I will not buy a $1300 USB only laptop. I don't care if it was carved out of Gold.
In fact my next purchase was going to be a Macbook but now I'm pretty much going to scrap it without having Firewire. It'll probably mean that I have to find another audio interface as well since I was going to go with the Apogee Duet.
Apple just confirmed exactly what Microsoft said when they said there's an "Apple Tax"
Quote:
"Even if Apple were to drop pricing, the Apple Tax still prices Macs well outside of the sub-$1000 range," Microsoft said. "You can get a PC laptop with a bigger hard drive, more RAM, a media-card reader, more USB ports, and a bigger screen, for much less than a Mac."
I was planning on getting the higher end macbook, but with a lack of firewire I have no choice but to go pro, or last gen pro. All of my audio interfaces run firewire.
I will not buy a $1300 USB only laptop. I don't care if it was carved out of Gold.
In fact my next purchase was going to be a Macbook but now I'm pretty much going to scrap it without having Firewire. It'll probably mean that I have to find another audio interface as well since I was going to go with the Apogee Duet.
Apple just confirmed exactly what Microsoft said when they said there's an "Apple Tax"
Spot on.
Right.... but its still not a mac.
I could save $1,000 dollars by purchasing a PC over a new mac, but I still would want to throw it out a window after using it for a month.
Anyways, i didn't start this thread for another debate, rather I just wanted to get a representative poll of how AI generally feels about the lack of a firewire port in the new MacBook.
this upgrade transfer function and tdm is really very nice and slick, i can't imagine that apple would give up this "easy" button. before i vote i want to wait a bit to see if apple has a solution
For those who voted to hold off buying a MacBook, is the SOLE reason for your choice the firewire issue?
Ryan
I'm actually shocked by that as well. I think that there are probably 3 issues that have people dissappointed in these Laptops
1. Glossy screens ( I understand on the MB but the MBP being "Pro" should come with a choice.
2. Lack of Firewire on the MB
3. No Blu-ray (playback is becoming a mainstay on PC notebooks)
I think the issues above have cooled the sentiment on the laptops. If you were in dire need of a laptop you could probably forgive an issue or two but if you were in the group where your current Mac is still fine but you'd make the jump if you saw the right hardware, you're probably holding off another revision.
I think it's a bit of irony that Apple boasts about half their new purchasers being converts from PC land. To me this is good but it's also bad. It shows that once someone enters the Mac fold it becomes harder to get that person to upgrade.
Apple has, IMO, never seemingly felt confident that they could sell multiple Macs into the same home. Their reliance on high margins makes it difficult to say outfit a whole family with current Macs. My brother-in-law had PCs for each of this 3 children by the time they were all in High School as the sole earner on a military salary. This is a more difficult proposition with Apple products.
For one, I am not surprised by Apple's new MBs and MBPs. Not by the black colors, the glossy screens, the lack of firewire, etc. Maybe that is because I have been a holdout using a 12" PB.
The 2.4 GHz MB is akin to the 12" PB in its day. It is overpriced but the smallest reasonably fast portable Apple makes. 12" PB users paid a premium for the portability and gave up FW800, the illuminated keyboard, and speedier graphics. But we still had FW400.
The 2.4 GHz MB is closer in performance overall to the slowest 15" MBP than the 12" PB was to the slowest 15" PB. Alas, it has the illuminated keyboard but no firewire. Personally, I'd forego the illuminated keyboard for firewire on the new MB.
Yesterday I ordered the 2.4GHz MB not even realizing it had the illuminated keyboard. And when I ordered I regretted the fact that I could not pay more for firewire, even if the price exceeded that of the 15" MBP which is too large for me. The illuminated keyboard is but a mild comfort.
I am a long-time holdout who finally capitulated. I'd rather wait for Nehalem, and presumably blu-ray, but cannot, and now I'll sit out the Nehalem iteration unless Apple releases a high performance machine smaller than 13".
My 12" PB still runs well but I need much more speed. Apple could have sold me at least one other machine before this update but they did not have a product small enough. I'll try to replace my firewire audio and miniDV devices with USB devices. If I cannot do so without audio performance problems then I still have old Apple machines with firewire I will have to use.
It is unfortunate that Apple loses sales to users like me who crave portability and will forego product refreshes which do not address their requirements. But this has been going on for some time now and is unlikely to change.
The majority here in AI are pro(No I am not) so you can pretty much expect the option of that it is a deal breaker to outnumber the other one, but I wonder it could be said the same to the Vast majority in the market. I am sure Apple has done enough research on it and knows whether it is profitable to remove firewire port.
I really don't care. In fact, I haven't used FireWire my whole life. I will still buy a macbook just for the OS,the style, and just the brand.
Me neither. I have a Macbook Air with only one usb port. I bought it in February of this year, and guess what???? I'm still alive and kicking. I use a mouse, an iPod touch, a Canon Powershot digital camera, external cd rom drive, and it works!
I will not buy a $1300 USB only laptop. I don't care if it was carved out of Gold.
In fact my next purchase was going to be a Macbook but now I'm pretty much going to scrap it without having Firewire. It'll probably mean that I have to find another audio interface as well since I was going to go with the Apogee Duet.
Apple just confirmed exactly what Microsoft said when they said there's an "Apple Tax"
Spot on.
I don't mind paying more for a Mac but I don't want to replace my Camcorder. That's just more expense on top of an already pricey laptop.
Such a pity, I saw one at a BB and they are very appealing otherwise.
I could care less about firewire. Performance, Size and Style are what I care about. If the Air had a faster CPU, 4 GB RAM, and 320 GB 5400 rpm HD I'd get one of those. Instead I'll get a MB and deal with the extra weight of a DVD drive.
I could care less about firewire. Performance, Size and Style are what I care about. If the Air had a faster CPU, 4 GB RAM, and 320 GB 5400 rpm HD I'd get one of those. Instead I'll get a MB and deal with the extra weight of a DVD drive.
Comments
In fact my next purchase was going to be a Macbook but now I'm pretty much going to scrap it without having Firewire. It'll probably mean that I have to find another audio interface as well since I was going to go with the Apogee Duet.
Apple just confirmed exactly what Microsoft said when they said there's an "Apple Tax"
"Even if Apple were to drop pricing, the Apple Tax still prices Macs well outside of the sub-$1000 range," Microsoft said. "You can get a PC laptop with a bigger hard drive, more RAM, a media-card reader, more USB ports, and a bigger screen, for much less than a Mac."
Spot on.
I will not buy a $1300 USB only laptop. I don't care if it was carved out of Gold.
In fact my next purchase was going to be a Macbook but now I'm pretty much going to scrap it without having Firewire. It'll probably mean that I have to find another audio interface as well since I was going to go with the Apogee Duet.
Apple just confirmed exactly what Microsoft said when they said there's an "Apple Tax"
Spot on.
Right.... but its still not a mac.
I could save $1,000 dollars by purchasing a PC over a new mac, but I still would want to throw it out a window after using it for a month.
Anyways, i didn't start this thread for another debate, rather I just wanted to get a representative poll of how AI generally feels about the lack of a firewire port in the new MacBook.
The more USB products you have attached to your computer the slower your computer runs. Don't we buy Macs for style AND performance?
USB only is lower than lowest common denominator.
I'll check out a Macbook when they have Nehalem procs and by then I'll know what my
options for audio interfaces are.
For those who voted to hold off buying a MacBook, is the SOLE reason for your choice the firewire issue?
Wow, the poll is pretty close so far.
For those who voted to hold off buying a MacBook, is the SOLE reason for your choice the firewire issue?
Ryan
I'm actually shocked by that as well. I think that there are probably 3 issues that have people dissappointed in these Laptops
1. Glossy screens ( I understand on the MB but the MBP being "Pro" should come with a choice.
2. Lack of Firewire on the MB
3. No Blu-ray (playback is becoming a mainstay on PC notebooks)
I think the issues above have cooled the sentiment on the laptops. If you were in dire need of a laptop you could probably forgive an issue or two but if you were in the group where your current Mac is still fine but you'd make the jump if you saw the right hardware, you're probably holding off another revision.
I think it's a bit of irony that Apple boasts about half their new purchasers being converts from PC land. To me this is good but it's also bad. It shows that once someone enters the Mac fold it becomes harder to get that person to upgrade.
Apple has, IMO, never seemingly felt confident that they could sell multiple Macs into the same home. Their reliance on high margins makes it difficult to say outfit a whole family with current Macs. My brother-in-law had PCs for each of this 3 children by the time they were all in High School as the sole earner on a military salary. This is a more difficult proposition with Apple products.
The 2.4 GHz MB is akin to the 12" PB in its day. It is overpriced but the smallest reasonably fast portable Apple makes. 12" PB users paid a premium for the portability and gave up FW800, the illuminated keyboard, and speedier graphics. But we still had FW400.
The 2.4 GHz MB is closer in performance overall to the slowest 15" MBP than the 12" PB was to the slowest 15" PB. Alas, it has the illuminated keyboard but no firewire. Personally, I'd forego the illuminated keyboard for firewire on the new MB.
Yesterday I ordered the 2.4GHz MB not even realizing it had the illuminated keyboard. And when I ordered I regretted the fact that I could not pay more for firewire, even if the price exceeded that of the 15" MBP which is too large for me. The illuminated keyboard is but a mild comfort.
I am a long-time holdout who finally capitulated. I'd rather wait for Nehalem, and presumably blu-ray, but cannot, and now I'll sit out the Nehalem iteration unless Apple releases a high performance machine smaller than 13".
My 12" PB still runs well but I need much more speed. Apple could have sold me at least one other machine before this update but they did not have a product small enough. I'll try to replace my firewire audio and miniDV devices with USB devices. If I cannot do so without audio performance problems then I still have old Apple machines with firewire I will have to use.
It is unfortunate that Apple loses sales to users like me who crave portability and will forego product refreshes which do not address their requirements. But this has been going on for some time now and is unlikely to change.
Wow, the poll is pretty close so far.
For those who voted to hold off buying a MacBook, is the SOLE reason for your choice the firewire issue?
Yes, the lack of Firewire is the sole reason I am not getting a macbook. I am going to pay an extra $500 for a f'n firewire port.
I was looking forward to this refresh as an opportunity to upgrade from my old G4 Powerbook...
I looked at the Dell that has firewire, looks like a pretty good machine and under $1,500...
I don't need OS X, it's just preferred.
I really don't care. In fact, I haven't used FireWire my whole life. I will still buy a macbook just for the OS,the style, and just the brand.
Me neither. I have a Macbook Air with only one usb port. I bought it in February of this year, and guess what???? I'm still alive and kicking. I use a mouse, an iPod touch, a Canon Powershot digital camera, external cd rom drive, and it works!
I will not buy a $1300 USB only laptop. I don't care if it was carved out of Gold.
In fact my next purchase was going to be a Macbook but now I'm pretty much going to scrap it without having Firewire. It'll probably mean that I have to find another audio interface as well since I was going to go with the Apogee Duet.
Apple just confirmed exactly what Microsoft said when they said there's an "Apple Tax"
Spot on.
I don't mind paying more for a Mac but I don't want to replace my Camcorder. That's just more expense on top of an already pricey laptop.
Such a pity, I saw one at a BB and they are very appealing otherwise.
I could care less about firewire. Performance, Size and Style are what I care about. If the Air had a faster CPU, 4 GB RAM, and 320 GB 5400 rpm HD I'd get one of those. Instead I'll get a MB and deal with the extra weight of a DVD drive.
Exactly how much could you care less?