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Apple Unveils New Macbook
Several readers have written in to mention that Apple has released the new Macbook on their site. Yahoo! has details from the press release: "With prices starting at just $1,099, the MacBook lineup includes three models: a 1.83 GHz and 2.0 GHz MacBook in a newly designed, sleek white enclosure and a 2.0 GHz MacBook in a stunning new black enclosure. The new MacBook offers performance up to five times faster than the iBook and up to four times faster than the 12-inch PowerBook with a completely new system architecture including a 667 MHz front-side bus and 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM memory expandable to 2GB."
Anyone hoping for 9in MacBook Micros, 36in MacBook MegaPros or other outlandish designs might be disappointed - the hardware overview page describes the Apple laptop family as 'now complete'.
So, is this the full range?
The black MacBook seems a bit weird - it's $200 more than the nearest equivalent white model, except it has 20GB more hard disk and, erm, a rather pay-as-you-go black finish. Odd.
Tedious Bloggy Stuff - hooray?
and a 2.0 GHz MacBook in a stunning new black enclosure.
;-)
What the article doesn't mention is that the new black enclosure is made from the same patented finish as the ipod nano
Seriously, $1099 for the low end one is making these look pretty tempting, but I'm going to have to wait for the fourth gen (instead of usual second gen) for mactel stuff.
There are shills on slashdot. Apparently, I'm one of them.
Leave it to Apple to set the trends again. I bet all the other companies are gonna copy them and come out with black laptops now... ; )
This guy's the limit!
The new system is availabe in three specs. All have:
13.3-inch widescreen display
1280 x 800 resolution
512MB memory (2 x 256MB SODIMMs)
USB, Bluetooth 2.0 and Firewire
Airport
The bottom end model has:
60GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive 2
Combo drive (DVD-ROM, CD-RW)
White
US: $1099 UK: £749 ($1423)
The mid-range model has:
60GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive 2
SuperDrive (DVD±RW, CD-RW)
White
US: $1288 UK: £899 ($1708)
The high-end model has:
80GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive 2
SuperDrive (DVD±RW, CD-RW)
Black or White
US: $1499 UK: £1028.99 ($1953)
So.. Once again Apple think that in the UK we should pay as much as 30% more for the privilege of having a machine shipped across the Atlantic and a couple of keys in a different place. Great.
...FireWire is present, as it is on all new Intel-based Macs to date, proving that FireWire isn't going anywhere (anytime soon, anyway) on Apple's computer products. It also totally shatters Jason O'Grady's ridiculous predictions that "FireWire is gone completely from the new Intel iBooks", which were widely accepted as fact. Of course, it made zero sense at that time, too, but that didn't stop it from spreading around the net like wildfire.
;-)
Note also that the MacBook features the Core Duo, not Core Solo, and the screen resolution has increased from 1024x768 on the old 12" iBook and PowerBook to 1280x800.
With the array of connectivity (mini DVI also supports VGA, S-Video, and composite), built-in Bluetooth and 802.11a/b/g (yes, a is included and supported by the OS), the ability to boot Windows natively or use Windows (or other x86 OSes) in virtualization, for just over $1000, this looks to be a great deal.
It appears that some of the traditional differences between the "iBook" and "PowerBook" line are shrinking even more; I wouldn't be surprised if there was no 12" MacBook Pro based on the new MacBook's specifications.
One hopes that Apple is applying a reasonable amount of thermal paste on the new MacBooks.
I mean 200USD for black and a 20GB bigger HD?
And for the love of God why don't they just give them all 1GB of RAM?
Still it's pretty and I want one.
This
Intel GMA 950 graphics processor with 64MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory
This guy's the limit!
Hi. yeah i'd like a macbook 20 with black cover and maybe a side order of ram.
is a brushed metal MacBook Pro that's black. That would be sweet.
The guitars sound good, now give me about 10db more on the cow bell.
anyone notice that now its 2x256 and not 1x512?
DVI, VGA, S-video and composite out all require adapters (sold separately, of course).
Lies about crimes
This new laptop is much closer to the MacBook Pro than I expected. I thought they might only do Core Solo processors, to create more distinction between the two levels.
I had been planning on getting the 15 or 17" Pro, but looking at the specs on these - and the price, I might go for the MacBook.
The biggest difference I see is the display resolution.. 1280x800, like the older PowerBooks.
Just built me a Dell online and matched up the specs as closely as possible. Here's what I made:
Latitude D620:
Intel® Core(TM) Duo T2400 (1.83GHz) 667Mhz Dual Core
Operating Systems:
Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition, SP2, with media
LCDs:
14.1 inch Wide Screen WXGA LCD Panel
Graphics:
Intel® Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator 950
Memory:
512MB, DDR2-533 SDRAM, 1 DIMM
Hard Drives:
60GB Hard Drive, 9.5MM, 5400RPM
Optical Drive - Modular:
24X CD-RW/DVD w/ Cyberlink PowerDVD(TM)
Wireless LAN (802.11):
Dell Wireless(TM) 1390 802.11g Mini Card
Bluetooth:
Dell Wireless® 350 Bluetooth Module
I assume that a "mini card" with regards to wireless is a plug in thing? I'm pretty sure it would say internal if it was built in, but some one who knows more about Dell can correct me.
Total Price: $1466.00 or 1216.00 after instant rebate.
If they use Windows, they'll call me about their blue screens of death. What to do?
First you stop installing Windows ME on your friends computers.
I wonder what they've changed with respect to keyboard.
They claim that it is firmer than before.
Picture
Seeing as it is more than a quarter of an inch thinner than the iBook G4, this one looks like a pretty nice little system.
If you don't know what AltaVista is (was), get off my lawn.
I mean, it's really not that great value for the black ones. It's quite an expensive price bump for the black finish and an extra few gigs of hard dr....OH GOD I WANT A BLACK MACBOOK!
"Proudly Posting Without Reading The Article"
Dual Purpose Get the big picture when you join your MacBook with either a stunning 20- or 23-inch Apple Cinema Display by way of a crystal-clear connection miniDVI port. (Requires miniDVI to DVI adapter, sold separately.)
It looks sweet.
Fight Crime - Shoot Back!
is the addition of screen spanning, mirroring, and lid closed operation with a external monitor. Integrated graphics are a bummer, but are expected given their appearence in the mac mini. The new screen is long overdue (a 1024x768 screen doesn't cut it in 2006). Now the only thing we still are waiting on is a replacement for the powermac, but seeing as how few of the major pro apps are universal binaries, that release may be a ways down the road.
1.83Ghz - $1099.00
2.0 Ghz, 60GB HDD- $1299.00
2.0 Ghz, 80GB HDD, Black - $1499.00
You wonder why? Because you have to give people something to show, visible to the world, that they have got for their money, and the more useless it is the better. You are selling to people who you are encouraging to feel different. Now, there is a subset who want to send out the message that they are different enough for a few hundred dollars to be of no importance to them whatever compared to the color of the thing.
It is designer label marketing. The funny part is, its aspirational, not having arrived. The richest guy I ever knew was once arranging a car purchase. His assistant asked him what kind he wanted. "a blue one, yes dark blue" he said. I don't suppose he even knew what marque it was.
Meanwhile lots of sad people go around saying they wouldn't be seen dead in a Ford and thinking various other brands are marks of class.
Basically, the black mac, its marketed for you to send a message to your friends, which, if you had achieved what the message would like to send, it would never occur to you to want to send it, and certainly not like this.
Its like Lenox china for the digerati, and equally gauche.
Something this topic is sorely lacking
http://www.apple.com/macbook/gallery/index2.html
-- Boycott Shell
The difference is partially in VAT. If you calculate the VAT out of the price, the difference between US- and UK-price is (still) US$ 150 on the black and US$ 144 on the white 2GHz.
I don't know if there is any additional tax or whatever in UK. I guess the difference is to compensate for the current exchange rate (US$ vs GBP and US$ vs EUR) as well as for administrative overhead in Europe (Apple Europe + Apple UK)
UK education prices are: £643 with VAT (£548 without).
What a great deal for a Core Duo 1.83GHz CPU, decent other specs, software etc. plus the little Front Row remote.
From the Dell UK website, for £802(the link page here says £649, when you go to the configure page, the price jumps to £802, wtf?) for the Inspiron M, you can get a slower CPU (1.66GHz Core Duo), same memory, same HDD, inferior Graphics (Intel GMA 900 vs GMA 950 in the Macbook). Same optical drive, except the Macbook is slot loading (nice). Both have 802.11g networking, but the Macbook also comes with Bluetooth 2.0EDR, the Dell has no Bluetooth capability.
The Dell does have an extra inch on the screen than the Macbook, but is not widescreen.
The Dell lacks:
- Bluetooth
- Remote
- iLife
- OS X
The Dell is also bigger in every dimension. Heavier too. Whichever of the two prices Dell.co.uk give you (£649 or £802) it's clear that the Macbook is very competitive price-wise if you're a student. (We are comparing prices for students here, but I believe the price compares well without the student discount too.)
Looks like a great little machine at a really affordable price. Very impressed, I was worried we'd see some price hikes.
(Ah just figured out the pricing difference on the Dell site, they 'automatically' select the highest service-level when you go to the configure screen... great.)
This sig has been deprecated.
The use of RAM in pairs is due to the inclusion of an Intel Integrated Graphics.
If you put the RAM in pairs the amount of bandwith is double compared to the use of one single module (dual channel vs single channel)
Nice.
I wonder what does Dell charge for a built in hi-res webcam, slot loading optical, 1.08 inch wide "my 5 year old just stepped on it" resistant case, scrollpad, iLife and OS X.
Now it looks even worse for Dell.
If you don't know what AltaVista is (was), get off my lawn.
It's late May, HS graduation is around the corner and here comes Apple with its flagship college laptop. At this price point, and with these specs, I'm pretty sure Apple won't be able to fill demand. A it's an $1100 Apple engineered laptop with built-in webcam, wifi and bluetooth that can also run Windows (and run it VERY well) - AWESOME. Sure, nobody's going to be playing games on it - nobody ever bought an Apple laptop to play games before (generalization) - but 90% of college students aren't CS majors and there are probably more people interested in the iSight web cam then in 3D performance.
Not too big, not so small that you can't see the screen, with a LOT of horsepower under the hood and the incredible iLife package to boot. The only comparable performance/form factor laptops I can find after a cursory search are $1700+ VAIOs, so the price point is pretty great too. If I were a betting man, I'd be putting a buy order on some Apple stock today.
(All this said, the only one I would ever think about getting is the lowest-end model and dropping in some extra RAM.)
"... MacBook in a stunning new black enclosure."
And here is the new MacBook logo
Looking at the technical specifications there does not seem to be a microphone in the MacBook, compare with the MacBook Pro specifications for example. The wording on the iSight pages for the two machines seem carefully phrased to avoid the indicating that the MacBook has a microphone. For example they mention videoconferencing but not podcasting as they do for the Pro. What are you supposed to do, videoconference in sign language? It seems like a pretty major oversight, I need to get to a store to confirm if this is the case. Does anyone have conclusive information that the MacBook does have a microphone?
Well, I'm gonna get a white 2.0 dual core, upgrade the harddrive for $60 and buy a $5 can of black spray paint. A net savings of $135!
__
Thou hast besquirted me, O leotarded one.
I beleive with certin types of DDR ram, pairing yeilds better proformance than a single bigger DIM, so I would probably match both slots with new ram anyway if I were upgrading; hell, for ~$200 from a 3rd party, why not upgrade to 2GB
Introducing the superfast, blogging, podcasting, do-everything-out-of-the-box MacBook.
Finally, a laptop that can do blogging and podcasting. This is exactly what I've been waiting for! Go Apple!
So, apparently, for no extra charge, you can now get a glossy screen on the MacBook Pro. Can anyone explain to me why you would want a glossy screen? It just seems like it would make the glare rediculous.
I was really hoping Apple would step up and try to develop one. The Win Tablet market is so inadequate.
Decided I'd browse over to Dell and see how big the "Apple premium" is sitting right now.
...So the Apple premium now stands at -$340, close as I can figure.
Dell Inspiron E1405:
14.1" screen (1280x800)
Core Duo 1.83
1 GB RAM (can't get 512)
80 GB HD
Total cost: $1540
MacBook:
13.3" screen (1280x800)
Core Duo 1.83
512 MB RAM
80 GB HD
built-in Webcam
Total cost: $1100
Integrated graphics?
It's the low-end consumer machine. Having integrated graphics is common, just look at other machines in the same price range.
Shipping with 2xSODIMMS? (meaning your tossing out both)
The intel chipset used needs paired RAM chips for reasonable performance.
Black is essentially a premium color? It cost more that the system below it with a $50 upgrade to the HDD.
You were expecting it to cost less than the model below it? Yup it's a $50 hard drive upgrade and tax on the fashion conscious. If you don't like it, don't pay it.
Not good enough.
...then don't buy it. What is the point of complaining here that a machine doesn't have the specs you want?
The only reason I said "anytime soon" was because I knew someone would say "well, FireWire isn't going to around *forever*". Of course it's not. All standards change, and some are supplanted by others.
But when the iPods dropped FireWire, everyone took that as some kind of "hint" that Apple was "backing away" from FireWire, shunning the standard, and quietly putting it to sleep/death. No. That is not the case. It wasn't then, and it isn't now.
The iPods dropped FireWire likely because of a technical/marketing/cost decision. Most iPod purchasers were (and are) Windows PC owners, almost all of whom don't have FireWire, but DO have USB, and most USB 2.0. All of Apple's machines for the last few years also had USB 2.0 (and at least have USB, since 1998). If one interface had to go for standardize chipset and sizing/cost concerns, it seems pretty clear which one it was to be.
Of course, many people took that as a sign that Apple was getting rid of FireWire completely. There was no basis, however, to make that assumption.
As I've said before:
While specific features of future Macintosh computers cannot be predicted, FireWire is an critical protocol that has come to be relied upon. Some important factors to note:
- FireWire usage across the industry is increasing, not decreasing
- FireWire is featured on all currently shipping Intel-based Macs
- FireWire is required for Target Disk Mode, a critical feature that many administrators and the Migration Assistant depend on; USB is not supported for these tasks
- FireWire is increasingly used as the interface of choice on modern digital video and audio equipment
- Since July 2005, all HD cable set top boxes are mandated by the FCC to come with a "functional IEEE-1394 [FireWire] port"
- FireWire is the primary (and often only) transport mechanism used by all digital video (DV) and high definition digitial video (HDV) cameras and decks
- Application software and features on every Mac, like iMovie, iDVD, and the SuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW), depend on FireWire to import video into the computer via DV
For these reasons, it makes no sense that FireWire would have been abandoned now, nor will it be in the near future. *Someday* will machines ship without FireWire? Yeah, and someday they'll ship without USB, too. These standards will die just like everything else does, eventually. Did USB "win" in the mainstream desktop peripheral connectivity war? Yes, of course it did. Long ago. Unfortunately, just because USB and FireWire appeared to compete in some common areas (like desktop storage), the perception was that they were completely competitive standards, and that's not true. Technically, FireWire and USB are a lot different. Could USB be expanded to subsume at least some of the functionality of FireWire? Could a future iteration of USB provide some of the hostless or multi-host peer capabilities of FireWire? Could a universal DV-over-USB standard be adopted? Sure, to all of them. But FireWire is here now, and is used for all of these tasks.
Apple didn't go out of its way to keep FireWire just so the Intel transition was "less disruptive". It keep FireWire because customers need and want it, and its products and product features depend upon it. Apple isn't the only one keeping FireWire alive. It's used all over the industry. All of Apple's computing products will have it for quite some time, and there's no logical or technical reason to believe otherwise.
According to the comparison chart http://store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Images/compariso n_chart.html , both the MacBook and the MacBook Pro have a built in omnidirectional microphone. Why it's not listed on the technical specs, I don't know.
Donald Roeber
Generating 2048 Bits of Randomness...
Apple's web site indicates this new model has a stunning glossy screen. Am I the only one that hates these new glossy screens. They reflect glare and just look bad. The screen on the MacBook Pro isn't glossy. Why does the MacBook need a glossy screen?
What to do? Just switch 'em to the Mac. I've been gradually switching friends and family for a couple of years now. Typically there's a period of a few weeks where I get a lot of questions - what software should I use for X? how do I find setting Y?. After that, support calls from them drop dramatically.
Was that deliberately written to be maximize outrage?
You pay an extra $200 for an 0.17Ghz and a SuperDrive (DVD±RW, CD-RW) instead of a Combo drive (DVD-ROM, CD-RW).
And then you pay an extra $50 for the extra 20Gb of space.
The outrage should come from the extra $150 on top of THAT to get a black finish.
I can only think of 3 reasons as to why Apple did this:
1) Typo (unlikely, $1499 seems like a price point they want to fill)
2) They want to exploit people's desire for something "trendier" and something Different.
3) More expensive for them somehow (It may cost them more for black cases since its not created in the same volume as white ones. Or it may have more protection from scratches than the Black iPod, which costs more)
I don't really know which it is, but I find anger against Apple to be amusing in this case. If aesthetics are important to you, then pay the $150 extra. If its not, then don't. No one is entitled the same price for both. If the black one had something you COULDN'T get in white (say, Firewire 800), but was still unnecessarily expensive (say $300 more expensive instead of $150), then I could see outrage, as Apple is forcing you to spend $150 extra on aesthetics when you just wanted the Firewire 800.
"Thanks to a 13.3-inch glossy widescreen display that's 79% brighter...."
Good thing they put this warning on the website, although they make it sound like a glossy display is actually a good thing...
(Perhaps it is a good thing for people wanting to spend $1099 on an Apple designed make-up mirror?)
We do? Cause 10.4.6 runs just fine on my 6 year old, 500 MHz G3 laptop with 512 megs of RAM. Runs as fast as Ubuntu Linux, dual-booted on the same machine.
I am a believer of momentum and curves.
I don't know why Apple always makes only heavy notebooks, but they should stop.
You make it sounds like they purposefully put lead in the product to weigh it down.
The lighter the materials, the more the cost -- at which point you would probably complain that
"I don't know why Apple always makes only expensive notebooks, but they should stop."
In other words, it seems clear that you will never be happy with Apple's notebook -- so don't buy one. End of story.
Can anyone give me more information about what Apple means by a "glossy display?" The press release and website are quite short on details. As a matter of fact, on the MacBook's product page, there is even a hyperlink referring to the glossy display. Alas, it takes me to the Design page which, while cool and informative, doesn't have any information about the display.
I assume the glossy display is meant to improve the contrast and sharpen things up in general, getting away from the flat matte of most LCD screens. I'll probably have to wait a few weeks for pictures of this new laptop sitting side by side with an iBook to tell the difference (there is no Apple store in my remote viscinity).
I am a little wary of it, however. I have encountered laptops with what I would have called "glossy" screens. Instead of the matte surface finish of a typical LCD, it looked like the LCD was encased in glass. No doubt this improved the screen clarity and contrast in darkened environments, but the screens were about as reflective as, well, plate glass.
I trust apple to not go with something that flawed. Does anyone have more info?
Amen about the glossy display. I purchased my hp laptop online, and got the free upgrade for brighter screen. No mention of the glare, though. It's a real pain to use in a lot of lighting settings that a matte display with less brightness will handle fine. When I have an application with a black background and light-colored text in the foreground, if I'm sitting by a window (indirect sunlight only) I can't read the text at all, for example. Completely unusable outside except at night.
Here's waiting for something like OLED displays, or the like, that one can actually use outside and in broader range of lighting situations.
Spread the word.
"1 GB RAM (can't get 512)"
Then why not just upgrade the iBook to 1GB? It then costs $1,249.
Thus the price difference is $1540 - $1249 = $291.
Your price difference is wrong, and you have not included the cost of the 80GB HD upgrade.
I still think that is an amazing deal, even though you get a slightly smaller screen.
The only comparable performance/form factor laptops I can find after a cursory search are $1700+ VAIOs, so the price point is pretty great too.
You can get a similarly equipped Dell E1405 for about $800. The only thing missing is a webcam, but an USB webcam would cost you $25.
But then, when I was in college... I bought Levi Jeans. Some students can afford to spend twice as much for designer labels.
Sony has a very similar machine (13.3", Core Duo, Camera, etc) that's a full pound and a half lighter.
I bet it gets a full hour less battery life too.
The heaviest component in these things is the battery. Generally, the lighter the laptop the more often you have to find a plug. (Enormous "Portable Workstations" and "Desktop Replacements" excepted).
Good comparison, but there's one important thing to consider: Win 2000/XP is going to perform a hell of a lot better on the same hardware than OSX does. This machine is a monster of a PC unless you have some kind of special needs. This is the lowest-end OSX machine.
That's not true, I run the latest version of OS X for PPC on my G4/400 w/1 GB RAM and for normal operations it runs just as fast as my MacBook Pro runs the Intel version of 10.4.6 using 512 MB RAM.
My stepdaughter runs 10.3.9 on a G3/400 with 800 MB RAM with equal alacrity.
You must remember that unlike Windows, OS X isn't bloatware. Those iBooks (er... MacBooks) will run OS X like a dream.
Yeah and the HP weighs 6.1lbs compared to 5.2lbs. The HP is also thicker. And people are really going to use those serial and parallel ports. That 56k modem sure will come in handy. Haven't used a phone line modem in about 8 years, but you never know. You'll just need to add so many peripherals to that so those pc card slots will get a work out. All of that makes it worth saving 50 bucks or so...
One thing I always loved about the 12" Powerbook is that it is almost exactly the dimensions of an 8.5" x 11" standard sheet of paper - which meant it fit into any space a typical binder would fit. The 13" is nice, as is the aspect ratio, but I cannot help but mourn the loss of what I considered 'perfect' ultraportable laptop size.
If Jesus wants me it knows where to find me.
Vacation in Wilmington. Ah yes, "A Place To Be Somebody" where "It's Good to be First."
Yes, I often find myself thinking "Oooh, St. Moritz or Wilmington? I just can't decide."
Bloat or no bloat, OSX on Core Duo seems to trail the pack in simple horsepower.
http://sekhon.berkeley.edu/macosx/intel.html
If you don't know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else.
-Think about Intel GMA950 as something like GeForce 3, maybe GF4, but with worse compatibility. Some Windows Games won't run (Psychonauts come to my mind as I tried to run it on my friend's notebook with GMA900) but for example Half Life 2 runs reasonably. You can check compatibility list on Intel's site. Keep in mind that Intel integrated graphics just own everything in terms of power consumption, putting in a real mobile chipset would decrease battery life a lot, not to mention increasing the cost.
;)
-If you're asking if GMA950 is enough to run Vista eye-candy then yes, no problems, Vista's requirements are way too overhyped as is suckiness of Intel graphics
Minicard means that the wifi is internal, but is user replaceable - it's about as hard (or easy) as replacing the RAM. The idea being that you can buy the g card and upgrade to h later, or whatever, without soldering.
The BT is replaceable too, although you have to bully Dell into selling you one of the damn things to add it later.
~~~~~ BigLig2? You mean there's another one of me?
It will be tempting to switch from my MBP just for the battery life. Although the weight is now only 6.4 ounces less. Still, if work didn't pay for my laptop, there is no question which one I'd buy. I already have an external DVD burner (and dual-layer to boot), so I'd get the cheapest and spend the extra $200 on maxing out the RAM. The only thing that would give me pause is the integrated graphics. I don't care about games, but I do use Aperture and some other pro apps and I'd like to know what difference this will make. Apple is going to be supply constrained for quite a while.
Does anyone have any guesses on when Apple might upgrade their G5 pro desktop line? I got my dad to finally consider getting a Mac, but now he's convinced that he needs the biggest and baddest machine possible before he'll buy one. (He won't just get a top of the line iMac at this point since it isn't "pro" enough somehow. *sigh*) Since the G5 appears to be on the way out, I told him to hold off buying a PowerPC desktop and wait for the Intel upgrade - but it has been awhile now, and there hasn't been any mention of upgrading the PowerMac line that I've heard. (And apparently the money to buy a new computer is burning a hole in his wallet or something - wish I had that problem!) He even called Apple to ask them, but the tech support response was that PowerMacs would never be upgraded and support for them would never be dropped. (Sounds a bit fishy to me... I suppose if they change the name to something without "Power" in there, technically the guy didn't lie.)
Hexy - a strategy game for iPhone/iPod Touch
Has anyone had a chance to play with these in-person yet in an Apple store? (There are no such stores around here...) How does the glossy display look and feel? How does it compare with a standard Windows screen or vs. the displays used on the MacBook Pros or older PowerBooks and iBooks?
Hexy - a strategy game for iPhone/iPod Touch
I'm not certain, but I think the basic rule is that glossy displays are good for watching movies and games, while matte displays are good for actual work related activity.
Yes, because I remember all the countless times I've seen my window reflected on my TV and thought "Gee, the picture sure looks so much better with all kinds of shit reflected on it."
I wanted a MacBook... but now I'm gonna have to wait till they de-gloss the screen.
Does it make you happy you're so strange?
The parent stated that Windows would be "a hell of a lot faster" on the same hardware. The Berkeley article you reference states only that for statistical computing XP runs 10% faster. So opening Safari takes 1.8 seconds instead of 2.0? I think Grandma can live with that.
(On a side note, they didn't mention what version of Tiger they were using... the difference in speed between 10.4.5 and 10.4.6 was remarkable with my MBP.)
Probably 90% of the same parts and specs, right down to the lame integrated intel 950 graphics which have no video memory and steal system memory. Still, if the $800 mini is an ok deal, then including a display, keyboard, trackpad, battery and camera for as little as $300 more is a pretty good deal.
Start Running Better Polls
MacBook in a newly designed, sleek white enclosure
p ass1.JPG
A WHITE apple product!? you must be kidding!
and [...] in a stunning new black enclosure.
BLACK LAPTOPS!? no way! what ultra-ingenious artist could come up with such an idea? I'm totally stunned! http://www.total.net/~hrothgar/museum/Compass/Com
The new MacBook offers performance up to five times faster than the iBook and up to four times faster than the 12-inch PowerBook
does that mean it overheats five times faster or does that mean apple sues people five times faster who point such disadvantages out publicly?
The MAFIAA is a bunch of mindless jerks who will be the first up against the wall when the revolution comes
WWDC 2006 takes place August 7 - August 11, 2006.
This is the likeliest date for an announcement/unveiling.
It's not offtopic, dumbass. It's orthogonal.
Compare:
Mattel Aquarius
I was looking at various LCD's in store and the Sony Glossy screen models looked really nice. The non glossy next to it looks like someone took steel wool to the surface. Hey that might be a solution to glossy woes. :-)
I wouldn't mind matte either but the current screens are kind blah. I would prefer something more like the screen on a real glass monitor like my trinitron. Which manages to be perfectly but manages glare quite well.
I think the matte laptop screen are too matte.
It's heavy (heavier than my Superdrive Powerbook and S-Series VAIO), the finish is matte (reminds me of a black RAZR) but should be durable, and fast. Photos are here: http://beta.zooomr.com/photos/jwolf More to come...
I currently have a 1.5GHz 12" PB. I was all ready to buy a white 2.0 GHz for the academic price of $1,199.
DIY 2GB ram would add $200 or so, and when 160GB SATA drives came down in price, that would be the next DIY upgrade. I figured I could suffer through the nasty keyboard and lack of aluminum enclosure.
But the lack of dual layer DVD burning killed it for me.
Now I wait.
__ Someday, but not this morning, I'll finally learn to use the preview button.
WHAT DO I DOO??!!
Your Options:
1. Kill yourself.
2. Kill someone else to release anger.
3. Start an anti-Apple website.
4. Sell your Apple and get a Dell.
5. Abandon all this computer stuff to become a Monk.
Or, just realize that Apple is a company and you are a consumer and that newer models will eventually match the specs of older models so that the new ones have added value. Be Thankful that Apple didn't drop the price to 600 dollars for this laptop. At least you can still sell your laptop and buy one of these newer models.
Most of the U2 iPods were sold, not to U2 fans, but to black-colored electronics fans.
That's funny. None of the black people I know have one.
I think it's due to the aerodynamics of the hard drive heads ... which fly above the platter.
... "The system relies on air pressure inside the drive to support the heads at their proper flying height while the disk is in motion. A hard disk drive requires a certain range of air pressures in order to operate properly. The connection to the external environment and pressure occur through a small orifice in the enclosure, usually featuring also a carbon filter on the inside (the breather filter, see below). If the air pressure is too low, there will not be enough lift for the flying head, the head will not be at the proper height, and there is a risk of head crashes and data loss. Specially manufactured sealed and pressurized drives are needed for reliable high-altitude operation, above about 10,000 feet. This does not apply to pressurized enclosures, like an airplane pressurized cabin. Modern drives include temperature sensors and adjust their operation to the operating environment."
From the link
-- "It's not stalking if you're married!" My Wife.
* One of my first tests was the Airport range: the range on the MacBook surpasses other laptops I've seen. The TiBook has notoriously poor WiFi range, and my wife has a 12" AlBook which has better, but not great range. I have an Apple Airport base station in the basement, and my bedroom is 1 level above. I always got dodgy reception with the AlBook, and virtually no reception with the TiBook . . . the MB gives a rock-solid signal from the bedroom, and all throughout the rest of the main level of the house. Fantastic.
* The "glossy" display looks like the displays I've seen on Sony and Toshiba laptops at Best Buy. The screen is nice and sharp and, IMHO, quite bright (esp. compared to my old TiBook). Looks great reading text, web pages, etc.
* This was my first experience with Apple's system migration tool. I booted the TiBook in firewire mode (reboot and hold 'T') and connected it to the MB . . . * Keyboard: I never really liked the TiBook keyboard, and I never liked the feel of my wife's AlBook keyboard either. The MB keyboard seems a little on the flimsy side, but it is certainly usable. I like it better than the iBook keyboard which I though to be really flimsy. I haven't noticed any problems with keys in weird positions or things like that. I saw an earlier post griping about the lack of PageUp/PageDown keys, but I've always found that the Fn key (at the bottom-left of Apple keyboards) coupled with the inverse-T keys in the bottom-right give me great cursor control.
* Speed: This thing is fast compared to the G4.
* iSight: The camera works great, although it's not going to take any studio quality portraits.
* Front Row: I don't really care about the remote much, but it is nifty, and works as advertised.
* MagSafe: I was going to get a G4 PowerBook, but the Intel compatibility and MagSafe were enough for me to wait for the MB. MagSafe needs to be seen to be believed.
Verdict: For me, the price was right, the CPU performance matches the 1st MacBook Pro (and blows away G4s), and the Airport range is great. I'm glad I waited.