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Hands-On With the New MacBooks
Paige Philuer writes "Macworld has a hands-on article examining the new MacBook and MacBook Pro — not a quickie look from Tuesday's event, but a lengthy, in-depth look with laptops they actually have in their offices. Some interesting observations: No FireWire on the MacBook; the TrackPad doesn't feel like you're running your finger across a pane of glass, though that's what it is; and switching between graphics cards in the MacBook Pro requires you to log out."
Reader Bourbon contributes three links at CNET related to the new models, too: a positive written review (giving a score of 8/10 to the new MacBook), a video review, and a behind-the-scenes look at how the new models are machined.
I'm a huge Mac fan (I'm typing this on an older MacBook Pro), but man, I really think these new laptops are ugly as sin. I really prefer the look of previous model MacBooks and MacBook Pros, though when the Air came out it was probably inevitable that the other laptops would follow its lead.
"There is no time, sir, at which ties do not matter," Jeeves, (Jeeves and the Impending Doom)
Great! The displays are bright.
How about dim? Can they be dim too? My 24" iMac is painfully bright to use in a dark room at its lowest backlight setting. Some people resort to software that puts a neutral gray, transparent window over the whole screen just to keep the pain down at the expense of color resolution. I keep sunglasses by the computer so I can see to work on late night emergency calls while my eyes adapt to the light.
I guess that's so when the first one de-laminates you have a backup. *Bah-dum-bump*
Actually it's pretty cool to have both high- and low-power options. Too bad they can't switch on the fly. But since the GeForce 9600M GT can do CUDA, maybe you could use it as a compute accelerator while you use the 9400 for display.
The Lenovo laptops running Vista with two graphics cards can switch completely on the fly. It's a bit disappointing that Apple, with full control over everything, couldn't manage the same. See http://lenovoblogs.com/insidethebox/?p=154.
The black border isn't that great imho, but it's ok. Same for keys I guess.
But new macbook vs old one? Definitly. Way better than plastic.
Watching the video, the Mac guys talk about all of the innovations that have gone into making the computer friendly to the environment. But the aluminum machining looks like a pretty energy intensive and wasteful process. Does anyone know if this is a true observation, relative to the process used to make other laptops?
The Canadian price for the low-end used to be $1250, now it's $1400. Whatever happened to the maxim that computers get faster & cheaper over time?
Then there's connectivity. One of the mixed blessings of apple is their place on the avant-guard of computer ports; sometimes they're annoying (proprietary video), sometimes not (usb on iMac). All I know is that there's no hope of using an external monitor without shelling out an Elizabeth for an adapter. That, and the newfound lack of firewire (and thus target disk mode) on the most popular apple notebook will result in tears.
I'm half-considering buying an old macbook - the CPU is just as fast, and it's got firewire. My only real concern is whether I'd be able to run Civ4 on the integrated graphics card. Anyone know?
The English word fart is one of the oldest words in the English vocabulary.
Wish the low end still had Firewire, though.
Even if you get the new display that can fit along with the new MacBooks... it has three USB ports in the back yet no Firewire!
I wonder if it's a power issue...
Wow, where to even start on this rant. First of all, people are more inclined to listen to your points when they're written in well formed sentences free from typos. Take a minute to read over your post before you hit the submit button and make sure you've eliminated most if not all of your mistakes. It's almost painful trying to read your post due to the typos in every third word (not to mention entire sentences that are mangled). Second most of your points are flawed in one way or another. Just as an example, it is possible to get an mp3 out of iTunes, it's just a royal PITA to do so. You also can't fault Apple for non-Apple hardware failing to work properly on a cracked version of OS X that's been jury rigged to run on generic hardware. I mean at that point you're not even dealing with Apple software really. It's like hacking up a copy of Chromium so that it manages to run under Linux and then bitching that Google sucks because Chromium crashes when you try to visit some website. Now, you could complain that Apple sucks because they won't release a version of OS X for non-Apple hardware, but that's different than the point you made.
Eh, who am I kidding, I'm arguing with an AC about the quality of his post, I might as well be arguing with a tree for all the effect it will have. Also, before grammar nazis descend in droves to pick apart my post be forewarned that I don't care, and I invoke muphry's law (and no that's not a typo).
Curiosity was framed, Ignorance killed the cat.
Hiding the memory? What? It seems like its also a user serviceable part. It's not quite as easy to get to as the hard drive, but its still on the under side of the computer. You just unscrew it and bam, there it is.
Here's a picture:
http://images.macworld.com/images/news/graphics/136063-inside-top-door_original.jpg
Maybe they designed it for people who want to cross the US border a lot?
One doesn't only replace the hard drive due to failure. The last time I replaced my laptop hard drive was when I discovered I needed more room and didn't want to carry around another drive. I'm guessing most people upgrade their laptop drives for this reason.
You're not the only one. I personally think these look pretty tacky, especially compared the sleek/slick, classy look of the previous model MBP.
In two years these will look like even uglier, like that K-car your stuffy old man used to drive. Of course by then all the others notebook manufacturers will have copied the design and nobody will notice that they all look cheesy.
The pursuit of absolute tolerance leads to the most rigorous and ludicrous intolerance. - REX MURPHY
I've been checking out the MacBooks to console my sister who I advised to buy a white MacBook two weeks ago (d'oh!). I can't speak for the Canadian dollar, but in USD there's been a branching among MacBook models.
Before there were two: a $1049 model with 1 GB memory, etc and a $1299 model with 2 GB memory, etc. Both were white plastic. If you go to the store now there are two aluminum versions: a $1299 model with 2 GB memory, etc and a $1599 model also with 2 GB memory plus a 90 GB larger drive and a 2.4 GHz CPU versus 2.0 GHz for the cheaper model. If you look closely, there is also a $999 white plastic version with 1 GB memory, etc like before.
So the low end model did get cheaper. But it's still plastic, not the unibody aluminum. (So much for that being a cheaper process.) The old high-end model is the same price but with faster graphics. Then there is a new top-end model that is bigger, faster, and more expensive.
You should take a gander at the user manual for the new MacBooks, as the RAM is user replaceable. http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/MacBook_13inch_Aluminum_Late2008.pdf As for your rant about the hard drive, this is a great move.
Do you realize what the most likely component on any given laptop to fail is? Setting aside occasional bad crops of GPUs, logic boards, the most likely component in a laptop to fail is the hard drive. Making replacing that simpler and easier is a great idea. In addition, apple charges ridiculous prices on their upgrades, so making yet another component in the machine readily user replaceable is both technically useful and empowers the consumers to make more relevant choices for themselves.
hybrid sli non gefore boost.
Power issue or not, the lack of FireWire now officially makes the portable consumer-level Mac incompatible with the standard DV camera interface. I guess Steve really is pushing those memory-card HD cameras.
What will apple do with the mini? If they mess up then EFiX and Psystar will have a field day.
The $800 mini better have a real video card with 256 of vram that is not from system ram.
Also if they put mini display port on it. It better have ship with the mini Display Port to DVI Cable Adapter and a mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort.
makeing you pay $30 for a Adapter to be able use your display on a DESKTOP is a slap in the face.
The mini should drop down to $500 with 2gb of ram and super drive.
The MacBooks, with their int-degraded graphics, were always lame, but axing Firewire 400 and not adding Firewire 800 is hella-lame. And this is coming from an "Apple Acolyte." Perhaps I need a different /. name.
Part of the hardcore faithful who believed in Apple long before it was cool again to do so
The 12" Powerbook is one of the most jam-packed packages that I've ever seen, and is not user serviceable, for sure, but I've done a few HD replacements in various 12" PB's and a new Superdrive in one. You just have to keep track of the screws and use the Apple service manual to track which seemingly strange piece you need to remove next. I think they designed the internals with a spoon and a comedy foam hand.
These laptops though, have the two most commonly replaced items within a few easy-to-remove phillips screws.
At the very least it's going to make upgrades to all my family and friends' machines pretty easy in a couple of years.
I've only done two "dead drive" repairs (both on 12" PB actually), most of the hard drive changes I've done have been simple upgrades. I have a stack of 2.5" HDs in my desk that I use like removable disks in an external FW enclosure.
> I guess Steve really is pushing those memory-card HD cameras.
Nope. Steve figures if you can afford a camera with a firewire port you will spring for the MBP. You might piss and moan but in the end you will pull out the credit card. It's all about the money.
Democrat delenda est
Or, you know, they're aware that harddrives follow the moore's law curve closely, and users frequently want to upgrade them.
I replaced the harddrive in my macbook, not because the old one failed, but because I just couldn't stand working with only 80 gig of space on a dual-booting machine anymore. I got a 250 gig drive for about $150. 18 months ago, when I bought the macbook, there was no such thing as a 2.5" 250 gig 7200 RPM drive. And if this thing's still kicking in another 3 years (which it may well be), I'll probably stick a 1.0 TB drive in it, which will cost about $100 by then.
No matter how difficult you make removing the drive, it only takes 3 seconds to just walk off with the whole laptop, much less the drive.
Wow, there's no satisfying you, is there? If it's hard to remove, it's too hard, and if it's easy, it's too easy.
User serviceable components are a good thing.
More information at ifixit.com with complete tear-aparts as usual:
MacBook: http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/First-Look/Mac/MacBook-Unibody
Pro: http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/First-Look/Mac/MacBook-Pro-Unibody
In theory, theory always works in practice. In practice, theory rarely works. <><
My good man, you don't need an adapter to connect a system with mini-displayport to a monitor!*
*if and only if your idea of "monitor" is "New Apple Cinema display" which, incidentally, comes only with a mini-displayport connector.
IF you have a 24 $900 display then you don't need one.
My quick comments while I'm erasing the hard disk and reinstalling it: (I always erase the HDD on all new machines to check for any SMART errors, and to know that the install is clean)
First, the package it comes in is 20% smaller than the black MacBook's tote box. Styrofoam is a thing of the past, replacing it is plastic. Its easy to pull out the MacBook and peel off the plastic on it, easy to yank out the power adapter, but you have to use a thin piece of cardboard to pull the OS media box out as it is set flush, with no fingertip grips to make it easier. This is a very minor thing, though.
Second, the MacOS CDs are not 10.5.0 as with the black MacBook. You get 10.5.5, and a DVD with the applications.
Third, like every article says, if you need FireWire for mLAN or other music tasks, go for a Pro, or hit Apple Refurb for a previous model. FireWire is a thing of the past with this model. For what I'm using it for, the two USB ports are good.
Fourth, its noticably thinner than the MacBook it replaced. Its not thin enough to slide into an envelope, but its definitely able to be slipped in a briefcase. Its definitely a nice student notebook for sling through classes.
Fifth, I personally have not noticed any significant changes to the screen between the previous generation, but I'm glad Apple went this route, because LEDs supposedly have a much longer life than the CCFL backlights.
Those are my first impressions for now, while I blank the disk on it. Overall, for what I need it for (slinging it around campus) it should do the job well.
I'm a huge Mac fan (I'm typing this on an older MacBook Pro), but man, I really think these new laptops are ugly as sin. I really prefer the look of previous model MacBooks and MacBook Pros, though when the Air came out it was probably inevitable that the other laptops would follow its lead.
I never figured Jobs for a closet Raiders fan.
The latch is locked when the kensington cable is in. I don't remember where I read this, but I'm 100% positive.
Check out DRM-free movies at http://www.bside.com
Not really.. firewire/DV has been fading over the last few years for consumer products. Flash/tapeless/USB transfer is pretty standard now in the consumer world. Old stuff won't really be useful, but Apple has never been about holding on to the old longer than necessary.
(fwiw i own mbp and am pro cam operator)
On Apple laptops you do :) My MacBook Pro has had a failed hard drive (barely a year old), and out of the other Mac users I know there have been at least 5 other HDD failures. I don't know what causes it, maybe Apple uses shoddy parts, maybe it's bad thermal design... But Apple HDDs seem to die more often than the rest.
I don't buy it either. Has Apple seen an HDMI port? It's downright tiny AND carries audio data (would work great if you want to put a movie on your TV!)... DisplayPort might be the new hotness, but HDMI is well-established, with lots of hardware and software support, and is small enough that Apple really wouldn't miss the room.
But new macbook vs old one? Definitly. Way better than plastic.
Way better than the white plastic MacBook, which looks like a tacky toy IMO. OTOH, I think the black plastic looks pretty good.
I must be the only one who thinks Apple's white plastic products (iBook, iPod, iMac, MacBook) look lame. I like Apple's current move away from white plastic and toward uncolored (MacBook, iMac) and colored (iPod nano) aluminum.
TO START
PRESS ANY KEY
Where's the 'ANY' key? I see Esk, Kitarl, and Pig-Up...
Nope. Steve figures if you can afford a camera with a firewire port you will spring for the MBP. You might piss and moan but in the end you will pull out the credit card. It's all about the money.
I think it's a general sign of Firewire disappearing from general consumer products. The first major sign that I noticed was the lack of easy backwards compatibility between Firewire 800 and Firewire 400. Now the port is disappearing from Apple computers too.
I wonder if Target Disk mode and such will be implemented for USB in Mac OS X? External hard drives were nice with Firewire because of how it in didn't burden the cpu like USB. But as with SCSI/ATA, chips are invented that offload the work from the CPU (sometimes diverging from the technology's spec to do so).
Meh.
Once you start despising the jerks, you become one.
The latch is locked when the kensington cable is in. I don't remember where I read this, but I'm 100% positive.
Just to make other readers 100% HIV positive, here's one place I read this: "Hands on with the Macbook/Pro's removable hard drive".
From TA:
I'm surprised anyone would complain about an easy-to-replace hard drive on a Mac. Some current and previous model Macs make it a pain in the arse to replace the hard drive.
TO START
PRESS ANY KEY
Where's the 'ANY' key? I see Esk, Kitarl, and Pig-Up...
You are NOT alone. I have hated these white plastic toy things they produced forever. Nobody ever agreed with me before though.
Personally I think the new look is an improvement, at the very least over the white ones, as you said.
And what is it about hiding the memory. Apple must be really hard up for money if they are going to hid memory in hopes that users will buy Apple memory. There is only one thing that is still over priced at Apple. The memory. I will do without rather than pay apple prices. Non replaceable battery and memory in the macbook air, fine. No SD slot in the iPhone, fine. But making the HD a user replaceable part and the memory not, that is just silly.
You're being generous. Apple has been making lots of really bad hardware decisions for a couple years. I've eyed every Apple laptop upgrade since my Powerbook 170 with envy, occasionally succumbing (the pre-G3 PPC units being a marked exception). I've had Powerbooks, iBooks, I'm currently using a lovely MBP, but this current line is just problem after problem. It's like with the latest iMac revision when they went to a junk-quality screen - Apple's always had high margins, but you used to get a great computer for your money. I'm a value shopper, not a cost shopper, so they were my manufacturer of choice.
In any case, the new mac books are something different, and will take some time to digest.
Apple isn't stupid - they're clearly going after a different market - one that doesn't include me anymore.
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
...and even the standard DisplayPort would fit into a notebook.
HDMI only supports resolutions up to 1920x1200. Apple's 30" displays use greater than this.
Yeah...might be something to do that they look much more like any generic, shiny laptop on the market.
One that hath name thou can not otter
Actually, up until yesterday I would have agreed with you about Apple's RAM pricing 100%. I'm in the market for a new laptop - the G4 PBook is about 5 years old now. So yesterday I had a look at the Apple Store. Checked the new MBP and had a look at how much it would cost to upgrade the RAM from 2Gb to 4Gb when I buy - 100 GBP. I did my usual comparison check on crucial's website, and rather than the half-price I'd normally expect them to be charging, they have a 4Gb kit for 96 GBP. Only 4 quid cheaper than Apple!!! This must be a first, heh. Mind you, I suppose if you buy from Crucial you can always sell the old 2x1Gb sticks on th'ebay to offset the cost, but still! Maybe Apple have taken note of how many people aren't buying their RAM 'upgrades' anymore.
I think you can already target disk mode with a USB port... (would have to get back to you on that though). I know you can definitely boot off a USB drive, even though officially they claim you can only boot from a FireWire - just hold down Option at boot and select the USB drive (I know, it's not automated like Firewire, but it still works), so there's a good chance they'll have allowed USB to target-disk too.
Apple need to update the Mini. They will use the NVIDIA 9400M chipset I imagine, but no discrete graphics.
I agree about Mini DisplayPort - either ship with an adaptor, or include a HDMI in addition (as HDMI -> DVI cables are cheap still).
I expect that they will drop Firewire.
I wouldn't be surprised if they got rid of the SODIMM slot and put the 2GB on the motherboard directly.
No, actually I won't. The wife's video camera is several years old and works just fine. I really want one of the new MacBook's (not the Pro), but the lack of a firewire port kind of sucks. I'm not going to toss out another $6-700 for a port (the rest of the upgrades really don't matter to me).
Now I don't know what I want...
DisplayPort can tunnel HDMI and DVI signals with a cheap adaptor (if Mini DisplayPort is a standard, then adaptors will appear for much cheaper than Apple's soon enough). It needs an active adaptor for VGA and dual-link DVI however (including in-line hardware for conversion).
It supports higher resolutions and bit-depth, unless you are using HDMI 1.3a.
Even the full size DisplayPort, err, port is about the same size as a HDMI port.
Yup, one of the other manufacturers (Asus?) makes laptops with a shiny black border around the screen - I've seen a few around campus - and so they manage to look both ugly and derivative at the same time. Not a good combination. I'm also totally unimpressed by the Mini DisplayPort. My old PowerBook had a DVI port and an S-Video port, with an S-Video to composite adaptor in the box. My newer MBP has a DVI port and they charge for a DVI to S-Video / Composite adaptor. Now they are charging for both DVI and VGA adaptors - apparently plugging the machine into anything other than a new Apple display is a luxury. Sure, the Mini DisplayPort is smaller than the DVI port, but it's not like they're actually short of space on the side. I'm also not a fan of the removal of FW400 - I have a couple of FW800 disks, but I come across a lot more FW400 devices than FW800, and so this is yet another adaptor to carry around (also not included in the box, so it's another one you need to buy).
I quite liked the old Apple Display Port. It was a proprietary connector, but carrying DVI, USB and power in the same cable at least meant it was a proprietary connector that had advantages over standard ones. Mini DisplayPort doesn't seem to have any compelling advantage over HDMI, other than the ability for Apple to sell adaptors at stupidly high prices (£16.45 for DVI or VGA and a massive £61.10 for dual-link DVI). If I want to plug my current MBP or my PowerBook into a 30" display, I just plug in the cable. If I want to do the same with a new MBP I need a £61.10 adaptor.
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
They have the room for firewire and a $800 desktop with nvidia video but useing system ram and no firewire?
FWIW, I've been an Apple user for 10 or 12 years (on my sixth overall, fourth laptop), and I've never had a hard drive fail. Nobody I know has, either, although several were bitten by the infamous logic board problem in the old iBooks (which I managed to evade somehow). I've had to have my Macbook palm rest panel replaced due to cracking--that's it, out of all of my Macs over the years.
To reign is to serve.
It's like with the latest iMac revision when they went to a junk-quality screen - Apple's always had high margins, but you used to get a great computer for your money.
iMacs have always been a lousy value proposition. Saving 2 cables (1 power and monitor) costs you $500-800 when you buy a iMac. The built-in displays have ALWAYS been inferior to inexpensive standaone displays. That was true at launch. The innovation of the iMac wasn't a cheap COMPUTER, it was a cheap APPLE COMPUTER. There were all-in-ones available for years (with better specs and cheaper) before the iMac was introduced. People weren't buying.
Thanks for the reply. It doesn't look like USB has a target disk mode from a quick google search. But it does looks like eSata will if it doesn't already. Apple may eventually plan to phase out Firewire for eSata for hard drives. Though if they were going to start doing that it would have been nice if it had appeared on this refresh of the laptops...
Once you start despising the jerks, you become one.
No, you're sane. Glad to see there's another REAL Conservative still hiding out there, getting more and more frustrated at the ass-hats who are spending billions on credit cards to buy shit they can't afford... ruining the country.
Enjoy the fruits of your labor -- with your new MacBooks. I'm working on saving up for something else myself, but have the budget to buy if the wife's old iBook or my Black MacBook (original model) croak... they're not showing any signs of doing so, but it's almost "time" for a new MacBook for one of us...
Keep up the good fight telling people that no... they DO NOT *DESERVE* loans. They *DESERVE* to learn to save for things and buy them WHEN THEY CAN AFFORD THEM. Great job, sir.
All the best (that you can afford...!)...
+++OK ATH
I was waiting for the new MacBooks as well, as was also annoyed by no FW. Check the refurb macs on the Apple Store. You can nab 15" MBPs for $1350. FW and a real video card, for the same price as the new regular MBs. Just no new trackpad and sexy case.
If you really pay like $ 50.000 extra just to get the sport car in yellow instead of red, yes, you're a retard.
But most people get a sport car and pay more for it because they get a different kind of car.
The black macbook is more like putting on stripes on your 20 year old volvo.
"Oh, buy this car, it has a spoiler!! It's so cool!"
Well, I wouldn't support such a scheme of ideological reasons, even if I would had wanted the black one. So, still retards.
Feel free to.
Except for the lack of FireWire, and the glossy screen, the MacBooks are ok. I know, the MacBooks already only came with a glossy screen, but that's fixable (and still is, as soon as somebody comes out with an anti-glare film for the new ones). And if I have to change one because it's cracked, I offer my customers an anti-glare replacement third party panel.
The FireWire issue is a killer for me, I've got a MacBook now (black) but when it's time to replace it, I have no choice, I have to get the MacBook Pro. I use too many FireWire devices to go without that port, and I put my MacBook in target disk mode at least once every few weeks - and when I need that, I really need that.
The black border is fine with me. When I do get a new one, maybe I'll go crazy and anodize the whole case black.
After having looked at the service manuals on the new ones, it's a slight downside on repairs. A bad keyboard or trackpad is now going to be a pain in my ass, but the easy to change hard drive is a good thing. I replace slightly more hard drives than bad keyboards, but even the old MacBook Pro hard drive wasn't really that hard to change, and the MacBook drive was already very easy.
(Yeah, I make Macintoshes work right for a living.)
I want an external firewire case for a 3.5" HDD simply because it's faster but I find them hard to come by compared to USB ones. I wonder if Apple have convinced themselves that USB 2 is just as good or almost as good or why they choose to remove it.
Maybe they just think it's simpler with less ports?
Yeah, I know the Macbooks had an opening for the HDD but not the Pros. Rather weird. I'll open mine up some day anyway.
iMacs have always been a lousy value proposition. Saving 2 cables (1 power and monitor) costs you $500-800 when you buy a iMac.
How do you figure? The better mini with the larger hard drive and keyboard/mouse is $950. The iMac is $1200. That's $250 for the screen (and a bit higher clock) from where I'm looking.
The built-in displays have ALWAYS been inferior to inexpensive standaone displays.
How do you figure that? The iMac G4 was among the first digital LCD panels on the consumer market (all the cheap ones were analog in 2002). The iMac G5 and later used S-IPS panels when most of the market was using TN. That changed in 2007 when Apple dropped from 8-bit IPS to 6-bit TN screens.
That was true at launch. The innovation of the iMac wasn't a cheap COMPUTER, it was a cheap APPLE COMPUTER. There were all-in-ones available for years (with better specs and cheaper) before the iMac was introduced. People weren't buying.
Actually it was marketing and style. The All-In-One PowerMac G3 was very similarly spec'ed and within a hundred bucks or so on price. Almost nobody knew about them and they were ugly as sin (and just as heavy).
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
Nope. Steve figures if you can afford a camera with a firewire port you will spring for the MBP. You might piss and moan but in the end you will pull out the credit card. It's all about the money.
That's probably true, and its very unApple of them (disappearing the allowing the non-pro to edit video like a pro). But its a deal breaker for me on the MacBook, I want firewire. And it hurts a little because I like the dimensions of the MacBook so much more than the MBP. If they've disappeared firewire target disk mode from OS X, I'm really going to be pissed.
I think it's a general sign of Firewire disappearing from general consumer products. The first major sign that I noticed was the lack of easy backwards compatibility between Firewire 800 and Firewire 400.
What? dude... it doesn't get any easier
I wonder if Target Disk mode and such will be implemented for USB in Mac OS X?
doubtful :-(
How would that even work? USB depends on the processor. FireWire has its own controller chip, which is awesome even if it does cost a little more. Did you even read your own "informative" post? (sorry for the grief... not you I'm mad at about this)
External hard drives were nice with Firewire because of how it in didn't burden the cpu like USB. But as with SCSI/ATA, chips are invented that offload the work from the CPU (sometimes diverging from the technology's spec to do so).
exactly.
Meh.
Wah!
The Admin and the Engineer
The last generation pros don't have a 'customer accessible' hard drive... that being said, it's not too technically difficult to change, although it is definitely not for the faint of heart. You need to remove lots of tiny screws, the keyboard, etc. I don't know about the new solid aluminum ones, but I won't be buying one of those for quite some time, if at all (I have just about convinced myself to buy non-Apple next time, due to a number of factors).
Cheers
Amen, brother!
Yeah, I've seen the guides, just haven't done it because I wanted to send this one in for warranty stuff before. But things made it so that year has passed so I'll see what happens.
There are lots of good reasons to not buy Apple, such as incredible overpriced, crippled configurations, vendor lockin. So I understand you :)
I'm curious who would have been responsible for the shift in this direction, industrial design-wise. I wonder what Jon Ive is thinking.
How do you figure? The better mini with the larger hard drive and keyboard/mouse is $950. The iMac is $1200. That's $250 for the screen (and a bit higher clock) from where I'm looking.
Minis are built using cast-off components from the laptop lines. iMacs are actual desktops with actual desktop components. Perversely, you're paying a premium for the laptop components in the mini even though it's marketed as a desktop. And anyway, you're still paying $250. Nearly double the cost of an equivalent stand-alone monitor.