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New Macbook Pros

stephengilbert

Active member
I'm surprised none of you nerds have said anything about the new Macs. Have I missed it?

The Macbook Pro is now available with a 3.06 processor, and a 256GB SSD. Guy's probably at the Apple store and will report back later. :)
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Hey i was watching the live feed on MacRumors but truth be told it was Terry who lead me there. When it comes in Quad core than I will be at the apple store until than I'm just humming along here.
 

jonoslack

Active member
Having bought a 17" mbp a few weeks ago I'm humming along too:

hmmmmmmmmmmmmm,mmmmm,mmmm

Mind you I'll be having one of those new iphones!
 

LJL

New member
Ah, but while Apple giveth something new, it also taketh something old but useful. The EC/34 slot is now only available on the 17" MBP, which means those eSATA RAIDs and stuff the folks hook up to externally are not going to be possible on the 13" or 15" MBP. The FW800 is nice to see across the line, but only one slot on the smaller models and no provision for anything but daisy-chaining for more drive access, and that cuts throughput.

The SD slot is a bit odd also. Looks more like something for the consumer line than the professional line. Even if it is the "future" and CF starts to go away, there are still tons of cameras and devices using CF, and now, with only a relatively poor performing USB2 or a single FW800 port, the days of high speed card offloads and back-ups away from the office just got more difficult for all but the 17" MBP.

Finally, only the 17" MBP has the matte screen option. Some may not care, but I think a lot of folks would like to have seen the matte screen back on the 15" MBP at least. No luck there.

So, while a bit of speed boost is nice to see, some of the other valuable pieces of the puzzle are no longer there or still not offered on the smaller models. In the end, the 15" is probably still the most attractive for overall size and features and speed, but it has now fallen to a decidedly less professional level than its 17" big brother with respect to connectivity and screen options, and the 13", while nice to see its return for small yet powerful capability, is also a bit hamstrung, but it always was with respect to the other MBPs. The price drop is a plus all the way around, so at least a good note to end on, eh?

LJ
 

cjlacz

Member
My reaction is mixed too, like LJ. I'm really glad I decided to go with a NAS instead of an external SATA box. Still, if ZFS is fully supported that would of made really nice external drive solution that now I have to get a 17" Macbook Pro or Mac Pro to do, neither of which I'm wild about. The SD card slot is ok. I wonder if it supports SDXC or it can be upgraded to it. With speeds on SDXC looking like it could exceed CF, you might see DSLRs move to the format and just having an SD slot would look better. Now it does seem very consumer oriented for a 'professional' machine. More battery life and a low price are always welcome.

A few years ago I didn't see the need for a mid range desktop machine, but I'm feeling that need now after they dropped the express card. Mac Pro is too much machine for my needs. Too expensive and too big. The 17" Macbook is too big for Tokyo. None of the other machines give me a way to include an external SATA which I'd really like. Hopefully the next generation iMacs will include one or two.
 

cjlacz

Member
Oh, and a company is Tokyo is rolling out Wifi max. I'm going to hold out and hope Apple includes it in a notebook soon. That would rock.
 

Terry

New member
For me there was some good news. I actually really wanted a small laptop and would have loved the Air if they could ever get the specs right for me. I would only get it with 4gb memory and a 3G card internally (since there are so few external connections. But the new 13" pro with a better screen, lots of ram, faster processor, is what I am going to buy.

The only downer is the hard drive. Comes with a 5400 and there are no 7200's on build to order. That doesn't bother be as I am happy to swap drives but now it is built like the 17" where you have to take it apart. Shame I thought it was really in a good spot on the first round of unibody machines. I went to the store after work. They are saying Thursday for stock. I will get the higher end 13" model but get the base 250gb drive and upgrade that going forward.

One little thank you to Apple is the pricing on AppleCare. They left the 13" at $249 consumer pricing and not the more expensive MBP prices.

I know being on a 13" screen is not ideal for photo work, for me it is good enough when traveling and I want to cut space/weight.
 

dseelig

Member
One good thing is the new battery life across the board. I can watch the good, the bad, the ugly when flying non stop without missing the ending. LOL For me the laptops is jsut about when i am the road I like a desktop for my main machine. Still I am thinking of getting one as my laptop is just over 3 years old. I am a 15 inch fan sorry it is just one firewire slot oh well. Built in sd my leica is happy. David
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
I went totally to the 15 inch MPB and of course mine is quite souped up and actually glad I bought the 2.93 awhile back . Like LJ mentioned the Express slot being taken away was a bad move. I use mine for a fast external that holds my working files and OS backup and I use CF cards so it does nothing for me in the long run for the new one. Apple really needs to be adding connectivity not taking things away. We really need 2 Firewire 800 ports 3 USB ports . DVI normal connection and the new mini display. Plus leave the Express slot in tact and frankly add a E-sata connection would be ideal than we don't need the Express slot. Calling Steve tomorrow and voice my wishes. Ohand room for (3) 2.5 SSD drives. Yes rip the optical and send it packing. Also lets not forget Quad cores. Yea I am a pig and proud of it.
 

Terry

New member
By the way Guy,
The 13" does have a display port so it at least can drive the newish 23" monitor. It will be interesting to see if it can go bigger when the 30" is updated to be a display port.

It will also be interesting to come up with a configuration that works. I bought a firewire 800 card reader to deal with the much larger files from the A900 but I also want my external drive to run on the firewire port.

There are compromises in every machine but at least the compromises cost less these days.
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
You maybe able to run a 30 inch but not with the laptop screen open. I can do both with the 9600 video card but my guess with the 9400 you could run 30 inch closed laptop lid and 24 with laptop open. You should be fine as this is not your main computer. Mine has a Drobo on the Firewire 800 and than the express slot is running a fast 3.5 external drive.

Now I should say even if this was your main unit, it still is a sweetie since you can get 8gb of ram in it . Put a fast 7200 drive or SSD drive in it and power maybe a 30 inch. For many folks this is a perfect setup and at a good price. The 13 inch now does look more valid for shooters and travel. Since we can have some horsepower on the road and a big drive in it.

Terry if you want to try and drive the 30 inch than you will need the dual DVI adapter I have for 99 dollars or just wait and we can try it next week when you come out here on mine and see if it powers it.
 

Lars

Active member
AR coating on those glossy screens is overdue, as well an eSata connector. Personally I'd be prepared to sacrifice some thinness for CF and EC slot.

I like the concept of big batteries, but a non-replaceable battery needs to be able to go into the double digits. I suspect the reason Apple are going this route is that they see their hardware/software package becoming more of a battery hog. If that's the case (ok, big if) then heat dissipation might become a problem on the high end laptops.
 

Terry

New member
I like the concept of big batteries, but a non-replaceable battery needs to be able to go into the double digits. I suspect the reason Apple are going this route is that they see their hardware/software package becoming more of a battery hog. If that's the case (ok, big if) then heat dissipation might become a problem on the high end laptops.
Not sure I understand what you mean. In terms of life, this one has longer run time and more charge cycles than the old. If the battery is as claimed, I won't ever need a new battery during the useful life of this computer. In previous incarnations where the battery was the shape of the body it meant every time they made a body style change there was a battery change and that is a lot of inventory sku's. If they can do one generic battery that goes in all of the cases (13, 15, 17) and don't need to apply a lot industrial design appeal to it, I'm fine.
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
One thing this new 13 inch maybe really good for is tethering in the field . Certainly beats any camera LCD screen out there. For the low price makes a lot of sense than dragging out your fully maxed out 15 inch at a 4k cost. I better stop thinking about this , I am starting to feel a slight tug on my pocket.
 

Terry

New member
One thing this new 13 inch maybe really good for is tethering in the field . Certainly beats any camera LCD screen out there. For the low price makes a lot of sense than dragging out your fully maxed out 15 inch at a 4k cost. I better stop thinking about this , I am starting to feel a slight tug on my pocket.
I guess we will have to try it in AZ won't we :ROTFL::ROTFL::ROTFL: (which I would assume was your subliminal message anyway). What sort of cable is needed?
 

Lars

Active member
Not sure I understand what you mean. In terms of life, this one has longer run time and more charge cycles than the old. If the battery is as claimed, I won't ever need a new battery during the useful life of this computer. In previous incarnations where the battery was the shape of the body it meant every time they made a body style change there was a battery change and that is a lot of inventory sku's. If they can do one generic battery that goes in all of the cases (13, 15, 17) and don't need to apply a lot industrial design appeal to it, I'm fine.
I was referring to running time (in hours) on a charge. Bigger battery means the manufacturer wants to either claim longer running time on a charge, or allow for higher power consumption given a certain running time, or a combination. Higher power consumption means more heat. My suspicion is that Apple wants to keep the door open for heavy graphic card usage, and we've already seen overheating problems with Apple laptops in the last year.

The integrated batteries are not the same SKU, rather they are even more specific than in the past, using moldable lithium ion polymers to use all available internal volume. So if the internal space changes significantly with model upgrades then a new battery model will have to be manufactured.

Mobile phone manufacturers have even researched the possiblilty pf molding the casing out of lithium ion polymer battery material.

Re battery lifespan, Apple claims a long lifespan. So do many manufacturers. Everyone disappoints. We'll see how it pans out in real life in a few years.
 

LJL

New member
I think the new batteries are a good move for Apple. The older removable ones are weak, and seem more prone to problems. I was initially more hesitant about the new ones, but much less so now. They can be replaced by Apple in store, and my guess is that there will be some third party kits at some point too. The new battery does give more run time, and I still think it a prelude to Quad core processors when they hit the streets and need more power. Just my imaginary thinking of forward design for Apple....could be wrong, but hope not ;-)

Like Guy, my thoughts for the 13" were for field shooting use when tethered. Seems like the ideal machine for that, with a much higher quality screen and such. Still would like to see AR instead of gloss as an option.

My bigger worry is with all these little takes and adds, it is becoming a bit less predictable for selecting peripherals and stuff. I wish Apple would settle on some greater connectivity scheme of ports and stuff, but they may be running into internal space issues to support them. That is what I think was an issue with the new battery config and the EC/34 slot on the 15". The 17" has a lot more internal space, but the smaller units may be really cramped to not allow accommodating the extra ports and wiring and stuff. Do not really know.

LJ
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
True and that maybe the case but a E-sata connector is small and honestly if they did that , than no need for the express slot per say. Now if it did have the E-sata that would seriously interest me even though I just bought the 2.93 a couple months ago. Lot's of moaning going on about the loss of the Express card that Apple is getting more consumer like on the Apple forums. Have to agree with them, for many this may not matter but if you want to work outside the box than all you have is Firewire 800 which is nice but not nearly as fast as E-sata. A SSD card reader is a nice feature but it also spells consumer to me.
 
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