[Ron K]

I am waiting to purchase an new MacBook Pro 17", but am cautious about the timing. A few years ago, I purchased another Mac computer, and a month later they came out with a new model. I want to avoid that happening again. Does anyone have an educated guess as to when to expect the new models? I very much appreciate your input on this subject, since I will be traveling in September, but do not want to jump the gun. Thanks

[SierraDragon]

Fuggedaboutit, buy now. 2011 Sandy Bridge 17" MBPs are spectacular boxes, the first true desktop replacements. Just be sure to get your new box with a SSD. Also, an upgrade between now and September is IMO very unlikely.

Also, expect Apple to sooner or later start removing things from the top MBPs with new boxes. The EC/34 slot that I personally find very convenient may be the first to go since Thunderbolt (theoretically but not practically) obviates the need for EC/34.

Recent tests of the 2011 17" MBP's EC/34 slot:
SanDisk Extreme Pro Express Card Adapter for CF cards from Amazon, $40.

Approximate real-world test results in the 2011 17" MBP:
• Sandisk Extreme III CF Card, SanDisk EC/34 Adapter = ~10 MB/sec
• Sandisk Extreme IV CF Card, SanDisk EC/34 Adapter = ~37 MB/sec
• Sandisk Extreme IV CF Card, SanDisk EC/34 Adapter = ~36 MB/sec

• Sandisk Extreme Pro CF Card (UDMA6), SanDisk EC/34 Adapter = ~80 MB/sec

With fast CF cards upload speeds via the EC/34 slot are sweet; fast enough to literally change workflows. For comparison, a Sony USB card reader's fastest upload was ~12 MB/sec.

My emphasis has been on images uploading to date, but cheap prices of slower CF cards are making me look at using the EC/34 slot for backup in the field as well.

(SD adapters also available)


-Allen

[SierraDragon]

Forgot to mention, personally I strongly recommend the anti-glare display. However it is a matter of personal preference. If you are not an images person or mostly watch DVDs in darkened environments you may prefer glossy. In any event I suggest spending some time with both displays under mobile-usage type lighting before deciding. For many of us glossy versus matte is a deal breaker.

HTH

-Allen

[Ron K]

THANK YOU! I so much appreciate you taking the time to help me understand the capabilities of the MacBook Pro. All the best.

[gsouthee]

What is the price of new MacBook Pro? In my area it is quite expensive and cannot be purchased by a normal user considering other laptops.

[Salty]

Buy now, I got an i7 13 inch and can't figure out a way to tax this process enough to slow it down. (Aside from a video transcode and even that is blazingly fast) You'll love your new one, and they probably won't do an update for like another 7 months or so. And I second the SSD option, if you're going to invest a ton in the machine might as well put in for an SSD and it'll blow your socks off.

[SierraDragon]

Originally Posted by gsouthee 

What is the price of new MacBook Pro? In my area it is quite expensive and cannot be purchased by a normal user considering other laptops.

US prices are USD$1200-$2500 plus extras, like add USD$100 for SSD:
MacBook Pro - Buy MacBook Pro notebook computers - Apple Store (U.S.)

As regards "...expensive and cannot be purchased by a normal user considering other laptops" one does get what one pays for. Cheapest possible I-just-want-to-send-email box, buy a netbook or an iPad v1.

If you do buy a Windows box of any flavor be sure to factor in the antivirus costs, including headaches of dealing with Win's horrific security issues. Last decade I managed average 9 Mac boxes and average 9 Win boxes. The additional real IT overhead in coping with Win from a security standpoint was huge.

Yes Macs are equally susceptible to malware if one is dumb enough to intentionally install it. But as regards viruses in the wild the score to date is OS X approx. zero, Windows approx. 100,000+. For 10+ years I had multiple Macs on line 24/7 without problems. On the Win side if add-on a/v protection maintenance got a little sloppy the result would be all day un****ing the machine.

-Allen