MacBook Pro - very sharp!!!

I agree. finally, something to respect! I wonder if they will ever be able to shove a workstation graphics card in there? SO does this mean that the iBook will be just the "MacBook" without the "pro?"

I agree that it is a great looking notebook. My PB G4 runs great too, so I would assume that the MacBook Pro would too since it is supposedly 4x-5x faster, but they didn't have to make it any thinner than previous models. Because they did, the Superdrive was downgraded, which is holding me back from purchasing a new one. Still, the other great features, built-in iSight, IR port for Front Row, and new software upgrades in iLife 06 which is packaged with it.

I dont think that the downgrade on the drive is that bad. I mean how long does it take to burn a disk (double as before I know) but seriously is that much of a big deal?

All the gripes that people have, ie. no fw800 and 4x instead of 8x burner, don't bother me at all since I don't really use those. But I can see how it would bother most Mac people since Macs are generally used for movie, music, photo editing which require those. I can't wait until somebody gets one of these and reviews it.

I didnt remember that...

Since I hardly ever use those. But yeha if you really are capturing video of a camera that would suck, the burner however unlesss you need the disk right at that moment then it wouldnt be a pain would it? I mean because of the dual core you could probably still do most (if not all) of whatever it is you have to do.

A LOT of video cameras still use Firewire 400 so that isnt as bad as you would think, but it only slows down the deployment of 800 which would be much better.

There are some cameras I would assume with 800, and there are a few audio interfaces that use 800. Primarily though I would need it for external HDs to store files on for my audio and the lack of it is more than frustrating IMO. The lack of DL burning doesnt bother me much as I use a lot of Mini-DVDs anyways so I would have to buy an external burner for those

Seablade

But Firewire is backwards compatible like USB right? now all we need is massive hardrives, gonna be kinda hard if laptops are getting any smaller tho.

How bout a big ass hardrive the size of the computer, like massive, like a vinyl record (I think thats what theyr called) yeah..

Yea it is though it does require a different connector(Slightly).

Which is why a LOT of people are very curious why they went with a single 400 port instead of an 800. It makes no sense to me. And makes me agree that despite the name this may actually be the iBook converted instead of the PowerBook as it doesnt seem very good on the 'Pro' level.

Seablade

Yep. According to rumors both the 12 and 14 inch iBook will replaced by the 13" widescreen MacBook.

Here's a little article I found about this laptop, some interesting points http://www.unsanity.org/archives/000445.php

most of ATI and nvidia's workstation cards are based off of their mainstream architecture. in the past, simply flashing some models could make it a workstation GPU. in any case, i think it's possible, but i'm not sure how plausible it is for the Mac notebooks which haven't had a history of GPU configurability like Dell and Alienware.

I am sorry at 2000$ starting no thank you at all.

i mean....yes, the macbook is a HUGE step forward from the PB and the iB, but not at the $2500 for the higher level model. Since you'll probably be able to get the new asus thats comming up for at least $300 less with the same hardware.

What a surprise...the PowerBook finally becomes a true competitor with PC laptops and abf STILL finds something wrong with it.

the resolution sucks: 1440x900

the processor needs to b 64bit to ensure that this laptop will still kick ass 2-3 years down the line and it needs to have a minimum of 4MB L2 Cache. 2 for each core. As it stands right now each 1.8 ghz core has 1 MB L2. not acceptable.

The dvd drive isnt a big deal to me.......just the screen and processor.

as soon as there is a 17" screen with a res of 1680x1050 or higher and a processor with 64bit I will have one on order.

look, the reason they went with a lower res by 60 pixels was to balance the pixels on teh screen after the last pb 15" display issues. They irregular shape of the pixels caused that issue.

That said - fw800 dropping puzzles me, I guess it is due to them wanting people to use laptops as you know, laptops, rather than sedentary desktops. I believe they will push the imac for that.. did it drop fw800?

all in all i'm pretty psyched about the new macbook - one major disapointment is singlel button trackpad - won't work well even if you can dual boot.

So I guess you're not going to be satisfied with ANY laptop released until the end of the year? Or at least any Intel based laptop, as I don't know much about the latest AMD chips.

Apple has no control over the processor, that's all Intel. Intel is the one that decided to stay 32 bit and Intel is the one that decided to keep the L2 at 1 meg. Also, if you think 64 bit is going to keep the computer future proof you're severely mistaken. There is absolutely no need for 64 bit computing at this moment in time, and while all processors should be 64 bit 2-3 years down the road, any computer bought today—whether 32 or 64 bit—will be obsolete by then anyway. Software will be written for 32 bit computers for several years to come, especially since 32 bit software will run just aces on 64 bit chips.

As far as the screen goes, it's absolutely ridiculous to fit a super high res screen into a 15.4 inch frame. One day, when Mac OS and Windows are resolution independent and can take advantage of 300 DPI displays things will be great, but for now using such high res screens with OSes designed for 72-92 DPI is insane.

Apple resisted putting higher resolution screens into their laptops for years because studies have shown that 100 DPI is the optimum resolution for comfortable use. The new ones should be about 133 dpi, which isn't bad, but it's a hell of a lot better than fitting 1900x1200 into such a small space.

From what I'm given to understand, there is no FW800 because either Intel doesn't have any FW800 controllers or the particular chipset used in the new Macintels doesn't have an FW800 controller included in it.

haha in that article that guy knocks the hell out of the macbook

Meh. A lot of the 'big' issues people have with it, i could live with.

-No DL. Annoying, but eh.
-No firewire 800? What do i use firewire for? My video camera. Used it for my external hd for a while til it corrupted it. Now, i hate firewire.
-Screen? 1680x1050 or something would be nicer, but not a huge deal. better than xga, right?


What really puzzles me are these things.
-NO double mouse buttons. Didn't mac just release their first dual button mouse? They coulda sold a crapload of these to windows folks. Now? If i can't right click, forget it.
-No PCMCIA slot? Whats this express 3/4s thing? This for the time being practically makes the notebook completely nonupgradeable. No external stuff no external audio, add in usb, add in networking, etc.
-2 USB ports? Are ya nuts?




I was hoping this notebook would be the ANSWER to my notebook problems. And i don't even like macs. I hate steve jobs. With a passion, but i'm getting beyond frustrated with the laptop industry. They can't make a good laptop. All i want is basically any of the asus models 1-1.2 inches thick and without those stupid slopes or curves. Wedge laptops don't make sense to me and i want a unified metal body or carbon fiber. Not the slopes with weird curves they currently have. Frustrating. And if mac can do it with intel hardware, someone else better do it too. It can't be that hard. I'd pay a premium for it.

Oh, and one other thing. NO MORE SQUARE LAPTOPS! If your'e gonna put in a widescreen display, make the laptop that form factor. Stop putting widescreen displaysin a nearly square laptop with plastic all over the top and bottom of the screen.. Ugly.