[MacBookGuy]

In reply to:

---

so the Quad G5 is still the fastest mac you can buy.

---

http://www.hardmac.c...ews/2006-04-12/

[Netizen_Kane]

In reply to:

---

I agree with all those who hate glossy screens. (I hate 'em on high def TVs, too.) Unless you're in a dark room, the glossy screens function as mirrors instead of contrast boosters. That alone eliminates these new laptops from consideration for me.

---

I predict there's going to be an explosion of aftermarket hoods and glare filters for the Macbooks. Sounds like a business opportunity to me.

[moose_n_squirrel]

In reply to:

---

Hmmm, a can of black spray paint is pretty cheap.

---

That's a PC-style response: To say a feature you pay more for on a Mac is more cheaply implemented as a sloppy DIY add-on rather than smoothly integrated from the beginning.

[drdreric]

In reply to:

---

In reply to:

---

In reply to:
I don't recall ever seeing a right side USB port on an Apple laptop.

---

The MacBook Pro has one on the left and one on the right.

---

Ah-ha! Thanks! I should have said "none of the eight iBooks (12 and 14) or Powerbooks(12) I have configured/maintained the last three years have a USB port on the right."

[leicaman]

You're right, there's not been a USB port on the right. If that bugs him so much, he can get a wireless mouse, no?
I'll wait to see how it performs. For games, I have my dual 2GHz G5. For everything else, I suspect it will be fine.
But wouldn't it be ironic that since Aperture can't run on MacBooks (need hardware accenleration) that they could become a major reason for the success of Adobe Lightroom? /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

[moose_n_squirrel]

In reply to:

---

I don't recall ever seeing a right side USB port on an Apple laptop.

---

I guess those Aluminum models were less common than I thought!

[MacCheetah3]

Hi
Originally posted by astromino

In reply to:

---

Glossy screen? I hope not like Dell and all the rest of them. I HATE those - iiiikes. They look fine in a dark room, but you might as well look at a rearview mirror. I don't know why people put up with this crap.
That pretty much rules out the MacBook for me.

---

I agree. The first time I saw one I was pretty impressed but after I started to actually use it...HL NO! It probably won't stop me from purchasing but I may have to go look at them in person first. I don't plan on buying to probably next year so no rush. /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Originally posted by Tau_Myx

In reply to:

---

It's also ironic that the FASTEST mac is the last one to make the transition.

---

Not really. The G5 was never a slouch. The problem was the portable market. AMD and IBM don't feel a need to place effort into an extremely portable friendly microprocessor. There interest is performance, even if it sacrifices a little bit in energy, ... Which is why Apple had to go Intel in the first place. They needed a good portable architecture and this was the only real way to get it.
I assume the black finish isn't going to outsell the regular iconic white, like the iPods. /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[JasonD]

Just got back from the Apple Store over lunch. They had exactly ONE new MacBook -- a black one. First thing I noticed (other than it looked just like a PC sitting there) was the keyboard. Unlike the iBook, the keys are separated from one another. It feels a little more solid than the iBook, but not as nice as the Apple KB on my Mini Core Duo.
The color is a flat black, not shiny like the iBooks or the black iPods. With the lid opened, it looks just like any run-of-the-mill black PC. With the lid closed, the white Apple emblem stands out nicely. Overall, the MacBook has a more "industrial" or "pro" feel to it.
The "glossy" display is definitely brighter and crisper looking than the old iBook. I also noticed a lot of the store lights being reflected in the screen compared to a nearby iBook. My work Fujitsu laptop has a glossy screen -- I like it, but I don't like the fingerprints that get on it. All-in-all, the display is an improvement.
Performance seemed about the same as my Mini in the few apps that I tried (didn't see how much RAM was on board).

[dcipjr]

I like the new MacBooks, but I would have liked a better graphics card -- 64 MB Integrated Graphics is really weak, and after all, wasn't it Apple who used to crack jokes about the Intel Integrated Graphics sucking RAM from the main memory? I would have liked them to make it lighter, too.
Ah well -- it looks good otherwise, and I think the 13" 1280x800 resolution is way better than 1024x768. Plus the 2.0 GHz Core Duo is great for such a cheap laptop.
My only other complaint is that the black -- which looks much more professional than the white, in my opinion -- is way overpriced. $200 extra for a different color and 20 GB more space? Come on, Apple...drop that price a hair for us, will ya? Or at least bump the RAM up to 1 GB -- that would make it much more acceptable.

[Richa]

Has anyone else noticed that an IDENTICALLY configured black iBook costs about $150 more than a white one?

[icerabbit]

RE: my right Side USB port comment
It is not that it bugs me that much or at all really. I was just pointing it out that's all. If I were to design the MacBook it would have a right side USB port. I purchased a Hi-Res PB right before the MacBook Pro was announced and find it convenient to have that USB port on the right hand side. That's how I spotted that all the ports on the MacBook are on the left side. Which may be the same as they were for the iBook, which I've never used. If you look from a PB to a more economical upgrade to a core duo notebook, you may miss a few ports.
Yes, I should get a wireless mouse. I have been looking at a few bluetooth models online (a USB receiver model would not be practical) but am hoping to try one out in person shortly before I order something. I troll my neighborhood stores' critter isle frequently, but they're still in USB receiver land.
RE: airplane
Having used different pc notebooks on the airplane, my wife and I have found it difficult to have the DVD tray jump open to the left or right of the system when all you have is the little tray in front of you. That's how we found it very clever when we used a PowerBook for the first time which is both slot and front loading. In the same line I can see where front loading with tightly packed rows is not practical for some people. Certainly when you have to worry all the time about the person in front of you reclining and crushing your screen you try to keep the front edge of the system close to your lap etc. ...
Again, no criticism on these points. Just two little personal thoughts.
I'm curious if my wife will like the new MacBook or not. She didn't complain about her previous 13" notebook with one of those ?brite / glossy screens. I liked the compactness and the resolution of that 13" widescreen apart from the ?brite / glossy film. I'll stick to anti-glare if I can.

[VidPro]

In reply to:

---

No USB port on the right side.

---

iBooks never had USB ports on the right side, the optical drive took up that space before, too.
The MacBook Pros do have USB ports on both sides, with the optical drive at the front.

In reply to:

---

Front loading orientation of the optical drive would've been more practical for cramped spaces.

---

You wouldn't think so once you tried it. I have the MacBook Pro 15", and if I have the computer on my lap, (being a laptop, that is not an unusual position for it), there is no space for the disc to be inserted or ejected. There are very few times I can foresee the right side being so close to something that can't be avoided that it impedes the drive function.
I haven't had it on a plane yet, but in the many cramped places I did, there was always more side-to-side room than front-to-back.
Just make sure you don't have a full cup of coffee next to the drive when ejecting a disc. /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[tallscot]

Apple isn't competing on price anymore. The average price of a laptop sold is now around $800.
I think it was a huge mistake to sell a more expensive laptop with two cores to consumers. I would have gone with the Solo processor and priced it at $899 and limited the Duo to the MacBook Pro.
I don't like this direction.

[Nobody]

In reply to:

---

EDIT: Furthermore, the 80 GB drive is a $50 option for the white top end MacBook. That's a whopping $150 for coloring only. Boo.

---

That $50 difference is also based on Apple's inflated price version... in the real world, a consumer like you and I would see no more than $20 difference (about $100 versus $80). At the wholesale level, I would suspect that it would reduce further. But we all know that in business world the final price often has little to do with what goes into the product... prices are often based on what the market would bear, and cleverly labeled as sound priciples of supply and demand; soundly proving the addage of a fool and his money... funny thing about it is how did the said fool manage to get the money in the first place! /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
If you look at the actual dimensions of this machine, they actually approach very close to the old Ti PB; it isn't as small as I had anticipated it to be.