Macbook Pro

[RAitch]

First, to disclose, I've never been a fan of Apple so I don't really know much about them.

Would it be a bad idea to buy a macbook now, rather than wait for Leopard/updates in October?

Are there any updates on the horizon or price drops that I should be looking for?

I've been looking at the 2.2 core2duo 15" with LED backlight. From what I can see, it seems to have one of the best laptop screens. My goal would be to use it for Photoshop after calibration. Right now, I'm using a Toshiba A70... so it can't be much worse.
What are your opinions on this??

[MikePrattPhotography]

I would also like to know the same thing. I am in the Navy and on deploymetn right now. I will be returning in about a month and would like to purchase the 2.4 15 inch. Great post, Hopefuly we can get some answers!

[the_incubus]

Personally id wait. But you can be waiting forever because there is a new upgrade evry couple months now. So you can wait for leapord but who knows, there might be bugs or something in the new macbook pros that need to be fixed. So, you woulf have to wait for the 2nd generation ones. So its really a personal choice. I got mine 6 months before the one with the LEDs came out. Do i wish i had the newest and best one with wonderfully lit screen? Yes. Do i regret buying when i did? No. Computers become obsolete so quickly now you can go crazy waiting and wishing for the newest and best model. Hope this helped.

[orisky]

I don't know about the timing of now vs later, but Apple has a pretty good deal where if you're attending school or if you have a child who's in school, you can get some savings off the laptop AND you get a free 4gb nano (worth $200).

I haven't bought one but I heard if you buy online they don't check ;)

[jcw122]

Oh god dude....your not a fan of Apple?

Right now they are stronger than ever! Their computers...both hardware and software, blow Microsoft and PCs way out of the water (especially for the prices). The only real exception is for gaming, they don't have as good video cards available for their computers.

I honestly can't answer your questions, I just wanted to add that their new computers (with the intel processors) are INCREDIBLE. And their Operating Systems are solid, and perform well!

[the_incubus]

Oh god dude....your not a fan of Apple?

Right now they are stronger than ever! Their computers...both hardware and software, blow Microsoft and PCs way out of the water (especially for the prices). The only real exception is for gaming, they don't have as good video cards available for their computers.

I honestly can't answer your questions, I just wanted to add that their new computers (with the intel processors) are INCREDIBLE. And their Operating Systems are solid, and perform well!

Amen to that!

[RAitch]

Personally id wait. But you can be waiting forever because there is a new upgrade evry couple months now. So you can wait for leapord but who knows, there might be bugs or something in the new macbook pros that need to be fixed. So, you woulf have to wait for the 2nd generation ones. So its really a personal choice. I got mine 6 months before the one with the LEDs came out. Do i wish i had the newest and best one with wonderfully lit screen? Yes. Do i regret buying when i did? No. Computers become obsolete so quickly now you can go crazy waiting and wishing for the newest and best model. Hope this helped.
Thanks, I was thinking that (same with photo gear - used to pine for the N, now the Mark3) but it's always nice to hear it from somebody else. (even though you're sending mixed signals about waiting)
I don't really like going bleeding-edge and working out bugs... after all, that's one of the main reasons I've been considering Apple.

I don't know about the timing of now vs later, but Apple has a pretty good deal where if you're attending school or if you have a child who's in school, you can get some savings off the laptop AND you get a free 4gb nano (worth $200).

I haven't bought one but I heard if you buy online they don't check ;)
I heard about that. I don't think I want to order online, I want to pick it up right away when I pay for it.
Is this a deal only through the Apple store? Right now, I'm considering buying from Best Buy as I think it's the closest store that actually sells the things.

I just got a 4GB Nano... very nice... although I've had to reboot the damn thing about 10 times in a matter of a couple months with light use. The thing hangs more than a surfer which is not giving me good Apple vibes... hoping that the reputation of Apple being "solid" isn't just a fanboy blowup because they don't want to admit there are still problems. I hope that's not true!! ;)

[lmitch6]

As a long time mac user, I'd say go for it. There is always another new release around the corner, but that doesn't mean that the current gear will suddenly cease working. If there is any update to the Macbook Pros, I don't think it would be a revoulutionary jump, but more evolutionary. Maybe a bigger drive, maybe a small speed bump, but I doubt you'd see a doubled/tripled performance/features increase compared to what's currently available.

I think that Apple Store is the only place where you can get the education discount and free Nano, but I'm not 100% certain on that.

Hope this helps!

[RAitch]

Oh god dude....your not a fan of Apple?

Right now they are stronger than ever! Their computers...both hardware and software, blow Microsoft and PCs way out of the water (especially for the prices). The only real exception is for gaming, they don't have as good video cards available for their computers.

I honestly can't answer your questions, I just wanted to add that their new computers (with the intel processors) are INCREDIBLE. And their Operating Systems are solid, and perform well!
First of all, I said I was never a fan of Apple... not that I am not a fan of Apple.
After all, I am asking about buying one, am I not??
One of the main reasons I've stayed away from Apple is that you were always locked in a small world of available options and the phrase "nope, only for Windows" was quite common for the things I used.

Stronger than ever?? Agreed. Their stock keeps gradually climbing up... and their popularity has grown significantly.
I can only attribute that to their "fixed" OS and their switch to Intel processors. Given that I wouldn't be able to run native Windows using either bootcamp or parallels... I wouldn't even be considering this (maybe). The fact that I could run OSX and XP/Vista apps side by side is a real advantage in my eyes.

Their video cards aren't that shabby... and they've got involvement from the big boys (ATI and nvidia). The nvidia option is quite striking in my opinion and seems pretty powerful for a notebook.

I might add that I like the fact that Apple controls everything about the OS and hardware in the vision of stability... but in the other hand I also hate that idea. I'm an open source believer and supporter... but having configurations that are really tested is a benefit to me now.

When I was younger, had more motivation, and before my 2 kids... I liked fiddling around trying to resolve hardware conflicts and software configurations. Now, I don't have time/interest to play with that crap. If I have an hour to sit down in front of a computer... I want the full hour to be productive... not trying to resolve issues. That drives me nuts.
I'm using Ubuntu as well as home (and XP) but it's driving me nuts as well. I guess that's the price you pay for using stuff that's totally free. Some of the vital apps (that appear to be polished) seem to be in beta release with all of the small issues.
I'm sick of dealing with that.

Anyway, I don't want this thread to be one of those PC vs Mac debates. I think anybody can see the merits of both systems depending on what functions you will be using... like any other tool. Claiming that one is better or worse than the other is merely an opinion. In this case, it can be apples and oranges as well.


Now, are there any other comments about the LED displays???? Do you think it's a mistake to anticipate using the screen for Photoshop??

[René Damkot]

Not sure if its the same screen as on the MBP, but that one seems to be the best yet: Click (http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/content_page.asp?cid=7-8741-9027)

[RAitch]

Ya, that link is what I'm basing my information off of... plus some personal recommendations.

I haven't found much to combat that other than the hype about 6bit colour channels and the inability to display 24bit colour images without banding... but it seems like nobody has any issues. Sounds like there's some kind of class action suit though.

[JonMoss]

Go for it - they are superb and the 15" MBP is superb, especially with the new screen. Make sure you max the ram and you are good to go. They may be coming loaded with the new iLie 08 also (not sure about this one).

If you have been a PC user and you switch, you will be very, very happy. So many benefits!

[laimis.s]

wait for it. you wount be sorry! macs are awesome :)

[Tony-S]

Would it be a bad idea to buy a macbook now, rather than wait for Leopard/updates in October?

I'd wait for two reaons:

1. Intel's Penryn chips (800 mHz FSB, up to 6 mb L2C) are apparently being released in Q4 of 2007.
2. A number of Mac sites are indicating that Apple may incorporate a backlit multitouch trackpad on an upcoming MBP revision.

Leopard would just be icing on the cake.

[RAitch]

Well, I didn't wait. I bought a MBP and am on it right now.
I'm pretty impressed... but there are just some things to get used to... WhereTF is the delete key (not BackSp) and why do I have to hold a key to use END/HOME? LOL

The screen looks great so far... but actually seems REALLY bright. I mean, crank this thing up and you need sunglasses. On an "average" setting, my images seem pretty bright. I'm not sure if this is normal or just not what I'm used to. I'll have to calibrate it sometime soon.

RE iLife '08. I don't have it installed, but can upgrade for $10USD. Whatever, sounds good to me.

Backlit multitouch trackpad? I have multitouch (but no single touch??), not sure why I'd need a backlight. Weird.
I bought a wireless mighty mouse to go with it since it's bluetooth. Very handy having a mouse without a cord or dongle.

It hasn't been too hard to get the hang of. I've used Ubuntu Linux for the past 5 months or so, which was a nice transition between the two. You can obviously see where it was influenced from mac.

Well, I still have to get used to the small things about OSX, but so far, I feel apart of the clan (cult).
Hopefully the screen will work out for me... so far it's pretty impressive.

[melodybliss]

I might add that I like the fact that Apple controls everything about the OS and hardware in the vision of stability... but in the other hand I also hate that idea. I'm an open source believer and supporter... but having configurations that are really tested is a benefit to me now.

If you're a fan of open source, keep in mind that Macs are running on top of a Darwin kernel with a FreeBSD userland. Since the compiler (http://developer.apple.com/tools/xcode/) is free and there's always Darwin Ports (http://darwinports.com/) which have been tested and built in OS X you have access to lots of pre-existing code that's out there now. :)

Mel who works for Apple (but please don't ask me what is coming up -- they do not tell us any of that)

[ourfoz]

I just ordered a 17" Macbook Pro online last Friday after playing with an old G4 Mac mini for a few weeks. I'm not worried about Leopard, you can always upgrade the O/S for a small amount later. If you wait for the next real or rumoured upgrade you'll never buy anything.

I'm an IT Manager looking after 300+ XP PC's and I can't get Vista to sit and run the Dreamscene desktop without crashing so I'm not even attempting to load apps on it. Microsoft have a lot of work to do before I buy a PC for my own personal use again. We'll keep buying PC's at work because it's so entrenched, doesn't mean I have to use it though. :lol:

[psk4363]

Congrats on your new MPB Raitch.

Like you, I swapped from Windows to Mac two weeks ago with a second-hand 12" Powerbook G4, and almost immediately bought the 15.4" MBP with the 2.4Ghz chip.

I did as JonMoss said and maxed the RAM to 4Gb in the MBP and to the max 1.25Gb in the little brother - well worth the update.

I'm now considering selling my Windows 'flying machine' desktop and getting the new 24" iMac with the 2.8Ghx xeon CPU as I'm so impressed with the Macs.

[MDJAK]

RAitch, JCW122 was only joking with you.

I've got two MacBook Pros and they are excellent machines. I did have hardware problems with both when new. I purchased them at Tekserve, an amazing Apple only store in New York City. They replaced both for me and have been trouble free since.

As to Leopard, I understand Apples are historically easy to upgrade OS on, unlike windows machines.

mark

[shesgotthepic]

Amen to that!

Just landed a contract doing software support for a company. They are gradually switching over to Mac. They have several PC desktops, a tiny PC laptop, a 17" Powerbook, a macbook, and I just picked up their G4 PowerMac for my mother who is totally over the moon with it. Much happier than she was with my old PC laptop.

I used to be a Mac hater. Now I swear by them and will never look back.


Wait until leopard comes out. It will be here in a couple of months. October, is what they said in June.

I'm currently running iWork 08 now. Even smaller than iWork 06, and still now enhanced with numbers. Out goes Neo Office. Another company I know has thrown out all office installations in favour to iWork 08. It does the job and then some.

And who needs gaming anyway. It's so much fun playing with the mac and be creative, constructive and productive that there is no need for games.

/She

[JonMoss]

Congrats on the purchase! :-)

You will never look back - if you Google top ten Mac apps, you can get an idea of what is worth installing etc, otherwise, PM me and I can point you in the right direction.

[RAitch]

Congrats on your new MPB Raitch.

Like you, I swapped from Windows to Mac two weeks ago with a second-hand 12" Powerbook G4, and almost immediately bought the 15.4" MBP with the 2.4Ghz chip.

I did as JonMoss said and maxed the RAM to 4Gb in the MBP and to the max 1.25Gb in the little brother - well worth the update.

I'm now considering selling my Windows 'flying machine' desktop and getting the new 24" iMac with the 2.8Ghx xeon CPU as I'm so impressed with the Macs.
I went with the 2.2 LED screen. The 17" is a little too much in the size department to be as portable as I'd like... but it looks amazing as well.

I'm camping out with the 2GB for now. I doubt that will be a real issue for now.

When I was buying the MBP, my wife was scanning the iMacs. Personally, I thought the 24" was amazing... especially for the price but it seemed she thought it was too big (this from the woman that talked me INTO getting a 46" TV instead of the 27" we went in for). I think she had her eye on a smaller version, but the 24 would be hard to pass up.

I'm sure when our Toshiba dies, we'll probably end up with an iMac sitting in it's place. It doesn't move much right now anyway... so we don't need a 2nd laptop.


PS, Damn the MBP sure does get hot at the back. At least there aren't 2 huge fans spinning loudly though. The volume is really nice!!

[RAitch]

Congrats on the purchase! :-)

You will never look back - if you Google top ten Mac apps, you can get an idea of what is worth installing etc, otherwise, PM me and I can point you in the right direction.
Thanks, I'll do that... send any pointers that you want (please).

Last night I was able to set-up a non-Admin account to use, and got some apps installed (Lightroom, Photoshop, Firefox).

Next step is to see if there's a way to software calibrate the screen until I get myself a Spyder 2 or something.


As a follow-up, I couldn't find the online form where I could order an upgrade version of iLife for $10USD. The guy in the store just found it... so I'm hoping I'm just having a moment and it's not something I had to do in-store. From what I saw, it just looked like he was somewhere in store.apple.com. I'll have to look again.

[splitfyre]

I have had my MacBook Pro for about 4 months and I absolutely love it. I'm thinking of going with a Mac desktop system in future as I still run on PC. Originally I stayed on PC because of the lack of software on the Mac platform, but I've grown to use my desktop for common routine stuff, as well as CS3.

[René Damkot]

Thanks, I'll do that... send any pointers that you want (please).

Good site here (http://www.thedigitalplumber.co.uk/pages/thelist.html).
Also have a look at the 'downloads' page.

[shooterman]

Congrats RAitch,

Once you go Mac, you'll never go back, LOL! :D

[Mstar]

I have had my MacBook Pro for about 4 months and I absolutely love it. I'm thinking of going with a Mac desktop system in future as I still run on PC. Originally I stayed on PC because of the lack of software on the Mac platform, but I've grown to use my desktop for common routine stuff, as well as CS3.

Congrats RAitch!

I'm also on the look out for a 15inch MBP to replace my aging G4. It works great, but, I wish to have a laptop to take on my travels and edit as I go my photos. I intend to wait until Leopard comes out.

Splitfyre, may I suggest a cheaper alternative, as this is what I am planning to do. I intend to buy a remote firewire 800 harddrive, not the 400- too slow. I will connect it to my new MBP and use the remote drive to boot from and not boot from the laptop by setting up system preferences. This will give me nearly as good speed as a desktop model and enables me to increase data storage capacity easily to whatever I need to going forward. I could buy another larger firewire 800 harddrive in the future and use this to clone my old 800 harddrive to store all my old disk and now use the new disc to ensure I will never have any storage issues! The old hard drive could be stored away. I will also plug in my existing monitor, so will not be using my laptop screen. Also, I could replace my old monitor with a nice new fancy one later.

My G4 cannot run Aperture, it is too old to be updated, apart from the harddrive. However, the more photos I take, I struggle to find them in a sensible fashion, so Aperture appeals, and especially that I wish to organize them when I am on my travels. However, I'm not too sure what Aperture is like on a hard working laptop. It should run fine, but the video card on a laptop is never good as a desktop. I am trying to find some comparable info to see what the differences are. Any help here is most welcome. The MBP will need lots of ram and I need to see what the video card options are for MBP as I am still not too sure.

When I will use my laptop on my travels I will need to store all my new photos/work into a specific folder and when I return home, I will drop these into my 800 firewire harddrive. You must be very careful here, as you could clone the 800 harddrive instead and wipe out all your photos, by replacing it with the entire contents of the laptop! :oops: I am sure careful discipline would not make this happen. My firewire 800 will be locked in my safe, so if the laptop is stolen by brainless b:evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:ds, I will not have lost a lot.

Anyway, my idea means, future proofing my photo storage issues, gives me flexibility and potentially the best of both worlds. My only concern with MPB is the video card and how does it cope with the memory hungry Aperture and CS3 for that matter?

A friend has just forwarded these links. I have not yet read them, but they could be useful:

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=4966585

http://photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00IPgB

http://www.barefeats.com/aper01.html

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=808157&tstart=195




I bet I sound like a geek now!! ;)



.

[the_incubus]

PS, Damn the MBP sure does get hot at the back. At least there aren't 2 huge fans spinning loudly though. The volume is really nice!!

yeeeeea it tends to do that :) You know what they say, No pain no gain.

[shesgotthepic]

Congrats RAitch,

Once you go Mac, you'll never go back, LOL! :D

Yup. It's like L lenses. there is no return.

Congrats Raitch!

[MDJAK]

I did NOT like the glossy screen on the new iMac 24. All I could see was myself in the reflection.

me

[shooterman]

...

[RAitch]

Shooterman like looking at himself obviously!!

I didn't mind it... I actually liked the gloss keeping in mind I wouldn't be editing images on it

Thanks for the welcome guys. Never had such a warm welcome when I bought a kick-ass PC. I'm all warm and tingly.