What MBP to expect next Tue?

[thegaffer]

distinction, thoughts

I wonder if we'll see a quad Macbook Pro? I'm sure if they did the iMac would get it too.

An interesting thought. Right now there is a very large distinction between iMac speed and Mac Pro speed, the iMacs are basically non-mobile laptops with a bigger screen (and a few bumps to other components to distinguish from laptops, gfx, hdd etc). Where does that leave us in the desktop market you might ask? I do ask... a quad MBP, maybe. A quad iMac? Not just yet I think, distinction in the product line!

Considering that Apple did add a Geforce 8800 GT BTO option to the Mac Pro line I think they have started to realize people want higher end cards in their machines and I hope this momentum is carried over into the next MBP release. Now the nay-sayers might say to-little, to-late. But I think Apple has made a commitment to its consumers on some part, especially now that we have Windows users converting over will still hanging on through the likes of Bootcamp and Parallels. I take it all in stride. Apple has mostly delivered on things that I need and has started hitting on a lot of the things that I want. 2007 was good, 2008 might be better.

 

[Digital Skunk]

The only design change to the design I'd like to see is user swappable hard drive like on the MB. I suspect that would make for a myriad of changes for the internals... Others talk of additional ports for eSata and such which seem like reasonable changes over time.

I'd like to see that along with the magnetic latch from the MacBook. They can keep the keyboard but I have a gut feeling that they will change it to suit the masses of people that think it's the greatest thing since the silicon chip. I would really just want to see some professional features that would set at least the 17" above or at the competition. Dual HDD are a stretch, but I know that we can get 512MB GFX cards, and at least another FW port.

Honestly, I hope Apple wises up and does a complete overhaul to the machine, the current design is far to limiting and Apple can still have a 1" thin 17" widescreen notebook that is redesigned to hold at least a few more ports and a smaller SSD for booting the OS and holding some apps.

I don't think we will see a case redesign but this talk about them not doing it due to the upcoming changes in the internals doesn't seem grounded in fact, since more or less the same case has been in use for 5 years amid a myriad of internal changes, including the complete overhaul from PPC to Intel. Apple doesn't have to redesign anything when a new internal architecture arrives, just as they could easily redesign around it before it arrives.

I agree. The biggest changes Apple has done was the switch from PPC to Intel and the changes to the outside were moderate at best. Nothing changed on the 17" and the 15" go more 17" styling. I think changing the design NOW at MacWorld would be the better way to bring in the new year. The MacBook Pro's case is starting to look way past dated... it's ugly, grey, and OLD. Nice for the times when PCs were making clunky boxes with plastic tabs on the side. Now, even Dell has a design that is hands over foot better than the MBP and offers much more expandability without adding too much weight.

Even if they made the MBP look like the MBs I'd be happy, and it would be different.