Thinner 15-Inch MacBook Pro Coming with Retina Display and USB 3.0?

[barmann]

It is not primarily Thunderbolt that that is killing off Firewire. It is USB 3.0 also.

Name a new camera that hit the market in the last 2-3 years with Firewire 800 on it? In the consumer/prosumer sprectrum I don't think there are any. You may be able to dig up a handful of niche cameras, but the overall trend with cameras as they have largely converted to "file storage" devices ( they have drives and transfer is a file transfer problem) is to dump FW.
...
etc .

You make a lot of valid points, but you don't consider one thing : any computer, OS and such that is being used in the professional world needs to maintain backwards compatibility a lot longer than anything that is made for the consumer market .

It's always easy to be in favour of changes when you have no dog in the fight .

FW is on the way out, which is unfortunate in my opinion, as I think it's the cat's meow re. file transfer and usability, but such is life .
Ethernet is a pain, yet again, life ain't perfect - many people still depend on it, and dodgy adapters don't always get the job done .

TB isn't there yet to allow for a seemless transition, and USB has never been very flexible .

It's way too early for an MBP without FW , but that's just me I guess .

 

[Ryth]

If the ports on your device define if you are a 'Pro'....I hate to tell you...but you aren't a 'Pro'.

 

[TMay]

Haven't been on MacRumors in a while. Are the fanboys still totally against USB 3?

As you are quite aware, some people chose sides, but most of these were (as per usual for MF) grossly uninformed about USB 3.0, TB and Intel's support, not to mention Apple's future plans.

It was obvious to me that Apple would adopt USB 3.0 alongside TB when Intel provided chipset support, which Intel now does. It is also obvious that Intel and Apple will support USB 3.0 over TB.

Just as it is obvious to me that some folks here are panicking for no valid reason over the (potential) lack of an Ethernet port on the MBP's and Air's.

 

[Ryth]

You make a lot of valid points, but you don't consider one thing : any computer, OS and such that is being used in the professional world needs to maintain backwards compatibility a lot longer than anything that is made for the consumer market .
.

Backwards compatibility is achieved via adapters. Deal with it.

 

[Stetrain]

Who said the new MBP wasn't going to have a dedicated power button? The mockup/reports suggest it'll be slimmer and that's it.

The source article specifically mentions that, including a mockup:

It isn't something new though, the Macbook Air line already has this in place of the old Eject button.

 

[8CoreWhore]

No Firewire????

All PRO audiointerfaces use FW connection. There is no way that i would take USB audio interface to stage.

Grr! I was waiting next MPB line to update, but now i need to buy current model just to have FW.

I also have 10+ FW hard drives that would become obsolete with this.

First of all this is a rumor and a mock up of a rumor... And there are three different sized Pros.

No need to panic over rumors.

 

[Wrathwitch]

I've said this once before and I will say it again.

If you are spending + $1500.00 on ANY Mac product you SHOULD NOT HAVE TO BUY A BLOODY DONGLE just to get the speed of internet connectivity that should come as a base spec/hardware with the machine.

It is ludicrous! Spend money on a bloody dongle because I want the fastest internet speed that my machine can get (ethernet) and yet be confined by the choking restrictions of something called a DONGLE???

How stupid. This is why they have iPads and MBAs.

At the very LEAST they should do is include connector devices that are a part of the basic requirement for a machine. ie: internet connectivity.

Think different my aunt fanny! More like think difficult!

Grrrr

Yeah, I know it's just a rumour. I will wait to see what they bring to the table.

 

[theSeb]

No need to panic over rumors.

That should have been posted in the article. It would have avoided the 11 pages .

 

[ZballZ]

No optical drive.... welp. Guess I'm not buying one after all then If I wanted this I'd have bought the Air.

Will have to deal with not having a portable Mac for another year of university and just keep my Mac Mini.

I for one (and probably many others too) am happy to see the SuperDrive go for something more usefull !

I've had two superdrives crash on me, and it is much more expensive to replace, than simply getting a standalone dvd-burner.

I now have an external blu-ray burner, which is faster and better (and obviously BR) than the superdrive ever was. And since I only use it about once a month - it is perfectly ok as an external device.

The question is ... what is the extra space going to be instead? I'm hoping for dual HDD - 256GB SSD + 1TB HD ... please don't mock my dreams

 

[Macrolido]

Is confirmed the lack of optical drive?

 

[tosehee]

You can't satisfy everyone I suppose..

These are good on my book..

Removal of Optical Drive --> Good
Removal of Ethernet -> Good

I'd go even further and get rid of SD, all USB, and all Firewire, and add 1 or 2 more Thunderbolt with optional dongles for these..

I rarely use the firewire, usb, SD.. these days, thanks to Thunderbolt Display..

 

[splitpea]

In the MBP sub-forum I've mentioned it a couple of times that if the thinner rumours are true, then Ethernet will have to go. Look at the side of your current MBP and tell me if it's possible to make it thinner without losing the Ethernet port.

It could be done with tapering. Just start it thicker than the MBA, and end it either as thin as the thin end of the MBA, or thinner than this one.

I understand the reasoning behind getting rid of it, it's just annoying to me because I work in offices where the wifi is overloaded, and being able to plug in to an ethernet cable is a lifesaver. Having to sacrifice a USB port to that, and carry an easily-lost adapter for it... not killer, but really really annoying.

 

[goobot]

Aw, i actually use my super drive from time to time, Is it impossible for them to make it any thinner?

 

[KPOM]

...and the total discreditation of the "Pro" moniker is complete!

How so? Over USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt, a Gigabit Ethernet adapter would work just fine. We don't use mainframes as "pro" computers anymore, so why do we still need to have dedicated ports for everything? Ethernet is gradually being replace by wireless, anyway.

 

[skellener]

Where are all the Thunderbolt adapters and hubs?

Thunderbolt-->Ethernet
Thunderbolt-->Firewire
Thunderbolt-->SATA
Thunderbolt-->USB 3.0

That would make the ports much more useful while we wait for more true Thunderbolt peripherals.

At a minimum the MacBook Pro should come with a Thunderbolt-->Ethernet adapter. It is a Pro model.

 

[Hardtimes]

If this rumour is true I'd be happy.

As long as they don't cripple it with un-upgradeable RAM and HDD's.
I expect they will though.

 

[BK.]

I for one (and probably many others too) am happy to see the SuperDrive go for something more usefull !

I've had two superdrives crash on me, and it is much more expensive to replace, than simply getting a standalone dvd-burner.

I now have an external blu-ray burner, which is faster and better (and obviously BR) than the superdrive ever was. And since I only use it about once a month - it is perfectly ok as an external device.

The question is ... what is the extra space going to be instead? I'm hoping for dual HDD - 256GB SSD + 1TB HD ... please don't mock my dreams

What exactly have they added in place of the ODD that is more useful? And useful to who?

They've sacrificed the ethernet port and ODD for a thinner design. This thinner design does not benefit me, ergo it is not useful for me.

The retina screen is cool. But they could have done that and kept the ODD.

They've specifically removed the ODD to make it thinner. I don't need it to be thinner. If I wanted or needed it any thinner, I'd have bought the Air in the first place.

This isn't a MacBook Pro, it's a MacBook Air 2. And well, if it doesn't ship with an SSD as standard, it's worse than an Air. How hilarious is that?

Seems like Apple have a death wish to me. I can't understand what they aim to achieve by having two almost identical machines. Who exactly does it benefit? Because it isn't everyone on here who wants the ethernet port to stay/FW to stay/the ODD to stay. And I doubt it will be Apple in the long run. Sure, I'm sure they'll manage to eat well every night, but if this rumour came true, then basically Apple are saying "look, there's no reason to buy a Pro". That's just... awkward.

 

[PracticalMac]

Easy solution: Get an Airport Express, set it up in Bridge-Mode and use it.

What do you mean by 'you do loose performance every time you convert protocols'?
Definitely, you will not get full Gb Ethernet speed when using a USB 2.0 adapter, but if it was USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt, there's no loss to worry about.

Obviously you do not understand comm protocols. If you did you would know.


As for bridge-mode, come here and convince my less then savvy boss that.

 

[willthebean]

I can see Apple want to move forward with their products, I'd definitely be for dropping Ethernet and optical disks if there was a good enough solution. But, I thought Apple were all for being integrated despite this not showing any integration, who wants half a dozen adapters sticking out of their laptop? Especially a professional, they deserve to have all the ports and slots they need for a hefty £999 price tag.

I don't totally understand the technology behind Thunderbolt so correct me if I'm wrong, it'd be great if Ethernet could be integrated in to Thunderbolt. That represents innovation in my eyes.

EDIT: Yeah, I know this is just a mock-up, I was thinking along the lines of if it were actually true.

 

[KaneBaker]

I was never a fan of the built in SD slot, just room for dust to gather in my case.

I can see how it will be great for you photographers out there though.

I love it. I bought a 128 GB 10x SD card for my wifes macbook air. The card lives in there and acts as the time machine volume.

I am just hoping the the new card readers will reach usb3 speeds, rather than being limited to a usb 2 controller.

 

[KPOM]

No optical drive.... welp. Guess I'm not buying one after all then If I wanted this I'd have bought the Air.

Will have to deal with not having a portable Mac for another year of university and just keep my Mac Mini.

Just buy the external optical drive for when you really need one. It is a lot smaller than a Mac Mini, which also doesn't have an optical drive. People said the same thing when the iMac dropped the floppy drive. Get over it. In a few years, we won't be using optical drives at all anymore.

 

[theSeb]

Where are all the Thunderbolt adapters and hubs?

Thunderbolt-->Ethernet
Thunderbolt-->Firewire
Thunderbolt-->SATA
Thunderbolt-->USB 3.0

That would make the ports much more useful while we wait for more true Thunderbolt peripherals.

At a minimun the MacBook Pro should come with a Thunderbolt-->Ethernet adapter. It is a Pro model.

Thunderbolt-->Ethernet - shipping: ATD announced: various
Thunderbolt-->Firewire shipping: ATD announced: various
Thunderbolt-->SATA shipping: Lacie
Thunderbolt-->USB 3.0 nothing announced, but with dedicated USB 3 ports, I don't think it's an issue.

 

[BK.]

You can't satisfy everyone I suppose..

These are good on my book..

Removal of Optical Drive --> Good
Removal of Ethernet -> Good

I'd go even further and get rid of SD, all USB, and all Firewire, and add 1 or 2 more Thunderbolt with optional dongles for these..

I rarely use the firewire, usb, SD.. these days, thanks to Thunderbolt Display..

These would be "good" if they didn't already have the Air.

They've removed the ethernet port and optical disc drive to make the design thinner. Not for any other cool, awesome, amazing, earth-shatteringly awesome new things. To make it thinner.

...but they already HAVE a super-thin, super-portable in the Air.

That's why it doesn't make sense. If they removed the ODD to allow for an SSD and a HDD as standard, that'd be pretty cool. But if this is true, which we don't know if it is or not yet, but, assuming it is, they've done it to make it thinner.

When they already have the Air.

Now even my 6 year old niece can see how illogical that would be.

 

[Dweez]

Hmm - no ethernet would be a deal breaker for me.

 

[CodexMonkey]

To me it looks "thinner" and that’s cool (lack of ethernet port aside), but I wouldn’t describe is as being "an ultra-thin version of the current MacBook Pro".

Somebody is going to run out of superlatives soon. I mean, if this is "ultra-thin" what will we call laptops when they’re as thin as a piece of paper?

Paper thin, I guess. Kind of answered my own question really.