# The new MacBook (No "Pro")



## georgelien (Apr 13, 2006)

Okay, we're all waiting for it.

The next iBook, or should I say, the brand new MacBook without the "Pro."

I'm here to ask what kind of specifications and features you like to see it comes with--not what you think the machine will come with.

Understand the rules?

Good.

Now fire away!


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## Veljo (Apr 14, 2006)

From what I've read it should have similar specs to the current Intel Mac Mini, with a 13.3" widescreen display.

The only problem I see is the confusion between the name MacBook and the MacBook Pro line.


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## Thank The Cheese (Apr 14, 2006)

yeah I don't think it's any great mystery. It will have a widescreen display and an Intel CoreDuo in the higher end model. I'm more interested in the design. The current iBook "toilet seat" design just doesn't do it for me anymore. 

What I'd like is for it to have that sane iPod/iMac kind of shell, with the white plastic coated in clear plastic, you know? I like that look, and would improve the look of the iBook range. The white plastic looks a little cheap IMO.


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## fryke (Apr 14, 2006)

Erh, the "toilet seat" was the predecessor which came (among others) in "tangerine", "lime", "blueberry" etc.  - http://www.apple-history.com/body.php?page=gallery&model=ibook&performa=off&sort=date&order=ASC - The current iBook, I think, has much more of a hospital feeling.  It's gorgeous, too. But I guess the MacBook will just move closer to the MacBook Pro/PowerBook design, because they're at the same time killing the 12" PowerBook with the new MacBook (or MacBook mini, which I'm still told is going to be the name...).


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## Thank The Cheese (Apr 14, 2006)

Oh ok. 

::face goes red:: 

well to me it still looks like a toilet seat. mainly the white plastic than the shape. I think I'm just sick of it. I mean, I have an iBook G3 from about 5 years ago, and the newest G4s look exactly the same here in 2006. It's time for a change. Certainly the white plastic is more of a timeless design than the clamshell, but it still needs an update.


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## fryke (Apr 14, 2006)

I agree. It needs to get slimmer.


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## Lt Major Burns (Apr 14, 2006)

yes, it's 5 years old, but reviewers _still_ comment on how good it looks.  i personally don't think the form factor will change at all.  none of the other updates have, this is apple's strategy of proving for the while that even with the intel chip, it'sstill the same mac out side.


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## Mikuro (Apr 14, 2006)

Well, the iBook _already_ looks like the iMac and iPod, so I don't think they'll be rarin' to change it. I'd like to see it come in black, though. 

Spec-wise, I don't know. What will differentiate it from the MBP? It's been quite a while since there was a large processor gap between the two lines, so I assume they'll use the Core Duo on at least one model, similar to what they've done with the Mac Mini. It will probably also lack a graphics card like the Mini. But you're asking me for what I'd LIKE it to come with, not for what I expect. So....

&#8226; 2GHz+ Core Duo (just enough to process 1280p HD video, according to Apple).
&#8226; TV out ports built in
&#8226; 128MB ATI graphics card (with CoreImage support, of course) capable of outputting 1280p HD video to an external monitor/TV.
&#8226; Free iWork
&#8226; And, of course, an English butler or French maid, at _least_ as a BTO option. 

As you can see, I'd like an iBook that can be a multimedia center. I don't expect any of these items to be met, though. I think it'll pretty much be a Mac mini with an LCD stuck on.


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## fryke (Apr 14, 2006)

I guess you're talking about the MacBook Pro 2007.  (I know, you _said_ you're talking about what you wish for...)


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## Jason (Apr 14, 2006)

I'm thinking it will share specs with the high end Mac Mini, with (hopefully) some sort of Radeon Xx00 chip instead of the intel chip upgradable to 128mb vram


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## mindbend (Apr 14, 2006)

I absolutely think the biggest single change WILL be the form factor. For one, they're due. For two, they need to distinguish this line. Previously, the PowerBooks and iBooks, for better or worse, didn't do "enough" technically and visually to differentiate them.

I expect fairly dramatic form change. Keep in mind, the audience for this laptop is likely to be more hip and will probably include more women. This audience isn't the high end location photographer or in-situ video editor (who presumably care less about fashion, though they certainly want a nice looking laptop).

As for specs, I think the laptops are really settling into predictable specs these days. And I don't mean that in a bad way. I just can't think of anything mind-blowing to expect that we haven't seen already. These specs will just be a little faster, a little bigger, a little longer, etc.

(Flag this post. Form factor=biggest change).


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## Veljo (Apr 14, 2006)

I'm expecting something similar to the current iBook in looks, with a 13.3" widescreen display, MagSafe connector, built in iSight camera, Front Row, probably the same DVD-RW drive as the current MacBook Pro and maybe...just maybe...a backlit keyboard in the high end model.


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## Thank The Cheese (Apr 14, 2006)

I agree on all counts Veljo except for backlit keyboard. would be nice though...

This built in iSight business...does anyone actually use it? Seems to me it's one of those things you get all excited about and show off to everyone when you first get a new Mac, but then never use again. Please correct me if I'm wrong.


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## Shookster (Apr 15, 2006)

A friend of mine uses her MacBook Pro's iSight for taking photographs. It looks really weird when she sets up a shot with it. I keep telling her to get a proper camera.

If I had a MacBook (or Pro), that's the first thing I'd disable. I know that Macs are pretty secure, but I get paranoid about someone else watching me on my webcam.


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## fryke (Apr 15, 2006)

A red band-aid over it would look cool.  ...


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## chevy (Apr 15, 2006)

I'm 100% with Jason.


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## Captain Code (Apr 15, 2006)

Shookster said:
			
		

> If I had a MacBook (or Pro), that's the first thing I'd disable. I know that Macs are pretty secure, but I get paranoid about someone else watching me on my webcam.



There's a light in the iSight that's hard wired into the power of it.  So if the iSight's on, then the light is on.  There's no way of turning the light off with software.

If they have that crappy Intel graphics in the iBook replacement I'll be really PO'd.  It's complete garbage for anything above basic display.


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## Lt Major Burns (Apr 15, 2006)

yes.  but it's better than the radeon they would shove in there.  the current 9550 is absolutely useless.  the intel graphics can at least do all the things mac os x asks of it (core image), the radeon can't even muster that.

they aren't going to put a Geforce 7800 go in a bloody ibook, are they? it's for casual users and people who just don't care what graphics hardware they have.   people who need aperture, final cut, motion 2 etc buy a mac book pro.  gamers should buy an alienware.

keep prices down and stick an intel graphics chip in there.  it's better than a radeon anyway.


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## Captain Code (Apr 15, 2006)

True it's better than that Radeon but they should keep it competitive with other laptops at that price.  I'm a student so I don't want to have to pay $3000 CAD for a Pro just to have an OK video card.

EDIT:  I mean, if they can do it for the iMac, they should do it for the iBook/whatever as well.  The Mini is a lot cheaper than the iMac and iBook if you're getting the basic machines.


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## Lt Major Burns (Apr 15, 2006)

find a mid range laptop that doesn't have a s**t video card.  it'll be severly crippled in other areas.  i think the intel graphics is a good idea actually.  

also, they can do it for the imac, but the imac is nearly 2 inches thick and weighs a ton.

it's only "crappy" because it has a bad reputation.  if the bus's inside the mac are fast enough (PCI-Express after all), why shouldn't it be allowed to address 1gb of memory?  why should it be limited to the meagre 32mb the radeon offers?  in terms of processing speed, the intel chip smears the radeon on the floor anyway. 

just because Ati made it, and they called it radeon, people are calling it half decent. when in actuall fact, it can't even perform a decent ripple effect in 2d...


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## Captain Code (Apr 15, 2006)

If they can fit it in an Macbook Pro, they can fit it in an iBook as well.  The only thing is the cost, and since they can get it in the iMac for that cheap cost, they should be able to do the same in the iBook.

The shared RAM is never going to be as fast as dedicated RAM, and with the Mini you only get 80MB or something.  Plus you loose RAM for the rest of your system, and we all know how much OS X likes RAM.  

The Mini can't even play 720p H.264 smoothly from what I've read while the iMac can.  CPU speed does help but the graphics system helps as well.


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## Lt Major Burns (Apr 15, 2006)

alright, alls i'm saying is, i'd prefer a sub-£700 stylish long battery life portable with a nice screen and innovative features.


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## ElDiabloConCaca (Apr 15, 2006)

Captain Code said:
			
		

> True it's better than that Radeon but they should keep it competitive with other laptops at that price.  I'm a student so I don't want to have to pay $3000 CAD for a Pro just to have an OK video card.


http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/graphics.html

So the ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 with 128 or 256MB of RAM is just an "OK video card?"  Sheesh!  Talk about hard to please!

I gotta agree with Burns here -- most likely, the MacBook will have integrated Intel video (or keep their lower-cost video card)... the iBook has never had a "gaming-quality" or "Final Cut Pro-quality" video card, and expecting that to change now simply because we've got a new name and a new processor is just wishful thinking.  The MacBook will be a lower-priced notebook, and, as such, will probably not have cutting-edge (or even high-end) graphics.


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## Lt Major Burns (Apr 15, 2006)

at the next event, apple will anounce the mac book which will have a 2.5ghz core duo, radeon x1600, 1680x1050 13.3" display brighter than any dell, 4 firewire 800 slots, dual gigabit ethernet, 16x dl superdrives, 12 hours battery and come with 2gb ram standard. it'll be the thinnest, lightest notebook computer ever and ship for $700.  or i'll throw myself off a building and never buy apple again.  apple better do this or they'll fail, and lose my custom.  i'll buy a vaio if they don't.

etc.


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## Veljo (Apr 15, 2006)

They should introduce some kind of cap that clicks or slides over the webcam, you can never trust those things.


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## ElDiabloConCaca (Apr 15, 2006)

Veljo said:
			
		

> They should introduce some kind of cap that clicks or slides over the webcam, you can never trust those things.



http://www.theipatch.com/

I vote the guy who came up with this up there with the person who invented bottled water... 

To those who are stupid enough to part with $10 and get one of these things, please report back here so we can ridicule you.  Thanks.


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## fryke (Apr 16, 2006)

hehe...  yeah. btw.: "bottled water" is just an excuse for having bad tap-water, anyway. but back to the MacBook...

People who expect an iBook replacement to be a good 3D games machines should not argue too much, because they're just going to be veeeeeeeeery p**d off once Apple releases the thing. Just look back at the iBooks of the past: They _never_ had graphics cards that were top-notch at the time the iBooks actually shipped. The intel on-board solution is actually quite okay for the purposes of an iBook, and I believe it'll still decently play things like Pangea's 3D games etc.

But don't forget that Apple plans to replace both the 12"/14" iBook as well as the 12" _PowerBook_ with the MacBook. Meaning that they _could_ have a slightly more expensive model with different features...


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## Captain Code (Apr 16, 2006)

I'd just like it to be able to do all the stuff like Keynote effects, edit some movies without stuttering too much.  If it can do that then that's OK, but I think that with the Intel graphics and shared memory it's not going to work that well with Core Video.

At the Apple store in Toronto they had a previous G4 Mini hooked up to a 22" display and it was really choppy displaying the Dashboard which isn't acceptable.  I haven't seen how the new ones work with that large of a screen, but I just don't want it to be all choppy like that because it doesn't look good.


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## Jason (Apr 16, 2006)

I'm thinking they might go with an X1300 chip...

(oh and yes, the x1600 is just an *okay* card)


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## RGrphc2 (Apr 16, 2006)

ElDiabloConCaca said:
			
		

> http://www.theipatch.com/
> 
> I vote the guy who came up with this up there with the person who invented bottled water...
> 
> To those who are stupid enough to part with $10 and get one of these things, please report back here so we can ridicule you.  Thanks.



Uhm...it's called a sticky note, it will basicly do the same thing and you get 6 different colors for 4 bucks!  better deal!


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## Veljo (Apr 16, 2006)

ElDiabloConCaca said:
			
		

> http://www.theipatch.com/
> 
> I vote the guy who came up with this up there with the person who invented bottled water...
> 
> To those who are stupid enough to part with $10 and get one of these things, please report back here so we can ridicule you.  Thanks.


Wow, that's terrible.


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## eric2006 (Apr 17, 2006)

Hmm.. what about a tablet MacBook? It's probably not going to happen, but it would be sweet if it did. That's the only thing holding back my dad from selling his laptop.


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## Lt Major Burns (Apr 18, 2006)

http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=1667


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## Mikuro (Apr 18, 2006)

Lt Major Burns said:
			
		

> http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=1667


For those who'd like to skip the little history lesson, here's the gist:

Sources say that Apple will be offering the MacBook in three different colors, it will have only one monitor size, and it will look a lot like the MacBook pro. They say it will be strictly Core Duo-based, and speculate that there may be two models. (A "better" and "best"...*sigh*...)


They make it sound like it'll look like a colored MacBook Pro. I hope not. Apple has yet to release a solid-color machine (not counting "plain" colors like white and black). The iMacs and iBooks all had two-tone designs. I don't think a solid color would look good, so I hope Apple doesn't try to make it _too_ iPod-like.


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## spitty27 (Apr 18, 2006)

looks like the rumors that it might come out today on the eve of Q2 financial earnings was wrong...correct me if i'm wrong though isn't it tomorrow night? do you think they might release it tomorrow then?


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## Convert (Apr 21, 2006)

I hope it doesn't look like the Macbook. I might buy the Macbook but I'm presuming it's the same material as the Powerbook which I wasn't so fond of. Sweet thing is I can pay for this all by myself with the money I get from my army basic training. I don't think I'd need the power of the Macbook Pro, so I'm hoping the Macbook... er... non-pro is a definite difference.


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## fryke (Apr 21, 2006)

Maybe they _should_ call it the "MacBook mini" (or some other add-on name), then, because it'd definitely be confusing to have posts about "da MacBook" and never know which one "da user" is talking about, really... Although _that_ user would probably talk about the "MacBook" even then. So maybe it doesn't matter at all.


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