Apple's eventual sidelining of FireWire has been on the cards since they dropped it in favour of USB 2.0 for the iPod.
they had to use more of the 'metal' They'd "invested" in...maybies?
New Apple Laptops
- Thread starter Crispy
- Start date
they had to use more of the 'metal' They'd "invested" in...maybies?
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
The firewire issue is going to piss off the music making community no end.
Crispy
The following psytrance is baṉned: All
Really not clever at all 
http://images.apple.com/macbookpro/images/features-portdiagram20081014.jpg
It's not like there wasn't enough space either!
http://images.apple.com/macbookpro/images/features-portdiagram20081014.jpg
It's not like there wasn't enough space either!
Google is yer mffiend. http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1104 
note THIS at the end of the article...
is dead..... PSYCHE!!!111
is dead..... PSYCHE!!!111
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
So, do Macs not have a standard VGA monitor out socket? That's uber fail.
editor
hiraethified
Sony have been aggressively targeting photo pros with some of their new laptops and they look very nice indeed:
http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/09/sonys-18-4-inch-type-a-vaio-for-type-a-photog-personalities/
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2331772,00.asp
so?.... they are being just being reassigned a different position in the Equation.
.... I'm sure those that are affected will reinvest in the equipment they need with which to make an income...won't they?
Yeah, I know.
They've taken away the FW400 on the mbp and left us with just one 800.
i.e 'old' mbp's 3xUSB 1xFW400 & 1xFW800
new mbp's 2x USB & 1x FW800
WTF?
The Groke
hot hail/Paging Dr. Beat
Yes they do indeed, but I'm afraid that personally, this far into my career & workflow there's no way I'm about to start messing around with windows
elbows
Well-Known Member
The cost of displayport adaptors from Apple, the loss of firewire 400, the glossy screen and the failure to update the 17" much has caused a lot of people to fume and foam in some corners of the internet.
The complete removal of firewire from the standard macbook, along with failure to introduce cheaper options, does not help them on the low-end.
I think Apple are going to have a real hard time in future due to the economic conditions that loom, and they have only made matters worse with these laptop updates. They blew an opportunity to reposition at just the right moment.
The trackpad is interesting and I hate the previous macbook pro keyboard so I suppose there are some pluses, but Apple have done me a favor here by offering nothing that I want, I can save my money.
The complete removal of firewire from the standard macbook, along with failure to introduce cheaper options, does not help them on the low-end.
I think Apple are going to have a real hard time in future due to the economic conditions that loom, and they have only made matters worse with these laptop updates. They blew an opportunity to reposition at just the right moment.
The trackpad is interesting and I hate the previous macbook pro keyboard so I suppose there are some pluses, but Apple have done me a favor here by offering nothing that I want, I can save my money.
editor
hiraethified
Seeing as you can pick up highly capable Windows laptops for around £299, Apple is still pricing its lower-end products too highly, IMO.
If they'd stopped pissing about with the ooh-aah 'let's make it soooo slim' and released a £499 laptop, they could have really caused a stir in the market.
Btw, if Apple had released a netbook - even charging a £50 premium over similar Windows models - I would have seriously considered it.
If they'd stopped pissing about with the ooh-aah 'let's make it soooo slim' and released a £499 laptop, they could have really caused a stir in the market.
Btw, if Apple had released a netbook - even charging a £50 premium over similar Windows models - I would have seriously considered it.
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
I don't think the Firewire issue will cause them much grief all told; the market's moving away from Firewire in general towards USB2. It will piss off pros who use the stuff but, well, there are converters. This has always been Apple's way, remove the maximum amount of stuff that they can get away with, and they usually get the balance right... well, we'll see.
I'm more annoyed at the removal of a USB port to be honest. Mouse, 3G modem and memory stick at the same time isn't too much to ask.
They probably should have taken the 15" up to 1680 rez - 1440 is okay for 15", but it's starting to get a little outdated. Glossy screens suck in my opinion - my current MBP has one (it was a refurb model, I didn't have a choice) and I can't stand it. Oh well.
GeForce 9, fair enough, what you'd expect these days (I do hear from people having trouble still with 9s but Apple have such tight hardware integration I wouldn't expect it here).
Otherwise it's all just kind of "hmm". It's another Macbook Pro. Yeah. There's still no 12", and all the features are just ordinary ones. It's not what you'd call a huge update - no wonder they didn't shout about it much. The Macbook itself though does seem to be an improvement though, particularly as it now doesn't have shitty Intel graphics.
I'm more annoyed at the removal of a USB port to be honest. Mouse, 3G modem and memory stick at the same time isn't too much to ask.
They probably should have taken the 15" up to 1680 rez - 1440 is okay for 15", but it's starting to get a little outdated. Glossy screens suck in my opinion - my current MBP has one (it was a refurb model, I didn't have a choice) and I can't stand it. Oh well.
GeForce 9, fair enough, what you'd expect these days (I do hear from people having trouble still with 9s but Apple have such tight hardware integration I wouldn't expect it here).
Otherwise it's all just kind of "hmm". It's another Macbook Pro. Yeah. There's still no 12", and all the features are just ordinary ones. It's not what you'd call a huge update - no wonder they didn't shout about it much. The Macbook itself though does seem to be an improvement though, particularly as it now doesn't have shitty Intel graphics.
Vintage Paw
dead stare and computer glare
Meh.
I've been waiting for this update for a while, because I really, really need a laptop and want it to be an Apple one. The MB falls way short of my expectations, especially at that price (also as I would not consider the white one).
No black old style refurbed MBs on the website at the moment - do the stores do them too? How about resellers? A reseller just opened up a couple of months ago in our local shopping centre - might it be worth paying them a visit? How much cheaper do you usually expect old stock/refurbs to be?
Also, what happens to all their old stock? They'll still have a bunch of old style ones around - can you still buy them if you call them, even if they're not online or in stores?
I've been waiting for this update for a while, because I really, really need a laptop and want it to be an Apple one. The MB falls way short of my expectations, especially at that price (also as I would not consider the white one).
No black old style refurbed MBs on the website at the moment - do the stores do them too? How about resellers? A reseller just opened up a couple of months ago in our local shopping centre - might it be worth paying them a visit? How much cheaper do you usually expect old stock/refurbs to be?
Also, what happens to all their old stock? They'll still have a bunch of old style ones around - can you still buy them if you call them, even if they're not online or in stores?
Kid_Eternity
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
That decision is simply bizarre.
Really don't like the black keyboard either (why couldn't they followed the iMac style?), it looks cheap and plasticky...but meh Macs are far too pricey for the specs you get so I'll be sticking with Windows for another couple years at least....
Kid_Eternity
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Yep. I can forgive it on the MBA because slim and light is what that's all about but on a 'proper' laptop? Idiotic.
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
Some older pbooks had black keyboards. I have no idea why they've gone back to the idea now though.
I've got a MBP of the 1st generation, but it's only got 2 USB ports.
Can't say I've missed an extra port tbh - everything's largely wireless and with multitouch on the trackpad I've never really felt compelled to link the mouse up
editor
hiraethified
You may feel that, but for the vast majority of users, a proper mouse is far more efficient than a trackpad. That's why just about everyone uses them on their desktops.
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
The thing is, the USB part is another of those Apple "space economies" that will pass muster.
One USB port would be taking the piss, but two, well. I would find it annoying because I usually have a mouse and a 3G modem, and I want a spare port in case I need to plug in a flash drive. But I _can_ just take out the mouse, copy the files from the stick using the touchpad, and then take the drive out and put the mouse back in. I would _rather_ have three ports but it's not going to be a deal-breaker. If I was using it as a desktop and wanted to sync my iPod and run a printer and a couple of external drives and blah-de-blah, I'd use a hub; I do with my iMac. Similarly, if I'm on the road and will need to interact with many USB devices I have a portable hub in my bag. I suspect they know all this.
Apple will start to lose MBP sales when the machines themselves start to slip behind PCs in terms of power and specs, that's the main thing. Nobody's going to kick off if they remove the odd port and stop supporting older stuff - but they'll kick off when their laptops are notably worse at actual work. People buy MBPs because they want to use them for actual professional work. They were definitely going down that route pre-Intel, when the G4 Powerbooks were lagging horribly behind the latest Intel PC laptops, and you definitely saw Apple scramble to keep up - no economising on features there!
One USB port would be taking the piss, but two, well. I would find it annoying because I usually have a mouse and a 3G modem, and I want a spare port in case I need to plug in a flash drive. But I _can_ just take out the mouse, copy the files from the stick using the touchpad, and then take the drive out and put the mouse back in. I would _rather_ have three ports but it's not going to be a deal-breaker. If I was using it as a desktop and wanted to sync my iPod and run a printer and a couple of external drives and blah-de-blah, I'd use a hub; I do with my iMac. Similarly, if I'm on the road and will need to interact with many USB devices I have a portable hub in my bag. I suspect they know all this.
Apple will start to lose MBP sales when the machines themselves start to slip behind PCs in terms of power and specs, that's the main thing. Nobody's going to kick off if they remove the odd port and stop supporting older stuff - but they'll kick off when their laptops are notably worse at actual work. People buy MBPs because they want to use them for actual professional work. They were definitely going down that route pre-Intel, when the G4 Powerbooks were lagging horribly behind the latest Intel PC laptops, and you definitely saw Apple scramble to keep up - no economising on features there!
Crispy
The following psytrance is baṉned: All
Go to the store on www.apple.com/uk and look for refurbished macs. There's 15-25% discounts on previous-gen MBP's.
Similar threads
