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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."
Wow. Finally a laptop with enough storage space.
That comment is going to seem so funny to you in a year...
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
The DVD consortium has been leaning on manufactures who liscence the DVD standard (all of them) to put this firmware restriction in place on all of their drives. If you can still find new drives that do not have this restriction on the market I would be surprised. And even the supply of drives that have been sitting on a shelf for a while without the restriction is probably starting to get small.
Sadly, it looks like the DVD consortium is going to get away with this bit of colusion and abuse of monopoly.
Apple and Dells Pricing are simular +/- $100 or so. Apple Usually wins on the high end systems. Dell Wins on the Low End Systems (Dell vs. MacBook) Plus you can get really stripped down cheapo systems from Dell for a lot less where Apple will not stand to make a product at that quality.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
I'm kinda curious as to how you calculated your prices, other than running with the lazy meme of how to compare prices. But what really threw me was your lauding the eSATA interface, something I've only heard nasty things about, especially about how it isn't hot-swappable and a real pain to connect/disconnect. Pray tell, where can you get a professional videocamera with eSATA but not Firewire?
The lack of a card reader may seem a pain, but those are slots in the case that could admit dust/dirt, as well as taking up real estate inside the case. Considering what they pack in there and how much care is given to make the layout not interfere with ventilation, I have no problem getting an el cheapo external cardreader.
Next time you critique the Apple laptops, though, I suggest you get rid of that huge chip on your shoulder. Your antagonism towards Apple is pretty blatant.
Hey Apple, where's the ultraportable laptop with max. 3lb weight?
You've shown with iPod nano that you can do wonders in small scale, but your laptops are not reflecting your capabilities in this regard. They are currently just waaayyy too big and heavy for everyday and everywhere portability. So no Mac switch for me.
Well, I think you are assuming that people use their laptop ONLY as mobile machines.... and for many, like myself, it is my ONLY machine... at home I use a 'big' screen, real KB and mouse. When I am at home, the more my computer is like a desktop, the better.
Why not get a desktop, you might ask? Because then I have to do things like sync them and spend more money.
Personally, I'd *LOVE* to have more memory.... If I am getting page outs, I don't have enough... and I get them all the time on 2gigs of RAM.
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.
I stand corrected - I did check the store, but missed that it was missing as an option on the 15"
My apologies - I generally do check what I write pretty carefully before I hit the "submit" button....
I don't know why, but its a bit sad - especially on the Pro models - not because its critical in itself, but because its so much more of a pain to change the HDD on the Pro than it is on the MacBook. And there is no reason for Apple not to offer this - after all, its a PRO laptop.
Michael
There is no cryptographic solution to the problem where the intended receiver and the attacker are the same entity.
I wouldn't call two-finger scrolling and right-click a "workaround." I'd call it "more graceful." Now I don't have to move my thumb or hand at all to hit some other physical button on the right. I actually love using my PowerBook portably now that I can easily right-click without an external mouse. I have an MX900 for when I'm at home at my desk, but on the road two-finger scroll/right-click is great. I wish PC laptops would implement it--I prefer it to physical scroll wheels or second buttons.
Or, if you re-arrange your perspective a bit, what's sad is that Apple assumes all PROs want a huge-ass 17" screen. What about those of us who are PROs (maybe in an industry other than media), who want a 12" (or smaller) ultralight Mac? Apple makes exactly two things that can accomodate us: jack and squat.
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
Get a 64-bit version of Windows and you have nothing to worry about. ...except all of your drivers working. ;-)
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Anyone who wants does video editing work, especially HD or movie footage. There are a lot of TV/Movie professionals who would love to have more RAM to use when working out of the office where they can't take a desktop.
It would also be handy for anyone who does art/design work in multiple programs simultaneously. I often have various combinations of Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, Flash, BBEdit, and AfterEffects running. When I'm working with big files it's not hard to start chewing through every bit of my two gigabytes of memory, meaning that I have to stop running programs like Firefox and iTunes. It's irritating as hell, and another two gigs of RAM would be a huge plus at times.
You have no idea what you are missing. Like you, I had my head in the sand about a 2 button mouse. That was, until I bought a Mac and understod it. You are used to the Microsoft way to do it, not the simple way that makes your life easier.
I own a 17" MBP and a 15" MBP. I like the 17" MBP a lot more.
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