MacBook Pro... Where's the Power?

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
Don't get me wrong, the new MacBook Pro looks nice and all but I can't help noticing some important features are missing...



Firewire 800

S-Video

Internal Modem

PCMCIA

8x DVD



I guess you need to weigh what was lost against what was gained but as for myself I'm going to sit this one out. Apparently they are still selling the PowerBooks for a while so maybe I'll pick one of those up after all.



This just seems like it would be better as a new midrange laptop line than a PowerBook replacement.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 94
    Quote:

    Originally posted by 1984



    Firewire 800

    S-Video

    Internal Modem

    PCMCIA

    8x DVD







    I'm surprised about the FW800.



    S-Video, I can't believe there won't be an adaptor.



    Internal modem? I travel a lot with my powerbook, and I used it once to fax something to someone stuck in the 1980s. $49 for a usb modem doesn't seem bad. You can buy third party for cheaper. If you really need it, you could buy a card (see next).



    Well, PC-Card hasn't been called PCMCIA for quite awhile . It has been replaced with ExpressCard/34 which is superior.



    8x DVD. I'm surprised about that also. I can't find the specs on the DVD.



    What I REALLY want to know is: does it have firewire target disk mode? That is a requirement for me.
  • Reply 2 of 94
    I agree. I think the Intel iMac specs are brilliant and if I needed a new desktop, I'd already have ordered one of these. But the MacBook Pro is overpriced. It's gone up $100 in the UK over the 15" G4 Powerbook. I'd also have expected it to use the 1.8ghz and 2.0ghz versions instead of the 1.6ghz and 1.8 ghz. Have a 7200rpm hd as standard. And come with 1GB RAM as standard.



    I don't think we can expect much from the iBook replacement which surely must now have the single core Yonah. Pooh. I won't be buying one of those. And I certainly won't be buying a MacBook Pro at the current asking price. I hope I can talk myself out of buying a Windows based Duo instead. But then if that 13.3" MacBook Pro comes out at the 12" PowerBook price ....
  • Reply 3 of 94
    jlljll Posts: 2,713member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Jootec from Mars

    And I certainly won't be buying a MacBook Pro at the current asking price. I hope I can talk myself out of buying a Windows based Duo instead.



    Well, Dell's Dual Core Inspiron starts at the same price: $1,999.



    Acer's TravelMate 8200 starts at: $1,999.
  • Reply 4 of 94
    I'm a bit surprised about the dropped FW800, although I have had nothing but problems using it. I've got it on 3 Macs (PB 1.67, Dual G5 2.5, Quad G5 2.5) and 3 external 800 drives. They all have issues on all three machines, using the FW 800 interface. The FW 400 is fine, so I use them in that mode. God knows why this happens...anyway..



    I've never used the s-video feature, so I personally won't miss it. Same with modems these days. I travel all the time but find that nearly everywhere I go has either an ethernet connection I can use or wireless. Braodband is certainly much more ubiquitous these days.



    Ditto regarding the PC card slot - Expresscard is a faster protocol.



    I can't imagine the DVD being slower than 8x. That WOULD be odd.



    On the plus side, the processor speed increase is double or more than double, plus the buss speeds are fantastic. On top of that the HD is now SATA which is way faster than ATA.



    I DO use FW target mode a lot too. Will be interesting to see if that still applies.



    Lots of great features in this I think. I'm going to wait out the usual V1 possible hiccups though, not to mention I'm broke after buying the Quad G5 a couple of weeks ago...





  • Reply 5 of 94
    e1618978e1618978 Posts: 6,075member
    It is 8x read, 4x write - is this different from before?



    Slot-loading SuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW)



    * Maximum Write: 4x DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD+RW, and DVD-RW; 24x CD-R; 10x CD-RW

    * Maximum Read: 8x DVD-ROM (single layer); 6x DVD (double layered), DVD-9, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW; 24x CD
  • Reply 6 of 94
    Quote:

    Originally posted by JLL

    Well, Dell's Dual Core Inspiron starts at the same price: $1,999.



    Looking at Dell's UK site, for a similar amount to the entry MacBook Pro that makes no difference, I could get a Core Duo machine with 1.83GHZ CPU, 1GB 667mhz DDR2 RAM, nVidia 7800Go GPU with 256MB RAM, 17" 1920x1200 screen, internal modem, 6xUSB2 ports, s-video out, 5in1 card reader and XP Pro. Only 10/100 ethernet tho. Otherwise identical. Seems to me that Apple may be charging us a little too much.



    Edit: Of course the MacBook Pro does have built in iSight.
  • Reply 7 of 94
    Not that I'm griping either, but anyone know what happened to the last 60 pixels of vertical resolution? The 15" AlBook has a 1440 x 960 screen, but the new 15" MacBook Pro has a 1440 x 900 screen. The new video card? Intel "limitations"? Whatever the reason, it's a bummer to pay more and lose screen resolution.



    -K
  • Reply 8 of 94
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Kabeyun

    anyone know what happened to the last 60 pixels of vertical resolution?



    The iSight took up the extra 60 pixels.
  • Reply 9 of 94
    pmjoepmjoe Posts: 565member
    No modem sucks.



    I assume you can probably use Apple's DVI to S-Video/Composite adapter to get S-Video.



    The new power connector stinks too. I know plenty of people who bought extra power cables for their PowerBooks. I guess that can send them all to the landfill. I personally don't want a magnet anywhere near my internal or external drives.



    Outside of faster speed and optical audio out, this is a real let down.
  • Reply 10 of 94
    a_greera_greer Posts: 4,594member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by JLL

    Well, Dell's Dual Core Inspiron starts at the same price: $1,999.



    Acer's TravelMate 8200 starts at: $1,999.




    and they have modems...WTF is apple thinking? no modem? Wifi and cellphone coverage is non existant in many areas here in Indiana, a modem can be a lifesaveer if you are staying at a motel that has no wifi/ethernet baced internet service.
  • Reply 11 of 94
    lorrelorre Posts: 396member
    Does anybody find any info about battery life on the site?



    I'm curious about how it holds up against Powerbooks...
  • Reply 12 of 94
    a_greera_greer Posts: 4,594member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Jootec from Mars

    The iSight took up the extra 60 pixels.



    screw isight.



    If I am buying as a PROI DONT WANT ISIghT BUILT IN!



    A. Some places do not allow cameras or mics.

    B. pros want the screen realestate.

    C. pros have better cameras if needed



    And WTF is with the magnet power thingy? A pc tech buddy of mine and I laughed at them this afternoon.



    What happends if the power adadpter plug is set on top of the keyboard while it is being set up? what if the magnet clings to the bopttom of the ALUMINUM body or a component within in transport?

    hmm...magnet, Mr meet hard disk!
  • Reply 13 of 94
    jlljll Posts: 2,713member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by a_greer

    and they have modems...WTF is apple thinking? no modem? Wifi and cellphone coverage is non existant in many areas here in Indiana, a modem can be a lifesaveer if you are staying at a motel that has no wifi/ethernet baced internet service.



    Then add the optional modem. You can get a modem cable for free - I have at least 100 of them.
  • Reply 14 of 94
    I think the MacBook is great. Yeah, no Firewire 800 is kinda lame, and so is the name, and the lack of a modem, but a lot of the features look really great. It's supposedly 4x faster, its got a much better graphics card, has the optical audio I/O, iSight, Frontrow, and some other great improvements. Also, as far as the magnet thing goes, PowerBooks have had magnets in them for years, thats how the hinge at the top of the screen works. The new power cord seems like a great idea to me; I've know a handful of people who have killed their laptops by yanking them off a table accidentally w/ the cord. This'll definitely be my next computer (and the one I take to college).
  • Reply 15 of 94
    lorrelorre Posts: 396member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by a_greer

    What happends if the power adadpter plug is set on top of the keyboard while it is being set up? what if the magnet clings to the bopttom of the ALUMINUM body or a component within in transport?

    hmm...magnet, Mr meet hard disk!




    My guess is only the connector on the Macbook itself is magnetic, and not the plug on the power adapter.



    This way I really can't see a lot of issues, except perhaps with external harddisks, but even then...
  • Reply 16 of 94
    19841984 Posts: 955member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by pmjoe

    No modem sucks.



    I assume you can probably use Apple's DVI to S-Video/Composite adapter to get S-Video.



    The new power connector stinks too. I know plenty of people who bought extra power cables for their PowerBooks. I guess that can send them all to the landfill. I personally don't want a magnet anywhere near my internal or external drives.



    Outside of faster speed and optical audio out, this is a real let down.




    I'm not so sure about the DVI to S-Video adaptor. I think the adaptor Apple sells is mini-DVI.
  • Reply 17 of 94
    Why are some talking about optical out? Wasn't that already available in the last G4 version?
  • Reply 18 of 94
    19841984 Posts: 955member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by JLL

    Then add the optional modem. You can get a modem cable for free - I have at least 100 of them.



    People traveling (the ideal laptop market) don't want to carry around extra dongles and crap that will only get lost.
  • Reply 19 of 94
    webmailwebmail Posts: 639member
    s-video is support with the external cable you plug into the dvi port, but i can't help wondering? Where would you use s-video? It's totally not worth hooking any computer to a standard tv. lol



    firewire 800, any firewire800 device is backwards compatible with firewire 400



    internal modem? Seriously, i don't want extra anything. Get the USB modem they offer if you want a modem, in 6 years i've never used one, and don't want to carry it in my powerbook



    PCMCIA = the way of the dodo, pc notebooks are switching to the newer connection slot and so are macs, PCMCIA is so yesterday



    8xDVD, hmm don't know what to say, maybe we can replace it later



    this is just a transitional computer, apple will release more power-ful intel notebooks later.





    Quote:

    Originally posted by 1984

    Don't get me wrong, the new MacBook Pro looks nice and all but I can't help noticing some important features are missing...



    Firewire 800

    S-Video

    Internal Modem

    PCMCIA

    8x DVD



    I guess you need to weigh what was lost against what was gained but as for myself I'm going to sit this one out. Apparently they are still selling the PowerBooks for a while so maybe I'll pick one of those up after all.



    This just seems like it would be better as a new midrange laptop line than a PowerBook replacement.




  • Reply 20 of 94
    19841984 Posts: 955member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by drumsticks

    Why are some talking about optical out? Wasn't that already available in the last G4 version?



    Yes, the last PowerBook G4 had it. I really wasn't expecting them to cut anything out let alone this much. One step forward, two steps back as the saying goes.
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