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Hold off on buying a new macbook / macbook pro for just a bit

post #1 of 115
2/6/10 at 8:57am
Thread Starter 
New hotness probably not too far off:
http://gizmodo.com/5465724/are-these-the-first-core-i7-macbook-pro-benchmarks

Even if you would be satisfied with current gen, likely able to get the leftovers at slightly cheaper closeout prices.
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post #2 of 115
2/8/10 at 7:53am
In general, anyone in the market for a Mac should check the Buyer's Guide at macrumors.com before plunking down their cash. MBPs have an average refresh cycle of 200 days; it's now been 245 days since the last refresh, so they are overdue, and as Sam points out, the next gen should have the mobile Core i5/i7 parts. I expect them within the next month. Like the iMacs last fall, there will probably not be a press event - they'll just show up on the Apple Store some Tuesday morning. :)
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post #3 of 115
2/8/10 at 10:05am
Thread Starter 
While Apple won't be attending, Macworld Starts tomorrow.  The Expo begins thursday:
http://www.macworldexpo.com/home

Seems like a perfect week for a hardware refresh to me.

really just comes down to a matter of "how soon is soon"?
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/02/macbookpro/


Edited by Sam Posten - 2/8/10 at 10:41am
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post #4 of 115
2/8/10 at 11:23am
Right on, Sam. MacRumors says this in a post about Macworld:

Quote:
While Apple will not be in attendance, there has been some whispers that Apple may launch MacBook Pro revisions this Tuesday.
 
Makes perfect sense to me as well. Watch out for Apple Store downtime tomorrow AM.

Also, the MacBook Air is due for a refresh. It'll be interesting to see where Apple goes with that model in the wake of the iPad.


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post #5 of 115
2/8/10 at 11:55am
Thread Starter 
It really comes down to how Apple wants to go with this.  I see three distinct possibilities here.

-1 they really don't care when Macworld takes place one way or the other any more, which is how they have characterized it
-2 they DO care from the perspective that they could get a nice bump in sales by selling 'to the faithful' who are already gathered and once a few of em buy the gear pre show, showing it off to the others gathered there make them go viral.  Assuming there is something serious to show besides just moar megahurtzes.  Like Bluray for example.  =)
-3 they want to stay out of the Macworld Limelight alltogether and wait until the show is over on purpose (spitefully or not) to have the virtual stage all to themselves.

Which of the three do you see as the most Apple-ey?  I say, sadly, #3.  Remember iLife needs an update too.  Is the time to launch iLife 10 now or is waiting all the way to WWDC the right thing to do, or if you are Apple do you have another special event prior to WWDC to do existing platform refreshes?  If that's your strategy you really need to have some tricks up your sleeve.  Anyone who thinks that WWDC will see a return to focusing on OSX for desktops instead of it being an iPhone / iPad Rah-rah session hasn't been paying attention to the last 4 years...

Sam

Edit:  more rumors!
http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-to-upgrade-macbook-pros-tomorrow-ahead-of-macworld-conference-2010-2


Edited by Sam Posten - 2/8/10 at 12:37pm
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post #6 of 115
2/8/10 at 5:07pm
Thread Starter 
Bestbuy just updated SKUs, new lappies a LOCK for tomorrow!
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post #7 of 115
2/9/10 at 4:24am
 The Apple Store is down...
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post #8 of 115
2/9/10 at 6:52am
 ...and it's back up. 

Looks like all we have new is Aperture 3 (yeah!!). But no new lappies. I'm sure they're coming soon, but not this week apparently.
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post #9 of 115
2/9/10 at 7:31am
Thread Starter 
Ponderous....  Flipping ponderous, man...
http://www.spike.com/video/casey-kasems-death/2675184  (probably nsfw)


Edited by Sam Posten - 2/9/10 at 8:55am
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post #10 of 115
2/9/10 at 10:24am
We've been had, gentlemen!
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post #11 of 115
2/9/10 at 10:39am
Thread Starter 
Yeah, and I was all prepared to either rush out and buy a $2k laptop today or remind anyone who did that buying a $2k laptop that couldn't even view Blurays that they were idiots =p

It's like getting coal for Christmas =(
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post #12 of 115
2/9/10 at 10:44am
So what rumor-mongers should be ignored, for future reference?
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post #13 of 115
2/9/10 at 10:59am
If you're asking based on who got this specific rumor wrong, it's basically all of them. There are sites that are more reliable/accurate than others, but this isn't the first time that Apple fooled nearly everyone.

Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveF View Post

So what rumor-mongers should be ignored, for future reference?


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post #14 of 115
2/9/10 at 11:17am
This was all based on (1) New MBPs are overdue and (2) The current MBP SKUs disappeared from Best Buy's inventory system. We know they're coming - it's just a matter of when. I still think we'll see 'em before February's out. 


Quote:
this isn't the first time that Apple fooled nearly everyone.
 

Apple didn't fool anybody. We all fooled ourselves!
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post #15 of 115
2/9/10 at 12:02pm
Thread Starter 
I want to believe!
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post #16 of 115
2/9/10 at 1:44pm
Gruber nor MacBreak Weekly haven't discussed new MBP rumors in the past week, so I didn't expect anything new until I saw this thread. So I figured it was an isolated rumor.
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post #17 of 115
2/9/10 at 2:17pm
Too true. But in fairness to those who were reporting new MBPs, it wasn't solely based those two factors. There was also the fact that Intel is releasing their new CPUs (which traditionally Apple has early access to), as well as reports "in the wild" of seeing the new MBP 6,1 in weblogs (which admittedly can be easily faked). I think a confluence of all four factors really made a new release of the MBP seem imminent.

That said, I'm glad when they put the Apple store back online they finally took the "New" tags off of the iMac, Mac Mini and Macbook. I thought they should have been removed a month ago, or more.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Craig S View Post

This was all based on (1) New MBPs are overdue and (2) The current MBP SKUs disappeared from Best Buy's inventory system. We know they're coming - it's just a matter of when. I still think we'll see 'em before February's out. 

 


Apple didn't fool anybody. We all fooled ourselves!


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post #18 of 115
2/10/10 at 6:15am
Leo Laporte and co were talking about these expectations on the newest MBW, so now I'll believe the rumors are earnest :)
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post #19 of 115
2/10/10 at 9:58am
Thread Starter 
We've got it all wrong guys, they WERE scheduled for this week but Steve Jobs had a revelation and change of heart and they've been held back to add Bluray BTO options!  =p
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post #20 of 115
2/11/10 at 2:29pm
Thread Starter 
Surest sign that new Macbooks & Pros are coming:  Instant rebates on existing stock.  http://bit.ly/aIwBL1
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post #21 of 115
2/11/10 at 2:37pm
Just received my income tax refunds.  It is slotted for a MBP.  I can wait for the new ones or I can get a good price on the current version.  Hmmmmm.  My 2003 era Dell laptop wants to die but I won't let it until it is replaced.
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post #22 of 115
2/11/10 at 7:22pm
Thread Starter 
It's a tough choice I'm sure, but I know of very few people who were truly satisfied with a closeout before knowing what the new hotness would bring.  I seriously recommend waiting.
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post #23 of 115
2/12/10 at 10:56am
Thread Starter 
Two things to consider:

1.  Apple likes to make a splash on Tuesdays after a Monday Holiday.  Monday is President's day.
2.  I finally updated my MBP to Snow Leopard (in fact it's still cooking through it here next to me).  My timing is usually atrocious!  =)

Sam
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post #24 of 115
2/15/10 at 10:13pm
 It's Tuesday morning - time to start the Apple Store watch all over again. Hoping for good news later today. 
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post #25 of 115
2/16/10 at 7:25am
Thread Starter 
DENIED!!!!!  On the other hand tho, it is Mobile World Congress week and the tech heads are all talking about phones that aren't made by Apple and how they all suck compared to the iPhone...  So maybe next week =)  Or even tomorrow.
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post #26 of 115
2/22/10 at 7:45am
In the current MacBook Pro lineup you have to reboot to switch from using the integrated graphics processor (better battery life) and the discrete processor (more power for advanced graphics tasks). Last week Apple Insider reported that Apple is working on MBPs that can auto-switch between their 2 GPUs depending on what application is running. Could this be the reason why the new MBPs are taking so long to come out??.




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post #27 of 115
2/22/10 at 8:26am
That would be a good reason to postpone a new product. As any Bootcamp user can tell you: having to reboot to change operating conditions makes a lousy user experience and is very un-Apple like. Also, I believe there are laptops (MSI perhaps) than can auto-switch between dual GPUs. Apple needs to keep up with the Jones-es to remain competitive.

Making that an invisible process is very Apple-like.
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post #28 of 115
2/22/10 at 12:26pm
Thread Starter 
This is a natural evolution in the product line, but you have to recognize that intel dicked apple with the way they cut nvidia out on the integrated boards, so there are a lot of folks holding their breath wondering just what the hell Apple will actually release next... http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nvidia-emerges-as-intels-new-legal-nemesis-2009-12-16
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post #29 of 115
2/22/10 at 12:38pm
What does that mean? Does Intel's laptop chipset prevent Nvidia GPUs from being used?
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post #30 of 115
2/22/10 at 8:04pm

It seems that Nvidia doesn't have a license to manufacture motherboard chipsets for the Core i5 and i7 CPUs ... and there's some sort of "licensing spat" between Intel and Nvidia that has kept Nvidia from acquiring an updated license.

Speculation is that because of this, Apple finds itself caught between a rock (give up use of the Nvidia 9400M) and a hard place (give up use of the Mobile Core i5 and i7).

I suppose Apple could put out low-end notebooks using the current design (Core 2 Duo, Nvidia motherboard chipset, Nvidia 9400M graphics), and high-end ones using (Mobile Core i5/i7, Intel motherboard chipset, ATI dedicated graphics).  That is not a prediction of what Apple will do -- just a guess at one way that they might be able to extricate themselves from this dilemma.
 

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1017&message=34557313&q=Intel+Nvidia+war&qf=m

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