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What don't you like about the new Aluminum MacBook (besides no FW)?

NT1440 said:
when the screen is tilted away like in those pics......

I never understood why anyone wants to watch a movie at an angle instead of simply adjusting it to be leveled with your eyes.
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Thank you alllll the tests are simply while watching a movie, and the scene is always dark, thats when they choose to complain about it.

most of the time you are looking at white internet pages and they look just fine.

Im not saying the screens are great. they do suck, but you are buying a low end macbook. you shouldnt be constantly watching movies on a 13 inch screen anyway.

thats what tvs are for.
or go buy a 120 dollar monitor and shuuuuut up.
 
i completely agree with tmac, except that i dont think the screen sucks..for what i do and in my experience the screen is great. but i dont have the low end macbook, i bought the $1750 one. But honestly how many movies are you really going to be watching on this? maybe the occasional one while travelling, but for goodness sake, just adjust the screen and its perfect:apple:
 
i can see apple making a minor update to these in a year with a better screen and FW.
 
JamesGorman said:
i completely agree with tmac, except that i dont think the screen sucks..for what i do and in my experience the screen is great. but i dont have the low end macbook, i bought the $1750 one. But honestly how many movies are you really going to be watching on this? maybe the occasional one while travelling, but for goodness sake, just adjust the screen and its perfect:apple:
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ALL regular Macbooks, the 2.0 and 2.4, have the same screen. All reg Macbooks are low end/consumer type laptops. If you paid $1750 for a reg Macbook you got ripped off bad.

Screen in them is perfect? Thanks for the laugh. Complete denial or fanboyism at it's finest.
 
The size of the Pro was simply the deterrent for some people. I'm pretty sure there are tons of people waiting for the replacement of the 12 inch Powerbook for a couple of years now. With manufacturers like Sony now releasing full spec'd high end sub notebooks like the Vaio Z, I wish that Apple would offer a 13 inch Pro - I personally would pay extra for that. :)

A 13 inch with, 2.53 CPU, 1440X800 screen with a the same LCD panel as the Macbook AIR, Firewire (heh) or at least an express card slot (even some netbooks have these!) - would be really really nice.
MacJenn said:
ALL regular Macbooks, the 2.0 and 2.4, have the same screen. All reg Macbooks are low end/consumer type laptops. If you paid $1750 for a reg Macbook you got ripped off bad.
fanboism
Screen in them is perfect? Thanks for the laugh. Complete denial or fanboyism at it's finest.
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I do agree that the MBP has a much much better screen but I know a couple of people who are switchers and old Macbook users just purchased the new alu Macbook and are genuinely very happy with the screen. Its true the viewing angle is truly atrocious but it does look decent if properly calibrated and viewed at eye level.
 
Jiten said:
The size of the Pro was simply the deterrent for some people. I'm pretty sure there are tons of people waiting for the replacement of the 12 inch Powerbook for a couple of years now. With manufacturers like Sony now releasing full spec'd high end sub notebooks like the Vaio Z, I wish that Apple would offer a 13 inch Pro - I personally would pay extra for that. :)

A 13 inch with, 2.53 CPU, 1440X800 screen with a the same LCD panel as the Macbook AIR, Firewire (heh) or at least an express card slot (even some netbooks have these!) - would be really really nice.
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As would I. The lack of FW and the awful screen are my main beefs about the MB. I could easily do without the added size and weight (not to mention price) of the MBP.

I wonder how much of a price difference there is between the ****** panel in the MB and the better one in the Air? Both are 6-bit, 1280x800 TN panels after all.
 
acfusion29 said:
Both issues have been fixed by Apple. I bought a MacBook on launch day, and it had slanted keys, dust under the screen and the battery cover was only slightly loose. I had this one exchanged a few weeks ago because I had several problems. It was exchanged with one that was built in the 1st week of December and it has none of the problems that I mentioned above (dust under the screen, loose battery cover or slanted keys).
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How can one know when his MacBook was built? Is there a specific place on the box that displays this information? If not, is there any way I can know when it was built without opening the box?

Thanks for any help.
 
i didn get ripped off, im from canada so our prices are about 100 dollars more than in the states. And generally speaking i dont believe i have a low-end macbook. and as for fanboyism or whatever you called it, im completely happy with my macbook and for what i need it for it is perfect for me. Ive seen a couple of your posts before and it seems that your jsut trying to make yourself sound better so try not and act so tough over the internet please.
 
kasakka said:
As would I. The lack of FW and the awful screen are my main beefs about the MB. I could easily do without the added size and weight (not to mention price) of the MBP.

I wonder how much of a price difference there is between the ****** panel in the MB and the better one in the Air? Both are 6-bit, 1280x800 TN panels after all.
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According to Notebookcheck.net the contrast ratio of the MB Air is 1:300 while the Macbooks are around 1:150 or 1:200 depending on the brand of the panel. To be fair the 1:150 contrast is pretty decent for a consumer notebook.

Regarding the viewing angles horizontal viewing angles are pretty decent, it is the vertical viewing angles that kills it, the MBP (and all TN panels) also has it but the small screen of the MB makes it more obvious. Other then that the Macbook screen is not too shabby. I usually tell friends who become worried by reading threads like this to simply go to the Apple store and judge the screen of the Macbook for themselves. Most of them end up buying a Macbook anyway.
 
Jiten said:
The size of the Pro was simply the deterrent for some people. I'm pretty sure there are tons of people waiting for the replacement of the 12 inch Powerbook for a couple of years now. With manufacturers like Sony now releasing full spec'd high end sub notebooks like the Vaio Z, I wish that Apple would offer a 13 inch Pro - I personally would pay extra for that. :)

A 13 inch with, 2.53 CPU, 1440X800 screen with a the same LCD panel as the Macbook AIR, Firewire (heh) or at least an express card slot (even some netbooks have these!) - would be really really nice.


I do agree that the MBP has a much much better screen but I know a couple of people who are switchers and old Macbook users just purchased the new alu Macbook and are genuinely very happy with the screen. Its true the viewing angle is truly atrocious but it does look decent if properly calibrated and viewed at eye level.
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I had a Blackbook and the new alu Macbook. I saw no big difference n the quality of the screens. They were all trash and still are.

I got rid of my alu Macbook primarily because of the horrible screen in the reg Macbook.
 
everyone is entitled to their own opinions and in my opinion my macbook screen is relatively good. And like i said for what i do it is perfect. I have no beefs with it.
 
MacJenn said:
Believe what you want, but the reg Macbook is the lowend of the Apple laptops.

BTW don't tell me how to post. If you don't like my opinion use the ignore feature.
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Ok well i do have just the macbook, although it is higher than the base model so whatever, i dont really care anyway..it does what i need it to do and im happy with it. but as for me not liking your opinion thats not the case at all, your entitled to your opinion and thats fine. I have seen the side by side images of the MB and MBP and theres no arguing with those pictures. But i havent had anything nearly as bad as those pics show with my macbook. therefore i have no beefs with my screen and like i said to me its been perfect and i have no problems or complaints about it. thats it.
 
There aren't really anything I hate about my macbook. It fits my needs and I thought about getting a MacPro, but I felt it was overkill for what I needed it for. I don't need 2 graphics cards, firewire, or a bigger screen and the screen on the macbook is live-able. I like the size more than anything and 1 thing that sold me on a Macbook. I use a laptop for work and the 15.4 is too big for what I use it for and I sometimes work in a very tight spot, and when I do I use my macbook at times.
 
The worst thing about the screen in my old plastic book was the fact that after 14 months the lighting tubes were on the way out, making a dirty gray light instead of white......

Hopefully the LED backlighting in the unibody have a longer life before the brightness starts to trail off........
 
We can argue till the cows come home about this but it still wont stop people from buying the macbook. As apple says "The macbook is our most popular mac" so weather or not the screen makes a difference apple is obviously doing something very right with their line of "low-end" Macbooks.
 
MacJenn said:
I hate that people pay that much and get a cheap screen.
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How does that concern you? I went to the apple store and noticed a difference between the regular macbook and the pro. But by no means was the macbook bad, and I haven't had any problem with it for the month that I've had it. It could be better, but it's not a big problem. And that doesn't make me a "fanboy" to say it.
 
cogsinister said:
The worst thing about the screen in my old plastic book was the fact that after 14 months the lighting tubes were on the way out, making a dirty gray light instead of white......

Hopefully the LED backlighting in the unibody have a longer life before the brightness starts to trail off........
Click to expand...

They say LED never dims over time, it just turns off when it reaches its end of life. Hopefully the reports are true.
 
Primejimbo said:
There aren't really anything I hate about my macbook. It fits my needs and I thought about getting a MacPro, but I felt it was overkill for what I needed it for. I don't need 2 graphics cards, firewire, or a bigger screen and the screen on the macbook is live-able. I like the size more than anything and 1 thing that sold me on a Macbook. I use a laptop for work and the 15.4 is too big for what I use it for and I sometimes work in a very tight spot, and when I do I use my macbook at times.
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That sounds about how I feel too.. I switched from a 15" Toshiba laptop and just wanted something smaller and more mobile. The MB fits my needs perfectly. I have no problems with the screens. I've been through 5 seasons of 24 and quite a few movies, without having any issues with the viewing angles. There really isn't anything that I miss from my Windows laptop (not saying anything bad about Vista because I never had any big problems with it).
 
socco said:
How does that concern you? I went to the apple store and noticed a difference between the regular macbook and the pro. But by no means was the macbook bad, and I haven't had any problem with it for the month that I've had it. It could be better, but it's not a big problem. And that doesn't make me a "fanboy" to say it.
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Be careful!! She might attack you :eek:

I agree, to each his own. I don't really care if somebody else doesn't LIKE the Macbook, or it doesn't fit their needs. It fits my needs just fine. Everybody has their opinion and it needs to be respected. Just when you go generalizing and calling people names... that's not cool.
 
I have a love/hate relationship with my Macbook Aluminum. The horrid black levels and terrible color accuracy from the 6 bit TN panel screen are the things I hate the most about it. I get around the problem by having it hooked up to an external monitor most of the time but that kinda defeats the point of a portable machine. If Apple would just put the same screen in this sucker that they use on the Macbook Air I would be a happy camper. I don't care about the price, just wished I had the option of paying whatever it takes to get a better screen.

Other than that the Windows bootcamp drivers for this thing are garbage. Using Windows on this thing is a bag of hurt. You can get a better Windows experience from a bargain bin netbook or even a 5 year old used machine. Apple doesn't care and the fanboys don't care, but it's frustrating for those of us that do have to use Windows for work or whatnot. The mini displayport also seems quite buggy. Getting an external monitor to work on this thing without random flashes, wake from display sleep issues, or static is about 10x more retarded on the unibody machines than on the cheapest PC notebooks you can buy. On a PC notebook, for external monitors, "it just works." On the unibody it's plug and pray.

Other than that though, everything else is amazing. Fix those few problems and there'd be nothing to complain about.
 
tubbymac said:
I have a love/hate relationship with my Macbook Aluminum. The horrid black levels and terrible color accuracy from the 6 bit TN panel screen are the things I hate the most about it. I get around the problem by having it hooked up to an external monitor most of the time but that kinda defeats the point of a portable machine. If Apple would just put the same screen in this sucker that they use on the Macbook Air I would be a happy camper. I don't care about the price, just wished I had the option of paying whatever it takes to get a better screen.

Other than that the Windows bootcamp drivers for this thing are garbage. Using Windows on this thing is a bag of hurt. You can get a better Windows experience from a bargain bin netbook or even a 5 year old used machine. Apple doesn't care and the fanboys don't care, but it's frustrating for those of us that do have to use Windows for work or whatnot. The mini displayport also seems quite buggy. Getting an external monitor to work on this thing without random flashes, wake from display sleep issues, or static is about 10x more retarded on the unibody machines than on the cheapest PC notebooks you can buy. On a PC notebook, for external monitors, "it just works." On the unibody it's plug and pray.

Other than that though, everything else is amazing. Fix those few problems and there'd be nothing to complain about.
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Back up your claims. From what I heard, its a 8-bit H-IPS panel. And besides, Boot Camp works fine even with my MacBook. I've tried out Windows on my friends unibody, works fine. Right click is actually an option, unlike the older MacBook/Pros. I think you have a faulty logic board... or at least a faulty mini-displayport.
 
SnowLeopard2008 said:
Back up your claims. From what I heard, its a 8-bit H-IPS panel. And besides, Boot Camp works fine even with my MacBook. I've tried out Windows on my friends unibody, works fine. Right click is actually an option, unlike the older MacBook/Pros. I think you have a faulty logic board... or at least a faulty mini-displayport.
Click to expand...

If it was an IPS panel I'd be fairly happy. You either heard wrong, or whoever told you that doesn't understand how LCD technology works. The telltale sign of a cheap TN panel is color inversion as the vertical viewing angle increases. The telltale sign of 6 bit color is inability to depict an entire 16 million color gradient. You can verify both of these problems yourself with a bit of work but I'm feeling bored enough to prove it through some numbers. Numbers are easier to understand in this case.

First, you need the Macbook panel's EDID code. This is non trivial to get since there's no way to find out this information through the usual suspects (system profiler and color calibration utility) but luckily there's some command line hackery we can use. Type this in a Macbook terminal prompt:

ioreg -lw0 | grep IODisplayEDID | sed "/[^<]*</s///" | xxd -p -r | strings -6

And you'll get three lines looking like so:

P .00 6
LP133WX2-TLC1
Color LCD

The second line is the important one. On my Macbook 2.0 Aluminum from that line you can see the panel is of type LP133WX2. Hunt this down in google and you come across this link:

http://lcdtech.no-ip.info/en/data/laptop.lcd.panels.htm

Scroll to the 13.3" section of that page, match the panel, and you get:

LG.Philips
LP133WX2 TN TFT 1280×800 262K (6 bit)

Which means my Macbook is using an LG Philips TN 6 bit panel, which is exactly as I claimed.

The external display issue I claimed is easier to describe with a video than in words. Here's a video of it on an Apple 23 inch cinema display. Yeah, it doesn't work even on Apple's own monitor, which is kinda ironic:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=AgbN1NlWsLA

That issue has a 150+ post thread about it on the first link from here:

http://letmegooglethatforyou.com/?q=apple+support+discussions+external+display+issue

Just replace the last four words in that last link with "bootcamp driver issue" and whatever else you're unsure about so you can convince yourself the issues aren't imaginary.
 
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