The Ultimate OS X Thread

[Derek]

This is a nice app I came across just before I sold my PB..so I never actually gotten to try it. But it stil looks nice and don't want to keep it from you guys.


Click

[otispunkmeyer]

new mac book and mac book pro's look faffin awesome.

shame u need to shell out extra coin for the cables u need to run dual monitors. other than that i love the new design and love how its made, ill definately be buying one when the time comes to upgrade. also shame that'll be when im not a student and thus cant make use of the 12% discount.

as an engineer i really admire the way these things are built, and even im amazed they can cram all that power into a 15.4 inch foot print thats less than an inch thick!!!

in the mac book the nvidia 9400 is easily many times better than what the old mac book had, an in the pro its now a combo of that 9400 and a 9600..... not sure if thats the new hybrid SLI at work there but i wouldnt be suprised if they dont work concurrently its probably oen or the other. im guessing they can switch on the fly though which is cool. i know sony have had the dual GPU thing for a while, but it always reuired some kinds of physical switch and a restart. its a nice idea tho.... low power graphics when your just browsing, high power when you need it most.

im a big fan of gloss screens also, so the fact matte is no longer an option (even on the pro...which i can see will annoy some people) doesnt bother me.

all that bothers me is the hike in price, its around £150 more for the model i bought a year ago and the fact that you need to purchase additional cables, that used to come as part of the deal, seperately. both pretty gay decisions. but the uni body almost makes it worth while.

[Derek]

I'm actually considering selling my current laptop, and getting one of those new MacBook's, surely they're not cheap, but they look magnificent. Mind you, if you look at them like you'd look at cars, they're quite cheap, they hold their value.

This Dell I bought almost 2 years ago, was around 1500 EUR, right now, I'm hoping to sell it at 500 EUR. The first iBook I had (used), bought and sold it for 500 EUR (after a year). The PowerBook G4 I had after that, bought it for 1000 EUR, sold it for 800 EUR (also after a year)(quite a significant loss for an Apple, but I sold it after the Intels came out, so that made the price drop quite big).

The only thing I'm worried about at this moment is that's a first revision of a new design. What will it's flaws be? Will there be any? Judging by previous first revisions there have always been a couple of this and thats that weren't perfect.

I'm happy though they also lowered the prices of the AppleCare package, not so happy about the fact only the more expensive MB has a backlit-keyboard, and that the Remote doesn't come as standard anymore. Good thing I have one lying around from my Universal Dock I don't use at all.

Really, really glad they finally up'ed the GFX-department though, 9400m, not too shabby. If they'd finally give the iMac a 9600 or better I would also be very tempted by buying that.

Btw, you guys get 12%? What a rip off, we only get 6%. But for that we do get a 125 EUR discount on a new iPod, too bad I don't need one.

Cheers

[Shawn]

^ I bought the very first revision of the MacBook Pro (first Mac with Intel chips) and it did have some some flaws, like the fitment not being great and the metal casing getting dangerously hot, and in the second revision they added a lot of new ports and a DL burner that the older Powerbook G4 came with. I'd definitely recommend you wait until a second revision if you can... it's not going to be bad or anything, but you'll most likely get a better machine if you wait.

I watched the video on how the new case is made, pretty interesting to say the least. I still wouldn't buy one myself, firstly because of the price (when I got my MBP my parents were still paying for my things). Second, I'm getting angrier at Steve Jobs day by day because he's greediness becomes more apparent. For instance, I can see no reason why a $2,000 pro laptop these days doesn't have a BL drive, other than Apple wanting to boost the sales of its own iTunes Store.

I always though Sony sucked because they provided content as well and that was a conflict of interest, now Apple is going the same route. And every revision of every product that they release comes with less things... every new release has less cables, less accessories or in the case of the iPhone 3G no damn dock even. That just makes me angry as a consumer.

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Originally Posted by MadCow809

you mean the taste and perference of getting shafted in the arse by apple??

Originally Posted by Cosworth

You get what you pay for

I'm mostly staying out of this thread, but I had to point out that Cossie's comeback could have been thought out a bit better.

[Spectre]

Originally Posted by Shawn

^ I bought the very first revision of the MacBook Pro (first Mac with Intel chips) and it did have some some flaws, like the fitment not being great and the metal casing getting dangerously hot, and in the second revision they added a lot of new ports and a DL burner that the older Powerbook G4 came with. I'd definitely recommend you wait until a second revision if you can... it's not going to be bad or anything, but you'll most likely get a better machine if you wait.

I watched the video on how the new case is made, pretty interesting to say the least. I still wouldn't buy one myself, firstly because of the price (when I got my MBP my parents were still paying for my things). Second, I'm getting angrier at Steve Jobs day by day because he's greediness becomes more apparent. For instance, I can see no reason why a $2,000 pro laptop these days doesn't have a BL drive, other than Apple wanting to boost the sales of its own iTunes Store.

I always though Sony sucked because they provided content as well and that was a conflict of interest, now Apple is going the same route. And every revision of every product that they release comes with less things... every new release has less cables, less accessories or in the case of the iPhone 3G no damn dock even. That just makes me angry as a consumer.

Actually, the reason the MB and MBP don't have Bluray drives is because Sony won't agree to license the BD movie decoder unless Apple agrees to include Vista-like DRM in Mac OS X - and Sony won't accept Fairplay instead. Kind of pointless to ship a BD drive with a computer when you can't use it for the primary purpose. Though it is a bit of Apple's fault - they had thought that the world was going to go with HD-DVD (though they didn't ship HD-DVD drives and weren't going to until things were settled) and didn't get a license from Sony under the looser terms when Sony was "desperate" to get BD out there.

Also, Apple doesn't sell content of their own, they resell others' and are bound by those others' restrictions. Remember, Apple is the company that kicked the DRM-Free door open for everyone.


As for the iPhone dock - most people didn't use the iPhone 2.5G dock, so why ship it with a dock if it's just going to get tossed?

[Shawn]

Well, hot damn, you just got all the answers, don't you?

[Spectre]

Sometimes. When I don't, or at least don't think I do, I don't post - which is why I mostly confine myself to the automotive threads.

Also, I edited my post to finish a sentence properly, might want to review it.

There's a big pile of unused 2.5G docks in my "technorubble" room at work - we issued iPhones to everyone there and nobody used the docks.

[Shawn]

Hmm, my dad actually went out and bought a new dock when he upgraded to the iPhone 3G. I guess he's just special... but you can't deny it's a cost-cutting measure, the dock by itself is $30 I believe.

What about HDMI? What reason could Apple possibly have had to withhold it from their newest laptops? Yes, I know DVI is basically just as good, but many pro laptops are coming with HDMI ports.

[Spectre]

DisplayPort (the new video ports on the MB and MBP) can do either DVI or HDMI with the appropriate adapter or cable. It's not an Apple invention, it was actually proposed by Dell and HP and put up before VESA by them. Dell and HP will be transitioning their lineups to DP over the course of the next year as well.

Basically, it's a "can drive anything" video port.



Also, the dock costs Apple about $7 to make, assuming worst case pricing. I doubt they'd leave it out for costcutting on the iPhone. IMHO, they leave it out because nobody uses it.

[Shawn]

Interesting, I didn't know about DisplayPort. So, do the new laptops come with the necessary adapters or am I reiquired to go out and buy specific cable to hook it up to the HDMI on my TV?

And you say the dock only costs them $7 to make, yet given how many units they've shipped that in itself amounts to million of dollars in savings. Then, certain people are going out and buying a separate dock for basically three times that price which leads to even more revenue for Apple.

It was the same for the wall chargers that used to ship with iPods back in the day... did nobody use those either? Because maybe Apple should be doing more research, since I don't see the accessories offered with products from other companies changing with every release.

[Spectre]

The adapters are sold separately (which will apparently be industry practice as Dell and HP won't be including adapters either).

I'm not saying that they're not achieving cost savings by not including the docks. Obviously, they are; but cost savings is *not* the primary concern. Apple's come under fire from Greenpeace and others of late for "not being environmentally friendly enough" - translation, Apple doesn't pay Greenpeace danegeld like most other makers do, so Apple's been cutting out unused items from their packaging and proving that Greenpeace is full of crap. (Citations available upon request.) It's the same thing with computer manuals - when was the last time you saw a computer ship with an honest to god instruction or operations manual printed on dead trees? Nobody used them, ever (as anyone who's worked tech support could tell you), so manufacturers stopped including them. Why pay for something that your typical customer isn't going to use? I think it's the same thing here.

The wall chargers started going away when the general computer population was almost universally equipped with Firewire or USB ports to charge the iPods. Even before they stopped shipping, nobody was plugging the things into the wall, they were plugging them into their computers anyway.

And you should probably look closer. Companies in all fields do that sort of crap (decontenting, adding/removing accessories) all the time. Used to be that pistols came with holsters. Crap holsters, but they still came with them. Well, since most people threw them away, companies stopped shipping them with holsters. Now the market is ultra competitive, and they're throwing holsters in again. Likewise, you should take a look at Dell's config page - pretty much *any* accessory is now extra cost, whereas you used to get things like a laptop bag, instruction manuals, and restore CDs for free from them.

Also, the Greenpeace thing is part of why the MBs and MBPs cost more than the models they replace. Check out what they included in them - this stuff costs more (in the case of the arsenic free glass, a LOT more) than the run of the mill industry stuff:

* Highly recyclable aluminum and glass enclosure
* Mercury-free LED-backlit display
* Arsenic-free glass
* BFR-free internal components
* PVC-free internal cables

[cvrefugee]

Originally Posted by otispunkmeyer

also shame that'll be when im not a student and thus cant make use of the 12% discount.

Apple changed the student discounts on the Macbook and Macbook Pro. For the Macbook you only get $50 off, for the Macbook Pro it's between $100-$200 depending on the configuration. So don't worry about losing your non-existent discount.

Originally Posted by otispunkmeyer

in the mac book the nvidia 9400 is easily many times better than what the old mac book had, an in the pro its now a combo of that 9400 and a 9600..... not sure if thats the new hybrid SLI at work there but i wouldnt be suprised if they dont work concurrently its probably oen or the other. im guessing they can switch on the fly though which is cool. i know sony have had the dual GPU thing for a while, but it always reuired some kinds of physical switch and a restart. its a nice idea tho.... low power graphics when your just browsing, high power when you need it most.

From what I've read, you have to log out to switch between the GPUs.

Originally Posted by Spectre

Remember, Apple is the company that kicked the DRM-Free door open for everyone.

Apple claimed that the music studios would not sell DRM-free music, therefore they had to implement FairPlay in order to start the iTunes Store. Eventually they started selling DRM-free tracks for an extra $0.30 (iTunes Plus). However, I would give more credit to Amazon when they launched their own music store with lower prices and full-compatibility with virtually all portable music players.

[Derek]

Originally Posted by Shawn

^ I bought the very first revision of the MacBook Pro (first Mac with Intel chips) and it did have some some flaws, like the fitment not being great and the metal casing getting dangerously hot, and in the second revision they added a lot of new ports and a DL burner that the older Powerbook G4 came with. I'd definitely recommend you wait until a second revision if you can... it's not going to be bad or anything, but you'll most likely get a better machine if you wait.

I watched the video on how the new case is made, pretty interesting to say the least. I still wouldn't buy one myself, firstly because of the price (when I got my MBP my parents were still paying for my things). Second, I'm getting angrier at Steve Jobs day by day because he's greediness becomes more apparent. For instance, I can see no reason why a $2,000 pro laptop these days doesn't have a BL drive, other than Apple wanting to boost the sales of its own iTunes Store.

I always though Sony sucked because they provided content as well and that was a conflict of interest, now Apple is going the same route. And every revision of every product that they release comes with less things... every new release has less cables, less accessories or in the case of the iPhone 3G no damn dock even. That just makes me angry as a consumer.

Hmm yeah, I guess you're right, the previous MacBook design had lots of issues, which were gradually solved over the years. Although I have to mention, the PowerBook I had was a last revision (1.5Ghz) and even that still had issues. The aluminium case would bend as a result of the processor getting hot, making the laptop wobble on any straight surface, really annoying. More importantly, eventually the motherboard supports would break and toasting your motherboard making it a costly repair. Apple wouldn't do anything about it cause they've never heard of the problem before, eventhough the forum I used to visit had tons of people on it with the same problem.

Perhaps I'll just wait a month, check out the Mac forums and see what it's little foibles are. I'm not sure how long it will take for a second revision to come along, but all I know is, every day I keep sticking with this laptop, the less it would sell for.

Oh well, this time I'm planning on getting AppleCare.

About the accessories, it always seems a bit on-off-on-off. When I bought my first iPod in 2005 it came with a dock, then a few months later I remember them making the iPod 'cheaper', but leaving everything out except for the headbuds. Same with the iBook, it came with all the display adapters, but my PowerBook didn't come with any.

[Spectre]

Originally Posted by cvrefugee

Apple claimed that the music studios would not sell DRM-free music, therefore they had to implement FairPlay in order to start the iTunes Store. Eventually they started selling DRM-free tracks for an extra $0.30 (iTunes Plus). However, I would give more credit to Amazon when they launched their own music store with lower prices and full-compatibility with virtually all portable music players.

You have the first part correct, the labels wouldn't let anyone sell music online that didn't have DRM. The DRM-free tracks, iTunes Plus, didn't come out until after the EUropeans got all up in arms about DRM after the success of the iTunes store. Apple's response has *always* been that if the label doesn't want DRM, they won't implement DRM; that they were only doing DRM because the labels required it. See: http://www.apple.com/hotnews/thoughtsonmusic/

That is the Steve Jobs letter that really started the DRM free movement, because after that letter, he managed to convince EMI to go DRM-free. The other labels have followed. Many labels resent the fact that iTunes IS the major player in the legal downloads market, so they approached Amazon and others to start up DRM-free alternatives to iTunes.

[Paddy]

Originally Posted by BerserkerCatSplat

I'm mostly staying out of this thread, but I had to point out that Cossie's comeback could have been thought out a bit better.

Dang.

[Derek]

Another app I forgot about, but don't want to keep from you guys;

CoverSutra

We all love music. Whether we‘re browsing the Internet, editing some pictures in Photoshop or writing the next bestseller in Pages, music is always by our side.

But isn‘t it annoying to switch to iTunes just to select a different song or pause playback?

CoverSutra gives you a handy and attractive way to control iTunes without having to leave your current application.

See what's currently playing or enjoy your album artwork. Don't let yourself be distracted from your work... CoverSutra is never in your way but always by your side.

[Derek]

I'm weak.



Should be here next week.

()

[Prost264]

^ Ugh.. you're not weak, or maybe just as weak as I am.

I want to sell my MacBook for the new model very badly. Good thing I am completely poor and can't afford it. I'll wait a while and pray that the keyboard backlighting becomes standard on all MacBooks. Maybe next year.....

edit:

Originally Posted by Derek

Another app I forgot about, but don't want to keep from you guys;

CoverSutra

That is a really cool app, shame its only good for 10 days. Definitely not worth $14 or whatever it costs.

[actinium]

i hope the new ones are built better than mine, in a year in a half i have had the hard drive the cd drive the right fan and the logic board replaced, pos computer for $2000 i expected it at least to last a year(does work well when the hardware isn't broken)