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Apple Pushes 17″ Macbook Pro Shipments Until February 19th

Aviv — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 23:42:49 +0000

Apple has sent an email out to customers waiting for their 17″ unibody Macbook Pros, stating that the shipments will now be pushed back until the third week in February.

In late January, Apple had officially changed the status of the Macbook Pro to shipping, while making the delivery dates range anywhere between February 5th and February 12th. A few MacBlogz readers had mentioned that they received status updates from Apple which claimed their machines would be shipping soon. In addition MacRumors found a “Now Shipping” badge on Apple’s website.

The 17″ Macbook Pro on the left, and the 15″ on the right.

It is now being reported that Apple has sent out an email to most of its customers stating that shipments of the 17″ unibody Macbook Pro will be pushed back until around February 19th at the latest. “Wrapping up the new 17-inch MacBook Pro is taking a few days longer than we projected,” Apple explained in the email. “As a result, we will be unable to ship your 17-inch MacBook Pro until February 19, 2009.”

When Apple first announced the new 17″ unibody Macbook Pro, they claimed it would be shipping in late January. At Macworld ‘09, we were able to get hands on with the notebook and we can say. If you’re waiting for this machine, another two weeks won’t hurt that bad. It’s well worth it.

Apple Quietly Updates White, Entry-Level Macbook Specs

Aviv — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:03:47 +0000

Apple has quietly updated its entry-level white macbook bringing it closer in specs to its unibody cousins. The update may be on behalf of Apple trying to upgrade all of its notebooks before Snow Leopard is unveiled.

Core upgrades (via MacRumors):
• Processor moved to 2.0 GHz Core 2 Duo with 1066 MHz frontside bus from 2.1 GHz Core 2 Duo with 866 MHz bus
• Standard RAM increased to 2 GB (two 1 GB sticks) from 1 GB (two 512 MB sticks)
• Graphics switched to NVIDIA 9400M with 256 MB of shared memory from Intel GMA X3100 with 144 MB of shared memory
• Bluetooth version updated to 2.1 from 2.0.
• 320 GB, 5400-rpm hard drive option added

Engadget speculates that this may be a final push on Apple’s part to make all of the company’s notebooks able to support OpenCL when Snow Leopard is finally released. As you can see from the image above, the notebooks will begin shipping in about 4 to 6 days.

9to5mac points out that the white Macbook, even with the new NVIDIA 9400M chipset, still uses a Mini DVI port (at least according to Apple’s current website). Also, the RAM has been upgraded to 2GB, however it is DDR2, not DDR3 like its unibody macbook cousins.

Apple DisplayPort to Dual Link DVI Adapter Delayed Until Late December

Aviv — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:44:46 +0000

9to5Mac points out that if you’ve been waiting for Apple’s DisplayPort to Dual Link DVI Adapter, it has been delayed until late December.

When Apple released the new unibody Macbooks, they explained that the ports had to be reconfigured and introduced the Mini DisplayPort which had been integrated into the notebooks. Unfortunately, the new proprietary port requires a Dual Link DVI Adapter in order to power an external 30″ monitor. For customers that are waiting for this cable, delays have pushed back shipping for another 4-5 weeks, to late December.

9to5Mac: Not only has Apple charged me $100 to use my 30 inch screen with my Unibody MacBook, but the adapter is huge and takes a USB port for power. Oh, and there was a one month wait for these parts initially. Also, the way this technology works, I can’t use a regular DVI adapter on a 30 inch monitor. If I try, I get the same resolution as on my MacBook’s built-in display, not normal 1920×1200 resolution that the normal DVI supports. WTF.

OK, whatever. I am over it. It should come any day now right? Wrong! In a letter that could have been worded by the Grinch, Apple wrote to tell me and probably many others (below) that my Dual Link DVI Adapter wouldn’t be shipping until Dec 23. That is over two months past when the MacBooks were shipped! Great news, we’ll all be on Christmas vacation by then.

NVIDIA: Macbook Pro Driver Update Can Enable Dual GPU, 8GB RAM

Aviv — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:42:51 +0000

The new Macbook Pro’s may be capable of handling a lot more than Apple or NVIDIA are advertising. While confusion remains about the new notebook’s “limitations,” Gizmodo has spoken with an NVIDIA spokesperson and is able to clarify some info about performance.

In the current Macbook Pros, NVIDIA has confirmed that the dual GPUs are able to switch from discrete to the integrated GPU “on-the-”fly” without requiring the user to log out. As Giz points out, this is not unique to Apple, and Windows already supports this. Should Apple choose to update the Macbook Pro’s drivers, this functionality could be enabled. Arn from MacRumors points out, “The benefit to this, of course, is when you move from word processing to playing a game, the GPU could switch from one to the other automatically without requiring a log-out.”

This would enable support for a Hybrid SLI setup, which enables both GPUs to be used at the same time. This already exists in Windows’ PC’s, so Apple could enable it in the new notebooks with little to no announcements. While an argument remains about the benefits of a Hybrid SLI setup, “on-the-fly” switching between GPUs is considered a must by many users. “…being able to switch between the integrated 9400M and discrete 9600M GT on the fly without logging out would obviously be enormously easier than the current setup, and allow for some more creative automatic energy preferences—discrete when plugged in, integrated on battery,” Matt Buchanan explains for Gizmodo.

NVIDIA markets Hybrid SLI with the following two features:
Hybrid Power - which allows your to switch from one GPU to the other for better performance vs battery life. Apple’s MacBook Pros do support this feature but presently require you to log out.
GeForce Boost - this is the feature that allows both GPUs to run simultaneously to provide even better performance (and presumably, even less battery life).

Additionally, NVIDIA has confirmed that their new chipsets can officially handle up to 8GB of RAM. While we have yet to see a Macbook/Macbook Pro with 8GB of RAM installed, any creative professional, or gamer looking to vastly increase performance should be excited about such news.

While all of the functionality explained is entirely possible, we may never see it come to life. Without Apple’s support, and specifically a new software update targeted at the Mabook Pro’s drivers, we may not see “on-the-fly” switching any time soon. At least not from Cupertino.

Who Needs the Letter ‘B’ Anyways? Macbook Keyboard Gets Goofed

Aviv — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 21:14:51 +0000

Although Apple leads the industry in meticulous, precision perfect design, even a few unintended mishaps are bound to happen when dealing with massive supply chains and manufacturers. Kind of like the keyboard error below.

One proud Apple customer recently opened his Macbook, only to discover the keyboard had two “M” keys, an out of place “N” key, and was completely lacking a “B” key.

This isn’t the first time a keyboard error like this was discovered. Back in May the image below was posted by Engadget, which clearly shows the lack of an “F11″ key.

Manufacturing errors like this can happen when parts get standardized. All of Apple’s new notebooks now use the same keyboard (minus the backlighting variants), so a replacement or keyboard swap out shouldn’t a very big deal. Of course, Apple might not even acknowledge the letter B’s existence, in which case… good luck.

[Engadget]

Early Macbook and Macbook Pro Benchmarks Come In

Aviv — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:38:00 +0000

PrimateLabs has done the job of benchmarking Apple’s new Macbook Pro (Late 2008), and the Macbook (Late 2008) against their predecessors. It should be noted that these early test do not measure GPU performance (graphics capabilities), which based on the new hardware, should see great improvements.

PrimateLab’s benchmarks.

Gizmodo also put the new machines through some tests.

To test out the CPU and GPUs, we put the new MacBook, last generation MacBook Pro, the new MacBook Pro with power savings and the new MacBook Pro running at full speed through XBench and Geekbench performance tests.From a CPU standpoint, the metal MB really is just a tiny MBP (our tested processors have nearly identical clock speeds). So unsurprisingly, performance gains between our MB and MBP test systems were negligible. GeekBench confirmed that basic and floating point processing were pretty much the same across the board.

ArsTechnica has also posted some exciting new gaming benchmarks. Additionally, PCMag has published a separate set of benchmarks.

Other World Computing Begins Shipping Hard Drive Kits for New MacBooks

Dave — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:29:49 +0000

Coming off the heels of the recently released new line of MacBooks, Other World Computing has begun shipping its own MacBook drive upgrades.

In true capitalistic fashion, the third-party memory provider’s drive upgrades take advantage of the new MacBooks and MacBook Pro’s replaceable drives, as the base model kits tend to be far less expensive than upgrading directly through Apple. OWC also makes a point to note that they allow owners to retain their original factory installed drives.

The majority of the drive options center around 320GB disks, beginning with Hitachi’s Travelstar 5K320 available for $75. Spinning at 5,400 RPM and carrying 8MB of cache, the 5K320 is a good starter kit for the price. Users in need of more speed and storage can choose from either a Travelstar 7K320 or a Seagate Momentus 7200.3 coming in at $110 and $120 respectively, both carrying twice the cache and spin at 7,200RPM. OWC is additionally offering a 500GB Samsung Sandpoint M6 which comes in at 5,400 RPM and carries 8MB of cache for $180.

[electronista]

Steve Jobs Responds to Missing FireWire Outrage via Email

Aviv — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 03:04:50 +0000

Apple CEO Steve Jobs has allegedly responded to an email regarding the outrage over missing FireWire in Apple’s new 13″ Macbook. The email, which hasn’t entirely been authenticated, explains that most digital camcorders use USB 2.0, as apposed to the now absent Firewire.

Jobs has been known to respond randomly to emails. In early August an internal email he sent to the entire Mobile Me team was leaked. Typically, someone will report of Jobs responding directly to an email they sent, however most of the time it’s not entirely possible to authenticate. In some cases though, IP’s can be scanned and some back tracking can be done. In the case of this email, the alleged respondent was kind enough to snap a photo of the purported message sent by Jobs.

Many users have been furious over the ansence of FireWire in the new Macbooks. However, seeing as how Apple invented the transfer technology, and is now leaning away from it, it’s safe to question the stability of FireWire’s future.

“I am a video producer and use my MacBook on site to ingest footage taken from FireWire cameras, even occasionally hooking the camera right up to the MacBook,” says one Mac user via Apple Insider. “Well, it looks like there isn’t a FireWire port on it anymore… how the heck am I supposed to do that? I am sure I am not the only one with this concern.” — “Many of us don’t have great confidence that FireWire is here to stay on MacBook Pro, Mac Pro, or iMac, either,” another AI forum user wrote.

The exclusion of FireWire on the consumer level Macbook, could have also been play by Apple to entice consumers into the more expensive Macbook Pro. But the $800 price jump is pretty steep for most consumers. Perhaps most ironic is that Apple continues to sell the entry-level white plastic Macbook for $300 less than the baseline aluminum model, and it retains FireWire.

A recent poll on MacDailyNews shows that 34.5% of readers consider the absence of FireWire “not an issue”, 24.8% call it a deal-breaker, about 20% say it’s an “annoyance they’ll work around” and nearly 10.5% say the move by Apple is pushing them to buy a Macbook Pro. Whatever the reasons may be, Apple is at the forefront of cutting-edge technology, so a move such as this isn’t necessarily shocking, as it is surprising.

Greenpeace Reviews Apple’s ‘Greener’ Approach to New Notebook Family

Dave — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 20:46:17 +0000

In response to Apple’s ongoing environmental efforts, Greenpeace has recently offered up a commendatory look at the new MacBook line, yet notes there may still be some room for improvement.

In recent statements concerning a “Greener Apple,” Steve Jobs has noted the new MacBook line to sport reduced toxics, less packaging, and better overall efficiency. Greenpeace has taken a comprehensive look at the new MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air and the LED cinema display’s specs. They have noted the results to be primarily favorable, indicating that the new notebooks feature internal cables and components that are free of PVC and BFRs.

Yet according to the article on the Greenpeace blog, the new MacBook’s sport toxic level reductions comparable to the Sony Vaio line on PVC and Lenovo Think Vision monitors, where they would have liked to have seen these toxins be reduced entirely. While these levels may not have been reduced across the board, Apple has been making strides to accomplish this in the near future.

“By far the most significant announcement that will resonate within the industry is fact that Apple is on course to be completely PVC and BFR free across in product range by end 2008. This will be a first for a computer maker and lays down the challenge to competitors such as HP, Dell, Lenovo, Acer and Toshiba,” Greenpeace explains. While all of the above mentioned companies have made pledges to remove such toxins in 2009, if Apple can manage to accomplish this ahead of schedule, the others should be able to follow suit.

“While Apple, and other top electronic companies, still face many challenges on the road to truly green electronics, it can only be a good thing to see a top CEO and high profile a public figure as Steve Jobs devoting significant time to environmental concerns at Apple.”

These are remarkably optimistic statements for the notoriously scrutinizing eyes of Greenpeace. Perhaps not until notebooks are made solely out of corn will they ever truly be satisfied.

[Greenpeace]

Macbook and Macbook Pro Torn Down, Reveal Gorgeous Internals

Aviv — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:54:34 +0000

Not long after Apple has unveiled a new notebook family, iFixit.com has managed to tear Apple’s new unibody Macbook and unibody Macbook Pro apart. Complimenting the process with high resolution photos, the machine reveals a gorgeous set of internals.

Macbook Pro

Although Apple’s senior vice president of design, Jony Ive, revealed the new unibody manufacturing process in a “Macbook video,” ifixit still provides a clear, step by step tear down of both new machines. MacBlogz provided our first hands on and initial impressions to the new 15″ Macbook Pro yesterday. And although we won’t be tearing ours down like ifixit has, the machine is just as beautiful on the inside, as it is on the outside.

Macbook

Read – iFixit’s Macbook Pro teardown
Read – iFixit’s Macbook teardown