Apple introduces Santa Rosa-based MacBook Pros - Page 6

Applecare is great to portables. A must have.

I can't believe how the apple portable has changed since 2005. Especially with the new LED screen. I am suddenly feeling very unhealthy now with my toxic 12" screen


Thank you mr H! The Penryn Mac does look very promising! Isn't Santa Rosa dramatically reducing the booting time as it was supposed to?! What happened to the Flash memory story?

1. Please, please...someone else notice that it's "Pros" not "pro's" AHHHHHHHHHH

2. Obviously it's better machine the the MB. It's the same market segment. And I would agree it's a marginally better update.



From a technical standpoint, that's interesting and good point. In reality, my guess it makes little to no difference, especially if you're sifting through a FULL 200GB drive versus a full 100GB drive of a higher RPM.


See above.


Agreed.




Next January would be a good bet on another refresh. I would consider upgrading then. I would want to see faster clock speeds, more RAM, bigger and faster hard drives, the LED screen of course and the kicker: A Blu-ray ripper. I will not buy another Mac notebook until it has that.

Picked up my new MacBook Pro at the Apple Store today.

All I can say so far is that my entire computing experience is enhanced and superior when compared to my old PB G4 1.5.

Yeah!!!

As auslander said, you have to by it within the first year. However, I think you have the right general idea. I wait until the last minute to buy AppleCare. That way if the computer is stolen or something, I'm not out an additional $250.

AppleCare is a must have for a laptop. Just the labor for any laptop repairs kills you. But yeah...wait until the last minute to buy it in case you lose it or sell it.

I'm kinda a noob on this sort of stuff, but what exactly does AppleCare cover that 3rd party insurance would not and visa versa.? I read some other people posting about if you lost your MBP AppleCare is a waste, but doesn't regular (homeowners I think) insurance cover it if it's stolen/lost? In this case would the AC carry over to a device replaced by insurance? Sorry if this is sort of disjointed, but any input would be helpful.\

Let's Make Something Clear: MacBook Pro models are NOT the lightest in their diplay class!
For example ThinkPad t60p has 15'4 with 1680x1050WSXGA+, 9cell battery [with true 5h], Workstation Graphics and weight no more than 2.31 kg. And this is just one example.

yeah but the thinkpad is stupid price...

Not to mention the fact that they are fugly as hell!

well yes, there's that too but really - more than double the price for, essentially, not more than double the performance. plus its got vista (!)

Hm, the price in Europe is 2500-3000 vs. MBP 2400 [with apple care]. And no, Vista is not there by default, it could be WinXP also. I prefer Linux anyway. Design matters - that's subjective isn't it

guess I managed to find the most expensive place for a T60p then...(yay me!)...well, still doesn't absolve it for not being pretty

I'm planning on getting the low end 15.4 MBP with ed discount but do not want to wait several weeks to get it. Anybody successful at getting the ed discount with free nano at an apple store?

thanks

Why would this be a problem?

Has anyone gotten the new 2.4ghz 17" MBP yet?

Applecare is not a bad bet for a portable. Not at all. I've used it several times over the years. That said, I decided not to get it with this MBP I'm on (2.33 C2D).

I have also used homeowners to cover a machine that was the victim of a water spill. I don't know if AppleaCare covers that...I'm pretty sure it doesn't. Homeowners ususally requires a separate personal computer rider, (sp?) which is generally cheap to get. That way you're covered for loss and theft and "stupid move" damage too.

I don't get what the point of AppleCare is. They don't cover damage that is your fault. Any inperfections or manufacturing problems would show within the 1yr of complimentary AppleCare. If that isn't enough protection for you, any widespread problems with manufacturing after that time would be subject to a recall where you get it fixed for free.

Boards frying, pinched cables should all happen within a year I think. Me dropping it, snapping a hinge, that is something that might not be covered anyways. I'll save the $250 and buy my own parts and replace what I need. (I know that isn't necessarily possible for everyone because people are afraid to open a computer up.

That's my philosophy, too. But there are some kinds of failures that may happen after the first year that AppleCare is useful for: harddrives for example (this is the big reason why it's useful for laptops I think). And sometimes other things happen that aren't subject to a recall.

You dont have to wait several weeks. I ordered mine on tuesday morning, and the Nano got to my house today, and the MBP is getting here either Saturday or Monday according to the FedEx tracking information Apple sent me. Less than a week total.

If I can save up enough money, I'd like to get two, perhaps even three, MacBooks Pro.

That's what 50 cent uses.

Totally incorrect. I had a white spot develop on a PBG4 after 2.5 years. I've gone through several AC Adapters. They even tighten up the screen hinges. Little things can go wrong after a few years that really can add up. I had the power port replaced on my Pismo right before I sold it as it was loose and malfunctioning. That PB I mentioned? they straight up replaced the whole screen. That would have been at least a $400 repair...probably $500.


As I said above. Take it from someone that has used AC. Then again, I don't have it now, so yeah. I'm taking my chances though...


Bastard!


Keep it real, yo.

Similar Specs??? New CPU, new GPU, more RAM, new screens, new motherboards (RAM capabilities at least), and better HDs. Yeah, thats not a very good update at all.

I agree, but the person you responded to was looking at it in view of already having a previous generation unit. The updates are very nice, but rarely does any single update improve the device enough to make it worth an upgrade from a previous revision. Most people can probably keep their existing unit until it breaks.

Mine's been shipped from Shanghai. I should get it on Monday.

Good points, I am not saying people shouldn't get AppleCare, I recommend it, especially to any laptop buyer. I however do not find it to be extremely useful.

I did use it the first year I had it to replace white spots. I hadn't heard anything about white spots developing later, was it just because the back screen was bend a little and being pushed into the screen?

My point was just that without something horrible happening (like a logic board frying, which I wouldn't expect after a year without a recall), I have been able to successfully replace my own HD, & cracked screen bezel for under what AppleCare would have costed me. I may get the extended AppleCare for my new MBP before the year is over, but I am not completely confident that it's necessary.

Does AppleCare cover that 'pitting' from sweat on the palm rests? That is the one thing I would have liked to been able to get fixed but didn't want to spend the money. I just have two stickers over it now so I am not actually touching the metal. I am concerned about this for my new MBP actually.

It's basically the same machine, either way you slice it. It's a little like the Pismo vs. Lombard debate from 2000. Yeah, it was faster, had Firewire, a speed bump, HD size, etc. But it wasn't the hyped overall some thought it would be. The same applies here. Ooohh! Santa Rosa! Santa Rosszztsaaa! I realy want to see them in real-world performance differences. Does it edit video much faster? Does it browse better/faster? Is the screen that much more bright and evenly lit? Are the graphics really that much better?

Also, see below....



Exactly...thanks. It is a nice update. My issue with those acting like it's best thing since sliced bread. It's just an update for chrissakes.


Yeah, my white spot was different. I don't know why it developed. It was on the bottom of the screen, in the dock. It started as a "wide vertical line" and then expanded. I don't think it was from the standard white spot recall or whatever.

I agree it's not always worth it. As I said, I don't have it now. I don't travel to work with this one as much, which is one reason I didn't get it. I just use it at home for the most part.

And Apple does like to give you the middle digit with Applecare. They don't cover batteries for the most part. That really pissed me off when I wanted a new PBG4 battery after 18 months. It was down to an hour and they wouldn't replace it. 18 months...sorry guys, that's not reasonable to me. I've heard other stories that are far ore horrifying. I think lately they've been better though...but that is just a perceptin based on lack of said stories.

To stay on topic, I'm using a TiBook 867 and to me the upgrade looks fantastic. However, the TiBook, which I use as a second computer downstairs and is plugged into ac about 98% of the time, still works fine for me. It's a lot slower than my MacPro but still is acceptable for web browsing, light Photoshop and InDesign use, and the run of the mill Word, Excell and FileMaker tasks. Maybe next year I'll replace it either with the current Macbook Pro on iMac.

Now on to AppleCare. Basically it's an individual decision based on how much you're willing to gamble on Apple's quality control. Here's my experience: I've used Macs since 1987 but the TiBook was the first one I bought AC for back in 2002. The machine has performed flawlessly and I never used the AC.

I bought a Power Mac G5 dual 2.5 in 2004. At about 6 months out and still under warranty the power supply failed. So at the 11 month point I bought AC for it. At about the 23 month point the computer went basically wacky and after 5 trips to the Alderwood Apple Store, where they replaced the processors, the mother board and about everything else they could think of-- all of which would have been very expensive if I had had to pay for it myself, they gave up and replaced it with a new MacPro at no cost to me.

In one case the AC was wasted money, in the other it was a life saver. BTW, I bought AC for the Mac Pro this week.

More information on the technical information & Human rights info on nobosh

If you are looking for more technical information on LED screens and where Apple is with human rights be sure to check out the latest article on nobosh.

The article also discusses the suit against Apple in CA against the LED screens.

http://www.nobosh.com/Article/Apple-...D-Screens/634/

Totally agree...if you have a Tibook, the difference in performance will be staggering. You can expect at least a 5 fold increase in nearly everything. Wait til you see how it renders iMovie effects, for example. And then the interface too. I'm thinking back to the PBG4 1.25 I had until December 2005. Even my current gen puts that machine to utter shame, especially with video. Try playing a 1080p stream on a tibook or Alubook or even iMac G5.

I agree ApplCare is hit or miss.


Yeah, we're not. Thaaannks.

How fast a TiBook? The reason I ask is that I'll be moving from a single processor G4 sawtooth 450MHz with a radeon 8500 video card to a new MacBook Pro (maybe this week...)

I think you'll be pleased Please let us know what you think once you've got it.

2 questions.

1. Are apple stores stocking the MBP with the 7200 rpm hd option? (Its Sunday so I cant call)

2. Any word on if the ship date will be reduced on the 7200 hd?

No


I hope so! I am waiting for a 15' w/7200RPM hd, but I haven't read anything which leads me to believe so.

I visited the Apple Store in Simi Valley Ca Sunday to see a new model in person. Would you believe that they had about a dozed MBPs out but they were all pre-Santa Rosa models ! Maybe they are trying to sell them off to the unsuspecting buyers.

I ordered mine last Tuesday when they were released, and it's on its way from China, expected Wednesday. I don't think there is a large number of them in the country quite yet.

I just saw the notice that mine has been delivered to my university office! I'll be out there first thing in the morning. I got the 17" High Res and they claim they loaded it with the 7200rpm HD that was supposed to take 4-6 weeks. Maybe because I ordered an hour or so after the online store opened, I got the one on the line in China??

Interesting -- I ordered the 15" 160GB with 7200rpm and glossy screen via my university office and I was told it would ship in 7-10 business days per the campus computer store. From the overwhelming evidence of a 4-6 wk delay, I just figured that the store didn't have the latest info. Maybe they do...

That's going to be very nice indeed!

I'm torn between the Macbook and Macbook Pro. The only real benefit I see of the Pro is it has a dedicated video card. Is this really worth $1100 more than the MacBook?!

And how important is a dedicated video card now-a-days?

I had one of the first gen white iBooks (600Mhz). I liked it, but it was SLOW from the start. Pauses during dock animations, etc etc. Spinning beach balls forever. And it wasn't very good at graphic-intense games. Granted, this was running 10.2 and 600Mhz.

How are the MacBooks today? Any complaints regarding speed/graphics?