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dparm
10-24-2006, 07:49 AM
They're here! (http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/)

Merom power!
picch
10-24-2006, 08:28 AM
I just priced one, and I only needed 1 upgrade (free glossy screen), so you're getting more bang for your buck too

* 2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 1440 x 900 pixels
* 2GB memory
* 120GB hard drive1
* 6x double-layer SuperDrive
* ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics with 256MB SDRAM
For 2,200
dparm
10-24-2006, 09:50 AM
Why waste time with the 2.33 Core 2? It's not really worth the extra money IMHO.

But dang, only 1440x900 for the screen? That seems low compared to all the PC notebook screens. I like how you can get glossy or matte though.

Just noticed they don't even offer 7200rpm hard drives though?
picch
10-24-2006, 10:25 AM
Yeah I noticed the resoultion and lack of a 7200rpm hard drive. They used to offer it.
dcv
10-24-2006, 10:43 AM
IIRC, the resolution is what it is because Apple's UI guidelines specify the minimum dpi of a screen (for readability and such), and I very much doubt that until/unless they finish their vector-based resolution-independent UI (some of which was implemented in Tiger, more of which was implemented in Leopard), the resolutions aren't going to get any bigger than 1280x800 for the 13.3" Macbook, 1440x900 for the 15", and 1680x1050 for the 17".

Also, they still do offer a 7200 RPM 100GB drive on the 17" model, but only on the 17" model, unfortunately.
picch
10-24-2006, 05:33 PM
Yeah I just noticed that
dparm
10-24-2006, 06:22 PM
Most 15" notebooks from Dell, Gateway, etc. have 1680x1050 native resolution, with the 17" notebooks being 1920x1200 (there are even some 15" screens with that).
dcv
10-24-2006, 07:53 PM
Most 15" notebooks from Dell, Gateway, etc. have 1680x1050 native resolution, with the 17" notebooks being 1920x1200 (there are even some 15" screens with that).

I know - but don't expect to see those resolutions on an Apple notebook any time this year. Such large dpis go against Apple's UI guidelines because they make a majority of UI elements too small and harder to read or see (they've done focus groups and whatnot, apparently, and the general populous is against bigger resolutions if they have to sacrifice readable 12 point font).

A relatively high priority of OS X development (starting with 10.4) is making the UI purely vector-based and resolution-independent, e.g. on an 800x600 monitor or a 1600x1200 monitor, 12 point font will be the same relative height of 12 points. If they manage to get the entire UI resolution independent in time for 10.5 (which they probably will), then I'm sure next year's Macbooks and Macbook Pros will have larger resolutions.

//I've seen 1920x1200 on a 15" Dell - it was impressive, but really too small to read for me and my bad eyes
mjones1
10-25-2006, 12:35 PM
Does anyone want to buy a MacBook Pro 2.0 Core 1 Duo, 1 gig RAM, and 256 ATI X1600 minus the right shift key for, say $2200?

:D Lol
nlopez
10-25-2006, 05:49 PM
You lost your right shift key too, eh? The Apple store fixed that right up for me when I took mine in.
bgwinkel
10-25-2006, 07:01 PM
Told you you should take it into an Apple store, Mike :P
dparm
10-25-2006, 08:22 PM
Second!
eshallcr
10-31-2006, 12:53 PM
speaking of high density resolution, has anyone seen (in person) the sony ux280? 1024x600 on a screen the size of my wallet. That screen is really hard on the eyes, but it is beautiful.
dcv
10-31-2006, 03:18 PM
speaking of high density resolution, has anyone seen (in person) the sony ux280? 1024x600 on a screen the size of my wallet. That screen is really hard on the eyes, but it is beautiful.

I've only seen it in the pages of tech magazines, and dl.tv showed off the ux180 when it came out. That's an insanely high number of pixels to fit in 4.5" - probably great for watching movies or pictures, but I really can't imagine reading or web surfing with it - 2mm tall fonts make my soul (and my eyes) cry.
nlopez
10-31-2006, 04:14 PM
why would the fonts be 2mm tall? Every major font used on systems today is scaleable and there is absolutely no excuse for limiting yourself to 12 pixel high fonts because that's what Windows 3.1 does. (Note to web designers, you don't know now many pixels my fonts are, don't assume they're 12).
I know Windows always does the wrong thing when it comes to font sizes, but I think OSX is a bit better, and I know Linux will do the right thing if you let it (there seems to be a movement to force every display to 96dpi because that's what MS does, or something equally stupid). I used to run a 130dpi screen, 2048x1536 on a 21" CRT and the fonts just took more pixels and looked sharper but stayed about the same size.
dcv
10-31-2006, 04:32 PM
why would the fonts be 2mm tall? Every major font used on systems today is scaleable and there is absolutely no excuse for limiting yourself to 12 pixel high fonts because that's what Windows 3.1 does. (Note to web designers, you don't know now many pixels my fonts are, don't assume they're 12).
I know Windows always does the wrong thing when it comes to font sizes, but I think OSX is a bit better, and I know Linux will do the right thing if you let it (there seems to be a movement to force every display to 96dpi because that's what MS does, or something equally stupid). I used to run a 130dpi screen, 2048x1536 on a 21" CRT and the fonts just took more pixels and looked sharper but stayed about the same size.

But on a 4.5" screen running at 1024x600, if you try and actually push 12 point font up to what 12 pixels would be on a regular 17" monitor, it's seriously going to distort whatever page/text formatting you're working with. It's just WAY too small.

I did some quick math, and assuming that the screen is 4.5" by 3" on the ux280 (rough estimate), there's 13.5 square inches of screen real estate to fit 614,400 pixels in - them's some TINY pixels. That'd be quite a sight.
mjones1
11-02-2006, 02:27 PM
You lost your right shift key too, eh? The Apple store fixed that right up for me when I took mine in.

That's good to know, I figured I would have to shell out 79.99 for a shiney new key...
picch
11-02-2006, 04:58 PM
That's good to know, I figured I would have to shell out 79.99 for a shiney new key...

Plus Tax
richard5
11-06-2006, 11:45 AM
Plus Tax

and 7 hours of labor because the people at the "genious bar" aren't the brightest.
mjones1
11-06-2006, 11:50 AM
plus tax
and 7 hours of labor because the people at the "genious bar" aren't the brightest.

Well, they stared at a computer screen for around thirty minutes, told me my mac was still registered as a store computer (as if I stole it), then took it into the back for thirty minutes, and then came back claiming it was fixed (in which they actually poorly stuck a broken shift key on, and it popped right off when I got home). That guy obviously just wanted to get me out of the store sooner.

Those people have no business working there, they don't know didly squat.
dcv
11-06-2006, 12:48 PM
Those people have no business working there, they don't know didly squat.

I think of them like Best Buy's Geek Squad - in black turtlenecks and jeans.
mjones1
11-06-2006, 01:12 PM
I think of them like Best Buy's Geek Squad - in black turtlenecks and jeans.

"sans brains"

I've never dealt with The Geek Squad, do they actually have the required skills to complete their job?
jharriso
11-06-2006, 02:12 PM
"sans brains"

I've never dealt with The Geek Squad, do they actually have the required skills to complete their job?

In a word, no.
Not usually.
bgwinkel
11-06-2006, 08:21 PM
Because this isn't an OSCR-only forum, I'm not going to say a whole lot. I had a conversation with a geek squad tech on Sunday. Long story short, every one of our techs outclasses this guy by leaps and bounds.

He did complain that people are coming from OSCR with hardware problems and it's making his life difficult. I laughed, but then stopped when I realized they were charging these people in excess of $400 for repairs that really should be half that.
dparm
11-06-2006, 11:37 PM
Why would he "complain"? Sounds like we're giving them business = more money...

I will remain silent on the subject as well, but speaking from 6+ years of retail experience, sometimes getting help in a retail store is luck of the draw. Some workers are there to collect a paycheck and that's it, where others actually empathize with customers.

I like to think at we show empathy in every OSCR location when it comes to helping students with their technology needs.
dcv
11-08-2006, 10:15 AM
http://www.apple.com/macbook/macbook.html

The Macbooks are rockin' the Meroms now, too.

I thought this was a little surprising - I'd have thought Apple would keep Core Duos in the Macbooks to ensure a divide between the consumer and pro lines of laptops.

EDIT:
They also spec-bumped the base configurations - so now the black macbook has 1 GB RAM standard, 6x DVD-R DL, and a 120GB hard drive. It's almost the exact same configuration as the baseline 15" Macbook Pro save the discreet video card, screen size, and 0.16GHz on the core clock. So really, again, is the baseline MBP worth the extra $500?
dparm
11-08-2006, 11:09 AM
Well the MacBook has a smaller screen too. Their black and white cases tend to look dirty and overall cheaper IMHO.