Apple - new, revolutionary notebook by June 2011?

I'm trying to decide if I should get a 2.4 Macbook (aluminum). I'm not sure if I can justify the purchase because I just bought a new desktop in April of this year with a Q6600 and 24" monitor and I have to say it was significantly cheaper than the Mac. I'm not even sure if I'll be using the notebook that much, I just need something more portable than a 15" inch (which I currently have on another laptop). I just don't think that spending $1599 on something that is simply easier to lug around is worth it, and to be totally honest, I'm only going to be "lugging" it around for about once every two weeks and maybe a vacation once a year. Is OS X truly innovative and revolutionary enough to justify the purchase of such expensive hardware (it's the main reason I'm thinking of switching-to be honest I never experienced BSoDs and crashes; I keep my computer well maintained)? I've been reading reviews and the call the new Macbook simply a "evolutionary" step and certainly not a "revolutionary" step aside from the machined aluminum chassis. (Even if I take account of the chassis, the rigidity mostly shines during travel - and I won't be doing too much of that.)

One thing's for sure, however - unless Microsoft completely blows me away with new software, I WILL be purchasing a Mac notebook in June of 2011. Do you, as an avid Mac fan, believe Apple will come up with something truly revolutionary that changes the face of notebooks by June of '11?


Sorry if you find my writing hard to understand or incoherent gibberish, I'm slightly tired and am on the verge of a caffeine crash.

 

Way 2 early dude....

 

Most of us that buy the new MacBook/MacBook Pro now will probably get a new laptop by June 2011. It is too early to tell...

 

I kinda remember Steve saying in the keynote that it's a "great design" and that he'll keep it "for a long time". Does he say that about everything or just the new Macbooks? Am I scrutinizing everything he says too far? Lol

 

I'm sure that they'll keep revamping it every two to four years. Almost everyone buys a new laptop every 2-4 years so I doubt Apple would keep the current design in 2011.

 

now,where is my magic crystal?

 

did you mean your crystal ball?

 

whats the difference?

 

I dont know about revolutionary per se, because most likely Windows based PCs will revolutionize first because of the cheaper hardware and higher compatibility. I do think Apple will -upgrade- to compete with the PCs of 2011, but probably not "revolutionize" as we may think. It's possible though, if they come up with technology better than PCs first.

 

Definitely like what you mentioned - the iPhone is arguable more advanced than almost any Windows Mobile phone, and the mobile development team at Microsoft had years of experience behind them. This is really what I meant by "revolutionary" in the OP.

 

Apple kept the same design of the PowerBook/MacBook Pro for 5 years.

Given that, and how much of a hooplah they're making over the manufacturing process/unibody, I don't think they'll be ditching it soon.

 

lets hope they bring matte displays back.

 

No, I don't think so. 2009, they'll ship OS X 10.6 which I hope will be the giant bugfix release that was promised. As it is, Leopard and the apps are pretty buggy.

The following is a bit out there, but then, so is the question what's going to happen in 2011. The Apple approach to design works much better for music players and phones than it does for computers.

I think one of the reasons is that a computer is a general information processing machine and there is an inherent complexity to it that no amount of user interface genius can remove. That is, even if Apple were perfect, a computer would not be "easy to use" in the sense that my mom could pick it up and never need any help from anyone to do anything she wants with it. It's just too complex a tool.

iPhone and iPod live in a much more constrained environment where it's a lot easier to create a "perfect" experience. The iPod was perfect pretty much from rev 1.0 on, and the iPhone 1.0 came pretty close. It blew everything else out of the water.

To expect another major breakthrough like these two devices is unrealistic. Maybe we'll get an Apple take on the Netbook concept, and I think they could do pretty well in that area. But revolutionary... who knows but I'd bet against it.

 

Eventually it will be simple and easy. The computer is a very young technology, barely half a century old. People who think outside the box will be the ones with the revolutionary ideas and currently those that are really thinking out of the box right now is Apple.

 

The iPhone software wise is quite ahead of any other phone. As for teh hardware inside it's pretty much standard. Wifi A/B no A2DP bluetooth, lower res screen then the current HTC pro HD. Don't get me wrong here, I absolutly love my iPhone 3G, and the true power of this phone can only be relaized once it is jailbroken IMHO. But by no means is it arguably better spec wise.

 

I would have to disagree, the true out of the box thinkers are the ones who don't work for large corporations like M$ and Apple. Those larger companies have one goal in mind. Profit Margins. Granted apple seem to do a much much better job of getting better ideas to market, but at the end of the day the underlining decisions are based on profit or lack of it. To truely think outside of the box you need to be removed from such limitations. As for the unibody, is it revolutionary HELL NO. It was only a matter of time before it ported from the manufacturing process of other industries. Machining parts with great precision has been around for quite some time. Besides the Unibody itself and some new track pad. What did apple bring to the table. No blu-Ray no increase in GPU prowness. To me apple really didn't listen to it's customers who wanted Blu Ray and a beefier GPU. But then again I guess people would't be selling much HD content VIA ITUNES then would it. (See profit margins acting up again) The new Macbooks/Pro's are great but, they really don't impress me.

 

blu ray isn't groundbreaking technology its been around for quite some time and its hardly revolutionary, in terms of technology. and how many times does the gpu thing have to come up, they will never put anything above a 600 series gpu in these things, unless ati/nvidia cool things down a lot. your saying that the 9600gt isnt faster than a 8600m gt?

for what will happen by 2011, probably not a whole lot all the macs will most likely be the same unibody models, think about what has really changed in the mainstream world of laptops in the last 2 and half years, not much, things have gotten faster maybe most significant/different would be the move to 16:10 screens, only thing i can see becoming mainstream would be more touch screen type computing, which is also a move towards making computing more accessible, easy.

 

That is my point exactly, Blu-ray is an aging technology and yet it has still not been added to the Mac line up. (No revenue for iTunes HD content this way) But us apple entusiast still boast to have the latest and greatest technology. Surprise we don't. Heck Clevo offers a Blu-ray upgrade for a $15o. I am holding out to see what 10.6 brings and the usuage on Nahalem mobile processors.

No I am not saying the 9600 gt is the same as the 8600 your putting words in my mouth there. What I am saying is that with mobile GPU's increasing in efficiency and Graphic power, for apple to still be offering the BASE dedictated GPU as thier flagship GPU in teh MacBook Pro's is a bit lame. Heck include the new Nvidia Chipset with Hybrid SLI technology and not offer a way to implemet it is also very dissapointing. Heck take a look around the net People are having issues with HDCP and the new Display port.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/17/apple-itunes-multimedia-throwing-hdcp-flags-on-new-macbook-mac/

 

We haven't had a new macbook revision in forever, geez dude

 

Or at least treat the glass with better anti-reflective coating like they do in high quality eye glasses and CRT monitors.

 

I would just buy a cheaper laptop and just buy more often. But the main question for you is if OSX is worth it. This is what I have found to be useful. Make a list of the applications you use everyday for two weeks. Then post it here. We can give you suggestion on how easy or difficult it will be to find comparable replacements.

IMO, the cost of a Mac is a price I'm not willing to bear. Computer difficulties for myself are far and few. The only real driver troubles I experience is occasionally my Treo refuses to sync on the first try. I have the need for any Mac exclusive hardware or software. Thus a PC has been the most cost effective option for myself. Plus Macs don't come in a Tablet edition.

 

iTunes
Office Suite - mainly Word, Outlook, and Powerpoint
Firefox
MP3Tag
Adobe CS3, may be upgrading to CS4. Heavy usage of Photoshop.
Trillian
WinZIP/WinRAR
uTorrent
A couple of light steam games like CSS, TF2
GOM Player
Maybe a RAW editor for DSLR files if I decide to get into that
Filezilla

Not sure if I forgot anything.

 

Right off hand I can say Outlook will be the most obvious problem, as there is no equivalent on the Mac. However, there are equally useful substitutes depending on your needs.

The games I can't really advise, since I've never played them on a Mac and I'm not aware of the possible solutions available on a Mac.

On a side note, using Photoshop on the Mac is a real treat. The Expose feature is a huge help when you have multiple picture files names dsp001, dsp002, dsp003. Rather than guess which one is the snapshot where everyone is smiling, you can eyeball it. I have yet to find a comparable solution on Windows.

 

Can't I use Office for Mac 2007/2008 for my office needs?

 

I was specifically talking about how Office on Mac does not come with Outlook. It comes with a program called Entourage, which I have never used.

 

Hmm, didn't know that. But I took a look at Entourage and the interface looks similar to Outlook, so it shouldn't be too harsh of a learning curve.

It looks like I may get the new Macbook.

 

If your needs aren't too complex, then you'll do just fine.

 

apple tends to do this about once a year so yeah it is a safe bet.

 

New revolutionary notebook by 2011? Nearly without a doubt...that is over two years away, and the hardware coming out these days are just amazing.