Apple about to unveil refreshed plastic MacBooks?
By Nilay Patel 
posted September 27th 2009 3:58PM
posted September 27th 2009 3:58PM
posted September 27th 2009 3:58PM
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So what, now Apple will have 100 iPhones all playing the same crappy music video simultaneously?
Will the Genii behind the 'bar' have their smugness and 'I-can't-believe-you-don't-know-how-to-do-a-simple-operation-you're-not-really-a-mac-user-for-reals' attitude increased 30%?
Can has blackbook?
I wonder if the plastic on the case will still break as easily as it does now.
never had 1 break ever.....
the plastic looks cheap as hell looks like a 500 dollar laptop with os x stuck on it. apple has gotten lazy when designing there stuff iphone 3gs looks the same 3gs stupid name i love apple but come on.
In a lot of ways it is a $500 laptop with Mac OS X stuck on it. The screen's maybe a little better and you get a Firewire port, but otherwise it's pretty standard.
It's called sticking with what works, low risk is the safest approach to take. If you have a killer product that everyone loves why change it? You of course need to change it eventually to stay fresh but those are the two variables you need to weight, are we stale? If we change what is the risk? If stale outweighs risk then you should change, otherwise the best approach is to stay where you are and release only non-risk enhancements. I mean this is marketing 101 people, it really doesn't take a marketing genius to realize why these things are done this way.
I am like you, I was curious to see what the iPhone 3GS was going to look like, I mean lets be honest Apple can design some really ingenus stuff... Was I dissapointed that they kept the same look? Not really but I was let down, I wanted to see something new hip and cool. I just don't think the factors added up. Most likely the next release the factors will add up and they will re-design. Additionally if they go with another carrier I would gamble the new carrier will want to distinguish there iPhone from AT&T iPhone in the states it will need to be redesigned anyways to support CDMA so it will probably have a slightly new design to it as well. But Apple does like to play it safe so we will see... On the other hand if you look at Microsoft who really likes to jump into the fold, they have a tremendous amount of failure, I was kind of excited about the Zune HD but after seeing the reviews and how horribly they handled Apps and the browser, you can see how easy it is to mess a product up and that's what Apple is trying to avoid...
@darthgault
That's such a poor excuse. For one, that's akin to saying "640k of RAM is enough for anyone", times will change. A little while ago who would have thought that home users would need more than one physical core?
And worse, no matter what, how is that a justification for the fact that Apple charges the same for that Dual Core as Dell charges for the i7? Because you don't need an i7, Apple should charge the same price and give you a dual core instead?
I don't think Apple will go sub-range especially since their primary focus is quality. You simply can't have both, you have to cut something somewhere, it's either quality, features, or both. Dell typically chooses to cut both slightly, you get a lot of everything but the components themselves are pretty sub-par (cheap memory, cheap hard drive) and IMHO it shows. I have 8 laptops, 2 Samsungs, 3 Dells, 2 HP's, and MacBookPro, I paid 3k for my Dell laptop I had nearly everything specced to the max. I paid 2,700 for my MacBookPro and no hands down I absolutely rate the MacBookPro the highest quality laptop I own. The backlit keyboard, auto dimming sensor, built in camera, the mag-power cable, the multi-touch track pad. I actually am so attached to the multi-touch track-pad I can't stand using my other laptops now, I find myself trying to two touch for right clicking and two finger swiping to scroll on those laptops only to be dissapointed. IMO when you buy an Apple product these are the things you are paying for, sure you get a laptop just as you would if you bought a Dell but you get these nice little additions also that make the experience even more unique. In fact I have rEFIt installed and I dual boot with Windows 7 (yes its a legal copy) and the new Snow Leopard Windows drivers work flawlessly (minus battery performance).
Did I forget to mention my MacBookPro is the only laptop I can use that actually gets about 4+ hours of life on battery? When I startup the others they claim 4 hours but after an hour of working I will typically look down to see I only have 43 minutes left? Crappy battery technology or just crappy hardware, or perhaps its windows? I think its a combination of all three, and yes it was set to power savings mode yada yada...
Why do you need refit to dual boot with Windows 7?
Just hold down option at boot to switch.
If Apple is all about quality, why is there always an ample supply of refurbished Macs for sale on the Apple store website?
Ah, you see, you haven't had a Lenovo Thinkpad yet.
I am good with 999.00 I am using a netbook and sold my MBP it was overkill for me so tablet or macbook here i come...
As someone who has one of these "regular" plastic MacBooks and had it roughly a year - it is difficult for me to say that using OSX has completely "converted" me. While the MagSafe power adapter and it's slick case (I like the glossy case....doesn't show scratches unless you really, really look under the light.) I can't say I'll own another. With Windows 7 and roughly a 200-300 price difference in comparable PC notebooks - it's a bit hard to justify. Apple's support though, is much, much better than Dell that I've used in the past.
Any other recent Apple "switchers" feel the same way? It's also a huge dissapointment how Flash works on these machines, absolutely terrible - sounds like a jet engine is going to take off. Still got two-three more years with this thing and by that time anything can change.
Forgot to mention Apple's half-baked driver support for Boot Camp, the track pad is awful and battery life is 1/2 of what it is in OSX. Sure, I can't take 30 minutes or maybe an hour off, but not 1/2. It seems that "Windows works on a Mac", is a bit of a half-truth there.
This *might* improve, but I'm certainly not holding my breath.
And to elaborate, Windows 7 appears to have corrected almost all of the flaws that many people had with Vista, namely performance and start up speed.
If it's below 900...oh no poor people might buy it. How can we look down on them (while being ethically aware of their plight), if they have the same laptops we do.
For real though, there is this elitist attitude that I used to think went with Apple ownership but now I'm aware that it's just the kids who have held on to Apple because owning one means you spent money on it (or stole 25 of them in 30 seconds from an Apple store). Apple makes up a good amount of the dichotomy in this scene for who to respect (for being just like you) and who to look down on (for not trying hard enough) in social venues.
Fuck these kids.
NBK industries.
For the record, I own a 2006 Core Duo macbook pro and love it. I just wish I didn't have to sit with these smug hipsters in coffee shops and have people think I listen to their shitty alt-rock bands or their impossible to understand indie films
The plastic Mac is meant for poor people. Somewhere along the line Apple decided to combine a brittle plastic case with a meh display for the kids who want to cool but can't afford an MBP. Everybody knows that the aluminum owners laugh @ the impoverished polycarbonate (don't you love how Apple can even make plastic sound cool) owning wannabes behind their backs. I hate to be the one to tell you plastic mac people this but...you're not really part of the club.
All this vitriol and hate, (often in the form of rampant homophobia, pathetically) stems from PROJECTION. So a guy has a MBP. Who cares? Often the 'weird indie guys' you see are actually creative types in Univerisity, and doing Filmmaking, etc, need the power of a Pro, and probably took out a big loan for that computer. Any snobbery is in your own head.
Ah, here.. for a primer...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_projection
When you say "Fuck these kids" .. you're actually having a battle inside your own mind.
"(often in the form of rampant homophobia, pathetically)"
???? I must have missed the "rampant homophobia" in the post above.
i.Jam:
He assumes that you're also taking a Fruedian stance, and secretly want to fuck those kids as well.
Either that, or he's an idiot. Let's apply Occam's Razor and see what we get, shall we?
Likely predictions: a few millimeters thinner, SD card slot, no Firewire, new-style battery, clicky trackpad, still Core 2/Geforce 9400
Less likely predictions: price cut to $899, many color options
Is an integrated battery suddenly a good thing now?
I'll wait to see if they catch fire I guess.
Same here, I can't say that I'm a big fan of integrated batteries. To have to send in a computer strictly to switch out the battery is nuts. Another "feature" that is not needed from Apple, I don't care if they claim it has 7-hours of battery life, let me just switch it out!
ahhh nothing like an Apple post to bring out the trolls and fanbois! Peace and love guys. Vote with your wallets. Try not to hurt each other!
The PC market has fallen so bad, here is where Apple can clean up.
$899.99.
If you put it there, all of SONY's customers will defect.
14in screen. Chip style keyboard.
It should be a Core2 at 2.0 or 1.8 and have 4gb RAM, 320gb HDD or maybe even a 250gb.
It needs ESATA, Displayport and HDMI with Audio.
It should be accompanied by Intel's new chipset which at least runs 7.1 HD Audio out over HDMI.
At that money i don't expect upgraded nvidia or ATi graphics from Apple.
Admission to OSX at that price will turn alot of heads.
methinks you've never heard of a Mac mini.
Or that OS X is running on the iPod touch/iPhone.
If Apple adopts eSATA, they sure as heck won't debut it on their cheapest laptop first.
They should just make the MacBooks the equivalent of the iPod nano's, loads of colors. Go after those people who want just a pure ass color. It's pretty simple. Shit, make the white one even cheaper than the other color ones (White = 899 or 999, color add on 50 bucks). Maybe even be able to order them online with an engraving? People will eat that shit up. Make it the same colors as the nano's so people can buy a matching nano. Simple shit.
I'm typing this on my black MB that I've loved since day one.
PLEASE refresh the black MB too.
I pay additional money for this color and I'd pay it again seeing as how this one is almost 4 years old!
i dont see it dropping from $999, but maybe a minor spec bump and i would like to see apple bring back the black macbook
Exactly, Apple doesn't do price cuts, they bump the specs. Unless there's nowhere left to go (eg. ipod shuffle).
Companies that have a history of slashing prices (Dell..) are saying, 'we don't know why you would buy this at the current price, and we haven't added any new features. Sorry. Here's some cash.'
"You know I always hear that argument, but in my years working IT I can say with a lot of certainty that any time a user has gotten infected with something or crashed their system it's because of something they were doing that they shouldn't have been."
Any designer knows that when you create something, if it's good design it will be impossible to 'do something that they shouldn't do.' That's the attitude of good product developers anyway. Granted, that's quite the task with bloated OSes these days, but the principle still stands.
Steve Jobs: We're introducing a new Macbook, blah blah specs, blah blah and all this for under $1,000
Applause, men & women throw their underwear at Steve!
Steve waits takes a deep breathe
Steve Jobs: And you can order it today!
Steve Jobs (Thinking to himself): They eat it up every time.
I love the how Apple releases new hardware for the same price but because there are few extras people think it's awesome.
"I love the how Apple releases new hardware for the same price but because there are few extras people think it's awesome"
So for the same price you're getting a better computer. It's called progress and that's how the industry works pal.
What part of this pisses you off?
You'd rather they did nothing innovative, slashed the price and then went home. Wow. Inspirational Keynote. Count me as the first and only Phillyking fanboy.
I think the point is that Apple usually touts these refreshes as giant leaps forward in technology. When really, they're incremental. Their presentation puts everything up on a pedestal, yet this is day-to-day business as usual for every other tech company. New products at the same price is great, but... do you need all the fireworks to tell us about it?
Sorry, but increasing the specs of a computer to match the market is not innovation. The fact is, Apple will have a bit of a spec bump and some new features for the white MB but it will really be the same computer they have been selling since 2005 with slightly better internals. Even Dell makes external improvements sometimes.
if they slash >150 dollars off, to have a sub 900 dollar notebook, that'll be HUGE
Could sum up all this fighting and ranting, here I'll save all you fanboys the trouble:
You OBVIOUSLY DONT know jack shit about ____________
_______'s are better than __________
Virus's?? Not on my ____________
GTFO _________ fanboy
Happy?
Nice to hear apple is refreshing the old white macbook line... oh the good old day.. :P
I hope they come out with the apple logo in rainbow so all my queer friends will be jealous of me. They could call it the San Fran edition.
I think ill wait 5 years for the the black Colorware Stealth Macbook pro to become somewhat afforadable hahahahaha.
Carved from a single piece of plastic!
I just bought a MBP about a week ago and I could not have been happier.
Fcuk the haters...they are just jealous.