Apple Announces New MacBook, Pro, Air 774
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.
Glossy only? (Score:4, Informative)
From what I've been reading on the liveblogs, these new notebooks are available in glossy screens only, even for the MBP. If that's the case, I think a lot of people will be pretty upset.
W
Re:Glossy only? (Score:5, Informative)
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:But all glossy... (Score:5, Informative)
The Mini DisplayPort is downsized from the full sized DVI connector. The Mini DisplayPort can drive everything the big DVI can (30-inch displays).
13" MP (Score:4, Informative)
The new metal 13" macbook is very similar to the pro, just smaller. For a $700 price difference this new model is probably worth it if you don't mind it being a little smaller.
$999 laptop only 1gb of ram? at least it is ddr2 (Score:2, Informative)
$999 laptop only 1gb of ram? at least it is ddr2 and gma video?
The new systems.
$150 to go from 2gb to 4gb of ddr3
Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter $29
Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter $99
Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter $29
Comment removed (Score:5, Informative)
Re:13" MP (Score:5, Informative)
No firewire on the MacBook (non-Pro) (Score:3, Informative)
See the tech specs: http://www.apple.com/macbook/specs.html [apple.com]
Re:13" MP (Score:2, Informative)
And with a slower CPU (2.0ghz vs 2.4ghz on the lower model), no secondary GPU 9600M GT, and no expresscard slot.
Re:$999 laptop only 1gb of ram? at least it is ddr (Score:2, Informative)
You're looking at the price of RAM from the Apple store, right? It's a ripoff, buy it from somewhere else and put it in yourself. Most Apple-fanboy forums will even give this advice, and it's easy enough that non-technical people don't have problems following the directions to upgrade their own RAM.
Re:First post? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:But all glossy... (Score:5, Informative)
The Mini DisplayPort is downsized from the full sized DVI connector. The Mini DisplayPort can drive everything the big DVI can (30-inch displays).
...if you buy the $30 adapter for it.
Re:Refurb Price Drops! (Score:5, Informative)
Yesterday a refurb (current generation) 15.4" MBP was $1699 (Discounted from $1999). Right now it's at $1349.
Multitouch, matte screen, etc.
Store.apple.com.
Refurbed Macs (Lower left)
Scroll down.
Re:ugh (Score:3, Informative)
To be sure, -you- hate the glossy screen. However, if Dell/HP/Toshiba et. al. are any indication, the market as a whole prefers the glossy screens.
So Apple makes laptops with glossy screens. Good luck finding new laptops without them from ANY maker.
Re:Uneven coverage? (Score:5, Informative)
Start? As the saying goes, you must be new here. I'm sure at least some of these made fp:
http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/04/16/1246240&from=rss [slashdot.org]
http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/05/30/1540203 [slashdot.org]
http://mobile.slashdot.org/mobile/08/08/19/1222226.shtml [slashdot.org]
http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/04/16/1246240&from=rss [slashdot.org]
http://mobile.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/09/04/1953225&from=rss [slashdot.org]
http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/02/21/2036240&from=rss [slashdot.org]
http://mobile.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/08/12/0518244&from=rss [slashdot.org]
So, in answer to your question, nothing will change. We will continue to get whatever stories happen to be in the geek press posted to the front page (sometimes more than once!), and people with axes to grind will continue to whine that Slashdot is either giving too much attention to the target of their derision, or not enough to their platform of choice.
Re:guess how many mouse buttons it has (Score:5, Informative)
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.
Re:Glossy only? (Score:1, Informative)
CRTs are prone to convergence issues. There's no way you can rely on the border being the same as the center. The further from the middle you get the worse it gets, the bigger the screen, the worse it gets. Unless you're spending an hour each day recalibrating, you're not going to get consistent coloring over the full screen, unless you are limiting to a single R G or B gun.
Re:Glossy only? (Score:1, Informative)
As I sit on the fourth floor of the engineering building, with its floor to ceiling windows, and the sun pouring in, I am left thanking $DEITY that my thinkpad has a matte screen. If it had one of these terrible glossy screens, I would be viewing myself and the brilliantly lit wall behind me instead of slashdot.
Re:media (Score:5, Informative)
Yeah, especially since steel is softer than glass. D'oh!
Since when?
Glass is about a 5.5 on the Mohs scale.
Steel ranges from 5.5 to 7 depending on the alloy.
Re:But all glossy... (Score:5, Informative)
Display Port is the new industry standard. All the new HPs laptops are coming with Display Port.
Re:But all glossy... (Score:5, Informative)
HDMI has patents and licensing involved. That's why almost no PC maker is using it.
Display Port is a free industry standard.
Re:No firewire on the MacBook (non-Pro) (Score:3, Informative)
Not only that, but without FireWire mode, you can't boot as the target firewire drive.
This comes in handy in many troubleshooting instances.
Now the only way to do user migration wizard would be via the ethernet. Not very useful if your macbook won't boot in the first place.
I guess they're relying on TimeMachine to be the primary rescue method of the future.
I can't complain about that, I guess, I've successfully used it on a few occasions.
MacBook has no FireWire anymore. (Score:1, Informative)
Someone please tag this article as either !firewire or macbooklacksfirewire, please... Lack of FireWire is unacceptable, in my opinion.
Of course, if I were to replace my laptop now, I'd get a Pro anyways, cause that's what I currently have.
Um, are you sure? (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Want! (Score:3, Informative)
Unless you have ideological reasons for preferring Linux to Mac OS X why would you care if Linux runs on it or not? OS X is Unix and will run all the same software Linux will run.
Re:Argh... (Score:2, Informative)
Yeah, I used a mighty mouse for a month when I started a new job that only has Mac workstations.
I now have generic USB two-button mouse w/wheel that works.
It's another form over function problem with Apple peripherals.
Re:Glossy only? (Score:3, Informative)
FWIW, every user I know hates the glossy display on their laptop as well. Unfortunately there's no choice in the matter. I've never seen *one* who liked it better than a matte one.
Re:13" MP (Score:3, Informative)
firewire gives better performance than USB for otherwise identical drives.
No doubt. Firewire gets very close to its advertised speeds for sustained throughput. USB advertised speeds are peak throughput, not sustained--they do very poorly when trying to pass a lot of data across that bus.
I browsed over to bestbuy.com to look at their drive offerings. They have 68 drives which are USB-only, and 23 drives which have Firewire connections (and all of those also had USB--combined with a smattering of other multi-BUS drives, there are 97 drives supporting USB.)
All things being equal, I'd prefer the higher throughput of Firewire, however I also have to consider versatility. Every computer I have to touch has a USB port. Only a couple of them have Firewire.
Re:Incorrect. Macs can boot from USB (Score:4, Informative)
Re:But all glossy... (Score:2, Informative)
Look again. Sure, $30 will get you a DVI adaptor, but if you want dual link (for that 30") you need the $100 model...
Re:meh (Score:3, Informative)
I agree video adaptors are annoying, but DisplayPort is a step in the right direction -- it's not something that Apple invented, and it's becoming available on Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, etc. systems and displays as well.
So at the very least you won't be stuck buying Apple-produced adaptors or having the adaptor only work with one model of laptop.
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/en/WF06c/A10-51210-64268-348724-64268-3769762-3769763-3769765.html [hp.com]
Re:meh (Score:4, Informative)
I've got MBP 17" now. I like it. They are dropping that size.
Not according to the Q&A or apple store. It just doesn't get the update that you seem so "meh" on. You should consider that a win.
-Ted
Re:No firewire on the MacBook (non-Pro) (Score:4, Informative)
I think DV camcorders using firewire are on their way out. True, I have an old Sony TRV-730 that needs a firewire connection... but one big reason iMovie got a major re-write last year was to support the new video formats all these camcorders use that have internal hard drive or flash memory storage.
Every one of those I've seen is connecting up via USB, not firewire.
Re:No 3g? (Score:2, Informative)
HDMI DisplayPort (Score:3, Informative)
Definitely a known problem--hence the redesign (Score:5, Informative)
Dented and flexed cases in the AL Powerbooks and Macbook Pros are a pretty well known problem. Drop it just right onto concrete or tile, even from a pretty short height, and you might find yourself with a big dent or an unusable optical drive. This is an unfortunate side effect of using such thin, stamped AL for the case.
This is a big reason they redesigned the case. The 3-D milling allows very precise placement of material, which should produce a stiffer case for the same weight. But also take a look at how they designed the case. The bottom half used to be a single "tub" of aluminum, with a separate piece for the "deck." Now the sides are attached to the deck, with a separate piece for the very bottom surface. This creates stronger corners, and an easily-replacable bottom surface if a dent does occur.
Also, take a look at where they put the optical bay. This is one of the weakest parts of the structure because it's a big hole in the sidewall. Again, the milling should allow them to thicken the border of the disc port a bit, to stiffen it up. And it's placed directly over the battery, which is one of the strongest and most solid parts of the computer.
I think the new design should be a lot more resistant to stupid dings and expensive fixes.
Re:But all glossy... (Score:5, Informative)
It gets worse: The adapter capable of running the 30" display is $99, not $30.
The $30 adapter is only capable of running 1920x1200
http://store.apple.com/us/search?find=displayport [apple.com]
Re:Incorrect. Macs can boot from USB (Score:3, Informative)
He said target mode. That's where your Mac pretends it's an external hard drive. It's really handy in some circumstances, particularly when you get a new computer. Just wire the two of them together, click go and let them talk for a couple hours. Bang - your new computer is a clone of your old one.
You're about two years behind the times (Score:4, Informative)
No serious colorimetric work is yet being done with LCDs
Well I'm a Very Serious Photographer With Color Managed Systems, and I can tell you you're full of hooey.
There are a number of Serious [eizo.com] LCD monitors now, some with advanced features like wide gamuts, and good enough viewing angles so that you can move side to side within at least the range of the monitor and see no shift.
What you said might have been true about two years ago, but the industry has moved well beyond all Serious work being done on CRT's these days.
I'm a sysadmin in a design agency (Score:5, Informative)
Where I work we have 45 Macs. Of those 35 people have now switched to plain jane Logitech LX optical mice because the Apple mouse is so spectacularly bad. People get wrist cramps having permanently hold the left finger away when right clicking, the shape of the mouse is painful for many of them over time, and to top it all, the little scroll ball invariably gunks up with finger sweat and dirt after a while and you can only clean it so many times before the ball wears away and no longer maintains contact to the little slide wheels inside the mouse.
The Apple mouse is a terrible product, and its bluetooth pendant is even worse. the battery life is so bad that most people who have ehm and use them every day have to replace the batteries about once a month. I switched long ago to a Logitech LX-7 wireless which has used the same set of batteries for about 8 months.
I like Apple's products, and even own a Mac Pro tower myself, but I get really tired of people praising every thing Apple does simply because it's Apple.
Re:But all glossy... (Score:4, Informative)
..if you buy the $30 adapter for it..
NO. It seems Apple's now 24" monitor has a matching mini size connector. No adapor needed if you buy the two together.
Someone asked Jobs "why not HDMI". Answer was that the HDMI ca't drive the 30" display. Turns out HDMI was only designed with TV in mind and big computer monitors have much higher resolution than TVs
Yes, glossy is not good at all if you are a pro photographer or a graphic artist working with print media. But Apple sees the numbers: There are more people who use the computer as an entertainment console than there are graphic professionals. They want to sell to the larger numbers
Re:Glossy only? Agreed! (Score:5, Informative)
I work with several professional photographers as a consultant. I can assure you that glossy displays DO NOT work as well subjectively for most photographers and other artists using LCD displays. Some photographers still insist on using CRTs because of those subjective preferences.
You can bake the numbers all you want, but if the palette and contrast don't feel right for photographers - many of which started using Photoshop to work with Tango-scanned film images - they will not touch it. Consistency, not gimmicks, are key for these folks.
These are not gear queers running out to compare the specs on the newest whoosy-whatsit, but artists who are extremely picky about their equipment. Here's what they tell me they HATE about glossy displays:
-Extreme brightness on glossy displays = extreme contrast. It's harder to believe you're looking at a calibrated 2.2 gamma when your "superbrite" glossy LCD display has such a massive contrast ratio.
-Working in neutrally-painted, darkened rooms is optimal. When you turn these superbright LCDs down to achieve a reasonable brightness for a darkened room, the glare and reflections from the glossy panel are distracting. Turn it back up, and it takes you several seconds to a minute to see where you're going.
-The higher brightness leads to colors looking more saturated, which sells with consumers. Most pros I talk to HATE it. Photographers who rely on a muted palette and who work in color managed workflows can't tell what's going to roll out of their printer with displays like the iMac's glossy LED display - the colors seem too contrasty and saturated, so everything gets dialled down too far.
That's my experience. Pros hate these damned displays.
Re:Glossy only? Agreed! (Score:5, Informative)
Glossy screens are just not acceptable for the calibration and perception standards
Oh, come on. You seriously maintain that you cannot calibrate the color output of a glossy display? Do you even know what the only physical difference between the two is?
Let me inform you, since you probably do not. There is literally no difference in any of the elements which significantly affect the spectrum of the emitted light. In a LCD display, those would be the backlight, the LCD subpixel intensity filters, and the color filter. All these components are 100% identical between a glossy and non glossy display. The one and only different component is that a matte display has a surface roughening treatment (or coating) on the outermost glass layer to provide some scattering.
Scattering does two things, one desirable and one undesirable. The desirable part is that it greatly reduces the intensity of reflections of other things in a room (especially light sources). It's hard to see a reflected image when the light is reflected in a ton of different directions by the rough surface.
The undesirable part is that it does the same thing to the image being displayed. And that's why people like glossy displays: the colors can be much more saturated (matte displays have a bit of a whiteout effect) and the display is brighter given identical backlights (scattering sends a lot of the light output off in random directions).
Re:Refurb Price Drops! (Score:3, Informative)
And i got a refurb MacBook this spring (2.2 Ghz C2D, 4 GB RAM, 120 GB HD and 2 and a half years of AppleCare - i'll sell it to you for $1000 so i can get a new one!) and haven't had a single issue.
I'll see your random antictdote and raise you AppleCare!
Re:But all glossy... (Score:4, Informative)
BTW: This has been the case for Mac laptops (especially the Macbooks) for the last few years... they have all had mini-DVI ports on them that needed a dongle to output VGA.
Even the Macbook Pro only had a DVI port on it and needed a dongle to output VGA (which it came with).
My whole group at work uses nothing but Mac Laptops... it is pretty funny when someone forgets their dongle... but there's always someone around that has one (I carry two actually, just in case I leave one somewhere while on a business trip).
Anyway... my point is that this isn't a new situation...
Friedmud
Re:Tilt. Tilt. Tilt. Tilt. (Score:3, Informative)
The new trackpads actually click. As in the whole trackpad moves down like a button. It's not tap to click.
Re:media (Score:4, Informative)
This is misleading. Glossy screens DO have better color saturation and CAN offer better color gamut as a result. They also have better contrast.
A matte anti-reflection coating works by diffusing the light so that point sources, backlight bleed, other pixels all reflect from the surface everywhere--the result is a loss of contrast. Many graphics arts people will tell you glossy "sux". They are just parroting what they learned in vague terms: "don't buy glossy" No further explanation.
Most people I know who don't like glossy, disliked it after learning that it wasn't 'professional'. Well here is a secret: glossy is bad for press work because CYMK ink processes cannot achieve the same color saturation as the screen. So if you have 24b or 18b or whatever color, you distribute your dynamic range over a color-space that isn't usable in print. Which means: 1) you can more easily pick impossible colors (if you don't rigorously use gamut checks) and 2) the colorimetric distance between any two colors on your display is further (more gamut) therefore less fine distinction.
#2 matters if you're trying to say match skin tone. #2 also matters if you try to color calibrate the screen. The closer together your color-steps are the easier it is calibrate (lots of precision), but a glossy screen has bigger steps between colors (covers more color space) and thus cheapo calibration equipment and software fails to converge. This especially true if the LCD panel (not the coating) is cheap 6b/channel.
Last, glossy is really bad for windows. In windows, everything is assumed to be sRGB color-space (wrong) unless you are in photoshop. Your screen has more gamut, more saturation, but windows does not do color-space translation on its own. Ergo: all your colors are slightly wrong in every program but photoshop (or equivalent). On MacOS, color-space translation is available in many more programs thanks to the OS
.
Re:Glossy only? Agreed! (Score:5, Informative)
Contrast has nothing what so ever do with gamma. A CRT has a contrast ratio in the 10000-100000:1 range.
Glossy LCDs use coatings which originated with CRTs. Its the same technology evolved. A CRT and a glossy LCD have similar glare properties. If you clients are having glare problems, they need to be using a hood.
Glossy screens are not any brighter than matte. Their contrast comes from having a better black-level, i.e., less diffuse glare from the environment. "Color saturation" is how much "white" is mixed into color. Matte screens have worse saturation because they mix in (diffuse) more environmental "white" light.
This point is the closest to being right. Glossy screens have a more different color-space relative to CYMK ink processes than matte screens. But any good software, such as photoshop, has the ability to highlight gamut errors. The remaining trouble is that the in gmaut color-space is compressed because the display's color-space is larger.
The real problem is that 8b/color channel is not enough for modern wide-gamut displays such those you can make using LED backlights and glossy anti-glare coatings. Photographers near universal failure to understand the technical situation and speak-up means that their needs are wholly under-represented, and many of the new color-professional wide-gamut products are unusable due the colorimetric distances being too far given 8b/color channel.
Have you tried editing DVD-camera content? (Score:4, Informative)
Shame the MB doesn't have an Expresscard slot to add firewire. Does seem a major omission in a media laptop.
Re:But all glossy... (Score:1, Informative)
Actually, for 30" displays you need the dual-link-DVI adapter for 100$, which
will also take one of the sparse USB ports (for power).
Re:Have you tried editing DVD-camera content? (Score:2, Informative)
Wrong. DV uses intraframe compression (DCT) vs. interframe compression codecs such as MPEG2.