Apple Notebook meta-liveblog

We might not be there in person, but we will be monitoring all the live feeds to provide one ultimate-meta blog experience. I'll also try to answer any questions I can from the comments.

Join us at 1:00 PM EDT for all the action!

2:05PM See you later!

2:05PM thanks for joining me -- go read up about all the specs and drool over the photos, I know I will!

2:05PM And now, that's it.

2:05PM And the response on netbooks seems to be, "we'll do it, but not now." Which, for what it is worth, is probably smart. Don't get into a price war right now until the market really defines itself and you can actually estimate demand.

2:04PM Touchscreens don't make sense right now in notebooks.

2:04PM When questioned about the netbook, the response is that it is a nascent market that is just getting started.

2:03PM But you don't want to apply that technique to glass if you can help it.

2:03PM Again, if it is a huge problem -- I'm sure that there will be tons of companies issuing thing overlays to add a matte effect to the screens.

2:02PM Jobs says, "we're going straight glass. A few of our customers prefer matte screens but the vast majority prefer glass because of brighter colors, etc." = Slashgear

2:02PM Question about matte option for MacBook Pro...

2:01PM MacBook Pro is 1 lb heavier at 5.5 lbs than the MB which is 4.5 lbs.

2:00PM A question about MB taking MBP marketplace. The answer is that pros use MBPs. This is true, but I think pros on the move might want a $1600 MB rather than a $2000 MBP. Just saying...

1:59PM We've got posts tearing down the specs on the way, and we'll be sure to add in our own analysis in the hours to come. This is really, really exciting and Apple totally pulled through all my expectations and more. Just wish I didn't want a new notebook so badly now ;-)

1:58PM Is that it? I think that's it.

1:57PM the 17" is not disappearing. It is being refreshed too. But I imagine it is a BTO (build-to-order) option now.

1:57PM Phil: "We have the best HD movie and TV options in iTunes."

Phil is a liar.

1:57PM Responding to Blu-Ray

Steve: "Blu-ray is just a bag of hurt. It's great to watch the movies, but the licensing of the tech is so complex, we're waiting till things settle down and Blu-ray takes off in the marketplace."

Engadget

1:56PM No HDMI because of limited resolution (this is true). The Display port is the future for computer users. -- Engadget.

1:55PM Apple is first to market with the new Nvidia chip.

1:55PM Perfect!

1:55PM HA! 110/70 = Steve's Blood Pressure

1:55PM As someone who does not believe that downloadable media is the future for all users (I want my extra features and DTS 7.1!), I don't want this format to die.

1:54PM No Blu-Ray is a disappointment for many of us. I don't need it in a notebook, but its adoption would certainly help the format prosper

1:53PM Lots of tech porn of the new MBP line.

1:52PM The new trackpad might be hard to adjust to, but I think anyone who uses an iPhone or iPod Touch will be at home.

1:51PM Oh, people will cry. Matte finish is dunzo. Glossy only. But this is glass. That makes sense. Get a filmoverlay if you are really worried.

1:50PM As Apple updates its site, we'll bring you the information!

1:50PM There is no sub $1000 notebook and a price was never put on the 128GB SSD, but this is still great, great stuff!

1:49PM The MBP has dual GPUs, one for battery performance, one for high end processing. Both use Nvidia. This is awesome.

1:49PM Or, aluminum.

1:49PM And we have Super Drives across the board. w00t! The $999 is plastic. The $1299 and $1599 are metal.

1:48PM And the audience now sees a documentary on the manufacturing process. I can't see this and we can watch it later, so let's do a rundown:

New designed MB and MBP
Better graphics
Faster RAM
Lighter
Better battery life
glass touchpads
NEW CINEMA displays

1:47PM No word on a 17" MBP. BTO only I assume.

1:47PM Hearing Twitterings that the base MB still has a combo drive. In 2008 that cannot be true...

1:46PM Talking about production process again. This is the same process as the air. Not the process that 9to5 speculated which would have been unfeasible on a large scale.

1:45PM You can get up to 320 GB for the hardrive. Shipping today, hitting stores tomorrow.

1:44PM Both use DDR3 RAM (1066) and have Core 2 Duo 3 MB L2 cache chips.

1:43PM The $1599 model is faster, has a bigger hard drive nad a backlit keyboard.

1:43PM I paid $1500 for my BlackBook just over a year ago. That's awesome.

1:43PM That's the jaw-dropper. $700 more affordable.

1:42PM And it's $1299.

1:42PM Suck on that eee!

1:42PM 5 hours of battery life!

1:42PM So no discrete card, but the 9400M so kills the GMA3100

1:41PM Engadget: "Again we're using the 9400M. Here's our system architecture, very clean. And of course, we've got that glass trackpad, and we've got 5 hours of battery life." Now he's back on the environmental soundness of this thing. This is the most eco friendly MacBook ever in the history of human existence.

1:41PM So the 12" PowerBook finally has a successor!

1:40PM Engadget: It has the same casing, LED backlit display, glass trackpad... the whole nines. Just smaller. Looks like those leaks we saw were right on this too.

1:40PM This is an optional model on top of the white plastic model. Just like the Pro but smaller.

1:40PM Metal enclosure, faster graphics, LED Backlit display.

1:39PM Really thought Apple would actually go under $1000

1:39PM (I'm typing on a 13 month old BlackBook, I don't want to drool too much)

1:39PM Entry price is $999. Same as the iBook G3.

1:38PM And now, the MacBook.

1:38PM The new displays are a long time coming. About damn time! November release date!

1:38PM iSight in the dsplays!

1:38PM One More thing

1:38PM Engadget: "We're introuducing a new Cinema Display -- our first with LED backlighting. It's got a cable with three connectors: a MagSafe, you can power your notebook, 2nd is a USB port, and third is Display port."

1:37PM Yeah, I called that back in July. w00t!

1:37PM 24" LED Cinema displays!!

1:37PM Oh to clarify -- the GPU on the MBP is dual -- one for battery, one for performance. To answer an earlier question, that will speed up rendering time to an insane degree.

1:36PM And we have new Cinema displays.

1:36PM So the Air just kicked any Netbooks ass and then some.

1:36PM The Air is getting hte 9400M graphics card and a 128 GB SSD as an option, and a mini-display port. - Engadget.

1:35PM the $2499 MBP come with 4 GB RAM standard and has the option to use the 9500M GT 512.

1:35PM So processor wise, same processor but faster DDR3 RAM (1066 megahertz), faster and better Graphics cards (integrated or discrete) and stanard ports/features.

1:33PM Shipping online today and in stores tomorrow.

1:33PM RAM is now DDR3 instead of DDR2 as all previous MBPs.

1:33PM Much easier to access drives on the new units.

1:32PM Engadget:
"And of course, 802.11n, Bluetooth... .95 inches, our thinnest MBP ever. It's going to come in two models. The first, $1999, 15.4 inch display, 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB of DDR3 RAM, NVIDIA 9400 and 9600. We have a second config at $2499, you get a faster CPU with double cache, 4GB RAM, double graphics memory, 320GB hard drive."

1:32PM Engadget:
This will also be the first MBP that we offer SSD on, and you can access the drives from underneath the battery." Nice! That's a nice touch.

1:31PM And a nice move -- SSD option for the MacBook Pro!

1:31PM Finally, mini display port on all products!

1:31PM From Engadget: "Slot load super drive, magsafe connector, Ethernet, firewire 800, dual USB, mini display port, we're going to that on all our products, expresscard 34, and the battery indicator is now on the side."

1:31PM No blu-ray.

1:30PM http://blogs.computerworld.com/apple_brick_is_a_manufacturing_process

1:30PM 5 hour of battery on the 9400, 4 on the 9600.

1:30PM http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2008/10/apple-laptop-event-043.jpg

1:29PM That's freaking huge news. DDR3 in a laptop that is as small as the MBP? Insane!

1:29PM They are showing off the new Nvidia chip for the Pro -- the GeForce 9600M GT 256/512 of DDR3 RAM.

1:28PM Gizmodo and Engadget have pictures. Lucky bastards.

1:28PM The audience is drooling. Flailing economy, what? We all want MacBook Pros.

1:27PM Speakers are on the side of the keyboard. Nice touch.

1:27PM Engadget has a picture. The glass looks very cool. Not that different from the MacBook top keyboard part though, IMO.

1:26PM The audience gets to touch the shell!

1:26PM They are showing off the new casing that is 50% smaller, part wise.

1:25PM Back0lit keyboard, built-in iSight, sudden motion sensor for drops

1:25PM Magnetic latch.

1:25PM https://www.engadget.com/2008/10/14/live-from-apples-spotlight-turns-to-notebooks-event/ has pictures.

1:24PM It is HOT. Looks like a cross between the Air and the iMac.

1:24PM Glass display, connectors on one side.

1:24PM The leak we saw last night, and the image from Deutche Telekom were right =in.

1:23PM The profile is similar to the Air.

1:23PM Finally a new MacBook Pro!

1:22PM Multi touch for gestures, entire track pad is the button, new four-finger gestures. (no three finger salute?)

1:22PM The whole pad is the button. Double tap a la the iPhone, I assume.

1:21PM Gruber was right. Way to go.

1:21PM Large multi-touch GLASS track pad. No button.

1:20PM Wow, I really didn't want to buy a new Notebook right now. Wow!!

1:20PM 6x real world performance increase!

1:20PM Slashgear: Has 16 parallel graphics cores, 54gflops of performance

1:20PM More than the current line of MacBook Pros (that wasn't hard).

1:20PM sunner = stunner. Finally!

1:19PM GeForce 9400 M.
"They've dubbed it the NVIDIA GeForce 9400 M -- it's an amazing chip. Chipset and GPU on one die -- 70% is the GPU, 16 parallel graphic cores, 54gflops of graphics performance. It's a sunner."

1:19PM And with that Mike Schramm just got convinced that he needs a new notebook!

1:19PM We have Nvidia graphics. Suck it ATI!

1:18PM Steve returns.

1:17PM 2.5 lbs of aluminum cut down to 1/4 lb.

1:17PM One piece under carraige. Nice.

1:16PM -Rather than start with a thin piece of aluminum, Apple discovered if you start with a thick piece and remove parts to create features and the mechanical structure, we can make a much lighter and much stronger part -Ars

1:16PM
eng: 10:15AM "We discovered if we started with a thick piece of aluminum we could make a lighter and stronger part." "So we make it from a solid piece of aluminum."

I may have to eat my sock.

1:15PM Lots of pictures of fragile compoents. The new process resulted in the MacBook Air

1:14PM This is the current process.

1:14PM Paraphrasing: "The structure is primarily derived from this..." Shows the internal frame. "It's made of multiple parts, then assembled into the bottom case... a very thin aluminum pressing.

1:14PM Discussion of a breakthrough in manufacturing.

1:13PM Manufacturing process rumors might be true. But I'll my sock if it is the 9to5 rumor.

1:12PM "Let's talk about notebooks. Before we get into the actual notebooks, we want to talk about discoveries we've made. I'd like to talk about some new ways to build notebooks." - Ive

1:12PM Aluminum is the wave of the future.

1:11PM Apparently "Steve looks skinny." And he is back out with Jonathan Ive.

1:10PM Apple beats Dell by having 39% of the computer education market.

1:10PM The number of Macs at major universities has gone from 15% to 50%. That's huge!

1:09PM Steve Sande: 1 out of 3 of my personal dollars are spent on the Mac, too.

1:09PM Revenue share is over 31 percent for the Mac (which we discussed in the Talkcast this week)

1:09PM From Ars:

6 reasons attributing to Mac's sucess

1. Outgrown the market for the last 14 of 15 quarters. US retail marketshare is 17.6% (Engadget)

1:07PM About 50% of the people on the Mac are new Mac users.

1:07PM Everyone loves Hodgeman (PC). It's the truth.

1:06PM Anyone find a UStream source? I'm just getting Cali Lewis.

1:06PM Like all of you, I just want to see the products! Save the talk for the earnings call! They are playing a Mac vs. PC ad (the one with the PC on the throne)

1:05PM Commentary on Mac v. PC ads.

1:04PM Talk of virtulization and the role it has played in Mac expansion. True that.

1:03PM Mentions of iLife and iWork, but no update announcements. I'm thinking SnoLeopard will usher in iLife/iWork '09

1:03PM Apple has better computers, beter software and Leopard is far ahead of Leopard. (via Gizmodo)

1:02PM On the first day, there was Lisa, and it was good.

1:02PM Tim Cook is giving a state of the MacBook address.

1:01PM Steve is out. Applause and awe.

1:00PM Apparently the big news is no Coldplay as the seating music. Apple went old school and is blasting in the classical.

12:58PM No ustream feed as far as I can tell -- if you find one, Twitter us @TUAW or comment below.

12:57PM And seating has commenced.

12:55PM Way to rally, stock market!

12:55PM Robert has just informed me that AAPL is up $.29 to $110.55

12:52PM Giz is asking a interesting question, what update will Steve announce first? I say the option that equals something no one cares about.

12:44PM We're hearing rumors of a brief delay. I'm trying to monitor all the liveblogs, Twitter streams (well, my cohorts are taking Twitter) and other manic coverage.