New Macbook Pro

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Thu Jan 12 14:35:21 2006:   bruceg


My wife said: "NO!" :-( O well. You must be excited. Apple is really doing some great things, and I have convinced almost everyone I know who uses computers to try them. I should get a commision! In fact, I sold the idea to three friends last night, and one already placed an order.

I really would like a new MacBook Pro, but I will have to wait. I did purchase a new iMac G5, back when they released the version before Intel. A stunning machine.

- Bruce




Thu Jan 12 21:17:50 2006:   TonyLawrence


Wives just don't get it :-)



Sat Feb 11 15:30:03 2006:   bruceg


Well, I just purchased a new PowerBook - yes PowerBook. I was staring at my cart, trying to decide on whether I should opt for the new MacBook Pro, or the G4 PowerBook. I needed Firewire 800, and I have a Verizon EVDO card, which does not fit in the new slot on the MacBook Pro. So, I decided to go with an older model. I did get 1GB of RAM, and the 100GB 7200 rpm drive, which makes a huge difference. This PowerBook is much, much faster than my old one, and the screen is much better. Not to mention, I burn a lot of DL DVD's, and the new MacBook Pro does not support that yet. I used to lug an external DVD burner around, since I had to have that DL ability for some of the jobs I do for people.

I am very happy with it, and although it would have been great to get the new technology, I had to stick with the time tested stuff for now. Maybe in a couple years, when a DL DVD is ready. The omission of the FW800 is really a question mark for me - many people use external HD's, and the FW800 is just so much better than the 400.

Also, I have a secret for shipping about Apple. If you choose anything other than "Standard", you are wasting your money!! Each time I have ordered from Apple online, be it an iPod, or iMac, or my recent PowerBook, they came from China. I actually got my Powerbook in 2 days!! I chose standard. Apple ships everything from China the same, so you will not get it faster if you choose Express. It kind of ticks me off, because when I purchased my last iPod, I chose the fasted ship method, and payed for it. It still was shipped from China International Priority Direct.

So, if you order anything from Apple, that ships from China - basically iPods, and all their Mac's, choose the Free shipping. I doubt anything will come from China overnight - it's just physically impossible with the length of the trip, and customs. The PowerBook I just got was a huge surprise. It only took two days from China. The fastest I have had from China in the past is three days.

- Bruce



Sat Feb 11 15:51:31 2006:   TonyLawrence


The real question is: How did you get your wife to change her mind? ;-)



Sat Feb 11 16:21:15 2006:   bruceg


Well, she is so sick of her Windows machine, that I promised her my old PowerBook :-) She was sick of it hibernating in the middle of doing things, as well as how long it took to wake up. I showed her how quick the PowerBook is, and she was sold. Not to mention, no worries of viruses, spyware and the other garb. Although, with the Mac becoming more popular, this may change for the worse...

Now, how about your wife? Will she get the iBook when your new MacBook Pro comes in? We have to show her the light :-)

- Bruce



Sat Feb 11 20:11:06 2006:   TonyLawrence


Maybe.. her machine is acting up a lot.. video screen sometimes won't come on at awakening from hibernation, sometimes it just goes into hibernation by itself.. she swaers at it a lot :-)



Sat Feb 11 23:46:13 2006:   bruceg


Wow - sounds exactly like what is happening with my wifes. Maybe it is an epidemic. I have already stuffed it in the closet, and she is using my old PB. She likes how it wakes up real quick, instead of waiting.

Bruce



Wed Feb 15 20:46:50 2006:   TonyLawrence


Apple says that they are bumping up the processor speeds on these machines at no additional charge and that they'll be shipping shortly. The email I got says:

 

  Better still, we've continued to improve the entire MacBook Pro 
  family and have upgraded your MacBook Pro from a 1.67 GHz processor  
  order by February 28, 2006. 

So they slipped a little, but not much.. and the cpu upgrade, while probably completely unnecessary for my use, certainly can't hurt.




Wed Feb 15 22:30:35 2006:   bruceg


As soon as the Burlington Apple store gets them in, I am going in for a test drive. I am now probably at least a year or two off, but it will be nice to try. I do run Adobe apps on my PowerBook, and they say it will be at least a year before they release a Universal binary, so I am happy with my recent PB purchase.

- Bruce




Thu Feb 16 00:51:46 2006:   bruceg


BTW: Which model did you order? There is a rumor that BTO items are shipping sooner. The 7200 rpm HD is well worth the extra $$. My PB flies with it :-)

In fact, my PB seems more responsive than my G5 iMac! I am checking out what may be causing the slow down on my G5, since the PB easily seems faster. Something must be chewing up my cpu on the G5. I created a new user, and the processor utilization was much less, so I am not sure what in my account is using up the cpu.

- Bruce



Thu Feb 16 00:53:05 2006:   bruceg


Here is an interesting link - I guess someone may have OS X running on generic x86 HW:

http://maxxuss.hotbox.ru/patch_8g1165.html

- Bruce




Fri Feb 17 12:53:59 2006:   bruceg2004


So, Tony, how did you order your MacBook Pro?



Fri Feb 17 14:23:24 2006:   TonyLawrence


Secret channels :-)



Fri Feb 24 04:38:12 2006:   bruceg2004


So, when is yours due? People are starting to get them in. I was at the Apple store in Burlington tonight, and tested one out. Very responsive. However, my current G4 PowerBook is pretty darn responsive as well. Obviously, the MacBook would beat it hands down in processor intensive tasks like transcoding, or editing large graphic files, but overall desktop responsiveness, and application launching, and other "OS tasks" My current PowerBook keeps right up with the new MacBook.

The spotlight searches are a lot faster under the new MB, and the boot time is simply incredible. I would like to know how they did that. I have read that the new EFI < http://www.intel.com/technology/efi/ > may help speed up the boot, but once the EFI "hands off" to the OS, I don't understand how it speeds things up for the rest of the boot process. Tony: any explanation for this?

I still wish they would have Firewire 800, and the dual layer DVD burner. I am using Dual Layer DVD's more and more now. I use them extensively for backing up my movie DVD's, so I can make an exact copy. I hope the next generation has the DL support.

I also have to rely on my Verizon PC EVDO card for getting on the Internet. Verizon broke the ability to use my phone as a modem, so I have to use the PC Card. I know they will be making the EVDO cards in the new ExpressCard 34 form factor, but my contract would require me to purchase a new card, and not get one for free, until next year.

Tony: Your MacBook should be a huge improvement over your iBook. The screen is beautiful. The MacBook pro is a tad bit brighter than my PowerBook screen, and the PowerBook screen was just updated in October 05. It is a big difference from my old PowerBook. It is much easier on the eyes. Also, the Mag safe connector is probably one of the best ideas for a laptop. I cannot tell you how many times I have, or my daughter has knocked the laptop off a table, because of the power cord.

Enjoy the new MacBook!

- Bruce






Fri Feb 24 11:33:42 2006:   TonyLawrence


Mine's been shipped, should be here early next week.

My wife's XP box is getting worse, so she may inherit this iBook, though she'll probably want a new PC.. and I'm not going to argue :-)



Thu Mar 2 00:31:58 2006:   Julie


Does anyone have information on whether Windows programs will work well on the new MacBook Pro? Some have said it may work slower with the Intel chip until a new version is developed?



Thu Mar 2 00:37:30 2006:   TonyLawrence


Yeah, we've been talking about that a bit. Search for "intel mac" here and you'll see various articles.

http://openosx.com/wintel/ says you can do it now..



Thu Mar 2 01:09:38 2006:   TonyLawrence


BTW, I've ordered that openosx software - haven't got it yet, and right now am more interested in Linux and BSD than Windows, but I'll do a review soon.



Mon Apr 24 13:37:08 2006:   bruceg2004


The 17" came out today, and I like the specs: Firewire 800, DL 8x DVD drive, and three USB ports. Since I use my laptop as my "main" desktop at work, My eyes are on the 17" MacBook Pro now. Maybe next year, Santa will be kind :-) That would be perfect for my desk. Maybe they will bring the FW 800 port back to the 15" model, and the 8x DL drive would be nice, too.

- Bruce


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