Reply to: The new mac....

[scooterscot]

Went over to the apple store in weegie land today for a feel of the mbp.

The turns offs:

1) The glossy screen. I need a matt screen. The screen made a better mirror at times.

2) The GPU's - fantastic the technology crap you've got to log in and out to switch between the two.

3) Aesthetics. I don't really care for theme but goodness I really prefer the old theme. I wish I never heard iPhone comment but that's all I see a big iPhone on it's side. Not pretty - it looks nicer with the lid down.


The good stuff:

1) The build. I think the construction of this laptop is 1st rate. It is heavier than the old 15" mbp even feels brick like but i like that.

2) The two button button-less mouse. Superb. The space to scroll around is fantastic. It is weird at first but you soon get used to it. Press and hold with your thumb scroll with the index finger, far more intuitive without the buttons if only for the extra space alone.


What I did not care for:

1) The price - yes expensive but if you're a well heeled contractor money should be no problem.

2) The resolution. Perfect for me in fact. Any greater and my eyes would be hurting.

[PAH]

So remind me, what's the UK price?

Unfortunately not quite the cost of a flight to NYC and back.

Anyone got trustworthy relies over there that can Fed-ex us some over on the qt?

What's the exchange rate on $1000, about £750?

[Platypus]

Ha ha ZD net just sent me this:

Apple tempts with $999 MacBook?
Mary Jo Foley: Apple didn't end up fielding an $800 MacBook this week, as many had been expecting. But the company did cut the price of its entry-level MacBook to just under $1,000 at its October 14 notebook rollout.

So remind me, what's the UK price?

[PAH]

Oh dear, the people in this video come across as members of a cult.

Almost right. You're getting you're 'l's and your 'n's mixed up.

[Clippy]

http://www.apple.com/macbook/the-new...ch.html#medium

i think i've just come....pletly smitten

Oh dear, the people in this video come across as members of a cult.

[VectraMan]

MacBook Pro weight: 2.49 kg

Hardly light. Most 15.4" laptops hover between 2.5kg and 3kg, so this mofo is nothing special.

I think my Dell 15.4" D531 is about 2.7Kg, and that was with the extra battery which can last 6 hours. It's almost as slimline as a Mac book too.

[PAH]

I actually have a Vostro which cost about £300 (2Gb RAM, 15" screen), it weighs a ton since I got the larger batter pack but is great value.

However, I thought we were discussing the new Mac which is 2kg?

Cheat! That's the baby 13 incher, the 15 incher is the one I was comparing, so

Largely ignored the 13.3" one as the 1280x800 screen is a let down otherwise it would be the mutts nuts. The 15.4" 1440x900 may be just about ok, but would have liked a bit more height.

I must admit, if I was in full blown contractor mode (and not a tad worried about future income with a renewal looming in the next few months) I'd probably have one of these babies. Now I've seen some real images and not photoshopped ones, I'm less inclined to complain, much like how Cheryl Tweedy's accent is lost in all the beauty.

Some real photos of the Macbook Pro:

http://www.whatlaptop.co.uk/YQZrXwZo-WckGQ.html

Gorgeous.

[d000hg]

I actually have a Vostro which cost about £300 (2Gb RAM, 15" screen), it weighs a ton since I got the larger batter pack but is great value.

However, I thought we were discussing the new Mac which is 2kg?

[PAH]

a £600 Dell would be much bulkier and heavier.

MacBook Pro weight: 2.49 kg

Hardly light. Most 15.4" laptops hover between 2.5kg and 3kg, so this mofo is nothing special.

In fact the Dell Vostro 1510 comes in at ~2.6kg and under 500 quid. I even see a bit of the Macbook slimline style in the Vostro too, though I'm sure there's no comparison in build quality, but hell of a price difference to sweeten the deal.

You can even get a 1920x200 screen on the 1510 (hope it comes with a free magnifying glass though!), none of this low res bollocks, which is my biggest disappointment in the Macbooks after the price. I'm sure those photoshopped images show desktops well beyond the laptops true resolution. Dodgy b'stards.

[voodooflux]

As for the OSX vs Windows debate - for me its all about the low latency kernel. XP was just about OK if you got special ASIO drivers for your sound card. Vista is a nightmare. Musicians are moving to OSX in droves, they feel let down by MS.

Creative in particular were very slow in bringing out good X-Fi drivers for Vista.

[Cowboy Bob]

No Firewire, so not for me, and I would speculate plenty of others too.

Yep, I have an M-Audio Firewire external sound card plugged into mine. No Firewire, no go.

As for the OSX vs Windows debate - for me its all about the low latency kernel. XP was just about OK if you got special ASIO drivers for your sound card. Vista is a nightmare. Musicians are moving to OSX in droves, they feel let down by MS.

(Look on Jools Holland now, used to be a mix of PCs and Macs on there - now it's pretty much 100% Mac)

[Sysman]

http://www.apple.com/macbook/specs.html

No Firewire, so not for me, and I would speculate plenty of others too.

[ratewhore]

Does the discreet (x1) GPU put you off?

I think the expensive Macbook is a "Pro" except for that extra GPU capability - is that the case?

You may have a point there. My view was shaped by the performance differences between the G4 iBook and Powerbook. I guess things have changed somewhat...

[Moscow Mule]

I have the 12" powerbook. It's 4 years old, been dropped a couple of times but it's aluminium so I hammered it back into shape still going strong

I was, however, waiting for a 13" Macbook Pro so I for one am disappointed with todays announcement...

Does the discreet (x1) GPU put you off?

I think the expensive Macbook is a "Pro" except for that extra GPU capability - is that the case?

[ratewhore]

I have the 12" powerbook. It's 4 years old, been dropped a couple of times but it's aluminium so I hammered it back into shape still going strong

I was, however, waiting for a 13" Macbook Pro so I for one am disappointed with todays announcement...