new Macbook pro with retina display is out!

http://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/

--------------------
www.Lozjackson.com

from the looks of things you won't be able to upgrade the ram or the flash storage. It looks like everything is integrated with the motherboard

new speakers though

'Dual Adaptive Microphones' sounds interesting

--------------------
www.Lozjackson.com

No Firewire. Two thunderbolt ports - and a dedicated hdmi port is a nice touch - but no FW.

Or gig-E ... ! (Apple will sell you an adapter though)

Or 17" version

I get the feeling that once again, Apple has lost track of who is buying these things.

Ho hum

--------------------
Veni, Vidi, Aesculi
(I came, I saw, I conkered)

Quote Dave B:

---

No Firewire. Two thunderbolt ports - and a dedicated hdmi port is a nice touch - but no FW.

Or gig-E ... ! (Apple will sell you an adapter though)

Or 17" version

I get the feeling that once again, Apple has lost track of who is buying these things.

---

Well, unless they're on a "MUST have the most expensive MacBook!" fetish, musicians won't be, will they? The lower range models look more useful. Real power users will still go for a Mac Pro (or a PC).

They know the new thing won't appeal to everybody, which is why the mentioned the necessity of losing some "legacy" things (Firewire, hard drives, optical drives, ethernet port etc etc) and the loss of some drive space due to the costs of SSD drives.

The display will be amazing for the apps that support it, but in the short term it really only means the Aperture/Final Cut updates, Photoshop will follow along, and some third-party switched on devs - it will take a few years for all the devs to have upgraded their applications for retina displays, and hopefully by then there should be more retina-enabled computers out there to make it worthwhile.

Two thunderbolt ports is nice though - at least you can then plugin in a second display *and* a thunderbolt peripheral without requiring a £400 TB hub...

I'm pleased my machine is still current (the MBP's got a minor refresh - basically, the new chip set for a modest performance increase, which will be largely unnoticeable, and USB 3, which is not particularly exciting for me, but hey... it's better than 2.0 and backwards compatible, so...) but I knew a bigger refresh was on it's way. For the roughly the price I paid for my machine, I could have got the entry level retina machine, but would have found the 256GB SSD way too limiting (I have 750GB drive in my MBP, and constantly don't have much free space at all...)

But yeah - roll on a few years when all displays are at that kinda of resolution, and hopefully the days of pixellated computer screens and low res graphics will be largely over, and so much the better for it...

Quote Dave B:

---

I get the feeling that once again, Apple has lost track of who is buying these things.

---

They have the figures that tell them exactly who's buying them.

They have basically been selling *no* 17in MBP's for a long time. Yes, the 0.2 per cent of the Apple laptop buying people love them, but it just wasn't enough to keep them viable. I always thought the 17s were too big, for me anyway...

The sales figures were atrocious, apparently... the same for the Mac Pro, but there is still a case for keeping them around (for a while at least) but Apple clearly aren't that bothered or they would at least have done more than the minor upgrade to put in a few TB ports etc...

Quote Dave B:

---

No Firewire. Two thunderbolt ports - and a dedicated hdmi port is a nice touch - but no FW.

---

There's also this July release Firewire adaptor.
FW adaptor

Couldn't justify the cost of a new Mac and went with a HP instead. Saved about $1000 and it is zipping along nicely. Still can't get used on the angularity of the display but for that price difference I better

Quote Jauqq:

---

Quote Dave B:

---

No Firewire. Two thunderbolt ports - and a dedicated hdmi port is a nice touch - but no FW.

---

There's also this July release Firewire adaptor.
FW adaptor

---

Excellent. Now, if Yamaha would only update the mLan drivers, I could get rid of my old MacBook running Snow Leopard....

Quote Jauqq:

---

Quote Dave B:

---

No Firewire. Two thunderbolt ports - and a dedicated hdmi port is a nice touch - but no FW.

---

There's also this July release Firewire adaptor.
FW adaptor

---

The Firewire Adaptor is a bit clunky... making my Duet+macbook+mics+stands+cables a little bit less portable ... :-)

*

Anyway, I would like to use a retina display for watching bluray movies I'd buy on a whim at some gas station while travelling...

And, I'd like to be able to buy a cd, and listen to it on my computer and rip it into iTunes... a thing I do not less than every month.

Who said I was talking about just musicians?

In certain sectors of the IT market where sheer power and reliability are key elements, MacBookPros are the de facto machine to have (despite not being an 'officially' supported platform). In fact, in my area I don't hire anyone who doesn't have one (ok .. I'll let it pass if they have Linux) - but that's not been the case now for the last three years or so.

Apple dropped the ball in the 90s and nearly lost their audio market. This kind of 'big bang' approach will seriously hack off a lot of folks with cash to spend on an upgrade..... practically, they will have to wait for the 'bits' that they need to mature.

Oh ... and laptops aren't direct competition for MacPros .... and the MacPro is not the answer to all problems...

It's the 'but we've given you a firewire port - why are you moaning about losing slots' thing all over again!

--------------------
Veni, Vidi, Aesculi
(I came, I saw, I conkered)

Quote Dave B:

---

I get the feeling that once again, Apple has lost track of who is buying these things.

---

Sure, they can't please everyone all the time. But the idea that Apple are out of touch with the market and trends in the technology field doesn't bear too close examination.

Quote 4TrackMadman:

---

Couldn't justify the cost of a new Mac and went with a HP instead. Saved about $1000 and it is zipping along nicely. Still can't get used on the angularity of the display but for that price difference I better

---

Some people appreciate quality and design, and some don't.

The lack of FireWire on the new retina MacBook pro is disappointing but does make sense when you see how beautifully thin it is. It's quite an amazing machine however you look at it.

Quote johnny h:

---

Quote 4TrackMadman:

---

Couldn't justify the cost of a new Mac and went with a HP instead. Saved about $1000 and it is zipping along nicely. Still can't get used on the angularity of the display but for that price difference I better

---

Some people appreciate quality and design, and some don't.

The lack of FireWire on the new retina MacBook pro is disappointing but does make sense when you see how beautifully thin it is. It's quite an amazing machine however you look at it.

---

One can only stand in awe of a company who succeeds in marketing a premium model which forces the user to buy expensive adapters to get the facilities of the cheaper model!

Smaller and smaller devices are all very well, until you realise how much extra gear you have to carry around to make them work. Every laptop computer needs a power supply. You're going to have to carry it everywhere with you anyway. Why isn't it EVER integral? The Apogee Duet looks very neat - but the pictures never show the essential adapter leads! etc. etc.

We would be well advised to get a little more in touch with our inner engineer and slap down our inner fashion victim.

Quote Exalted Wombat:

---

One can only stand in awe of a company who succeeds in marketing a premium model which forces the user to buy expensive adapters to get the facilities of the cheaper model!

---

haha

Quote Exalted Wombat:

---

We would be well advised to get a little more in touch with our inner engineer and slap down our inner fashion victim.

---

very true.

I was planning a new MBP purchase for some time this year and I was waiting with excitement for the new design.. knowing it was going to be thinner, lighter, and lose the firewire & ethernet ports.. but I'm very pleased they have kept the old design alongside the new one.

I think I will wait until I've had a look at the new ones in the store (and at that point I'll probably let my inner fashion victim talk myself into it) But I know I really should listen to my inner engineer and buy the old design (without retina display) - I know it makes sense.

The fact is I need a bigger hard drive than what is offered on the new MBP and the price is a bit more than I would like to spend.

--------------------
www.Lozjackson.com

Interesting stuff. I've been holding off buying a new MacBook Pro until the new models came out as I'm also buying the UAD Apollo, which means I can finally ditch my MacPro (with its UAD PCIe card).

Anyway, it's a no brainier for audio, I'm going to go with the top of the line old model. It'll sit in a cupboard most of the time run from an external monitor, and given I'lll only use it for audio, a retina display would have been a waste anyway. Plus the HD can be upgraded in the future (TB SSD?). FireWire plus Thunderbolt plus CD drive and audio line in and out. The Retina is the poor cousin, unless you're into displays or a thinness freak.......

Bob

--------------------
www.bickerton.co.nz

Quote Exalted Wombat:

---

Quote johnny h:

---

Quote 4TrackMadman:

---

Couldn't justify the cost of a new Mac and went with a HP instead. Saved about $1000 and it is zipping along nicely. Still can't get used on the angularity of the display but for that price difference I better

---

Some people appreciate quality and design, and some don't.

The lack of FireWire on the new retina MacBook pro is disappointing but does make sense when you see how beautifully thin it is. It's quite an amazing machine however you look at it.

---

One can only stand in awe of a company who succeeds in marketing a premium model which forces the user to buy expensive adapters to get the facilities of the cheaper model!

Smaller and smaller devices are all very well, until you realise how much extra gear you have to carry around to make them work. Every laptop computer needs a power supply. You're going to have to carry it everywhere with you anyway. Why isn't it EVER integral? The Apogee Duet looks very neat - but the pictures never show the essential adapter leads! etc. etc.

We would be well advised to get a little more in touch with our inner engineer and slap down our inner fashion victim.

---

These days a lot of music is made on laptops and played on laptops, all around the world. If you are taking 4 flights a week touring around the world you will really appreciate not being forced to take an obsolete cd drive with you the entire time. While still having the power to create and mix down fully commercial quality tunes. With 7 hours of battery life.

Have you seen how small the thunderbolt to FireWire connector is? Looks like it weighs less than your toothbrush.

Being stuck inside a stuffy room can cloud your perception of how these things work in the real world. Hence why all the anti-mac doomsayers who have been gleefully and confidently predicting the failure of the iPod, iTunes, iPhone, MacBook air and iPad have been proved so jarringly mistaken.

Quote johnny h:

---

...you will really appreciate not being forced to take an obsolete cd drive with you the entire time.

---

I actually still burn CDs from time to time

--------------------
www.Lozjackson.com

Quote Bob Bickerton:

---

I'm going to go with the top of the line old model.

---

good choice, I think thats what I will do.. but I'll probably wait a few months before I do

--------------------
www.Lozjackson.com

Quote Exalted Wombat:

---

Every laptop computer needs a power supply. You're going to have to carry it everywhere with you anyway. Why isn't it EVER integral?
We would be well advised to get a little more in touch with our inner engineer and slap down our inner fashion victim.

---

Well... from an engineering perspective, the integral PSU idea would never work as it produces too much heat.. if you tried to encase this along with powerful CPUS and lots of RAM, the machine would never get past about 500 mhz running speed without huge fan arrays.. How portable is a Mac Pro?..



--------------------
MBP 17", PC 100(Nubus Protools) Motu 896, X-Station, Logic9, Reason6, Korg legacy, ACE, Alchemy, Emax II, E-Synth, Evolver MEK, Waldorf Pulse and Blofeld, AS Telemark, AS Leipzig-S

Quote Bossman:

---

Quote Bob Bickerton:

---

I'm going to go with the top of the line old model.

---

good choice, I think thats what I will do.. but I'll probably wait a few months before I do

---

Decided to get it under way so that it ships with Lion, so as to aoid possible conflicts between software and Mountain Lion which it'll ship with next month.

Bob

--------------------
www.bickerton.co.nz

Quote Bob Bickerton:

---

Quote Bossman:

---

Quote Bob Bickerton:

---

I'm going to go with the top of the line old model.

---

good choice, I think thats what I will do.. but I'll probably wait a few months before I do

---

Decided to get it under way so that it ships with Lion, so as to aoid possible conflicts between software and Mountain Lion which it'll ship with next month.

Bob

---

good point

--------------------
www.Lozjackson.com

Quote Bossman:

---

I actually still burn CDs from time to time

---

Me too, and even that was a chore. I went through 6 optical drives on my last MBP, and even then it could barely burn anything to any disks, CD or DVD. It just got embarrassing to keep going back to the Apple Store, so I just gave up in the end. I used to just do it on my G4 Powerbook, which was always rock solid.

Having an onboard optical drive is basically unnecessary these days - for the people that do need to burn, they can always get an external burner - not as self-contained, but the ability for a mobile workstation to need to burn disks is nowhere near as relevant as it used to be.

Quote desmond:

---

Quote Bossman:

---

I actually still burn CDs from time to time

---

Me too, and even that was a chore. I went through 6 optical drives on my last MBP, and even then it could barely burn anything to any disks, CD or DVD. It just got embarrassing to keep going back to the Apple Store, so I just gave up in the end. I used to just do it on my G4 Powerbook, which was always rock solid.

Having an onboard optical drive is basically unnecessary these days - for the people that do need to burn, they can always get an external burner - not as self-contained, but the ability for a mobile workstation to need to burn disks is nowhere near as relevant as it used to be.

---

This is true, but I like the fact that I can use the bay for a second HD.. not sure I would want to sacrifice that just yet



--------------------
MBP 17", PC 100(Nubus Protools) Motu 896, X-Station, Logic9, Reason6, Korg legacy, ACE, Alchemy, Emax II, E-Synth, Evolver MEK, Waldorf Pulse and Blofeld, AS Telemark, AS Leipzig-S

Quote Bossman:

---

from the looks of things you won't be able to upgrade the ram or the flash storage. It looks like everything is integrated with the motherboard

new speakers though

'Dual Adaptive Microphones' sounds interesting

---

It seems to go even further than that, the SSD is proprietary and currently irreplaceable, the battery is glued in and is now a $200 upgrade and the RAM is soldered to the logic board, along with a screen that is fused to the frame.

http://www.techspot.com/news/49038-ifixit-retina-macbook-is-apples-least-r epairable-laptop-ever.html

The old design is definitely looking more attractive to the pro user..

--------------------
http://www.williammorrismusic.com

The battery's been non-removable for years.

( e.g my 2009 MBP )

AFAIK only Apple can replace the battery. Dunno whether it's harder for them in the new ones.

Quote chris...:

---

The battery's been non-removable for years.

( e.g my 2009 MBP )

AFAIK only Apple can replace the battery. Dunno whether it's harder for them in the new ones.

---

The retina battery replacement costs more than previously so I presume the replacement is much harder to do being actually glued in place.

--------------------
http://www.williammorrismusic.com

How many laptop users actually use their laptop without the PSU connected?

--------------------
http://soundcloud.com/richie-royale
http://www.mixcrate.com/richieroyale

Quote Richie Royale:

---

How many laptop users actually use their laptop without the PSU connected?

---

depends what I'm doing.

If its just general use, I like to use the battery as much as possible rather than leaving it plugged into the mains all the time.

If I'm using a laptop for recording, then I'll always plug it in.

--------------------
www.Lozjackson.com

Quote Richie Royale:

---

How many laptop users actually use their laptop without the PSU connected?

---

I don't just use my MBP when I'm conveniently situated near a power outlet. A laptop is *mobile*, which let's you have the option of moving around, untethered. Doesn't mean you always have to do that of course, but the option is nice. I use my MBP in all kinds of places where I otherwise couldn't if there was no battery.

If I *am* near a power outlet, then I'm mostly plugged in, of course.

Quote Bossman:

---

Quote Richie Royale:

---

How many laptop users actually use their laptop without the PSU connected?

---

depends what I'm doing.

If its just general use, I like to use the battery as much as possible rather than leaving it plugged into the mains all the time.

If I'm using a laptop for recording, then I'll always plug it in.

---

Apart from occasional use where a power socket isn't available, the only time I'd CHOOSE to run on battery is when I'm on location, plugged in to other audio gear for recording or playback and there's a ground loop problem that I can't be bothered to sort out - time is short and/or I won't be going back there too often!

I think some people may still be basing decisions on how batteries and charging circuits USED to behave :-)

Quote Exalted Wombat:

---

Quote Bossman:

---

Quote Richie Royale:

---

How many laptop users actually use their laptop without the PSU connected?

---

depends what I'm doing.

If its just general use, I like to use the battery as much as possible rather than leaving it plugged into the mains all the time.

If I'm using a laptop for recording, then I'll always plug it in.

---

Apart from occasional use where a power socket isn't available, the only time I'd CHOOSE to run on battery is when I'm on location, plugged in to other audio gear for recording or playback and there's a ground loop problem that I can't be bothered to sort out - time is short and/or I won't be going back there too often!

I think some people may still be basing decisions on how batteries and charging circuits USED to behave :-)

---

I just prefer not to be attached to the wall by a cable.

If I've got an audio interface attached, and/or external hard disks then I don't mind plugging it in to the mains too.. but for normal day to day stuff like email/internet/office etc, then I prefer not to have any attachments so I can easily move from one room/place to another with my laptop and not have to think about cables.

--------------------
www.Lozjackson.com

How about this for a nice feature?:

The Retina MBP can have four independent displays attached:

http://www.macrumors.com/2012/06/20/retina-macbook-pro-can-run-three-exter nal-displays-simultaneously/

Pretty cool - it's amazing the tech inside modern laptops now...

thats impressive

--------------------
www.Lozjackson.com

Quote desmond:

---

How about this for a nice feature?:

The Retina MBP can have four independent displays attached:

http://www.macrumors.com/2012/06/20/retina-macbook-pro-can-run-three-exter nal-displays-simultaneously/

Pretty cool - it's amazing the tech inside modern laptops now...

---

I wonder why the picture didn't SHOW independent displays? That would have been far more impressive than them all showing the same content!

Quote Exalted Wombat:

---

Quote desmond:

---

How about this for a nice feature?:

The Retina MBP can have four independent displays attached:

http://www.macrumors.com/2012/06/20/retina-macbook-pro-can-run-three-exter nal-displays-simultaneously/

Pretty cool - it's amazing the tech inside modern laptops now...

---

I wonder why the picture didn't SHOW independent displays? That would have been far more impressive than them all showing the same content!

---

i dunno, the fact that you can connect three displays direct to a laptop is impressive enough.

as for them showing the same content, well, thats just the background image of the desktop...

--------------------
www.Lozjackson.com

Has anyone got one yet? Curious how Pro Tools runs on it.