[heisetax]

I can live with paying $50 for a matte screen, I can live with the $99 higher cost of buying the Mini Display Port to Dual Link DVI to run my 30" display. Having 2 batteries that I use all of the time for my current 17" PowerBook, a non-replaceable battery will be hard to live with. But I probably can even do that too. The item that just lost the sale for me is the apparent lack of an easy to replace hard drive. That was an easy chore in my older TI PowerBooks. The AL PowerBook & Intel MacBook Pro made that too difficult for my 63 year old eyes to easily do. Then Apple came out with the easy to change hard drive in the small 15" model. Life looked like it would be good. But there was no new 17" model. All we needed was a 17" model that was built around the 15" model specs & features. But what did we get? A strange botched 17" model. Pro Users are known for modifying their computer systems. This 17" model seems to be a toy computer for those that are happy with what Apple gives us. THE 17" INTEL MACPRO IS NOT A PRO MODEL, so Pro should be taken out of its name.
I have a 250 GB hard drive in my TI PowerBook, but I am still using the
original 80GB hard drive in my 17" AL PowerBook. If there is not an easily replaceable hard drive in the new Intel MacBook Pro then I'll have the same hard drive in this new 17" model after many years of use. I will not do this again. This final item is a deal breaker. It just means that I'll have to keep using my PowerBook for a few more years. I was hoping that it would be replaced by a new 17" Unibody Intel MacBook Pro. Now it looks like I'll have to depend upon some 3rd party developer to make a Portable Mac Clone.
I'm getting tired of waiting for Apple. They just fired another strike. They believe in in thin over usable. I wonder how many other sales they have lost besides mine on either the hard drive changing problem or the sealed not easily replaceable battery.

[richl]

As an owner of the 15" unibody MBP all I can say is that I hope the built in battery does NOT make it to the 15" model. I have two batteries and I would bet that together they last a lot longer than this built in one will. Seeing as I will most likely buy another 15" MBP in a few years I really hope this isn't a trend with Apple. Unless, of course, it really proves out that they can double the battery life. Apple does consistently overstate battery life however.

[robert_rhode]

@heisetax:
I think you are missing a key point: Thin is usable. How many times over the life of your computer are you going to want to change the HD or battery? How many times over the life of your computer are you going to care that it's thin and easy to slide into your bag? Dunno about you, but for me, thin wins out 100:1. I'm sorry you can't service it yourself. Pay the extra $50 to have the store do it for you and call it a small price to pay for the pleasure of not running Windows Vista.
(I'm writing this note on a PC that does have an easily changeable battery, RAM, and HD, and runs Vista. It's a total jalopy compared to any MacBook.)

[Pentent]

I have no desire to purchase a second battery and carry it around with me "just in case" so, for me, the extra long lasting yet unremovable battery is a plus. Provided it doesn't fail the second my apple care is up, of course.
What's killing me is that i've come to the realization that not only is the hard drive not user replaceable, but the RAM isn't either!
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but bottom of the 17in doesn't seem to have ANY entry point. That means if you want to upgrade to 8gb of RAM, you'll need to pay $1200+taxes up front. Upgrading at a later date is much less of an option.
I would gladly trade the extra battery capacity for upgradability, especially in this economy. Very disappointing.

[TAllenSr]

Quote

{quote:title=dreyfus wrote:}
> In case people have missed it: The "anti-glare" option is an entirely different top lid (no black funeral border, no glass plate) as can be seen in when clicking on the thumbnail gallery here: www.apple.com/macbookpro/features-17inch.html - which makes it the only remaining beautiful MBP. Let's hope for that good trend to move down to the 15" model.{quote}

Looks like it MIGHT simply be a matte screen with a silver border that is applied ON TOP of the black-bordered glass screen. I sure hope not...I can't see that working well or living up to the "quality" of the rest of the build. I guess we will have to wait for the First Look reports, and to see them ourselves at the Apple Stores.

[MorrisTheCat]

It does seem that way doesn't it. Kind of absurd that Apple would even take away the ability to install RAM easily. I mean, the HDD I kind of get, non removable battery I'm not so sure about, but upgrading RAM is one of the better ways to add life onto a system, and they just made it immensely harder to do.

As for the battery, no matter what Apple wants to claim, having a non removable battery I fear will bite them in the @ss later. I seem to recall not one but several different battery recalls from Apple over the last 4 years give or take, due to battery defects.

What happens if they find out that these batteries have some defect that causes them to fail or explode or whatever? In the past, it was simple to fill out an online form, they ship you a new battery and you ship the old defective one back. With this new model, is everyone who buys this going to need to bring in their MBP to an Apple Store or some other shop, and be without their systems for a day or two? I pray this doesn't happen or Apple will have a major lawsuit on their hands.

Thin is great, but there is a point where it can just go too far. This may be that point.

[Pentent]

Yeah good point. I didn't even think about the Apple Battery Department's track record. Maybe they should include safety goggles with this thing.

[tewha]

You know, I'm completely okay with a built-in battery, as long as I can get it swapped when the capacity drops in 3 years at a reasonable cost. I never swap batteries, I only replace them when their capacity gets unacceptable.

[nom]

robert_rhode said:

@heisetax:

"... How many times over the life of your computer are you going to care that it's thin ..."

er... never?

I've been working with Apple laptops for over 14 years and I've never once thought, 'I wish this laptop was thinner' or even, 'my I'm glad that this is so thin'

smaller and lighter - now there's something most laptop users can appreciate. Thin, on the other hand, is quite literally an issue of little substance.

[Vazuvia]

It seems we're forgetting one thing. What is the value of my MacBook Pro 17" in four years when I try to sell it to buy an upgrade. Will the battery be replaceable by Apple or another source? And, if so, at what price???

[Frantish]

I agree, repaceing a battery in a high end high price 'book should not need high end tools.
Plus the fact the design makes it cheaper to build, yet price is the same.

Meanwile a 17" PC 'book is $1100. Sure it may not have the best technology, but it LOOKS to be equal (or better with all the flash memory slots and other ports), so the impression is, and is what I hear from other people, is Apple is just high priced.

Drop $200 off tag and I would get the new 17".

[Frantish]

Yeah, it is so hard to work on the new 'books!

I still have my old PowerBook G3 Pismo, the best laptop Apple, and the world, ever produced.

And that ties with the PowerBook 500 series (I have 2 of them), the standard bearer for all laptops produced!

Both where very easy to work with, yet looked great.

Have not seen a truly noteable Apple book since the Pismo, but a few ones wanting (ie: MacBook with NO FireWire).

[josh_nashville]

17" MacBook Pro with 2.93GHz processor, 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD: $5,199

[palane]

@heisetax: Judging from your many posts, you have had no intention of purchasing Apple hardware for quite some time.Here's a thought. Wait for the matte display options to migrate to the 15"MBP. You can replace the battery. You can replace the hard drive. Still, I'm sure there some reason you'll find not to buy it.

Sheesh.