Notes of interest from Apple's MacBook event

135

Comments

  • Reply 41 of 96
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    And in a preemptive strike against likely jittery investors looking for reassurances, Jobs began the Q&A by immediately stating that his blood pressure measured 110 over 70 -- and that he wouldn't discuss his health beyond that point.



    Watching the event (on my iPhone), I think Jobs looked better. More energy. Difficult to say if he's gained any weight.



    Would be interesting to hear from someone who saw him live.



    /Daniel
  • Reply 42 of 96
    tbagginstbaggins Posts: 2,306member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Daniel B View Post


    Watching the event (on my iPhone), I think Jobs looked better. More energy. Difficult to say if he's gained any weight.



    He definitely looked better in the still photos. Not back to normal weight, but lots better than the 'scary-gaunt guy' who showed up at that one event.



    -
  • Reply 43 of 96
    This probably isn't the right thread for this but I'm hoping somebody can help me out - about how long does it take before Amazon gets the new MB/MBPs? I ask because the tax I have to pay at Apple is greater than the discount I get so it seems rather silly of me to buy it from Apple when it's cheaper from Amazon.



    Also, maybe a little help here. I'm pretty torn up between the 1299 MB, the 1599MB and the 1999 MBP. I've got a firewire external but it has a USB port on it, I'm not really worried about the HD since I can get a 320GB 7200RPM drive OEM drive from tigerdirect for $80 but I'm a sucker for the backlit keyboard (call me superficial). If the 1599 came with 4GB of RAM I'd certainly be all over that but I don't know if the upgrade from 2GHz to 2.4GHz is worth the $300 - any thoughts on the subject?



    FWIW I'm upgrading from a 12" PB so if anybody else is in my boat I'd love to hear what they are doing.



    thanks!
  • Reply 44 of 96
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post


    Only that it was a bewildering decision to leave it out of the MacBook.



    Thank you Mr. Jobs for making my nascent firewire based home studio obsolete. I was planing to upgrade my current 2GHz Core 2 MacBook to the new MacBook. The new MacBook without a firewire port means all the my firewire ported boxes are useless.



    Maybe I'll just invite Mr PC over see what I can get for for my hard earned $.
  • Reply 45 of 96
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Chasing Mosby View Post


    Thank you Mr. Jobs for making my nascent firewire based home studio obsolete. I was planing to upgrade my current 2GHz Core 2 MacBook to the new MacBook. The new MacBook without a firewire port means all the my firewire ported boxes are useless.



    Maybe I'll just invite Mr PC over see what I can get for for my hard earned $.



    Probably just wait until the next revision - they'll put it back I'm sure. They might have to add a little weight or something but I think they'll be able to figure it out.
  • Reply 46 of 96
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bigmc6000 View Post


    Probably just wait until the next revision - they'll put it back I'm sure. They might have to add a little weight or something but I think they'll be able to figure it out.



    I understand the discontent with the lack of FW on the new MBs, but I don't Apple will add them back. I curious to see how this affect will 3rd-party vendors who have been making FW based components now that the most popular Mac will not have FW, and the 15" will only have FW800 (FW400 with an adaptor).



    With USB3.0 coming out in a year or so, using the same port and being backwards compatible with all previous USB standards and cables, keeping FW400 is making less sense. But it would have been nice to add a FW800, which will use the same port as future FW3200.
  • Reply 47 of 96
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by aaarrrgggh View Post


    I'm not sure how they will do it, but it looks like firewire is not going to be the solution long term.



    USB 3.0 supports full-duplex transfers so will it be able to do target disk mode? Even if it can't, USB 3.0 will be faster than FireWire400 and since Apple redesigned the MacBook it makes perfect sense to not include a FireWire port.
  • Reply 48 of 96
    s10s10 Posts: 107member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Chasing Mosby View Post




    Maybe I'll just invite Mr PC over see what I can get for for my hard earned $.



    a mr pc with firewire...or get a real set-up and get a macbook pro...
  • Reply 49 of 96
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    "How do you tell someone, that you care about, deeply, I told you so. Gently? With a rose? In a funny way? Like it's a hilarious joke? Or do you just let it go. Because saying it would just make it worse. [...] Probably the funny way."



    I love The Office reference there... best show ever.
  • Reply 50 of 96
    wilcowilco Posts: 985member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by troberts View Post


    USB 3.0 supports full-duplex transfers so will it be able to do target disk mode? Even if it can't, USB 3.0 will be faster than FireWire400 and since Apple redesigned the MacBook it makes perfect sense to not include a FireWire port.



    So, Apple's going to retrofit everyone's MacBooks with USB 3.0 once it's released?



  • Reply 51 of 96
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bigmc6000 View Post


    This probably isn't the right thread for this but I'm hoping somebody can help me out - about how long does it take before Amazon gets the new MB/MBPs? I ask because the tax I have to pay at Apple is greater than the discount I get so it seems rather silly of me to buy it from Apple when it's cheaper from Amazon.



    Also, maybe a little help here. I'm pretty torn up between the 1299 MB, the 1599MB and the 1999 MBP. I've got a firewire external but it has a USB port on it, I'm not really worried about the HD since I can get a 320GB 7200RPM drive OEM drive from tigerdirect for $80 but I'm a sucker for the backlit keyboard (call me superficial). If the 1599 came with 4GB of RAM I'd certainly be all over that but I don't know if the upgrade from 2GHz to 2.4GHz is worth the $300 - any thoughts on the subject?



    FWIW I'm upgrading from a 12" PB so if anybody else is in my boat I'd love to hear what they are doing.



    thanks!



    We are in the exact same boat.

    I'm torn. Also.



    But I'm thinking I'm gonna get the 1599 and upgrade to 4gb ram.

    That would be an incredible machine in a beautiful 13 alum case. With* backlit keyboard.

    But I'm mad about the huge price diff between 2.4/2.0.
  • Reply 52 of 96
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dunks View Post


    Oh man four finger gestures is where it's at. I'm such an exposé ho already.



    Somewhere in the world there is a war veteran with only three fingers crying himself to sleep right now.



    That made me laugh.
  • Reply 53 of 96
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TBaggins View Post


    Doesn't make a lotta sense... at some point, you'd have to figure that the huge mobs of potential PC switchers who would buy a Mac if *only* Apple competed in some more attractive pricepoints would OUTWEIGH the cash that Steve pulls down by wringing out the Mac faithful and PC switcher 'early adopters' for every last dime.



    My guess is that if they reduced their prices significantly, the huge mobs of switchers would be too much too quickly and then everything would blow up. Come on... they can only do so much at one time!
  • Reply 54 of 96
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bluevoid View Post


    Any word on Firewire over Ethernet?



    Firewire over ethernet is NOT a little dongle like scsi-via-firewire.



    Ethernet over Firewire has NOTHING to do with regular "ethernet" (cat5) cables. You can run ethernet frames over a firewire cable (regular 4,6, or 8 pin "firewire" cable). "Ethernet over firewire" is NOT a box that converts the little polygonal firewire cable into a familiar crimp-on 8 conductor cable that you can stick into your nearest switch/hub/computer.



    Firewire and ethernet share some similarities at the logical link level, like similar address space, etc, but they are NOT physically (PHY) compatible.



    There will NEVER be a "converter" available, no matter how much people would like to dream of one.



    With an extension to the original 1394 spec, one could run firewire over cat5 (four-pair) twisted pair cable. This is "ethernet cable" in modern parlance, but really this is just category5 enhanced Twisted-pair. You can run power, audio, anything else you'd like over it, but calling it "ethernet cable" is just a bad linguistic habit.



    THEN, there was another extension (though I've not seen the IEEE spec) that would supposedly allow a single connector (the familiar 8 pin crimp connector used by cat5e "ethernet" cables) to serve as EITHER an ethernet connector OR a firewire connector (for the above "firewire over cat5e" spec) and switch on demand.



    There has NEVER been a plan to "convert" firewire to ethernet, or vice versa. It's really amazing how this viral idea has spread in the last few days.



    Unless NVIDIA has suddenly implemented a poorly-known (and possible nonexistent) 1394 spec, there is NO firewire on the macbook, nor can there be.



    Thank Apple for castrating the market for a standard they helped create. I, for one, am not impressed with the direction that "Apple" (no longer "...Computer") is taking.



    Jony Ives talks about "bare minimum" needed to justify removal of FireWire, a month after he shoves a Nike+ receiver in EVERY iPod Touch sold?

    As of late, Apple is more driven by pleasing the cost-conscious "everyman" and royalty checks than it is by making COMPUTERS with lineups that please consumers and professionals alike.



    Apple is catering to a HUGE target, don't get me wrong -- they are hoping to cram even more lecture halls with glittering aluminium MacBook(Pros); I would just expect to see less PR artwork from real artists and designers -- we're being left out in the cold.
  • Reply 55 of 96
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by iijuanii View Post


    We are in the exact same boat.

    I'm torn. Also.



    But I'm thinking I'm gonna get the 1599 and upgrade to 4gb ram.

    That would be an incredible machine in a beautiful 13 alum case. With* backlit keyboard.

    But I'm mad about the huge price diff between 2.4/2.0.



    Are there any other differences? What about CPU cache size? If you don't do any computationally intensive tasks then stick with the 2.0. If you like video editing then the 2.4 (with possibly bigger cache) would be better.



    I had the same decision when I purchased my MacBook Pro 2.4, there was a 2.6 available with twice the cache. But I don't do video, and that money I put towards 4Gb of RAM from Crucial, which meant I can virtualize XP when I need those odd few programs that don't have equivalents in the Mac world. We all want the faster machine... and anyway the tech world always bites me by upgrading whatever I buy 3 months later. But what can you do if your only computer is a laptop and dies on you?



    One of the best upgrades you could use instead of the faster CPU is a 7200 harddisk. I upgraded and its one of the best upgrades you can give a laptop.
  • Reply 56 of 96
    irnchrizirnchriz Posts: 1,616member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by iedsri View Post


    Can someone please explain what the new alternative is for transferring files between a MacBook and another computer? How are we expected to proceed without FireWire? USB doesn't work, so what are we supposed to do??





    Thanks.





    Cat5 crossover cable

    wi-fi

    bluetooth (maybe not its a bitty slow)
  • Reply 57 of 96
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by johnpross View Post


    Are there any other differences? What about CPU cache size? If you don't do any computationally intensive tasks then stick with the 2.0. If you like video editing then the 2.4 (with possibly bigger cache) would be better.



    I had the same decision when I purchased my MacBook Pro 2.4, there was a 2.6 available with twice the cache. But I don't do video, and that money I put towards 4Gb of RAM from Crucial, which meant I can virtualize XP when I need those odd few programs that don't have equivalents in the Mac world. We all want the faster machine... and anyway the tech world always bites me by upgrading whatever I buy 3 months later. But what can you do if your only computer is a laptop and dies on you?



    One of the best upgrades you could use instead of the faster CPU is a 7200 harddisk. I upgraded and its one of the best upgrades you can give a laptop.



    The cache is the same. The only difference is the 160GB to 250GB HD, the 2.0 to 2.4 processor and the backlit keyboard. Apple actually charges as much as it would cost you to buy a 4GB RAM set from Crucial now so unless you are going to sell your 1GB chips on eBay you might as well get them from Apple and save yourself the hassle.



    As far as the HD goes I'm not worried about it - as I said you can get a 320GB 7200 SATA drive from tigerdirect for <$100.
  • Reply 58 of 96
    zengazenga Posts: 267member
    my take on this upgrades are that apple is always ever looking for "new" people to buy their computers, yes there is us the "machooligans" that got so hard to please every time there is a refresh or an upgrade, but remember that apple is "well" in this to make money too. from the design point of view (looks to be specific) the new macbooks are striking elegant, the glossy push "well" we'll have to deal with it, the lack of firewire on macbooks are not so much an issue if you have read about USB 3.0 it's coming and steve and co. know that USB is much more popular than firewire and much cheaper too. that's why FW 400 is gone from the new macbook pro's, it's simply because is no use when "every" single external HDD that comes with FW has both 400 and 800 version, the iMac's and Mac Pro's space is not an issue that's why they will be available for in the future, but expect FW 400 to fade away and give room for FW 800.



    remember when apple ditch old legacy i/o and jumped on USB, well we're on that same transition again with the difference that know is only to faster and "not" totally different i/o. i understand the FW speed issue over USB but I'm certain than USB 3.0 is just around the corner and (backwards compatible) so that will be very easy for apple to switch to them on the next revisions, and for the HDD over USB well.. buy a macbook pro. (there is always a catch dude)



    about the new ACD and the adoption of display port well time will tell but it sure looks damn good to me, i still believe that they should come up with a solution for PRO users, photo, movies, etc.. who don't like the glossy thing, but that's not a "real" problem since you can buy excellent displays from other companies that are much better than apple cinema displays. in this case as always, looks and easy of use are much more important to apple because of the people they want to attract, and i'll have to admit that the whole 24" for a macbook thing "will" sell them many displays for macbooks buyers.



    i'm for one will be refreshing my imac G5 and macbook pro core duo and jump on a new macbook and an imac very soon!!!



  • Reply 59 of 96
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bigmc6000 View Post


    The cache is the same. The only difference is the 160GB to 250GB HD, the 2.0 to 2.4 processor and the backlit keyboard. Apple actually charges as much as it would cost you to buy a 4GB RAM set from Crucial now so unless you are going to sell your 1GB chips on eBay you might as well get them from Apple and save yourself the hassle.



    As far as the HD goes I'm not worried about it - as I said you can get a 320GB 7200 SATA drive from tigerdirect for <$100.



    A big thing for me in the plastic 'Books was, access to the RAM was incredibly easy -- so much so that Apple let owners do it without voiding their AppleCare warranty. I haven't seen the videos yet, so... does anyone know (is the RAM still user accessible)? Thanks.
  • Reply 60 of 96
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TBaggins View Post


    Doesn't make a lotta sense... at some point, you'd have to figure that the huge mobs of potential PC switchers who would buy a Mac if *only* Apple competed in some more attractive pricepoints would OUTWEIGH the cash that Steve pulls down by wringing out the Mac faithful and PC switcher 'early adopters' for every last dime.



    Yep, exactly, I'm such a switcher, and I must say that since I have started looking more closely at Apple, the grass is less green than it looked from afar. And I keep remembering the 1984 Mac launch event (yes, I'm getting old and I started early) and I keep wondering who exactly is Big Brother in that story...



    Current PC to Mac switchers are not fanboys, we're more pragmatic. For myself, I'm rather platform agnostic. As a job, I'm a developer, and I mostly use Java and Ruby. So, whether I use Windows, Linux or MacOSX doesn't make much of a difference in my daily use. For my hobbies, I play (and there, sorry to say it, but the PC still rules) and do photography. For the latter, Capture NX, Lightroom or Photoshop run in both worlds. And the all glossy screen trend from Apple is not exactly attractive.

    So, at the opposite of early switchers or Mac fanboys, we don't exactly hate Microsoft. Vista is a decent OS - far from perfect, but decent. As a developer, I must say that Microsoft is getting better and better in that field, C#/.NET is a very good platform (no wonder since it's an emanation of Borland).



    So, why "switch" (well, not a real switch, keeping the Vista desktop PC and HTPC, just getting MacOSX on the laptop)? Well, like I guess a growing number of users, because of the iPhone. This device is the best public relation SJ could have to enter the PC world. And as a developer, tackling this new platform is indeed very tempting (and part of the reason for the MB/MBP).

    Another reason is that the MB and MBP feel attractive. On the desktop, the iMac really doesn't attract me, and the Mac Pro would if I had won the lottery. But for having played with the previous MB and MBP, the user experience is very pleasant, much more pleasant that what I had with similar XP or Vista based laptops.



    However, while trying to attract such a population of users, it is also very easy to produce bad PR. Since I have taken an interrest, what have I seen?

    - The NDA on the iPhone blocking every book, courses and forums. From a developer point of view, this is insane, Microsoft would never have pulled a stunt like that!

    - The ToU of the SDK is very strict, to the point of banning navigation softwares, launchers, runtimes... So, no Tomtom, no Java and no Flash, even though it's perfectly possible to have them working very well on the platform.

    - The iPhone SDK is very closed. It's impossible to access the iTune library, impossible to communicate with the agenda...

    - The AppStore approval process seems completely random

    - The matte option disappearing from the Pro laptop, even though Apple is a brand that almost all photographers and graphists admire



    This is generating very bad communication to the newcommers. This is building the image of a company that is both paranoid and deaf and that will work against it's community rather than with it.

    It's a cliché to paint Steve Balmer as the devil, but I'm beginning to wonder if he's not better than Steve Jobs.

    Sure, Balmer is a vulgar and loud idiot. But at least he is rather harmless and even funny (from afar) sometimes. If I want to discuss alpha SDK on the Internet, I can. If I want to use the Windows Mobile platform for about anything licit, I can. And for free.

    On the other hand, Steve Jobs is a visionnary, who did extraordinary things in his life, but who has gone on a demented ego-trip and goes blind and deaf at times. There is nothing wrong than a visionary who has lost his vision, you are left with an empty bundle of ego and paranoia and superiority complex...
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