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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

New 17" macbook pro

So to summarize:

Longer Lasting Built-in Battery - 8 Hours from single charge, up to 1,000 recharges (3-times typical notebook battery)

1920 by 1200 pixel resolution using NVIDIA GeForce 9400M or 9600M GT with improved color gamut and glossy glass or anti-glare display

Slimmer, streamlined unibody aluminum enclosure allows for the thinnest and lightest 17-inch notebook ever — just 0.98 inch thin and 6.6 pounds

All new larger multi-touch trackpad gets rid of button

2.93GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor
1066MHz frontside bus
6MB of shared L2 cache

320GB hard drive, up to 8GB of 1066MHz DDR3 memory, ultrafast 8x SuperDrive (resides on right side now), optional 128GB or 256GB solid-state drive

(Ports now all on left side)
Three USB 2.0 ports
FireWire 800 port
Mini DisplayPort
ExpressCard/34 slot
802.11n wireless networking

Price the same as last version: $2,799.00

----------------

Comments:

1) Welcome addition of full HD resolution capable display with better color gamut and anti-glare option. (While the higher resolution was expected from the previous 15" MacBook announcement, the anti-glare option is new.)

2) Ports all now on left side, super drive on the right. I kinda liked the previous setup with the ports split on each side and the drive in front, but I see that this was necessary to allow for the new battery design, which obviously was the main priority of this MacBook Pro's release.

3) No Firewire 400 port. This is a convenience that I will miss. No wiat, more than that. There are a lot of products that won't connect now or will need adapters / new cables.

4) No Sata port. Big disappointment. Its long overdue.

5) Battery Life expanded to up to 8 hours off a single charge and being able to have a very long battery life (up to 5 years) is a great accomplishment, but at what cost? See below...

6) Built in Battery. This scares me. A lot. Even though the lifespan is great, how many of us out there using our Mac Books have had heat issues that resulted in the expanding battery which kills your Mac Book? I know when I render using REDCINE for long periods of time, if I don't have a good cooling system underneath, I'm risking it big-time. Even with a fan system, the Battery gets very hot (as does the power supply). So much so sometimes, that I wonder how these products can pass inspection by various technical agencies both domestic and international. Either way, a Battery that is not removable (from what I understand) is a risk on a set. I suppose time will only tell if they are much more reliable and run cooler than previous models.

7) No BluRay ???
 
Richard Darge said:
Battery CANNOT be removed
Click to expand...

Anything can be removed. You just have to use a screwdriver. Big deal. You might have to take 10 screws out of your computer a few years after the warranty has expired and unplug a little cord. I think most people here can handle that. If not I'm sure some smug 18 year old at an Apple store can do it for you.

Did anyone else notice that Apple wants $$1200 for 4 extra gigs of RAM on the order page? Sheesh! I though their previous 400% markup was bad.
 
Brent J. Craig said:
Anything can be removed. You just have to use a screwdriver. Big deal. You might have to take 10 screws out of your computer a few years after the warranty has expired and unplug a little cord. I think most people here can handle that. If not I'm sure some smug 18 year old at an Apple store can do it for you.
Click to expand...

When I'm on location and all of a sudden I have problems with my battery - (let's say it overheats and expands and causes the motherboard to warp, thus not allowing the computer to function, and the crew is waiting for me) - let's just say that the older model with a removable battery is the option I'm going with...

http://tinyurl.com/MacBookBatteries

;-)
 
What are everyone's thoughts on SSD's? Especially for on set use- I ask because I'll likely pick one of these up soon.

I can see benefits on location, especially remote locations, in terms of durability & reliability versus a mechanical drive. Conversely, the size of the drive (256GB total SSD available vs. 320GB mechanical drive) may become an issue for some? Or are most of us using an additional external drive anyway which would combat this issue easily?

Rather than no FW400, I wish they had just considered two FW800 ports. You can purchase a FW400 to FW800 cable (in both 4pin and 6pin to FW800) that will allow you to use most accessories without further issue.
 
Casey Green said:
When I'm on location and all of a sudden I have problems with my battery - (let's say it overheats and expands and causes the motherboard to warp...
Click to expand...

I would hope that if there is a problem with the batteries, as in the URL you linked to, that Apple would issue a massive recall just as they did in the past.

Apple has also stated that the new battery has an intelligent charger that individually addresses each cell delivering the exact voltage it needs. If this works as intended there really should be any more exploding batteries.

The screen, keyboard, track pad, hard drive and dvd burner are non-removable as well. Why isn't that a problem for you? Why are people focusing on a part that is stated to have a 5 year lifespan? That is about as long as a hard drive lasts as well, not to mention the screen backlights. (And you just know you will all upgrade before then anyway because Red footage will force you to!)
 
Brent J. Craig said:
I would hope that if there is a problem with the batteries, as in the URL you linked to, that Apple would issue a massive recall just as they did in the past.

Apple has also stated that the new battery has an intelligent charger that individually addresses each cell delivering the exact voltage it needs. If this works as intended there really should be any more exploding batteries.

The screen, keyboard, track pad, hard drive and dvd burner are non-removable as well. Why isn't that a problem for you? Why are people focusing on a part that is stated to have a 5 year lifespan? That is about as long as a hard drive lasts as well, not to mention the screen backlights. (And you just know you will all upgrade before then anyway because Red footage will force you to!)
Click to expand...

People continued to experience problems with Apple batteries after the recall with newer models, too. Just not nearly as many.

The reason screen, keyboard, trackpad, and drives are not nearly as important of an issue is that each has an easy alternate way to operate the computer or have a backup ready, not to mention they have withstood the test of time.

Bad screen? Output to external monitor.
Bad keyboard or Trackpad? Plug in external keyboard or mouse.
Bad Drive? Time Machine backup to external bootable drive as you go and you always have a backup ready.

If I experience a warped battery (as I have in the past on a post-recalled battery, where the pressure of the warp caused the computer not to function - even while having the power adapter plugged in), I'm not in good shape.

You mention the intelligent charger. Key words: "If this works as intended..." Sounds good, but in my experience, most new technologies take a while to work out the early kinks, and I wouldn't be surprised if they have some.

The new batteries still are made using the same process as the older ones. They even have a video on the website that shows the process and how they need to put much pressure on them to make them fit into the size and shape that they need.

http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/17inch-battery/

It seems they decided fully explaining this was important. Possibly because many folks like myself have our concerns?

As I said before, it will be the test of time (under conditions such as heavy REDCINE and Final CUT rendering) that proves whether these new battery designs are not too risky. I can't afford a massive recall (especially now when that would mean sending back my entire MacBook Pro, rather than just the battery.)

For now, I'll be staying with what I have.
 
Casey Green said:
The new batteries still are made using the same process as the older ones.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure which process you are referring to, but there are quite a few innovations in the new battery.

As a whole, I think this particular upgrade will increase the reliability of the MBP. There are a lot of things that can go wrong with a laptop and many of them are related to overheating. Normally when you are doing processor intensive tasks, it is the processor itself and the GPU which heat up, sometimes also the hard drive. I had my MBP 17" motherboard replaced because of the infamous Nvidia packaging defect.. Incidentally also my previous laptop, a G4 ibook had a GPU that eventually became partially detached due to bad soldering. That was 3 and half years after purchase.

With battery warps, I think it is often a question of having a manufacturing defect in the battery itself. These recalls often affect a number of different brands that are using batteries from the same batch. If it's a defective battery, it can warp completely spontaneously even if you are not doing anything particularly processor intensive.

If a laptop is mission critical in your project the only safe way is to bring an entire spare laptop. The GPUs are just too flaky in my experience.
 
I'll stick with my 15" 2.16 GHz MBP. I don't understand why Apple is not being more competitive with their product line... they are going for style over function all the way. You can get a 4 core 2.53GHz from Acer with an 18.4" inch 1920x1080 res and bluray for $1800. I'm really considering switching back to PC... especially now with the great workflow from Adobe. The battery is amazing but I hardly use a laptop that long without being connected to power. I would much rather have bluray and 4 cores than an 8 hour battery. Here I am sitting with money ready to burn on something from Apple or RED and with both companies there is nothing desirable or available for me to consume immediately.
 
Antti Pirskanen said:
I'm not sure which process you are referring to, but there are quite a few innovations in the new battery.
Click to expand...

Yes, the battery innovations with the controller card, larger cells, etc, look interesting. I was referring to the process of making the batteries themselves:

"To make our batteries extremely thin, we use Lithium Polymer Technology. We start with these very large sheets of tissue-like foil and coat those with the active material that stores the energy for the battery. In our case, it's an advanced chemistry that expands the lifetime of the cells to 3 times the industry standard. Then, they are wound together into an electrode roll and this roll is compressed into the correct shape just to our precise dimensions.

http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/17inch-battery/ (Video)

This is what lead to the problem of warping batteries in the past. I'm sure if I didn't experience this first hand on two different occasions, I wouldn't worry as much about it. It's most probable they have learned from their mistakes, but with a built in battery now, I think it's a valid concern.

We'll see how things turn out.
 
I just posted it Again :) but deleted form the original and here it is.


Well I think that this will make a perfect on set companion to all of those that were not getting in off from the previous version.

I think I'll be selling my Mac Pro tower and get one of this, sure will be easer to transport to Italy too :)


http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/
451281258_G5fBL-L-0.jpg


ciao

 
Insides look good.

I/o and battery make it a no go for me.

Two very small things that I need.

Multiple FW ports. At least 1 fw800 and 1 fw400 if not two fw800's.
I use atlest two firewire ports and the express port on every red job. Period end of story for me.

Now I know that these usb's are posting higher speeds but I don't care.
http://www.barefeats.com/mbpp10.html

Lastly, I often use systems that power entirely off of the MBP battery. This means backing up and working with REDCODE while sitting on a stump in a jungle 45 miles from power. With my current MBP I bring EXTRA batteries and now this system can work all day. No swappable battery, no go.

Thats me.
 
J. Eric Camp said:
I/o and battery make it a no go for me.

Two very small things that I need.

Multiple FW ports. At least 1 fw800 and 1 fw400 if not two fw800's.
I use atlest two firewire ports and the express port on every red job. Period end of story for me.

Now I know that these usb's are posting higher speeds but I don't care.
http://www.barefeats.com/mbpp10.html

Lastly, I often use systems that power entirely off of the MBP battery. This means backing up and working with REDCODE while sitting on a stump in a jungle 45 miles from power. With my current MBP I bring EXTRA batteries and now this system can work all day. No swappable battery, no go.

Thats me.
Click to expand...

Hi Eric

Looking to buy Macbook Pro or PC Laptop for onset use - assume the USBs are no good because of CPU overhead?

What's plugged into your two firewire and expresscard slots? I can guess, but better to hear direct from someone already using their's!

Appreciate any info.

Thanks
Eric
 
1 fw port as a mounting point for the RED media. (cf reader or drive/ram)
2 discreet ports for external drives. fw800 or eSata. Everything on it's own port bench marks faster than daisy chain.

USB's are slower. Every bit counts.

One set-up I use often requires 2 eSATA's, 1 fw400 and 1 fw800.

The new generation MBP just wont get me what I need.
 
I have a new generation 15" MBP and I'm looking to setup a system that is powered entirely off the MBP battery (which is easily replaceable).

So far I'm thinking about the G-Tech G-RAID mini2 connected via ExpressCard SATA adapter, and powered via FireWire400 (using included 9-pin to 6-pin FW400 cable).

This leaves the single FW800 port on the MBP available for the RED-Drive or Lexar Pro CF reader.

I know you guys use G-Tech over at Offhollywood. If you have ever get a chance to test this combo, please let me know if it works. Thanks.
 
I agree with Eric.
On my 15" MBP I use 1XFW800 port connected to a FW800 hub with one port for clients HDD (clients HDD could also be connected to the FW400 port if that's all they have), one port for Red media CF/drive and possibly the third port to an additional HDD if required. Express34 to Sata adapter for my field raid 1XUSB port for a mouse and on occasion if the FW800 port on the Red drive doesn't work I switch to a powered Red drive to FW400. Not to mention I have 3 Maxtor external HDD with FW400 and USB only as back up in case my raid or the clients HDD fails on set.

The new MBP model just wont do for me also because I very often need to flip out the battery for long operations in hot environments especially in the hot and dry Australian outback.
Was going to buy a new 17" but now I'll just get on of the older 17" MBP that are still in stock somewhere.
 
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