Time Capsule to ship; new wireless bill; MacBook Pro benchmarks

[AppleInsider]

Apple appears poised to make good on a promise to ship its new Time Capsule backup appliance by month's end. Meanwhile, a new draft wireless bill threatens to disrupt the bond between Apple and its exclusive iPhone carriers. And just how much of an advantage do the company's new MacBook Pro notebooks hold over their predecessors?

Time Capsule

Thanks to all the readers who wrote in over the course of the day with word that their pre-orders for Apple's new Time Capsule backup appliance have been prepared for shipment.

"I just checked Apple's web site and my Time Capsule order has changed to 'preparing to ship,'" one reader wrote. "Historically that usually happens the same day products I have ordered from Apple ship."

Said another, "My credit card was charged this afternoon by Apple for my Time Capsule. I assume that means the unit will be shipping today or tomorrow."

Time Capsule was one of four major product introductions at last month's Macworld Expo. Essentially a 802.11n AirPort Extreme router with a built in server-grade hard disk, the device works in conjunction with Apple's Time Machine software to perform complete wireless backups of one or more Leopard-equipped Macs.

Apple is offering Time Capsule in a 500GB configuration for $299 and a 1TB configuration for $499. Readers who've been hesitant to purchase a Time Capsule thus far may want to check out AppleInsider's in-depth review planned for next week.

Wireless bill threatens iPhone exclusivity

The House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet held a hearing today on a new draft law by Rep. Ed Markey that would require every mobile provider to offer subsidy-free wireless customer equipment, effectively breaking the exclusive relationship between Apple and AT&T over the iPhone and allowing all owners of that handset to subscribe to a wireless carrier of their choice.

The bill, titled "Wireless Consumer Protection and Community Broadband Empowerment Act," would establish new rules for wireless carriers that include offering unsubsidized service as well as disclosing rate plans to customers in a "clear, plain, and conspicuous manner."

As part of the draft law, carriers would be obligated to provide more detailed maps of their network coverage areas, and would be forced to allow customers to cancel contracts for any reason without penalty within the first 30 days as well as prorate any fees associated with leaving a contract early.

MacBook Pro Benchmarks

Apple's new line of MacBook Pro notebooks introduced on Tuesday offer marginal performance gains at best when pit against their Fall 2007 predecessors, a series of Geekbench 2 tests conducted by Primate Labs reveal.



"The processor in the new MacBook Pro @ 2.4GHz (T8300) has less L2 cache than processor in the old MacBook Pro @ 2.4GHz (T7700) which explains the slight drop in performance," the software developer said.

"However, when you consider the new MacBook Pro 2.4GHz is the base model, while the old MacBook Pro 2.4GHz was the mid-range model, the small drop in performance comes with a significant reduction in price. Plus, the new Penryn processor uses less energy than the old Merom processor, which means a cooler laptop with increased battery life."

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[saschke]

great. i've ordered the new baseline 15-inch model as a replacement for my first-gen core duo 2ghz mbp which runs freakin' hot. this is gonna be "cool".

[timmcdivitt]

these numbers are fairly disappointing.

[rogue68]

Originally Posted by timmcdivitt

these numbers are fairly disappointing.

Agreed.

Anyone else now waiting for Montevina?

[wbrasington]

Originally Posted by timmcdivitt

these numbers are fairly disappointing.

Why?
(dollar numbers here are examples)
Let's see, a 2000 dollar computer from last year runs about like a 1500 dollar computer this year that has better battery life and a cooler temp.
Shouldn't be a dissappointment...... why don't you see what the same amount of money last year gets you in performance instead of the way this was done?

[timmcdivitt]

Originally Posted by wbrasington

Why?
(dollar numbers here are examples)
Let's see, a 2000 dollar computer from last year runs about like a 1500 dollar computer this year that has better battery life and a cooler temp.
Shouldn't be a dissappointment...... why don't you see what the same amount of money last year gets you in performance instead of the way this was done?

yeah, i see what you mean.

it's just odd that they would bother updating the processors with newer models that truth be told aren't much better.

i don't know, maybe there are other benefits to these new processors (as AI mentioned the cooler running temp). all i meant by my comment was that these new processors aren't much better speed-wise, and that is disappointing.

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by timmcdivitt

yeah, i see what you mean.

it's just odd that they would bother updating the processors with newer models that truth be told aren't much better.

i don't know, maybe there are other benefits to these new processors (as AI mentioned the cooler running temp). all i meant by my comment was that these new processors aren't much better speed-wise, and that is disappointing.

But chip-over-chip for the same priced processor you get an increase in performance.

• $241 — T7500 "Santa Rosa" (2.20 GHz, 4 MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB, 65nm)
• $241 — T8300 "Penryn" (2.40 GHz, 3 MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB, 45nm)
• $316 — T7700 "Santa Rosa" (2.40 GHz, 4 MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB, 65nm)
• $316 — T9300 "Penryn" (2.50 GHz, 6 MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB, 45nm)
• $530 — T7800 "Santa Rosa" (2.60 GHz, 4 MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB, 65nm)
• $530 — T9500 "Penryn" (2.60 GHz, 6 MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB, 45nm)
• $851 — X7900 "Santa Rosa" (2.80 GHz, 4 MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB, 65nm)
• $851 — X9000 "Penryn" (2.80 GHz, 6 MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB, 45nm)

They haven't done all the direct comparisons. The only one they do have has 3107 for the Santa Rosa/Merom and 3228 for the Santa Rosa/Penryn. That isn't bad considering it's the same price as the previous model and it also gets more battery usage. Gizmodo is saying it's 45 more minutes for the 15" MBP.

[frugality]

Originally Posted by timmcdivitt

these numbers are fairly disappointing.

Not for those of us who bought a MBP prior to the latest upgrade.

[timmcdivitt]

Originally Posted by solipsism

But chip-over-chip for the same priced processor you get an increase in performance.

• $241 — T7500 "Santa Rosa" (2.20 GHz, 4 MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB, 65nm)
• $241 — T8300 "Penryn" (2.40 GHz, 3 MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB, 45nm)
• $316 — T7700 "Santa Rosa" (2.40 GHz, 4 MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB, 65nm)
• $316 — T9300 "Penryn" (2.50 GHz, 6 MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB, 45nm)
• $530 — T7800 "Santa Rosa" (2.60 GHz, 4 MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB, 65nm)
• $530 — T9500 "Penryn" (2.60 GHz, 6 MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB, 45nm)
• $851 — X7900 "Santa Rosa" (2.80 GHz, 4 MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB, 65nm)
• $851 — X9000 "Penryn" (2.80 GHz, 6 MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB, 45nm)

yes, they are faster on paper, but didn't the benchmarks just show them to actually be about the same - or slower?

i might be wrong, i really don't know a great deal about this sort of thing.

[timmcdivitt]

also, am i going insane or were these numbers different earlier in the day? did anyone else notice an edit?

[Mr. H]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

Apple appears poised to make good on a promise to ship it's new Time Capsule

Heads-up on a typo: "it's" should be "its".

As for the numbers being disappointing: not at all. Equal performance for less money and with better battery life? Sounds good to me. And video processing tasks will get a major boost once those programs are updated to support the new SSE4.1 instructions.

[Zandros]

Originally Posted by timmcdivitt

yes, they are faster on paper, but didn't the benchmarks just show them to actually be about the same - or slower?

i might be wrong, i really don't know a great deal about this sort of thing.

Yes, today's low end Macbook Pro is slower than last year's high end but probably faster than last year's low end. Today's base high end (without the CPU upgrade) is faster than last year's high end (without CPU upgrade).

/Adrian

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by timmcdivitt

yes, they are faster on paper, but didn't the benchmarks just show them to actually be about the same - or slower?

i might be wrong, i really don't know a great deal about this sort of thing.

The only machines tested by AI that show a direct comparison on processor and machine prices are the ones listed below...

• Score 3107 — $316 — T7700 "Santa Rosa" (2.40 GHz, 4 MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB, 65nm)
• Score 3228 — $316 — T9300 "Penryn" (2.50 GHz, 6 MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB, 45nm)

That is an improvement over the previous year in performance and battery gains, though it appears to be less than the usual percentage gains we've been getting chip-over-chip.

Originally Posted by Mr. H

Heads-up on a typo: "it's" should be "its".

As for the numbers being disappointing: not at all. Equal performance for less money and with better battery life? Sounds good to me. And video processing tasks will get a major boost once those programs are updated to support the new SSE4.1 instructions.

Tha't is' rea'lly a pet peeve of you'rs, isnt it'?

[technohermit]

Thanks to AI for linking to the legislation. And this bill is about 10 years late, but welcomed. I remember singing a Nextel account a long time ago, only to find no service in my neighborhood. That sucked. This bill would end the 175 dollar fee to drop your contract when something like that happens. And finally more competition, akin to the EU. Some of us in the States do envy your wireless model, Europe.

Also I am going to get the new MBP. Not only for the LED, the Dual Layer Superdrive, the firewire 800, but also the Gesture Trackpad and the battery boost. All things my Rev 1 from March '06 doesn't have. And I still think my MBP--right now--flies. So any boost at all to my 1.83 CD MBP is welcomed (albeit unnecessary.) I think the trackpad alone is a huge improvement. Can't wait to sell this one and grab the new one. Maybe when it comes I can use it on my lap without melting my pubes.

[thebeat]

this is infact dissapointing. Its only $100 cheaper between the 2.4GHZ SR and 2.4GHZ BASE MODEL.. and yet it performs horribly. I just canceled my order and bought the SR MBP.

[quinney]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

Wireless bill threatens iPhone exclusivity

The House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet held a hearing today on a new draft law by Rep. Ed Markey that would require every mobile provider to offer subsidy-free wireless customer equipment, effectively breaking the exclusive relationship between Apple and AT&T over the iPhone and allowing all owners of that handset to subscribe to a wireless carrier of their choice.

The bill, titled "Wireless Consumer Protection and Community Broadband Empowerment Act," would establish new rules for wireless carriers that include offering unsubsidized service as well as disclosing rate plans to customers in a "clear, plain, and conspicuous manner."

As part of the draft law, carriers would be obligated to provide more detailed maps of their network coverage areas, and would be forced to allow customers to cancel contracts for any reason without penalty within the first 30 days as well as prorate any fees associated with leaving a contract early.

Before anyone celebrates too much, notice that it is just a draft bill having a hearing
before a subcommittee. It is a long way from being a law. Even if it is eventually passed
and signed into law, it may not have any effect on contracts already in place.

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by thebeat

this is infact dissapointing. Its only $100 cheaper between the 2.4GHZ SR and 2.4GHZ BASE MODEL.. and yet it performs horribly. I just canceled my order and bought the SR MBP.

That isn't a bad move at this point as you won't be utilizing SSE4 and the battery performance and mutli-touch trackpad is probably worth the extra $100 saving. Where there other changes?

[zanshin]

Originally Posted by wbrasington

Why?
(dollar numbers here are examples)
Let's see, a 2000 dollar computer from last year runs about like a 1500 dollar computer this year that has better battery life and a cooler temp.
Shouldn't be a dissappointment...... why don't you see what the same amount of money last year gets you in performance instead of the way this was done?

or see what the same amount of money last year bought in fossil fuels compared to today...

[digitalclips]

I hope there is a software update shipping soon too, to fix the Airport Extreme/USB Hard Drive/Time Machine combination for those of us who believed Apple when they said this would work and purchased the equipment from Apple.

[steviet02]

Originally Posted by digitalclips

I hope there is a software update shipping soon too, to fix the Airport Extreme/USB Hard Drive/Time Machine combination for those of us who believed Apple when they said this would work and purchased the equipment from Apple.

Yeah, I'll second that, but won't hold my breath, they are forcing people into their solution, it appears...

[NarutoSasuke]

Its not a horrible update, the graphics card is nice. Processor is okay.... Let's just forget it all and bring Nehalem so I can buy a new MBP. That's gonna be an awesome upgrade.

[YipYipYipee]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

MacBook Pro Benchmarks

Apple's new line of MacBook Pro notebooks introduced on Tuesday offer marginal performance gains at best when pit against their Fall 2007 predecessors, a series of Geekbench 2 tests conducted by Primate Labs reveal.



"The processor in the new MacBook Pro @ 2.4GHz (T8300) has less L2 cache than processor in the old MacBook Pro @ 2.4GHz (T7700) which explains the slight drop in performance," the software developer said.

"However, when you consider the new MacBook Pro 2.4GHz is the base model, while the old MacBook Pro 2.4GHz was the mid-range model, the small drop in performance comes with a significant reduction in price. Plus, the new Penryn processor uses less energy than the old Merom processor, which means a cooler laptop with increased battery life."

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

Today I purchased a MacBook Pro @ 2.5GHz and thus far have kept "buyers remorse" at bay.

I'm not surprised at the stats, although I wonder if the Geekbench 2 software incorporates tests with the new SSE4 extensions. Indeed, there is nothing on the developer's web site which mentions specific tests with these extensions.

In any case, there is one set of instructions I'm really interested in. Specifically the instruction which supposedly increases performance of certain video encoding functions by a very significant margin.

http://www.intel.com/technology/arch...ions/index.htm

YipYipYipee

[ikir]

and yet it performs horribly

People on this forums kepp to get crazy. Both new and older MBP perform GREAT. The new "base" model is a little slower than the old 15" top. And this is great.

[fruiteatingbear]

Time capsule to ship by end of Feb???

Feb 19, 2008 at 06:41 PM GMT - Order number XXXXXXXX View order details
Not yet shipped
Estimated Shipping: 18 Mar, 2008
Estimated Delivery: 20 Mar, 2008
Product Qty.
TIME CAPSULE 1TB-GBR
1

[palex9]

time capsule is simply overpriced. i just bought a 1 TB NAS drive from lacie for only $280. granted, its not wireless, but offers a built in ftp and media server which work even when no computers are running.

[mdriftmeyer]

Originally Posted by timmcdivitt

these numbers are fairly disappointing.

Fairly?

They are 4 to 6% improvements. This is what you laptop lovers were waiting for?

Sad.

[steviet02]

Originally Posted by palex9

time capsule is simply overpriced. i just bought a 1 TB NAS drive from lacie for only $280. granted, its not wireless, but offers a built in ftp and media server which work even when no computers are running.

I'd like to know how that works out for you if it's attached to AEBS (N). I had a simple drive connected to the USB port of the AEBS and had too much trouble with it, had to reboot the BS and drive, even with the 10.5.2 update. It did seem to get better with the last update but not completely right, in my experience.

[Abster2core]

Originally Posted by palex9

time capsule is simply overpriced. i just bought a 1 TB NAS drive from lacie for only $280. granted, its not wireless, but offers a built in ftp and media server which work even when no computers are running.

You are comparing apples with oranges.

By the way, what does it do when it is connected to computers that are not running?

Interesting blog: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=437876

[palex9]

Originally Posted by steviet02

I'd like to know how that works out for you if it's attached to AEBS (N). I had a simple drive connected to the USB port of the AEBS and had too much trouble with it, had to reboot the BS and drive, even with the 10.5.2 update. It did seem to get better with the last update but not completely right, in my experience.

its obviously a network drive, connected to the router. its not intended to be connected via usb to the AE. but i might try it out just to see what happens when i have a chance.

[Abster2core]

Originally Posted by fruiteatingbear

Time capsule to ship by end of Feb???

Feb 19, 2008 at 06:41 PM GMT - Order number XXXXXXXX View order details
Not yet shipped
Estimated Shipping: 18 Mar, 2008
Estimated Delivery: 20 Mar, 2008
Product Qty.
TIME CAPSULE 1TB-GBR
1

Yep. Apple started shipping on Tuesday.

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by palex9

time capsule is simply overpriced. i just bought a 1 TB NAS drive from lacie for only $280. granted, its not wireless, but offers a built in ftp and media server which work even when no computers are running.

Now price an 802.11n router with 1000BASE-T. Also, the HDD in Time Capsule is server class, those cost more than your typical drives.

Originally Posted by Abster2core

Yep. Apple started shipping on Tuesday.

I'm guessing he wasn't the first out of the gate to buy one online. I know my iPhone took an extra 8 days to arrive because I ordered 3.5 hours after they went on sale.

[digitalclips]

Originally Posted by steviet02

Yeah, I'll second that, but won't hold my breath, they are forcing people into their solution, it appears...

Oh I live in hope ... But as you know, it WAS their solution for a brief period in history ... all the parts I bought were from Apple and they had on their web site it would work ... all we needed was Leopard. I purchased in good faith, AE & 500 GB drive. Only upon release of Leopard did they remove the information from the web where it stated it would work. So I think there is a moral obligation here

But since then I got an 8 Core Xeon MacPro (8800 still on back order) and so now I'd need something bigger and faster anyway. So all I need now is a cheap 10 TB drive with FireWire 16: Amazing to think how proud I was of my 5 MB fiber optic, networked Symbiotic External HD on my Apple 2 network

p.s. I would have written Apple ] (and other square bracket) but several keys on this old iBook are not working since Leopard and the other square bracket is one of them

[Mr. H]

Originally Posted by digitalclips

p.s. I would have written Apple ] (and other square bracket) but several keys on this old iBook are not working since Leopard and the other square bracket is one of them

That's a bit random. If you really need a particular character that you can't type, you can always use the system-wide "Character Palette", available in the "keyboard layout" menu extra (appears as a flag symbol in the top right of the menu-bar if you've enabled it via the "input menu" tab of the "international" pane of system preferences (assuming it hasn't moved in Leopard).

[digitalclips]

Originally Posted by Mr. H

That's a bit random. If you really need a particular character that you can't type, you can always use the system-wide "Character Palette", available in the "keyboard layout" menu extra (appears as a flag symbol in the top right of the menu-bar if you've enabled it via the "input menu" tab of the "international" pane of system preferences (assuming it hasn't moved in Leopard).

Thanks ... lot of work though lol. Yes it may be coincidence I suppose and nothing to do with Leopard. I have lost about 5 keys, all down the right side including left and right arrow.

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by digitalclips

Thanks ... lot of work though lol. Yes it may be coincidence I suppose and nothing to do with Leopard. I have lost about 5 keys, all down the right side including left and right arrow.

Have you taken it apart before? I've had similar issues with a couple notebooks when I was unable to insert the keyboard's ribbon cable correctly. Is there a tool for that because I've found it to be very difficult insert.

[digitalclips]

Originally Posted by solipsism

Have you taken it apart before? I've had similar issues with a couple notebooks when I was unable to insert the keyboard's ribbon cable correctly. Is there a tool for that because I've found it to be very difficult insert.

No I haven't, worth a try for sure, I love my iBook. Thanks ... Anyone got the link to the 'how to page' with pictures preferably ?

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by digitalclips

No I haven't, worth a try for sure, I love my iBook. Thanks ... Anyone got the link to the 'how to page' with pictures preferably ?

iFixit has comprehensive guides.

[heffeque]

It would be nice to see if SSE4 works ok on 10.5.2. ¿Anyone?

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by heffeque

It would be nice to see if SSE4 works ok on 10.5.2. ¿Anyone?

I've been informed that SSE4 utilization needs to be worked into the programs themselves, not the OS.

[Mr. H]

Originally Posted by solipsism

I've been informed that SSE4 utilization needs to be worked into the programs themselves, not the OS.

Indeed, the OS cannot speed-up other programs. But it can itself make use of new technologies. There are varies parts of the OS that would benefit from using SSE4, and plenty of bundled apps that would benefit from using it (iLife and QuickTime, in particular)