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Apple’s new products are always highly anticipated. Websites such as “Macrumors.com”:http://www.macrumors.com/ (with about 4.4 million visitors per month) feature speculation about potential new features, design cues, and price adjustments.
Many people who speculate about new Apple products are researching whether they should buy a Mac ASAP, or wait for a potential new release. Others are simply having fun following their favorite brand, as one might follow a band, sports team, or television show. I’m a consummate Mac-follower; I enjoy parsing the hype to guess what Apple will do next.
Anticipation for the new MacBooks and MacBook Pros was especially intense this year. With such high expectations, a certain degree of disappointment is inevitable. When the new machines were unveiled on October 14, Mac-watchers praised their newly designed aluminum cases, graphics and Intel processor updates, Multi-Touch glass trackpad, and reduced environmental impact. However, there has been surprise at three aspects of the new MacBooks (not MacBook Air nor Pro):
*#1. Glossy Screens.*
Online, people have been vociferous against the transition to glossy screens. However, I know from experience that the average person who comes into our stores likes they way they look, and prefers them over the duller matte screens. The new MacBook has an awesomely bright, crisp display that seems to minimize reflections.
I understand the limitations of glossy screens, especially for working on print projects. It is still possible to custom-order the MacBook Pro with a non-glossy (matte) screen. Also, like most other Apple Specialists, Small Dog is looking into screen-protecting overlays for users who are worried about screen glare.
*#2. Price.*
There were rumors that Apple would release a MacBook for $800. Instead, Apple repackaged a white 2.1GHz MacBook with SuperDrive and is selling it for $999. This is the lowest price ever on a new MacBook. Still, it’s the old design which has upset some people. Personally, while I always wish for less expensive equipment, I am content with Apple’s decision to do this. The $999 MacBook is sweet machine, even if it does not have the new aluminum case. It does, however, have a FireWire port, which brings me to…
*#3. No FireWire port on the newest MacBooks.*
This means no use of most older DV camcorders (some may work–-check your manual to be sure). No use with FireWire-only hard drives. No use of FireWire-only audio and video equipment. No FireWire networking. No Migration Assistant with FireWire (though it does work with ethernet, which could be faster in some cases, or via Wi-Fi). And, at least for now, no Target Disk mode.
At first, dropping FireWire seemed crazy to me. Personally, I won’t be buying one of these newer MacBooks, since I use an HDV video camera that does not transfer video via USB 2.0. Even if I upgraded my HDV camcorder, any model I’m likely to buy will still use FireWire for best-quality video transfer, as well as full camera control.
Steve Jobs recently said that “all of the new HD camcorders of the past few years use USB 2.” This is not strictly accurate. Many camcorders with USB 2 use it to transfer photos only. Older versions of iMovie and Final Cut Pro don’t recognize USB 2 for video transfer. Video transfer via USB 2.0 is not nearly as smooth and reliable as FireWire. And as far as I know, USB 2.0 does allow for camcorder control, which makes it useless for logging and capturing footage. There is a transition to USB 2 in camcorders, and all of the small, flash-based camcorders do use USB 2.
Lack of FireWire mostly hurts people with professional equipment and people with older equipment. It can be said that these pro users should buy a new MacBook Pro, or else a previous generation MacBook or MacBook Pro (which Small Dog will be carrying for a limited time at up to $700 less than the current models), or even consider upgrading their AV equipment.
However, there are plenty of people like me who want a machine that’s smaller than a MacBook Pro but has “pro” features. The only thing I really need FireWire for is the camcorder.
I understand that MOST users don’t ever use or need FireWire. USB 2.0 is in very wide use. Camcorders are transitioning to flash memory, which makes two-way camcorder control via FireWire unnecessary. Dropping FireWire from consumer notebooks won’t impact a huge number of people. It just means that we who are impacted have to live with this limitation of the MacBook, or accept that we have one fewer laptop choice.
This whole thing reminds me of when Apple dropped floppy drives, which was annoying at first. Now it would be annoying to __have__ a floppy drive!
We have a lot going on here at Small Dog over the next couple of months, so here’s a preview:
* Our 8th Annual Small Dog Halloween Costume Contest!
We’ll have more details for you next week, but in the meantime, get ready to vote for your favorite Small Dogger costume on Friday, October 31.
“See our blog for complete details–it will be updated with instructions, prize information (yes, prizes may be invloved) in the coming weeks!”:http://blog.smalldog.com
* Small Dog Offers Small/Medium Business Resources!
Are you making decisions that affect your business’s bottom line? Looking for a reputable partner who can provide the customer service and product solutions with your budget in mind? We can help.
If you’re thinking about switching your business to a Mac, we have a full set of services and resources to make the transition easy. Check out our Business page below, and sign up for a FREE seminar full of useful tips and valuable information.
“View our Business page here.”:http://www.smalldog.com/b2b
“Sign up for the free workshop.”:http://www.smalldog.com/b2bsignup/
* Free FileMaker Pro Seminars Next Week!
Join Mike Williamson, a long-term developer of FileMaker solutions, for two FileMaker presentations at Small Dog Electronics. He’ll address how to get started with FileMaker, what they don’t tell you in the manuals, and if a database is right for you. Plus, he’ll offer free tech support. Bring your questions, concerns and ideas!
There are two seminars, one in Waitsfield and one in S. Burlington. See below for details. Email “Rob Amon”:mailto:rob@smalldog.com to sign up!
* Monday, October 20, 2008, S. Burlington retail store, at 7PM
* Tuesday, October 21, 2008, Waitsfield retail store, at 5PM
At Apple’s “Spotlight Turns to Notebooks” Event on Tuesday, Steve Jobs made an important new announcement: his blood pressure is “110/70” (see http://buzzfeed.com/scott/steves-blood-pressure-via-engadget-b7s-b). (What did you think he would talk about?) No really, aside from remarking on his healthy BP status, he also unveiled some fabulous new Macs to Apple’s line of notebooks.
As Ed mentioned, the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air got revamped with a bunch of new features. The MacBooks have been updated with much of the same technology, as I’ll outline below. The new enclosures are pretty sweet looking–think the new iMac (glossy glass display, aluminum with black color scheme), but in a laptop.
Check out what’s new:
*Model Line-Up*
* Two new metal enclosure MacBooks: $1299.99 and $1599.99
* Existing White MacBook drops to $999.99
*New Features*
* Metal enclosure: the same aluminum “unibody” enclosure as the new MacBook Pro; the unibody design is much stronger and less wasteful than previous multi-part aluminum pieces
* Faster graphics: uses an NVIDIA 9400M chipset
* New display: LED backlit display with corner-to-corner glass
* Multi-Touch Glass trackpad: has the same four-finger gestures as MacBook Pro (Two finger gesture = pinch and rotate for zooming and panning; Three finger gestures = swiping between photos; Four fingers = expose and app switching)
* Mini DisplayPort connector: smaller, different connection than the current mini-DVI connector (it will now power Apple’s 30-inch display!)
* “Better environmental ratings”:http://www.apple.com/macbook/environment.html: Aluminum enclosure more conducive to recycling, has an EPEAT Gold rating, and a 42% smaller packaging size
* Size specs: .95 inches 4.5 lbs
* Battery: 5 hours with an external detector
*New Model Specs*
* $1299.99: 13.3-inch LED backlit display, 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 3MB L2 Cache, 2GB 1066MHz DDR3 memory, 9400M GeForce, 160GB hard drive and SuperDrive.
* $1599.99: 13.3-inch LED backlit display, 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 3MB L2 Cache, 2GB 1066MHz DDR3 memory, 9400M GeForce, 250GB hard drive and SuperDrive.
*Some things to note about the $999.99 MacBook:*
While it looks exactly like the White MacBooks that Apple previously introduced, there are some slight changes under the hood. The video card is slightly different than the previous White MacBooks, so be extra careful when considering new software (specifically games that require certain cards). We list all system requirements in our game descriptions, by the way. In addition, the new MacBook includes a SuperDrive rather than a Combo drive, so you’ll be able to burn DVDs as well (great for backing up–DVDs hold up to 6x as much data as CDs)!
Most importantly, though, *they still include FireWire 400,* which the other MacBook models don’t have. If you have a device that requires FireWire (more on that below), this may be the one for you–especially if you don’t want to go up to the MacBook Pros price point. However, if you do need that extra umph, the MacBook Pros include FireWire 800 (easily adapted to a FireWire 400 port with a conversion cable). Of course, we also have the previous generation MacBooks in limited supply, which include FireWire 400 in all three models. 🙂
See all MacBooks listed here:
“http://www.smalldog.com/category/x/x/x/Apple|MacBook”
We’re offering free shipping on all new MacBooks!
*FREE SHIPPING!*
…on all new MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models!
For a limited time, we are offering free 3-day express shipping on pre-orders of the Apple notebooks announced this week.
“See the MacBooks by clicking here.”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/x/x/x/Apple|MacBook
“See the MacBook Pros by clicking here.”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/x/x/x/Apple|MacBook_Pro
“See the MacBook Air by clicking here.”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/x/x/x/Apple|MacBook_Air
NOTEBOOK PRICE DROP! Save up to $400 on the previous-generation Apple notebooks! These are new, feature the same generation of powerful Intel processors as the new models announced this week, and feature matte displays (all new MacBooks/MacBook Pros now have glossy displays.) Get ’em while we have ’em; order below.
The weather is holding through October with another sunny Fall weekend coming up. I’ve got snow tires waiting for my car, but am procrastinating about picking them up until I actually see a flurry in the sky. This is my favorite time of the year as the air seems to be so fresh, the colors brilliant, and soon all the tourists will be gone for stick season once the trees lose their leaves.
Thanks to all those who participated in the Garage Sale. We’re always making improvements to our site, so we hope to make the next one even smoother. We’ll keep our Kibbles & Bytes readers as the first to know when we have the next Garage Sale! Thank you for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!
Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,
_Don, Kali & Ed_
Dear Friends,
The debates are over, and it is just a few weeks until the election. I have a completely non-partisan message for each of my readers: Please Vote! At one time, we did a whole series of banner advertising just saying “please vote” and one web site refused to carry our ads because they were too “political.” Needless to say, we never advertised there again. Voting is your obligation and a right that many have fought to protect and preserve over the years. You really cannot complain if you do not exercise your right to vote and if you do not inform yourself about all of the candidates running for local, state and national offices. So, please go vote and take a friend!
There were some great new laptops announced by Apple this week. I can’t wait to get my hands on the new MacBook Pro and try out the new multi-gesture glass trackpad and faster graphics. The new MacBooks are simply beautiful and will do a lot to continue Apple’s increasing market share in the laptop market. Be sure to check out the new notebook specs below as well as our thoughts on the changes.
I was speaking with some Apple folks about the economy and the impact on our business. Their response to the general slow-down we are all seeing is “take market share.” I think that is an important advantage Apple has right now. The latest market share survey from Gartner, Inc. indicated that the PC market as a whole (without Macs) grew at only 1.02% during the 3rd Quarter, while Apple saw growth of 29.4% and captured 9.5% of the overall market. This is up from 7.7% in the same quarter a year ago. Apple will release its 4th Quarter financials on Tuesday and I expect we will see some growth in all sectors regardless of the declining economy.
The trees still are holding onto their colorful leaves and this is one of the most brilliant foliage seasons in years. The other day I was working in the yard and I could hear Grace calling me from upstairs where she was taking a shower. She said “go up by the garden!” I walked around the house, and there, munching quietly on my strawberry plants, were two beautiful does. They looked at me and I looked at them, and after a couple minutes they bounded off into the woods. This is a great time of year to see wildlife here in Vermont. There was a moose with baby here by Small Dog last week, and I have seen lots of Canada Geese, wild turkeys, ruffled grouse, red fox and a variety of little critters as well. On the way to work this morning, I had to wait while a big old porcupine sauntered across the road.