Next-gen MacBook, MacBook Pro spotted in matching outfits

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  • Reply 81 of 162
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2 View Post


    I don't know why people always go on about a docking station for Mac laptops. does anyone outside of IBM *ever* use a docking station?



    In my experience it's a concept that has it's roots in the 1990's and has now virtually died out. I work at a major University and get to see hundreds of computer set-ups in hundreds of offices over the last 20 years or so. I have rarely seen anyone use a docking station and it was always some died-in-the-wool conservative using a ThinkPad and MS Windows when I did see one.



    I have also never had a Mac user, *ever* turn to me when consulting about their computer needs and say that they wished they had a docking port or a docking station. Unless I am completely misunderstanding what you are talking about, I just don't see how any appreciable group of Mac users actually want this..



    BookEndz has one and I would like it. Maybe it's because I'm one of those dyed in the wool conservatives? One reason I don't use my portable as a portable is that I have so much stuff plugged into it. Three external drives, a card reader, a scanner, two printers, Jawbone charger, external speakers, keyboard and trackball. A docking station would help make my MacBook be more portable again.
  • Reply 82 of 162
    DisplayPort was supposed to be the to successor to DVI, but HDMI (which is really just DVI + audio) has become so popular that it may delay or intercept the intended move to DisplayPort.



    The main reason for moving to DisplayPort is video DRM (for things like Blu-ray). It also offers an upgrade path past DVI/HDMI, but that's in the future, and DVI already supports resolutions in excess of Apple's 30" display.



    If Apple added an HDMI port to the new MP/MBPs, it would allow users to simply replace their DVI cable with a common HDMI-DVI cable rather than carrying a dongle. MiniDVI (which is on the 12" PowerBook) is a bit of a pain because it is uncommon to find in a cable and therefore requires a dongle.



    The other benefit to HDMI is that you get audio, so hooking it up to an HDTV or HDMI-based projector means you only have one cable rather than needing to plug in audio cables separately. HDMI also supplies the DRM necessary to license Blu-ray or to allow Apple to get the studios to okay HD movie downloads from iTunes for playback on the new laptops, just like the Apple TV.



    The advantage to using a mini-DVI port is that it can supply analog VGA signals and also component video (although each requires a special dongle to extract the signals from the connector.)



    By the same token, moving to FW800 or FW3200 and getting rid of the FW400 port would make a lot of sense, as FW800-FW400 cables are common.
  • Reply 83 of 162
    wigginwiggin Posts: 2,265member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Marvin View Post


    Displayport would be great and a solution to the issue but I can't see Apple jumping this quickly onto a technology with so little support right now.



    GUI. Mice. 3.5" floppies. CD drives. Laptops. Trackball/trackpads. USB. FireWire.



    Yeah, you're right. Apple has a terrible track record jumping into new technology before it's mainstream.
  • Reply 84 of 162
    fire wire 1600 and 3200 use the same port as fire wire 800
  • Reply 85 of 162
    usb 2 can't even hit it's full speed and usb 3 will need new cables and ports.



    Firewire 1600 and 3200 use the same ports and cables as firewire 800.
  • Reply 86 of 162
    idaveidave Posts: 1,283member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by paxman View Post


    I agree - why not combine the two. They are all MacBooks and the 'Pro' thing is really just vanity.



    I agree. I've always thought MacBook "Pro" sounds kinda cheesy.



    Three sizes of MacBooks with two versions of each size, ranging in price from about $1000 to $2600 would be fine. Obviously, the more expensive models would have better features. Why stick a "pro" on the name to make it sound "impressive?"
  • Reply 87 of 162
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Zandros View Post


    I think they ought to replace the USB-A ports with Mini-USB ports. Two FW800/S3200 ports would also be nice.



    I'm pretty sure that's a bad idea, I think that takes away host-powered devices.





    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jeffharris View Post


    A combo drive is cheap, which keeps the bottom of the line machine cheap.

    That's how Apple could (HOPEFULLY) get get back to the $999 price point with the new bottom-of-the-line MacBook.



    Last I heard, combo drives cost just as much now, as in there is no or almost no cost on the manufacturing side to upgrade to a DVD writer on the manufacturer side. By now, it may even be just a firmware or solder bridge that makes a DVD burning drive into a combo drive. I think it's just an upsell device now, to get people to pay $200 more to get a better computer.





    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bayareamacaddict View Post


    any chance of a 3ghz plus for macbook pro? with 19 hours of battery life mabye i am dreaming



    That might work, if you want to carry around an extra 8lb of batteries. The most extreme speed usually means extremely short battery life.
  • Reply 88 of 162
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Johnny Mozzarella View Post


    Pros love to bitch and moan but really you spend $5000 on a camera and can't spend $20 bucks on a FireWire 800 to 400 cable. Most Pros already cart around crates full of every imaginable cable, dongle and adapter known to man.



    I think you are overreacting / misinterpreting on this. I don't think an adapter is really the problem here.



    The way I read the article, it looks like they are going from two FW ports to one. That is pretty significant, especially when the advice for pro video is to have the firewire capture camera and target hard drive be on separate busses. Supposedly the devices are able to work on the same chain, but it doesn't always work that way, the reality is that they might interfere just enough to drop frames on occasion.



    But this is all speculative. AI says this source has a long track record, but there maybe mistakes, misunderstanings, or even a ruse to flush out the leaker.
  • Reply 89 of 162
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JeffDM View Post


    That might work, if you want to carry around an extra 8lb of batteries. The most extreme speed usually means extremely short battery life.



    It doesn't look good for >3.xGHz or for Quad-Core mobile chips before Nehelam.





    Intel® Core™2 Extreme (FCPGA6)

    QX9300 — 2.53GHz - 1066MHz FSB - 12Mb L2 - 45nm - 45W TDP - $1,038

    .Q9100 — 2.26GHz - 1066MHz FSB - 12Mb L2 - 45nm - 45W TDP - $..851

    .X9100 — 3.06GHz - 1066MHz FSB - .6Mb L2 - 45nm - 44W TDP - $..851

    .X9000 — 2.80GHz - .800MHz FSB - .4Mb L2 - 45nm - 44W TDP - $..851
  • Reply 90 of 162
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    It doesn't look good for >3.xGHz or for Quad-Core mobile chips before Nehelam.





    Intel® Core?2 Extreme (FCPGA6)

    QX9300 ? 2.53GHz - 1066MHz FSB - 12Mb L2 - 45nm - $1,038

    .Q9100 ? 2.26GHz - 1066MHz FSB - 12Mb L2 - 45nm - $..851

    .X9100 ? 3.06GHz - 1066MHz FSB - .6Mb L2 - 45nm - $..851

    .X9000 ? 2.80GHz - .800MHz FSB - .4Mb L2 - 45nm - $..851




    Apple should, but won't, make them available as options for people willing to pay that much extra.
  • Reply 91 of 162
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mcarling View Post


    ...I would hate to lose support for dual-DVI. A MacBook Pro should be able to drive a 2560x1600 monitor. So should the MacBook and MacBook Air in my opinion.



    Right on. There's no way Apple will drop dual-link DVI performance. So many MBP users already use 30" displays, and that will only increase over time. I suppose there could be a move to Display Port or something like that, but you have to be able to get down to VGA at least. Maybe a mini-dual-link DVI?



    Please make it a Quad-Core if possible!
  • Reply 92 of 162
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by FuturePastNow View Post


    Apple should, but won't, make them available as options for people willing to pay that much extra.



    The only one that looks feasible to me is the the 3.06 GHz chip for the 17" MBP.
  • Reply 93 of 162
    haggarhaggar Posts: 1,568member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Prince View Post


    DisplayPort was supposed to be the to successor to DVI, but HDMI (which is really just DVI + audio) has become so popular that it may delay or intercept the intended move to DisplayPort.



    There seems to be conflicting information on the internet as to whether HDMI supports the dual link which is necessary to run 30 inch monitors at maximum resolution. The last thing I want is to connect a 30 inch Apple or Dell monitor and have it only capable running at half the resolution.



    Apple has burned people in the past with their ADC connector, Mini VGA, Mini DVI, and now their Micro DVI connector in the MacBook Air. It's about time they started using industry standard monitor connectors again. If the Micro DVI connector looks like DisplayPort, then will the MacBook Air be moving to DisplayPort, which it should have used in the first place?
  • Reply 94 of 162
    I would guess Apple will trim the front of the Cinema Displays in black to match the iMacs (and more than likely to also match the new laptops), switch to DisplayPort for the video connection, add an iSight and maybe taper the edges like the MacBook Air…



    As for the Mac Pro chassis, the only thing I could see as a functional change would be to reduce the height. Removing the handles is a start, but many like the handles since the chassis is pretty stout (especially when loaded up with HDDs & such). I think Apple should offer an option of either the handles or rack mount ears (or, even better, roll-out rack mount rails) pre-mounted from the factory.
  • Reply 95 of 162
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Haggar View Post


    There seems to be conflicting information on the internet as to whether HDMI supports the dual link which is necessary to run 30 inch monitors at maximum resolution. The last thing I want is to connect a 30 inch Apple or Dell monitor and have it only capable running at half the resolution.



    HDMI 1.3 and up can handle the amount of data needed, but the problem is that it's a single link that's capable of a much higher data rate, is not a dual link connection. So if you hooked up a 30" panel that's not HDMI-aware to an HDMI connection, then you're only going to a reduced resolution.
  • Reply 96 of 162
    I really wish that Apple would give us COLOR CHOICES for the MacBook Pros, just like the iPods! I'm so sick of having a silver MacBook Pro, just like everybody else. I want mine to feel more personal & unique by having a distinct color. I know that I can go to ColorWare PC, but that voids the warranty on the machines. Apple, please give us colors!
  • Reply 97 of 162
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by scotty321 View Post


    I really wish that Apple would give us COLOR CHOICES for the MacBook Pros, just like the iPods! I'm so sick of having a silver MacBook Pro, just like everybody else. I want mine to feel more personal & unique by having a distinct color. I know that I can go to ColorWare PC, but that voids the warranty on the machines. Apple, please give us colors!



    Just a guess, but I think that colours for MBs may be coming to help inspire people for this holiday season. I'd think that the MBP would only be silver, black and Product RED.
  • Reply 98 of 162
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by FuturePastNow View Post


    Apple should, but won't, make them available as options for people willing to pay that much extra.



    I disagree. I do not want the extra size and weight needed to support 45W processors. 35W processors are good enough. Nehalem will introduce 35W quad-core processors.
  • Reply 99 of 162
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,310moderator
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by GregAlexander View Post


    As for the DVI port - just replace your DVI-to-VGA adaptor with a mini-DVI-to-VGA adaptor. Don't daisy-chain 2 together. Oh.... the MBA uses a Micro-DVI, not a Mini-DVI, so I'd assume the same for these.



    I'd rather see Apple moving to HDMI (or Display Port) than micro-DVI, but then it wouldn't be backward compatible with VGA at all. And there's a lot of background hardware required for HDCP, not just the port.



    The daisy chaining is why I would like to see displayport. It's the only standard that supports multiple displays from a single source. No more issues with the Mini not supporting dual displays and who knows how many displays a Mac Pro could run.



    Since there is a way to daisy chain them, there may be a DVI splitter so that you can drive two displays without having to buy displayport compatible monitors.



    With Displayport you also don't pay royalties to some other company, which means cheaper computers.



    I read that there will be a displayport to VGA adaptor. If you can get DVI-D to VGA adaptors and displayport to DVI, it should be possible.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Wiggin


    GUI. Mice. 3.5" floppies. CD drives. Laptops. Trackball/trackpads. USB. FireWire.



    Yeah, you're right. Apple has a terrible track record jumping into new technology before it's mainstream.



    The problem here though is that there are multiple standards. Apple were backing UDI before it died. What if they go displayport only and HDMI takes over completely? There will be adaptors but it means you'll always have to use them.



    I'm sure people who bought HD-DVD players would have felt safe buying into that standard when it already had some decent market support but look at it now.



    It won't be quite the same deal as there are adaptors and there were no native mini-dvi displays before so most people were always using adaptors anyway so I guess it's not an issue and the size of the port is a huge improvement.



    Plus, they sell displays too so they could always update their Cinema display line to use displayport.



    Firewire like you say is a good example of Apple adopting (creating really) a standard that didn't have massive uptake elsewhere and it took a while to gain solid ground but it got there.



    Here's an interesting thing though. On the displayport site, the Radeon mobile chipsets support the standard outright. This chipset is also faster than the Intel integrated x4500:



    http://www.notebookcheck.net/ATI-Rad...00.9591.0.html



    "Avivo HD (Blu-Ray etc), Hybrid Graphics Technology, PCI-E 2.0, Vari-Bright (adjust panel brightness automatically to save current), HDCP support, Display Cache (to save current when refreshing an idle screen)"



    Almost double the speed of the x4500 and 4 times faster than the x3100 and just under 8 times faster than the Mini's GMA 950.



    Still under half the speed of the 8600M GT (maybe not the underclocked Mac version though - the AMD is 40 x 500MHz and if it's cool enough they won't have to modify it) but a big step up from Intel's chipsets. Plus it's integrated so they can put a dedicated card in the higher end models. It supports hybrid SLI or whatever AMD's equivalent is called - basically uses both dedicated and integrated chips together.
  • Reply 100 of 162
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Haggar View Post


    A non-glossy screen, for one thing.



    Ahhh... thank you for mentioning it.

    And the ability to have up to 8GB RAM would be very welcome as well.
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