apple is making enough sales that they aren't worried about the small percentage of folks that will leave apple because there's no firewire on a macbook anymore.
Well if I were in the computer business I'd be stupid to ignore the needs of a 'small percentage' who want a $3 port on a $1300 machine. Remember, if that 'small percentage' leave Apple because of a cheap ass omission then Apple lose loyal customers who have invested many $$$'s in Apple kit over the years and potentially lose thousands more $$$'s in the future. These users may very well NEVER return to Apple hardware. In my book that is not good business practice and cannot be justified. A business is only as good or as healthy as their customers allow. Money talks and loyalty is everything. From the coffee bar to the computer maker, all businesses rely on customer loyalty. Lose that and you lose credibility. Lose credibility and you lose $$$'s.
and I bet you guys start griping about tv shows and movies sucking before they come out. all because you don't like the babe that is the love interest.
why don't you wait and see what happens in two years and how it is received before you start second guessing.
apple is making enough sales that they aren't worried about the small percentage of folks that will leave apple because there's no firewire on a macbook anymore.
The question is not that people will leave Apple because of Firewire. Humans rarely state what is really bothering them. What you hear vocalized is generally not the root cause of pain. When a Mac user says "I'm not buying a Macbook because it has no firewire" many are really contemplating leaving the platform because of other root level issues. Could be disatisfaction with pricing or system stability. All companies shoud take heed to the complaints of their customers.
Quote:
Originally Posted by charlituna
just in the past week I have done software based repairs on 4 Macs (3 laptops, one desktop) and rebuild from backup images 12 Macs and guess what. I didn't use target disk mode once. I did boot from a USB connected external hard drive 16 times
That's your job though. With the first iMacs I could slap memory into them in 4 minutes because I got good with practice. TDM is good for the person that doesn't relish the idea of opening their Mac..disconnecting their drive and putting it in a case. Different skillsets and experience but it doesn't negate the value of FW based TDM.
Quote:
Originally Posted by laucala
I'm struggling to understand what the issue is here, and why people are complaining? Put yourselves in an Apple executive's shoes - your job is to grow the business, in their case angling their computers in the direction of supporting the tech trends relative to their products. If you're a "video producer" and you use a Macbook, successfully, then stick with it - but don't ever expect future Macbooks (read: aimed at schools and uni students) to continue to support last year's tech just to keep you interested. If you're successfully producing video using your current Macbook, then moving to a newer Macbook isn't going to change anything for you save for a possibly larger HD and a slightly faster chip - if you do need to move on that much from your existing Macbook then you're probably (unknowingly) in the market for a Macbook Pro anyway, which will still support your legacy hardware.
We don't have to put ourselve in the shoes of Apple Execs. Our motivations and goals are often diametrically opposed. I want the most features for the lowest price and they want the lowest Build of Materials and the highest retail pricing (margin). What you promulgate is that I should purchase a computer with a featureset that is not in my best interests as it relates to performance and longevity of my computer. Where exactly does that make sense?
Quote:
Originally Posted by charlituna
if anyone at apple believed that they would have removed him.
uh, Sony was one of the founders of the BluRay Disc Association and as such probably pays nil in fees to put the drives in their machines. whereas Apple would likely have to license that right. thus the question of expense.
yeah but how many folks that would use esata wouldn't pony up for a pro anyway. I bet not that many.
i suppose you have already developed the tech so you know how quick and cheap it is. probably already wrote the OS as well.
A HP Pavillion (consumer) dv5t has Blu-ray, HDMI, eSATA, Firewire and expresscard 34 for less than $1299. I guess considering the typical Mac users logic ..HP should rebrand the Pavillion as a Pro computer.
nd if they use TimeMachine, their backups will take forever.
3 machines. all using time machine with a usb external. first backups took some time but now it's seconds to at the most 5 minutes for one large video file which was a rarity (and it was 3 GB)
Please people, stop making excuses for a poor decision by Apple. FireWire is still a viable technology and USB really doesn't cut it when it comes to audio/video work. Remember...
1: The MacBook is NOT a 'consumer' device. Is tis a PROsumer machine with a price tag to match.
2: Just because YOU do not use FireWire does not make a good argument for getting rid of it on the MacBook.
3: USB is not a viable or like for like replacement for FireWire in audio/video applications. USB is flaky and problematic when daisy chaining or importing.
4: You cannot operate digicam functions through USB.
5: Someday you may need TDM. Help!
6: External HDs, audio devices, digicams, iPods all with FW only STILL exist! Just 'cos YOU don't own one is not reason enough to ignore others needs.
7: Don't get me started about glossy screens, lack of expresscard, over cooked design etc...
Anyway...
LOOK!! New for 2010! Apple totally redesign the MacBook for a new decade!
"We've stripped out all the unnecessary technology and clutter for the 'New Thinking even more Different" age.
Out go all those annoying ports and unsightly keys.
We have even trimmed the MacBook down so that you, our valued customer, will never again suffer the indignity or inconvenience of lugging around a heavy piece of equipment."
This is interesting but the specks look like it is a simple 2 port FW hub and a 4 port USB hub meaning that you still need a USB and FW connection to your computer.
Did you actually verify with Belkin that the hub will cross connect FW and USB so that only a USB cable needs to be used with the MB?
I'm struggling to understand what the issue is here, and why people are complaining? Put yourselves in an Apple executive's shoes - your job is to grow the business, in their case angling their computers in the direction of supporting the tech trends relative to their products. If you're a "video producer" and you use a Macbook, successfully, then stick with it - but don't ever expect future Macbooks (read: aimed at schools and uni students) to continue to support last year's tech just to keep you interested. If you're successfully producing video using your current Macbook, then moving to a newer Macbook isn't going to change anything for you save for a possibly larger HD and a slightly faster chip - if you do need to move on that much from your existing Macbook then you're probably (unknowingly) in the market for a Macbook Pro anyway, which will still support your legacy hardware.
I think you've got everything reversed here. As a customer, I am only supposed to be looking out for my own interests, not those of Apple. If I am not happy with the direction they are taking with their products, I have the full right to voice my complaints to Apple. While I don't particular lament the departure of Firewire, I do believe that having USB 2 as the only peripheral connectivity option is not acceptable for the price I am paying.
3 machines. all using time machine with a usb external. first backups took some time but now it's seconds to at the most 5 minutes for one large video file which was a rarity (and it was 3 GB)
there is an esata port on the pros. has been
No, eSATA has never been offered on any Apple computer. It can only be added through expansion cards, such as PCIe cards (only possible on the Mac Pro) or ExpressCard (Only possible on the Macbook Pro).
yeah but how many folks that would use esata wouldn't pony up for a pro anyway. I bet not that many.
A pro customer would expect the eSATA port to be integrated in a far more graceful manner than an ExpressCard (in other words, included by default and merged with the USB port). After all, eSATA is more widely adopted than FW 800.
guess my point was to try and replace FW with something else. an expansion card would let people use firewire if they needed it, without including it specifically. USB3 might be able to have an adaptor that could connect to firewire simply b/c it'd be so much faster than USB2.
I was hoping for that, myself. Remove the optical drive altogether and add EC/54 across the line. Apple's 9.5mm drives just aren't great speed-wise for professionals anyway.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SpamSandwich
Then don't buy a new MacBook. I'm not.
I do use FW400 daily, but can easily adapt since it is my TM drive which has USB2.0 on it, but I won't be buying new Mac notebook until we get some hard data on NVIDIA (whom I don't trust yet), and we see how well these new unibody designs work out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MJ Web
I use a MB Pro and several FW peripherals. I intended to buy a new Macbook for my company but its lack of Firewire killed the sale. I insist all my Macs do Target Disk mode. I must admit you make a reasonable argument. However, marketing isn't only what you say, it's what you omit! I don't think AAPL wants to advertise that it's selling inferior technology.
Why not get the old MacBook design. The overall performance specs aren't much difference and they are tried-and-true, and with a lower pricepoint. Then in a couple years buy yourself the new design once USB3.0 has been implemented and you are ready to get new perhiipals that support USB3.0.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hmurchison
So Apple has, for the sake of design, chosen to default to the slowest connection available. The Mac Tech press has been asleep choosing to parrot the "USB is standard" lineup.
They have, but you must admit that FW400 was a 'dead-end' tech. Now, if they offered FW800 and a FW800-to-400 adapter their would be virtually no complaining (I know from this forum that posters can very clever in what they find fault in), but we see Apple want's EC and FW800 to be a Pro feature only. These last two things I wish were standard as I want my 3G in a MacBook and not that damn USB card I have sticking out, but they want the upsell and I can't change this so I see no reason to rant about it.
I can't help but to remind posters, again, that Apple dropped DL-DVD burners to a SL-DVD burners in the very popular 15" MBP because they made it so thin. DVD burning was much more relevant then than for the consumer it is now. And at the same time, they dropped PCMCIA for EC/34. Granted, it's better than PCMCIA, but the cards weren't compatible (and many of these FW400 peripherals do support USB2.0, too) so people had to buy all new PC Cards if they wanted a MacBook Pro with the same function, which introduced the problem that very few 3rd-parties offered any EC/34 cards at all, much less covering the vast array of PCMCIA products
Quote:
These lame Macbooks aren't going to impress the masses.
Time will tell, and despite my previously mentioned reservations, I am already impressed with the potential of these NVIDIA chipsets and the new unibody construction process.
PS: Hopefully there will be away to remove the SATA optical drive and put in a ExpressCard port. That will mean widening the optical drive opening a bit, but I think the real issue is that EC connects to PCIe, so I don't know if that makes it technically impossible.
So tell me - when the backlight dies on an average consumer's shiny, new MacBook, what does he do? Take it to an Apple Store, where they'll ask if he's backed up his data? He'll say no, more than likely. Although he could have if he'd been able to turn the computer into a dumb FW drive.
or hooked a USB external to the computer. firewire is NOT the only option for backing up. and the speed difference isn't that noticeable for the typical users smaller files.
Quote:
Would the average consumer ever do any of this this? Likely not.
since the average consumer isn't likely to do it anyway, losing it doesn't matter.
That's your job though. With the first iMacs I could slap memory into them in 4 minutes because I got good with practice. TDM is good for the person that doesn't relish the idea of opening their Mac..disconnecting their drive and putting it in a case. Different skillsets and experience but it doesn't negate the value of FW based TDM.
the original comment was that you can not repair a computer without target disk mode and thus firewire.
my point is that you can, I know I do it all the time.
the average consumer, who is target audience for the macbook, isn't going to care about whether the external drive he was convinced to buy for backups is USB or firewire, so long as it works.
and when his computer fails, the good folks at apple can do just what I did and boot it from a USB drive if it is intel or if not then it's very likely got firewire so what's the issue.
1: The MacBook is NOT a 'consumer' device. Is tis a PROsumer machine with a price tag to match.
2: Just because YOU do not use FireWire does not make a good argument for getting rid of it on the MacBook.
3: USB is not a viable or like for like replacement for FireWire in audio/video applications. USB is flaky and problematic when daisy chaining or importing.
4: You cannot operate digicam functions through USB.
5: Someday you may need TDM. Help!
6: External HDs, audio devices, digicams, iPods all with FW only STILL exist! Just 'cos YOU don't own one is not reason enough to ignore others needs.
7: Don't get me started about glossy screens, lack of expresscard, over cooked design etc...
Half of those requirements show that you should be buying a Macbook Pro, but to argue those.
2.) I use firewire.
5.) You can boot a Macbook using USB apparently. A few users on this board have tried it. This is new to me, but it would replace TDM.
6.) Sure, and there are even more USB ones. Hey I use firewire ones, but I use Pro machines. Likely third-party adapters will take care of these. AND as we pointed out, Apple isn't changing your existing machine you can still do this on the machine you have.
7.) More expansion is reserved for the costlier machine, you want more expansion, pay for it.
Why not get the old MacBook design. The overall performance specs aren't much difference and they are tried-and-true, and with a lower pricepoint. Then in a couple years buy yourself the new design once USB3.0 has been implemented and you are ready to get new perhiipals that support USB3.0.
I never liked the original Macbook design. My rule of thumb is never buy first gen anything. I was so impressed with the new MB design I was ready to break it. I avoided the first gen MB Pro because Core 2 Duo was worth waiting for. AAPL changed the case design to provide much better air flow on the C2D model I bought. I won't buy the new first gen MB Pro with a Penryn CPU because Nelaham is right around the corner. I expect AAPL will probably tweak the chasis and case. Maybe they'll even reincorporate FW on a MB!
I never liked the original Macbook design. My rule of thumb is never buy first gen anything. I was so impressed with the new MB design I was ready to break it. I avoided the first gen MB Pro because Core 2 Duo was worth waiting for. AAPL changed the case design to provide much better air flow on the C2D model I bought. I won't buy the new first gen MB Pro with a Penryn CPU because Nelaham is right around the corner. I expect AAPL will probably tweak the chasis and case. Maybe they'll even reincorporate FW on a MB!
Nehelam is only around the corner for the Mac Pro.
For all other machines, people will have to wait.
Regular desktops will see Nehalem sometime in the first, or early 2nd quarter of next year.
Portable users will have to wait until late next year. These are Intel's timelines, and have been well written about.
All you have to do is wait a few months for the new MacBook Pro to appear in the Refurbished section of the Apple Online Store and pick it up for the price of a new high end MacBook. it will still have the same one year warranty and available Apple Care support.
I won't buy the new first gen MB Pro with a Penryn CPU because Nelaham is right around the corner.
That is a one year corner. We'll see a release later this year, if still on target, maybe a high-end Mac Pro for both Apple and Intel marketing aspects as it's only the server and workstation-grade CPUs that will be ready. If you can wait a year for Nehelam, USB3.0, any new case design issues, NVIDIA HW/and driver issues, and whatever else could happen, then I think that is smart idea.
Just adding my own frustration toward Apple's decision to remove Firewire from the MacBook. I know video professionals who spend most of their time working at a desk, but occasionally need to do some editing on the road. WIth Apple's new lineup, they now have to spend $2000 for a computer that'll spend much of its time in a bag in the corner. What purpose was there to add a real graphics card to the MacBook ? and pedal it as a Macbook Pro but smaller and $700 cheaper ? if they were just going to artificially cripple it in another manner?
Here's an idea for Apple: make 7200RPM drives standard on the MacBook Pro, as well as 4GB of RAM and high density screens, and then professionals would have a legitimate reason to spend $2k on a laptop instead of simply because the $1300 and $1600 models are artificially crippled. It's getting pretty absurd. The entry price for an Apple tower has increased from $1599 to $2800 in the past 8 years, and now you have to spend $2000 to have a laptop you can connect your DV camera to.
Comments
apple is making enough sales that they aren't worried about the small percentage of folks that will leave apple because there's no firewire on a macbook anymore.
Well if I were in the computer business I'd be stupid to ignore the needs of a 'small percentage'
Well put- unfortunately.
and I bet you guys start griping about tv shows and movies sucking before they come out. all because you don't like the babe that is the love interest.
why don't you wait and see what happens in two years and how it is received before you start second guessing.
apple is making enough sales that they aren't worried about the small percentage of folks that will leave apple because there's no firewire on a macbook anymore.
The question is not that people will leave Apple because of Firewire. Humans rarely state what is really bothering them. What you hear vocalized is generally not the root cause of pain. When a Mac user says "I'm not buying a Macbook because it has no firewire" many are really contemplating leaving the platform because of other root level issues. Could be disatisfaction with pricing or system stability. All companies shoud take heed to the complaints of their customers.
just in the past week I have done software based repairs on 4 Macs (3 laptops, one desktop) and rebuild from backup images 12 Macs and guess what. I didn't use target disk mode once. I did boot from a USB connected external hard drive 16 times
That's your job though. With the first iMacs I could slap memory into them in 4 minutes because I got good with practice. TDM is good for the person that doesn't relish the idea of opening their Mac..disconnecting their drive and putting it in a case. Different skillsets and experience but it doesn't negate the value of FW based TDM.
I'm struggling to understand what the issue is here, and why people are complaining? Put yourselves in an Apple executive's shoes - your job is to grow the business, in their case angling their computers in the direction of supporting the tech trends relative to their products. If you're a "video producer" and you use a Macbook, successfully, then stick with it - but don't ever expect future Macbooks (read: aimed at schools and uni students) to continue to support last year's tech just to keep you interested. If you're successfully producing video using your current Macbook, then moving to a newer Macbook isn't going to change anything for you save for a possibly larger HD and a slightly faster chip - if you do need to move on that much from your existing Macbook then you're probably (unknowingly) in the market for a Macbook Pro anyway, which will still support your legacy hardware.
We don't have to put ourselve in the shoes of Apple Execs. Our motivations and goals are often diametrically opposed. I want the most features for the lowest price and they want the lowest Build of Materials and the highest retail pricing (margin). What you promulgate is that I should purchase a computer with a featureset that is not in my best interests as it relates to performance and longevity of my computer. Where exactly does that make sense?
if anyone at apple believed that they would have removed him.
uh, Sony was one of the founders of the BluRay Disc Association and as such probably pays nil in fees to put the drives in their machines. whereas Apple would likely have to license that right. thus the question of expense.
yeah but how many folks that would use esata wouldn't pony up for a pro anyway. I bet not that many.
i suppose you have already developed the tech so you know how quick and cheap it is. probably already wrote the OS as well.
A HP Pavillion (consumer) dv5t has Blu-ray, HDMI, eSATA, Firewire and expresscard 34 for less than $1299. I guess considering the typical Mac users logic ..HP should rebrand the Pavillion as a Pro computer.
nd if they use TimeMachine, their backups will take forever.
3 machines. all using time machine with a usb external. first backups took some time but now it's seconds to at the most 5 minutes for one large video file which was a rarity (and it was 3 GB)
and added an eSATA port to the MacBook Pros.
there is an esata port on the pros. has been
Please people, stop making excuses for a poor decision by Apple. FireWire is still a viable technology and USB really doesn't cut it when it comes to audio/video work. Remember...
1: The MacBook is NOT a 'consumer' device. Is tis a PROsumer machine with a price tag to match.
2: Just because YOU do not use FireWire does not make a good argument for getting rid of it on the MacBook.
3: USB is not a viable or like for like replacement for FireWire in audio/video applications. USB is flaky and problematic when daisy chaining or importing.
4: You cannot operate digicam functions through USB.
5: Someday you may need TDM. Help!
6: External HDs, audio devices, digicams, iPods all with FW only STILL exist! Just 'cos YOU don't own one is not reason enough to ignore others needs.
7: Don't get me started about glossy screens, lack of expresscard, over cooked design etc...
Anyway...
LOOK!! New for 2010! Apple totally redesign the MacBook for a new decade!
"We've stripped out all the unnecessary technology and clutter for the 'New Thinking even more Different" age.
Out go all those annoying ports and unsightly keys.
We have even trimmed the MacBook down so that you, our valued customer, will never again suffer the indignity or inconvenience of lugging around a heavy piece of equipment."
.At only $1299, the new Apple notebook
Nice.
Stylus not included.
This is interesting but the specks look like it is a simple 2 port FW hub and a 4 port USB hub meaning that you still need a USB and FW connection to your computer.
Did you actually verify with Belkin that the hub will cross connect FW and USB so that only a USB cable needs to be used with the MB?
right from the site
System Requirements
Mac OS® 8.6 or higher for USB 1.1 mode
Mac OS X v10.2.7 or higher for USB 2.0 mode
no mention of needing a firewire port
I'm struggling to understand what the issue is here, and why people are complaining? Put yourselves in an Apple executive's shoes - your job is to grow the business, in their case angling their computers in the direction of supporting the tech trends relative to their products. If you're a "video producer" and you use a Macbook, successfully, then stick with it - but don't ever expect future Macbooks (read: aimed at schools and uni students) to continue to support last year's tech just to keep you interested. If you're successfully producing video using your current Macbook, then moving to a newer Macbook isn't going to change anything for you save for a possibly larger HD and a slightly faster chip - if you do need to move on that much from your existing Macbook then you're probably (unknowingly) in the market for a Macbook Pro anyway, which will still support your legacy hardware.
I think you've got everything reversed here. As a customer, I am only supposed to be looking out for my own interests, not those of Apple. If I am not happy with the direction they are taking with their products, I have the full right to voice my complaints to Apple. While I don't particular lament the departure of Firewire, I do believe that having USB 2 as the only peripheral connectivity option is not acceptable for the price I am paying.
3 machines. all using time machine with a usb external. first backups took some time but now it's seconds to at the most 5 minutes for one large video file which was a rarity (and it was 3 GB)
there is an esata port on the pros. has been
No, eSATA has never been offered on any Apple computer. It can only be added through expansion cards, such as PCIe cards (only possible on the Mac Pro) or ExpressCard (Only possible on the Macbook Pro).
yeah but how many folks that would use esata wouldn't pony up for a pro anyway. I bet not that many.
A pro customer would expect the eSATA port to be integrated in a far more graceful manner than an ExpressCard (in other words, included by default and merged with the USB port). After all, eSATA is more widely adopted than FW 800.
guess my point was to try and replace FW with something else. an expansion card would let people use firewire if they needed it, without including it specifically. USB3 might be able to have an adaptor that could connect to firewire simply b/c it'd be so much faster than USB2.
I was hoping for that, myself. Remove the optical drive altogether and add EC/54 across the line. Apple's 9.5mm drives just aren't great speed-wise for professionals anyway.
Then don't buy a new MacBook. I'm not.
I do use FW400 daily, but can easily adapt since it is my TM drive which has USB2.0 on it, but I won't be buying new Mac notebook until we get some hard data on NVIDIA (whom I don't trust yet), and we see how well these new unibody designs work out.
I use a MB Pro and several FW peripherals. I intended to buy a new Macbook for my company but its lack of Firewire killed the sale. I insist all my Macs do Target Disk mode. I must admit you make a reasonable argument. However, marketing isn't only what you say, it's what you omit! I don't think AAPL wants to advertise that it's selling inferior technology.
Why not get the old MacBook design. The overall performance specs aren't much difference and they are tried-and-true, and with a lower pricepoint. Then in a couple years buy yourself the new design once USB3.0 has been implemented and you are ready to get new perhiipals that support USB3.0.
So Apple has, for the sake of design, chosen to default to the slowest connection available. The Mac Tech press has been asleep choosing to parrot the "USB is standard" lineup.
They have, but you must admit that FW400 was a 'dead-end' tech. Now, if they offered FW800 and a FW800-to-400 adapter their would be virtually no complaining (I know from this forum that posters can very clever in what they find fault in
I can't help but to remind posters, again, that Apple dropped DL-DVD burners to a SL-DVD burners in the very popular 15" MBP because they made it so thin. DVD burning was much more relevant then than for the consumer it is now. And at the same time, they dropped PCMCIA for EC/34. Granted, it's better than PCMCIA, but the cards weren't compatible (and many of these FW400 peripherals do support USB2.0, too) so people had to buy all new PC Cards if they wanted a MacBook Pro with the same function, which introduced the problem that very few 3rd-parties offered any EC/34 cards at all, much less covering the vast array of PCMCIA products
These lame Macbooks aren't going to impress the masses.
Time will tell, and despite my previously mentioned reservations, I am already impressed with the potential of these NVIDIA chipsets and the new unibody construction process.
PS: Hopefully there will be away to remove the SATA optical drive and put in a ExpressCard port. That will mean widening the optical drive opening a bit, but I think the real issue is that EC connects to PCIe, so I don't know if that makes it technically impossible.
So tell me - when the backlight dies on an average consumer's shiny, new MacBook, what does he do? Take it to an Apple Store, where they'll ask if he's backed up his data? He'll say no, more than likely. Although he could have if he'd been able to turn the computer into a dumb FW drive.
or hooked a USB external to the computer. firewire is NOT the only option for backing up. and the speed difference isn't that noticeable for the typical users smaller files.
Would the average consumer ever do any of this this? Likely not.
since the average consumer isn't likely to do it anyway, losing it doesn't matter.
T
That's your job though. With the first iMacs I could slap memory into them in 4 minutes because I got good with practice. TDM is good for the person that doesn't relish the idea of opening their Mac..disconnecting their drive and putting it in a case. Different skillsets and experience but it doesn't negate the value of FW based TDM.
the original comment was that you can not repair a computer without target disk mode and thus firewire.
my point is that you can, I know I do it all the time.
the average consumer, who is target audience for the macbook, isn't going to care about whether the external drive he was convinced to buy for backups is USB or firewire, so long as it works.
and when his computer fails, the good folks at apple can do just what I did and boot it from a USB drive if it is intel or if not then it's very likely got firewire so what's the issue.
P
1: The MacBook is NOT a 'consumer' device. Is tis a PROsumer machine with a price tag to match.
2: Just because YOU do not use FireWire does not make a good argument for getting rid of it on the MacBook.
3: USB is not a viable or like for like replacement for FireWire in audio/video applications. USB is flaky and problematic when daisy chaining or importing.
4: You cannot operate digicam functions through USB.
5: Someday you may need TDM. Help!
6: External HDs, audio devices, digicams, iPods all with FW only STILL exist! Just 'cos YOU don't own one is not reason enough to ignore others needs.
7: Don't get me started about glossy screens, lack of expresscard, over cooked design etc...
Half of those requirements show that you should be buying a Macbook Pro, but to argue those.
2.) I use firewire.
5.) You can boot a Macbook using USB apparently. A few users on this board have tried it. This is new to me, but it would replace TDM.
6.) Sure, and there are even more USB ones. Hey I use firewire ones, but I use Pro machines. Likely third-party adapters will take care of these. AND as we pointed out, Apple isn't changing your existing machine you can still do this on the machine you have.
7.) More expansion is reserved for the costlier machine, you want more expansion, pay for it.
Why not get the old MacBook design. The overall performance specs aren't much difference and they are tried-and-true, and with a lower pricepoint. Then in a couple years buy yourself the new design once USB3.0 has been implemented and you are ready to get new perhiipals that support USB3.0.
I never liked the original Macbook design. My rule of thumb is never buy first gen anything. I was so impressed with the new MB design I was ready to break it. I avoided the first gen MB Pro because Core 2 Duo was worth waiting for. AAPL changed the case design to provide much better air flow on the C2D model I bought. I won't buy the new first gen MB Pro with a Penryn CPU because Nelaham is right around the corner. I expect AAPL will probably tweak the chasis and case. Maybe they'll even reincorporate FW on a MB!
I never liked the original Macbook design. My rule of thumb is never buy first gen anything. I was so impressed with the new MB design I was ready to break it. I avoided the first gen MB Pro because Core 2 Duo was worth waiting for. AAPL changed the case design to provide much better air flow on the C2D model I bought. I won't buy the new first gen MB Pro with a Penryn CPU because Nelaham is right around the corner. I expect AAPL will probably tweak the chasis and case. Maybe they'll even reincorporate FW on a MB!
Nehelam is only around the corner for the Mac Pro.
For all other machines, people will have to wait.
Regular desktops will see Nehalem sometime in the first, or early 2nd quarter of next year.
Portable users will have to wait until late next year. These are Intel's timelines, and have been well written about.
I won't buy the new first gen MB Pro with a Penryn CPU because Nelaham is right around the corner.
That is a one year corner. We'll see a release later this year, if still on target, maybe a high-end Mac Pro for both Apple and Intel marketing aspects as it's only the server and workstation-grade CPUs that will be ready. If you can wait a year for Nehelam, USB3.0, any new case design issues, NVIDIA HW/and driver issues, and whatever else could happen, then I think that is smart idea.
I still need it.
Me too.
WTF.
Here's an idea for Apple: make 7200RPM drives standard on the MacBook Pro, as well as 4GB of RAM and high density screens, and then professionals would have a legitimate reason to spend $2k on a laptop instead of simply because the $1300 and $1600 models are artificially crippled. It's getting pretty absurd. The entry price for an Apple tower has increased from $1599 to $2800 in the past 8 years, and now you have to spend $2000 to have a laptop you can connect your DV camera to.