Apple Notebooks 08
Today at 6pm (GMT) Apple announced their latest line-up of notebooks. Unlike other blogs I’m not going to post stats about them, I’m going to go off on a little rant because if the truth be known, I’m not really sure what to think about them. Please note I am by no means an Apple notebook expert, that is where you lot come in.
Unfortunately I’ve never owned a laptop before, let alone an Apple laptop, so I had been eagerly anticipating this refresh for quite sometime. In fact, it has been just over two years since the thought first crossed my mind about buying a Macbook Pro. But due to University studies I always put the purchase off.
Since early summer ’08 the rumour mill had been rife about supposed launch dates and as the pencilled date of October 14th drew ever closer the rumours gained in momentum, with mock-ups and ‘supposed sources’ being leaked every few days. With each new source, my excitement grew like that of a little boy awaiting Christmas.
For the majority of late morning and early afternoon, I was emailing Jon Hicks asking about his current set-up. Not because I haven’t researched the matter, far from it, I wanted to find out what the professionals use, the people I look up to for inspiration. After our conversation I was pretty much set on a 17” matte option but as it would later transpire this would not be feasible.
As I sat watching the coverage from engadget I thought back to all the wonderful rumours I had heard over the last few months, particularly those of the last few weeks. Perhaps I got my hopes up? Perhaps I was expecting too much?
- No update, thus far, on the 17″ option.
- No matte option for screen.
- The black border, from iMac and Air has been introduced.
- Chicklet keys have been introduced.
- Making both the MacBook and Pro similar in terms of aesthetics and technical spec.
I always assumed I would plump for the 17” matte option but now that this is no longer available I’m facing a problem. Would I really miss a matte option if I have never used it, especially on a Mac laptop? Even though the screen is glossy, will it be that noticeable and the hindrance that everyone is making it out to be, especially those in the design community?
I know that I don’t have many readers as of yet but for the few of you out there, what options will you be going for when you head off to your local Apple store?
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Who I am
My name is Jack Osborne and I am a Glasgow–based designer and writer. You should follow me on Twitter.
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What I do
I am a front-end developer with proficiency in; accessibility, design, semantics, usability & web standards.
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Where I do it
I am currently working freelance and I am available for hire. Feel free to get in touch with me if you fancy a chat.
Regardless of all of the above, I still really want one and I’ve waited nearly two years.
But why is there something still niggling away in the back of my mind? Is it because of the items I’ve singled out above or is it something else totally unrelated to that?
That little niggle is probably the part of your brain that’s terrified of parting with all that cash!
Compare the specs of a Macbook to a similar PC and it’s hard to justify the extra cash.
They do look really nice though, the new trackpad is pretty awesome, and having all the ports on one side was a really nice touch I thought!
If I was going to get one, I’d get the regular Macbook though. The difference between the Macbooks and the Pros has really been lessened here. The Pros used to *look* a class up. Now the regular Macbooks look just as good, and they’re powerful enough for me.
Thanks for the comment Michael, the first reply on my blog I may add, and also for pointing out the comment section wasn’t connected, opps! Major schoolboy error with that one.
I totally agree with you when you mentioned that if you compare the price of a pc and Mac the specs are poles apart. However there is just ’something’ about the products Apple produce, maybe it’s the inner snob in all of us?
I’ve only seen one video of the trackpad and have to agree that it does look amazing, although the decision to exclude a mouse button is a bit questionable. Infact the decision to exclude a few things from this new range has me puzzled. To me it seems as if they were going for more of a wow factor than anything else with this.
Once again, I find myself agreeing with you, there is nothing special about the pro line anymore. By making it similar to that of the Macbook they have devalued what it was all about in the first place. Thats my one major gripe, although only just infront of the glossy screen.
In saying all of this, I just can’t get over the ‘Apple factor’ (no, not Simon Cowells new television program.) I guess I’ll need to have a play on the new ones just to see how I feel about it and if I decide they aren’t for me I could always pick up the last model which is selling a lot cheaper now.
Am starting to like them, but if am gonna get one i think i’d go for just a MACBOOK, so i aggree with michael on that one.
you know you want one mate
go on buy one!
lol
good post though mate
I would really have like to get a 13″ MBP, but alas. I want to do some gaming on my laptop, so I’ll buy the 15″ version.
I know that Apple is taking a lot of heat because of the reflective glass screen, but I was going to buy a none matte anyway.
The major downside for me is that you have to log out to switch between the graphic cards! I’m hoping this will change with a software update in the future. Still, it’s no showstopper.
If you look at it, and if you don’t care about the money, the laptops are still amazing machines (both the MB and the MBP). They are well designed, very pretty (of course, this is an opinion) and have good hardware.
Personally, I think the new Macbook Pro is perfect for me. The screen size doesn’t bother me because I am fine with that size for just browsing in bed or working on the train. While at home I would hook it up to a large external monitor, as both my bosses do with their current MBPs. It has enough power to do what I want to do and is perfect to replace both my old PC and laptop completely. My one machine dream
@saidin the glossy screen does seem to be the major talking point for most people but the more I think about it the less I am worrying about it, surely Apple wouldn’t just decide to get rid of something for the sake of it?
I didn’t even know about the graphics card problem, thanks for sharing that piece of information. I’ll need to read into it before I can comment on it.
@Mike to be honest, I don’t think the screen size of 15” would bother me either, I just find that if I don’t buy the better option I generally end up wishing I had and end up buying that one later down the line.
The perfect example of this was when I bought an ipod shuffle, the one that looked like a stick of gum. After a few months I realised it was not for me and I really missed having a screen and decided to purchase a 4 gig nano. However, my music collection increased rapidly and before I knew it I was sitting with over forty gig of music and the 4 gig nano was out of it’s depth. It was then I decided just to go all out and get the biggest one I could afford.
Anyway…sidetracked, back to the screen size, I totally agree about hooking it up to an external monitor especially as it seems to be the norm for most people in our line of work to do. Those new cinema displays are lovely too, albeit a little expensive. Any links to pictures of their setups?
Like you, this laptop would also be a godsend as it would be replacing my four year old desktop.
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If the truth be told, I’ll probably just wait until the next Apple event at the start of January, the name of the event escapes me currently, before I decide what I’m going to do.
I don’t have a photo of their set ups, but I have one of mine.
Note that my setup is running off a G5 under the desk, not the MB on the left. Matt and Clare have a single, larger monitor (24″) since they can use the MBs monitor as well. You can see one behind my right monitor
It definitely is the best solution to get a MBP and hook it up to an external. Since the cinema displays are a bit pricey, I’ve heard good things about Dell’s monitors which are reasonably priced. They might not look as nice, but they are pretty good quality on the actual screen part. Some Samsung SyncMasters are quite good as well.
Oh, and the event in January is The Macworld Conference & Expo.
Very nice setup Mike, it’s given me an idea for another blog post but perhaps I’ll save it for a time when I have more followers.
Yes, you’re not the first person I’ve heard mention Dells own monitor, this will be something I’ll research further along the line but if I can someone afford/justify an Apple monitor then I’ll probably buy that. I like everything to tie in together. My current setup is a mish mash of everything and it doesn’t really inspire me. I blame that and that alone for creative drought I occasionally get.
I also had never heard of the syncMaster so cheers for the tip.