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It's ON like Donkey KONG! 14th new lappys are GO

#1
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10/9/08 at 9:51am
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Apple "Notebook" event is on, October 14th! - Engadget

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#2
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10/9/08 at 11:16am
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Re: It's ON like Donkey KONG! 14th new lappys are GO

This is the first time in a LONG time that Apple's had an event dedicated to their non-Air notebooks (MBP was the "One More Thing" of the 2006 Macworld keynote; MB just got a press announcement).

It's almost certain the MacBooks are going aluminum. Hopefully they'll be able to get under that magic $1000 price point as well.

Doesn't look like the changes to the MBP will be as major. As much as you want it, Sam, I'm going to predict no BluRay drives this time around (and hope I'm wrong).

Here's hoping they've got something cool to pull out of their hat Tuesday.
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#3
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10/9/08 at 12:07pm
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Re: It's ON like Donkey KONG! 14th new lappys are GO

If Apple makes an announcement that really improves upon
their current Macbook Pros (not that they need much), you can
count me in for a new one this January.

I'm praying for Blu-ray though that will certainly hike the price
considerably.

And ON like Donkey Kong?
Ronald J Epstein
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#4
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10/9/08 at 1:04pm
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Re: It's ON like Donkey KONG! 14th new lappys are GO

Not counting on Blu-ray. I'm not even counting on Display Port/HDCP any more, but I'm getting a MBP to replace my PB G4 no matter what.
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#5
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10/9/08 at 2:01pm
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Re: It's ON like Donkey KONG! 14th new lappys are GO

Oh yeah, I'd strongly bet against BluRay, I think no chance of that before Macworld...

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#6
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10/9/08 at 2:03pm
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Re: It's ON like Donkey KONG! 14th new lappys are GO

Here ya go Ron:
Urban Dictionary: its on like donkey kong

Don't make me drop a plate on ya, yo!

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#7
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10/10/08 at 6:52am
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Re: It's ON like Donkey KONG! 14th new lappys are GO

Having bought a MBP last year, it's been my sincere hope that the computer industry would come to a grinding halt for a few years It's so painful to see the new hardware appearing after buying previous state of the art.

I have been avoiding the rumor / preview information. I find I prefer the "surprise" of the new announcements. It's not as interesting when I already knew everything two weeks before.

(I guess I hope for a new iMac next year, since my wife may need to upgrade...)
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#8
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10/10/08 at 12:04pm
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Re: It's ON like Donkey KONG! 14th new lappys are GO

The new rumor hitting the press today is

(hiding it for DaveF)

Warning Spoiler! Click to show

a Macbook for $800.
Ronald J Epstein
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#9
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10/11/08 at 7:42am
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Re: It's ON like Donkey KONG! 14th new lappys are GO

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein
The new rumor hitting the press today is

(hiding it for DaveF)
thanks but you don't have to; I'm in a rumor thread and I know the risk

I'm visiting family, and using my dad's Dell Vostro (PC). It makes me appreciate how well designed the MBP is. The Vostro is a 17" laptop with full keyboard. The keyboard is superb, but the trackpad is half the size of my 15" MBP's and is awkwardly placed. And I'm lost without the huge single button, two-finger scrolling, and two-finger right-click.

Using a PC laptop for a few hours and I'm re-committed to using Mac laptops! Hopefully the new ones only improve on current strengths.

And if Apple comes in for $800 (couldn't resist the spoiler!), that will be a big deal. There are people that want a Mac but can't commit $1000 to a computer purchase. Getting under $1k could be huge, especially in a shrinking economy.
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#10
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10/11/08 at 1:14pm
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Re: It's ON like Donkey KONG! 14th new lappys are GO

Another interesting clue: BestBuy Brick and Mortars have been selling the Macbook Air power adapters for clearance price of $19.99... I havent tried it but I hear these will power but not charge macbooks and MBPs. Not responsible if you burn up your lappy experimenting!

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#11
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10/11/08 at 9:17pm
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Re: It's ON like Donkey KONG! 14th new lappys are GO

MacBook with Blu-Ray and Networked HDTV from Apple? - Mac Rumors

AppleInsider | Apple dumping Intel chipsets for NVIDIA's in new MacBooks

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#12
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10/12/08 at 6:29am
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Re: It's ON like Donkey KONG! 14th new lappys are GO

The Nvidia rumor looks real - BD support? Perhaps support means external.
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#13
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10/12/08 at 6:31am
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Re: It's ON like Donkey KONG! 14th new lappys are GO

Quote:
Originally Posted by ErichH
The Nvidia rumor looks real - BD support? Perhaps support means external.
Does the NVDIA chipset offer HDCP? HDCP support is the key.
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#14
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10/13/08 at 7:22am
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Re: It's ON like Donkey KONG! 14th new lappys are GO

If the leaked case images for the new laptops are real (and I believe they are), then not only will there be absolutely no Blu-Ray in a MBP (too thin), the MacBook appears to no longer have a FireWire port at all.

This is just the next step in getting away from FW, I'm afraid. I personally love it, but ever since FW support was removed from iPods, then the omission from the MBA, it was only a matter of time before it went to the other computers as well...

-Christian

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." (Benjamin Franklin)

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#15
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10/13/08 at 8:25am
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Re: It's ON like Donkey KONG! 14th new lappys are GO

Christian,

Which is faster....Firewire or USB2?
Ronald J Epstein
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#16
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10/13/08 at 10:19am
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Re: It's ON like Donkey KONG! 14th new lappys are GO

There will be USB upgrades past 2.0 to catch Firewire speed in some respect, but oh politics do kill a good idea every time. Firewire 1600 (1394c?) is long past due. Why?

Quote from artical here - FireWire vs. USB; Apple and Intel Play Hardball - PCSTATS.com

Apple, who owns the patents for FireWire, killed its Golden Goose by demanding a license fee of several dollars for each PC, which Intel and most computer makers found to be economically untenable. This opened the door for USB. Intel gave the USB technology to their OEM partners royalty-free (as they do today), and IEEE 1394-FireWire-was quietly dropped from the PC 98 specification. Apple backed off their high-priced position, down to today's 25ยข-per-PC license fee, but the damage was done.

Secondly, there were solid technical reasons why Intel passed on FireWire in favor of USB. The original IEEE 1394 100Mb/s-200Mb/s implementations were power-hungry chips that required 5V chips - okay for desktop PC's, but not for the newer 3.3V laptops.

Plans for using Firewire to replace the IDE subsystem in laptops fizzled. The goal of FireWire becoming the universal standard in desktop PCs soured for another reason: Intel found that the 5V requirement would cause FireWire chips to be actually more expensive to produce as chip die sizes got smaller. The future higher-speed FireWire standard (800Mb/s to 1600Mb/s peer-to-peer, computer-independent connections) will be a lower-power, lower-voltage implementation - but again, the damage was done.
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#17
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10/13/08 at 10:26am
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Re: It's ON like Donkey KONG! 14th new lappys are GO

Quote:
Originally Posted by Christian Behrens
I personally love it, but ever since FW support was removed from iPods, then the omission from the MBA, it was only a matter of time before it went to the other computers as well...

-Christian

Yep - itunes on a PC = bye bye Firewire.
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#18
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10/13/08 at 4:02pm
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Re: It's ON like Donkey KONG! 14th new lappys are GO

FireWire is better, but not needed by most people, and will be a differentiating feature of the Pro models, if all the rumors pan out.
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#19
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10/13/08 at 6:03pm
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Re: It's ON like Donkey KONG! 14th new lappys are GO

The question about which is better, FW (400) or USB2, is not so easily answered. If you have a PPC Mac, or are not running Leopard, FireWire is definitely the better connector *on the Mac*. Reason being that you cannot boot a PPC Mac off a USB external hard disk, but you can with an Intel Mac (as long as you have the right partition scheme).

In addition, USB2 Speed tests done with Tiger seriously lagged compared to tests done on Windows *on the same Intel Mac hardware*. Reportedly the USB drivers have improved with Leopard, and so now FW is slowly but surely on its way out, it seems.

Speed wise, FW 800 (as found on 24" iMacs and MBPs) is of course vastly superior to USB2; but also a lot more expensive in external hard disk enclosures and the like.

I'm still glad I have it, though, and wouldn't want to give it up.

-Christian

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." (Benjamin Franklin)

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#20
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10/13/08 at 9:13pm
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Re: It's ON like Donkey KONG! 14th new lappys are GO

Agree & I like Firewire as well. If they upgrade to a faster USB, fine.

I remember a mention of moving to a single FW800 port on the Macbook, instead of a 400 & 800. I plug for both?
A mini DVI (same as the iMac) for the Pro?
Sounds like they're making room for something. HDMI? (smart move) Display Port? (Dell & VESA are pushing this - fat chance right now)

Please Steve, no Genius Track Pad. Give us something to lust over this time.
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#21
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10/13/08 at 9:17pm
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Re: It's ON like Donkey KONG! 14th new lappys are GO

I expect the new MacBooks to sport a IEEE-1394 port, mostly because Mac users are used to using IEEE-1394 port devices. This is especially true if you have to copy video from a digital camcorder (many digital camcorders use IEEE-1394 connections).

Raymond in Sacramento, CA USA

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#22
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10/13/08 at 10:05pm
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Re: It's ON like Donkey KONG! 14th new lappys are GO

The way I had it explained to me by a techie was that the theoretical limit of USB2.0 was greater than Firewire400 (480Mbps vs. 400Mbps) but in actual practice Firewire400 average throughput was faster. My own anecdotal evidence comes with two different external drives of 500GB each, both were 7200RPM 16MB Cache, but my Firewire drive clones my HD faster than my USB drive did [using Carbon Copy Cloner, 1 hour 12 minutes vs. 1 hour 23 minutes]. Granted the "drives may not be equal" but I'd think WD uses similar spec'd internal HDs since they were priced comparably.

Also, I believe Firewire is less of a resource/CPU drain than USB.
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#23
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10/13/08 at 11:50pm
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Re: It's ON like Donkey KONG! 14th new lappys are GO

Some of the Mac sites have got ahold of a retail price list for the new notebooks. Starting point is $899. That sounds about right to me - $200 less than the previous low. That should move a lot of notebooks.

Pics of the new port configs are also all over. As mentioned above, it's clear they're going to a mini-DVI port on both MB & MBP. No firewire on MB, and only FW800 on the new MBPs. I was surprised at first that they were dropping FW400, but I guess adapters are readily available. Plus, every firewire device I've ever seen has a passthru port for daisy-chaining, so the loss of the 2nd FW port is not that big of a deal.

MacBooks going aluminum, nVidia chip sets, MBP getting the same keyboard as the MB & MBA - done deals, all of 'em. Looks like the MBP will be getting the magnetic latch & easy-to-replace hard drive from the MB as well (about time!).

I still don't think any kind of internal Blu-Ray option is coming, but I wil buy into external BD support, perhaps even an Apple-branded BD drive.

Other last-minute rumors floating around, and my take (FWIW, which is not much at all):

* Apple-branded HDTVs w/ built-in Apple TV functionality. Craig says: I don't think so.

* iLife 09 & iWork 09. Craig says: Doesn't really make sense as the event is explicitly targeted to notebooks. Apple will go back to unveiling the latest revs of these suites at Macworld in January.

* Some kind of docking solution for notebooks (wireless, docking displays...). Craig says: I would love to see something along these lines, although the fact that there are no solid rumors makes me doubt it. Hope i'm wrong and this will be "One more thing..."

* The long-rumored "iTablet" touch device, about twice the size of the iPhone. Apple's answer to the netbook craze - a device that slots in nicely between the iPhone and a MacBook Air. Craig says: I firmly believe that Apple is developing such a device. But we won't see it tomorrow. I'm guessing this will be the big Macworld annoucement in January 09.
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#24
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10/14/08 at 12:06am
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Re: It's ON like Donkey KONG! 14th new lappys are GO

Oh man, Apple branded HDTVs would cost a grip! (given their standard markup) I'm not sure this would be a smart move given the economy. However, the Apple Displays are long overdue for a new version.

iLife and iWork: Yes the event is about notebooks, but inevitably these programs "come with a new Mac" (though existing Mac owners must buy them) so it could prove to be a selling point to move notebooks.

Firewire 800 is backwards compatible to 400 and I don't think a true converter is needed, just a simple, cheap 400 to 800 cable. One of these was included as a pack-in in my OWC external HD I bought. So it makes sense to dump a 400 if an 800 is going to be available.
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#25
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10/14/08 at 4:54am
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Re: It's ON like Donkey KONG! 14th new lappys are GO

OK, John Gruber at "Daring Fireball" has posted a comprehensive rundown of the new laptops. It sounds like he's seen them and is privy to the details. In a nutshell:

* New 15" MBP: Black iMac-like screen border, magnetic latch, black MB Air-like backlit keys, single piece aluminum frame - all check.
* A new glass trackpad that is clickable. No trackpad button - the trackpad IS the button. Interesting...
* No matte screen option on 15" MBP - glossy only (they're going to catch hell for that).
* No new 17" MBP. Current MBP will remain on sale at same price with RAM/HD bumps.

The following he classifies as "educated guesses":

* New MBs look like 13" versions of the new MBPs.
* MB Airs getting larger drives (120 GB HD or 128 GB SSD)
* All new models (MB, MBP, MBA) getting NVidia 9400M GPU, said to be a screamer.
* New MBP getting a 2nd GPU, NVidia 9600M GT. He speculates this one draws less power and will be used on battery.
* He says sub-$1000 price point is bogus. New MBs start at $1299. The older white MB remains available, and drops to $999.
* Finally - a new display!! 24 inch Apple LED Display being intro'd today at $899 price point. Jeez, at that price Dell will continue to sell lots of monitors to Mac users...

I don't know what to think of any of this. Having both the old & new designs in the lineup at the same time seems kind of confusing, and very unJobsian. Guess we'll know for sure in about 5 hours.
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#26
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10/14/08 at 5:38am
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Re: It's ON like Donkey KONG! 14th new lappys are GO

I think a trackpad with an integrated mouse button is a dumb idea. There's nothing wrong with the current software implementation via System Preferences.
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#27
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10/14/08 at 5:42am
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Re: It's ON like Donkey KONG! 14th new lappys are GO

Quote:
Originally Posted by Craig S
...I don't know what to think of any of this. Having both the old & new designs in the lineup at the same time seems kind of confusing, and very unJobsian. Guess we'll know for sure in about 5 hours.
FWIW I totally trust Gruber. Having the different designs available at the same time is not unprecedented in the El Jobso era: When the PowerMac G5s were introduced, the MDD PowerMac G4 were kept around at $1299 to fill the lower price point and support OS 9 which the G5's didn't.

In this case the we are talking price point at the low end, and possibly lack of affordable/available 17" LED backlit panels? That and maybe Jobso has decided that 17" is a bogus size, that people who want the bigger display size should be attaching an external ACD to their MacBooks, and that portability, lightness and long battery life are the key -- what used to be 15 & 17 are now 13 & 15.

Now I wonder if a full lineup new ACDs will be announced at the event?

Ted
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#28
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10/14/08 at 6:55am
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Re: It's ON like Donkey KONG! 14th new lappys are GO

Quote:
* Finally - a new display!! 24 inch Apple LED Display being intro'd today at $899 price point. Jeez, at that price Dell will continue to sell lots of monitors to Mac users...

That's EXACTLY what i thought, and then I said to myself "Apple can't be THAT stupid" so what are we missing? Maybe it's fully multitouch or has a built in AppleTV or something.... I think that the likely thing is that this is a combo of the rumors we have heard. THIS is the Apple HDTV we have all heard rumors about, but it will be smaller than anyone expected.

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#29
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10/14/08 at 8:12am
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Re: It's ON like Donkey KONG! 14th new lappys are GO

Quote:
FWIW I totally trust Gruber.
Me too, just coming to grips with some of the stuff he said which is quite different from other rumors floating around. I don't think he would have posted it if he wasn't sure.
Quote:
THIS is the Apple HDTV we have all heard rumors about, but it will be smaller than anyone expected.
Hmm, interesting thought. Or maybe it's the "docking monitor" that was the subject of an Apple patent application earlier this year - sort of a hollow iMac you slip your MacBook into.

Unfortunately, it's more than likely just a boring overpriced monitor.

C'mon Steve - prove me wrong!!
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#30
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10/14/08 at 8:20am
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Re: It's ON like Donkey KONG! 14th new lappys are GO

Yeah at $899 that Apple Display better have something going for it, like using IPS panels instead of TN at near-gaming-acceptable refresh speeds.

I have a matte MBP but I don't think I'd have too much of an issue for a glossy only MBP, but I'm sure others will feel very much against it. I would like the protection of the screen. I know others feel it compromises the color accuracy but hey, wasn't it revealed that the MB/MBP screens were only 6 bit TN panels which couldn't really show the "millions" of colors anyway?

I'm interested to see how many Gruber calls correctly. If he gets them all right, I'll upgrade him to McGruber status!
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