Apple notebook event is a go; say hello to the new MacBook Pro
After a nice little intro consisting of some Mac vs. PC ads and deep thoughts along the lines of Apple makes superior products and Vista was a big let down, Apple revealed its new manufacturing process and let loose the newest additions to its MacBook lines. Apple first discussed the process of building the current MacBook Pros, highlighting how difficult it is to design something that is thin and duarable when it is made out of so many parts. Yep, you know exactly where we’re going here. The MacBook Air was the beginning of Apple’s realization that rather than adding components to make the laptop case, it should start with a single piece of aluminum and remove pieces. The result is a lighter, sturdier smoother build. Apple starts with a 2.5-pound piece of aluminum (Brick) and ends up with a piece that weighs 0.25-pounds.
On to the good stuff! Apple’s new laptops will make use of the NVIDIA GeForce 9400 M GPU as we suspected. The new NVIDIA units are up to six times faster than Apple’s current GPU. The MacBook Pro will also have a second NVIDIA 9600M GT GPU that can be fired up when you need that extra graphics umph and don’t mind shedding an hour from the 5-hour battery life. Apple also unveiled its new glass trackpad with 30% more surface area and software-only buttons. They also support a variety of new gestures with up to four fingers! Remembering all those gestures should be fun. The new Pro will also be the first Pro model to have an optional SSD drive accessible under the battery. And so we have the new MacBook Pro: Unibody construction, bigger glass trackpad with software-only buttons, a backlit keyboard, a magnetic latch and a sudden motion sensor are among the highlights.
The new model will be offered in two configurations: $1999 gets you the 15.4 inch display, 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB of DDR3 RAM and both graphics processor. Fork over $2499 and you’ll find yourself will a faster CPU and double the cache, 4GB RAM, twice the graphics memory and a 320GB hard drive. Sold.
Tags: Apple, Laptops, MacBook, MacBook Pro, Notebooks
Meh.
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So pretty.
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Wow, that looks pretty shitty. I’ll save final judgment for a live pic.
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Looks good to me.
So, looks better, faster and better graphics, cheaper prices. Not bad.
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looks like the same old crap to me. How about a refresh that brings it out of the 90’s?
More than one mouse button?
touch point as an option?
Nicer industrial design, not so froufy looking?
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Posted on a CNET blog:
by Intimidated October 14, 2008 10:29 AM PDT
“There are 16 parallel graphic cores, and it delivers 54 gigaflops of graphics performance. It’s a “stunner,” he says.”
Compared to PC laptops:
* 9800M GT: G94, 500MHz core clock, 96 shaders (1,250MHz), 256-bit, 360 gigaflops
* 9800M GTS: G94, 600MHz core clock, 64 shaders (1,500MHz), 256-bit, 288 gigaflops
* 9700M GTS: G94, 530MHz core clock, 48 shaders (1,325MHz), 256-bit, 190.8 gigaflops
* 9700M GT: G96, 625MHz core clock, 32 shaders (1,550MHz), 128-bit, 148.8 gigaflops
Apple come through again with substandard hardware.”
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@Heathen: how about more than zero mouse buttons. The whole pad is a button? Four finger gestures? WTF? Today is the beginning of the end for Apple. Mark my words.
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the 9400m is integrated. Basicly a 8400m GS. the 9600m GT is a 9700m GT with lower clocks.
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No matte screen option? Come on…
The “whole touchpad is a button” sounds awfully like the Blackberry Storm to me
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AHHH…my current 2.4 Macbook Pro WITH matte screen is still untouchable!!! What morons they are at Apple. Don’t they know that matte screen shows truer colors and better for photo/vid editors? Being a photographer, there is no need for a upgrade to this CRAP!
Thanks Apple for making my matte screen MBP keep its value
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Apart standing keys, black color and it looks like it comes with glossy screens only … I rather wait to the next mbp.
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And Apple fans say that Apple doesn’t milk them for money…lmao!
For $2,399 you can get a much better system - Dell XPS M1730:
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T9300 (2.5GHz/800Mhz FSB/6MB cache)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1
17 inch UltraSharp TrueLife Wide-screen WUXGA
CD / DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW Drive)
4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz
Speed: 200GB2 SATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) Free Fall Sensor
NVIDIA®SLI™Dual GeForce®8700MGT with 512MB3 GDDR3 Memory
Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy HD Software Edition
Dell Wireless 1395 802.11g Mini Card
85 WHr Lithium Ion Battery (9-cell)
Crimson Red
2Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty,4 InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis
I know Apple fans will argue that this has DDR3, which I thought was cool - I’m not gonna lie :0)
Maybe Dell has refresh scheduled to come out soon ;0)
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@Konklifer: You missed the point. This is instead of the integrated graphics. So it actually beats any laptop that has Intel sucktastic graphics.
@Tyrone: Is the XPS M1730 .95″ thick? no?
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@Tyrone D, Sorry guy but was a lifetime user of both Apple AND PC laptops & desktops MBP blows the doors off of any PC laptop!!! You are comparing a P.OS. DELL with the worlds WORST operating systems (I have Vista on my MPB in VmWare so believe me I understand)??? C’mon guy at least go with a Sony or Alienware!!! Plus that XPS M1730 probably feels like 8 lbs of LEAD in your arms. I trust my 6 year old nephew to carry by MBP across my hardwood floors, something I would NEVER let him do with a PC & certainly NOT a dell!!!
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I have to say there really isn’t anything pretty about these new MACs…that is unless you haven’t seen a MAC before…looks exactly the same…and FyreStarrter the fastest MACs are nowhere compared to the fastest PCs and that’s a fact…doesn’t matter if it a dell or not and I love Dells but any manufacturer’s fastest PC hands down will be faster than a MAC…Dell’s Studio 15s will be faster than these new MACs…let’s be serious for once.
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Also, the MBP has two graphics cores. One at 54Gflops and the other at 120GFlops. There is also the Hybrid SLI which will allow up to 174Gflops for graphics.
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Some of you people are complete dolts. I’m sorry for being crass and rude, but get your head out of your collective asses for once.
You go, ZOMG This Dell has a 2.6Ghz processor over the 2.53Ghz processor and it can do 192GFlops on the video chipset so the mac sucks.
The product is the sum of its parts. By and large 99.9% of all laptops made are exactly the same. Your budget laptops commit to the Centrino or Centrino 2 platform, which consist of all the same exact components with the only difference in processor used which makes very little difference.
You can have a water pump that can push 3,000 GPM at 120PSI, but if the hose that its going through only supports 250GPM at 100PSI - That’s all your getting buddy. No other laptop uses this nVidia chipset. So actually you have no fucking clue in HELL as to how this will run compared to them.
Second, your comparing Apples to Oranges. Mac OS X is not Windows Vista. I repeat. Mac OS X, is NOT Windows Vista. It’s not even arguable that Mac OS X 10.5.5 runs significantly faster than Windows Vista (Around 30 - 45%).
Then, you COMPLETELY missed the entire point of what they did. Apple wanted to #1, shut up the hippies; #2 shut up the people without a pot to piss in and #3 Increase their profit margin and reduce cost doing so. Well, a brand new fabrication process never before used in the production of laptops that produces a laptop that is only .94″ thick. This isn’t an ultra portable - this is a full featured laptop.
Second, its light and tight. The Build finish of the MacBook Pros blow away any other PC. I also have a Lenovo T61P 15.4″ WUXGA laptop. It feels like a POS toy compared to my 17″ MBP. And speed? The Lenovo has a faster processor and faster video card running Windows XP Pro, and its slower than my mac. So much slower for what I do that I need to replace my work PC every year. My Macs last me more than twice as long.
So, bitch and complain and self justify all you want. This is a remarkable laptop. A remarkable piece of engineering.
Obviously none of you here are engineers. It is truly exciting. Just if they could build cards like that.
And the greener laptop will make Greenpeace happy.
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s/cards/cars/g
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Man am I glad I got my MacBook Pro when I got it. Not digging the new look of the black border and keys.
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This is going to make Apple’s standing in the eyes of GreenPeace hit the sewers…Each Macbook Pro will waste 2.25 pounds of Alum? Talk about a lot of waste just to shave some pounds and girth off of a non ultra portable. This is the pro, it seems like the added lightness would be lost on most buyers (in that if they wanted the portability they would go with the air)
Not to mention the price premium that comes with this manufacturing technique. I can only imagine how long it takes to machine each case. Somewhere in China a bunch of kids are being trained on end mills to satisfy our need for needlessly lighter things.
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The excess aluminum is recycled. They melt it down back into stock again. So, they aren’t wasting much of anything.
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Does anyone know if there is going to be a new Mac Book Pro 17″ or are they only updating the 15″ versions?
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he said in the Q&A there would be a refresh. i am more concerned about the Firewire 400 missing. I run a lot of logic projects through a DAW that only connect Firewire 400. I am not sure if a 800 to 400 cable will work or if i need an expresscard/34 or what?!
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MadMike I suppose with the idiotic comment you just made that you are truly a real engineer with a degree correct? And you’re damn right MAC is not Vista, and I’m sure glad it is not. There has never been a MAC that looked different from any other MAC ever since like 1990. Even the Macbook Air looks just like every other MAC, while any Windows PC has costumization and looks Apple could only dream of. The notion that Apple is a better PC because it doesn’t crash is just as superflous and stupid simply because Apple’s crash and freeze as well. MACs are only appealing to a niche crowd but usability wise it pales in comparison to Windows and that’s a fact.
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It’s not “MAC”, it’s “Mac”. You demonstrate your ignorance with this one, and we Maclots take offense.
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