Many firearms are now polycarbonate (starting with Glocks) and are stronger than steel. Unibody means it was carved from a block of plastic not molded.
I guess you did not see the video that showed how the aluminum unibody MacBook Pros are made.
The Aluminum unibody is not an extruded net shape part. It is a structure that is milled out of an aluminum plate. Those plates can come from an extrusion process but they really don't have to. Where ever the material comes from it is milled to dimension and has the holes for the speaker grill laser drilled. The case finish comes from mechanical brushing of the surface.
I think the 7 hour battery will make Apple’s most popular Mac even more popular, especially among those going to school.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaHarder
For US $1000.00 isn't very competitive in the face of countless laptops with far better specs at half-the price.
Cool! Can you show us some? Note that part of the better specs are the dimensions, backlighting, weight, CPU type (not just speed), and realistic battery duration.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AppleGreen
I guess you did not see the video that showed how the aluminum unibody MacBook Pros are made.
Uni- means “one”, it has nothing to do with a specific material. Most plastic molds are unibodies so this is mainly seems for marketing. The aluminium unibodies are unique for computers and likely no other company has the single model design sales to be able to compete with Apple’s MBP case.
Many firearms are now polycarbonate (starting with Glocks) and are stronger than steel. Unibody means it was carved from a block of plastic not molded.
Unibody means it is a one piece body, it does NOT mean it is carved.
I doubt it's the "good" LED screen which the 15" MacBook Pro always had and the 13" MacBook Unibody MacBooks didn't start shipping with until April (visibility angle differences have always been one reason to get a MacBook Pro over a MacBook).
Why wouldn?t be the same LED-backlight that the 13? MBP has? That doesn?t mean it can?t still be a TN display, which I?m sure it has, unlike the 13? MBP, which has a much better display.
Many firearms are now polycarbonate (starting with Glocks) and are stronger than steel. Unibody means it was carved from a block of plastic not molded.
I suspect you are wrong here. Unibody means the same thing here as it does in other mechanical designs using the technology. It is a concept not a process.
As to this enclosure I suspect it is injection molded likely with a complex tool. There may be a few secondary machining operations but the general idea here is to produce a near net shape part. This is the best approach for high volume mass production.
They could easily mold the polycarbonite body as one piece--it would probably be easier to do that than it would be to prepare the aluminum unibody design.
As far as I can tell, the polycarbonite really holds up a lot better than the aluminum. One doesn't have to look far to see various Powerbook and Macbook Pro systems with dented aluminum casings. And while the Macbook Pro is a nice system (my dad has the 17" "movie screen" variant) I just don't like the way the aluminum feels to the touch. I find it hard to use on that basis alone.
I have an old black Macbook (with a busted screen) that lived a well-traveled life and it still looks good. I'm sure that an aluminum machine would have all sorts of little boo-boos on it.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
In response to the original post itself:
I am sorta surprised to see that Apple dropped the Firewire port from this system. I'm glad I got a previous generation nVidia 9400-based C2D Macbook with FW400, because I do have several Firewire disks and other devices that I still use regularly.
It also (yes, I know) would have been nice to see a matte screen option on the new system. I love the Macbook, but the screen is a pain, especially in a dusty environment. My old black Macbook has a busted screen, and I thought about replacing it myself. That looks to be an all day job, and I recently saw an ad here on AI that linked to matte screen conversions for Macbook Pro systems. Turns out the same company (can't remember who it was--have it bookmarked at home) also has a screen replacement option for all Macbooks with a matte option. At the price (less than $200 IIRC) I see no reason not to let them mess with it for a day.
tell me about it
my BB Curve will win against my 3GS if i were to give both to my 2 year old son. Last month he grabbed my Curve and started banging it against something. it has a lot of war scars but doesn't need all the protection the 3GS does like all the cases people buy for it.
The least impressive and most curious of the new releases.
1. Really expected a $100 price cut to reach out to a new segment of the socio-economic populace. That way lies market and mind share. I mean they do sell a $49 iPod, so they do have a concept of mass marketing.
2. And a 15" 1920x1280 model to make MB a "line"
3. And an 800 FW port - it can't be that expensive component-wise. (They didn't even add SD if I read right - which looked like a strategic direction)
4. And a still poking along at 5400 RPM drive (unless there's a 7200 option) which neutralizes much of the whiz-bang of today's processors.
Also ups the predicted price of any iTab with $899 and $799 unpopulated by mobile product.
Macintosh: the computer for the rest of us BMW drivers.
I'll admit that 2GB of RAM is stingy, but if the harddrive is more reliable then the ones Dell uses I'd be happy. One batch of laptops at work had an almost 100% failure rate of the Dell supplied drive. FireWire is very much a mixed bag, I was a fan at one time but now realize it suffers from terrible connector technology.
The interesting item in my estimation is the screen. If it is the quality they are indicating then it the laptop might be worth the expense. Cheap laptops suffer from poor screens.
Point them out for us. Really I doubt there are many at all that are competitive with this machine. Just the battery life is hard to compete with.
Dave
The entire Acer Timeline series best the new MacBook in battery life, and have a wealth of processor choices.
I'm not saying that they're quite as 'processor-powerful' as this new MacBook, but they do offer F/W ports, built-in multi-media card readers, removable batteries, aluminum construction (chassis/lid), true 16:9 LED backlit displays at larger sizes, thinner designs, and far less expensive upgrade options.
Still, this a very nice MacBook update, better if it was US $700.00
Uni- means ?one?, it has nothing to do with a specific material.
Exactly
Quote:
Most plastic molds are unibodies so this is mainly seems for marketing.
It could very well be for marketing as you indicated most bodies are such to some extent. In the case some pictures should clear up just how complex this unibody shell is. I see the potential for Apple to have more refinement than is common in this plastic shell. If you take many laptops apart you often find that the case shells are just that, they just cover up the internal frame work. I'm actually hoping for tear down pics real soon as frankly I'm intrigued.
Quote:
The aluminium unibodies are unique for computers and likely no other company has the single model design sales to be able to compete with Apple?s MBP case.
I wonder about the HP MBP ripoff here. One big advantage that Apple has is the ability invest in production lines, something that is difficult for companies with no margins.
The least impressive and most curious of the new releases.
1. Really expected a $100 price cut to reach out to a new segment of the socio-economic populace. That way lies market and mind share. I mean they do sell a $49 iPod, so they do have a concept of mass marketing.
2. And a 15" 1920x1280 model to make MB a "line"
3. And an 800 FW port - it can't be that expensive component-wise. (They didn't even add SD if I read right - which looked like a strategic direction)
4. And still poking along at 5400 which neutralizes much of the whiz-bang of today's processors.
Also ups the predicted price of any iTab with $899 and $799 unpopulated by mobile product.
Macintosh: the computer for the rest of us BMW drivers.
Apple only refreshes every 6 months or so while Acer and other may do it more often so you will see price differences.
yesterday the iMac was a poor value against a PC, today it's not. MBP's are getting a bit old with current specs and they will probably be refreshed in November.
the way i see it the computer market is being divided into low and higher end. Acer and the other Chinese brand X makers on the lower end with Apple on the higher end. HP and Dell are being squeezed in the mid end of the market. It was bound to happen since every computer is made in China by some no name company, including Mac's. At least Apple adds its own software and OS. Dell just buys, integrates with other third party software and resells at a tiny markup with the "value" being some crappy services. at least with a Mac i can take it to a store if it breaks.
the new configurations and pricing are enough for me to look at a mac over a PC. especially since the price is the same once you configure a Dell with all the options
and if you check used price listings on Ebay, doesn't make sense to get a Dell anymore
I like the new specs, but lower prices man!! How about $399 for a mac mini and $699 for an macbook.. Windows 7 is coming out in days and will be competing for consumers $$$. Why not make it a REAL compelling reason to consider buying a MAC vs buying just another windows PC..
I was actually in the process of replacing my wife's Dell 1405 laptop, 3 yrs old; POS as far as manufacturing. She wanted something small. As I was looking for laptops and configuring them, I kept getting to the 999 MacBook as the best product. And this one looks even better.
But I ordered a gateway; 11.6 inch 1300x700+ pixels, Core 2 solo for 450. Mainly because it is small easily fits in her bag and $500 less than the MacBook. 10 inch netbooks are useless but the 11.6 larger resolution is where Apple is MIA; my niece bought one in July and I used it and liked its form factor. And I bet these will be hot items this holiday season.
Had Apple offered something similar for even 650, I would have bought one.
As someone that has been a PC user since 94 I have never used a Mac.
I am happy about these changes , While the price has stayed the same from what I can tell , the Specs have went up.
As far as a reason to buy this over a cheaper Windows 7 laptop.... Easy answer , Its Windows. As someone that has used everything from Win 3.1 to Vista Im not anxious to use windows 7. Although I will eventually since the company I work for is already looking to migrate to 7 eventually.
Cant get the Mac until Tax time 2010 so im stuck impaitently waiting
No FireWire, no big deal since FireWire has been and is problematic.
I liked FireWire at first but experienced some Mac FireWire port failures and many FireWire drive port/chipset failures. For that reason, I quickly upgraded to FireWire/USB 2 combo drive enclosures just in case. I'm glad I did.
No, you cannot boot PowerPC Macs from USN but you can with Intel Macs.
Intel. with Apple's support, is developing a next generation reliable and capable optical port.
FireWire is doomed for port failures coupled with chipset failures. USB 2 now, USB 3 soon and Intel's optical port will be fine for me.
The entire Acer Timeline series best the new MacBook in battery life, and have a wealth of processor choices.
Maybe but I'd want to see them running side by side fullly loaded. Advertised clock rates for laptops are only useful if the laptop actually runs that fast. Thermal throttling makes it difficult to judge laptops from specs only.
As to processor choices it is really the same deal here, Apple could offer a much faster processor but is then open to a couple of problems. One is that battery life goes to hell. Second is that they are open to poor performance relative to clock rate due to thermal issues. If any thing it looks like Apple is being honest with their specs and performance numbers.
Quote:
I'm not saying that they're quite as 'processor-powerful' as this new MacBook, but they do offer F/W ports, built-in multi-media card readers, removable batteries, aluminum construction (chassis/lid), true 16:9 LED backlit displays at larger sizes, thinner designs, and far less expensive upgrade options.
One of Apples selling points is powerful machines in laptop packages. I suspect Apple choose the hardware used here to maximizes performance for a given battery lifetime. It makes sense for the markets Apple is after with the device.
Quote:
Still, this a very nice MacBook update, better if it was US $700.00
Yes it seems like a good update. However I need to digest the specs some and see the unit first hand ( need to see the display ). So it might be a little rich for what is there. However we can't forget that Holiday shopping is only a few weeks away, Apple may have the intention of advertising an even lower "discounted - sale price" to draw customers into the stores. I'm just trying to tie in some of yesterdays comments from management.
Quote:
Choice Is Always Good.
Yes it is. So far though I'm impressed with the little machine as it appealls to my minimalist but functional side. It could easily take sales from anything left going to AIR.
Actually I'm more concerned that Apple is to stingy with RAM more than anything else. 4GB ought to be a cost effective option.
Comments
I guess you did not see the video that showed how the aluminum unibody MacBook Pros are made.
The Aluminum unibody is not an extruded net shape part. It is a structure that is milled out of an aluminum plate. Those plates can come from an extrusion process but they really don't have to. Where ever the material comes from it is milled to dimension and has the holes for the speaker grill laser drilled. The case finish comes from mechanical brushing of the surface.
Dave
For US $1000.00 isn't very competitive in the face of countless laptops with far better specs at half-the price.
Cool! Can you show us some? Note that part of the better specs are the dimensions, backlighting, weight, CPU type (not just speed), and realistic battery duration.
I guess you did not see the video that showed how the aluminum unibody MacBook Pros are made.
Uni- means “one”, it has nothing to do with a specific material. Most plastic molds are unibodies so this is mainly seems for marketing. The aluminium unibodies are unique for computers and likely no other company has the single model design sales to be able to compete with Apple’s MBP case.
Many firearms are now polycarbonate (starting with Glocks) and are stronger than steel. Unibody means it was carved from a block of plastic not molded.
Unibody means it is a one piece body, it does NOT mean it is carved.
It can still be Unibody if it is moulded.
I doubt it's the "good" LED screen which the 15" MacBook Pro always had and the 13" MacBook Unibody MacBooks didn't start shipping with until April (visibility angle differences have always been one reason to get a MacBook Pro over a MacBook).
Why wouldn?t be the same LED-backlight that the 13? MBP has? That doesn?t mean it can?t still be a TN display, which I?m sure it has, unlike the 13? MBP, which has a much better display.
Unibody means it is a one piece body, it does NOT mean it is carved.
It can still be Unibody if it is moulded.
Somehow people are confusing the terms unibody with machined.
Many firearms are now polycarbonate (starting with Glocks) and are stronger than steel. Unibody means it was carved from a block of plastic not molded.
I suspect you are wrong here. Unibody means the same thing here as it does in other mechanical designs using the technology. It is a concept not a process.
As to this enclosure I suspect it is injection molded likely with a complex tool. There may be a few secondary machining operations but the general idea here is to produce a near net shape part. This is the best approach for high volume mass production.
Dave
They could easily mold the polycarbonite body as one piece--it would probably be easier to do that than it would be to prepare the aluminum unibody design.
As far as I can tell, the polycarbonite really holds up a lot better than the aluminum. One doesn't have to look far to see various Powerbook and Macbook Pro systems with dented aluminum casings. And while the Macbook Pro is a nice system (my dad has the 17" "movie screen" variant) I just don't like the way the aluminum feels to the touch. I find it hard to use on that basis alone.
I have an old black Macbook (with a busted screen) that lived a well-traveled life and it still looks good. I'm sure that an aluminum machine would have all sorts of little boo-boos on it.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
In response to the original post itself:
I am sorta surprised to see that Apple dropped the Firewire port from this system. I'm glad I got a previous generation nVidia 9400-based C2D Macbook with FW400, because I do have several Firewire disks and other devices that I still use regularly.
It also (yes, I know) would have been nice to see a matte screen option on the new system. I love the Macbook, but the screen is a pain, especially in a dusty environment. My old black Macbook has a busted screen, and I thought about replacing it myself. That looks to be an all day job, and I recently saw an ad here on AI that linked to matte screen conversions for Macbook Pro systems. Turns out the same company (can't remember who it was--have it bookmarked at home) also has a screen replacement option for all Macbooks with a matte option. At the price (less than $200 IIRC) I see no reason not to let them mess with it for a day.
tell me about it
my BB Curve will win against my 3GS if i were to give both to my 2 year old son. Last month he grabbed my Curve and started banging it against something. it has a lot of war scars but doesn't need all the protection the 3GS does like all the cases people buy for it.
1. Really expected a $100 price cut to reach out to a new segment of the socio-economic populace. That way lies market and mind share. I mean they do sell a $49 iPod, so they do have a concept of mass marketing.
2. And a 15" 1920x1280 model to make MB a "line"
3. And an 800 FW port - it can't be that expensive component-wise. (They didn't even add SD if I read right - which looked like a strategic direction)
4. And a still poking along at 5400 RPM drive (unless there's a 7200 option) which neutralizes much of the whiz-bang of today's processors.
Also ups the predicted price of any iTab with $899 and $799 unpopulated by mobile product.
Macintosh: the computer for the rest of us BMW drivers.
I'll admit that 2GB of RAM is stingy, but if the harddrive is more reliable then the ones Dell uses I'd be happy. One batch of laptops at work had an almost 100% failure rate of the Dell supplied drive. FireWire is very much a mixed bag, I was a fan at one time but now realize it suffers from terrible connector technology.
The interesting item in my estimation is the screen. If it is the quality they are indicating then it the laptop might be worth the expense. Cheap laptops suffer from poor screens.
Point them out for us. Really I doubt there are many at all that are competitive with this machine. Just the battery life is hard to compete with.
Dave
The entire Acer Timeline series best the new MacBook in battery life, and have a wealth of processor choices.
I'm not saying that they're quite as 'processor-powerful' as this new MacBook, but they do offer F/W ports, built-in multi-media card readers, removable batteries, aluminum construction (chassis/lid), true 16:9 LED backlit displays at larger sizes, thinner designs, and far less expensive upgrade options.
Still, this a very nice MacBook update, better if it was US $700.00
Choice Is Always Good.
Somehow people are confusing the terms unibody with machined.
Indeed they are, which is all the more perplexing given that all they need to do is GOOGLE the term 'unibody' to find out what it means -
Still, this a very nice MacBook update, better if it was US $700.00
I would have even settled for 2.16 GHz model at $899.
...........
Uni- means ?one?, it has nothing to do with a specific material.
Exactly
Most plastic molds are unibodies so this is mainly seems for marketing.
It could very well be for marketing as you indicated most bodies are such to some extent. In the case some pictures should clear up just how complex this unibody shell is. I see the potential for Apple to have more refinement than is common in this plastic shell. If you take many laptops apart you often find that the case shells are just that, they just cover up the internal frame work. I'm actually hoping for tear down pics real soon as frankly I'm intrigued.
The aluminium unibodies are unique for computers and likely no other company has the single model design sales to be able to compete with Apple?s MBP case.
I wonder about the HP MBP ripoff here. One big advantage that Apple has is the ability invest in production lines, something that is difficult for companies with no margins.
Dave
The least impressive and most curious of the new releases.
1. Really expected a $100 price cut to reach out to a new segment of the socio-economic populace. That way lies market and mind share. I mean they do sell a $49 iPod, so they do have a concept of mass marketing.
2. And a 15" 1920x1280 model to make MB a "line"
3. And an 800 FW port - it can't be that expensive component-wise. (They didn't even add SD if I read right - which looked like a strategic direction)
4. And still poking along at 5400 which neutralizes much of the whiz-bang of today's processors.
Also ups the predicted price of any iTab with $899 and $799 unpopulated by mobile product.
Macintosh: the computer for the rest of us BMW drivers.
Apple only refreshes every 6 months or so while Acer and other may do it more often so you will see price differences.
yesterday the iMac was a poor value against a PC, today it's not. MBP's are getting a bit old with current specs and they will probably be refreshed in November.
the way i see it the computer market is being divided into low and higher end. Acer and the other Chinese brand X makers on the lower end with Apple on the higher end. HP and Dell are being squeezed in the mid end of the market. It was bound to happen since every computer is made in China by some no name company, including Mac's. At least Apple adds its own software and OS. Dell just buys, integrates with other third party software and resells at a tiny markup with the "value" being some crappy services. at least with a Mac i can take it to a store if it breaks.
the new configurations and pricing are enough for me to look at a mac over a PC. especially since the price is the same once you configure a Dell with all the options
and if you check used price listings on Ebay, doesn't make sense to get a Dell anymore
I was actually in the process of replacing my wife's Dell 1405 laptop, 3 yrs old; POS as far as manufacturing. She wanted something small. As I was looking for laptops and configuring them, I kept getting to the 999 MacBook as the best product. And this one looks even better.
But I ordered a gateway; 11.6 inch 1300x700+ pixels, Core 2 solo for 450. Mainly because it is small easily fits in her bag and $500 less than the MacBook. 10 inch netbooks are useless but the 11.6 larger resolution is where Apple is MIA; my niece bought one in July and I used it and liked its form factor. And I bet these will be hot items this holiday season.
Had Apple offered something similar for even 650, I would have bought one.
As someone that has been a PC user since 94 I have never used a Mac.
I am happy about these changes , While the price has stayed the same from what I can tell , the Specs have went up.
As far as a reason to buy this over a cheaper Windows 7 laptop.... Easy answer , Its Windows. As someone that has used everything from Win 3.1 to Vista Im not anxious to use windows 7. Although I will eventually since the company I work for is already looking to migrate to 7 eventually.
Cant get the Mac until Tax time 2010 so im stuck impaitently waiting
NO FIREWIRE???? Let the BITCHIN begin!!!
No FireWire, no big deal since FireWire has been and is problematic.
I liked FireWire at first but experienced some Mac FireWire port failures and many FireWire drive port/chipset failures. For that reason, I quickly upgraded to FireWire/USB 2 combo drive enclosures just in case. I'm glad I did.
No, you cannot boot PowerPC Macs from USN but you can with Intel Macs.
Intel. with Apple's support, is developing a next generation reliable and capable optical port.
FireWire is doomed for port failures coupled with chipset failures. USB 2 now, USB 3 soon and Intel's optical port will be fine for me.
The entire Acer Timeline series best the new MacBook in battery life, and have a wealth of processor choices.
Maybe but I'd want to see them running side by side fullly loaded. Advertised clock rates for laptops are only useful if the laptop actually runs that fast. Thermal throttling makes it difficult to judge laptops from specs only.
As to processor choices it is really the same deal here, Apple could offer a much faster processor but is then open to a couple of problems. One is that battery life goes to hell. Second is that they are open to poor performance relative to clock rate due to thermal issues. If any thing it looks like Apple is being honest with their specs and performance numbers.
I'm not saying that they're quite as 'processor-powerful' as this new MacBook, but they do offer F/W ports, built-in multi-media card readers, removable batteries, aluminum construction (chassis/lid), true 16:9 LED backlit displays at larger sizes, thinner designs, and far less expensive upgrade options.
One of Apples selling points is powerful machines in laptop packages. I suspect Apple choose the hardware used here to maximizes performance for a given battery lifetime. It makes sense for the markets Apple is after with the device.
Still, this a very nice MacBook update, better if it was US $700.00
Yes it seems like a good update. However I need to digest the specs some and see the unit first hand ( need to see the display ). So it might be a little rich for what is there. However we can't forget that Holiday shopping is only a few weeks away, Apple may have the intention of advertising an even lower "discounted - sale price" to draw customers into the stores. I'm just trying to tie in some of yesterdays comments from management.
Choice Is Always Good.
Yes it is. So far though I'm impressed with the little machine as it appealls to my minimalist but functional side. It could easily take sales from anything left going to AIR.
Actually I'm more concerned that Apple is to stingy with RAM more than anything else. 4GB ought to be a cost effective option.
Dave