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MacWorld MacBook Only a Prototype?

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the well-thats-not-surprising dept.

mahju writes "Hard Mac is reporting that Apple's, unoffical, response in Paris to the the lack of information on battery life, is that the MacBook Pro that were demoed at Mac World SF are only prototypes and the final versions are still under development. "

8 of 219 comments (clear)

  1. Wow by daveschroeder · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Um, how on earth is this news?

    Anyone at Macworld 13 days ago could see that the MacBook Pro units on display didn't have proper serial numbers, and it was no secret that they were development units. "Prototypes" is probably a little overboard, but yeah, they were not final, shipping production units.

    Considering that it has always been known that the MacBook Pro wouldn't be shipping for another month or so, and was in fact represented as such, is it any surprise that units displayed a month and a half before the unit started shipping wouldn't yet, well, you know, be shipping units?

    Now if Apple rolls out iTimeMachine at some point in the future, I'll consider eating my words.

  2. I think Monty Python said it best.. by Large+Green+Mallard · · Score: 5, Funny

    In "Holy Grail"..

    LAUNCELOT: Look, my liege!
    ARTHUR: Camelot!
    GALAHAD: Camelot!
    LAUNCELOT: Camelot!
    PATSY: It's only a model.
    ARTHUR: Shhh!

  3. Re:Explains alot by peetola · · Score: 5, Funny

    And at least my shiny new (1 year old) power book doesn't quite feel outdated just yet ...

    Wait for it... wait for it... Ok, now it's outdated.

    It takes less and less time these days.

  4. Re:I think the lack of high-speed firewire is news by xusr · · Score: 5, Interesting
    I would agree; the permanent absence of FW800 is news (even though that missed the headline). I just bought a triple-interface HD in hopes that my next 12" Power(Mac?)Book would sport FW800. The studio I work at is outfitted with FW800, and there is a very significant real-world difference between it and the older spec.

    sigh.

  5. Re:I think the lack of high-speed firewire is news by minimunchkin · · Score: 5, Informative

    I take your point, but the Express Card 34 slot provides even faster I/O and allows for dual Firewire 800 on one card. If I had to choose one over the other then I would make the same choice as Apple, particularly as it allows for much improved video options in the future.

  6. Obvious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    If you were at Macworld, and had a chance to check out the MacBook Pro, the fact that putting them to sleep, or removing the battery would lock up the machines was a dead giveaway that they were pre-production units. Not to mention the fact that all the Apple staff on hand were telling attendees, "These are not shipping units, they are pre-production models." According to one Apple employee, the machines were still undergoing battery testing, hence why no one had any information on battery life.

  7. Re: The problem with FW800 by drhamad · · Score: 5, Insightful

    FW is a great spec - both in 400 & 800 varieties. It's FAST - we all know that. However, Intel was smart with USB. Beyond bundling it with all their boards, I mean. They made USB2 the same connector and backwards compatible with USB1.1. I assume that there was simply no way to do that with FW800/400, but that's what is killing it. It's simply too hard to include 2 different connectors on one board, especially when the 2nd connector (800) is totally incompatible with anything previous, there's no demand for it (that's faster than most devices could run) and there's few devices out that would run on it, even if they are fast enough.

    Those connectors needed to be backwards compatible.

    --
    -Daniel
  8. I tried the battery at MacWorld, it was horrible by pbooktebo · · Score: 5, Informative

    I knew there was something wrong the minute I pulled the power plug on a MacBook at MacWorld. The Apple employee kept trying to plug it back in. I wanted to read what the estimated battery life would be (it displays right on the screen). I told him that I knew this wasn't a final number, but that I wanted to see what it would estimate. I left the cord out for a minute until the reading settled...

    It said 2:37 minutes on a full charge.

    Then someone invited us to an iSight videoconference and it dropped to 1:50 (still on a full charge).

    The employee didn't tell me that these were pre-production, but he did say the unit was still under testing, including all the thermals that control the fan, and that that would really eat battery. He also said that the screen was much brighter and that would eat more power (and he's right, I had my 1.5Ghz PowerBook with me and took it out for comparison. The MacBook looked almost two times brighter to the eye).

    I feel pretty confident that they'll get good battery life in the final unit, but it was odd how they skirted the issue instead of simply announcing that these models weren't good predictors of battery life (all the forums were FILLED with just this topic, and even this story carries it forward, where if they had addressed it, the question would be settled--just wait, it will come).