back to article Apple's MacBook Pros chucked out ahead of iPad 2

Apple parked its most diehard fans on the horns of a dilemma this afternoon, as it launched a range of new Macbook Pros, just a week before it unveils the latest iPad. The updated 13-inch MacBook Pros are kitted out with Core i5 or Core i7 dual-core Intel chips running at up to 2.7GHz. They feature Intel HD Graphics 3000. The …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I wonder...

    ..if they will run as HOT as the current ones?

    No venting, total lack of features and hard drives the same size as the original Mac 128k.

    So glad it's a work's machine!!

    1. Rolf Howarth

      Hot??

      I used to have an old 15" MBP which did run very hot, I grant you, but my current unibody MBP is completely cool to the touch, even when it's working hard.

    2. Richard Taylor 2
      Thumb Down

      Disks -

      Crumbs, where did you get your original Mac 128K? I always seem to remember having a rather smaller hard drive - or were you comparing cache size in current laptops with disk size in 128s?

    3. James O'Shea Silver badge
      WTF?

      hmmm

      I owed a Mac 128k. It had a 400 kB floppy drive and didn't have a hard drive. The Fat Mac (Mac 512k) also didn't have a hard drive. And neither did the Mac Plus. The first classic-form-factor Mac to ship with a hard drive was the Mac SE, and some SEs had either one or two floppies (by that time 800 kB floppies) instead of the hard drive. Furthermore, that drive was a 20MB drive (40MB for more cash.)

      it was possible to _add_ a hard drive to a Mac Plus, either internally or externally; the internal hard drives were added by doing a hack, the external ones by SCSI. It was even possible to use the same hack to put an internal drive into a Fat Mac. (No external drive, as no SCSI) It was _NOT_ possible to use that hack on a Mac 128. Couldn't be done. In theory an external drive _might_ have been attached to either the Mac 128 or the Fat Mac by using the port for the external floppy drive, but no such drives were ever produced.

      Now, if you happen to have an original Mac 128 which has a factory-installed hard drive, by all means trot it out and show us.

    4. xenny
      Jobs Halo

      Mac 128K Hard Drives

      The original 128K Mac doesn't support Hard Drives except over serial ports, and certainly doesn't ship with them as a standard feature (a second 400k floppy is an extra cost option). The first Mac with half way decent hard drive support is the 512K, which supports a 20MB HD connected via the external floppy port.

      1. sT0rNG b4R3 duRiD
        Jobs Horns

        Correct...

        But wrong icon. FTFY.

        ( I have always believed Apple truly went to the dark side around this time ie early-mid 80's... Sometime at or around the time Woz left ).

    5. David Kelly 2

      128k Macs only dreamed of hard drives

      The 128k Mac came with a single 400k floppy. And could hold OS, application, and data in that meager space.

      Later one could put a 5MB or 10MB Apple Profile hard drive on the serial port.

      Wasn't until the Mac Plus that SCSI was added.

    6. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      No venting?

      What do you mean "no venting"? When you work it hard enough to get the fans whirring audibly where do you think the air goes?

      Or were you hoping for those stupid vents on the bottom which _require_ you to use a laptop on a hard surface. (Dell: I'm looking at you)

  2. JDX Gold badge

    "horns of a dilemma"

    What dilemma? Just buy both.

    1. Starfish
      Thumb Down

      Re: "horns of a dilemma"

      Or neither.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Thunderbolt is the interesting thing here...

    But will it be a flash in the pan, or the saviour of the universe?

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    And...

    ...cue hatebois for spiteful comments about how these are for poseurs and aren't "proper" machines because too many consumer buy them.

  5. Foolish_One
    Jobs Horns

    Still no blu-ray!

    Even though Apple are listed as a contributor to the Blu-ray Disc Association.

    Think I'll stick with my Sony Vaio.

    Bad Apple!

    1. ratfox
      Thumb Up

      Good

      Honestly, there are too few advantages to Blu-Ray over DVD for me to want to have one in a laptop. Much higher price for very little reason.

      Of course, Apple could give you the CHOICE of having a Blu-Ray or a DVD, but that would assume that Apple likes to give choices to its customers...

  6. Anonymous Coward
    WTF?

    I don't get it

    "While the top-level resolution will work when making calls between new MacBook Pros, you'll have to settle for the standard res if you're calling those saddoes with other Macs"

    I read that sentence a few times and I still don't get it.

    Is the screen resolution on the older Macs not sufficient to render the new "hi-res" camera images?

    Why would the likes of Skype or any other comms program not be able to handle it?

  7. John Tuffen

    Awww

    Bit of a shame that the 13.3" MBP doesn't get the Air's 1440x900 screen...

  8. Michael Jennings

    Screen resolutions

    The new 13 inch Macbook Pro only has a 1280x800 screen, while the 13 inch Macbook Air has 1440x900, so the supposed "Pro" machine is clearly inferior. That's funny.

    Of course, the 13 inch Macbook Pro is really the same machine as the Macbook but in an aluminium case instead of plastic, or at least it will be when the Macbook gets the same Sandy Bridge update. There is usually a delay of a month or two. The 15 and 17 inch Pros are genuinely high spec machines, but the 13 is more for people who want to sit in Starbucks with a machine that looks nice while they browse the web and run office apps and relatively lightweight stuff. Nothing wrong with that, but notwithstanding the "Pro" in the name, its closer to being in the same family as the Macbook rather than the other Macbook Pros.

    That said, once Apple gets some LV and ULV Sandy Bridge chips from Intel and upgrades the Macbook Air, I can't see much reason to buy the 13 inch Pro. At that point the Air will be superior in just about every way, and not much more expensive.

  9. Rich 30

    battery

    Apple seem to be advertising the battery in the new 13" MBP as lasting 7 hours, but the one in my (now) old 13" MBP lasts 10hours*. Are the i5 chips more power hungry?

    *and it actually does, sometimes up to 11 or 12.

    1. Andy Christ

      According to Apple

      they are using more rigorous standards now in estimating run time. The new basis is explicitly drawn from video over WiFi, perhaps previously it was a combination of web surfing and video or whatever. Guess they maybe had a few complaints, anyway it will be interesting to see the maximum up times on the new models.

      1. Ammaross Danan
        Go

        Sandy Bridge

        "The new basis is explicitly drawn from video over WiFi"

        The new Sandy Bridge chip has on-die video decoding (H.264 among others), allowing the CPU to effectively idle ~3% while playing high-def content. The power draw would be mostly all from the WiFi as even the HDD wouldn't have to spin up if it was streaming the content. With that in mind, 7 hours is still pretty decent considering how horrid WiFi is to battery life. Best way to get more life out of your laptop? Disable WiFi when not in use and cut the screen to 75% brightness or so. (does the new battery life measurement run vid at full 100% brightness one wonders...)

        Anyway, my Core2-based MBP only pulls 2.5hrs with WiFi and actual use (screen at 85% or so), so I don't know what magic sauce you guys are using.

  10. E 2

    Just chuck

    the iPad!

  11. danny_0x98

    A Thumbs Up

    Just thought I mention, I truly enjoy the wit that goes into the titles for The Register's posts. Thunderbolts are go! By Jove, that's good.

  12. XMAN
    Thumb Down

    @No blu-ray

    Screw blu-ray. ANyone who stil uses discs for media are loosers. You either download it or share it via flash memory.

    Blu-ray, firewire and most likely this new TunderCat technology; useless for the masses.

    1. Colin Ritchie
      Paris Hilton

      Another BMW with a Lamborghini pricetag.

      Anyone who spells losers that badly never won a spelling bee or an argument. ;)

      Why Paris? Yet again Apple make a pretty thing with brainless attractions and a pricetag nobody could possibly justify with any remotely sane or economic reasoning. The chavs will drool at the unattainable waste of space/time while the rich play with it.

      Meanwhile the fondleslab fans froth and thrash in anticipation.

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