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Apple Unveils MacBook Pro with Core 2 Duo
daveschroeder writes "Apple has just announced the upgraded MacBook Pro (15.4- and 17-inch models) with the Intel Core 2 Duo ("Merom") 64-bit dual core processor. The standard hard drive sizes have been increased, a FireWire 800 port has been added to all models (again, reaffirming that FireWire, and specifically FireWire 800, is not dead, and that Apple responded to customer requests to add it to the 15.4-inch model), and the optical drive is now dual-layer-write-capable on all models."
Also not mentioned is that 2gigs has been made the standard memory size with 1gig only available in the lowest model, with a 3gig option on the 17in version.
Actually, the Core 2 Duo for laptops is code named "Merom" not "Conroe". "Conroe" is only for desktops. They are virtually identical except for power requirements.
I have the 2.0GHz core 2 duo imac with 4MB L2 cache. According to Intel, only the merom at 2.0ghz comes with 4MB L2 cache, the conroe is 2.66GHz for the first one with 4MB. Therefore, I'd say that the imac use merom.
save the GNUs!
Hey troll, those batteries were made by Sony, and they were used by Apple, and Toshiba, and Compaq, and... well, by most laptop manufacturers. Put the blame on the real manufacturer, Sony.
I've always been a critic of the premium that one has to pay to get an Apple. So when I saw this article, I was quick to go configure a Dell and point out just how much one can save over the Apple tax.
But it was 25 percent *more* (at least compared the $1999 MacBook). And you *still* have to waste your time reinstalling Windows to get rid of all the circus-ware that comes on the Dell.
It really is no wonder that someone is paying Gartner to try and coax Apple out of the PC business. They'd be idiots not to continue selling hardware.
More
Conveniently enough, this was just covered on /. a few days ago:
Cool your MacBook Pro
Basically, it boils down to: "Apple, in its quest for ultra, super-duper quietness, sets the fans to run much slower than the speed needed to make laptops usable on laps."
Unfortunately, they eliminated the option for a 7200 rpm drive. It's a significant performance hit, if you're doing something that's I/O bound on the hard drive.
You can get a 7200 rpm drive, its not a standard but its an option. But you have to drop down to 100GB. I think this reflects the manufacturers.
Bear in mind that the 160 GB drives use perpendicular recording, so they increase the size by increasing the areal density of the data.
This also means that for a given speed of rotation, it will increase the data rates quite alot.
Seek times won't be helped by this increase in density however.
Michael
There is no cryptographic solution to the problem where the intended receiver and the attacker are the same entity.
I don't know exactly what kind of Matsushita drive is in the MBPs, but many of them can be flashed to be region free. The behavior you describe is normal for a region locked DVD drive by the way, they're all supposed to work that way.
I read the internet for the articles.
10.4 will still be primarily 32bit, with 64bit sections where it really matters (the processing libraries for large-data-set apps). It looks like 10.5 is going to be much more 64bit from stem-to-stern with paralell libraries (some changes in the 64bit versions that will mark a change.. because it was an easy place to put the transition) for 32bit and 64bit.
But do note that moving most of the code to running in 64bit mode does not make it faster. In theory you can make 32bit code that uses the new features in the cips without taking the extra overhead of everything going 64bit.
...and that Conroe has 75% faster FSB, 10% faster clock and 10% lower cost than Merom. That's the advantage of not having to pinch every watt.
Everyone: Gah! Still only one mouse button!
Ha.. that gripe is now becoming obsolete. On a MB or MBP, put two fingers on the track-pad and press the 'single' mouse button. You will find this has the same effect as pressing the secondary button button on a WinDell or any other PC laptop. I don't know if this works on the PPC Macs. For the desktop Macs there is plenty of alternatives (Logitech, Macally) if you don't like the old one button Mac mouse or the Mighty Mouse. The latter incidentally includes a second and third and fourth mouse 'button' functionality but the ergonomics are not to everyones taste. I'll admit it took Apple much longer than it should have to remedy the 'missing second button' issue in it's product line, the two-fingers-on-the-trackpad feature on the Laptop line was especially long overdue since the old [Ctrl]+MouseClick was pretty awkward.
Only to idiots, are orders laws.
-- Henning von Tresckow
"You can get a 7200 rpm drive, its not a standard but its an option. But you have to drop down to 100GB. I think this reflects the manufacturers.
Apple no longer offers any 7200 rpm drive in the 15" MacBook Pros, at any capacity. It's not standard, and it's not offered as an option. The only place it's still available is in the 17" model.
Anyone who doesn't believe me is invited to check the Apple store.
I rarely criticize things I don't care about.
1) All of the standard UNIX utils plus a lot of extra shiop on the Mac - the default shell is bash and even perl and apache come on it. You'll not need putty because you get a real ssh client and server.
2) Java is not too bad, I've not done anything with that recently but I used to do a lot of Java development on a slower older Mac. The Mac is usually a few months (or more) behind on new Java releases (like 1.6). XCode (the mac development environment, comes with every Mac) understands Java.
3) Way more stable than the old OS 9. I've not had a problem yet with the OS crashing that was not caused by bad hardware (got a bad RAM stick from crucial).
4) You can compile most anything, there are X11 libraries as well that let you compile binaries on the Mac and run with an X11 server.
5) Well it's hard to say what is in that difference. Expresscard is nice because you can use external SATA devices. The screens are good quality, the backlit keyboard is actually really useful. Generally the build quality is excellent overall, however if you didn't appreciate the Thinkpad quality you may still be nonplussed by the Mac features.
6) I cannot really quantify it, because I don't know what fast means to you. Is it as fast as a Mac Pro? No. Is it much faster than my old G4 laptop? Yes. Can I use Aperture and Photoshop on it? Yes.
7) The two-finger trackpad is great for scrolling. Personally I don't use it for right clicking because it is WAY easier to just press "Control" while using the laptop mouse button to get a context menu or do other things that require a right click. AFter all your hand is right there to the side, what else would you be doing with it! I personally think this system works better than any second button arrangement I have ever used or seen on a Windows laptop.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Not just that, but if you're a student developer, you can get an even larger discount by getting an ADC membership and using that to take a huge amount off. Student ADC memberships are $99 a year, but the discount is around $500.
Tired of legitimate data sources? Try UNCYCLOPEDIA
If you check this thread http://forum.rpc1.org/viewtopic.php?t=38176 on the site you linked to, you will see that indeed, the newer Matsushita drives (830-850 series) used in all MB/MBPs can NOT be flashed to RPC1 or read discs from outside its own region, and all attempts at working on a firmware hack have been abandoned due to the issues I mentioned in my earlier post. Of course there are still many RPC1-flashable drives being made by other companies, but none which will fit in the slimmer slot-load form-factor of the MB/MBPs.
Also note that this behavior is NOT normal for a region locked drive. With most locked drives, you can still use DeCSS-based software such as AnyDVD, DVD Region Free, DVD Decrypter, mplayer, VLC, etc. even if a RPC1 hack is not available. OTOH, only the newest Matsushita drives will flat-out refuse to read encrypted sectors (even in raw/direct mode) when the regions don't match. Software cannot get around this problem because these Matsushita drives won't even attempt to read data from the disc unless the region code matches.
So, unless Apple has dumped Matsushita in the new MBP revision, the only possibility for region-free on a MB/MBP at this time is to use an external drive, and for me that is not an acceptable option.
OK, I'll bite.
1) I stopped using Linux (my primary OS) three years ago when I first purchased an OS X Mac. Absolutely no need for it. I can download and run most open source apps on OS X. It's full blown UNIX.
2) JAVA screams! I develop J2EE apps using Eclipse/RAD to run on IBM WAS / WPS. I currently have a 15" MBP 2.0 GHz, 7200RPM drive, 2GB RAM. On this machine, JAVA is a rocket.
3) I've never had a single kernel panic since I received my MBP in March. Not one. A couple of apps have gone south once or twice, but never the OS.
4) GNU/Open/Free progs run with no issues I've encountered yet.
5) Sounds like you are a value shopper. Go to an Apple store, check for yourself. Personally, I think the build quality, design, etc. is worth the price "premium". If you can't see the advantage a TP has over a Dell, I doubt you will see what a Mac has to offer over a Dell. That's cool though -- we all have different expectations and ideas of value for money.
6) Smoking. SMOKING. SMOKING FAST! Fastest laptop I've ever used.
7) I love the two-finger trackpad for scrolling, and the two-finger tap for right-click works great for me. I must confess, I hated having to hold down control for a right-click with my old PowerBook. It was a nuisance.
2) I find Java performance to be quite good. I played a Java-based flight simulator that ran great on my MacBook. But if there's a particular application that you want to try out, I'd say go to an Apple store if one is nearby and download it to the desktop and give it a whirl. They don't monitor that stuff too closely.
3) I work on a Windows machine most of the time, but my personal system is a MacBook, and I find the latter to be much more stable overall. I essentially never reboot it, unless there is a software update that requires it. I did have the RSS problem, but I'll detail that in the hardware question.
4) There's lots and lots of free (as in speech) software. Apple even has a download section dedicated to it: http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/unix_open_so urce/ . And since you've got Perl, etc., there are a lot of programs you can download and run without even having to recompile.
5) In general, I think workmanship is great. Easy access to parts, long-lasting and reliable systems. Problems do come up, but Apple's pretty good about fixing them. My old iBook is almost 6 years old, and it's my wife's main computer now, and works great. It did have to have the logic board replaced because of a video problem, but they took it and fixed it and returned it in three days without a hassle, even though it was officially out of warranty. My current MacBook has the RSS (random shutdown syndrome), and I just brought it in last night. My understanding is that they've resolved that, and if history is any indicator, I'll still be using this system in 4 years.
6) Speed is subjective, but basically, we're talking about the same hardware you might run windows on, so many--if not most--applications should run just the same. And if you want to run Windows, there's BootCamp, which lets you dual boot, or Parallels, which lets you run a virtual machine without the overhead of emulation. Lots of great reviews out there. Seach /. or google for more info.
7) The two finger trackpad is AWESOME. I mean, it's OK for the second button and all; much better for right-clicking than control-click, in my mind. But the key is two-finger scrolling. Once you're used to it, you'll feel like any laptop that doesn't support it is a toy. Two finger scrolling a pretty great jump forward in human-computer interface.
Hope this all helps!
The CB App. What's your 20?
I'm sure you're wrong. Stop trying to shoot from the hip, and actually read up on the issue.
The problem is that they're plugging a Merom (Core 2 Duo) into motherboards using the chipset for the original Core Duo (they are forwards-compatible), which is how Mac Mini owners have been upgrading to Meroms for several months now). The Core Duo is 32-bit, while the Merom supports 64-bit. However, the old chipset on the motherboard only supports 32-bit, which means only 32-bit addressing for RAM, which means 4GB maximum. Now, the reason for the 3-4GB discrepancy is the way PCI-e interfaces directly with the memory bus. So video card VRAM etc. eats into that first 1GB.
Apple HQ knows that people sorely need more RAM, but can't do anything about it until Intel provides them with a supply of new 64-bit chipsets specifically for Merom (Core 2 Duo). This won't be until approximately March 2007.