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First impressions: Macbook Pro
After waiting patiently in line for twenty minutes, Dan at The Apple Blog got his turn to play with the Macbook Pro (MBP). There were other members of the press waiting for their turns, so he wasn't able to conduct a complete review, but he did get a good feel for the machine. A few quotes from his first look:"...the Intel build of Safari is the fastest web browser that I have ever used, on any platform. Instead of bouncing in the dock and forcing you to wait, Safari opens a new window and loads a page almost instantly when you open it...""..I went to the Applications folders, selected all, and double clicked...the MBP started working smoothly...clicking around between applications produced instant results..." That's with every application open? Wow.He identifies the lack of a Firewire 800 port and a PCMCIA slot as the bad news, but his overall (albeit brief) impression of the machine was quite positive. Check it out.
Ten reasons your next PC will be from Apple
Chris Pirillo of LockerGnome fame, has written the 'ten reasons your next PC will be from Apple,' in reference to the brand new Intel Macs. He lists some interesting reasons that go beyond the usual 'lack of spyware,' though that is on the list as well.Style, reliability, ease of support, and iPod are all on the list. Take a minute to read it over yourself.
If MacBook Pros are ready, why aren't the Pro apps?
In Victor's post about sitting in on a TWiT recording, he mentions a 10 year old kid who asked the TWiT gang a blatantly obvious question most of us have so far missed: if the MacBook Pro books are truly ready, where are the pro apps? Quark has a beta available - for all three of their customers. Where are the big dogs like Adobe? Heck, why isn't Apple's own Final Cut Studio available?With questions about the general oddness of this year's keynote mounting, I think this is a huge one that needs to get added to the top of the pile. Some would say it's very un-Apple to release a new (pro) product like this without much of anything "pro" available to run on it. I would say at the least that it's just plain dumb to pull a stunt like this. So what gives?
MacBook Pro will support 34mm PC Cards
As the dust settles a bit around MacWorld, it seems a few details about the new MacBook Pro's are becoming clearer. First on many PowerBook users' minds: will my EVDO card work without PCMCIA?It turns out a little naming confusion is the key to this mystery. On the "What's Inside" page for the MacBook Pro, under the Expansion category, you may notice this entry: ExpressCard/34 slot It turns out that ExpressCard is just another name for the ever-confusing standard known as PCMCIA. The good news is, yes, Virginia, there is a Stevie Claus, you will be able to have your EVDO card. The bad news is that this ExpressCard is a 34 millimeter slot. So, if you are rocking the usual 54 millimeter PCMCIA cards, you're going to have to buy some new gear (think Hammerfall PCMCIA for you audiophiles, wifi cards for you wardriving mac geeks, and EVDO cards for the roaming journos). One card that will fit in the MacBook Pro's slot is this 4-in-1 media card reader.[more info about EVDO usb dongles and other ungainly hardware patches for existing PCMCIA cards on the MacBook Pro]
Comparing the MacBook Pro to other laptops
Lots of people have been throwing out their thoughts and opinions about the new Macbook Pros (I'm still not used to that name), but Tristan has gone to the effort of creating a chart comparing the new MacBooks to the Powerbooks of yore (i.e. last week) and to an Acer laptop.How did the MacBook measure up? You'll have to read his post to see
My perspective on Unsanity's MacBook Pro "Lost in Transition" post
One of Unsanity's programmers by the name of Rosyna has posted a really interesting commentary on the new MacBook Pros titled Lost in Translation, focusing on some significant issues that need to be addressed. I recommend you check it out, as it raises questions on a number of issues that Steve Jobs seemed to have glazed over in his keynote.On the flip side though, I couldn't help posting this without offering a response to some of the issues. While I am neither a programmer nor an Apple Engineer, I think I can add a few interesting ideas to the discussion.
Kottke writes a letter to Apple support
Jason Kottke has summed up many people's thoughts with this very funny letter to Apple support.I about fell out of my chair yesterday when Steve announced the new iMacs, since I just bought one of the last PowerPC models. 'But the iMac was recently refreshed,' I moaned, 'you were supposed to introduce a new Mac mini!'Ahh well, the iMac G5 is still a great machine, but my Powerbook is getting a little long in the tooth. Where did I put that credit card?
Survey: what will Intel-iBooks be called?
So now that we know Apple has changed the naming scheme of their PowerBook line to MacBook Pro, the question begs to be answered: what will the iBooks be called once they get Intel Inside Leap Ahead? Will the name shift to iMacBook? MacBook mini? Something else? Post your thoughts, and lets have some fun trying to guess Apple's next marketing move.
New iMac and MacBook Pro (fortunately) void of Intel branding
AdJab was the first to notice something we've all been worrying about since the day Jobs announced the switch to Intel chips: Intel branding on the new Macs, or more specifically: the lack therof. After checking the product sites for the new iMac and MacBook Pro and confirming with a couple of our on-site bloggers, it's official: the new Macs weren't marred by any of the typical stickers and other silly marketing gobbly gook that our PC counterparts are victims of. So you lucky bunch who are placing orders right now for zippy new Intel-infused Macs, rest assured: they're still beautiful and sticker-free.
Hands on the Macbook pro: Magsafe
The most exciting thing about the new Macbooks (it is going to take me awhile to get used to that) is the new MagSafe power connector. I know, I know: that's not exciting. Let me tell you, you're wrong. This thing is rock solid. The connector is strongly connected to the MacBook, much more than the power cord for my Powerbook and it is also easy to disconnect.As you can see from the photo above, the LED tells you when your MacBook is charged, or when it is charging.It is the little things that make the biggest difference.
Clearing up specifics on the MacBook Pro
Laurie A. Duncan is feeding us a few more details from the Macworld floor on the new MacBook Pros that I thought were quite interesting: Macbook has one FW 400 port, no FW 800. I guess that ZDNet post was at least on to something no pcmcia slot - new ExpressCard/34 slot, whatever that is Hard drive is SATA now, not IDE Magnetic power adapter and port is very very cool! Snaps nice and tight Display now also uses magnetics to close, clasp is gone We'll publish more details as soon as soon as they roll in.
First Macbook Pro, next up Mac Pro?
Well, we all know that the MacBook Pro is the new and improved Powerbook, because there's no more PowerPC chip in them anymore. Intel, baby!My bold prediction for the PowerMac line? It will be renamed the Mac Pro to solidify the naming convention across the board.I have no inside information on this, it just makes sense.
