I dunno... $99/share is looking less likely every day...
The company is over valued. As apple is now, with their current volumes, I would say that a $50/share is a good price, anything above that is just gravy untill they lock in at least a 5% PC marketshare.
The MacBook Pro enclosures are closely based on their previous PowerBook counterparts, most likely because they needed to switch them over to Intel qucikly. I'll bet they get a new latchless design like the MacBooks for the transition to the Merom chips.
From what I've seen docking stations are used for functionality not built into the laptop.
The MacBook has the ability to be plugged into a monitor and onto a network. You can also plug a full sized keyboard and mouse to a MacBook and it will work fine.
Connected to monitor,keyboard, and mouse the Macbook lid can be closed and used the same as a desktop.
What more does a docking station do?
The key purpose of a docking station in business is generally to reduce the number of cables that you have to plug and unplug from your laptop on a daily basis. Heck, even Apple offered a dock at one point in the past (Powerbook Duo + Duo dock).
This report only reenforces my belief that MBPs are overpriced and that they will get merom chips in August as soon as they are available.
Edit. The 15 in MBPs are the model that really is overpriced.
The alternative view is that at this particular point in time, the MacBook is an extraordinary value. Many speculated that the MB would only get a Core Solo or perhaps only one high end model with the Core Duo.
I was wondering about the history of the relationship between the PowerBooks and iBooks in terms of processor and clock speed so I pulled this info from Mactracker.app:
PowerBook (Jan 2001) 400/500 MHz G4
ibook (May 2001) 500 MHz G3
iBook; 12 inch (Oct 2001) 500/600 MHz G3
iBook; 14 inch (Oct 2001) 600 MHz G3
PowerBook; GigE (Oct 2001) 550/667 MHz G4
iBook; 12 inch (May 2002) 600/700 MHz G3
iBook; 14 inch (May 2002) 700 MHz G3
PowerBook; DVI (April 2002) 667/800 MHz G4
iBook; 12 inch (Nov 2002) 700/800 MHz G3
iBook; 14 inch (Nov 2001) 800 MHz G3
PowerBook; (Nov 2002) 867 MHz / 1.0 GHz G4
iBook; 12 inch (Apr 2003) 800/900 MHz G3
iBook; 14 inch (Apr 2003) 900 MHz G3
PowerBook; 12 inch (Jan 2003) 867 G4
PowerBook; 17 inch (Jan/Mar 2003) 1.0 GHz G4
iBook; 12 inch (Oct 2003) 800 MHz G4
iBook; 14 inch (Oct 2003) 933MHz / 1.0 GHz G4
PowerBook; 12 inch (Sep 2003) 1.0 GHz G4
PowerBook; 15 inch (Sep 2003) 1.0 / 1.25 GHz G4
PowerBook; 17 inch (Sep 2003) 1.33 GHz G4
iBook; 12 inch (Apr 2004) 1.0 GHz G4
iBook; 14 inch (Apr 2004) 1.0/1.2 GHz G4
PowerBook; 12 inch (Apr 2004) 1.33 GHz G4
PowerBook; 15 inch (Apr 2004) 1.33 / 1.5 GHz G4
PowerBook; 17 inch (Apr 2004) 1.5 GHz G4
PowerBook; 12 inch (Jan 2005) 1.5 GHz G4
PowerBook; 15 inch (Jan 2005) 1.5 / 1.67 GHz G4
PowerBook; 17 inch (Jan 2005) 1.67 GHz G4
iBook; 12 inch (Jul 2005) 1.33 GHz G4
iBook; 14 inch (Jul 2005) 1.42 GHz G4
PowerBook; 15 inch (Oct 2005) 1.67 GHz G4
PowerBook; 17 inch (Jan 2005) 1.67 GHz G4
The MacBook is as close to the MacBook Pro in terms of processor performance as it will probably get. It will be interesting to see if the gap widens. I'm betting it will: MBP will get Merom ASAP and MB will hang back with some incremental speed bumps to lengthen the life of the Core Duo in MB's.
I'm wanting a new PB... er... MBP badly and I'm VERY tempted to wait for the next version. New case design??
The key purpose of a docking station in business is generally to reduce the number of cables that you have to plug and unplug from your laptop on a daily basis. Heck, even Apple offered a dock at one point in the past (Powerbook Duo + Duo dock).
From my understanding this is because the PB Duo was not a fully featured laptop.
Quote:
I will sorely miss the dock when I transition from Dell to a MBP. With the Dell I can connect to my twin 24" monitors, USB hub (keyboard, mouse, USB keys, 3 DOF controller, etc), power and network easily. Slide into dock, hit the on button. Done
I've never seen anyone use one of these. If this is something really important for business it seems like a prime opportunity for third party manufacturers.
Quote:
This report only reenforces my belief that MBPs are overpriced and that they will get merom chips in August as soon as they are available.
What it tells me is that most people don't need expansion slots, discreet graphics, full DVI out ports, and Firewire 800. I don't think Merom will make much difference.
What it tells me is that most people don't need expansion slots, discreet graphics, full DVI out ports, and Firewire 800. I don't think Merom will make much difference.
I agree that most users don't need such things and are well served by the current MacBook. However in order to sell a 'premium' product you need to distinguish it from the ordinary. Having discreet graphics, additional ports and Merom will help. This assumes that MAcbook keeps ICD which I think it will.
as far as a dock, now with BT much of the need for those extra ports is now wireless. i have mine set up with one cable for printing, but with BT that can be "gone", keyboard, mouse..BT, so now its second monitor, that you have to plug in, but i don't use it. so what would the dock help?? maybe a parallel HD for backup and a second optical drive. are they worth the "plug and unplug" thing. for me with a well organized desk, use of BT the most i would have to "plug" is maybe one firewire for a backup HD, but you can daisy chain that HD to my optical drive. well now that's down to one plug......gooooood.
I've never seen anyone use one of these. If this is something really important for business it seems like a prime opportunity for third party manufacturers.
Unless there's a integrated interface on the laptop you can't make a dock or port replicator really worth using. Its something Apple needs to design into their laptops and not a 3rd party kind of thing.
In any case I'd say your experience is limited. Nearly every engineer I know has dual head monitors hooked to their laptops when docked. The screen real estate is a cheap productivity multiplier. The network over 100BaseT is much faster than any wireless (which is handy for large files).
Those things alone are 4 connections (power, 2 x DVI, network) and ignoring USB hub and other uses of a dock. I fortunately also have a 30" monitor in my office so I'll likely switch from 2x24 to 1x30. Still not the same though since I occasionally will rotate one of the two monitors to see more lines of code in portait vs landscape while my app is running in the other window.
I'm sitting here in my corporate office with a Dell D800 laptop snapped into a dock. The dock allows all my desktop peripherals - keyboard, trackball, speakers, network, monitors - to be attached and detached in a quick and simple way. The dock also has a PCI slot that I've stuck an old VGA graphics card in to give me dual monitors.
I believe every laptop my company buys comes with a dock - which = more $$$ for the vendor.
I agree that Apple is missing out in the dock area.
Nope I don't work in a corporate office. I don't see anyone using docks.
Quote:
The dock allows all my desktop peripherals - keyboard, trackball, speakers, network, monitors - to be attached and detached in a quick and simple way.
I suppose Apple sees it differently. If you build all of this functionality into the laptop you don't need to the dock. I can see its usefulness if you want to carry your laptop between home and work and use it like a desktop on a daily basis.
Quote:
Unless there's a integrated interface on the laptop you can't make a dock or port replicator really worth using. Its something Apple needs to design into their laptops and not a 3rd party kind of thing.
A dock wouldn't work through the expansion slot and DVI port?
Give me a link to these magical $600 laptops and you win. But...forget it...you lose! :P
I can't link you to a $600 core duo laptop but I can get you into a 15 in Dell with a graphics card for at least $500 less than a MBP. They aren't identicle specs but close.
I can't link you to a $600 core duo laptop but I can get you into a 15 in Dell with a graphics card for at least $500 less than a MBP. They aren't identicle specs but close.
Holy crap, you're going to drop your transmission throwing it into reverse like that.
JDW - You might want to wait a while before really getting into your "I told you so!" A lot of people (myself included) are waiting for Leopard's release before buying their next Mac. Between that and the next gen iPod, I'd expect Apple sales to take a big boost next year. Patience, man!
I wished I shared your optimism. But news about the US economy of late doesn't indicate that even a large boost in Mac sales would push AAPL toward the $99 mark. I guess I would just like to read a detailed analysis on AppleInsider, presented by PiperJaffray, regarding why it feels so strongly that AAPL will reach $99. With all the other brokerages reducing their price targets on AAPL, why is PiperJaffray alone in maintaining this $99 mark? Am I alone in being suspicious of this? That's why I think these continued reports from PiperJaffray are bringing down the credability of AppleInsider as a whole.
Nope I don't work in a corporate office. I don't see anyone using docks.
So you wouldn't call that limited experience?
Quote:
A dock wouldn't work through the expansion slot and DVI port?
It's more a mechanical than electrical issue. The specialized dock connector allows for proper physical connection in single connector.
Port replicators that line up individual connectors to the a laptop's rear ports tend to have more issues in my experience. Bent pins and whatnot suck. My old Thinkpad has such a replicator and I stopped using it because it was more cumbersome than handy.
Comments
Originally posted by SpamSandwich
I dunno... $99/share is looking less likely every day...
The company is over valued. As apple is now, with their current volumes, I would say that a $50/share is a good price, anything above that is just gravy untill they lock in at least a 5% PC marketshare.
Originally posted by hmurchison
.
I remember how cool the duo dock days were. Apple was ahead of its time then.
I'm with you on this one. The duo was a great idea that died a premature death IMO.
Originally posted by backtomac
This report only reenforces my belief that MBPs are overpriced and that they will get merom chips in August as soon as they are available.
Edit. The 15 in MBPs are the model that really is overpriced.
I have been debating whether to buy a 15" MBP now or wait a while. Would Merom chips provide anything more than the obvious speed bump?
Originally posted by TenoBell
From what I've seen docking stations are used for functionality not built into the laptop.
The MacBook has the ability to be plugged into a monitor and onto a network. You can also plug a full sized keyboard and mouse to a MacBook and it will work fine.
Connected to monitor,keyboard, and mouse the Macbook lid can be closed and used the same as a desktop.
What more does a docking station do?
The key purpose of a docking station in business is generally to reduce the number of cables that you have to plug and unplug from your laptop on a daily basis. Heck, even Apple offered a dock at one point in the past (Powerbook Duo + Duo dock).
Originally posted by Shaun, UK
I have been debating whether to buy a 15" MBP now or wait a while. Would Merom chips provide anything more than the obvious speed bump?
Speed increase of 20% at same ghz(compared to ICD) and merom is planned to clock a little higher.
Originally posted by backtomac
This report only reenforces my belief that MBPs are overpriced and that they will get merom chips in August as soon as they are available.
Edit. The 15 in MBPs are the model that really is overpriced.
The alternative view is that at this particular point in time, the MacBook is an extraordinary value. Many speculated that the MB would only get a Core Solo or perhaps only one high end model with the Core Duo.
I was wondering about the history of the relationship between the PowerBooks and iBooks in terms of processor and clock speed so I pulled this info from Mactracker.app:
PowerBook (Jan 2001) 400/500 MHz G4
ibook (May 2001) 500 MHz G3
iBook; 12 inch (Oct 2001) 500/600 MHz G3
iBook; 14 inch (Oct 2001) 600 MHz G3
PowerBook; GigE (Oct 2001) 550/667 MHz G4
iBook; 12 inch (May 2002) 600/700 MHz G3
iBook; 14 inch (May 2002) 700 MHz G3
PowerBook; DVI (April 2002) 667/800 MHz G4
iBook; 12 inch (Nov 2002) 700/800 MHz G3
iBook; 14 inch (Nov 2001) 800 MHz G3
PowerBook; (Nov 2002) 867 MHz / 1.0 GHz G4
iBook; 12 inch (Apr 2003) 800/900 MHz G3
iBook; 14 inch (Apr 2003) 900 MHz G3
PowerBook; 12 inch (Jan 2003) 867 G4
PowerBook; 17 inch (Jan/Mar 2003) 1.0 GHz G4
iBook; 12 inch (Oct 2003) 800 MHz G4
iBook; 14 inch (Oct 2003) 933MHz / 1.0 GHz G4
PowerBook; 12 inch (Sep 2003) 1.0 GHz G4
PowerBook; 15 inch (Sep 2003) 1.0 / 1.25 GHz G4
PowerBook; 17 inch (Sep 2003) 1.33 GHz G4
iBook; 12 inch (Apr 2004) 1.0 GHz G4
iBook; 14 inch (Apr 2004) 1.0/1.2 GHz G4
PowerBook; 12 inch (Apr 2004) 1.33 GHz G4
PowerBook; 15 inch (Apr 2004) 1.33 / 1.5 GHz G4
PowerBook; 17 inch (Apr 2004) 1.5 GHz G4
PowerBook; 12 inch (Jan 2005) 1.5 GHz G4
PowerBook; 15 inch (Jan 2005) 1.5 / 1.67 GHz G4
PowerBook; 17 inch (Jan 2005) 1.67 GHz G4
iBook; 12 inch (Jul 2005) 1.33 GHz G4
iBook; 14 inch (Jul 2005) 1.42 GHz G4
PowerBook; 15 inch (Oct 2005) 1.67 GHz G4
PowerBook; 17 inch (Jan 2005) 1.67 GHz G4
The MacBook is as close to the MacBook Pro in terms of processor performance as it will probably get. It will be interesting to see if the gap widens. I'm betting it will: MBP will get Merom ASAP and MB will hang back with some incremental speed bumps to lengthen the life of the Core Duo in MB's.
I'm wanting a new PB... er... MBP badly and I'm VERY tempted to wait for the next version. New case design??
gc
Originally posted by GordonComstock
The alternative view is that at this particular point in time, the MacBook is an extraordinary value.
I am looking at it from another angle as well. A laptop from pc vendors with similar(not identicle) specs is anywhere from $500 to $800 less.
The key purpose of a docking station in business is generally to reduce the number of cables that you have to plug and unplug from your laptop on a daily basis. Heck, even Apple offered a dock at one point in the past (Powerbook Duo + Duo dock).
From my understanding this is because the PB Duo was not a fully featured laptop.
I will sorely miss the dock when I transition from Dell to a MBP. With the Dell I can connect to my twin 24" monitors, USB hub (keyboard, mouse, USB keys, 3 DOF controller, etc), power and network easily. Slide into dock, hit the on button. Done
I've never seen anyone use one of these. If this is something really important for business it seems like a prime opportunity for third party manufacturers.
This report only reenforces my belief that MBPs are overpriced and that they will get merom chips in August as soon as they are available.
What it tells me is that most people don't need expansion slots, discreet graphics, full DVI out ports, and Firewire 800. I don't think Merom will make much difference.
Originally posted by TenoBell
What it tells me is that most people don't need expansion slots, discreet graphics, full DVI out ports, and Firewire 800. I don't think Merom will make much difference.
I agree that most users don't need such things and are well served by the current MacBook. However in order to sell a 'premium' product you need to distinguish it from the ordinary. Having discreet graphics, additional ports and Merom will help. This assumes that MAcbook keeps ICD which I think it will.
Originally posted by backtomac
I am looking at it from another angle as well. A laptop from pc vendors with similar(not identicle) specs is anywhere from $500 to $800 less.
Hahahahahaha...impossible.
Give me a link to these magical $600 laptops and you win. But...forget it...you lose! :P
Originally posted by TenoBell
I've never seen anyone use one of these. If this is something really important for business it seems like a prime opportunity for third party manufacturers.
Unless there's a integrated interface on the laptop you can't make a dock or port replicator really worth using. Its something Apple needs to design into their laptops and not a 3rd party kind of thing.
In any case I'd say your experience is limited. Nearly every engineer I know has dual head monitors hooked to their laptops when docked. The screen real estate is a cheap productivity multiplier. The network over 100BaseT is much faster than any wireless (which is handy for large files).
Those things alone are 4 connections (power, 2 x DVI, network) and ignoring USB hub and other uses of a dock. I fortunately also have a 30" monitor in my office so I'll likely switch from 2x24 to 1x30. Still not the same though since I occasionally will rotate one of the two monitors to see more lines of code in portait vs landscape while my app is running in the other window.
Vinea
I believe every laptop my company buys comes with a dock - which = more $$$ for the vendor.
I agree that Apple is missing out in the dock area.
- Jasen.
In any case I'd say your experience is limited.
Nope I don't work in a corporate office. I don't see anyone using docks.
The dock allows all my desktop peripherals - keyboard, trackball, speakers, network, monitors - to be attached and detached in a quick and simple way.
I suppose Apple sees it differently. If you build all of this functionality into the laptop you don't need to the dock. I can see its usefulness if you want to carry your laptop between home and work and use it like a desktop on a daily basis.
Unless there's a integrated interface on the laptop you can't make a dock or port replicator really worth using. Its something Apple needs to design into their laptops and not a 3rd party kind of thing.
A dock wouldn't work through the expansion slot and DVI port?
Originally posted by kim kap sol
Hahahahahaha...impossible.
Give me a link to these magical $600 laptops and you win. But...forget it...you lose! :P
I can't link you to a $600 core duo laptop but I can get you into a 15 in Dell with a graphics card for at least $500 less than a MBP. They aren't identicle specs but close.
Originally posted by backtomac
I can't link you to a $600 core duo laptop but I can get you into a 15 in Dell with a graphics card for at least $500 less than a MBP. They aren't identicle specs but close.
Holy crap, you're going to drop your transmission throwing it into reverse like that.
Originally posted by jamezog
JDW - You might want to wait a while before really getting into your "I told you so!" A lot of people (myself included) are waiting for Leopard's release before buying their next Mac. Between that and the next gen iPod, I'd expect Apple sales to take a big boost next year. Patience, man!
I wished I shared your optimism. But news about the US economy of late doesn't indicate that even a large boost in Mac sales would push AAPL toward the $99 mark. I guess I would just like to read a detailed analysis on AppleInsider, presented by PiperJaffray, regarding why it feels so strongly that AAPL will reach $99. With all the other brokerages reducing their price targets on AAPL, why is PiperJaffray alone in maintaining this $99 mark? Am I alone in being suspicious of this? That's why I think these continued reports from PiperJaffray are bringing down the credability of AppleInsider as a whole.
Originally posted by hmurchison
What I'd love to see a way of running triple head because my dock doesn't seem to like running the DVI and VGA ports simultaneously.
well, i know the dualhead2go works on the mac mini even though it 'isn't officially supported', but not sure if this new one works...
Matrox TripleHead2Go
http://www.matrox.com/graphics/offhome/th2go/home.cfm
Originally posted by TenoBell
Nope I don't work in a corporate office. I don't see anyone using docks.
So you wouldn't call that limited experience?
A dock wouldn't work through the expansion slot and DVI port?
It's more a mechanical than electrical issue. The specialized dock connector allows for proper physical connection in single connector.
Port replicators that line up individual connectors to the a laptop's rear ports tend to have more issues in my experience. Bent pins and whatnot suck. My old Thinkpad has such a replicator and I stopped using it because it was more cumbersome than handy.
Vinea