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Reader Reports: MacBook Pros shipping
Lots of people have emailed us to share the news: Apple has shipped their MacBook Pros. Now, after you recover from the carpal tunnel of hitting refresh on the package tracking website (we have all been there) I expect you to take lots of pictures while opening up the first Mac portable with an Intel chip. What are you going to do with those pictures? Why, send us a link to them!Thanks to everyone who emailed us about this.
Apple beginning to phase out the 15" PowerBook?
TUAW has received a tip that points to the possibility that Apple could already be phasing out the 15" PowerBook. The tipster, whom we'll call Bob for anonymity's sake, manages an Apple B2B program for a U.S. institute. Recently, Bob noticed that, as you see in our screenshot, the 15" PowerBook has disappeared from their program's offerings. After Bob verified this disappearance with his Apple sales rep, the rep also (reportedly) explained that it would slowly begin disappearing from other catalogs as well.As with all claims like this, TUAW can neither confirm nor deny their validity. If this is true, however, it could force some uneasy decisions for those who had their eye on picking up a pro 15" portable from Apple, as we've already found out that some pro apps, such as Adobe's Creative Suite and After Effects, won't be Intel-ready until at least 2007.
Chic laptop bags for that new MacBook Pro
When it comes to toting around that new MacBook Pro, you want nothing but the best to hug and snuggle your new baby computer. For MacBook Pros (and 15" PowerBooks) I am going to have to point the ladies to alex grant bags. My favorite bag is the understated Skye in gunmetal gray (pictured here). The larger alex grant bags come with coordinating laptop sleeves (kind of like mini briefcases with handles) that fit inside. I love the styling on these bags and the carrying handles look long-commute-friendly, I just wish they came in a few more color choices. All of the agb collection is on sale until March 1st. In a past post I've rounded up some of my favorite iBook sleeves, some of which may also be appropriate for 12" PowerBooks. With this combination, you can put a smaller laptop in a larger bag. Incidentally, I rock a 10" Fujitsu subcompact (running FreeBSD 6), so I ended up modding an existing subcompact sleeve to my liking. Ladies, and guys with ladies in their lives, feel free to comment on your favorite sleeve/bag combo for your mac laptop in the comments.
When do the MacBook Pros actually ship?
Apple made a whole lot of hullabaloo today by getting up on Mount We're Awesome and announcing the minor MacBook Pro processor upgrade, as well as the fact that the belated notebooks are supposedly "shipping this week." Of course, when Apple mentions 'week,' it's obviously referring to the length of a week on Steve Jobs' home planet and not that of the Gregorian calendar -- because as far as I can tell, most MacBook Pro ship dates have been delayed by more than two weeks. My order, which was originally supposed to ship on the 15th, was pushed to the 28th, along with everyone else I talked to who pre-ordered one of the elusive buggers. Is anyone (everyone?) out there having better luck with ship dates? Is yours still slated to ship this week? Or was the whole "We upgraded your processor! Don't you love us?" routine just a way to distract the world from the fact that the phrase "MacBooks ship this week!" is nothing more than some misguided attempt at reverse psychology? Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to mutter under my breath some FCC-prohibited four-letter words. Care to join me?
Apple Store is back up with slightly faster Mac Book Pros
That was quick! The Apple Store is back up, and that's not all that is up. Apple has bumped up the available processors speeds on the Mac Book Pro. You can now upgrade the Mac Book to a 2.16GHz Core Duo, but only on the pricier version. The upgrade will cost you $300.I guess Intel delivered faster processors sooner than they thought they could. See? This is why Apple is using Intel, however, if I had ordered a Mac Book Pro earlier I would be a little ticked off.Thanks to all the commenters who saw this!Update: It seems in the all the excitement I didn't notice that all models of the MacBook Pro got a speed bump. The 1.67 GHz is now sportin' a 1.83 GHz chip and the 1.83 GHz is now starting at 2.0 GHz. According to Apple, all orders will reflect the new speeds.
Price bout: Dell vs. Mac Book Pro
Dell. The very name makes me imagine dull little boxes doing dull little tasks, however, they are the price leader (and overall marketshare leader) on the PC side of the fence. Therefore, by law, every tech columnist much compare Dell's prices to the newest Mac to prove, once and for all, that Mac users pay a premium.Dan Frakes, who can be my number one any time (get it? Star Trek? No? Ok, moving on), has braved the Dell website and configured a 'comparable' Inspiron. The results? Well, I don't want to steal Dan's thunder, but since he writes for Macworld I think you can guess.
Top contributors to the Webkit Open Source Project get MacBook Pros
The WebKit Open Source Project is the open source component of WebKit (which powers Safari and is available for developers to access with their applications). It seems that lots of non-Apple programmers have been chipping in to do a number of things, including fixing bugs and what have you.Normally an open source volunteer is 'paid' with experience and the knowledge that she is helping out with a cool project. However, this time around Apple is giving the top twelve contributors to the project a brand new MacBook Pro, and five of them are going to attend WWDC (on Apple).Very cool, Apple. Now, when are you going to start handing out MacBook Pros to bloggers?
MacBook Pro availability changes to 3-4 weeks
Over the last couple of days I've been hearing some rumors that the MacBook Pro availability might get pushed back to March, but I didn't want to post on it until something legitimate happened - and it has. TUAW reader Oliver noticed that the MacBook Pro's availability from apple.com/store has changed to 3-4 weeks, essentially pushing it back to March.Whether this means no one is getting their MacBook Pro until March is yet to be seen. I have yet to hear of shipment confirmation emails, but it is already a week into February. Here's hoping this is just a sign of surging MacBook Pro orders.
Apple Store Down: Let the Rumors Fly!
The Apple Store is marked as currently down. This tends to happen when new products, price changes, or features are added to the store. Maybe they are adding new information regarding the MacBook Pros. What do you think it might be? Guess away...We'll keep you posted on all developments to this story. Please stay tuned to TUAW.[thanks Tim O.]
New MacBreak podcast from Leo and friends
Yet another vidcast (and site) from Leo and friends has launched in the iTMS by the name of MacBreak (iTMS link). Its inaugural episode stars Leo Laporte, Alex Lindsay, Amber MacArthur and a new face in the Leo party: Emery Wells. This first episode is roughly 30 minutes of video coverage from the Macworld Expo floor, with the gang running around checking out iPod accessories, the Best in Show software award winners, AJA video cards, new iLife goodness and, of course, the new Intel Macs. I actually thought the Mac section was a bit interesting, as Leo interviews an Apple rep on the new MacBook Pros and tosses a few curve balls, giving the rep a good run for his money.It's a great first episode, and the vidcast as a whole shows a lot of potential. It's very well produced (thanks to Alex and the Pixel Corps, maybe?), with great special effect transition goodness and a professional flow not found in many other podcasts. Definitely check it and their site out, as I'm sure there is much to come.
Silly Sunday Survey: Intel Macs, buy now or wait?
A new Silly Sunday Survey is way overdue, so dear readers, we have one for your edification. Are you going to be buying (or have you already bought) one of the first generation Intel Macs (i.e. the MacBook Pro or the Duo Core iMacs)?I tend to avoid first revs of any Apple products, especially since I ordered a Cube seconds after Steve announced them and did the same thing for the Titanium Powerbooks, but that's just me. Sound off in the comments!
Rig of the Day: Intel meets StrongARM
With both the Macworld Expo and the Worldwide Newton Conference wrapping up ealier this month, I thought this shot was entirely appropriate. An Intel-powered MacBook Pro and its remote flank a Newton 2100. It's nice to see these distant cousins getting along so well. I've often jokingly said that my own 2100 is "...the size of a baby dolphin," and seeing this one in relation to the Apple remote only confirms its size (hint: get a lot of cargo pants)."Intel & StrongARM" by "Splorp"If you'd like to see your own rig featured here, simply upload photos into our group Flickr pool. We'll select an image every day to highlight.
Funeral for the Powerbook
The Powerbook served the Mac faithful well for 15 years, and it is now time to say our goodbyes and lament the loss of this piece of computing history. Supr.c.ilio.us is holding a funeral for the Powerbook today in San Francisco at the House of Shields. Check out the Upcoming entry for more details.The Powerbook is dead, long live the Macbook Pro![via Laughing Squid]
MacBook Pro Value Proposition
NotebookReview.com has an interesting article on the new MacBook Pro that at once takes a preview look at the Powerbook replacement (albeit a non-hands on preview) and compares it to other PC laptops running the same Intel chipset. It's interesting because it is the first time that Apple laptops have been so easily comparable to PC laptops due to the shared technologies between the two devices. No more special magical algorithms to determine the proper PPC to Intel Mhz conversion. The article is basically tackling the age old question—are Macs overpriced?—and seems to be asking a lot of the right questions. If you're considering getting a MacBook Pro, it's definitely worth a read. Check it out.
What you can't run on a Mactel
Ivan at creativebits has composed a list of application types that just won't work with Rosetta. From his list: The Classic environment (and hence, all pre-OS X apps) Screensavers written for PPC Code that insert preferences into the Preferences Pane Kernel extensions Apps that depend on one (or more) PPC-only kernel extension There are a few more, check them out. I said "See ya" to Classic a long time ago, so I'm not really concerned about the Mactel being the official nail in that coffin. As Ivan suggest, just look for the universal logo above when making purchases for your Mactel, just to play it safe.
Speculation about MacBook Pro battery life
There's lots of speculation about why Apple hasn't revealed expected battery life for the new MacBook Pro. The Apple site doesn't offer any specifics on battery life. The specs simply state that the MacBook Pro has a 60-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery (with integrated charge indicator LEDs), and include an unenlightening footnote that "battery life depends on configuration and use."I asked a couple of Apple reps on the MacWorld showroom floor about the MacBook Pro's battery life, but didn't get very satisfying answers. One rep said battery life is currently unknown, but speculated that it should prove to be longer than in PowerBooks because the MacBook Pro's battery is larger (60-watt-hours as compared to 50-watt-hours in the latest 15 inch PowerBooks), the MacBook Pro has better power management features, and the Yona chip is more efficient in terms of power consumption. What do you make of Apple's silence about battery life?
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.
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]
Is Steve's "one more thing" yet to come?
Leander at the Cult of Mac blog has been feeling like Steve's keynote from this past Tuesday just didn't have the polish or energy that Macworld keynotes typically do. He was discussing this with a friend recently who, he says, is very much "in" at Apple, when his friend had something quite interesting to say. Namely, that "key products" had to be omitted from the keynote due to "supply issues." Now, this is rumor, of course, so do with it what you will. Leander writes:"'They can't get enough Core Duo (chips),' said my source. He also said that if he were me, he probably wouldn't order one of the new MacBook Pros. I asked if there would be MacBook replacements for the 17-inch and 12-inch PowerBooks, but he said, 'Oh, it's much cooler than that. Much cooler.'" Here we go again. So, what didn't we get to see and when wiill it be released? Let the baseless conjectures begin!
