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Apple Announces New MacBook, Pro, Air

Posted by kdawson on Tue Oct 14, 2008 01:58 PM
from the must-have dept.
Portables (Apple) Businesses Hardware Apple
Steve Jobs just got through announcing new MacBook lines in Cupertino. The MacBook, the Pro, and the Air all got revved. The old line of plastic-body MacBooks drops in price by $100, to $999. The new MacBooks have a metal body and multi-touch trackpad, just like the new Pros. The Pro features two NVidia graphics chips. Quoting Jobs: "With the 9400M, you get 5 hours of battery life, with the 9600M GT you get four hours of battery life. You choose." In summary: "We're building both [MacBook and Pro] in a whole new way. From a slab of aluminum to a notebook. New graphics. New trackpad, the best we've ever built. And LED-backlit displays that are far brighter, instant on, far more environmentally responsible." They are shipping today and should be in stores tomorrow. Oh, and one more thing: Steve's blood pressure is 110/70.
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Apple Announces New MacBook, Pro, Air 25 Comments More /

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  • First post? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by line-bundle (235965) on Tuesday October 14 2008, @02:00PM (#25371761) Homepage Journal

    It's amazing how AAPL stock drops after an announcement.

    Buy on rumor. sell on fact.

  • Dual Video Cards? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by 0100010001010011 (652467) on Tuesday October 14 2008, @02:16PM (#25371979)

    Is anyone's interest peaked by the new dual video cards? Especially with OpenCL [wikipedia.org] possibly being the 'next big thing'. I'd be very interested in Photoshop CS4 benchmarks too.

    Second, is this the next big competitive 'edge' (now that everything is dual core). Apple was one of the first companies to put dual processors in consumer products. I remember debating between a Dual 800 MHz or a Single 866 when I went to college and ended up spending the extra on the dual. I swore to myself then that I'd never go back to a single processor. Now everything is dual core, dual processor, quad core, etc.

  • gestures (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 14 2008, @02:27PM (#25372165)

    Ok, so first it was 1 finger, then 2, then 3, and now finally 4. What's next, fisting?

    (Yes, I know I am a terrible person, why do you ask?)

    • Re:Glossy only? (Score:5, Informative)

      by VValdo (10446) on Tuesday October 14 2008, @02:03PM (#25371809)

      Answering my own query [engadget.com]:

      11:01AM Q: Concern about the glossy screens. Are you going to offer another option?
      A: Steve: We're going all glass -- we won't offer another version. Phil: You offset the reflection by the brightness, and consumers love it. One of the great things about a notebook is you can turn it however you want!

      Uh, yeah. Great. Guess I'm keeping my matte for a while.

      W

      • Re:Glossy only? (Score:5, Informative)

        by falcon5768 (629591) <<ten.tsacmoc> <ta> <8675noclaF>> on Tuesday October 14 2008, @02:11PM (#25371919) Journal
        be ready though, even Dell is dropping their matte options. Pretty soon none of the laptops will have it.

        • Re:Glossy only? (Score:5, Interesting)

          by Utini420 (444935) on Tuesday October 14 2008, @02:26PM (#25372133)

          Why?
          I'm not trolling, honest question. Why are so many manufacturers going to glossy LCDs? Cheaper to build, what? 'Cause every end user I support hates the things. Except one, and he always likes to be different anyway.

          What benefit, real or imagined, do hardware makers think/believe/want us to believe, is to be had from glossy screens?

          • media (Score:5, Interesting)

            by Reality Master 201 (578873) on Tuesday October 14 2008, @02:31PM (#25372221) Journal

            A lot of people use their laptops as portable media players - watching movies on the couch, looking at pictures, etc. Glossy screens give the impression of better colors for that kind of use, so they're increasingly used in laptops in the consumer market.

            I'm kinda disappointed to read about this, frankly. I'd at least like the option to not have one, cause they're fucking terrible.

            • Re:media (Score:5, Funny)

              by Henneshoe (987210) on Tuesday October 14 2008, @02:44PM (#25372439)
              Go ahead and buy a glossy screen. On the way home stop by the grocery store and pick up some steel wool. Rub the screen with the steel wool and Voila!! A beautiful matte screen.

              Note: your results may vary.

          • Re:Glossy only? (Score:5, Interesting)

            by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 14 2008, @02:45PM (#25372455)

            I personally love my glossy screen and would never again consider a matte option.

            For one, glossy screens are easier to clean. With laptops, it's somewhat inevitable that the screen will get fingerprints on it. With a matte screen, you need a specific wipe/spray to clean. My glossy display cleans easily with a damp paper towel. Glossy screens also showcase vibrant colors better than matte screens. This is probably why so many manufacturers are pushing glossy...under the right conditions, stuff just looks better on a glossy screen. But I would bet that Apple is moving to glossy in preparation for laptops where the screen is touch-sensitive (ala iPhone/iPod).

            And having used one for the past year, the glare issue is really a red herring. I don't notice it. In fact I find the glossy screens more usable in sunlight conditions since they appear brighter than the matte. I actually find it really hard to believe your statement, "every end user I support hates the things" based on my experience. It's really hard to fathom that anyone who has actually used a glossy display for any serious amount of time wouldn't prefer it to a matte display.

      • Re:Glossy only? (Score:5, Interesting)

        by pz (113803) on Tuesday October 14 2008, @02:19PM (#25372027) Journal

        Mr. Graphic Designer wants older matte screens because they supposedly reproduce colors better (the same reason they held onto CRTs well after LCDs debuted).

        I'm Mr. Dabbles in Graphic Design Person. You need to remove the "supposedly" in your statement above, especially when it comes to CRTs vs LCDs. High end LCDs are almost as good as decent CRTs, mostly because LCDs significantly change color with viewing angle. When you're worried about graphic design or photography, getting the color right is really important, and even slight color shifts are unacceptable.

        I'm also Mr. Professional Visual Neuroscientist Who Does Some Colorimetric Work. No serious colorimetric work is yet being done with LCDs for the very same reason: a green dot needs to be exactly the same green whether it's presented in the middle of the screen or at the edge. With CRTs that's the case. With LCDs, assuming the viewing position is the same, the viewing angle changes slightly between those two screen locations, and the color is altered.

        I had cause to use a glossy screen laptop recently. Couldn't wait to get rid of it, as I was distracted by my own reflection, or a reflection of the things behind me, or the lights, or whatever else was at the right (or wrong?) angle. Until LCD screens get some really good antiglare coating, matte is the way to go.

        • Re:Glossy only? (Score:5, Insightful)

          by SilentChris (452960) on Tuesday October 14 2008, @02:27PM (#25372157) Homepage

          Simple question: do you think Apple is marketing the new Macbooks for Mr. Joe Collegestudent or Mr. Professional Visual Neuroscientist Who Does Some Colorimetric Work?

          Apple spends 9/10 of their time marketing. Always hasl. Mr. Professional Visual Neuroscientist Who Does Some Colorimetric Work arguably won't get the laptop marketed for its Word processing and gaming use.

    • Re:13" MP (Score:5, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 14 2008, @02:12PM (#25371925)
      Unless you need Firewire, in which case you're up a creek sans paddle. Typical Apple, a couple steps forward, one step back, one step to the side. Never end up exactly where you want to be.

    • Re:guess how many mouse buttons it has (Score:5, Informative)

      by LostCauz (121686) on Tuesday October 14 2008, @02:31PM (#25372219)

      The glass trackpad *is* the buttons, and not like tapping to do a click.

      It works in a similar way to the ipod wheel, the corners move down when you press it. Watch the video on the macbook page. I was afraid of that too, but it really is quite nice.

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