Apple has updated its line of MacBook computers. “Apple today updated its MacBook consumer notebooks with faster Intel Core 2 Duo processors, 1GB of memory and larger hard drives in every model. The MacBook is just one-inch thin and features built-in 802.11n wireless networking for up to five times the performance and twice the range of 802.11g.”
and now all the models have 1GB RAM. Why would anyone buy the Black one now?
and now all the models have 1GB RAM. Why would anyone buy the Black one now?
Because some people would rather a black laptop than a white one.
I still don’t think 40 more gigs of space and a different color justify a $200 price difference.
Frankly, I don’t understand the rabid appeal of the black MacBook; other companies have made black laptops for years–hell, even Apple itself has–but when the black MacBook was released, the Apple fanboys went wild like it was something amazingly fresh and innovative.
It does look a lot more sleek and professional than the white MacBook, but still, I don’t think the fanaticism is warranted, especially given the absurd markup.
charging xtra for the black one IS absurd….. i totally agree!!!! BUT…. when it comes down to it…. if you want the black one…. you’ll payfor it! OR… you’ll buy the white one! its really that simple! AND, you’ll walk out of the apple store with a HUGH smile and never again think about it!
Its sad that the only reason Apple can price their hardware this way is because if you want OSX you have no choice but Apple. Its unlikely and other PC manufacturer could get away pricing like that.
Choosing OS X seriously limits your hardware options.
There is nothing stopping Dell from creating its own OS and making that work only with Dell machines. This is legit and is completely different from the monopolistic practices the Microsoft was found guilty of.
There is nothing stopping Dell from creating its own OS and making that work only with Dell machines. This is legit and is completely different from the monopolistic practices the Microsoft was found guilty of.
…until Apple gets a lot of market share.
Image if Apple allowed OEMs to resell OSX and OSX and Windows traded places market share wise. People got pissed about MS having IE as its default browser and integrating it into the operating system. What about apple having iTunes as the default place for morons to pay for music? How integrated are all the other i* applications in OSX?
You’re right, it is completely different, its worse.
But Apple doesn’t have much of a market share, and the OSS zea…advocates keep telling us that it will never attain any significant market share, so what’s the big deal?
Apple doesn’t allow OEMs to sell OS X. If you want OS X, you buy a Mac. Nobody is forcing you to buy it, there is no concerted effort to twist the arms of other PC manufacturers to preload OS X or die!
People weren’t up in arms about IE because it was bundled with Windows and was crap. It was the fact that MS would not allow OEMs from putting another browser icon as the default in place of IE. They argued in court that IE was so integral to the OS that you couldn’t remove it.
If you don’t like iTunes on OS X, just drag it to the bin and empty it. What’s the big deal? You tin foil hat wearers really need something else to worry about.
“…until Apple gets a lot of market share. ”
No, it would still be legit no matter how big market share Apple gets.
“People got pissed about MS having IE as its default browser and integrating it into the operating system.”
This is a completely different matter.
“What about apple having iTunes as the default place for morons to pay for music?”
Again, this is completely different from the OS/Hardware thing.
Yes, if Apple and Microsoft changed places, OS X’s bundling would be bad. But they haven’t, so it’s not. Yes, it’s a double-standard, but anti-trust laws are necessarily about singling someone out for special treatment. That’s the trade-off that comes from being a monopoly — you get massive market share, but you have to abide by rules that other companies do not.
There is nothing stopping Dell from creating its own OS and making that work only with Dell machines. This is legit and is completely different from the monopolistic practices the Microsoft was found guilty of.
…until Apple gets a lot of market share.
Image if Apple allowed OEMs to resell OSX and OSX and Windows traded places market share wise. People got pissed about MS having IE as its default browser and integrating it into the operating system. What about apple having iTunes as the default place for morons to pay for music? How integrated are all the other i* applications in OSX?
You’re right, it is completely different, its worse.
You don’t understand… You get way more coffee house groupies with a BLACK MacBook.
😉
By the way, I love my MacBook Pro!
I do agree with you that 40GB of hd space and color doesn’t really justify $200 preminum at least for me. One thing about that though is this. The black Macbook isn’t just black plastic. It’s actually aluminum case painted black so the case is made from entirely different material than the white Macbook. I’m not sure if the $200 price gap is easier to justify for having a aluminum outer shell though. I think hard plastic may be lighter and maybe even tougher than aluminum.
No the black one is still plastic. It’s just that the finish is matte.
Because I HATE white laptops?
Because it’s like space without the stars…
If you were to ask how much blacker could it be, the answer would be none… none more black!
Why not put the Superdrive everywhere? Combo is just soo useless these days. I doubt the price difference should be all that significant.
agreed, it should now be a standard feature.
Isn’t that still in draft form? I know a lot of companies are putting it out before it becomes final, but isn’t that a bit risky in a laptop.
Apple always does that with networking standards, but from an Apple perspective, who cares, as long as it interoperates with Airport Extreme with 802.11n and other Apple products that are 802.11n compliant?
For the general consumer who uses different brands, it’s of course a different matter.
The new centrino platform supports draft n specs as well. Every manufacturer has draft n gear so why not include it and save customers the hassle of having to buy another card? It isn’t going to interfere with the a or g standard anyway so I don’t see how the added option will hurt anyone.
test
AFAIK modifications to the standard can be handled via firmware updates.
That’s great, so if I’m having trouble with my network connection I just have to download the newest firmware and it’s fixed.
But how do we know they are not going to charge for that upgrade… AGAIN? Apple has charged for wireless firmware upgrades as it “adds features” to the wireless card and they are apparently the only company “required by law to do so for accounting reasons”
For those who don’t know what I’m talking about: http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/…
Edited 2007-05-15 17:43
Most manufacturers don’t move you from G to N with a free upgrade, do they? No, you just have to go out and buy a brand new card.
Very very dull these upgrades. So there’s faster CPUs, a bit more RAM, and better wireless networking. Not exactly unexpected. It’s just the same warmed over stuff.
I was hoping to see new MacBook Pro’s with a redesign.
I was hoping to see new MacBook Pro’s with a redesign.
What’s wrong with the old?
Didn’t Henry Ford say the same thing about the Model T?
Still no 15″ model.
It really gets to me that the only screen size on a ‘consumer’ laptop is 13.3″ now. I don’t need all the power of a MacBook Pro but there is no way I am going to use something with a 13.3″ screen. It would drive me nuts.
This means I will be spending over £1,500 on a MacBook Pro after the eventual updates just because I really need a 15″ screen…. ohhhh, now I see why Apple don’t do a MacBook with a sensible sized screen!
I know what you mean — my last 13″ screen was amber monochrome!
The iBook never went above 14″, so I don’t see what the big deal is.
The 13.3″ form factor is just about ideal for the MacBook’s target market. It’s wide enough to allow you to have to windows side-by-side, but keeps the laptop in the ~5 lb, ~1 in size category. The next real (widescreen) size up from 13.3″ is 15.4″ (well, there is 14.1″ but that’s not a substantial difference in size), and I haven’t seen any 15.4″ laptops that aren’t closer to 6 pounds than 5 pounds (though maybe one of Sony’s $2500 carbon-fiber composite laptops fits that bill).
In the size/weight range of the MacBook, there are really no good competitors. The IBM Z41 is lighter, but has atrocious battery life on the standard battery. The Sony C series is about the same weight, but almost 50% thicker.
Most people would pick 13.3″ over 15.4″ any day on a portable because it makes the computer MORE PORTABLE.
But if you don’t want that why don’t you just buy say a hp or sony vaio or whatever with better specs for less money? And 15.4″.
No santa rosa == gay
Drool
How about fixing problems with older Macbooks? http://www.appledefects.com/wiki/index.php?title=MacBook#Unresolved…
That CPU Whining is killing me!
I had a first generation MacBook Pro that whined. I took it to an Apple Store and the fixed it free of charge. I believe they replaced the motherboard, but it was a while back and I don’t remember the exact repair.
I do know that it no longer whines.
Unfortunately for me:
>Unlike the Macbook Pro, Apple has yet to recognize this issue.
BTW I dual boot with Windows XP HE and there is no whining in Windows. So i guess it is software issue…
Apple, how about a patch?
its intel product with an apple face, I am sticking to the powerpc chip for a while, does what I need…
but yeah, you should take it to the apple store…
they know whats up…
YYAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWNNNNNNNNNNNN!
What a boring upgrade – We’ve thrown in the LARGER disk (standard at 120 GB now) and ummm… bumped the processor by .16 GHz – Now I can run Office through Rosetta and I won’t notice that slow down….
I have had the first rev of the C2D Macbook since November and it rocks – this is a boring, pretty meaningless upgrade – great if you are just coming to the Macintosh laptop fold, but if you already have one or know a lot about Apple – Nothing to See Here Folks – Move Along!
MacGod
…what’s boring about faster CPUs and more memory when the price does not change. That equates to “more for the money” which is never boring to me.
Yeah, if it’s so boring why post at all? I’m not sure what everyone was expecting.
I wonder where that troll that complains about the lack of an upgradeable headless single cpu mac is.
Personally, I would have preferred to see another gig of ram added to the black macbook instead of the extra 40gb of drive space.
But dahling, vee ahr vaiting for something more exziting. I vant to use my Macbuhks as a Roomba. My cahpet gets so-o-o dusty!
People are so easily bored. I agree that more processor power, Ram, and HD for the same price is cool. Now where is that $1500 hundreds I left laying around the other day…
A Mac Mini Roomba’s a frightening mental image.
Yeah, comes with special control software – iSuck.
ROFL
ok, true, it’s not a bad thing. But the problem I (and probably others too) have is that it’s a smaller upgrade compared to what the competition has been doing. If they would’ve gone with the new Intel platform, the MacBook would’ve been much more competetive, like it’s first incarnation. Now it’s too much behind in the horsepower/price area to be a good choice, at least from my perspective.
Actually, I think they dropped the price by £50 in the UK too, which is a bonus!
I would like a macbook for college, I just hope the centrino Pro AKA SantaRosa comes out before August. =[
I agree the MacBook needs at least a 15″ screen and really the MacBook should come in 15″ and 17″ models with the MBP having a 13″, 15″, 17″, and maybe even a 20″ Mobile Workstation monster. Apple needs more diversity in their line. I agree though that 13.3″ is way too small for a consumer laptop. (Note that all these sizes are wide-screen.) Also considering that they use integrated Intel graphics they really should have updated to using the Santa Rosa chipset which has better integrated graphics. Also black and white notebooks should be the same price. Hell I still wish that I could get a MacBook in some funky colors like blue, pink, and green I know most people didn’t care for it but I personally really liked the old multi-color clam shells.
It would also be nice if Apple (or someone else) could release an international language keyboard that featured all the various accents used in Latin and German character languages and maybe even Slavic as well. I know that the French keyboards simply use one of the alt buttons plus the number keys to do so but there must be some way to have this. It’s so annoying typing anything in a language other than English using an English language keyboard. I would pay extra to have such a thing and it would be so useful in an increasingly interconnected world. There are even some English words like cafe and resume that use accent marks. This is something that Apple could lead and innovate in. Also I know that you can use ctrl+click as a right mouse click on OS X but why doesn’t Apple include a right mouse button on their laptops or at least something along the lines of the Mighty Mouse where it can function as a one or two click ordeal?
I am definitely waiting until the release of Mac OS 10.5 before I even consider getting a Apple laptop now. Also while I’m ranting why are there still no cheap LCD screens from Apple for use with the Mac Mini? Apple is large enough to diversify their LCD line. Also why is there still no X Mac? I understand that it would probably cannibalize their iMac and maybe even their Mac Pro line but it would also sell extremely well even with high margins and it could attract gamers to the Mac Platform. I know it will never happen but that’s why this is a rant:) I really would like to see more diversification from Apple in its selection of hardware. I love OS X but Apple’s lack of diversification makes me really look hard at getting a Linux compatible laptop that can dual boot with Vista instead of getting one of theirs. Also wouldn’t this make customers happier? Come on Apple I know you can do it.
I don’t know… It seems like their customers are plenty happy with having the current choices… Apple’s MarketShare is growing afterall…
Don’t get me wrong, but Apple isn’t losing money with their current strategy. I’d love cheaper prices and a ton more configuration choices, but this is Apple we’re talking about.
My suggestions:
1. Redesign the laptops to be easier on repair and upgrade.
2. Include the option of really professional GPU (Quadro or fireGL)
3. Create a Mac desktop without a screen and plenty of upgradability options, so new comers wont be shocked with initial price tag.
4. Give us an option of a professional Warranty, I mean 5 years
5. Load more diagnostic tools of the OSX to allow us to test RAM, HDD and other components when It fails
6. Remove the huge white frame under every iMac because it distract the eye, or better yet, sell iMacs with black color frame.
7. Give us FBDIMMs on MacBook Pro and Mac Pro lines; because at >2000$ it wont harm Apple.
8. others ….
1) On laptops, the only thing you can really upgrade is the memory and hard drive. On the MacBook, both are very easy to access.
5) Every Mac shipped in this decade has the Apple Hardware Test utility bundled on the System Restore CD. Hold down the option key with the CD in the drive to get a boot menu allowing you to choose to run the utility.
7) You can’t put FB-DIMMs on a laptop, the AMBs draw far too much power for that. The Mac Pro already uses FB-DIMMs.
is that it doesn’t utilize the brand new chipset that intel has released. Most if not all major brands have released santa rosa lappies, why not apple.
While a bump in speed, memory is ok, a transition to the newer and much improved chipset will warrant the title of an update to it’s macbook line, not this minimal upgrade.
No Santa Rosa, and still GMA 950. Why o why do I have to shell out 2 grand for dedicated video?
MacBook would be perfect for me if they threw in say, an X1400.
nah geforce 7950 gtx all the way baby. Bought a brand new laptop with it……whohoho boy is it fast!
I hear ya. But if Apple ever put a 7950 in a MacBook, it’d be the MacBook Pro and they’d sell it for more than 3 grand.
And what kind of battery life does this laptop get?
I’m curious: what do you expect to do with an X1400… on a Mac? Nobody does real 3D work on a laptop, and it’s not like there are any Mac gamers…
Personally, I’d consider an X1400 a downgrade. I’d much rather have the extra battery life that comes with integrated graphics.
and it’s not like there are any Mac gamers…
What a lame comment… Of course there are Mac gamers and their numbers are growing just as are the number of games being released for the Mac.
Sure, some of the TOP tier games are still missing, but there is boot camp for that… (the OS may not be Apple’s but the HARDWARE is!)
>and now all the models have 1GB RAM. Why would anyone buy the Black one now?
Because it’s black ?
No it’s not. The different is that MS FORCES you to use IE for things like updating Windows. Apple does NOT do that. You can use any browser that you want. And you have a choice of whatever music source you want and music organizer. MS on the other tries to tie you to only theirs.
If you are too lazy to download a different browser and different music organizer that it YOUR fault not anyone elses.
And just so you know. It isn’t that IE is bundled with Windows. It is that it is TIED into Windows and certain functions of Windows.
I use mac mini at home, and iMac “24 for business. I love bought of them. But the biggest reason kept me out buying a macbook is the graphic card. Macmini has the integrated graphic card, and it sucks if you wanna play even a simple game.
Designwise…. dell, hp and all pc laptops are really ugly, even the sony ones are ugly(even they had really nice models in past) And design matters for pc/laptop, since you look at the machine everyday.
Softwarewise, I have many issues with OSX as well, but don’t miss Windows or PC’s a bit, even after a year
I have an HP dv9000, and while it isnt as nice as a macbook, it is far from ugly.