Apple Notebook Media Event October 14th.

By crazzyyfool
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Grand Master

Chicane-UK Veteran

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They never put up a live video feed :( Best you can do is Engadget or Mac Rumors type site live coverage.. I tend to hang in the IRC channel for the quickest updates.

*edit*

Doh - beaten to it by CH!

Grand Master

crazzyyfool

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Info coming thick and fast now. :D

Daring Fireball confirms the leaked MacBook Pro photos from earlier this evening and adds some intriguing details about the new notebook.

Specifically, Gruber confirms that the new MacBook Pros will have "buttonless" trackpad which is made of glass. However, it appears the entire trackpad is one large button: The new trackpad is similar to the Air?s, in that it is bigger and supports additional multi-touch gestures. But unlike the Air?s, the MacBook Pro?s new trackpad is made of glass, and is a button itself. You just press and it clicks.

In addition, he confirms what some have suspected -- that the new MacBook Pro is not available in matte-finish, only glossy. There will be no new 17" MacBook Pro immediately available, and it's unclear when/if it will be revised. The existing 17" model will still remain on sale.

Gruber also confirms that regular MacBooks will be revised and that Engadget's footnote is wrong. The MacBook will contain the same buttonless trackpad and similar case design as the new MacBook Pros. MacBook Airs will be updated with a larger 120GB hard drive and larger 128GB SSD option. He also confirms our report about an $899 24" LED Apple Cinema Display.

CPU speeds are expected to remain about he same, however, but the MacBooks will benefit from improved graphics performance with built in NVIDIA 9400M GPUs. MacBook Pros will also contain a dedicated 9600M GT GPU, which should provide a large performance benefit as we've previously detailed.

Finally, Gruber addresses the pricing confusion from today. Apple apparently will only be offering two new MacBook configurations

- $1299: 2.0 GHz, 2 GB memory, 160 GB disk

- $1499: 2.4 GHz, 2 GB memory, 250 GB disk

The existing $1099 2.1GHz MacBook model will apparently remain to fill a $999 price slot but will not have the advantages of the new machines. Gruber was the first to accurately predict the October 14th announcement date for the new Apple notebooks.

Grand Master

Chicane-UK Veteran

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The glossy screen is a big mistake IMHO. The iMac is bad enough at times (I know cause I've got one.. and the reflection of the screen drives me nuts), but notebooks are designed to be portable - you'll be taking them outside, on trains, etc where reflections etc will be a total nightmare. I know this is a criticism often levelled at Apple (but one i've never really agreed with) but this does smack of form over function.. I think it'll turn off a lot of users.

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Tamilboy86

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I hope there will be FW on the MacBooks, I planed to replace my Acer laptop with the new macbook later this year... but without FW I can't connect my camcorder :(

I like the new design, if the new trackpad tapping thing works fine in Windows I'll be happy :D

Grand Master

crazzyyfool

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Thing is, nearly every notebook manufacturer now uses glossy screens. As much as I don't like them its becoming the norm. At least Apple did offer both matte and glossy on previous (current) models but that looks like thats going to change after today. :hmmm:

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Scazza

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So the MacBooks and MacBook Pro's are going to look exactly the same??? If so that is lame?!!

I actually prefer the look of my current MacBook Pro as opposed to the "leaked photos" of the new one. Like alot of people have said, it looks like a fancy HP/Sony Laptop.

I think the features which have been stated at the moment, will see me not upgrading from my 2.1GHz MacBook Pro which is about a year old.

The New Apple Cinema Displays, now thats going to be something else, I may look into these abit more once released.......and may purchase one depending on the spec.

Grand Master

crazzyyfool

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Most leaked Apple launch ever..?!

I'm beginning to think that Apple may have something to do with all these supposed leaks. I mean, they haven't got Apple Legal on the case for this leak, or the iPod nano 4G or the iPhone 3G.

Leaked images build up the hype. Hype sparks interest. Interest leads to sales. Sales means more money for Apple.

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houlty

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i find it strange there not going to have a complete refresh. having old and new models side by side is surely gonna create confusion for a lot of customers... the more naive of which will end up leaving with outdated products.

i may have to look into the pro's though, i've always wanted one. guess i'll stick with my macbook and imac until i can force myself to pay the price.

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Scazza

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<snip>

I no it sounds stupid but from what I have read around the net it's the assumption I came up with.......

From the /facepalm from jesus himself I will guess that my assumption is very wrong.

Sorry for sinning my lord :p

Grand Master

Cormier6083

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gizmodo_logo-300x85.png

Microsoft Responds to New MacBooks, Just Says "Apple Tax" Eight Times

6:14 AM on Tue Oct 14 2008 By John Herrman

In an email of talking points circulated by Microsoft spokespeople, the company addresses the various rumors about today's new MacBooks, preemptively claiming that they will be overpriced, underspec'd and locked down. They offer charts comparing the feature lists of similarly priced Windows and Mac notebooks and make numerous accusations of an "Apple Tax." The email is interesting: nothing they say is incorrect, but none of it is new. Most importantly, all of it misses the point completely.

Most Apple buyers are fully aware that they could purchase a cheaper computers from another manufacturer — after all, Apple's hardware specifications aren't exactly closely guarded secrets. Telling them this again and again won't win any converts, but it will, in a way, "rally the base" of fervent Apple critics online and elsewhere. If you also take into consideration that fact that Microsoft isn't promoting a specific new competitor to the new MacBook or even saying many positive things about any of their products, it is pretty clear what this is: an old-fashioned attack ad.

Unfortunately for Microsoft, it's doubtful that it will change anything. With or without these ads, new MacBooks will inspire a hoard of people — most of whom would have never purchased one anyway — to write about how overpriced the hardware is. Shouting "COMMODITIZED COMPUTERS ARE CHEAPER" over an over again and throwing around phrases like "Apple Tax" isn't a marketing strategy — it's political entrenchment. For computers. Partial text of the email below.

The economy is impacting consumer choices, but Macs, due to their high upfront, won’t sell in a more conservative market. On Sept. 29th, Morgan Stanley noted: “PC unit growth is decelerating and the remaining source of growth is increasingly the sub-$1,000 market where Apple does not play.” Even if Apple were to drop pricing, the Apple Tax still prices Macs well outside of the sub-$1000 range.

You can get a PC laptop with a bigger hard drive, more RAM, a media-card reader, more USB ports, and a bigger screen, for much less than a Mac. See the comparison chart below for just a few examples of what you can get today…we’ll send out an updated comparison chart after Apple’s announcement tomorrow.

You can upgrade just about any Windows desktop PC, but the only significantly upgradeable Mac is the Mac Pro listed at $2799.00.

Repurchasing software to make your Mac do all the things your PC does will cost you hundreds of dollars. Buying a Mac means scrapping your software and buying new applications (for up to $1,100) that run on Mac, just to do what you can still easily do on a new PC with the applications you already have. We’ve listed a set of common applications below.

HDMI, Blu-Ray, eSATA, MediaCard Readers, built-in 3G, Fingerprint readers, TV Tuners, all have been shipping as built-in features on PCs for years, but none are available on a Mac. Not only does this mean you get to use the latest and greatest now, but since it’s so easy to upgrade PCs, it also means that your computer is more future-ready…you can get today’s technology now, and tomorrow’s technology the minute its available.

applemicro.jpg

Link >> http://gizmodo.com/5063041/microsoft-respo...tax-eight-times

Honestly, this only proves one thing. Microsoft is scared. Apple is getting too big for their tastes.

Edited by Cormier6083
Grand Master

Chicane-UK Veteran

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Microsoft just doesn't get it, and probably never will. It's the complete package. Simple as that.

Let's put it this way. I'm seriously debating buying a Mac Pro next year because I want to continue PC gaming but finding my iMac isn't quite cutting it. For the same money I could buy a behemoth of a PC but it's not the point - I love the entire package that owning a Mac brings. Great customer support from ONE company, exceptionally well built hardware (I have a Powermac G5 under my desk here and it's stunning) and OSX which is ultimately the reason I'm staying with a Mac rather than going back to Windows. I just like OSX too much to ditch it now - and I can't wait for Snow Leopard!

Edited by Chicane-UK
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