MacWorld Keynote Announces x86 iMac & Laptop 1607
Steve Jobs began giving his keynote at 9am local time, PST. The action was posted live at MacRumorsLive, and Engadget. From the Engadget liveblog: "How many [iPods] did we sell last quarter? Some of the estimates were getting astronomical - 8 million, 9 million. I'm really pleased to announce that last quarter we sold 14 million iPods .. that is over a hundred every minute, 24/7 throughout the quarter. And it still wasnt enough. We've now sold over 42 million iPods -- as you can see the curve is going up again" MacWorld and Ars Technica has coverage as well. The shiniest news: MacBook Pro. iSight, Front Row; $1999 1.67 Core Duo; 667 DDR bus, Radeon x1600; $2499 1.83GHz. Intel chip.
Comment removed (Score:2, Insightful)
So the big question is... (Score:4, Insightful)
split down the middle (Score:3, Insightful)
i wonder how long till ibooks and mini's
MacBook Pro (Score:5, Insightful)
Really, all the top Mac news sites and blogs need to get on board with this. It is NOT a "MacBook Pro". It is and always will be a Powerbook.
Windows? (Score:4, Insightful)
Unimportant... (Score:5, Insightful)
What do you guys think?
The art of choosing strategically well thought out product names is a declining art these days, I need only point to "Windows Defender". While most of us nerds know that Windows is on the defensive in the malware department there is no reason to let the uninitiated masses of Windows users know about it, they think the current situation is normal.
Not that I really care about the 'stupidity' of the MacBook name and I do agree with you that it is kinda clumsy. What I care about is what this MacBook can do and how soon I can get my filthy paws on one. Now if you will excuse me I have to go and empty my piggybank....
FIrewire 800 (Score:2, Insightful)
What happened? Where's the Firewire 800? I can understand, maybe, leaving it off the iMac but surely the MacBook should have one? My 15" Powerbook has Firewire 800. I just don't get it. I can't imagine they'd abandon Firewire for USB.
4X faster? (Score:3, Insightful)
Next time you know they will say "now with twice the mouse buttons and productivity!"
Re:Stupid name (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:MacBook Pro (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Don't like it (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Stupid name (Score:2, Insightful)
Gaps (and lack of) in the product line (Score:5, Insightful)
iMac that's as powerful as a PowerMac? Who's gonna wanna buy PowerMacs for the next couple months? Does Apple expect to make so much profit from the iMac intel over the coming months than the forgone profit from lost PowerMac G5 sales? I would think that the PowerMac G5 made a much higher profit than the iMac.
And a MacBook Pro that's 10x more powerful than a iBook?!? There goes the iBook market...
Anybody else see the logic of transitioning the consumer desktop and pro laptop first, rather than starting with the consumer desktop and laptop, or the pro desktop and laptop, or the pro desktop and consumer laptop, or some other combination?
Re:Chip Speed (Score:5, Insightful)
This is a dual-core 2Ghz Yonah which I daresay will blow the doors off of a 3Ghz P4 Prescott, and run much cooler, which is necessary in a case that thin (the iMac case) when coolers are space-limited.
Did you post anonymously because you knew that was just a stupid question, or are you just now figuring this out?
Keep it up, genius.
Re:MacBook Pro (Score:0, Insightful)
Re:Stupid name (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Stupid name (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Gaps (and lack of) in the product line (Score:2, Insightful)
Only if you don't mind getting "Rev A.".
And... only if you recompile.
It's only 2-3X faster, which means that running apps under Rosetta will be like running 68000 apps on the first Powermacs, slower on existing applications than the products they replace. That's OK for keyboard-bound apps like Office, but it's not going to be enticing for people actually doing real work for at least 6 months.
The MacBook is closer to being a realistic upgrade right now, because the faster memory bus makes a bigger difference.
At least it has ExpressCard (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:MacBook Pro (Score:1, Insightful)
Battery Life? (Score:4, Insightful)
I feel abused (Score:4, Insightful)
We've been lied to horribly for the last 3-4 years. Clock for clock intels are as powerful as PowerPC. So when I bought my 1.8GHz iMac G5 it was already slower than equivalent PCs. Now thats all very well and good, except that Apple were screaming that it was faster, better, stronger. That you would be mad to even think about buying Intel, and I sucked it up. Its not even like they didn't know the truth. They've been developing Mac OS X on intel for the last 5 years, so they new they were onto a looser with PowerPC and they still over sold.
Now I'm very happy with my Mac, but the smug sense of superiority that I bought with the Mac has been wiped out. I miss being inside the RDF.
Re:What he DIDN'T say (Score:3, Insightful)
Nice to see you've been properly modded as flamebait. That wasn't said because that was 14 million iPods sold this holdiday season. So those are all completely new iPods, nanos or video. Since "only" 42 million iPods total have been sold, then less than 70% of all iPods sold up to this point are "obsolete" where "obsolete" means 'are not the same as the current model'. Which is of course a stupid definition that only a troll would use in this case; all iPods work just fine and are fully supported by iTunes, what's obsolete about even a first generation iPod? They play music and work with a Firewire-capable computer just fine.
Actually, since sales have been taking off so dramatically, it's likely that nearly half of all iPod sales were in the past year, making your comment look even more lame, which is pretty difficult...
Re:Photocasting? Ugh (Score:3, Insightful)
That's what it sounded like to me. I can't check the Apple site since its slowed to a crawl.
Re:FIrewire 800 (Score:2, Insightful)
Hum, firewire 800 delivers 800 Mb/s, against 480 Mb/s for USB 2. Sorry, but that makes a difference when accessing loads of data/backup/video on external transportable Terabyte disks. I'd rather have Apple stick to Firewire 800 for longer... But they have a history of not listening to customers Oh well...
Re:MacBook ===== Acer Travelmate 8200 (Score:4, Insightful)
Um, doesn't it normally cost money to develop software? Silly question I know but I'm fairly sure that and OS doesn't just fall from the sky followed on a regular basis by updates. I'm forever having to clean those annoying binaries from the gutters on my roof.
Re:The MacBook Pro (Score:5, Insightful)
Alternative naming scheme (Score:2, Insightful)
We also have the iMac and PowerMac - probably will become MacPro?
MacBook Pro, as others have observed, is not a good name. It's quite clunky - I keep thinking of the word "brick" when I say it - not a good image when applied to a laptop. My suggestion if they really want to ditch "Power":
iBook - ProBook
iMac - ProMac Simple, and more Apple-like I think.
Re:Gaps (and lack of) in the product line (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Firewire 800 (Score:4, Insightful)
It's worth noting that FireWire 400 is present and accounted for on the MacBook Pro, so no need for USB->FireWire dongle adapters. Yet.
In the case of the iPod, it makes sense to focus on a single interface that is a "least common denominator" among users -- and while many PCs lack IEEE 1394 ports, all modern PCs have USB 2.0, and all modern Macs have USB 2.0 as well. So eliminating FireWire support from the iPod is a great cost-saving measure that increases Apple's profit margin and streamlines the product design moving forward.
Re:Gaps (and lack of) in the product line (Score:5, Insightful)
The iBook is 1/2 the price of the MacBook Pro, which is enough of a differentiation, really. But yeah, that MacBook Pro is one juicy piece of hardware. You're right, though, it's certainly an awkward product lineup.
I believe the current "funk" in the product line is entirely a product of the fact that the transition to Intel is going to be uneven as the engineering teams work on each individual model to bring them in to the Intel future. The iMac is equivalent in power to a PowerMac, it looks like, which only bodes well for the next PowerMac ("MacDesktop Pro"? "Mac Pro"?) - that puppy will be one seriously powerful monster.
But like Steve said, they'll be transitioning them throughout the year. I imagine that once all the machines are moved over, the pricing will settle a bit and we'll get back our 12" and 17" laptop models.
My 12" PowerBook used to seem so powerful... Cripes.
Re:Gaps (and lack of) in the product line (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Stupid name (Score:3, Insightful)
Um... huh?! It looks exactly like the current aluminum PowerBooks, an original Apple design. The reason Dell and others are no making laptops with silver-ish plastic cases is because of Apple's stuff.
Re:Low Resolution (Score:2, Insightful)
The previous 15" Powerbooks had 1280x854, so it's actually an increase. Not everybody has perfect eyes, so Apple's making compromises. Hopefully they'll get OS X's resolution-independent UI working soon and then go with as many pixels as possible.
Re:Gaps (and lack of) in the product line (Score:3, Insightful)
You're forgetting that they've also got all the machines they were selling yesterday.
Lots of people. If you need internal expansion, it's all you've got. And, if you rely upon any high-performance software, you'd be a fool to switch to Intel until there're native versions available.
Except that the base price of this new laptop is about what you'd pay for the top-of-the-line iBook maxed out with RAM, extended warranty, and the like. And, while it's faster, it's not gonna be ten times as fast. Today's iBooks are quite respectable machines.
Sure, once you realize that they're offering these new machines in addition to all the old ones.
Cheers,
b&
I've just decided on my next laptop (Score:2, Insightful)
Nobody but a careless klutz would ever trip on their power cord and pull the laptop off a desk. Would they?
*whistles as I rock on my heels*
Well, this got my attention. Four times faster?! How can that be? Ohhhh a dual processor and double the clock speed. Well there goes the Apple arguments that clock speed doesn't matter.
But I have to admit they got the price right (i.e. no increase over existing models). Or is it? I seem to remember my Powerbook (which works GREAT!) only started at $1500. Oh, but I got the 12 incher, which isn't available with this "new" processor. Nice trick Apple. Almost fooled me there for a bit. Even the press is saying the prices are the same, except of course, for those of us who would really rather have a smaller box.
My plan to get more or less the same capability is to get a dual core AMD chip in a laptop (these are already available by the way). That way I can be sure it will run Linux on day one. And, of course, the AMD machines start around a grand.
SEE!? Now the price comparisons are much easier. Why buy and Apple when I can get the same or better for less. I'm no longer confused by that old PowerPC mumbo-jumbo. Thanks Stevie!
Re:Indeed (Score:3, Insightful)
Duct Tape.
(it even matches the nice metalic case).
Re:Gaps (and lack of) in the product line (Score:5, Insightful)
What machines does Apple make the largest markup on ?
Profit is the only motive that makes sense to me. Consider that Apple knows it's going to be seeing a somewhat limited supply of chips and chipsets from Intel. With that as a given, where do they want to put those chips- in low-margin designs like the Mac mini and iBook, or in higher-margin designs like the desktop and pro laptop ?
Also, what chipset would Apple put in a lower-end machine ? I'm going to guess that due to Apple using Trusted Computing crap to keep you from building your own MacIntel and pirating OS X, they're not going to use any chipsets ( and thus chips ) that are pre-Yonah, so the low end of what they have right now is the slower 1.3-1.6Ghz Duo Core chip... too powerful and expensive for real low-margin machines, so... no low-end Mac Intels for now, and we won't see any until Intel introduces newer chips that can move in on the high end, maybe. Of course, I'm just speculating, but nothing else makes sense to me... I don't think there's a pure market-based reason for Apple to abandon the low end, I think it's just what they're able to do right now.
Too bad, too, I think that if Apple weren't so paranoid about OS X ending up on a Dell, they'd be able to make a seriously cheap Mac mini based on a Pentium M or something...
Re:No modem. (Score:5, Insightful)
Most hotels and buisnesses use WiFi 802.11b/g. If you really want the modem you get a USB one. But for most systems now it is becoming one of those unused ports. on my powerbook I used my Modem like 4 times in 4 years. Once to see if it worked, 3 Times after I moved waiting for my Cable to be hooked up. Modems are no longer as nessary as they use to be.
Re:MacBook Pro (Score:2, Insightful)
What, are you going to gut the Intel parts and put a Power chip back in it, or just be stupid and call it a PowerBook for no damn reason?
Re:Low Resolution (Score:4, Insightful)
Software apps and logic dictated Intel upgrades (Score:3, Insightful)
I offer this analysis:
iMac: Best selling consumer model for Apple to select because Pro Apps what are not yet ported aren't used on these systems (at least, that isn't the target market).
MacBook Pro: in DIRE need of a refresh since the G5 could never make it into the line. Also, Pro apps are less likely to be required for a purchase decision because they are so long in the G4-tooth.
Mac mini: As the low cost Mac, upgrading this to an Intel chipset would canibalize sales of higher end units. In addition, the smaller margins of the Mac mini would be eaten up with the redesign and more expensive (and more powerful) chips from Intel.
PowerMacs: The Pro Apps aren't ready. Waiting allows time to announce them when the Pro Apps are available and gives Intel time to offer faster cores.
iBooks: best selling Apple notebooks aren't hurting for more power. Their price point is right for the student/home user and with limited resources/chip allotment, this doesn't offer as compelling a need.
Honestly, I was surprised to get two systems updated to Intel. It is a major switch for Apple and they have done an amazing job busting these two systems out in just 6 months from the announcemnet of their intentions last summer. Even vendors with massive resources due to their market share don't refresh and entire product suite overnight. Give Apple some grace. The (fill in the blank you are waiting for) is coming soon.
I imagine that this summer we will see a "One year ago we said we were switching to Intel and today the entire product line is Intel based" announcemnet.
Yawn... (Score:4, Insightful)
Yet again somebody makes the case for buying a Kia instead of a Benz. And before anybody is tempted to start bitching about the analogy being invalid since both the Dell and the MacBook have more or less the same 'engine' please note that if the outgoing PowerBook line is anything to judge by you get a bit more than just $550 worth of Software with the MacBook. That would include both consumer software like iMovie, iDVD, (plus a whole slew of other consumer software) and a pretty sophisticated development package. Does the Dell ship with a decent Movie editor, DVD authoring software and a full featured copy of MS Visulal Studio (according to MS that will set you back $799, upgrade: $549) as well as Windows XP? Another point is that the MacBook is likely to remain the only computer on the market able to stably triple boot OS.X Windows, and Linux which for me is a major reason to buy one although personally I probably will settle for running Windows 2003 and LINUX on some Virtual PC type setup.
Re:Too expensive... (Score:4, Insightful)
Decent support.
I will never, never, never buy Gateway again.
Dell has better support, though not by much.
Re:The MacBook Pro (Score:3, Insightful)
1. OS X is UNIX-based, so we'll install a UNIX-based OS on the Gateway instead of XP Pro. One of my favorites is SuSE, and you can download it for the cost of one DVD-R/DL or five CD-Rs.
2. iWork '06 is not MS Office, which is also available for the Mac. That costs extra. The Gateway comes with MS Works, and that is more equivalent to iWork than MS Office is. Also, you can get Open Office, which is more than equal to Works/iWork for free.
3. Apple either expects people to go immediately buy another matching stick of DDR2-667 or they are not too bright. The Intel 945 chipset supports dual-channel RAM, so that's why you see very few single-module setups (i.e. the 2x256 and 2x512 configurations for the DDR2-667 in the Gateway.)
4. The hard drives are the same: 80GB, 5400rpm SATA.
5. The Gateway has an 8x DVD burner as opposed to the Apple's 4x one. How is that upgraded? Because it loads from a slot and not a tray?
6. You can get a faster Core Duo chip in the Gateway than you can in ANY MacBook.
7. The Mac has a little nicer screen and a GPU that is a teeny bit better. And it has Bluetooth. You can get a $50 Bluetooth module for the Gateway if you wanted one. And webcams are pretty inexpensive too.
So even with a camera and Bluetooh module, you'd still save about $450 over the MacBook. Face it, there's a stiff premium to run OS X and for the Apple name.
Re:The MacBook Pro (Score:3, Insightful)
If price is all you care about, then go to Wal-mart or when Dell or Gateway is having a sale, buy a computer, but all of the other software you need, rinse and repeat in 2 years.
If you want to just get a nice looking, reliable, locally serviceable, notebook and tons of useful software that will last you 4 years or so, buy an Apple notebook.
Its up to you. If you need Linux by your side 24x7 I would go with the cheaper "PC" notebook.
FWIW, the NX560XL has a lower res monitor if that matters to you (not me). XP Pro, which I hear is worth it over home or media (not sure personally) will cost extra or your soul. I doubt the keys are backlit, which is a very nice feature. The new MacBook has a new safety feature that basically eliminates a majority of repairs -- magnetically attached power cord. Although, I've never had an issue with the power cord thing (I'm careful), I believe it might have almost happened once or twice. You're also giving up bluetooth.
There are tradeoffs for every action and inaction. To me, I would spend the extra $500 and get a computer with a better name and rep than a Gateway. Besides the old ones from 1997 or so at work, I don't remember the last time I've seen a Gateway.
Re:Low Resolution (Score:4, Insightful)
A twelve point font should be twelve point, not necessarily twelve pixels. The way it is currently handled, fonts are too small on a 100dpi screen because points are 72dpi, yet operating systems simply render them as 12 pixels high. That makes text techically too small on pretty much any current LCD screen save maybe the 19" SXGA screens.
I want higher resolution not necessarily to show more detail or show more text or have more objects on the screen, but have smoother fonts and UI elements rather than blocky edges.
Re:Gaps (and lack of) in the product line (Score:4, Insightful)
not that slow. rosetta instantly recompiles PPC code to x86, not emulate, so the only true overhead is the compilation, which is the same overhead you get with any runtime such as Java. Also, Apple can simply improve rosetta to include compiler optimizations (well, very very low-level), the same way Transmeta can optimize their internal core to improve x86 execution, with the key distinction that while Transmeta banks its entire corporate strategy on that translation, Apple is simply adopting it as a stop-gap bridge.
Assume Yonah is 2x-4x that of G4 on either Int or FP (let's take Steve's word for it). Take out 20% for the lack of software compiler high-level optimization, and you still beat a native G4 app by a huge margin.
also, if i recall correctly, 68K code was *emulated* on PowerPC-based Macs, not real-time translated.
Re:The MacBook Pro (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:MacBookPro anagram (Score:4, Insightful)
Rico... enough with the dynamite already.
Re:Don't like it (Score:3, Insightful)
Wait... is that Dell a dual pentium M?
Does it have a built in camera? Backlit keyboard? I'm too lazy to look up Dell's site but the whole assertion just seems false on its face.
I'm not saying that's an argument for the cost of the 17" MacBook, but c'mon. Different feature sets cost different amounts. Pay what you can afford. Pay for what you want. I just don't see where (not necessarily you) people come off with this incessant 'omg, it's just sooo expensive, just buy a Dell'.
Everyone knows that if price is your only concern you shop at Dell. Dell has run just about everyone into the ground competing on price. They've won that battle.
Re:Don't like it (Score:3, Insightful)
Pretty far shy of the Core Duo performance, too, though, isn't it?
Re:Windows? (Score:5, Insightful)
Yeah, but at least the retarded kid gets to play F.E.A.R. and Warhammer 40,000:Dawn of War.
While driving the Ferrari.
Or does the metaphor break down at that point?
Re:Indeed (Score:5, Insightful)
Yes, because as everyone knows the Mac has so saturated the market to be near ubiquitous.
Re:macbook pro page http://www.apple.com/macbookpr (Score:3, Insightful)
Just curious why the absence of firewire 800 is such an issue.
I demand better because Apple is better than... (Score:3, Insightful)
* USB robs CPU cycles (yes, I want all of them)
* USB does not chain
* You don't connect DV devices over USB
* USB on-the-go does not bring it to feature parity with FireWire
* USB has nothing on FireWire in terms of bandwidth
I don't buy Macs because they are missing advanced technology. I buy them because they have it by *default*. I get the latest USB and Bluetooth standards. If I am paying $3,000 for a high-end laptop it better damn well have the latest and greatest version of FireWire that cost them $2 to put in.
Re:macbook pro page http://www.apple.com/macbookpr (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:The MacBook Pro (Score:4, Insightful)
By the way loading of a free *nix is not the same thing as a OS that is supported by a company. So if you have a problem with your install who are you going to call for free support? Go ahead and load iTunes and MS Office on your version of *nix and make sure that you have that special MS support number for Office versions running on *nix.
Why are you bothering with using a Gateway computer you can buy barebones laptops and build your own. Hey you can save even more buying an LCD panel and duct taping a small computer to the back of it.
Why don't you compare similar items. An OS with telephone support, an Office package with phone support, built in features that actually work rather then bolt on items that may or may not work, and when you buy your bolt on crap don't go for the lowest price bargain bin trash go with a name brand item.
I am all for OSS but you might as well say the Gateway is a rip off since includes software. You and I might enjoy playing with computers but 99% of computer users are just that users. Any version of *nix is not as good for the average user because of the lack of a support structure.
If I asked my wife to compile something so she can install a program she needs to run she would tell me to kiss her ass as would 99% of the computer users out there. Talk to someone at Best Buy and ask them how many people come in looking to buy a new computer because their old one is full of spyware and they would rather buy a new one then redo the old one. The Gateway and the MacBook are both directed at those users and the MacBook just happens to do the job better. The right tool for the right job I always say.
Re:Don't like it (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm in no hurry for a new laptop at this point, but if the Intel based MacBooks feel like the older Powerbooks I might go that route for the next laptop I buy.
Re:Low Resolution (Score:3, Insightful)
DPI can only be too high if you have text and icons fixed to a given amount of dots.
Re:MacBook ===== Acer Travelmate 8200 (Score:4, Insightful)
Not to mention you don't pay entirely for the components, you pay a lot for the fact the bloody thing just works in harmony with most other things.
Re:Never Microsoft Windows again. (Score:4, Insightful)
I switched FROM Linux (which I was fairly happy with as a longtime user) to OS X about 6 months ago. Comming from Linux - I actually GAINED games that I can play. That being said - around 1995 I switched from Windows to Linux. I just learned to live without Windows specific software. It really does not take much. What gaming I could not do with Linux I substituted with a console. I can see why some people would want to dual boot Linux (I still feel that open source has great merit and the urge to tinker is hard to overcome), but Windows?
To put it another way - WHY would you go out and buy yourself a Mercedes, drive it home happily, then promptly put a nice set of square wheels on it?!?
There is just SOO much crap in the way of viruses and MBR issues that you'd be creating for yourself that would ruin the reason you own a Mac. Why do that to yourself?
Re:Heh (Score:5, Insightful)
The Rumors sites, such as ThinkSecret and MacOSRumors.com, were almost universally wrong this time around.
No new iBook. No Intel mini. No plasma TV's. No "media center" mini. No movie streaming on demand (that was Cringely's guess). None of it.
As of this keynote, Intel chips are going into the iMac and the replacement for the Powerbook... just about the only systems which NOBODY predicted upgrades for.
Looks like Apple managed to plug up the leaks from last year.
Re:Chip Speed (Score:3, Insightful)
"Keep it up, genius.
You know, it was such a good, informative answer - why'd you decide to be an ass about it?
The beginning of the end (Score:2, Insightful)
"Most existing applications will continue to run, thanks to Rosetta. Pro applications from Apple -- including Final Cut Pro, Motion, Soundtrack Pro, DVD Studio Pro, Aperture, Logic Pro, Logic Express, and Final Cut Express -- are not supported by Rosetta. For these applications, you can upgrade to the Universal version for minimal cost (see "Apple Applications" to right). Third-party applications that require precision real-time playback may perform better with a Universal version."
if I am reading this right, apple is saying "go buy our new intel macs, and oh, BTW, our own pro apps require $$$ updates, and other apps may not work"
well, why would I go do this, get a new mac with its intel CPU, then have to pay more $$$$ to make apples own apps run on it
and yes I am a user of the pro apps, plus all sorts of other apps which I have no idea are going to work at all, let alone as well as they currently do on my PPC boxes
another little gem from the same page on apples site http://www.apple.com/rosetta/ [apple.com]
"Rosetta dynamically translates most of your PowerPC-based application to work with your Intel-based Mac. "
note the "most" comment in this one, a real case of butt covering if ever I saw one
now all we need is for the shipping version x86 OSX to be hacked to run on non-apple hardware (if its not already been done), and its the beginning of the end for apple, then comes the very likely "windoze for mac" from the beast, which will reduce apple to iPods, and little else
think about it, why would anyone buy apples hardware when they can run the same software on something much faster, for less $$$
Re:I Call BS (Score:3, Insightful)
Anyway, when I customize the Gateway with Windows XP Pro (+$100), 1 512mb memory module (+$40), a 1400x1050 display matching the MacBook (+$100), an 80gb HD (+$35), and Bluetooth (+$50), the price I end up with is $1625 before shipping and handling (correct me if I'm wrong, but Gateway is mail order only).
That's not including the software bundle that comes with the MacBook, but I'm assuming you already have all the Windows software that does photo, movie, DVD, and website editing? If you don't, that extra cost will easily close the gap between the Gateway and Apple laptops.
Even not considering that, like others have said, I don't think you can compare the quality of a Gateway laptop to the quality of an Apple laptop. And, I own Apple, Gateway, and eMachines hardware (eMachines acquired Gateway from the inside out). I love my AMD64 eMachines laptop, but comparing it's sturdiness and quality to my 15" PowerBook is a joke.
security cable "port" (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:The MacBook Pro (Score:3, Insightful)
Bert
Re:The MacBook Pro (Score:2, Insightful)
You're saying that OSX comes with free telephone support? Besides, SUSE is supported by Novell, or are they not a company?
He's not downloading bits and pieces, he's downloading a complete Linux-distribution, supported by a company, that has telehpone support. Since they support their entire operating system I suspect they support OpenOffice as well. It's very obvious that Mac-fanatics and people that would very much like to kiss Steve Jobs' ass is not very enlightened. Ever heard of YaST? YOU?
Re:macbook pro page http://www.apple.com/macbookpr (Score:3, Insightful)
Because you can't bring a Powermac into a war zone. Or a flood. Or any kind of disaster. Or anywhere where there isn't stable power. I know people who specialize in disaster footage. They get in, shoot it, run back to their camp/Explorer/hotel and edit, and squirt it out to their clients in a matter of two or three hours. (As a side note, they told me that it was pretty strange that in southern Mississippi during Katrina Sprint's cell phone service went down for days in their area, but data stayed up. Go figure.)
That's one application. There's probably others.
Re:macbook pro page http://www.apple.com/macbookpr (Score:2, Insightful)
People in that particular niche can pay for a Firewire 800 card to go in the expansion slot without much trouble.
Re:macbook pro page http://www.apple.com/macbookpr (Score:2, Insightful)
I feel sure that there must be some reason, even if it isn't a very good one. But I can't think of a thing.
Re:The MacBook Pro (Score:2, Insightful)
I don't care much for "MacBook" myself, although I hope the early posters are right, and it builds some "Scottish Laptop" vibe. That will go over well with some of their core constituents. Sigh. For that matter so would, say, "Gemini", which also refers to the Core Duo (Sigh!). Or they could have gone a bit retro with the twin theme:
][Book = "twinbook", or Book][ = "Book Two".
They could even pre-empt the Timbuktu ref with their own ads.
Apple must have cringed when they heard Intel was calling the chip "Duo" anything, with the PB 5xx series lurking back there.
Re:Gaps (and lack of) in the product line (Score:4, Insightful)
The new chips will be out in more machines than just Apple. Why does Apple not release the mini on lower spec processors? Well first off, just because they didn't announce it the *day* they revealed their first Intel machines, doesn't mean it isn't going to happen. Second off, they aren't in the bottom-end business in general. The mini is a transition machine for geeks. It's meant to make OS X appeal to the homebrew crowd, who don't account for many sales, but do generate a lot of buzz. It's an important product, but it's not their top priority. Secondly, the mini is a little engineering feat. There is a very much non-zero cost in assembling a new one and testing it. Their first two machines seem to address the biggest hole in their product line (badly lagging top-end laptop) and the most friendly product for the early adopter crowd (medium cost & big cool factor iMac)
Apple also wants to avoid getting mired in the jargon and infinitely fractured product lines of the PC world. I imagine their negotiations with Intel are a big reason that Yonah isn't being called Pentium-Y etc. I doubt they will ever have more than two processor families going in their active line of computers (2 laptops, 2 desktops + eMac, mini, server)
Thinking that Apple is overly concerned about piracy ignores the company's history of not using any kind of restriction or guard against software copying. Most apple applications STILL can be copied from one computer on a network to another, simply by dragging the application icon. No apple product has ever had a CD Key or anything similar. They're aware of their market and demographics. They sell to professionals and high-end users who don't mind buying software. It's the same reason they can drop support for old OS X releases the moment the new one comes out. Their market doesn't mind paying, and it enables them to push new technologies with a much greater ease than if they had to maintain the roughly 5-year backwards compatibility that Microsoft does. The first time Apple ever had ANY copy control on anything they've done is when they started getting in bed with the media industry. That just goes with that territory, but their power over Apple isn't so great as to affect the design of their computing systems, otherwise you'd have seen much more significant changes to the way things like Appletalk and Safari handle files by now.
Likewise, try to imagine the type of person that would be downloading a torrent of OS X, burning it to a CD, and installing on unsupported and undocumented hardware. That person is not a potential apple customer. They're clearly not willing to fork over the Apple premium (yes it does exist, Apple has nothing in competition with $300 and $400 desktop with monitor and $600 laptops, even though those give performance roughly equivalent -- where it matters to that market anyway -- to the lowest end ibook and the emac and mini) so why should Apple care? Their tech support will hang up as soon as the "customer" says they are on non-apple hardware, it's only a small core of nerds looking to brag about accomplishing something illicit that will be doing this. Mom, Joe Dormroom, Suzy Designer, and Vic Corporate would never bother.
Apple's entire market strategy is about maintaining a large niche with heavy profit margins. I really doubt they want to dominate the PC world. If Apple had Microsoft's market share, they'd have to do things very differently (not for the least of reasons that many of their practices such as hardware exclusivity and software bundling would make Microsoft look angelic in comparason if OS X were the "default" operating system of the masses.
If they *are* making significant product design decisions based on the fear of OS X getting onto some Dell somewhere, then they're fools.
Re:The MacBook Pro (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:PPC compatible?? (Score:3, Insightful)
There is an option to compile for Intel or PPC when developing using X-Code and X-Code uses gcc as a compiler.
Most applications should be fine, more exotic utilities will probably need recompiles, and if they are still being developed it should be a small amount of work for the developer; especially if they arleady make the tool available cross platform.
Re:Something I really like... (Score:3, Insightful)
Well, they've switched to Intel, so it's pretty obvious that Mac would choose to use other aspects of deep-fryer technology.
(Rimshot!)
Re:PowerBook ... MacBook ? PowerMac ... MacMac ? (Score:3, Insightful)
As of MWSF 2007, the product lineup will be:
Mac Pro - MacBook Pro
Mac Mini - MacBook Mini (10" screen)
iMac - iMacBook
possible: MacServe
Re:macbook pro page http://www.apple.com/macbookpr (Score:2, Insightful)
What, $2? $5? When did Apple become Dell / Wal-Mart?
If your line of sight is broken, so is your control. But I did just think of a good reason: battery life.
Re:The MacBook Pro (Score:3, Insightful)
I hope to God you don't work in IT and actually are allowed to make architecture decisions. Hey lets use SUSE cuz it is free and Novell supports it. Wrong blowzo Novell will only support it if you PAY them. Please show me all of the phone numbers for all of the free distributions so I can give them to people when they have a problem.
Find me 1 single company or person that gives free phone support for any free version of *nix. You use something free to make your point and then when your balls are nailed to the door you resort to name calling and see see Novell supports it. So you need to add in the cost of a support contract for a single user copy of SUSE from Novell. What is the cost of that? The online support for *nix is terrible for the non-technical user. The *nix forums are notorious for flaming newbies with what they consider a trivial problem that anyone worthy of using *nix should know.
Oh by the way how does a person that has one computer get on the internet to see how to fix his networking problem that won't let him on the internet. If Yast, rpm, and
You know it is better to be a moron then a fuckhead with a brain the size of his penis like you. As for enlightenment the closest you get to being enlightened is when you pull your head out of your ass once a year to see if winter is over.
Re:Mac PowerBook - PowerPPC = MacBook (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Too expensive... (Score:3, Insightful)
Then there is the software: iLife, OS X, iChat, etc.
Is that worth $450? For some people, definitely.
Re:The MacBook Pro (Score:1, Insightful)
yeah, install SuSe on the thing! That's the ticket and it makes them so equivalent right?
Oh yeah, forgot, Final Cut won't run on SuSE. OOOPS!
Oh yeah, forgot, Photoshop won't run on SuSE. OOOPS!
Oh yeah, forgot, Illustrator won't run on SuSE. OOOPS!
Oh yeah, forgot, After Effects won't run on SuSE. OOOPS!
Oh yeah, forgot, NuEndo won't run on SuSE. OOOPS!
Oh yeah, forgot, Reason won't run on SuSE. OOOPS!
So what the hell am I gonna do? Run a bunch of network apps and say I am cool? I use Linux at work. No thanks. I'd use *nix as a file/web/ftp/etc server, but that's about it. Everything that *I* want to do, you can't do on SuSE. You can do it on Windows (well, except Final Cut - so I have Premiere Pro or Avid), and you can do it on OSX. And PLEASE don't anyone give me that "You can run GIMP, it's just as good as Photoshop" line! That is soooo NOT true. I mean maybe it is if you are doing simple photo editing, or prepping stuff for display on a web page, but GIMP does != Photoshop, sorry. Neither do the free NLEs or Audio Editing Apps. Trust me. Use them as a professional and you'll see the difference. There are 1 or two exceptions for Effects compositing & other software for Linux that are great, but those are NOT free apps.
You're OS analogy is frought with holes, and that's only step #1
Oh yeah, you PAY for XP when you buy a laptop, so you are installing SuSE and NOT saving any money. One could even say that since you are paying for XP in the price, and wiping it and installing SuSE, you are in a sense paying for SuSE.
Then there's that whole support issue...
If I am going to run SuSE on a laptop, I'm getting a cheap $500 or less laptop for it. Why the hell would I want to install SuSE on a dual core laptop? So I can say "Man, I have the FASTEST ftp server around!"
SuSE & other flavors of *nix are great for some things, but for me it's either Windows or the Mac "flavor" of BSD. If I am going to do more basic stuff like get email, surf the web, IM people and use "Office" apps and I want to use any *nix other than OSX I'll get a cheapy laptop. A dual-core like this is just overkill.
Of course, I could be wrong (but in this case I kinda doubt it).
Re:Heh (Score:3, Insightful)
Just five days ago, they were claiming Apple was about to announce 42" and 50" plasma screens for use with "Viiv" at the Keynote.
That's about as valid as the half-dozen or so Slashbots who replied to my post by saying "I said it would probably happen." Sure, out of the thousands of people who like to speculate on Apple's next move, somebody's gotta win the lottery.
My question to all of you who are so proudly claiming to have called it correctly is, how much did you wager on that betting site that Slashdot was telling us about last week? You'd be a rich man today if you actually "predicted" it and had the confidence to put a little money down on it.