The new intel-powered MacBook Pro

[js33]

Where's the 17" version?

[Schwinnz]

To me it all seems all good, but there's one thing that trickles me. I cannot find any number on battery life except that it's a 60W/H LiP battery. This leaves me to worry: is the marketing crew hiding stats or is just plain stupid to forget such important data. It just says "Battery life depends on configuration and use." in the fine print. That's fun, but to me it could be just one hour of autonomy and tells nothing.

[maX_Andrews]

I suspect that they did not have time to perform proper tests on the battery in the interest of readying the first models for the macworld expo. Steve jobs showed a graph stating that the power/performance ratio of the intel chip was nearly four times better than that of the G4 chip, but as it's four times faster would it just use the same amount of power? The battery in the MacBook Pro isa 60-watt battery and the powerbook batteries are 48-watt, so there's a little extra juice here to begin with. I would expect the same if not better battery life.

[js33]

Where's the 17" model?

[JDex]

Where's the 17" model?

I'm glad it's delayed... this will help me keep restraint and not become a 1st gen early adopter. If a 17" was out... the charge already would have hit my credit card.

[LiquidMetal]

edit:post removed

[ambient-whisper]

if i were to buy one id want a 12" one. i had one before and it was perfect for doing small things. like bringing it into the office so you could use it as your music player. or on a trip, you could take photos and unload them onto the machine....( and view the pics ), etc, etc.
and since its small, its easy to carry around with you. its exactly what a "portable" laptop should be like

[TopherMartini]

Since the entire processing architecture is essentially a basic x86 structure, the MacBook Pro is widely expected to be able to run windows XP and dual boot with OSX. According to this ArsTechnica Journal, both Apple and Microsoft support this endeavor: "Sure, run windows." http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2006/1/10/2446
Intel-based Macs use EFI (http://developer.apple.com/documentation/MacOSX/Conceptual/universal_binary/universal_binary_diffs/chapter_3_section_10.html) and not BIOS to boot. As long as the OS you want to install supports EFI than it might work (Windows XP Pro does not support EFI, but Windows XP 64 and Vista do).

[Meshbuilder]

I think the new MacBook Pro should have been the new iBook.

• No Firewire 800
• No S-Video output
• No dual layer DVD burner
• No 17" version
• Worse resolution than the bowerbook.

I wouldn´t call this a "PRO" laptop without these features..

But it was so much faster than the old powerbook so Apple couldn´t release a new iBook that is faster than the powerbook..

What do you think?

[Nichod]

I think its a first edition so you can judge. My only worry is this "innovation" :
Innovative right down to the power cord

The new power adapter with MagSafe connector is just that: a magnetic connection instead of a physical one. So, tripping over a power cord won’t send MacBook Pro flying off a table or desk; the cord simply breaks cleanly away, without damage to either the cord or the system. As an added nicety, this means less wear on the connectors.

[umfridus]

I think the new MacBook Pro should have been the new iBook.

• No Firewire 800
• No S-Video output
• No dual layer DVD burner
• No 17" version
• Worse resolution than the bowerbook.

I wouldn´t call this a "PRO" laptop without these features..

But it was so much faster than the old powerbook so Apple couldn´t release a new iBook that is faster than the powerbook..

What do you think?
If they included all those in the first iteration, how to get people to upgrade later? :D

[maX_Andrews]

I believe they expect the expresscard/34 slot to compensate for the lack of firewire 800.Im sure miraculously within a month or two there will be many a company offering an expresscard with firewire 800 ports, external SATA ports, or both. The dual layer thing is a bummer for now, perhaps to keep the price down.

Also consider that apple has a large backstock of powerbook G4's to get rid of. I would expect a price drop soon, hoping to snag buyers for the 12" and 17" books with firwire 800 and the dual layer burners. Most of us being tech-savvy of course would not waste money on the G4 books, but a lot of other people somehow just don't care, and won't go near a first generation product.

Because apple will charge more for it's 17" version, they will need to wait for a faster intel mobile chip before they do so. The 17" is usually $400 more than the 15", and usually people want a little more for that than 2" on the screen.

Comparing the thinkpad to the MacBook, the apple is actually a MUCH better value.
http://www-131.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=4611686018425143607&storeId=10000001&langId=-1&categoryId=2059153&dualCurrId=1000073&catalogId=-840
The thinkpad has the same processor, is $2100 and has a crappy GPU, 12" XGA screen, smaller hard drive, crappy mono speaker and no webcam.

I think apple did the right thing in not rushing forward with the ibooks so soon. They could have easily stuck a singlecore yonah inside the same old white case and called it quits but people probably would have said it sucked. Because the ibook is more of a consumer product than the macbook which is prosumer, it really needs to be perfect for what it is: a budget-range laptop geared towared entry-level computer users with decent but basic functionality. It sounds easy enough, but it would be easy to mess up in a big way, ESPECIALLY when it comes to price. The ibooks have always been impressive from a price perspective, at least for apple, and hopefully the intel chips can knock a couple hundred bucks off the base price and add some battery life, which I feelis the main shortcoming of the ibooks in a consumer market.

[Lone Deranger]

Interesting rumour this: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=172658
more directly: http://wiredblogs.tripod.com/cultofmac/index.blog?entry_id=1385976

Quote: "He also said that if he were me, he probably wouldn't order one of the new MacBook Pros."

I truly hope this is more than just a rumour. Would explain this rather lacklustre MacBook Pro.

[Matt_Forcum]

I am waiting till the fall to make a decision. Till then, I will be watching what happens with this new machine and contemplating my laptop future.

I would like to see how well it handles complex scenes created using a 3-D application.

-Matt

[knellotron]

Intel-based Macs use EFI (http://developer.apple.com/documentation/MacOSX/Conceptual/universal_binary/universal_binary_diffs/chapter_3_section_10.html) and not BIOS to boot. As long as the OS you want to install supports EFI than it might work (Windows XP Pro does not support EFI, but Windows XP 64 and Vista do).

The CPU supports hardware virtualization, and running Windows as a virtual machine (not emulation) is a better idea than dual-booting.

[js33]

Isn't it nice now that we don't have to suffer through hundreds of posts or flames about G5 performance vs. Intel? :)

[shingo]

Yeah. Apple don't have to lie anymore.

Isn't it nice now that we don't have to suffer through hundreds of posts or flames about G5 performance vs. Intel? :)

[mistafreeze]

I think people are forgetting that the new powerbook g4 was just released not a few months ago (around august-september) if you bought a powerbook prior to this new model with the new features (better graphics card, faster processor's, better screen, dual layer burning support, etc) then yes the new macbook is lacking some features to you and may seem like a downgrade. to someone who bought a new powerbook earlier last year (around april or june) this powerbook has some good features

meshbuilder wrote

"I think the new MacBook Pro should have been the new iBook.

• No Firewire 800
• No S-Video output
• No dual layer DVD burner
• No 17" version
• Worse resolution than the bowerbook.

I wouldn´t call this a "PRO" laptop without these features.."

the specs on my powerbook bought in april

Screen: 15.2", 1280x854 resolution, TFT widescreen
GPU: ATI Mobility 9700 w/ 64MB RAM
Optical Drive: 8x SuperDrive DVD±RW/CD-RW

This was the medium option, at around 2 thousand, with the 1.5 ghz processor, as i think only the 17 inch had the 1.67 at the time.

Yes no dual layer is a bum, and no 8x dvd write is too, Im thinking, how many times Have i burned DVD's on my current powerbook, and its probly around 1 or 2 times total (I usually use networking to send my pictures back and forth or use external harddrives)
dual layer dvds are still insanely expensive, and if your powerbook has any of these specs then its not a downgrade. even the new low end version has 128 meg video card, while the higherend one has 256 which is more memory in a video card than ever in a powerbook. Ive seen rumors about a new powerbook to come out soon, Im going to try and hold off until the 17 inch comes out, as I hope it features the x1800 video card, and im still waiting to hear on how Maya will run on the system.

And if you just bought a new powerbook in september when these new features came out, why are you buying another one right now? do you need to upgrade every 3-4 months? my current powerbook is awesome, Its just id love to be able to use some of my windows software that thanks to lame liscensing I cannot transfer to my mac, and must use on a windows machine. the ability to load up windows to use xsi or play a quick game is nice.

the thing I like least about the new powerbooks, besides the name, is the 4x support instead of 8x and only 24x cd-r as I burn cds a good bit, hopefully someone here will get one soon and can post us some updates on how things run.

but of course the biggest upgrade in the powerbook is dual processors (dual core) which means you can burn a dvd, while modeling inside of maya, and get the same performace you would doing each on their own (provided maya runs well on the intel book)


oh and im guessing the battery life will be around 6 hours, which is also an upgrade to those who bought powerbooks prior to the new model introduced in september as the previous models got around 3 hours.

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