7 ms·

Could you be specific about what swayed you? I'm not sure what is so new, announced today, that you couldn't have bought yesterday: Retina? Will you continue to

by marquis 14y ago

Could you be specific about what swayed you? I'm not sure what is so new, announced today, that you couldn't have bought yesterday: Retina? Will you continue to run Windows?

phamilton 14y ago
It's an Air-like laptop with real performance. It has a real graphics card, can support 16 GB of ram and has a rockin Ivy Bridge processor. The retina display is very impressive as well.
- jarek 14y ago
  It's a 15" laptop. It is not Air-like for any meaningful definition of "Air-like."
  - phamilton 14y ago
    Thinner and lighter than a 13" MBP and lacking an optical drive. I think that's a meaningful definition of "Air-like".
    - jarek 14y ago
      It is in fact marginally lighter than the 13" MacBook Pro, but the difference from the 15" model is less than on the 13" Air. The 13" MacBook Pro is 1.35 kg, and the 13" Macbook Pro is 2.05 kg (53% heavier than the Air). The MacBook Pro with Retina Display (mid-2012) is 2.02 kg while the 15" MacBook Pro is 2.56 kg (27% heavier). This one won't exactly fit in a manila envelope.
- kylebrown 14y ago
  Its the fragility of the retina display that has me has hesitating. I'm still using an iPad 1; I decided not to upgrade after reading that the retina screen on the iPad 3 cracks on drops that have yet to put a dent in my 1st-gen. If my gf gets the new MBP, the warranty will be absolutely necessary (she drops her laptop constantly, SSD's were a godsend for her).
huggyface 14y ago
Could you be specific about what swayed you? Such announcements provide opportunity for a pivot point. It isn't so much the announcement itself as that the announcement provides a claimed justification for changing positions. I bought my first Apple product ever a few months back (an iPad 3rd generation). Then I added an Apple TV (ridiculously good value). I still use Android for my smartphone (and have no plans on changing that anytime soon, considering iOS a serious downgrade on the smartphone side), however I have to confess that this release provides me such a pivot point for my desktop/laptop use. I'd long considered getting a Mac but could never justify it. Microsoft is so rudderless and ill-directed now, and Apple is so large and in charge, this product such a technical powerhouse, that I will likely grab a new MBP "Air".
- w1ntermute 14y ago
  > Microsoft is so rudderless and ill-directed now, and Apple is so large and in charge Uhh, are you joking? In the past few years, Microsoft has shown the most direction in 2 decades. Windows, Windows Phone, and Xbox are all converging on the Metro UI (which is a true breath of fresh air), and Microsoft has finally stopped allowing big business to hold back innovation on Windows. Windows 8 dumps the Start Menu, and on ARM, you won't even be able to install any traditional "Windows" software - everything will have to be in Metro. Windows 8 tablets are going to be usable for actual productivity, rather than the consumption-focused nature of the iPad. Tablets that can convert into laptops and vice versa are going to become popular in the corporate world in a way that iPads never will, due to their lack of native support for Office. OTOH, there are a lot of people that have grown tired of iOS. It's been out for 5 years now, and little true innovation has taken place since the release of the original iPhone. Upgrades to the iPhone have mostly consisted of adding features that should have been present all along, such as a proper notifications system (which still has problems) and support for 3rd party apps (which should have been present from the beginning). You still can't have widgets on the home screen, and the chance of Apple adding some kind of split-screen view, like you can get in Metro, is extremely slim. As for OS X, it's an absolute nightmare. The window manager is horrific, and things are only going to get worse as Apple starts restricting the installation of software from non-approved sources, all in the name of a more "beautiful" experience.
natural219 14y ago
Honestly, it's a culmination of things. Up until this point, a friend of mine have been comparing the top-of-the-line ultrabook offerings to the Mac lineups. I thought the Zenbooks looked really sexy and had the performance and construction that I wanted. The new Zenbook Prime announcement has had me salivating; 1080p IPS displays, new Ivy Bridge processors, etc. After this announcement, though; the Retina display, awesome graphics, HDMI port (Macbook dongles turned me off for a while), 700MBPS read on the hard drive (I'll have to confirm this -- that just sounds too sexy) -- Even the 0.70 inch thickness (I've never really cared about thickness before, but holy hell that's really thin). There are probably some things I've misinterpreted from these announcements, but so far, this laptop far outweighs what I thought was possible through existing PC laptop vendors.
- cheatercheater 14y ago
  I'm probably missing something: why have a HDMI port if you have two Thunderbolt ports? In fact, why not just have three Thunderbolt ports - even if one is only going to carry DP and not PCI?
  - jonknee 14y ago
    Why would you need three Thunderbolt ports? The devices chain pretty well, if you have an external monitor for example it will also have a Thunderbolt port that other devices can be plugged into. Not needing another adapter to use HDMI is great. You already need one for Ethernet and FireWire.
    - cheatercheater 14y ago
      I don't know: can I use a thunderbolt port to chain monitors? About the dongles: in my use I usually take the laptop to the same places all the time, so I just buy the right cable (here it would be a thunderbolt -> hdmi cable i guess). If I go to random places where I need to hook up to a monitor I won't know whether they'll have a hdmi cable just as much as I don't know if they'll have a thunderbolt cable, so I need to carry a cable anyways. What's the difference whether it's a hdmi-hdmi or thunderbolt-hdmi cable? They're likely to have DVI or DP anyway, so you still need to take the dongles with you.
calinet6 14y ago
I'm not usually a 'specs' person, but have you read about Ivy Bridge?
- marquis 14y ago
  Yes, I am aware of hardware developments. I was curious what is now suddenly of interest to the parent - he answered in this thread to say that the MacBook is now a serious contender as a purchase item above other manufacturer's laptop offerings (I presume to run Windows, so it's a hardware choice).
  - calinet6 14y ago
    Yes, the threshold seems a bit low for a switch. But in general, I think it's a worthy upgrade and an overall good machine. Higher resolution display plus thinner design is enough for me to be convinced, but then I'm upgrading from a late-2008 MBP.

by marquis 14y ago

Could you be specific about what swayed you? I'm not sure what is so new, announced today, that you couldn't have bought yesterday: Retina? Will you continue to run Windows?

phamilton 14y ago

It's an Air-like laptop with real performance. It has a real graphics card, can support 16 GB of ram and has a rockin Ivy Bridge processor. The retina display is very impressive as well.

jarek 14y ago
It's a 15" laptop. It is not Air-like for any meaningful definition of "Air-like."
- phamilton 14y ago
  Thinner and lighter than a 13" MBP and lacking an optical drive. I think that's a meaningful definition of "Air-like".
  - jarek 14y ago
    It is in fact marginally lighter than the 13" MacBook Pro, but the difference from the 15" model is less than on the 13" Air. The 13" MacBook Pro is 1.35 kg, and the 13" Macbook Pro is 2.05 kg (53% heavier than the Air). The MacBook Pro with Retina Display (mid-2012) is 2.02 kg while the 15" MacBook Pro is 2.56 kg (27% heavier). This one won't exactly fit in a manila envelope.
kylebrown 14y ago
Its the fragility of the retina display that has me has hesitating. I'm still using an iPad 1; I decided not to upgrade after reading that the retina screen on the iPad 3 cracks on drops that have yet to put a dent in my 1st-gen. If my gf gets the new MBP, the warranty will be absolutely necessary (she drops her laptop constantly, SSD's were a godsend for her).

huggyface 14y ago

Could you be specific about what swayed you? Such announcements provide opportunity for a pivot point. It isn't so much the announcement itself as that the announcement provides a claimed justification for changing positions. I bought my first Apple product ever a few months back (an iPad 3rd generation). Then I added an Apple TV (ridiculously good value). I still use Android for my smartphone (and have no plans on changing that anytime soon, considering iOS a serious downgrade on the smartphone side), however I have to confess that this release provides me such a pivot point for my desktop/laptop use. I'd long considered getting a Mac but could never justify it. Microsoft is so rudderless and ill-directed now, and Apple is so large and in charge, this product such a technical powerhouse, that I will likely grab a new MBP "Air".

w1ntermute 14y ago
> Microsoft is so rudderless and ill-directed now, and Apple is so large and in charge Uhh, are you joking? In the past few years, Microsoft has shown the most direction in 2 decades. Windows, Windows Phone, and Xbox are all converging on the Metro UI (which is a true breath of fresh air), and Microsoft has finally stopped allowing big business to hold back innovation on Windows. Windows 8 dumps the Start Menu, and on ARM, you won't even be able to install any traditional "Windows" software - everything will have to be in Metro. Windows 8 tablets are going to be usable for actual productivity, rather than the consumption-focused nature of the iPad. Tablets that can convert into laptops and vice versa are going to become popular in the corporate world in a way that iPads never will, due to their lack of native support for Office. OTOH, there are a lot of people that have grown tired of iOS. It's been out for 5 years now, and little true innovation has taken place since the release of the original iPhone. Upgrades to the iPhone have mostly consisted of adding features that should have been present all along, such as a proper notifications system (which still has problems) and support for 3rd party apps (which should have been present from the beginning). You still can't have widgets on the home screen, and the chance of Apple adding some kind of split-screen view, like you can get in Metro, is extremely slim. As for OS X, it's an absolute nightmare. The window manager is horrific, and things are only going to get worse as Apple starts restricting the installation of software from non-approved sources, all in the name of a more "beautiful" experience.

natural219 14y ago

Honestly, it's a culmination of things. Up until this point, a friend of mine have been comparing the top-of-the-line ultrabook offerings to the Mac lineups. I thought the Zenbooks looked really sexy and had the performance and construction that I wanted. The new Zenbook Prime announcement has had me salivating; 1080p IPS displays, new Ivy Bridge processors, etc. After this announcement, though; the Retina display, awesome graphics, HDMI port (Macbook dongles turned me off for a while), 700MBPS read on the hard drive (I'll have to confirm this -- that just sounds too sexy) -- Even the 0.70 inch thickness (I've never really cared about thickness before, but holy hell that's really thin). There are probably some things I've misinterpreted from these announcements, but so far, this laptop far outweighs what I thought was possible through existing PC laptop vendors.

cheatercheater 14y ago
I'm probably missing something: why have a HDMI port if you have two Thunderbolt ports? In fact, why not just have three Thunderbolt ports - even if one is only going to carry DP and not PCI?
- jonknee 14y ago
  Why would you need three Thunderbolt ports? The devices chain pretty well, if you have an external monitor for example it will also have a Thunderbolt port that other devices can be plugged into. Not needing another adapter to use HDMI is great. You already need one for Ethernet and FireWire.
  - cheatercheater 14y ago
    I don't know: can I use a thunderbolt port to chain monitors? About the dongles: in my use I usually take the laptop to the same places all the time, so I just buy the right cable (here it would be a thunderbolt -> hdmi cable i guess). If I go to random places where I need to hook up to a monitor I won't know whether they'll have a hdmi cable just as much as I don't know if they'll have a thunderbolt cable, so I need to carry a cable anyways. What's the difference whether it's a hdmi-hdmi or thunderbolt-hdmi cable? They're likely to have DVI or DP anyway, so you still need to take the dongles with you.

calinet6 14y ago

I'm not usually a 'specs' person, but have you read about Ivy Bridge?

marquis 14y ago
Yes, I am aware of hardware developments. I was curious what is now suddenly of interest to the parent - he answered in this thread to say that the MacBook is now a serious contender as a purchase item above other manufacturer's laptop offerings (I presume to run Windows, so it's a hardware choice).
- calinet6 14y ago
  Yes, the threshold seems a bit low for a switch. But in general, I think it's a worthy upgrade and an overall good machine. Higher resolution display plus thinner design is enough for me to be convinced, but then I'm upgrading from a late-2008 MBP.