Where is Apple Going with its Pro Hardware ?

For constrained budget HVX/HPX/Mac users an interesting option is backtracking to a vintage PowerBook for field use since it has a PCMCIA slot. I just picked one up really inexpensively and it's actually pretty cool to have a very low cost solution that you don't have to be paranoid about when it's sitting out unattended. Here's how I set it up on a minimal budget:

http://dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?p=1431692#post1431692
 
I don't know how I feel about MAC and all their proprietary crap i.e mini dvi as far as im concerned it's just another way to to milk more money out of us. I have never owned a mac before but have been wanting to for a long time. However with the price of macs so high and pc's steadily dropping it's hard to spend the extra money. Especially since by the next update to Vista it's going to be running as well or better then XP, and as much as windows has its many flatal flaws...it's cheap. They also don't have an issue with people running windows on a mac where as Apple will sue people who try and do that.

Im not completely sure the purpose of my post I think mainly I just like to complain because I cant afford anything hahaha. Hurray student debt.
 
Nathyn said:
Remember, they went so far as saying Final Cut Pro wasn't even compatible but that was like the first thing everyone tried and it worked fine, minus LiveType (which worked but was slow).
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FCP worked fine on the old regular MacBooks?? Wouldn't work on my friend's... hmm...
well now it seems that the new regular MacBooks are good enough for FCP.

KyleProhaska said:
Its a disaster not having FW400 for filmmakers in the field with no other way to dump footage if they're using tape or even HD based cams. Its ridiculous...unless an adapter comes around for USB or something that all the softwares can support.

Also there is loads of equipment used in the field that uses FW400....not all of them have FW800 as well. Overall this spells disaster for someone who wants to stay Mac and use equipment that depends on such things, unless they resort to prev. gen on Ebay. I think Apple will see that they were stupid and introduce it again in next years lineup...still it confuses me to death why they did this.
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true to all that. but maybe they are trying to force everything to upgrade to FW800 =/. Or since they still haven't upped the 17" maybe they are going to leave FW400 on that to force us to spend more just for the larger screen...

Macaholic262 said:
I'm really disappointed in the new computers, but happy because now i dont wanna buy one now=] another day, another day out of debt. hahaha guess i can keep my current macbookpro!
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i can live with my current one as well i guess... the new specs would be awesome to have though.

Hazard said:
I had an edit all day and missed the announcement.

Interesting how the rumors were true. For the most part.

I never thought they would get rid of FW altogether on the Macbook.

Last week the news surfaced about the dual Nvidia graphics, much like Sony's latest VAIO. This upgrade is huge. But I must agree, and Im not sure how you can disagree that the glossy screen is annoying & distracting. Has everyone forgotten how annoying glare was when we all used CRTs?

I can live with the port changes, the glass (what if it cracks) touchpad, the black keyboard, and was actually ready to buy one after the graphics upgrade announcement...but the glossy only nonsense really is a deal breaker, as Im sure no FW port will be for macbooks.

Lets not forget to mention Apple's pricing. Yes you can get these specs for half the price. But even though FCP user have no choice, Apple's hardware is pretty solid. Although the entry point could be lower, for $2500 that laptop will last you a while...alot longer than your patience for glossy everything though :(
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true. i was thinking, because of the "aircraft grade" aluminum that it would be harder to dent, but thanks for pointing out that the glass could easily crack and maybe even shatter. possibly leaving your macbook (pro) useless...

and yeah interesting how the rumors were true.
 
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i am running fcp 6 on a regular macbook. editing hd with realtime playback and effects. this is a BS move on apple's part.
 
Well, I was planning on selling my Macbook Pro and downgrading to one of the new Macbook's for portability...but now I will do no such thing. I'm going to keep my Macbook Pro, because this had to be one of the most dissapointing Apple showings in quite a long time. I don't know what direction Apple is going in, but it definitely isn't good.

I love my Mac Pro though...glad I purchased it this summer before they did something crazy and screwed that up too.

-Kegan
 
"this is a BS move on apple's part."


No bringing windows OS onto a mac was pretty stupid. Now there's all kinds of viruses for the mac. There has always been mac viruses out, but nothing like a trojan virus. Kind of sucks



Not feeling the two tone either, come on jobs !!! Instead of one step further, they took one step back, but I guess it's on how it runs....
 
I 've used my current MB for my basic editing out in the field and its been great... now when I upgrade I'm almost forced to get a MB Pro, and thats not the end of the world.... but besides the two tone which is 'okay'... what's with the price? Whew.... increase.

I guess the bright side of the MB Pro Line is the fact that they upgraded the 17 inch, but didn't change the design and left it in its aluminum design.

Interesting they did that....
 
I've been very disappointed for a number of reasons, and as time moves forward every release is crappier. No FW on the MB. One FW on the MBP. The new screens are .. let me be blunt, junk for $900. No FW on the LCD display, just USB, crappy response time, no other inputs whatsoever, no memory slots... pure crap. The Dell 24" annhilates the new display in every single category and costs significantly less, not to mention the Samsung and others. What are they thinking? I love my 8 core Mac Pro but shudder to think what the next one will be like. What's next, one FW port on the MP? Maybe change the case to shiny plastic? Combined with all the iPhone marketing crap and their stonewall communication with the pros I'm starting to really think their just going to abandon Pro users like the rumors say. Why I have no idea, it's not like us video guys don't drop major $ on their products. Their volume marketing for computer illiterate Starbucks -hipster yuppies and college kids (not knocking the college kids, mind you they're a good thing in general, our future and all.. ) is really beginning to irk me. That would be fine, but their cold shoulder treatment of the Pros along with the mass marketing is unnecessary. sorry, I'm just in a bad mood.. and seeing the new releases kicked me when I was down.
 
twocik23 said:
"this is a BS move on apple's part."


No bringing windows OS onto a mac was pretty stupid. Now there's all kinds of viruses for the mac. There has always been mac viruses out, but nothing like a trojan virus. Kind of sucks



Not feeling the two tone either, come on jobs !!! Instead of one step further, they took one step back, but I guess it's on how it runs....
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the trojans and etc viruses will not effect the Mac partition though and will not cause harm to your drive. Also if you are a smart internet user, you will not get any virus protection because you know how to use the internet so you don't get viruses. Virus Protection like McAfee and Norton actually give you viruses to make it seem like they are doing something. Trust me, if you take off virus protection you will not get as many viruses as you would if you had it.

bkgarceau said:
I 've used my current MB for my basic editing out in the field and its been great... now when I upgrade I'm almost forced to get a MB Pro, and thats not the end of the world.... but besides the two tone which is 'okay'... what's with the price? Whew.... increase.

I guess the bright side of the MB Pro Line is the fact that they upgraded the 17 inch, but didn't change the design and left it in its aluminum design.

Interesting they did that....
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they are probably going to upgrade it soon but take a totally different direction with it.
 
iPods much worse!

iPods much worse!

I just read an interesting article that should worry Jeve Stobs much more than the justified rants about dropping FW from the macbook ( remember apple claims to have FW as the answer to evil winblows USB). I knew all of this already but now scientists are publishing it: listening to those in ear phones like the iPods and other mp3 players, will render his music buying youth deaf in the next years:Drogar-Love(DBG):

I mean how cynic is this: apple drops out of the computer market to turn into a music reseller via iTunes and iPods and the result is: their clientele will soon turn deaf if they continue to listen to this mp3 crap over more than 1 hr @ more than 80 db.

I knew this all the time and NEVER ever listen to mp3 ( cause I cant stand the sound) and NEVER ever put one of those in-ear plugs into my ears but the young ones out there...they are going to be tomorrows deaf generation and apple will have no more iPods and music to sell cause his clients are deaf :Drogar-Love(DBG):

Maybe then apple can start building computers with FW ports again......
 
timbook2 said:
I just read an interesting article that should worry Jeve Stobs much more than the justified rants about dropping FW from the macbook ( remember apple claims to have FW as the answer to evil winblows USB). I knew all of this already but now scientists are publishing it: listening to those in ear phones like the iPods and other mp3 players, will render his music buying youth deaf in the next years:Drogar-Love(DBG):

I mean how cynic is this: apple drops out of the computer market to turn into a music reseller via iTunes and iPods and the result is: their clientele will soon turn deaf if they continue to listen to this mp3 crap over more than 1 hr @ more than 80 db.

I knew this all the time and NEVER ever listen to mp3 ( cause I cant stand the sound) and NEVER ever put one of those in-ear plugs into my ears but the young ones out there...they are going to be tomorrows deaf generation and apple will have no more iPods and music to sell cause his clients are deaf :Drogar-Love(DBG):

Maybe then apple can start building computers with FW ports again......
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!!! wow!!! may i get a link to this article???????
 
I have footage from my old hvx200 sitting on hard drives, waiting to be edited. I was waiting for today to buy as I have an old TiPb that I use as my main computer and it's shown signs of dying.

The new 15" mbp isn't hi res, is only glossy, so I'm not happy.

The 17" -- is it true it got a partial refresh? So I can still get that one in matte? What do you guys think of that machine? I was unclear whether we are going to see a new version of that soon or this is it for a while.
 
Apple Fan No More...

Apple Fan No More...

I found yesterday's announcement outrageous and insulting. Glossy screens only across the board??? Only one Firewire port? No more DVI? Identical specs, processor and RAM-wise? Why do they even call it MacBook Pro?

I had been waiting for months for a new release by Apple – laptop & display – as Final Cut Studio 2 is sluggish with my 3-year-old Powerbook G4 (last model) and there are certain tools like Elgato EyeTV that simply would not capture footage with such a slow processor. I had been waiting for the announcements half salivating and holding a credit card in my hand, so imagine the disappointment.

I have just called up a local official reseller, who has put aside for me the (now old) MacBook Pro 15" with matte screen and 2,5Ghz processor. I will be getting some extra RAM installed and I guess I have to be happy with that.

I had been such a vocal fan of Apple for more than 7 years now, recommending it to fellow filmmaker friends, as well as family members and friends (my boyfriend used to call me a Jehovah's witness when it came to my enthusiastic promotion of Apple. No more).

Why oh why are they turning their back to professional video & photo users? Am so puzzled...
 
tons of articles

tons of articles

Jing said:
!!! wow!!! may i get a link to this article???????
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http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2008/1014/1223921127154.html

http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/08/1492&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN

but simply google "hearing loss ipod" and you see its been an issue since years....

maybe apple should start research in hearing aids ?:Drogar-Love(DBG):

iHear the new apple product for iTunes disabled :Drogar-Love(DBG):
 
interesnting, a deaf society, maybe that way we'll have a standar language (sign). just joking, but seriously, I have always used mp3 but never went over 50% of the output dbs. I think that people hear to loud and that's the problem sometimes you can even hear to other's mp3s. I don't know but I never felt like going over that 50% limit (i like the music but just as a background music).
 
MBP 15" Out of Stock on Refurb Page

MBP 15" Out of Stock on Refurb Page

I just checked the Refurb Pages of most European Apple Stores... It's very hard to find 15" MBP with Matte Screens. Non-existent on French, Italian, and Spanish sites (there were some yesterday). Only choice available in most cases is 17"

No major surprise, considering yesterday's awful announcements...

I called a couple of re-sellers in Italy (I'm there visiting family) and they have given me the new, reduced prices for MBP, of the now "older" generation. About 25% cheaper.
 
To me, the current updates are just bland carrots for the Xmas shoppers. The real upgrade will be in 2009 where Intel Nehalem CPU will offer substantial performance power. At least 16 cores on the top end Mac pro and maybe 8 for the low -mid range Mac Pro. Also, very high possibility that it will come with Blue Ray drive). On the laptop side, at least, a Quad core Nehalem CPU on the next iteration of MBP.
 
i'm still on the fence with the new mbps. i have a gloss screen mbp 2.16 core 2 duo and i actually like the screen. and as for fw400, i find myself mostly using all fw800 as of late. i have a small fw400 drive but i haven't plugged it up in ages. its usually fw800 or usb. but as far as the mb goes, i really think not having a fw on that is a deal breaker.

i think apple is jumping the gun on the usb only thing video wise. still a lot of video cams do use tape, therefor need fw400. maybe in a couple of years will all cams be tapeless but still i think the average soccer mom is probably going to be shooting to tape.

i read somewhere about there being an ethernet to fw400 adapter, has anyone heard of such device?
 
manglerBMX said:
...read somewhere about there being an ethernet to fw400 adapter, has anyone heard of such device?
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An ethernet adapter is not going to be the best solution for video. It will more than likely be slow and have issues. It also definitely won't allow booting from an external drive or FireWire disk mode. The keyword is adapter; it is not native FireWire so you can expect at a minimum that it will not be optimized for best performance. And you won't be getting online or using your network at the same time. I'd wait for the reviews before risking your project files through an ethernet adapter...

Lack of a FireWire port on the MacBook is a serious concern for us video folk.

I think a very viable option is picking up a good deal on the previous generation of Macbook Pro with everything you need and a matte screen. If you watch Amazon and similar vendors usually there are good deals on the last generation while they have stock. Ordinarily the deals are not good enough to be worth missing the newest features for a few hundred dollars but in this case I think the users of this forum who are considering a MacBook would be well served to consider a good close out deal on the early 2008 MacBook Pros.

Here's a 2008 MacBook Pro for $1450 after rebate:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0013FLU96/ref=noref?ie=UTF8&s=electronics

I'd sure pick it for video use over a new MacBook at the same price!
 
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