[ch7]

Jason,
I would really like to see how well this laptop runs multiple apps simultaneously that are Rosetta dependent. It would be nice if you would pick a few generic styles of real-life work to test the laptop out in this way. For example, simulate what a designer may do (boot and use all the Adobe CS apps along with some web development tools and e-mail running), or perhaps an academic (lots of the academic software developers are painfully silent about when we can expect to see upgrades for native apps)(e.g. start working on a manuscript in Word and create some bibliographies with EndNote while you run some stats with SPSS and create some graphs with Deltagraph or Kaleidagraph then start checking your e-mail in Entourage)...the list goes on.
We all know the Apple apps will run fine. It's the non-native stuff that so many of us depend on that has us standing on the sidelines and sitting on our collective wallets until we know more info like this. This process is shaping up to be far more painful than the transition to OSX. At least then, we knew our OS9 apps would still scream when we needed them to when we booted into 9.

[hexor]

Also be interesting to see how many watts it uses compared to the G4 when connected to AC. Would give a good indication of how well the battery life would do in general relative to the G4.

[Jason Snell]

April's issue is gone, gone gone... being printed now.

[Jason Snell]

No, the Intel Macs offer no such reduced-performance setting.

[scouterNYC]

Thanks so much for your analysis! Can you also post some benchmarks for how the MBP handles InDesign CS2?

[williamb]

There has arisen an issue of noise distortion or hissing on the new MacBook Pros among a great many new owners. It's all over the Apple Discussion boards. The hissing problem may be connected to the newer LCD or faulty power converter. Reports of the "whining or hissing" noise can be found at the following links:
http://macintouch.com/#tips.2006.02.22

http://discussions.a...74397&tstart=15
http://www.tuaw.com/...ht-hissing-lcd/
Would the editors of MacWorld look into this issue?

[melgross]

Thanks for getting this out so quickly.
When you test, can you point out which programs use two cores, and which don't? I'm also interested to find out if Apple will upgrade those that now only use one core to have the ability to use both (or more!).
Also, when you test programs using Rosetta, do you note the difference in time it takes to run a task the first time, vs the second time? As Rosetta is supposed to cache instructions it translates, this should make a difference. If the first run is averaged in with the later ones, an incorrect time might result.

[catfell]

Jason,
I'm a 2002 G4 Quicksilver owner (933Mhz SP), and have been waiting to see how well the new intel based macs perform to decide if I should buy a macbook pro to replace my aging G4, or upgrade my G4 with a new faster dual G4 processor via 3rd party hardware and wait for the intel based powermacs to come out.
I was ready to buy a G5 Powermac last year, but after the intel announcement and rumors of early releases of new computers, I've been on the sidelines with my G4 hoping wondering if the Macbook Pro is as fast as my G4 running CS2 via rosetta. And if it is faster, how much faster.
I use CS2 and C1Pro as part of my business, and would love it if you could compare/test an older G4 based mac against the Macbook Pro with both softwares.
Thanks in advance,
catfell

[uvablue]

Jason, thanks for the quick results. I've been dying to get some sort of battery life number since I heard about about the MBP. I've had a lot of issues with short battery life with my 12" G4 Powerbook, and battery life is probably my biggest concern. So, I'd love to see as many tests (short term and long term) as possible. Beyond that, I'd love to get your general opinion on if it is worth buying this version of the MBP or if you think it'd be better to wait until Rev. B.
Thanks again for getting us numbers so quickly!

[prospervic]

So far no one has mentioned the quality of Airport reception. This is a MAJOR issue as the Powerbook was notoriously deficient in this area. I'm really curious to know if repositioning the antenna to the hinge (as well as the use of intel wireless chips) finally makes the Apple's pro notebook line as usable on the road as the iBook.
So, please, look fully into this.

[Jason Snell]

Of course we'll look into it, but I haven't seen (heard?) it in any of the units I've tried.

[Jason Snell]

Basically if you're running a G4 that's slower than about 1.1GHz, the Rosetta stuff will be faster on this computer. If your G4 is faster than that, then the Rosetta stuff will be slower. That's going to be true for just about any app, whether it's Photoshop or InDesign or Word.

[nobbl]

Testing Rosetta it would be interesting doing a test a second time. With caching the translation, maybe in all day use the emulation is faster.
Norbert

[HiRez]

Two hours of battery life, with a brand-new battery? Yeesh, no thanks, that is not only bad, it's terrible. I will wait until they find some new battery technology. I used to get nine hours with two batteries loaded up in my Pismo, under constant use and with the screen at full brightness. With all the advances in technology over the years, we seem to have taken several steps backward in this crucial area (or at best it has stayed stagnant relative to higher demands other technology places on the batteries). We've definitely hit a wall with current battery trech and it's getting more painful every year.