy apple products for Christmas
I totally agree. Admittedly, I don't use my optical drive much apart from burning CDs, DVDs and playing games. But, I do have a large amount of data stored on CDs and DVDs that I do like to access quickly. So, an option to stick or twist would be preferable. If not, will I miss a built-in Superdrive? Not sure yet... Will I wait for the new MBP? Yes.
In another thread I said there should be an option for those who buy a MacBook or MacBook Pro to be able to get it without an optical drive and get that $80 taken off the price of the notebook computer. This would be for people who know they don't want an external drive, they should not have to pay for something they won't use.
Also this was directed at the MacBook and MacBook Pro which currently can easily be someone's primary/only computer. I think as long as Apple sells DVDs, their "regular sized" notebooks should be able to read them without an additional accessory.
I see the MacBook Air as something that would be a secondary computer, something light for travel that is still very capable, but not really a main machine. I can understand the external Superdive being an accessory for the Air but not the Pro or white MacBook. They made it to be as light and thin as possible while still having excellent battery life, the removal of an optical drive is part of the total package.
I actually have relatives who have MacBook Airs, the older ones with hard drives, who do use them as primary machines, but they aren't heavy computer users. They are older people who generally just sync their iPhones, surf the internet or read email. They don't install a lot of software. The Air is perfect for them!
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The website says that the entry price will be $1999. I don't want the MBA to become the new mbp 13''. I need an optical drive lots of memory and a fast processor I could use an external optical drive.
Except for the time difference and equipement required between writing a Flash drive and pressing a DVD. Some of you guys sure don't look at the big picture.
Why would a "sane person" not assume that an APPLE external DVD drive, made and sold by APPLE, is compatible with ALL APPLE computers?
Obviously, they must not be a "sane person", since the APPLE external DVD is proprietorially locked in to just one (and now two) APPLE computers only!
When it comes to assumptions, sanity and proprietary products only the Jobs knows!
This argument would be great were it not for the simple fact that if you just made the damn thing 0.2" thicker, you could provide all of that AND not get rid of the optical drive. We could have our cake and eat it too. If we're saying that to remove the optical drive adds room for things, then we're talking about either preserving the current thinness or going thinner, and really, either isn't necessary, nor should it be. We could even have all of that in the current design WITH the optical drive when the next generation of SSDs and Intel chips come out anyway.
Having to pull out a DVD drive at all, even once, is more inconvenient than having the damn thing built into the laptop at all. I have a netbook for which I'm going to have to buy that drive for the sake of installing software onto. Yes, I'll only need to install things onto it once, but the fact that I even have to do all that for that one time is inconvenient.
As for your "waiting for the hard drive" argument, (a) write speeds are faster on a hard drive than they are on an SSD, (b) you can order a MacBook Pro today of either of the three size categories with an SSD drive, and (c) it's probably safe to assume that in the next revision, removal of the optical drive or not, we'll have that cute blade SSD in the entire Pro line anyway so we can customize a MacBook Pro like we currently can a 27" iMac; with both an SSD and a HDD, and no, removing the optical drive to do this is not at all necessary, I have no idea where you guys are getting that idea. As for the quad-core CPUs, with or without an optical disc drive, the MacBook Pros are too thin for the quad-core laptop CPUs that you have in other laptops today, it's not like that drive makes all the difference. Again, need I note that other 17" laptops on the market have two hard drive bays and the 17" MacBook Pro (as well as the 17" PowerBook G4 before it) has never had room for more than one all for the sake of thinness.
Spend an extra hundred
I'm surprised so many ppl are resistant to spending an extra hundred to go external optical. If they do the RAID 128 SSD and 500 or 750 HDD that would be a remarkable set up. The external drives work pretty fine, and if you need to rip data off cd's and dvd's then you definitely need the extra HD space and should want a dual system. SSDs are just too fast and too battery efficient to resist nowadays and nobody on a laptop wants to carry around an external drive just to watch a video or listen to a song. If it doesnt look like theyre gonna do that dual system and theyre leaving out sandy bridge and light peak then im just gonna get the current 17" i5 which is a beast of a machine and just take out the opti drive and put a 750 GB WD HDD in there and replace the hitachi drive with an 80 Gig SSD. But April is way too far for me im having big trouble waiting! It all depends on whether light peak is coming in this update and whether light peak is coming in March or in time for CES right after new years when sandy bridge is being shown. Id assume that Apple can get sandy bridge mbp's shipping by the end of january, as id also assume theyve already got sandy bridge cpu's from intel and they are already in production. Apple typically releases updates every 8 months, whihc would mean a january release is logical, but the last update got held up to 10 months because of delays with the i7's gpu, so that could happen again because of light peak.
I'm surprised so many ppl are resistant to spending an extra hundred to go external optical. If they do the RAID 128 SSD and 500 or 750 HDD that would be a remarkable set up. The external drives work pretty fine, and if you need to rip data off cd's and dvd's then you definitely need the extra HD space and should want a dual system. SSDs are just too fast and too battery efficient to resist nowadays and nobody on a laptop wants to carry around an external drive just to watch a video or listen to a song. If it doesnt look like theyre gonna do that dual system and theyre leaving out sandy bridge and light peak then im just gonna get the current 17" i5 which is a beast of a machine and just take out the opti drive and put a 750 GB WD HDD in there and replace the hitachi drive with an 80 Gig SSD. But April is way too far for me im having big trouble waiting! It all depends on whether light peak is coming in this update and whether light peak is coming in March or in time for CES right after new years when sandy bridge is being shown. Id assume that Apple can get sandy bridge mbp's shipping by the end of january, as id also assume theyve already got sandy bridge cpu's from intel and they are already in production. Apple typically releases updates every 8 months, whihc would mean a january release is logical, but the last update got held up to 10 months because of delays with the i7's gpu, so that could happen again because of light peak.
I'm already spending triple the cost for a Mac laptop than a PC laptop from a decent manufacturer with the same specs. Money doesn't grow on trees and at this rate, what you're proposing is that I spend extra money for an inconvenience and that I be happy with it as a solution. No thanks, pal.
Or to, y'know, burn discs, or install or reinstall software, or to copy things, 'cause clearly no one does that anymore. Come on, is everyone in this bloody forum a freakin MacBook/MacBook Air user content with sipping Jobs' Koolaid on thinness and removing useful features so that, in theory, we can get useful features (that are unlikely to make it in anyway)? Wake up, people, you're not going to get a quad-core CPU if they remove the optical drive. You're gonna get the MacBook Air's blade SSD regardless, and the hard drive will be there too because it's too expensive to get 512GB of SSD as is and you better believe it isn't getting that much cheaper by next April.
Best of luck with that. Also, Lightpeak, isn't coming to any Mac laptop next calendar year, I'd bank heavily on it.
BTO with 2nd battery or 2nd drive?
Not sure if Apple would want to simply remove the SuperDrive across the board. But I wouldn't be surprised if Apple allowed users to choose SuperDrive or 2nd battery or 2nd mass storage device as a build-to-order option.
The SuperDrive probably has a far smaller volume than the primary battery, so the 2nd battery might only add a few hours of extra battery life. And the SuperDrive is probably far thinner than your average HDD or SSD enclosure, so Apple might need to use "blade" flash RAM for the 2nd mass storage device.
But even if the 2011 MBPro line still has non-deletable SuperDrives, the writing is already on the wall. All those iDVD demos at MacWorld got Steve to think "There's gotta be a better way." iMovie used to have a "Create iDVD Project" button. Now you need to "Share" to the "Media Browser" at high quality, then launch iDVD and find your shared media to add to your iDVD project.
And, of course, there's AirPlay (almost) now. So we see the method behind the madness. Plastic discs have no place in Apple's future, aside from the random backup or demo disc for clients. Steve wants you to buy through iTunes or rent through Apple TV, not buy plastic discs.
What if they had SSD + second internal storage? Some people need to carry around hundreds of gigs of stuff. And no external HD
Not sure if Apple would want to simply remove the SuperDrive across the board. But I wouldn't be surprised if Apple allowed users to choose SuperDrive or 2nd battery or 2nd mass storage device as a build-to-order option.
The SuperDrive probably has a far smaller volume than the primary battery, so the 2nd battery might only add a few hours of extra battery life. And the SuperDrive is probably far thinner than your average HDD or SSD enclosure, so Apple might need to use "blade" flash RAM for the 2nd mass storage device.
But even if the 2011 MBPro line still has non-deletable SuperDrives, the writing is already on the wall. All those iDVD demos at MacWorld got Steve to think "There's gotta be a better way." iMovie used to have a "Create iDVD Project" button. Now you need to "Share" to the "Media Browser" at high quality, then launch iDVD and find your shared media to add to your iDVD project.
And, of course, there's AirPlay (almost) now. So we see the method behind the madness. Plastic discs have no place in Apple's future, aside from the random backup or demo disc for clients. Steve wants you to buy through iTunes or rent through Apple TV, not buy plastic discs.
They can now
There is no reason why Apple cant put in a 64+64 SSD chip in a raid setup now with a 500GB SATA hard drive in the current form factor with out removing the optical drive except for Price. If Apple wanted to offer that they could but at what price does the laptop get to expensive. If Apple has shown one thing all these years they are excellent at making things small. They would have to redesign the guts of the laptop, perhaps use a specially made hard drive that is even smaller then 2.5" like they do for the iPod Classic and use a thin circut strip SSD setup like in the Macbook Air but if they wanted to they could. A lot of people seem to be stuck in there thinking, the only way they can add multiple drives is to use current form factor boxed drivers and remove a optical drive. Well sorry no they don't have to do it that way. They can use other methods that you are not thinking about to achieve dual drives and a optical drive.
Apple gets larger batteries in place by doing away with the plastic case around a battery and form fitting the battery to all the availible space in the computer. They get better life out of the battery with a smarter charging system and a smarter usage of the battery. They got a SSD into a super thin macbook Air 11.6" by doing away with the case and going with a custom built board. They get better cooling at slower and quiet speeds out of the fans by using more blades. Removing something to put something else in is the Asus or Sony or Dell way of thinking. Apple will just redesign what they need to redesign to make it all fit.
I am betting we will see lightpeak in the Macbook Pro's before we lose the optical drive.
I am betting that we will see a single board with 2 SSD Drives worth of chips in a raid setup for better performance in a small form factor or a SSD hybrid Standard drive setup, same size as a 2.5" hard drive but its a traditional plater drive for size with SSD chips built into the package to give 2 drives, a SSD system/app drive and the large storage disk drive for data.
I am betting that they will still shave off a tiny bit of size so its just ever so slightly smaller then the previous generation.
I am betting that improvements in CPU and chipset will give us even more battery life with out changing the current size of the battery.
There is no reason why Apple cant put in a 64+64 SSD chip in a raid setup now with a 500GB SATA hard drive in the current form factor with out removing the optical drive except for Price. If Apple wanted to offer that they could but at what price does the laptop get to expensive. If Apple has shown one thing all these years they are excellent at making things small. They would have to redesign the guts of the laptop, perhaps use a specially made hard drive that is even smaller then 2.5" like they do for the iPod Classic and use a thin circut strip SSD setup like in the Macbook Air but if they wanted to they could. A lot of people seem to be stuck in there thinking, the only way they can add multiple drives is to use current form factor boxed drivers and remove a optical drive. Well sorry no they don't have to do it that way. They can use other methods that you are not thinking about to achieve dual drives and a optical drive.
Apple gets larger batteries in place by doing away with the plastic case around a battery and form fitting the battery to all the availible space in the computer. They get better life out of the battery with a smarter charging system and a smarter usage of the battery. They got a SSD into a super thin macbook Air 11.6" by doing away with the case and going with a custom built board. They get better cooling at slower and quiet speeds out of the fans by using more blades. Removing something to put something else in is the Asus or Sony or Dell way of thinking. Apple will just redesign what they need to redesign to make it all fit.
I am betting we will see lightpeak in the Macbook Pro's before we lose the optical drive.
I am betting that we will see a single board with 2 SSD Drives worth of chips in a raid setup for better performance in a small form factor or a SSD hybrid Standard drive setup, same size as a 2.5" hard drive but its a traditional plater drive for size with SSD chips built into the package to give 2 drives, a SSD system/app drive and the large storage disk drive for data.
I am betting that they will still shave off a tiny bit of size so its just ever so slightly smaller then the previous generation.
I am betting that improvements in CPU and chipset will give us even more battery life with out changing the current size of the battery.