I'm rather shocked at how certainly you have stated how much storage somebody else requires. The fact that you had to upgrade the SSD highlights how foolish that statement is. My Mac went well past 60 GB of disk usage after the second day of ownership.
I've been on an MBA 11 for 2 years 60gb drive with full tools including eclipse. Just upgraded to 180gb to use lion. Thats way more than you need unless you are heavy on video.
There is virtually zero video on my current boot disk.
Never miss Ethernet although I bought the dongle. Use the VGA dongle sometimes but we're upgrading to AirPlay. Same for hdmi, gone. No need for DVD.
About the only thing I really disagree with is the Ethernet feature. Well that and the use of AirPlay which I see as the wrong solution for me. I really like a large screen on the desktop.
I can see MBP for those that need DVD but MBA is a better package. Or go desktop and iPad with cloud. Or MBA with iPhone. These devices are just so much better than pc hardware its not funny.
Well for you maybe! IPad has me thinking seriously about a desktop the next round simply to avoid the performance hit of a laptop. AIRs are certainly good machines but they do come up short in a number of ways.
You should reconsider your sources of information. It's a big improvement from something that was terrible, and I have yet to see good Intel drivers on OSX.
Apple could drop the descrete GPU in he base 15" MBP with Ivy Bridge. Sadly I think that would be a marketing mistake but that is me. The GPUs in the MBPs are a huge factor in favorability over the AIRs.
Apple could drop the descrete GPU in he base 15" MBP with Ivy Bridge. Sadly I think that would be a marketing mistake but that is me. The GPUs in the MBPs are a huge factor in favorability over the AIRs.
The question is, is 1,5x terrible still terrible?
That sentiment has come up several times in the past. The HD4000 compared against other lower end solutions for the current year doesn't actually look that bad. I'd still suggest anyone using one to load up with ram to whatever magic number allocates extra ram to the gpu if they're doing any gaming or anything that employs heavy OpenGL drawing, to keep it from choking due to memory starvation. I think the HD4000 makes the gpu class in the discrete gpu mini essentially pointless.
Anyway the current design kind of works. If they wished to go to integrated graphics, it might be to budget for additional features or hit a different price point. If it was just discrete graphics gone and everything else remains the same, I expect they would see a marketing backlash there. If they wanted to go that route, they should really try to get the best possible optimization on Intel drivers. The past few generations haven't been so great under OSX.
I guess I'm not sure what they'll do here. I'd say it's more likely if they make similar improvements going into next year. As of right now the track record of Intel gpus under OSX has not been very good, but I don't have the testing facilities available to Apple.
The 13" Pro (if it still exists) might make do with the HD4000, but there's no way they would downgrade the 15" that much. Check the boxes for that chip and the one in the current Pro, it may be ok for low end but it's still miles behind where the discreet cards in the Macbook Pros already are.
Heck, I'm even hoping with the added thermal headroom from removing the disk drive they will add a discreet card in the 13" to differentiate it from the Air.
How will the application of poor thermal paste on Ivy Bridge affect the new Macs?
I would say, "In no way, shape, or form, as that doesn't have anything to do with the chips or computers inherently." Isn't that a manufacturing problem? How can one say anything bad about the chips in that regard?
If you build a computer from scratch and don't put any thermal paste on, you'll fry it immediately. If you put the paste on, it won't fry. Maybe I don't understand the problem here.
I would say, "In no way, shape, or form, as that doesn't have anything to do with the chips or computers inherently." Isn't that a manufacturing problem? How can one say anything bad about the chips in that regard?
It is all about heat transfer.
If you build a computer from scratch and don't put any thermal paste on, you'll fry it immediately. If you put the paste on, it won't fry. Maybe I don't understand the problem here.
This is about paste Intel applies, not user supplied paste on top of the heat spreaders. Intel got real cheap with Ivy Bridge. However this is a manufacturing issue, it should be fairly easy to do a better job on mobile chips. Or Apple could simply demands chips with better thermal properties.
I think you need to research a bit what is going on. I'd leave a link but forgot where the issue was brought up. In a nut shell this isn't something users can normally address.
Note that this is not a "heating" issue but a heat transfer issue. The chip might run warmer than expected but the actual power into the chip is often less than in previous models. It would be very possible for Apple to knock Intel up side the head and tell them not to do that on chips they buy. Given that Apple could run their machines a few degrees cooler with a given fan assembly. After all this is just paste.
I think those of you who say that the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro lines will merge into a single line-up are right.
The Air is a brilliant design. I have no doubt that the current 13" Air has cannibalised sales of the 13" MacBook Pro. The only barrier to switching for a lot of potential Air customers wasn't the GPU but the hard disk size. A capacity of 256 GB simply isn't enough for many users, especially when a single iTunes movie sucks up 1.5 to 2 GB of valuable SSD space.
If Apple continues to produce a 13" MacBook Air and a 13" MacBook Pro, what will be the difference? Externally, they would look identical, no?
If the design for the current Air works at 11" and 13" why wouldn't Apple increase it to 15"?
So my bet is a single line-up all called MacBooks.
Apple is about simplification. Tim Cook gets this. it's why he decided that the New iPad should be called just that and not the iPad 3.
What's bugging me is why Apple hasn't released the new 15" MacBook yet, I thought the mobile Ivy Bridge processors were good to go.
I think we'll be getting a range of processors in the new macBook range, from low power to high power. That being the case, maybe Apple has to wait until all chip flavours are fully baked. So June 5th, right.
I think those of you who say that the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro lines will merge into a single line-up are right.
What's bugging me is why Apple hasn't released the new 15" MacBook yet, I thought the mobile Ivy Bridge processors were good to go.
You've answered your own question. MacBook Air processors aren't ready yet. Apple wouldn't ruin half the surprise by releasing their new 15" and 17" MacBook (sic) and leave the 11" and 13" Air the same to be made into the 11" and 13" MacBook (sic) later.
I really just want longer battery life, the i7 is already fast enough for me. Currently I'm getting about 3.5 hours if I dim the brightness to 50 percent and about 2.45 with full on my Air 11, that sucks. If they can't do it then I would like a removable battery so I can carry at least carry 3 extras. Oh and support for 16GB of memory would be nice, the price of memory is so cheap there is no reason why I can't have that.
Interesting. You've kept it conditioned, yes? That doesn't sound standard. How many cycles does it have?
Oh you know what I've never checked that. Even new though the most I have ever gotten out of it was about 3:45. I'm buying a new one when Apple releases it so I'm not to worried. I would really like to see a battery slice for it though like I had with my Lenovo X1, only notebook I have owned where I actually got 10+ hours of battery. How difficult would it be for Apple to go with the practical route for a change and offer either a removable battery or battery slice that fits on the bottom.
sharp retina screen production issues keeping these babies away from us, gpu problems supporting the retinas and/or ml not ready yet to support them via hidpi mode. Any combination of these. Ivy bridge cpu is the last culprit in my book.
sharp retina screen production issues keeping these babies away from us, gpu problems supporting the retinas and/or ml not ready yet to support them via hidpi mode. Any combination of these. Ivy bridge cpu is the last culprit in my book.
I agree with you except that the dual cores aren't out yet until next month.
Comments
There is virtually zero video on my current boot disk. About the only thing I really disagree with is the Ethernet feature. Well that and the use of AirPlay which I see as the wrong solution for me. I really like a large screen on the desktop.
Well for you maybe! IPad has me thinking seriously about a desktop the next round simply to avoid the performance hit of a laptop. AIRs are certainly good machines but they do come up short in a number of ways.
Apple could drop the descrete GPU in he base 15" MBP with Ivy Bridge. Sadly I think that would be a marketing mistake but that is me. The GPUs in the MBPs are a huge factor in favorability over the AIRs.
The question is, is 1,5x terrible still terrible?
That sentiment has come up several times in the past. The HD4000 compared against other lower end solutions for the current year doesn't actually look that bad. I'd still suggest anyone using one to load up with ram to whatever magic number allocates extra ram to the gpu if they're doing any gaming or anything that employs heavy OpenGL drawing, to keep it from choking due to memory starvation. I think the HD4000 makes the gpu class in the discrete gpu mini essentially pointless.
Anyway the current design kind of works. If they wished to go to integrated graphics, it might be to budget for additional features or hit a different price point. If it was just discrete graphics gone and everything else remains the same, I expect they would see a marketing backlash there. If they wanted to go that route, they should really try to get the best possible optimization on Intel drivers. The past few generations haven't been so great under OSX.
I guess I'm not sure what they'll do here. I'd say it's more likely if they make similar improvements going into next year. As of right now the track record of Intel gpus under OSX has not been very good, but I don't have the testing facilities available to Apple.
The 13" Pro (if it still exists) might make do with the HD4000, but there's no way they would downgrade the 15" that much. Check the boxes for that chip and the one in the current Pro, it may be ok for low end but it's still miles behind where the discreet cards in the Macbook Pros already are.
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html
Heck, I'm even hoping with the added thermal headroom from removing the disk drive they will add a discreet card in the 13" to differentiate it from the Air.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wizard69
Apple could drop the desecrate GPU in he base 15" MBP…
They did that years ago.
Any thoughts on what GPU the 15" will rock?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ciaran Doherty
Any thoughts on what GPU the 15" will rock?
Provided they keep the low-end 15" around, the Intel 4000.
And the dedicated GPU in the high-end 15" will be whatever the modern ATI GPU is that has the same TDP as the one currently in the 15" MacBook Pro.
How will the application of poor thermal paste on Ivy Bridge affect the new Macs?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Winter
How will the application of poor thermal paste on Ivy Bridge affect the new Macs?
I would say, "In no way, shape, or form, as that doesn't have anything to do with the chips or computers inherently." Isn't that a manufacturing problem? How can one say anything bad about the chips in that regard?
If you build a computer from scratch and don't put any thermal paste on, you'll fry it immediately. If you put the paste on, it won't fry. Maybe I don't understand the problem here.
Could it possibly cause heating issues or no?
http://vr-zone.com/articles/ivy-bridge-proven-to-suffer-from-poor-thermal-grease/15844.html
I think you need to research a bit what is going on. I'd leave a link but forgot where the issue was brought up. In a nut shell this isn't something users can normally address.
I think those of you who say that the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro lines will merge into a single line-up are right.
The Air is a brilliant design. I have no doubt that the current 13" Air has cannibalised sales of the 13" MacBook Pro. The only barrier to switching for a lot of potential Air customers wasn't the GPU but the hard disk size. A capacity of 256 GB simply isn't enough for many users, especially when a single iTunes movie sucks up 1.5 to 2 GB of valuable SSD space.
If Apple continues to produce a 13" MacBook Air and a 13" MacBook Pro, what will be the difference? Externally, they would look identical, no?
If the design for the current Air works at 11" and 13" why wouldn't Apple increase it to 15"?
So my bet is a single line-up all called MacBooks.
Apple is about simplification. Tim Cook gets this. it's why he decided that the New iPad should be called just that and not the iPad 3.
What's bugging me is why Apple hasn't released the new 15" MacBook yet, I thought the mobile Ivy Bridge processors were good to go.
I think we'll be getting a range of processors in the new macBook range, from low power to high power. That being the case, maybe Apple has to wait until all chip flavours are fully baked. So June 5th, right.
Just make a 1 TB SSD an option please.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tailpipe
I think those of you who say that the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro lines will merge into a single line-up are right.
What's bugging me is why Apple hasn't released the new 15" MacBook yet, I thought the mobile Ivy Bridge processors were good to go.
You've answered your own question. MacBook Air processors aren't ready yet. Apple wouldn't ruin half the surprise by releasing their new 15" and 17" MacBook (sic) and leave the 11" and 13" Air the same to be made into the 11" and 13" MacBook (sic) later.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Relic
…about 2.45 with full on my Air 11…
Interesting. You've kept it conditioned, yes? That doesn't sound standard. How many cycles does it have?
Oh you know what I've never checked that. Even new though the most I have ever gotten out of it was about 3:45. I'm buying a new one when Apple releases it so I'm not to worried. I would really like to see a battery slice for it though like I had with my Lenovo X1, only notebook I have owned where I actually got 10+ hours of battery. How difficult would it be for Apple to go with the practical route for a change and offer either a removable battery or battery slice that fits on the bottom.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tailpipe
What's bugging me is why Apple hasn't released the new 15" MacBook yet, I thought the mobile Ivy Bridge processors were good to go.
Just make a 1 TB SSD an option please.
Only three i7 quad-core mobile processors. One Extreme and two regular quads.
As far as I know, they only have 2.5" drives available in up to 512 GB capacities. OCZ made a 1 TB PCI drive though.
sharp retina screen production issues keeping these babies away from us, gpu problems supporting the retinas and/or ml not ready yet to support them via hidpi mode. Any combination of these. Ivy bridge cpu is the last culprit in my book.
Quote:
Originally Posted by myapplelove
sharp retina screen production issues keeping these babies away from us, gpu problems supporting the retinas and/or ml not ready yet to support them via hidpi mode. Any combination of these. Ivy bridge cpu is the last culprit in my book.
I agree with you except that the dual cores aren't out yet until next month.