The "HD" iTunes movies are only 720p as opposed to 1080p...
The MacBook's screen resolution is 1280x800. Why exactly would you want to watch scaled-down (and much larger, in terms of file size) 1080p content instead of native 720p content on that display?
Quote:
Originally Posted by ecking
Show me a 13" macbook pro from 1999 and I will buy it. I do not want or need a larger screen or heavier computer. Plenty of people have said this, firewire is not a $500 upgrade, that is a separate computer with many other things I don't want.
Correct, FireWire is not a $500 upgrade. It is not even a $1 upgrade. It is a near-dead standard.
Buy USB peripherals like the rest of the market, or keep your current computer.
Actually, if you had taken time to read and think about my post before going off on your rant about your personal experience, I was not refuting the fact that aluminum will likely be worse for wi-fi reception than plastic; my only point was that the poster was dead wrong when he said that aluminum "killed it." This is absurd. What does "killed it" mean to you? To English speaking people, this sounds like he is saying that it is so bad that no reasonable person would ever use it.
Thanks for proving my point about the pure ignorance of posters like you, who bring up TWELVE inch laptops (with inferior screens, build quality, graphics, no backlit keyboards, etc.) and try to compare it to the new MB.
Instead of trying to answer a European XPS, I can only look at a North American one because we all know that Euro pricing can vary so widely in different European countries.
As of today at dell.ca:
PROCESSOR\tIntel® Core™ 2 Duo T8100 (2.1GHz/800Mhz FSB/3MB cache), English\tedit
OPERATING SYSTEM\tGenuine Windows Vista® Ultimate Edition SP1\tedit
SYSTEM COLOUR\tTuxedo Black\tedit
LCD AND CAMERA\tSlim and Light LED Display with VGA Webcam\tedit
MEMORY\t3GB DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz (1GB x 2GB)\tedit
HARD DRIVE\t320G 5400RPM SATA HDD\tedit
OPTICAL DRIVE\t8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability\tedit
SOUND OPTIONS\tIntegrated Sound Blaster Audigy HD Software Edition\tedit
GRAPHICS CARD\t128MB NVIDIA® GeForce® Go 8400M GS
$1349 CAD, which is, shocking, wait for it....wait....THE SAME PRICE AS THE ENTRY MACBOOK (educational)!!!! WOW!!!
You do get more RAM and a bigger HDD but an older graphics card and an older CPU. BTW, the HDD and RAM are easy and cheap to replace; you cannot replace the GPU and the CPU. The XPS also lacks a backlit keyboard and is still mostly plastic, with some aluminum accents.
I'm not an Apple "apologist." Stop making sweeping generalizations about other people when you so ardently condemn such an act. In other words, stop being a hypocrite.
As far as BD goes, a company called AMEX just released a tiny portable slot loading BD burner (the size of the Air Superdrive) that is USB bus powered, like the Air superdrive, for $300. That would solve that issue for me entirely until Apple gets around to putting them inside.
I guess toast 9 is a master piece then. Blu-ray support and software that read and burn bdr for like what? 70 bucks? I've used blu-ray drives on the mac pro as well as the lacie one on a mbp. It isn't complicated. I'm not saying that apple needed to include it this time around but you and the guy you quote are trying to make it sound like a mystical art, it's not. It's already here, toast can do it (and gives you the plugin) and adobe's encore can do it.
They probably just didn't offer it because like steve said licensing and because none of the slot load drives for br are that thin yet. I imagine it'll be a bto on the next mac pro.
People don't have to wait though, you can get one for a mac pro for less than 250 now.
It's funny that you should mention Toast because I do consider it to be somewhat of a "masterpiece." I certainly wouldn't use anything else to burn stuff.
However, the fact remains that Apple itself doesn't have the software to RUN blu-ray smoothly. By run, I mean play the films, not just read data.
I think it's very funny that if you see the lack of Firewire from a different perspective and you rationally try to explain why you are not up in arms about it, then you are a fanboy.
That's not true pretty much any 599 and up consumer laptop has 4-pin firewire 400 on it. Unless you're talking about netbooks you must not have looked at other manufacturers.
Just to prove you wrong, here are a few random PC laptops without FW, all listed on Futureshop's front page:
The MacBook's screen resolution is 1280x800. Why exactly would you want to watch scaled-down (and much larger, in terms of file size) 1080p content instead of native 720p content on that display?
Correct, FireWire is not a $500 upgrade. It is not even a $1 upgrade. It is a near-dead standard.
Buy USB peripherals like the rest of the market, or keep your current computer.
Define "near dead"
If no one cared ..there wouldn't be the anger being displayed out here. Just because you don't use it doesn't mean that plenty of others don't.
I think it's very funny that if you see the lack of Firewire from a different perspective and you rationally try to explain why you are not up in arms about it, then you are a fanboy.
If no one cared ..there wouldn't be the anger being displayed out here. Just because you don't use it doesn't mean that plenty of others don't.
I think that "near dead" means that almost no consumer electronic uses FW exclusively anymore, and he is correct.
The outrage on this board reflects several things:
1. Ignorance by some
2. Genuine complains by those who really do need it
For those in the 2nd group, I understand their disappointment, but their group is still very small compared to the the large consumer market that doesn't even use FW.
I think that "near dead" means that almost no consumer electronic uses FW exclusively anymore, and he is correct.
The outrage on this board reflects several things:
1. Ignorance by some
2. Genuine complains by those who really do need it
For those in the 2nd group, I understand their disappointment, but their group is still very small compared to the the large consumer market that doesn't even use FW.
I disagree the anger to me reflects
1. An understanding that Apple is a premium computer manufacturer and that means that we understand that they don't scrape bottom barrell but we also understand that we expect them to go the extra mile in a few areas to deliver premium performance.
2. The assumption that the consumer market is what should dictate Apple's featureset is quite absurd. The consumer market doesn't dicatate aluminum chassis but Apple has delivered that. In fact most consumer laptops have more connectivity options (card reader, expresscard, eSATA ports) yet Apple remains ignorant of those features.
Apple has long been the company that gave "more" perhaps the RAM and HDD storage didn't match but dammit we could point to the Superdrive or the built in SCSI or Gigabit Ethernet and say "we're cutting edge" .
The Macbooks are sadly missing cutting edge save for the gorgeous case.
The Macbooks are sadly missing cutting edge save for the gorgeous case.
The aluminum manufacturing process and 65nm Nvidia chipset on one die are both cutting edge. The disappointment of firewire cannot take away from that fact.
The aluminum manufacturing process and 65nm Nvidia chipset on one die are both cutting edge. The disappointment of firewire cannot take away from that fact.
eSATA ..can't add it
Future wireless technology like Wimax can't add it
Card Reader ...not there use a USB port
They have no expansion and have jettisoned the only other viable connection they had yet they are %10. That is not value.
Apple's legacy of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory is legendary. If companies had afflictions like ADHD ...Apple would be the poster child.
Moving and moved are two entirely different things. You must not work in video because you dont' understand how important this is. Panasonic is currently the only manufacturer with a prosumer camera that doesn't have firewire, and it's limted to model you posted. Sony for example just announced 3 new firewire based prosumer units. What will happen in 5 years should not reflect the state of computers now.
I am a filmmaker. Yes I do understand how important Firewire is. Most of the people I work with are using MacBook Pro, Power Mac, and Mac Pro. I cannot think of anyone around me who is using MacBook for professional video work.
You need to look more closely at Sony's consumer line of cameras USB across the board. Panasonic, JVC, and Canon are using USB across the board prosumer and consumer.
If I don't agree with you, I'm a moron? Good to know that I should automatically discount your thoughts on this for irrationality.
Yes but if a person is moronic ...would I really need them to "count" my thoughts? The minute I begin to agree with morons means I am in fact a moron. I don't want to be a moron.
TenoBell- I can definitely see the video market moving away from any kind of wire connection save for say SDI or HD-SDI. You have Panny and the P2 and Sony and their SxS Expresscard based memory sticks. It makes sense to capture and then remove the card ..ingest and and edit.
Firewire for audio tends to be a bit different. It's more bi-directional. You have high end FW effects boxes like
and a plethora of audio interfaces where firewire does indeed make a difference over USB.
I've seen a bunch of dumbed down responses that center around "well I don't have any firewire devices so it must not be necessary"
Because of Apple's narrow product line the removal of some features affect users in other areas. I know I've been a bit obtuse about glossy vs matte screens. But then I got to thinking. Apple has a BTO program...there's no reason to have customers upset because they've been forced into buying one type of LCD. Macbooks should come in what the majority favors but Macbook Pros should be offered in a choice.
"Relatively uncommon on electronics devices, and if present is in the company of at least one other connection port." External hard drives are almost never found without USB, and consumer video cameras have switched over to USB; at this point, the only equipment that truly needs FireWire is external audio equipment for professionals, which is a pretty niche market segment. Or at the very least, they fall outside of the market Apple wishes to serve with the MacBook.
Quote:
If no one cared ..there wouldn't be the anger being displayed out here. Just because you don't use it doesn't mean that plenty of others don't.
The anger is over older equipment without USB slots. Again, the options are to retain your current equipment, buy a Pro, or buy a white MacBook.
"Relatively uncommon on electronics devices, and if present is in the company of at least one other connection port." External hard drives are almost never found without USB, and consumer video cameras have switched over to USB; at this point, the only equipment that truly needs FireWire is external audio equipment for professionals, which is a pretty niche market segment. Or at the very least, they fall outside of the market Apple wishes to serve with the MacBook.
The anger is over older equipment without USB slots. Again, the options are to retain your current equipment, buy a Pro, or buy a white MacBook.
I didn't think you had a sufficient reason for your "near dead" comment. Firewire does things that USB cannot do and that's why it's popular in some areas. Because the masses only do mundane things like hook up printers or extra hard drives doesn't mean there isn't a need for "smarter" technology.
I didn't think you had a sufficient reason for your "near dead" comment. Firewire does things that USB cannot do and that's why it's popular in some areas. Because the masses only do mundane things like hook up printers or extra hard drives doesn't mean there isn't a need for "smarter" technology.
SCSI does somethings that IDE/SATA do not do.
Even ADB does something USB doesn't do (power key on the keyboard).
Newton does something(handwriting recognition) no other PDA/cell phone could do even today.
Firewire does things that USB cannot do and that's why it's popular in some areas. Because the masses only do mundane things like hook up printers or extra hard drives doesn't mean there isn't a need for "smarter" technology.
Trouble is, the MacBook is a consumer level product. Or to borrow your derisive terminology, it's a notebook for the "masses." USB has been the dominant connection standard in the market for years because it's everything most people need, and because it's universally supported. The same cannot be said of FireWire.
I'm sorry that you don't like it, but reality is reality. Again: buy a MacBook Pro, buy a white MacBook, or continue to use your current computer.
Comments
The "HD" iTunes movies are only 720p as opposed to 1080p...
The MacBook's screen resolution is 1280x800. Why exactly would you want to watch scaled-down (and much larger, in terms of file size) 1080p content instead of native 720p content on that display?
Show me a 13" macbook pro from 1999 and I will buy it. I do not want or need a larger screen or heavier computer. Plenty of people have said this, firewire is not a $500 upgrade, that is a separate computer with many other things I don't want.
Correct, FireWire is not a $500 upgrade. It is not even a $1 upgrade. It is a near-dead standard.
Buy USB peripherals like the rest of the market, or keep your current computer.
Thanks for proving my point about the pure ignorance of posters like you, who bring up TWELVE inch laptops (with inferior screens, build quality, graphics, no backlit keyboards, etc.) and try to compare it to the new MB.
Instead of trying to answer a European XPS, I can only look at a North American one because we all know that Euro pricing can vary so widely in different European countries.
As of today at dell.ca:
PROCESSOR\tIntel® Core™ 2 Duo T8100 (2.1GHz/800Mhz FSB/3MB cache), English\tedit
OPERATING SYSTEM\tGenuine Windows Vista® Ultimate Edition SP1\tedit
SYSTEM COLOUR\tTuxedo Black\tedit
LCD AND CAMERA\tSlim and Light LED Display with VGA Webcam\tedit
MEMORY\t3GB DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz (1GB x 2GB)\tedit
HARD DRIVE\t320G 5400RPM SATA HDD\tedit
OPTICAL DRIVE\t8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability\tedit
WIRELESS CARD\tDell Wireless 1505 Wireless-N Mini-card\tedit
BATTERY OPTIONS\t6 Cell Battery\tedit
SOUND OPTIONS\tIntegrated Sound Blaster Audigy HD Software Edition\tedit
GRAPHICS CARD\t128MB NVIDIA® GeForce® Go 8400M GS
$1349 CAD, which is, shocking, wait for it....wait....THE SAME PRICE AS THE ENTRY MACBOOK (educational)!!!! WOW!!!
You do get more RAM and a bigger HDD but an older graphics card and an older CPU. BTW, the HDD and RAM are easy and cheap to replace; you cannot replace the GPU and the CPU. The XPS also lacks a backlit keyboard and is still mostly plastic, with some aluminum accents.
I'm not an Apple "apologist." Stop making sweeping generalizations about other people when you so ardently condemn such an act. In other words, stop being a hypocrite.
I have no intention of buying a new MacBook.
http://gizmodo.com/5064634/amex-port...ay-fashionable
I guess toast 9 is a master piece then. Blu-ray support and software that read and burn bdr for like what? 70 bucks? I've used blu-ray drives on the mac pro as well as the lacie one on a mbp. It isn't complicated. I'm not saying that apple needed to include it this time around but you and the guy you quote are trying to make it sound like a mystical art, it's not. It's already here, toast can do it (and gives you the plugin) and adobe's encore can do it.
They probably just didn't offer it because like steve said licensing and because none of the slot load drives for br are that thin yet. I imagine it'll be a bto on the next mac pro.
People don't have to wait though, you can get one for a mac pro for less than 250 now.
It's funny that you should mention Toast because I do consider it to be somewhat of a "masterpiece." I certainly wouldn't use anything else to burn stuff.
However, the fact remains that Apple itself doesn't have the software to RUN blu-ray smoothly. By run, I mean play the films, not just read data.
That's not true pretty much any 599 and up consumer laptop has 4-pin firewire 400 on it. Unless you're talking about netbooks you must not have looked at other manufacturers.
Just to prove you wrong, here are a few random PC laptops without FW, all listed on Futureshop's front page:
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...E25BADB50ADADA
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...52F1826CE417BD
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...52F1826CE417BD
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...0111628&catid=
Here is a Sony with one, but is is $1K
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...52F1826CE417BD
A 13" laptop without FW:
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...0101467&catid=
As you can see, not "pretty much every every 599 and up consumer laptop has 4-pin firewire 400 on it."
The MacBook's screen resolution is 1280x800. Why exactly would you want to watch scaled-down (and much larger, in terms of file size) 1080p content instead of native 720p content on that display?
Correct, FireWire is not a $500 upgrade. It is not even a $1 upgrade. It is a near-dead standard.
Buy USB peripherals like the rest of the market, or keep your current computer.
Define "near dead"
If no one cared ..there wouldn't be the anger being displayed out here. Just because you don't use it doesn't mean that plenty of others don't.
I think it's very funny that if you see the lack of Firewire from a different perspective and you rationally try to explain why you are not up in arms about it, then you are a fanboy.
Yes moron is a much better title.
Define "near dead"
If no one cared ..there wouldn't be the anger being displayed out here. Just because you don't use it doesn't mean that plenty of others don't.
I think that "near dead" means that almost no consumer electronic uses FW exclusively anymore, and he is correct.
The outrage on this board reflects several things:
1. Ignorance by some
2. Genuine complains by those who really do need it
For those in the 2nd group, I understand their disappointment, but their group is still very small compared to the the large consumer market that doesn't even use FW.
I think that "near dead" means that almost no consumer electronic uses FW exclusively anymore, and he is correct.
The outrage on this board reflects several things:
1. Ignorance by some
2. Genuine complains by those who really do need it
For those in the 2nd group, I understand their disappointment, but their group is still very small compared to the the large consumer market that doesn't even use FW.
I disagree the anger to me reflects
1. An understanding that Apple is a premium computer manufacturer and that means that we understand that they don't scrape bottom barrell but we also understand that we expect them to go the extra mile in a few areas to deliver premium performance.
2. The assumption that the consumer market is what should dictate Apple's featureset is quite absurd. The consumer market doesn't dicatate aluminum chassis but Apple has delivered that. In fact most consumer laptops have more connectivity options (card reader, expresscard, eSATA ports) yet Apple remains ignorant of those features.
Apple has long been the company that gave "more" perhaps the RAM and HDD storage didn't match but dammit we could point to the Superdrive or the built in SCSI or Gigabit Ethernet and say "we're cutting edge" .
The Macbooks are sadly missing cutting edge save for the gorgeous case.
The Macbooks are sadly missing cutting edge save for the gorgeous case.
The aluminum manufacturing process and 65nm Nvidia chipset on one die are both cutting edge. The disappointment of firewire cannot take away from that fact.
The aluminum manufacturing process and 65nm Nvidia chipset on one die are both cutting edge. The disappointment of firewire cannot take away from that fact.
eSATA ..can't add it
Future wireless technology like Wimax can't add it
Card Reader ...not there use a USB port
They have no expansion and have jettisoned the only other viable connection they had yet they are %10. That is not value.
Apple's legacy of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory is legendary. If companies had afflictions like ADHD ...Apple would be the poster child.
Moving and moved are two entirely different things. You must not work in video because you dont' understand how important this is. Panasonic is currently the only manufacturer with a prosumer camera that doesn't have firewire, and it's limted to model you posted. Sony for example just announced 3 new firewire based prosumer units. What will happen in 5 years should not reflect the state of computers now.
I am a filmmaker. Yes I do understand how important Firewire is. Most of the people I work with are using MacBook Pro, Power Mac, and Mac Pro. I cannot think of anyone around me who is using MacBook for professional video work.
You need to look more closely at Sony's consumer line of cameras USB across the board. Panasonic, JVC, and Canon are using USB across the board prosumer and consumer.
Yes moron is a much better title.
If I don't agree with you, I'm a moron? Good to know that I should automatically discount your thoughts on this for irrationality.
If I don't agree with you, I'm a moron? Good to know that I should automatically discount your thoughts on this for irrationality.
Yes but if a person is moronic ...would I really need them to "count" my thoughts? The minute I begin to agree with morons means I am in fact a moron. I don't want to be a moron.
TenoBell- I can definitely see the video market moving away from any kind of wire connection save for say SDI or HD-SDI. You have Panny and the P2 and Sony and their SxS Expresscard based memory sticks. It makes sense to capture and then remove the card ..ingest and and edit.
Firewire for audio tends to be a bit different. It's more bi-directional. You have high end FW effects boxes like
Duende
TC Electronic Powercore
and a plethora of audio interfaces where firewire does indeed make a difference over USB.
I've seen a bunch of dumbed down responses that center around "well I don't have any firewire devices so it must not be necessary"
Because of Apple's narrow product line the removal of some features affect users in other areas. I know I've been a bit obtuse about glossy vs matte screens. But then I got to thinking. Apple has a BTO program...there's no reason to have customers upset because they've been forced into buying one type of LCD. Macbooks should come in what the majority favors but Macbook Pros should be offered in a choice.
Just to prove you wrong, here are a few random PC laptops without FW, all listed on Futureshop's front page:
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...E25BADB50ADADA
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...52F1826CE417BD
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...52F1826CE417BD
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...0111628&catid=
Here is a Sony with one, but is is $1K
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...52F1826CE417BD
A 13" laptop without FW:
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...0101467&catid=
As you can see, not "pretty much every every 599 and up consumer laptop has 4-pin firewire 400 on it."
However, three of those five laptops without built-in FireWire still can be outfitted with the capability by simply buying a FireWire ExpressCard.
Define "near dead"
"Relatively uncommon on electronics devices, and if present is in the company of at least one other connection port." External hard drives are almost never found without USB, and consumer video cameras have switched over to USB; at this point, the only equipment that truly needs FireWire is external audio equipment for professionals, which is a pretty niche market segment. Or at the very least, they fall outside of the market Apple wishes to serve with the MacBook.
If no one cared ..there wouldn't be the anger being displayed out here. Just because you don't use it doesn't mean that plenty of others don't.
The anger is over older equipment without USB slots. Again, the options are to retain your current equipment, buy a Pro, or buy a white MacBook.
"Relatively uncommon on electronics devices, and if present is in the company of at least one other connection port." External hard drives are almost never found without USB, and consumer video cameras have switched over to USB; at this point, the only equipment that truly needs FireWire is external audio equipment for professionals, which is a pretty niche market segment. Or at the very least, they fall outside of the market Apple wishes to serve with the MacBook.
The anger is over older equipment without USB slots. Again, the options are to retain your current equipment, buy a Pro, or buy a white MacBook.
I didn't think you had a sufficient reason for your "near dead" comment. Firewire does things that USB cannot do and that's why it's popular in some areas. Because the masses only do mundane things like hook up printers or extra hard drives doesn't mean there isn't a need for "smarter" technology.
I didn't think you had a sufficient reason for your "near dead" comment. Firewire does things that USB cannot do and that's why it's popular in some areas. Because the masses only do mundane things like hook up printers or extra hard drives doesn't mean there isn't a need for "smarter" technology.
SCSI does somethings that IDE/SATA do not do.
Even ADB does something USB doesn't do (power key on the keyboard).
Newton does something(handwriting recognition) no other PDA/cell phone could do even today.
Firewire does things that USB cannot do and that's why it's popular in some areas. Because the masses only do mundane things like hook up printers or extra hard drives doesn't mean there isn't a need for "smarter" technology.
Trouble is, the MacBook is a consumer level product. Or to borrow your derisive terminology, it's a notebook for the "masses." USB has been the dominant connection standard in the market for years because it's everything most people need, and because it's universally supported. The same cannot be said of FireWire.
I'm sorry that you don't like it, but reality is reality. Again: buy a MacBook Pro, buy a white MacBook, or continue to use your current computer.