New Macbook and Macbook Pros Announced

Last modified on October 14th, 2008

I’m sure it’s old news by new, but Apple announced updates for their Macbook lines today. They look pretty snazzy, sporting thinner aluminum cases and black plastic near the monitor. I’m not sure I’m sold on the decision to make the monitor glossy (as this makes it more difficult editing photos, IMO), but all in all it looks like a step in the right direction.

As I’ve indicated previously, I’m focusing on paying off my student loans for the next little while, which basically means no major purchases. For the time being I’m going to try and stick with my Macbook Pro, even though the backslash key stopped working a few weeks ago.

MacBook Pro

What does everyone else think of the announcements?

16 responses to “New Macbook and Macbook Pros Announced”

  1. John Biehler says:

    I think the announcements were pretty much expected….nothing major other than a form factor change which seemed due and some minor speed/capacity bumps.

    Wondering if you saw this – although you’re screen replacement surgery may have negated coverage, if you’re still having screen issues, might be worth pursuing.

  2. Duane Storey says:

    Yah I saw that recently. Surprisingly, I don’t think I have a NVIDIA chipset in my computer. My “More Info” thing says “ATI Radeon X1600”. But I still have lots of video problems. Dale made a few adjustments out in Hamilton so I hope it helps.

  3. Rebecca says:

    I’m going to start saving now and maybe I can get John one for his 34th birthday

  4. Duane Storey says:

    Hahaha! ‘Sup.

  5. Austin says:

    I like the look of the new Macbook Pro, i think it is a little unfair considering they just released a newer one a few months ago, but thats business i guess. I am a little disappointed about the Macbook. I think the fact that Apple is creating all the notebooks the same way is cool and the aluminum case is amazing but the white and black Macbooks are classics and it seems a little less innovative when it comes to appearance. But I am also happy that there has been no price drop as I just bought the newest model of the black macbook in May and for 1599 it is still 2.4, 250gb and 2g of ram. However the new graphics card and trackpad would be nice. I think I will be holding onto my laptop for a long time:).

  6. A.J.Rowley says:

    I couldn’t agree more about the glossy screens, but a step in the right direction overall indeed.

  7. Austin Paul says:

    I know alot of people use the MBP but I think the lack of even a 400 FW is a fatal mistake for the new MB.

  8. Duane Storey says:

    @Austin – The main mandate for public companies is to generate profit for shareholders. Back in the old days when I worked at JDS Uniphase in Ottawa we had a manufacturing process similar to what Apple is doing there. We would machine our fiber optic cases out of aluminum and then anodize (which is basically like electroplating) them black. Taking assembly costs out of the equation, I believe each case was on the order of $1 when it was all done. Granted Apple’s cases are larger, but I suspect they’ve significantly reduced their internal costs on the product, while only giving a marginal price drop to consumers. One thing they didn’t mention in the video with regards to this process is that it reduces the number of parts you need to build a MB or a MBP — that means you pay less in inventory costs and transportation (and I don’t mean external transportation, although that certainly counts — many companies spend lots of money hauling parts around internally during assembly).

    So while they look nice, I think Apple has increased the profit margin on their laptops by a large amount. And if I were still a manufacturing engineer (which I used to be), that would have been my mandate as well for the stuff I worked on.

  9. Austin Paul says:

    You bring up a good point and I agre to add to the new manufacturing process I have to give lots of credit because they are becoming even more environmentally friendy in packaging, and now the manufacturing process uses less materials. This is great because they are one of the few tech corporations focusing on this. I just hope their sales keep up with the loss of FireWire in the MacBooks. Thanks for explain the process in better detail

  10. Austin Paul says:

    *sorry for mistakes, still can’t get typing on the iPhone perfect!

  11. Duane Storey says:

    I think they are intentionally rebranding the MBs for students, and the MBP for photo and video enthusiasts, or people that need more horsepower. That’s probably why they are pushing firewire into the MBP, so that people working on video will be forced to move to the high end line.

  12. Austin Paul says:

    yeah it’s smart but at the same it seems strange. I use FireWire for my recording equipment and my mom uses her MacBook for video. When it comes time for a new one I’ll save up for pro. Just out a quick question what is wrong with your keys because my spacebar is screwed up & I don’t know what to do. haha

  13. Duane Storey says:

    My backslash/pipe key doesn’t work on my laptop. Not sure what I’m going to do about it honestly.

  14. Austin Paul says:

    well the little bubble under my spacebar is loose so I find myself removing and repositioning it almost every day. I have considered gluing it but I don’t want to wreck it, another option is the Genius Bar but I can’t be without my computer if they send it away. But they might be able to fix it in the store?

  15. Duane Storey says:

    I suspect replacing the keyboard is more trouble than it’s worth. My LCD would have cost me nearly $800-$1000 in the store, which is roughly the price of a new MB. I think I’m just going to put up with it for the time being and replace the laptop when the time comes.

  16. Austin Paul says:

    yeah the MacBook air keyboard feels great from my experience with it so it will be awesome on the new Pro!

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