The new MacBook (No "Pro")

G

georgelien

Registered
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!
 
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.
 
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.
 
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...).
 
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.
 
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.
 
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....

• 2GHz+ Core Duo (just enough to process 1280p HD video, according to Apple).
• TV out ports built in
• 128MB ATI graphics card (with CoreImage support, of course) capable of outputting 1280p HD video to an external monitor/TV.
• Free iWork
• 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.
 
I guess you're talking about the MacBook Pro 2007. ;) (I know, you _said_ you're talking about what you wish for...)
 
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
 
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).
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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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