[Rednamalas1]

with enough money saved from my original audio rig estimation, I can afford a macbook pro to replace my awful dell xps m1210 now!! hurray!

 

[kugino]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's typical form over function yet again with Apple. I don't understand the point of the flush glass cover for the LCD. It's not a tablet, so not having a bezel makes no sense. If may be protective for the LCD, but again, it's not a tablet. What's the point? The LCD is far more likely to be damaged from a fall, rather than poking at the screen. Just don't poke your screen. All the Glass cover is going to do is give a nice cozy place for all those dust bunnies to hide out.

blah blah blah blah...edwood at it again

tablet blah tablet blah...

i'm not sure how important most of these changes in the MB/MBP are. yeah, it has LED screens, different color combos with the black on silver, different graphics chips, etc. nothing that major, IMO. probably the biggest technological innovation is the milling process to create the frame...i mean, they spent a lot of time talking about this. but it's not just a way to make the fit and finish nicer and sturdier (and if you've ever held the MBA in your hand you know how solid it feels), much fewer components are used (50% or less), which should bring down costs. even for apple, that's a big deal. so yes, i agree that most of the announcements were ho hum...but this is probably the coolest "feature" that most people won't care about.

 

[Khanate]

Well it's a manufacturing feature... unless it goes to a price reduction no one really cares about cost reduction. I personally think it's cool, but certainly doesn't tickle my fancy as a purchaser.

 

[Edwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kugino /img/forum/go_quote.gif blah blah blah blah...edwood at it again tablet blah tablet blah... i'm not sure how important most of these changes in the MB/MBP are. yeah, it has LED screens, different color combos with the black on silver, different graphics chips, etc. nothing that major, IMO. probably the biggest technological innovation is the milling process to create the frame...i mean, they spent a lot of time talking about this. but it's not just a way to make the fit and finish nicer and sturdier (and if you've ever held the MBA in your hand you know how solid it feels), much fewer components are used (50% or less), which should bring down costs. even for apple, that's a big deal. so yes, i agree that most of the announcements were ho hum...but this is probably the coolest "feature" that most people won't care about.

Blah blah blah, there you go again, ignoring the one positive thing I actually said about Apple and then you go on touting it in your own post like it's something new and novel. Hmmmm. Much like Apple does.

Back to the Glass screen overlay. Glass adds weight and cost with minimal benefits. And unless Apple figured out a way to permanently hermetically seal the LCD area, there will be plenty of dust bunnies creeping their way in over time.

-Ed

 

[Jahn]

What's the matter about talking about tablets? Ed wants one to actually use, so he's interested in comps that have/should have/dont have em. Just like I'm interested in the recording quality into a Macbook, so Duet compatibility is important, or some other future interface that improves upon the latency issues currently plaguing USB when recording live and monitoring at the same time.

 

[hempcamp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood /img/forum/go_quote.gif Glass adds weight and cost with minimal benefits. And unless Apple figured out a way to permanently hermetically seal the LCD area, there will be plenty of dust bunnies creeping their way in over time.

1) Tempered glass doesn't scratch as easily as plastic -- which is why fine watches have glass faces not plastic ones. 2) The glossy screen really does make colors pop more, even if it's not print accurate. 3) The MacBook and MacBook Pro are both significantly lighter than their predecessors, even with the glass.

So, it's not exactly just for show or a waste. I thought I'd hate the glossy screen when I got an iMac and I've now come to absolutely love it. No dust bunnies (so far).

BTW: I thought I'd be happy with my new used PowerBook as a secondary machine, but the ridiculous price savings on the previous generation MacBook Pro at places like Amazon are really, really tempting!

--Chris

 

[Edwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn /img/forum/go_quote.gif What's the matter about talking about tablets? Ed wants one to actually use, so he's interested in comps that have/should have/dont have em. Just like I'm interested in the recording quality into a Macbook, so Duet compatibility is important, or some other future interface that improves upon the latency issues currently plaguing USB when recording live and monitoring at the same time.

Although I'd never buy one, I secretly want Apple to make a Mac Tablet, so that Microsoft and OEM manufacturers would get a kick in the pants to push the envelope and innovate more. They were off to a great start, but they've been stagnant for the past 3 years.

As for firewire. Is Firewire 800 at all backwards compatible with Firewire 400? You'd be able to use an adapter cable if so. If not, that's a pretty bone headed move to make a widely used connection method completely obsolete overnight.

-Ed

 

[Edwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hempcamp /img/forum/go_quote.gif 1) Tempered glass doesn't scratch as easily as plastic -- which is why fine watches have glass faces not plastic ones. 2) The glossy screen really does make colors pop more, even if it's not print accurate. 3) The MacBook and MacBook Pro are both significantly lighter than their predecessors, even with the glass. So, it's not exactly just for show or a waste. I thought I'd hate the glossy screen when I got an iMac and I've now come to absolutely love it. No dust bunnies (so far). BTW: I thought I'd be happy with my new used PowerBook as a secondary machine, but the ridiculous price savings on the previous generation MacBook Pro at places like Amazon are really, really tempting! --Chris

I'm not a big fan of glossy screens, while you can get improved contrast, they are glare city, or the AR coating is so aggressive you get a massive green or red shift when you view the screen from different angles.

As for dust creep, it's much more of an issue with portables, because the body gets flexed and stressed a lot more, and seals get compromised allowing dust to enter. Plus many laptops get stored in lint ridden enclosures known as bags.

I must admit I'm a lot more anal about dust creep than "Joe the Plumber", but it's because I deal with graphics on a professional basis. I can find dust creep in any computer with an overlay over the LCD. Just turn your screen off and take a look, they'll be there. Fortunately, most are not easily visible when the screen is on. Only when there is total black or white underneath the dust. I embarassed a Wacom rep at a trade show when I asked them if their new Cintiq 12WX and updated 21UX had dust creep. They said "Of Course not". I then turned the screen off and then counted a whole bunch of them. And then showed them the visible ones with the screen on.

Dust is a fact of life (most of it is our dead skin cells, ewwww.). More manufacturers need to allow their panels to be opened up more easily and able to blow the dust off with a photographers blow bulb. I do it all the time with my Tablet PC's.

-Ed

 

[frozenice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood /img/forum/go_quote.gif Although I'd never buy one, I secretly want Apple to make a Mac Tablet, so that Microsoft and OEM manufacturers would get a kick in the pants to push the envelope and innovate more. They were off to a great start, but they've been stagnant for the past 3 years. -Ed

The rumors seem to indicate that a tablet is on the way - within six to twelve months. I expect it to compete more in the education (school) market and as a slight improvement over the Sony Reader and Amazon's Kindle. There's plenty enough money in those markets for Apple.

 

[vagarach]

I don't know who decided it would be cool for laptops to have glossy displays!

It used to be the case that extra contrast/vivid colours could be had out of cheaper quality panels by using a glossy finish, but apple has turned this whole trick on its head! Now the only reason they use a glossy finish is so they can add 13-15 diagonal inches of something shiny to their line of laptops.

Right now my room is lit by 3 clusters of 3 powerful halogen spotlights. If I had a glossy screen using the computer would be impossible from any part of the room, and I can't change this since I'm renting the place. Thankfully, they still offered matte screens last year!

 

[Uncle Erik]

I guess I'm in the minority as to the looks - I like them. Though the LED backlighting and one-piece aluminum case are terrific. There's nothing else like that on the market and, finally, I think Apple is going to have notebooks as tough as the old PowerBooks used to be. I loved my TiBook, but man, was it fragile. I had to replace the hinges, then passed it along to my father. It's still running fine, too.

My white MacBook has held up great for 18 months now. The only thing holding me back from a new one is that the processors didn't get a performance bump.

Also, I tend to stick with Rev. B Apple products. Completely disregarded that with the iPhone (twice), but the MacBook has been chugging along just fine. A quad core would likely to seduce me, however.

 

[krmathis]

I think the new MacBook look fantastic.
Took some years for Apple to come up with a successor for the 12" PowerBook G4, but it finally looks like they did. Quite sure I will land one one of these next time...

..or possibly a MacBook Air.

 

[Jaska]

I also just submitted feedback to Apple about the omission of FireWire on the new MacBook. I'd buy one otherwise, as my old trusty iBook G3 just died (failed logic board). The new MacBook just can't be a viable option for me since I would not be able to use my Duet, my DV camera, my FireWire iSight camera (much, much better than any of the integrated iSight cameras), or any of my external FireWire hard drives with it. Designed as it is, it really seems like a pretty expensive alternative to a typical PC laptop.

 

[monolith]

I'd be lining up for one if it wasn't for the glossy screen and lack of mouse buttons.

 

[Godziltw]

The new macbook is the perfect 13.3" notebook for me! I have been waiting for a light aluminum macbook for a long time.