Apple Unveils New Macbook 986
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."
RAM (Score:4, Interesting)
New MacBook pretty close to the Pro in specs (Score:5, Interesting)
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.
New keyboard design (Score:3, Interesting)
They claim that it is firmer than before.
Picture [apple.com]
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.
Display Spanning (Score:4, Interesting)
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.
marketing tactics (Score:2, Interesting)
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.
Pics of the black one! (Score:3, Interesting)
http://www.apple.com/macbook/gallery/index2.html [apple.com]
Great! (Score:3, Interesting)
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 [dell.com] 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.)
Re:Black is the new black (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Family complete? (Score:3, Interesting)
You forget the company that produced it...
The FP mentioning CPU, then color, then - nothing! - as the key specs of this product should give a bit of a clue on the target audience.
Not sayin' it doesn't sounds like a hell of a nice laptop (and for a decent price at that, amazingly enough). Just... Know your audience.
Glossy screen on MacBook Pro (Score:4, Interesting)
Dell vs Apple Price Comparison (Score:5, Interesting)
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
Re:anytime soon (Score:5, Interesting)
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 [1394ta.org]. All of Apple's computing products will have it for quite some time, and there's no logical or technical reason to believe otherwise.
Glossy screen? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Dell vs Apple Price Comparison (Score:4, Interesting)
3 reasons why it may be done (Score:2, Interesting)
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.
Glossy Display...Details? (Score:3, Interesting)
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?
Re:Glossy screen? (Score:2, Interesting)
An interesting additional point is that the MacBook Pro can now also be order with the glossy screen. Fortunately its only an option, not standard.
Re:Two words: glossy screen... (Score:2, Interesting)
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.
Re:MacBook Vs Dell (Score:1, Interesting)
please quit comparing, when will you people realise the machines are not the same. different computers for different reasons: sometimes a dell is better, sometimes an Apple is better. IT IS THAT SIMPLE.
Re:Dell vs Apple Price Comparison (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Specs and Prices (US and UK) (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Not quite apples and apples (Score:3, Interesting)
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.
Re:Glossy screen? (Score:5, Interesting)
"MacBook features a unique new keyboard design that sits flush against the bed for a sleeker, lower profile. Plus, you'll find a firmer touch when typing. That ought to make your fingers happy." That has the ominous tone of marketing to cover for a crappy keyboard. It will be interesting once people start putting hands on these machines.
Re:Not for me (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Family complete? (Score:3, Interesting)
Because of idiots like me, who started drooling in some sort of Jobsian/Pavlovian response when I saw the black MacBook. Yes, I know that, rationally and consciously, computer case aesthetics are not of prime importance to me. But Apple is working their desire voodoo. I want one. I have to have one.
Pity about the graphics. It's that one thing that keeps it from being a perfect laptop. The one stumbling block for me on the iBooks (and the reason I own a 12" PowerBook currently) was the lack of DVI output. They did fix that, at least. Nothing I can tell about whether it is mirror only out-of-the-box. Has anybody seen any info on this?
Re:MacBook Vs Dell (Score:1, Interesting)
So is it really worse for Dell? Not really. I can bolt together a Inspiron 6400 with a 1680 x 1050 screen for a nicer price. I'm just waiting to see how many people moan about the balck case one scratching like a Nano...
Btw, I love the way everyone compares Apple to Dell; style guru's to boxshifters! Either Dell must be rather chuffed, or Apple really are starting to manifest themselves as a PC company.
Re:Stunning new black enclosure? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Family complete? (Score:5, Interesting)
I've got a 12" iBook, and on a typical Boeing aircraft, if the person in front of me puts their seat back, I can *just barely* have the iBook open, sitting on the front lip of the tray table.
If my laptop screen was one inch taller, it would be pretty much impossible to use in most of the cheap seats of a plane. I would have to always arrive early and request an exit-row seat.
That's one reason why I think the wide-screen laptops are an awesome idea. More screen real estate, less height when it's open.
Desktop Rumors? (Score:3, Interesting)
Glossy? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Black is the new black (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Black is the new black (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:Black is the new black (Score:1, Interesting)
http://www.lge.com/products/model/detail/t1%20exp
And Antec has been offering glossy black HTPC cases for a while now.
http://www.antec.com/uk/pro_en_lifeStyle.html [antec.com]
Looks like Apple is behind in the game this time.
It's a Mac Mini "To Go" (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Stunning new black enclosure? (Score:2, Interesting)
Actually, for some people wanting to dulboot with Windows, now that this is possible, the single button touchpad could be an issue. How does one properly use Windows these days with only one mouse button, when it's not convenient to pull out a USB mouse with more buttons?
I was just thinking this would make a great triple-OS laptop but your joke got me thinking... What about Windows and Linux???
Re:Dell vs Apple Price Comparison (Score:4, Interesting)
14.1" screen (1280x800)
Core Duo 1.83
512 MB RAM
60 GB HD
for $899
The only way you'd get that Dell up to $1500+ is with a 4 year warranty. You can get a 7200 RPM harddrive and DVD burner and still be cheaper than the base MacBook.
There's still an Apple premium. The software may be worth the difference, but as long as you want to spec just the hardware, that's a damn expensive webcam.
Re:Dell vs Apple Price Comparison (Score:4, Interesting)
Hmm... MacMini - $500... Dell Dual Xeon Desktop system with 30" LCD - $6000. I guess Apples are cheaper.
See - this is why people compare things that are as identical as possible. The more variables you change, the less apt your comparison is.
Integrated graphics = no (Score:1, Interesting)
But integrated, non-upgradeable graphics = not really useful for 3D rendering, and I'm not even talking about games, and yes I KNOW from the Mac mini discussions at the very least that this integrated Intel isn't the crap from 2 years ago. It's the crap from last week, optimized for video playback.
It is, surprisingly, a better deal than a Dell, but I've got a 133MHz P1 lappy that does all the basic internet crap this thing does - video and audio capture included - and on Linux, no less. And it's a fucking COMPAQ. Give me a goddamned break.
Seriously - why is it so hard to make a dedicated GPU and dedicated graphics RAM an option for Apple? Why does it absolutely have to be integrated video with shared RAM?
Re:Glossy screen on MacBook Pro (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Black is the new black (Score:1, Interesting)
Having seen one in person, here are my thoughts: sexy as hell. finger prints show up very quickly and obviously. looks like a riced out honda civic in black primer. screams 'paint a bitchin' glossy flame job on me!'