Apple's unibody MacBook: the review

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  • Reply 21 of 121
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by wobegon View Post


    Looking at Bare Feats' storage interface shootout, Firewire 400 compared to the new MacBook Pro's (and presumably, the new MacBooks) USB 2.0, it's pretty clear there's essentially no noticeable difference in terms of speed.







    http://www.barefeats.com/mbpp10.html



    Dont forget that intel is already testing their USB 3.0
  • Reply 22 of 121
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by wobegon View Post


    Perhaps if you go with third party drives, but Apple only offers 5400 RPM drives for the MacBook.



    Otherwise, nice review. I would never have considered the MacBook before this redesign. Ugh, and I had my heart set on a MacBook Air! Replacing this dying 15" PowerBook G4 of mine, I'll now have to choose between the high-end MacBook at $1499 (student discount) or the high-end MacBook Air at $2299 (student discount). Being so close to Macworld, I'll probably wait for income taxes and to avoid paying extra for iLife '09 if it is introduced.



    Will AppleInsider be reviewing the high-end, late 2008 MacBook Air as well?



    Couple more months, there is gonna be the new 17" notebook.. if you want to buy the newest one.. hahaha imagine, 17" with only 4.5 pound (anything is possible)
  • Reply 23 of 121
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ros3ntan View Post


    Dont forget that intel is already testing their USB 3.0



    I don't see USB3 becoming the next big thing. Seems like a tossup between Firewire 800 and eSATA. Or maybe both. Apple could potentially kill off USB2 in a couple years, or maybe Bluetooth and WiFi will get fast enough that...nah, that'll be a bit longer still.
  • Reply 24 of 121
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ros3ntan View Post


    Couple more months, there is gonna be the new 17" notebook.. if you want to buy the newest one.. hahaha imagine, 17" with only 4.5 pound (anything is possible)



    Nope, I'm done with big laptops. Tired of the physical size, the weight, and the heat. I don't see how Apple could get the 17" down to 4.5 lbs, the same weight as the new 13" MacBook, when the new 15" MacBook Pro got slightly heavier at 5.5 lbs. Maybe when they finally drop the internal disc drive they'll get somewhere around there, but that won't be for a few years.
  • Reply 25 of 121
    irnchrizirnchriz Posts: 1,616member
    Yet again we have some who try to bring Blu-Ray into the discussion. Blu-Ray is a non starter in a consumer notebook like the Macbook. Blu-Ray sales and growth figures are flat and have declined sharply since HD-DVD lost out.



    The only requirement for Blu-Ray would be for pro storage and could possibly be considered for the Macbook Pro range. Ultimately creative professionals use FW800 external HDD storage for reasons of price per GB and speed.



    If, and its a big if, Blu-Ray movie sales can take a chunk out of DVD sales then expect to see Blu-Ray in Macbooks but this is doubtful.
  • Reply 26 of 121
    Apple really DO make nice looking gear.



    Still, I'd rather go for the Air on sleekness alone.
  • Reply 27 of 121
    kodakoda Posts: 4member
    sorry for the OT, but would it be possible to publish the desktop wallpaper used in the review?
  • Reply 28 of 121
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ros3ntan View Post


    I agree. I remember when apple decided to discontinue the floppy diskette or was it zip (i dont remember) from its computer. There was the same amount of backlash arguing that its apple's biggest mistake. However, looking back, i think we can all agree Apple did the right thing.



    My god I'm tired of people who obviously don't need FireWire making statements like this. For one thing, when Apple discontinued the floppy disk drive you could buy an external version. This article even stated: "Professionals are now excluded from smaller systems not just for high-end video editing but for many audio breakout boxes, which often need the low latency of FireWire to work." So how is Apple doing the "right thing" for customers? They have removed a port without providing a suitable replacement. Most of the better (not just "high-end") audio interfaces use FireWire - these manufacturers haven't been migrating from FW to USB, because USB can't handle the throughput.



    The other day I was at lunch with 2 friends. All 3 of us had planned to buy the new MacBook. We had all changed our mind because of the lack of FireWire. None of us want a larger MacBook Pro. I don't think the 3 of us are quite as unusual as Apple thinks, and we're all sticking with our old MacBooks for the foreseeable future. I hope Apple realizes they have made a mistake.
  • Reply 29 of 121
    stubeckstubeck Posts: 140member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ros3ntan View Post


    I agree. I remember when apple decided to discontinue the floppy diskette or was it zip (i dont remember) from its computer. There was the same amount of backlash arguing that its apple's biggest mistake. However, looking back, i think we can all agree Apple did the right thing.



    They did it way to early though. USB flash drives weren't around, and there wasn't another set standard out there either.



    For those with the new MB, have they had issues with the mouse? I liked the right mouse clicking, but the scrolling did not work well at all for me.
  • Reply 30 of 121
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by abernathy View Post


    My god I'm tired of people who obviously don't need FireWire making statements like this.



    Quite, and not just audio adapters. Lots and lots and lots of people have mini DV and HDV camcorders these days, for which you need FireWire. Downloading a few short movie clips from a stills camera over USB just doesn't cut it if you're at all serious about video.
  • Reply 31 of 121
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by StuBeck View Post


    They did it way to early though. USB flash drives weren't around, and there wasn't another set standard out there either.



    The main alternative to floppy then wasn't flash drives but CD. Plus you could buy an external floppy drive if you had to.
  • Reply 32 of 121
    wobegonwobegon Posts: 764member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rhowarth View Post


    Quite, and not just audio adapters. Lots and lots and lots of people have mini DV and HDV camcorders these days, for which you need FireWire. Downloading a few short movie clips from a stills camera over USB just doesn't cut it if you're at all serious about video.



    Guess I need to repost these images I posted above:







    http://www.barefeats.com/mbpp10.html



    Now, I could understand the frustration if the MacBook had originally featured FW 800 and then dropped it, but that has never been the case. The average consumer that makes up the majority of those who buy the MacBook won't miss FW 400 because they rarely if ever used it in the first place and now with these new MacBooks, USB 2.0 offers near identical speed.
  • Reply 33 of 121
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by StuBeck View Post


    They did it way to early though. USB flash drives weren't around, and there wasn't another set standard out there either.



    For those with the new MB, have they had issues with the mouse? I liked the right mouse clicking, but the scrolling did not work well at all for me.



    you can adjust the speed of the scrolling if thats what you mean. I used it in the apple store, i dont see any problem with it. I used it the same way i use my old macbook pro. (same hand position and everything).



    cd was an option but it never really catch on comparing to usb flash drive. its just not convenient for transferring large data. besides back then, the main option was zip drive. i dont think most people know that cd can be made into burning data option. I think most people think cd as for burning music and mp3s.
  • Reply 34 of 121
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rhowarth View Post


    Quite, and not just audio adapters. Lots and lots and lots of people have mini DV and HDV camcorders these days, for which you need FireWire. Downloading a few short movie clips from a stills camera over USB just doesn't cut it if you're at all serious about video.



    obviously im not a video editor, but i like to know what makes it so different than over USB if you have the option? is it the speed?
  • Reply 35 of 121
    jowie74jowie74 Posts: 540member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ros3ntan View Post


    obviously im not a video editor, but i like to know what makes it so different than over USB if you have the option? is it the speed?



    1. It's the equipment. If you've spend thousands on hardware you need FW on your computer in order to use it.

    2. Unlike USB, it supports isochronous connections - data (like video) can be streamed in real-time. This is pretty much essential for DV/MiniDV. I don't think USB could handle DV if it tried (I could be wrong).



    also...



    3. FireWire can draw enough power from the port that an external FW hard drive may need no other cables

    4. You can daisy-chain devices together without a hub

    5. You can network two machines together (peer-to-peer), plus Target Disk (booting off a machine's HD while it is "off")



    etc etc
  • Reply 36 of 121
    embeeembee Posts: 18member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ros3ntan View Post


    obviously im not a video editor, but i like to know what makes it so different than over USB if you have the option? is it the speed?



    If it's USB, it's glacial. If it's USB 2, it can actually be quite fast. Not quite FW800 fast, but better than FW400--at least on my Mac Pro.
  • Reply 37 of 121
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jowie74 View Post


    1. It's the equipment. If you've spend thousands on hardware you need FW on your computer in order to use it.

    2. Unlike USB, it supports isochronous connections - data (like video) can be streamed in real-time. This is pretty much essential for DV/MiniDV. I don't think USB could handle DV if it tried (I could be wrong).



    also...



    3. FireWire can draw enough power from the port that an external FW hard drive may need no other cables

    4. You can daisy-chain devices together without a hub

    5. You can network two machines together (peer-to-peer), plus Target Disk (booting off a machine's HD while it is "off")



    etc etc



    thanks for the info. I did not know that.
  • Reply 38 of 121
    jowie74jowie74 Posts: 540member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ros3ntan View Post


    thanks for the info. I did not know that.



    Hopefully I got it all right!



    I think the thing people are most annoyed with is that there seems to be no possible alternative. So it's nothing like the whole floppy problem of the past. Anyway I won't get started because it's off-topic.



    One thing I did wonder however is whether it might be possible to use the DisplayPort to transfer isochronous data... But I guess it's just one-way information.
  • Reply 39 of 121
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Object-X View Post


    The problem here is not everyone needs an adapter and for those who do, there are several different types; at least they offer you the adapter. If you want to use yesterday's technology with tomorrows computer than pay your 30 bucks and get over it, otherwise, buy a new LED display and you wont need an adapter.



    Apple builds future technology, they don't care about budget backward compatibility minded buyers. Don't like it? Dell and HP are there for you.



    You say like it's mutually exclusive, and that it's expensive to include, I don't think that's true. I really doubt that $30 adapter costs more than $1 to make in volume. Suggesting people buy the new Apple LED display is pretty silly, while it is nice, for most people, I doubt it's worth the extra cost, and there's this insinuation that even the displays made this year, last year are worthless junk, which to me sounds capricious and wasteful. Displays tend to last a long time, and tend to remain useful long after the computer it was used with was shelved.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ros3ntan View Post


    I agree. I remember when apple decided to discontinue the floppy diskette or was it zip (i dont remember) from its computer. There was the same amount of backlash arguing that its apple's biggest mistake. However, looking back, i think we can all agree Apple did the right thing.



    On floppies, I think it was a couple years premature, see below.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rhowarth View Post


    The main alternative to floppy then wasn't flash drives but CD. Plus you could buy an external floppy drive if you had to.



    The schools I went to had external floppies for all their iMacs, which was a needless expense as everything external tends to cost a lot more than if it were internal. Apple didn't even offer CD writers in those machines until a couple years after they dropped floppies, and CD writers weren't standard on iMacs until a few years ago, weren't standard on MacBooks until a month ago.
  • Reply 40 of 121
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by embee View Post


    If it's USB, it's glacial. If it's USB 2, it can actually be quite fast. Not quite FW800 fast, but better than FW400--at least on my Mac Pro.



    I've never seen USB 2 run faster than FW400, on a Mac Pro or not.
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