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.
Boring (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Glossy only? (Score:4, Interesting)
Not really. Apple's marketshare has switched from Mr. Graphic Designer to Joe Collegestudent. Mr. Graphic Designer wants older matte screens because they supposedly reproduce colors better (the same reason they held onto CRTs well after LCDs debuted). Joe Collegestudent wants "popping" colors for photos, deeper blacks, etc. In other words, they want their computers to be modeled after consumer devices like LCD TVs -- they could care less about color reproduction.
Me, personally, I like the glossy screens. My laptop purchases are purely for home use where I look at photos, watch movies and play games. I think most of Apple's buyers are similar in their interests now.
If you want a matte screen, there's plenty of other laptops choose from. Apple wouldn't be selling new laptops with glossy screens if the old ones weren't selling reasonably well.
Re:First post? (Score:3, Interesting)
Dual Video Cards? (Score:5, Interesting)
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.
Re:Glossy only? (Score:5, Interesting)
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:Dual Video Cards? (Score:3, Interesting)
Airport was one of the first Consumer 802.11b solutions. Apple provided both the Base Station (router) and their wireless card.
Gigabit ethernet still isn't on most computers you buy from anywhere else.
iSight built in, don't all the new Dells have this?
Even if no one cares about Apple shit or shiny new over priced products. Expect somethings you've heard today to trickle down into every other brand.
Re:Glossy only? (Score:5, Interesting)
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?
Style over function in announcements (Score:3, Interesting)
The thing that bothers me is that the metallic body announcement is somehow the big headline on most of the news sites, while the announcements of trackpad changes and specs seem to take a backseat. It really emphasizes that Apple wants to appeal to style possibly even more than function.
I'm sure that angle works, as it's now "hip" to own Apple products, but it concerns me that we may start seeing more flash than substance in Apple product lines, which would be a big disappointment since they've been known to be innovators in functionality in the past.
17-inch MBP still with 8600M (Score:3, Interesting)
From the Q&A [engadget.com]:
According to the Apple Store [apple.com], it already has a "New" flag, but the graphics card still is the old 8600M instead of the new 9600M.
media (Score:5, Interesting)
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:Glossy only? (Score:5, Interesting)
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:But all glossy... (Score:3, Interesting)
meh (Score:4, Interesting)
* I've got MBP 17" now. I like it. They are dropping that size.
* I don't like the new "partial tapered" (their term) or "puffy" (my term) lid.
* I don't like the black bezel inside the lid. Match the whole case.
* I hate the fugly new keyboards that feel and look like IBM PCjr chicklet.
* I don't care if it's magnetic or a button to pop the lid.
* I don't care if there's a slot visible on the front.
* I don't like having to carry yet another kind of custom one-use rat tail to put my laptop on someone else's cheap VGA-style projector.
* I don't like losing a Firewire port. All the little RAID cabinets like Firewire.
* I do wish my MBP had heat sensors on the graphics system; the processor sensors are sometimes midrange while the graphics head is starting to exhibit heat-induced artifacts. When running clamshell I have to run it on top of a cooling tray device or crank the internal fans to 3000rpm.
* I do wish they'd fix the runaway-syslogd problem in Leopard. I have read all the howtos and forum lists, nothing but a 15min cronjob to kill it is helping.
* I do wish they'd fix the too-many-hd-resets problem in Leopard, if I leave the machine on overnight with little disk activity, my drive will reset itself to a state it won't spin up again. Everything RAM-resident runs, but more and more processes go zombie when the disk doesn't spin up.
With all this preoccupation about flash and gloss in the hardware, there is a growing list of software problems. Return to the basics.
Re:Is the new case going to be more durable? (Score:3, Interesting)
Almost no other laptop would have survived such a drop. There are a few industrial-ish laptops like the Toughbooks. Otherwise, you are lucky your hard drive works and your LCD didn't crack. Be thankful.
I have a MBP that survived a heft fall in my cushioned backpack. Slightly dented. I can't imagine any plastic case would have survived it. Not to mention the fact that the MBP is very light for its size.
Re:Glossy only? (Score:3, Interesting)
It'd be really nice if there was a laptop for people who actually need a mobile computer to work with instead of an oversized portable DVD player. "You can position laptops any way you want" is useless when virtually all positions you can face end up with the reflection of something bright blinding you (and a window on a sunny day is most probably brighter than the LCD backlight).
Make's Take (Score:2, Interesting)
The billet aluminum construction allows Apple to have the case made from almost any competent CNC shop. Thought they were extruding the material to rough the size for savings, the dimension could also be cut from plate. This means that Apple is no longer stuck with a single-source for cases. Stamped and bent fussy parts and custom dies are not needed. Minor product changes, such as adding bosses/riser can be done on the fly.
The inside of the case could have been milled using a ball mill which would have introduced radii that would keep the thick/thin area transitions from failure when there is a fall.
In the future, they may be able to add more support for a tougher case. Still, I still would not want to drop a new Macbook pro.
The radius on the edge of the case should have a larger radius to be more comfortable, but also to minimize that sharp edge as a wear indicator. Ives is good, but like everyone else--not perfect, someone needs to know when and when not to question him.
The better graphic chip in the Macbook means that It can finally run graphic applications, and the change may have something to do with Nvidia Cuda support in applications such Photoshop--bearing down on product design. It also means that Macbooks may be able to run FinalCut, or have enough graphic power to play and edit home movies from their AVCHD digital camcorder.
I am saddened by the exclusion of a matte screen. While it is a personal preference, I feel that glossy screens do not work well in indoor/outdoor environments such as coffeeshops. To watch Apple's own product design videos, is to see the glare for yourself.
I am uncertain whether or not there is a interference coating on the screen. Adding a second piece of glass could add 5% transmission loss per service, meaning 10% if the glass is not interference coated. This means a brighr backlight setting, and the loss of batter life. The expansive glass on the screen goes close to the edges, meaning that a 3mm dent in the lid will probably shatter the cover glass. I reason that the older Macbook Pro would survive that damage, and the new ones would not.
Brenda Make
Re:First post? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Argh... (Score:5, Interesting)
No it can't. It can tell which fingers are touching it. But it cannot tell the difference between pressing with your right finger or your left finger if both fingers are in contact. To perform a right click with the Mighty Mouse you have to lift up with your left finger and click with the right.
I didn't believe you so I grabbed my mighty mouse and right clicked: worked fine, no issue. Then I realized that my left finger was slightly lifted. I actually had to concentrate to keep my left finger down while I right clicked to see the issue you are complaining about.
Re:Tilt. Tilt. Tilt. Tilt. (Score:3, Interesting)
Funnily enough Apple have thought of that. When you tap the trackpad to produce a click, the mouse pointer doesn't move. So, no, there s no "tap to click in the wrong place".
Re:Glossy only? (Score:3, Interesting)
Amen! I bought a test-laptop with gloss by accident a few years ago. OK, it was cheap one, but I would never ever do it again.
Re:Tilt. Tilt. Tilt. Tilt. (Score:3, Interesting)
My fingers are defective then, because I had this problem on my MBP until I got a third party program that let me use corner taps instead. It's still not perfect, but it works better for me... and a lot cheaper than replacing my fingers.
Re:Glossy only? Agreed! (Score:3, Interesting)
I have the matte finish Macbook Pro right now, but I've gone to glossy displays for all of my new LCD monitor purchases, and am now going to order a new MB Pro - glossy screen and all.
The only people I really hear throwing huge fits about this are the self-proclaimed "pro photography" set, who claim they can't do accurate color comparisons without their matte displays.
To them, I say:
1. You couldn't do them anyway on most LCD matte finish laptop screens, when they weren't even accurately displaying all 16.7 million colors in the spectrum at all.
2. If you're fighting the glare issue, you're working in sub-optimal conditions that aren't conducive to anything as tedious as color matching and photo touch-up work! Consider it your warning that you need to change your surroundings before continuing your work ... not a reason to get a different display.
And BTW, not all "glossy" displays are created equal, either. I recently tried out a glossy finish Acer 22" LCD panel that everyone describes as more of a "semi gloss" look.
Dueling Anecdotes (Score:4, Interesting)
And having used one for the past year, the glare issue is really a red herring. I don't notice it.
That's great that it doesn't bother you, and I think it's fine that people who for whatever reason don't seem to mind glare can buy glossy screens, but the tone of your post is so dismissive of the genuine problems people have with glossy screens that it's bordering on insulting.
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.
For a bit over two months this year I was borrowing laptops while mine broke, including a MacBook. They had glossy screens. I absolutely hate them. I suppose you can argue that 2 months for 8-14 hours per day of use isn't a "serious amount of time", but you'd be wrong.
Re:media (Score:5, Interesting)
I thought that glossy screens were an absolutely awful idea when I first heard of them. But after seeing and using them for a while, I now find them to be a far better choice.
Remember, the difference between matte and glossy is now how much glare the screen reflects, just how sharply focused that glare is. With a glossy screen, if you're sitting at the wrong angle, you get a big bright unusable glare. But if you adjust that angle even very slightly, the glare goes away _completely_.
A matte screen, on the other hand, is the hedging approach. There's no single point at which the glare is really awful... and there's no point at which the glare goes away entirely. You're just averaging the glare over all possible angles.
Given how painless it is to nudge a laptop one way or the other by a couple of degrees, I'm now much happier with the option to have no glare whatsoever, rather than just constant not-too-terrible glare. It's a little weird actually seeing true black on a laptop screen in a lit room, but I assure you that it's refreshing.
Re:Argh... (Score:3, Interesting)
How funny! I wonder if you subconsciously trained to do that after getting a Mighty Mouse, or if you just do it anyway. If a lot of people do this subconsciously it would explain why there are so many people out there who don't think it's horrible.
Re:Glossy only? (Score:4, Interesting)
And having used one for the past year, the glare issue is really a red herring. I don't notice it.
well, having used a macbook for the past year, I strongly refute that. The glare is a huge issue. Colours look great... unless theres a light source other than the laptop in the room (and dont even bother trying to use it outside or near a window), then there's glare so you tilt the screen and the colours distort. perhaps thats an issue with the shitty lcds they put in macbooks. the powerbook I had before it had far better viewing angles, whereas the macbook doesnt require much tilting for the colours to change and the contrast between light colours to disappear (for example the grey comment box outlines on slashdot "disappear"). the glossy screen has been the deciding factor for me that when I eventually replace the laptop I was going to buy from the mbp range JUST for the matte screen. and now they've taken away that option :(
Re:Style over function in announcements (Score:5, Interesting)
I think you've missed the point then.
The new metallic body has all sorts of "function" in it. It's lighter AND stronger at the same time. I don't know about you, but have you ever picked up a cheap plastic dell? Next time you do, hold it from the two ends and give it a twist. It'll scare you. Now try that with the old Macbook Air (the first laptop to use this unibody design).
Doesn't twist does it?!
I'm more than willing to pay a little extra for that "style" (or "function" to some people .. like me!)
That's just 1 example. Was MagSafe just stylish too? Ask my brother-in-law and his wife how many times that magsafe saved their laptops with their two kids running around the house.
It's quite obvious to me, and I'm surprised by the inability of slashdot'ers today to "think" about it. Apple now uses commodity hardware. You can get the same crap in a Dell right? So how on earth would they differentiate themselves by just playing the specs game? They can't. And it doesn't maker any sense to. There are umpteen companies that already do. What they do is innovate AROUND those standard parts when they construct a consumer device.
Hence, you get things like MagSafe and Glass trackpad (which I'm super excited about, because if it's anything like my iPhone, I'm gonna love it) and now the unibody!
If another person compares a Dell to this, I'm gonna puke. Seriously, until you find a Dell with the above features, please don't bother. If you're too cheap to pay for the extra features, then great, just say so, don't try to convince me that your $200 cheaper Dell is the same, cuz trust me, in a day to day usage test, it'll fail more epically (is that even a word?) than you can imagine.
P.S. Have you ever seen the design of the Apple power brick with the interchange prongs/cord? If you haven't. That alone is worth the price difference. Why other laptop manufactures can't make a better power brick is beyond me.
Re:Refurb Price Drops! (Score:3, Interesting)
I doubt their glossy one is anything different and better but still people do have different opinions in this question. Quite a few people actually like glossy screens, some don't.
I have a glossy one (Two generations old MBP?), I have no problems whatsoever with it.
I think it's a much bigger deal that THEY KEYBOARD REST AGAINST YOUR SCREEN. Wtf is up with that? How is that a good design decision? My screen gots "shades" of some of the keys on it. Yeah, excellent!! How very well though off!
And then I very rarely bring the notebook anywhere so you can imagine how it would be if it traveled around closed a lot.
Other issues is obviously TN-panel, low resolution, slow TN-panel on top of that.
Re:No firewire on the MacBook (non-Pro) (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Definitely a known problem--hence the redesign (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Refurb Price Drops! (Score:3, Interesting)
For reference store.apple.com is terrible. This is likely a rare case, but it happened.
Objective: I ordered a refurbished iPod from store.apple.com but it wouldn't charge via my computer or the wall adapter. I called their tech support, but they wouldn't help me at first because my warranty had expired. Eventually they decided the wall adapter was the culprit, and sent a replacement. It didn't work either. I had to return the iPod.
Subjective: My "refurbished" iPod didn't work at all. I was sure it was the iPod because it wouldn't charge via the firewire connector in my PC or the wall adapter. I called tech support, but the "genius" on the other end told me my warranty expired two months ago. How the hell did a one year warranty expire 1.5 months _before_ I made the purchase? Eventually, said "genius" claimed the iPod was not broken, the wall adapter was. The fact that the firewire port didn't charge the iPod either was because it was a PC's firewire port. Sometimes PC's firewire ports are only 4 wires instead of 6. I informed the moron that I had built the PC myself, it was a front panel port connected with a wiring harness, and it did in fact have 6 wires.
"It's probably the wall adapter, we'll send you a new one."
...
After waiting a week the new adapter came and it didn't charge the iPod. I called to complain, but my warranty had expired. I was forced to return the iPod, but they wouldn't tell me how I could ship the broken, never refurbished (this is why the serial number lead to an iPod with an expired warranty; it was returned as broken and they simply threw it in a pile of refurbished iPods and sold it to me), piece of junk.
They shipped me a completely broken piece of hardware and I had to make several calls to DHL to figure out how to return it.
It just works. [resellerratings.com]
Re:Tilt. Tilt. Tilt. Tilt. (Score:3, Interesting)
I suppose if I was half my age or had kept up my videogame chops I would be able to reliably put two fingers on the trackpad without, often enough to be frustrating, jiggling the pointer enough that I am no longer in the right place for my right click to do what I needed it to.
Re:media (Score:3, Interesting)
I find that I tend to prefer the reflections on glossy screens. In a non-dark environment, there's usually dimly visible reflection of something, no matter how you nudge it, but after a while I just stop noticing them. My brain seems much better at this sort of mental "filtering out" when the reflections are coherent images, whereas the indistinct glare and reduced contrast from a matte screen never really seem to go away.
Another difference seems to be that anti-reflection coatings work much better with glossy screens (are they even possible with matte screens?).
Re:But all glossy... (Score:3, Interesting)
I work at a university and a corp, and literally every projector is set up with vga input which is ancient but effective. I predict that for the next few years, you will be seated at some presentation, and then the presenter will realize they forgot the dongle and the presentation will be delayed as people run around looking for the adapter. At that moment, the thought will pass through your mind THANK YOU STEVE JOBS FOR SCREWING UP YET ANOTHER PRESENTATION! It'll be hilarious the first 5 or 10 times.
I don't understand why they just don't build a vga connector on there. That would be so much more valuable to me than being a little slimmer or sleeker or whatever. The little dongle, which you mostly don't need, but in rare cases you do ... well of course that's just the sort of thing you're going to forget sometimes. What a user-hostile design.
Re:But all glossy... (Score:3, Interesting)
We just had an HP rep come in and show us the whole line of new laptops last week, and NONE of them have HDMI. They all HAD DVI or VGA and are now all going to have Display Port connectors.
Re:First post? (Score:4, Interesting)
You don't need a course for this, just to do some reading. The biggest thing to understand is that the things you buy in the market (whether they're shares of stock, or the short sale of stock, or options or other derivatives) are just contracts that reflect a belief. That is, a standard stock purchase is buying a contract that will give you a profit if your belief (that the company's value will increase over the time period you hold the contract) holds. A short sale is just buying a contract that will give you a profit if your opposing belief (that the company's value will decrease) holds. The mechanics of the contract are interesting (a short sale is a sale of stock you borrow for the purpose of selling; to close the contract you must return the stock by purchasing it at then-current prices), but are merely an instantiation of your goal. Once you start thinking this way, derivatives and ETFs and all those other things make lots of sense. Just state your belief -- "i think that fourteen days from now AAPL's stock price will have decreased by more than 5% but less than 10%" -- and then figure out what mechanism exists (and there's almost always something, these days) that reflects exactly that intention. Now, before you start buying based on this understanding, you need to start thinking about confidence intervals and such, but it's a major start.
Re:Glossy only? (Score:3, Interesting)
I'd love to figure out if this is simply in the eyes of the beholder, or if there's an environmental factor at work. I do video on a huge matte screen all day long, but when I get home and use my glossy MBP -- gotten when glossy was still just one option -- I notice no glare.
Right now, it's night and I have a ceiling-reflecting lamp on, and I have to twist all around to get the lamp reflection on the screen to notice any glare at all. During the day, I've used my laptop many places, including outdoors, and never had glare/reflections that literally distracted me.
Are glossy-haters working with huge windows directly behind them or something? Is it a matter of perhaps overall lighting and personal depth-of-field? Or concentration/focus patterns? It's puzzling how much of a love-hate thing glossy screens are.
(Now my big-screen TV is definitely glossy, as it is on a wall with windows on two other sides of the room. So you would definitely get some bad glare depending on where you sat.)
Re:media (Score:3, Interesting)
Lol. But seriously just buy a matt "screen protector". I'm sure there will be one or twelve different brands of them custom cut for the new macs for sale within a week.
Re:But all glossy... (Score:2, Interesting)