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New MacBook Pro series

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Re: New MacBook Pro series

#271
post #35
post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was really hoping the stock models would ditch hard drives entirely (for SSDs) like the MB Air.

The only reason I wasn't hoping for that is because I intend to stuff a 512 GB aftermarket SSD into my next MBP and I'd rather not pay through the nose for Apple's upgrade option.

As of this morning, $1200 for a 512GB SSD is cheaper than what's available on newegg.com

Re: New MacBook Pro series

#272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That assumes you save any time at all. I use a ThinkPad with Win7 and I think honestly say that I lose no additional time vs using a MBP. In fact I'd argue it saves me time as I generally like the keyboard more and I can't stand trackpads (I turn mine off and use the stickpoint -- which I actually even prefer over a mouse). My point... the $1000 savings for many comes with no penalty at all. With that said, I don't h…

I think if you find the Thinkpad / W7 more powerful, you should go that route. All I'm saying is that if you're planning to make on the order of $250-$300K off using a piece of equipment, $1,000 (or even $10,000, arguably) probably shouldn't be material to which one you choose.

But any dollar not spent on one part of a work setup can be spent on some other part of the work setup, so that kind of thinking can easily come out in the wash.

Re: New MacBook Pro series

#273

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's for extended battery used together with the regular battery.

Ah, the fine print. I just feel if this was just the actual battery, we would have heard a bigger announcement!

15 hours (claimed) with the regular 9 cell battery. Not too shabby.

Re: New MacBook Pro series

#274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I almost choked on a sip of tea when I noticed that the 13" "Pro" is still stuck with a 1280*800 display. Talk about boneheaded move.

The number of potential customers for this model that actually know what that means is very small. If Apple put in a 1900x1080 screen, what you'd hear instead from consumers is that everything is too tiny to read.

Nice false dichotomy.

Re: New MacBook Pro series

#275
post #78

Didn't get as much coverage, but there are also new ThinkPads this week: http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/22/lenovo-trots-out-new-thin... The 14" models look good: 30 hours (claimed) battery on the T420, 0.83" ultrathin T420s with discrete graphics. Edit: Here's the official announcement, which took a bit of digging around to find: http://news.lenovo.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=1421 . synacksynack has posted a…

HP's refreshed Elitebook series is also around the corner it has not received much attention either. The 14 inch model will also offer up to 32 hours with the use of the extended/slate battery. They also will use discrete graphics from AMD switchable to onboard Intel video if less performance is necessary. Early preview from Anandtech: http://www.anandtech.com/show/4190/hps-business-notebook-hat...

I didn't like the EliteBook 8440p that I got from work (it felt real clunky), but this refreshed version looks nice.

Re: New MacBook Pro series

#276

I dread this because it makes the model I bought last year feel outdated! I can't see upgrading something like an MBP more than once every two years, though. That's reassuring since I know whatever that model is, it will be fantastic by current standards. The only time my MBP breaks a sweat as it is, though, is on games: Half Life 2 and the PlayStation 2 emulator make the fans come on like it's trying to dry my hair.…

Don't feel out of date. I've had the same macbook pro I bought 4 years ago. It's gone on trips with me, it's been knocked off the couch by my kid, and it runs my unit tests just as fast as my friend's newer model.

I paid $1900 for my core2duo macbook pro and got four years and counting out of it. Before that I was buying new Windows machines every two years. They were half the price, but didn't last as long.

My next machine, when this one dies, will definitely be a mac. :)

Re: New MacBook Pro series

#277
post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you used OS X before? I pay the Mac premium for two reasons: (1) my laptop is supported by tons of Apple Stores across the country, and (2) OS X is awesome (and since it's Unix-based, I can work in the terminal without a problem). There's also a great reselling market for Macs. If (1) and (2) don't really matter to you, go with the Dell. I'll pay the extra price to get exactly what I want in my computer.

(1)That support, in the form of AppleCare costs money, something like $350 at time of purchase. (2)OSX will run on most PCs, it's not specific to hardware anymore. The additional price paid to Apple is ostensibly for attention to detail in hardware and software design.

(1) That support, for the first year of my laptop's life, is complimentary. The $350 is worth it when it extends the life of my 2006 MacBook to 5 years.

(2) Are you seriously suggesting I buy a Windows laptop, screw around with it for hours/days, and install a buggy version of OS X so I can save $300? No thanks.

Re: New MacBook Pro series

#278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My 2 year old X200 has 1.3 hours battery time, decreasing rapidly. The display plastic is broken, the camera is broken and the mouse tracking nob is broken. It's the worst piece of laptop hardware I've ever had (compared to older IBM Thinkpads, DELLs and iBooks, Macbooks and MacbooksPro).

Agreed. Try going 4 years older. My IBM branded X41 is the finest laptop I've owned and ubuntu works flawless on it. I bought a replacement battery for it and get a good 5 hours and a few days standby. I like it so much, I even consider not telling people so I can buy up more used ones and set aside for future parts. But hey, what's life if you don't share. Considering the cost of these on ebay (as much as some new n…

I had a T41p at a previous job - amazing laptop. I actually traded in a Powerbook G4 for it. No issues with it, ever (except that the battery life declined to nothing after a couple of years, and the battery had to be replaced).

A few years later, I was given a T60p at an internship. Total junk. Not even in the same league.

Re: New MacBook Pro series

#279
post #267
post #12

Interesting that they are now offering a SSD drive......does this mean they have now added the SSD TRIM command (or planning to add it in Lion)?

According to a benchmark, OS X doesn't really require TRIM to keep the performance up. Please see this link: http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/apple/2010/07/01/mac-ssd-pe... I have been using two Intel X25-M SSDs as RAID 0 in a Macbook Pro almost a year now and I've yet to see any loss in performance. Apple has been offering SSDs as BTO for quite some time now. If you can use a screwdriver I suggest you buy a Sandforc…

That article is misleading for a number of reasons, foremost that they performed a full format before getting started, effectively trashing the SSD's performance. See here: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1486847

However, TRIM support is mostly a moot point if you go with the Apple offered SSD upgrade, since the Toshiba drives they ship features very aggressive background GC (making TRIM rather redundant). There is still a question mark as to how severly this constant background GC will affect the durability of the drives though:http://www.anandtech.com/show/4010/kingston-ssdnow-v-plus-10...

Re: New MacBook Pro series

#280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I almost choked on a sip of tea when I noticed that the 13" "Pro" is still stuck with a 1280*800 display. Talk about boneheaded move.

The number of potential customers for this model that actually know what that means is very small. If Apple put in a 1900x1080 screen, what you'd hear instead from consumers is that everything is too tiny to read.

I think the kind of people who just look at the size of the screen and not the number of pixels, are likely the same people who will just buy the same size Windows PC because it's several hundred dollars less.

In other words, the people willing to pay Apple prices care enough about their computer purchase to actually read the specs. Like if you buy a high performance car, you at least want to do enough research not to look like a total idiot in front of your gear head friends after you've spent that much money.

Or maybe I'm wrong, and Apple customers really only care about how nice it will look on the coffee shop table.

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