Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

thephotodork · Feb 20, 2006, 08:15 PM

The "Now Shipping" picture on Apple.com features an image of a MacBook Pro, similar to the one featured on apple.com/macbookpro. The mechanics of the version of the hinge on the main Apple.com page seems impractical, but it could be some sort of double hinge design.

Anyone know any details about this? Or if anyone has received their MacBook Pro or Orp KoobCam (courtesy of MacRumors), I'd like to know about this hinge . . .

http://www.apple.com/
http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/

Barefoot Matt · Feb 20, 2006, 08:20 PM

Check out the QTVR for a better sense of how the hinge works. I agree that it looks strange in those other pictures, but here it seems perfectly natural.

http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/gallery/qtvr.html

thephotodork · Feb 20, 2006, 08:26 PM

Yeah, I expect that it would work just as the PowerBook hinge worked, although they did squeeze the Airport Antenna into the hinge which could have modified the design of it a bit. I am just uneasy with two, obviously different, representations of the hinge.

It could just be a person in the Marketing department trying to squeeze the text onto the graphic, thinking that it would look nicer if there was a larger gap between the screen and the computer.

Just wondering if anyone had solid evidence either way, there have been two people on MacNN and one on MacRumors that have reported receiving their MacBook Pros.

tooki · Feb 20, 2006, 08:28 PM

It's the same hinge type as on your 12" PowerBook.

tooki

Peabo · Feb 20, 2006, 08:53 PM

hehe! They've now fixed the 'floating-lid' image on the main page

thephotodork · 07:33 AM

Originally Posted by z0ne81

hehe! They've now fixed the 'floating-lid' image on the main page

As to not appear like a complete idiot, here is what the image used to look like:

yticolev · Feb 20, 2006, 09:48 PM

http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/design.html

On a similar mechanical note, they have changed the latch. There are now two, and they do not appear to be the mag latch design. I didn't notice that at MacWorld. Also, I notice a little round dot next to the latch release. I'm guessing that is for the remote. Do you suppose that you can use it with an IR phone or printer?

tooki · Feb 20, 2006, 10:30 PM

It seems to be two latches, but they certainly do look like the same magnetic latches as before.

As far as anyone has been able to tell, the IR port is not IrDA, so it shouldn't work with any other devices.

tooki

Velocity211 · Feb 20, 2006, 10:50 PM

It would be very nice to have the IR port as an IRDA compatable, the 17in Powerbook also had the two latches

thephotodork · Feb 20, 2006, 10:55 PM

They probably did the two-latch design to allow for the iSight to be in the center at the top of the bezel. Hopefully it will let the screen sit a little snugger, I remember some people complaining that their 15-inch lid would sit uneven at times.

Velocity211 · Feb 20, 2006, 11:01 PM

That's whats happening to me, my iSight is always to the side now. It's nice to see apple fix that problem, also the big touchpad is nice.

thephotodork · Feb 21, 2006, 07:00 AM

It appears that Jason O'Grady has taken and posted the first pictures of the hinge in question. As discussed within this thread, the hinge appears to be the same as previous PowerBook hinges, at least mechanically, however it is clearly visible that nearly 40% of the hinge itself is now made of some sort of plastic, allowing for the Airport antenna to get reception.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/?p=102

It will be interesting to see how, if at all, Airport reception varies from previous generations, I'd think it would get worse reception since it is no longer in the more elevated and clear position at the top/sides of the screen.

junebug630 · Feb 21, 2006, 03:10 PM

Yeah, I expect that it would work just as the PowerBook hinge worked, although they did squeeze the Airport Antenna into the hinge which could have modified the design of it a bit.

Please God let that mean that the powerbooks now get better wireless reception (because of the new antenna location) than the current not so good performance. My 1.5 Ghz 12" Powerbook and one of my bosses has a 1.3 ? ghz 15" powerbook and neither of us is able to connect to our office building's free wireless. My boss can see it, but cannot connect, my powerbook cannot even see it and with the 12" design I have no recourse to add a wireless card as it lacks the PCMCIA slot. Our co-workers all can access it without trouble through there built in wireless on their PC laptops. It is embarassing and wireless range for me is one of the most important features on a laptop.
At home however, I am able to use my 802.11n (Belkin router) from my basement all throughout the house without trouble.

mduell · Feb 21, 2006, 10:15 PM

Originally Posted by tooki

As far as anyone has been able to tell, the IR port is not IrDA, so it shouldn't work with any other devices.

Not being BT is annoying, but I understand the reasoning. Not supporting IrDA? This is getting silly.

Kadman · Feb 21, 2006, 11:04 PM

I'm not sure I like what I'm hearing about the hinge/wireless situation. The only correct place to put a wireless antenna is higher up behind the display. As an evaluator of hardware, I consistently get significantly better wireless performance from models that place the antennas up behind the display. The only reasons to NOT do this are to save costs and simplify assembly (no routing of cables when mounting the display). And to top it off, this move also causes them to incorporate plastic into the hinge design to allow for better signal reception? Ouch!!!!

jeebus · Feb 21, 2006, 11:15 PM

Actually the real reason the powerbooks have such bad airport reception is because of the wireless chips used in them. When Apple moved the windows to the top of the screen from the bottom sides it made a little difference but not much. It was mostly hype. They are now using intel's wireless chip (the same kind as the centrino platform) and it is supposed to be much better. Hopefully this means that the MacBook Pro will get reception as good as the best PC laptops.ß

slffl · Feb 22, 2006, 02:12 AM

I dont know how the 15 and 12 are, but coming from a 17, the MBP cannot open as far and gives a very poor viewing angle when used as a LAPtop.

John123 · Feb 22, 2006, 05:29 AM

Originally Posted by slffl

I dont know how the 15 and 12 are, but coming from a 17, the MBP cannot open as far and gives a very poor viewing angle when used as a LAPtop.

I have a 15" PB. Don't have a protractor on me, but I'd estimate the angle to be about 115 degrees.

thephotodork · Feb 22, 2006, 09:27 PM

You shouldn't be using it in your lap anyway, the heat kills your swimmers . . .

tooki · Feb 22, 2006, 09:49 PM

Originally Posted by mduell

Not being BT is annoying, but I understand the reasoning. Not supporting IrDA? This is getting silly.

Hardly anyone used IrDA even when PowerBooks had it. Why bother?

IrDA is a fairly high-level communication protocol requiring smarter controllers on both ends (not to mention bi-directional IR communication, this needing an IR window twice the size) plus the remote would also have to be compliant, which means it'd need to be "smarter" than the typical remote control (thus increasing cost).

Finally, IrDA isn't designed for remote control use: IrDA's high (for IR) data rates substantially limit its useful operating distance. IrDA devices generally need to be within 3 feet to work, even less if there's a lot of light shining at one of the devices. There were programs for Palm handhelds to function as remote controls, but you couldn't use the IrDA port because it wasn't powerful enough. (Sony put a separate IR transmitter in some Clié models just to use it as a remote control.)

In a nutshell, using IrDA for a remote control would be misapplication of the technology, whereas "dumb" IR like Apple is using is the clear standard in remote controls, being used in thousands of models of devices for decades.

tooki

Velocity211 · Feb 22, 2006, 09:57 PM

Well there's already an IR port, so how much more work could it take to put in IrDA?

osxrules · Feb 23, 2006, 04:17 PM

Does anyone else wish Apple would go back to the original hinge design? I hated the way the screen went down at the back on my ibook. The hinge seems too easy to break because it lets you get a lot of leverage at the join.

I sometimes wish they'd go back to the G4 imac style too instead of the G5s they have now but I guess they were too bulky. I just think that bit below the display is ugly. Maybe if they took what was in there and put it in the middle of the monitor at the back.

Velocity211 · Feb 23, 2006, 06:53 PM

What does the MBP hinge look like anyway? I haven't seen any good pictures of it yet.