New mac laptops in Q3?
 

So I keep reading about a new Macbook Pro coming out, and the possibility of a cheaper Macbook, like $800 Macbook.

Thoughts?

I really wish Apple would ditch those god awful integrated Intel graphics chips off the Macbooks. I mean, adding in a 8600GT, how expensive would that really make it?

the event has started....!

would love to see a 12" quad core Mac Pro :)

can't talk...nerdgasm in progress...omg omg

(Links to live updated transcripts are at macsurfer.com)

hahahahahahaha

http://www.apple.com/macbook/

This will be made into a parody for sure, watch the video

Revamped MB, MBA, and MBPs!

Apple will continue to sell the old 'Classic' MacBooks with Intel GMA at a discounted price, and all the new MacBooks will use either Nvidia 9400M or 9600M GT graphics, depending on model.

New unified trackpad with multitouch on all new MacBooks, and the trackpad is the button.

NO Firewire on MB, only FW800 on Pro.

MB and MBP both .95 inches thin.

Also, new Cinema Displays, with LED backlight, microphone, speakers, iSight, MagSafe charging plug for MacBooks, and new "Display Port" input.

sorry I want my FW400 and USB ports, damnit Apple quit doing stupid crap like that!

Apple. Ditched. Firewire 400. On, the. Macbooks?

No way.

I'll stick with my Late-2007 Macbook, thanks. Target Disk Mode has saved my bacon so many times I'm not ready to give that up.

EDIT: I also notice Apple was very quick to go with DisplayPort on the new models. I wonder why.

I notice that Steve Jobs was asked about a netbook. His response was, "We'll see how it goes." I think Apple will wait until Intel has an ultra low power dual core Atom processor before putting out a netbook. That might be sometime next summer.

Could you cast light on what you mean by “netbook”?
What would such a computer be like? Pros and cons?

anyone know of a cheap firewire to USB adaptor?

Is this even workable?

Netbooks are like the Asus EEE PCs.

http://eeepc.asus.com/global/

Actually they are pretty damn slick, come pre loaded with Linux but you can toss Winders on them.

Given that Firewire is far superior, I can’t fathom why Apple would do this! :(

To move to FW800, which is completely backwards compatible but requires an adapter because the connections are different. So, it makes it annoying and my 15 FW hard drives I use at work for various things are now useless on new Macs unless I go out and get adapters for them.

Pretty freaking stupid if you ask me.

There is no such adapter anywhere, cheap or expensive.

Trevor

FW800 to FW400 is just a cable with a FW800 connector on one end and a FW400 connector on the other. They shouldn't cost any more than any other FireWire cable, which means that you can get them cheaply online. And once you have the cable, you just use it in place of the old FW400/FW400 cable, so it's not something extra to cart around with you--just a replacement cable.

Also, on the FW800 end, you cannot physically plug it in backwards, which is a VERY GOOD THING. Too many people blow their FireWire PHYs by forcing their FW400 connector into the jack backwards.

I for one welcome FW800. FW400 and it's junky connector that can be forced in the wrong way can't go away soon enough.

Trevor

It is about $10 for a 9 pin (FW 800) to a 6 pin (fw 400) adapter. I don't have any FW800 cables, so I would have to buy the adapter to make it work.

I saw one on newegg.com for like $7.99.

Not the end of the world, but annoying.

Yup. If you paid more than US$5 for a 6 foot FW 800 to 400 cable, you paid too much.

MSI Wind is another popular netbook.

http://www.msimobile.com/nblist.aspx?series=White

Dell and Acer have jumped into the market as well. 8 to 10 inch screens and around 2.5 pounds in weight are typical.

Yup, I think we are ordering like almost 1,000 of the Acer netbooks for a deployment at work. They fit the needs of what we want and are so cheap we can buy a 1000 of them out of budget.

It isn't final yet, but that is what I heard. Imaging them will be interesting

Actually, there is no Firewire support of ANY kind on the MacBooks. Only on the Pros.

VERY stupid if you ask me.

wait what?

How in the hell will I target mode boot them then? Over USB?

How often do you really need to do that? While it's very neat, it's also very rarely done.

All the time, I work IT for a living I target mode boot something every day.

I guess if such a level of service access is necessary, they'll have to be booted off of an external USB drive.

yeah but I have a lot of FW drives already, it is just annoying.

It's annoying, yeah. USB isn't as fast. The only reason I'm not reacting more negatively is that my drives are FireWire+USB, though their USB ports are avoided whenever possible.

Tell me about it. I've saved many a computer with FWTDM, and it's so handy I can't justify losing Firewire over it.

Plus, I got a few Firewire camcorders I use on occasion.

So I'll be sticking with my old MacBook.

.
I am dying to know: Has anyone heard Apple give anything resembling an "official" reason for dropping FW on the MacBooks? I’m at a total loss as to why they did this. USB is soooo sloooow by comparison!

I was about to purchase one, but now I’m tempted to refrain.

I just read off dig, that target mode is not possible on the Macbooks

http://apcmag.com/Content.aspx?id=3085

This is one thing I really hate about Apple. They don't give their customers the choices they want. They just build the product and say, here ya go!

You're right, it would be annoying to use an adapter. That's why I would recommend not using one, and just getting a new cable with FW400 on one end and FW800 on the other. They can be purchased cheaply online.

Trevor

I still don't get why they removed 400 altogether, and only left 800 on the Pros. This would have worked a lot easier if the FW400 plug was the same as the FW800.

I think Apple is trying to further divide the gap between 'regular people' and 'professionals'. Or something.

Or maybe this is like the same thing a decade ago when Apple removed floppy drives from all of their Macs. Perhaps Apple is trying to move people to Firewire 800?


And I'm reading about DisplayPort, and it sounds like there's a mini-war going on between HDMI and DisplayPort. There's a bunch of companies supporting each.

Apple, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Texas Instruments, Molex, AMD and Nvidia support DisplayPort.
Panasonic, Toshiba, Sharp, Philips, RCA, and Sony are supporting HDMI.

What's interesting is that it seems mainly computer-related companies are supporting DP, while most TV manufacturers (although they might make some laptops too) are supporting HDMI.

Both connectors are similar, although

That doesn't sound far from the truth, ThreeDee. Possibly Apple is trying to differentiate the models with the lack of Firewire because the Pro and regular MacBook look and act the same.

Especially so with the departure of integrated graphics on the MacBook.

I am wondering if it is because most consumer MacBook users (i.e. not us) used FireWire for their video cameras but more video cameras now use USB or those solid state cards.

I’m not tech savvy, but...
...why not equip Macs, especially the MBP and desktops, with eSATA ports?
Isn’t it about time? Are there any disadvantages? Aren’t there major speed differences between this and FW400 / FW800?

eSATA is still kind of new I think. My new case for my new PC I am building has one, and is the first computer I have ever owned that has that port on it.

.
Tom, if I remember correctly, I purchased my three quad-interface (incl. eSATA) external disks well over two years ago.

USB has been out for what, decade now? They still make PS/2 connections for keyboards and mice, and USB is superior.

Two years is a pretty new technology in terms of being mass produced. In retrospect 2 years is old when you are 'cutting edge.'

Hahahaha

I haven't seen mass adoption of eSATA yet. Nor have I with DisplayPort.

What I'm thinking is this: Didn't Apple do this when DVI wasn't as known as it is now? Didn't Apple ALSO do this with USB?

Looking back in history, this move to use DisplayPort seems less and less surprising.

If they ditched firewire, how are you supposed to transfer all of your stuff from your old mac with the assistant on your new mac?:confused:

Haha, right when I read this comment, Software Update alerted me that there's a new "Migration and CD/DVD Sharing Update" for download:
Wonder what that's about...

You can't power anything over eSATA, unlike USB or Firewire. Also, you can't daisy-chain devices like Firewire. The max cable length for eSATA is only around 1 meter, before the signal deteriorates, where FW800 is around 100m, and USB2 is around 5m.

Time Capsule. (In Apple's dreams.)

That's right. The question of "how do I migrate without FireWire" was answered with the original release of the MacBook Air, which already had no FireWire port. Back then Apple enabled migration over Ethernet, including wireless. If you do this, wireless is sure to be much, much slower than Gigabit Ethernet.

Because Apple already solved it back then, high-speed migration...faster than FireWire 800, if you use Gigabit Ethernet...is not an issue for the new MacBook.

I don't even use Target Disk Mode that much anymore, if I just want to transfer files fast, Gigabit Ethernet is both faster and easier. While all my Macs support TDM I only use it if I couldn't fix a problem over the network or with AppleJack.

That said, while all that's technically true, I personally do find lack of FireWire a deal breaker on the new MacBook.

The MacBook still has integrated graphics.

I wouldn't be surprised if the MacBook's lack of FireWire works out just like the original MBP's lack of FW800. Customer demand brought it back.

Alternately, Apple may be phasing out FW400 in anticipation of FW1600 and/or FW3200.

So? You put a separate power cord in the mains. No problem.
I’ve daisy-chained two Firewire disks (although they both don’t always come up on the desktop).

Yeah, other posters have mentioned that. Makes no sense to me. You remove FW400 when you’re ready to roll out FW1600/3200 connection -- not before. I find transfer rates to external USB disks so intolerably slow that I simply gave mine away!

Technically, the graphics chip is still integrated, but has been upgraded from Intel's chip to Nvidia's chip.

I agree. On the other hand, it doesn't make any sense to drop FW400 and retain USB 2.0. FW is noticeably faster. Apple might be trying to further distinguish the MacBook from the MBP (a possibility previously mentioned, I think), since they are aesthetically very similar now. It also pressures some MacBook users into buying the MBP when they upgrade.

Personally, the lack of FW400 is a deal breaker for me on the MacBook. I was going to get a new MacBook and sell my current one, but now I'm either going to keep my current machine a while longer, or get an MBP. Or, less likely, get an iMac.