U.S. Mac Demand Soft in January as Customers Wait for Updated Models

[koolmagicguy]

Other than the ODD bit, wouldn't an Air with a faster chip be just as capable for all the things you do if not better due to the higher resolution? I can see the argument for the ones with a dedicated GPU but the 13" MBP doesn't have that option as far as I know and use the same built-in GPU as the Air does. I suppose the SSD capacity would be the only limitation then.

True. Hard drives are a lot cheaper than SSD's, especially from Apple. I'd rather have a slower computer with an HD than spend 3 times as much for half the storage with an SSD. I'm not saying that the Air isn't powerful, and the 13" isn't the most powerful MBP. But I do like having a computer that has enough space and an ODD.

 

[milo]

That's almost as vague as the first claim. Is there something specific that you have in mind?

Windows and menus open much faster, Lion always felt very laggy and slow doing simple things in the finder and elsewhere and ML makes those things feel faster again. Basically you click on something and it opens instead of a pause first.

And besides the speed, there are a number of bug fixes already (some may make it into future 10.7.x updates, some may not) and a number of new features, generally minor stuff but things that make it more polished than 10.7.3. Overall it seems like more of a tweak, polish, and optimize release than a major rewrite (much like 10.6 although it seems like Apple is trying to avoid that comparison).

 

[Jacquesass]

I've had a 15" Apple laptop going back 10 years ... and I'm actually considering moving to a MBA.

If the new 13" MBA was available with 8GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, I would be very tempted. Discrete graphics would seal the deal. That said, I think it's more likely that the 15" MBP will lose the ODD, move to 7mm 2.5" drives, lose a pound and gain two hours of battery life ... and I'll be buying on day one.

 

[uberamd]

Considering most use iTunes for their music, not sure wtf they are using an ODD for...everything can be DL'd digitally, from courses to game to music to videos, etc.

Do you have any idea what you're talking about? I work for a University system that has over 52,000 students and 3,300 academic staff. Guess what, about half of incoming freshman are bring Macs with them, and 99% of those Macs are the 13" MacBook Pro.

They are sturdy, reliable systems that perform nicely for a student. Moreover even non-tech-savvy students I've worked with have said they do NOT want Windows on it because of how Windows slows down over time (winrot). Mind you, these are fairly technologically illiterate students complaining about Windows, and for many of them this is their first Mac.

Also, "most" students don't get their music from iTunes. Optical drives are used a lot in school to do anything from installing Office to playing DVDs and loading up coursework from textbooks.

You, sir, have no clue what you're talking about.

 

[GermanyChris]

That's almost as vague as the first claim. Is there something specific that you have in mind?

Ok..

I uses less system resouces..

Has better battery life if your on a portable.

Integrates better/easier with the cloud if thats your thing.

Safari is no longer the stick in the mud is been for the last couple updates.

Boot times are back to normal.

Flash is significantly better.

It's what Lion should have been.

 

[natejohnstone@g]

I know that I'M waiting for the next update, which I why I didn't buy my new 17" a few weeks ago.

This just shows how important release schedules are. If Apple doesn't release a new Mac update before the end of the quarter, than quarterly sales will be way down. This will lead to a drop in stock and other problems (because a great many people just look at numbers, and consider all explanations to be excuses).

In a situation like this, it might make a huge difference whether you release a product one month or the next. I don't think it will be that huge for Apple in this case, but it will matter.

I do really hope we see the new 17" MBPs soon, though.

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Do you have any idea what you're talking about? I work for a University system that has over 52,000 students and 3,300 academic staff. Guess what, about half of incoming freshman are bring Macs with them, and 99% of those Macs are the 13" MacBook Pro.

They are sturdy, reliable systems that perform nicely for a student. Moreover even non-tech-savvy students I've worked with have said they do NOT want Windows on it because of how Windows slows down over time (winrot). Mind you, these are fairly technologically illiterate students complaining about Windows, and for many of them this is their first Mac.

Also, "most" students don't get their music from iTunes. Optical drives are used a lot in school to do anything from installing Office to playing DVDs and loading up coursework from textbooks.

You, sir, have no clue what you're talking about.

You're completely correct. ODDs are important for a ton of professionals and students, as well as some others, like parents with small children who don't have time to rip all those stupid kids dvds ... just for an example 🙂

When Apple cut-out the original 3.5" disc drive I was in college, and it was a PAIN IN THE ARSE to get my papers printed off from my friend's Mac! That was before USB drives or ODDs. I had to email it to myself, then go to a computer lab and hope the formatting didn't get all fraked up (which it often did). It took me like 10 years to "forgive" Apple and buy a Mac myself.

I just don't get it when guys are adamantly "Kill the ODDs, nobody uses them anymore!" Look, if you don't need it, than hooray for you. Buy a MBA or swap out the ODD for an Optibay. There are some of us who still use an ODD.

Apple ALREADY sells a computer with an ODD, it's called the MBA. They're probably even adding a 15" version of it this year.

 

[Cheebo]

I know that I'M waiting for the next update, which I why I didn't buy my new 17" a few weeks ago.

This just shows how important release schedules are. If Apple doesn't release a new Mac update before the end of the quarter, than quarterly sales will be way down. This will lead to a drop in stock and other problems (because a great many people just look at numbers, and consider all explanations to be excuses).

In a situation like this, it might make a huge difference whether you release a product one month or the next. I don't think it will be that huge for Apple in this case, but it will matter.

I do really hope we see the new 17" MBPs soon, though.

----------



You're completely correct. ODDs are important for a ton of professionals and students, as well as some others, like parents with small children who don't have time to rip all those stupid kids dvds ... just for an example 🙂

When Apple cut-out the original 3.5" disc drive I was in college, and it was a PAIN IN THE ARSE to get my papers printed off from my friend's Mac! That was before USB drives or ODDs. I had to email it to myself, then go to a computer lab and hope the formatting didn't get all fraked up (which it often did). It took me like 10 years to "forgive" Apple and buy a Mac myself.

I just don't get it when guys are adamantly "Kill the ODDs, nobody uses them anymore!" Look, if you don't need it, than hooray for you. Buy a MBA or swap out the ODD for an Optibay. There are some of us who still use an ODD.

Apple ALREADY sells a computer with an ODD, it's called the MBA. They're probably even adding a 15" version of it this year.

Apple getting rid of the floppy before it was "time" to get rid of it was one of the best decisions they ever made. They kill off a tech that is clearly going to die early to put pressure on the rest of the industry to get with the time.

ODD is in the same situation floppies were in in 1998. And Apple once again is going to force the industry to move on and abandon it by removing it from their entire Mac line. I can't see them not doing this.

 

[Eric S.]

Windows and menus open much faster, Lion always felt very laggy and slow doing simple things in the finder and elsewhere and ML makes those things feel faster again. Basically you click on something and it opens instead of a pause first.

And besides the speed, there are a number of bug fixes already (some may make it into future 10.7.x updates, some may not) and a number of new features, generally minor stuff but things that make it more polished than 10.7.3. Overall it seems like more of a tweak, polish, and optimize release than a major rewrite (much like 10.6 although it seems like Apple is trying to avoid that comparison).

How does it compare to Snow Leopard?

Apple getting rid of the floppy before it was "time" to get rid of it was one of the best decisions they ever made. They kill off a tech that is clearly going to die early to put pressure on the rest of the industry to get with the time.

It was at least a year too early though. Until writable CDs came out, users had no viable backup capability.

 

[milo]

How does it compare to Snow Leopard?

It's a much closer comparison at least in terms of speed. Lion was a big step back and the improvement in ML is very obvious - it feels much more like SL, whether it's actually as fast as SL or faster will probably take more comparison but it definitely feels good to use.

 

[xgman]

It's a much closer comparison at least in terms of speed. Lion was a big step back and the improvement in ML is very obvious - it feels much more like SL, whether it's actually as fast as SL or faster will probably take more comparison but it definitely feels good to use.

placebo effect . . . .

 

[damir00]

Interesting. I find Lion faster, more reliable and more useable than SL in virtually every respect.

YMMV, I guess...

 

[milo]

placebo effect . . . .

If there was placebo effect, why would so many users consistently be finding Lion slower? I'm not aware of any interface benchmarks but there are ways to measure things like how fast windows appear and I'll bet that would confirm that Lion actually is slower and ML faster.

It's not like it's a subtle difference. The slower stuff in Lion is REALLY noticeable as is the change back in ML.