[ajprice]

The taped off 'port'... a latch hole for the bottom case or a storage bay for an Apple Remote (maybe not the current remote but a new one?).

Just guessing what it might be, maybe its not a port at all as the placement is strange.

[Super Mario]

I'm not sure I care about the idea of these laptops anymore if they don't have a quad-core processor, a Quadro GPU and a screen with color accuracy for professionals. Why does Dell offer that pro solution but not Apple? Why this insistence on slimness across the whole range when it comes at a performance cost?

[ajprice]

They have put themselves in a corner a bit with the 1" thick casing of the current MBP, when they go for slim they usually make the next model the same thickness or thinner (like with the iPods), maybe they've worked on the cooling with this one to enable a quad core etc.

[P]

Actually, the movement to an nVidia chipset, if it happens, makes a Quadro GPU more likely. The cooling reqs don't seem to be that terrible - Dell packs them into 14"ers, so Apple should certainly be able to fit them in slim 15" and 17" MBPs.

[Super Mario]

Originally Posted by ajprice 

They have put themselves in a corner a bit with the 1" thick casing of the current MBP, when they go for slim they usually make the next model the same thickness or thinner (like with the iPods), maybe they've worked on the cooling with this one to enable a quad core etc.

Hope so but doubt we'll see a Quadro ever or a color accurate screen. When it comes to the GPU and screens, Apple doesn't cater for pros at all. That's why the Dell Precision 6400M is really swaying me and I'm no longer sure I want my money going to Apple with Al Gore on the board but that's another matter.

[analogika]

Originally Posted by darkmatter 

What about an SD/MMC Memory Slot? or a hole new port specially designed for SS Memory?
Wouldn't be that bad to have one, but with all the I/O interface diet all Apple products are in, it may be doubtful

Why would they implement a port that was de facto obsoleted five years ago by the fact that iPhoto automatically recognizes virtually any digital camera you just plug in via USB?

[analogika]

Originally Posted by Super Mario 

I'm not sure I care about the idea of these laptops anymore if they don't have a quad-core processor, a Quadro GPU and a screen with color accuracy for professionals. Why does Dell offer that pro solution but not Apple? Why this insistence on slimness across the whole range when it comes at a performance cost?

No Quadro GPU? No quad-core processor? What have you been reading? Or do you just infer that from a half-dozen photographs of empty laptop shells? Is there a ghost of installable hardware that you're seeing in the photographs?

And when the MacBook Pros were switched to LED screens, they were the best and most color-accurate screens on the market BY FAR.

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/con...id=7-8741-9027

I don't know if they've been caught up with, let alone surpassed, yet.

Originally Posted by Super Mario 

Hope so but doubt we'll see a Quadro ever or a color accurate screen. When it comes to the GPU and screens, Apple doesn't cater for pros at all.

As I said, AFAIK there is no other laptop that surpasses the MacBook Pro in color accuracy.

Apple do a pretty fantastic job at catering to pros in their PRO series.
Unfortunately, the regular MacBook is not catered to that market, but if the glossy displays and varying screen quality in the plastic MacBooks didn't tip you off to that fact, then there's not much helping you, anyway.

[olePigeon]

So does this mean no Target Disk Mode on the MacBooks? I need Firewire for imaging.

[Andrew Stephens]

Originally Posted by analogika 

No, it's not, no matter how much your wishful thinking might try to will it that way. It's just slightly blurred (all ports and their logos get slightly more blurred towards the top of the image - focus/lens distortion).

(Also, the ports are of identical size - FW is noticeably thicker than USB.)

From the top

Mag Safe
FW800
USB
USB
miniDVI
Audio in
Audio Out

just my input based on the number of ports shown

Optical drive on t'other side

I heard that these alu shells are just the internal chassis and that the whire black outers will continue. Product(red) macBook anyone?

[analogika]

That FW800 port has an Ethernet logo next to it.

Sorry.

[Super Mario]

Originally Posted by analogika 

No Quadro GPU? No quad-core processor? What have you been reading? Or do you just infer that from a half-dozen photographs of empty laptop shells? Is there a ghost of installable hardware that you're seeing in the photographs?

If you're suggesting we're going to have a high end Quadro and quad-core CPU in those shells I'll buy it.

And when the MacBook Pros were switched to LED screens, they were the best and most color-accurate screens on the market BY FAR.

This is nonsense. I have used four MacBook Pros with the latest LED screens. They aren't 10 bit and they don't support even close to 100% Adobe RGB color gamut (The Dell Precision M6400 is the only laptop that does). When I plug them in to a 10 bit pro monitor I can see all the areas where retouching has to be done again. It's incredible that you could believe a MacBook Pros screen can be used for high end retouching work.

[Kodachrome_Project]

Interesting to see the DVD drive move to the side, during flights, it was a pain to load / unload them in the front given the lack of room. By the looks of this internal, one could ask if the new portable might incorporate a SSD on one side for OS and apps and a large capacity standard drive on the other. Of course this all depends on power and heat distribution:

http://photo.yupoo.com/wally31/3364565690b0/evkffy2p/

I am glad they are announcing tomorrow. My first gen. MBP has been fraught with bugs / issues and is way overdue for a replacement. Either way, it is all good, Apple's stock is now up about 19%...

[CharlesS]

Originally Posted by analogika 

And when the MacBook Pros were switched to LED screens, they were the best and most color-accurate screens on the market BY FAR.

Uh, the LED backlight is nice, but the screen itself is a pretty generic cheap 6-bit TN panel which seems to be considered unsuitable for graphics work by most people in that field. Apple tried to claim that the MBP screens were special once, and got hit by a class-action lawsuit for it.

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune....settles-m.html

Lenovo has made laptops with IPS panels in the past, which would put those models completely out of the MBP's league. I'm not sure if they still make them, but either way it's just downright wrong to claim the MBP has the best screen ever seen in a laptop.

[Super Mario]

Originally Posted by CharlesS 

Uh, the LED backlight is nice, but the screen itself is a pretty generic cheap 6-bit TN panel

If a buyer is lucky they can find some MBPs with 8 bit screens, especially among the 17" models. Still not quite good enough for high end color accuracy though.

[analogika]

Alright.

I went by Galbraith's article.

[darkmatter]

Originally Posted by analogika 

Why would they implement a port that was de facto obsoleted five years ago by the fact that iPhoto automatically recognizes virtually any digital camera you just plug in via USB?

On the mystical slot...

My comment does not have any kind of fundament, by kind I mean technical, ergonomic and usability related.
Just dropped my 5 cent without even noticing the slot doesn't meet the size specifications of SD cards.

I thought about some kind of memory related because personally I do not like to connect my consumer
camera via the USB port through a cable. I prefer to take out the slow SD Card and hate to insert it on the USB
stick that the card included.

I thought the mystery slot could be memory related because i think that soon in the future 32 Gbyte SD Cards will
pullulate everywhere on the market at very low cost, this could be an opportunity to add an extra dedicated and fast
memory interface to Apple's notebooks.

In case you don't, take my comments in easy and peaceful way, I'm of the ones that think that other than 3G modems,
storage related concerns and led flashing ventilators, regard the USB port on mobile computers as too heavy. (Smiley
smoking green one)

If the slot is real, I think that Apple needed to have a really and highly important reason to give justification to the cut of an additional hole on the case of the new notebooks

Best Regards

[Simon]

These guys claim the "taped-off port" could actually be the battery release lever. They then go on to say that might also be the round thing next to it. My guess is the latter's right, since the MB has only the round hole, but not the "taped-off port".

http://9to5mac.com/mystery-button-revealed

[Simon]

Originally Posted by P 

Cost. Firewire is not included in the Southbridge on either Intel or nVidia chipsets, so you need an extra chip and a more complicated motherboard.

I would accept the cost argument if the MB were to become a whole lot cheaper. Like $899 for the entry-level model.

Unfortunately the latest rumors say the prices of all MBs and MBPs will stay right where they are now. IOW > $1099.

http://www.electronista.com/articles...prices.leaked/
http://www.9to5mac.com/macbooks-same-price-points

[Super Mario]

Originally Posted by analogika 

Alright.

I went by Galbraith's article.

No prob. Let's keep fingers crossed that Apple sees the light one day.

[Super Mario]

Originally Posted by Simon 

These guys claim the "taped-off port" could actually be the battery release lever. They then go on to say that might also be the round thing next to it. My guess is the latter's right, since the MB has only the round hole, but not the "taped-off port".

http://9to5mac.com/mystery-button-revealed

I think there's supposed to be a wide compartment underneath at the front end of the laptop. The compartment is as wide as the laptop, contains the battery and comes entirely off to maybe reveal an upgradable hard drive bay.

[darkmatter]

Originally Posted by Simon 

These guys claim the "taped-off port" could actually be the battery release lever.

Hopefully it includes 4 side leds

[Ted L. Nancy]

Originally Posted by Kodachrome_Project 

By the looks of this internal, one could ask if the new portable might incorporate a SSD on one side for OS and apps and a large capacity standard drive on the other.

Not

gonna

happen.

[analogika]

Originally Posted by Simon 

I would accept the cost argument if the MB were to become a whole lot cheaper. Like $899 for the entry-level model.

I would accept your argument if aluminum and LED displays weren't substantially more expensive than plastic and regular backlighting.

[schalliol]

Originally Posted by Simon 

Unfortunately the latest rumors say the prices of all MBs and MBPs will stay right where they are now. IOW > $1099.

I don't know that this is a credible rumor. If they change the names to actual names, might they change the prices too?

[shifuimam]

Originally Posted by analogika 

Why would they implement a port that was de facto obsoleted five years ago by the fact that iPhoto automatically recognizes virtually any digital camera you just plug in via USB?

That doesn't make any sense. SD isn't obsoleted by any means - every peripheral on the market that isn't manufactuered by Sony, Olympus, or Fuji uses SD for storage. Cell phones use MicroSD, PDAs and digital cameras use SD...it would make perfect sense to include a slot.

I love the fact that my M1330 has an integrated SD slot. It means I no longer have to keep a USB cable with me just for transferring pictures - and, when travelling, I don't have to waste precious battery life on file transfers.

[schalliol]

Originally Posted by shifuimam 

That doesn't make any sense. SD isn't obsoleted by any means - every peripheral on the market that isn't manufactuered by Sony, Olympus, or Fuji uses SD for storage. Cell phones use MicroSD, PDAs and digital cameras use SD...it would make perfect sense to include a slot.

I love the fact that my M1330 has an integrated SD slot. It means I no longer have to keep a USB cable with me just for transferring pictures - and, when travelling, I don't have to waste precious battery life on file transfers.

I'd put the chance of SD at 2%. Pro cameras rarely use SD, and it just isn't Apple like to add it.

Oh, and if you really want SD card reader, you should just by a ExpressCard/34 card reader: http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/expressreader

[mduell]

Originally Posted by analogika 

Why would they implement a port that was de facto obsoleted five years ago by the fact that iPhoto automatically recognizes virtually any digital camera you just plug in via USB?

Because most cameras are slow (even cheap USB readers are faster) and inconvenient (battery powered rather than bus powered) flash card readers.

[brassplayersrock²]

hmm

http://www.macnn.com/articles/08/10/...laptops.specs/



i kinda hope not

[Eug]

Some more blurrification:

[TheoCryst]

Originally Posted by brassplayersrock² 

hmm

http://www.macnn.com/articles/08/10/...laptops.specs/



i kinda hope not

Looks authentic to me. Am I the only one that thinks its kind of sexy?

And no button on the trackpad! Crazy! That's what people get for complaining about having only 1 button...

[Dakar V]

Reminiscent of the latest iMacs.

[olePigeon]

I hate glossy displays!

[B Gallagher]

If that photo's accurate, and the new MBP displays are going to be a glossy-only option, that's going to annoy quite a few.

[AKcrab]

Originally Posted by olePigeon 

I hate glossy displays!

QFT.
I hate tap-to-click!

[Brien]

The only reason I can see glossy only would be a glass screen.

And if the box reallybis white then Apple doesn't consider the Mbp a pro laptop anymor.

[TheoCryst]

Originally Posted by Brien 

The only reason I can see glossy only would be a glass screen.

And if the box reallybis white then Apple doesn't consider the Mbp a pro laptop anymor.

I just can't imagine a glass screen working out too well under duress. It won't scratch as easily, and it'll clean easier, but drop that thing and you're fscked.

And I think the box is gray, not white. Tough to tell in the fuzzy photo, though. And of course there's a chance that they're just doing away with black boxes - who knows.

[Merkava_4]

Being that's it's 10 minutes after midnight here on the west coast, does anyone have any idea when Apple will update their site?

[Simon]

Originally Posted by analogika 

I would accept your argument if aluminum and LED displays weren't substantially more expensive than plastic and regular backlighting.

So essentially you are saying the only way to make an Al MacBook with a LED-backlit screen for $1099 is to drop the FW port? Seems like kind of a stretch to me.

You may disagree, but to me it really sounds like FW was dropped primarily to save space. And I question Apple's call here because I simply don't believe a majority of the MB buyers supports Steve's anorexic hardware vision if it comes at the cost of features and expansion options. I always thought that's where the MBA came in.

[Simon]

Originally Posted by schalliol 

I don't know that this is a credible rumor. If they change the names to actual names, might they change the prices too?

http://www.macrumors.com/2008/10/14/...not-a-macbook/


- K29, MB382LL/A $899.00 - LED Apple Display with DisplayPort?
- M97, MB466LL/A $1,299.00 - MacBook
- M97, MB467LL/A $1,599.00 - MacBook
- M96, MB543LL/A $1,799.00 - MacBook Air
- M96, MB940LL/A $2,499.00 - MacBook Air
- M98, MB470LL/A $1,999.00 - 15" MacBook Pro
- M98, MB471LL/A $2,499.00 - 15" MacBook Pro
- M88, MB766LL/A $2,799.00 - 17" MacBook Pro

It appears the rumored $899 price point is not a MB at all. OTOH judging by these prices, the entry-level MB is missing. Maybe a delayed release?

So far all the rumors indicate the MB and MBP price points are staying exactly where they are now. Get ready for some heavy-duty b!tching around here.

[Simon]

Awesome blur. Almost enough to make the pics worthless. This thing lacks a trackpad button. I can't see the power button in the top right either. Does the glass screen imply there will be no matte option? The KB and surrounding case seem to match the previous leaks very well though. I'm glad the latch is gone. But am I the only one thinking that for what's supposed to be a really slim notebook the black bezel around the screen is humongous?


This again nicely blurred pic indicates that the "taped-off port" wasn't a port indeed. Instead it could well be part of a battery release although I have touble making out any details. The fact that they moved the optical to the side seems to make a large battery block across the front edge more likely. Anybody remember this pic?

Sure the latch here is at the bottom, but this also seems to be a MB case. It was the MBP that had the "taped-off port".

If they actually do this battery block thing along the front edge, wouldn't that make the front very heavy? Ideally I'd guess you'd want the center of gravity closer to the back at the base of the screen.

Why is that box white (or light gray)? I thought black was the pro box color and white was for the MB?

[moep]

I believe those new pictures are legit but I don’t like the new design at all.

The MBP looks far too similar to the iMac now which is clearly positioned as a consumer product, not a prosumer product like the MBP should be.

And then Glossy only? No trackpad button? MB/MBA style Keyboard? Huge black bezel and the possibility of dust between the screen and glass (see iMac)? Ugh.

(I suspect that the whole trackpad will act like a physical button with tactile feedback. That way you could still rest your thumb on the lower part of the trackpad and use it to click like you are used to while gaining extra trackpad-real estate for multitouch purposes.)

[Simon]

Supposedly the new MBPs are en route to stores. But if you recall this image

according to that tag this top case was manufactured 4 weeks ago. Doesn't that seem a bit early?

[Simon]

Some more interesting details

• Hybrid SLI on the MBP to switch between motherboard graphics (9400M) and dedicated graphics (9600M GT) depending on load and power
• HD displays (also on the 15"?)
• 7200 rpm 320 GB HDDs, 128 GB SSD option; user-serviceable
• high-capacity battery
• up to 2.8 GHz, DDR3 and 1066 MHz FSB as expected
• DisplayPort

http://www.macnn.com/articles/08/10/...laptops.specs/

[Simon]

Daring Fireball's John Gruber confirms

And good news for those of you who’ve been bitching about Apple’s laptops having a single button: the single-button trackpad is gone. Which is to say there is no button at all. The new trackpad is similar to the Air’s, in that it is bigger and supports additional multi-touch gestures. But unlike the Air’s, the MacBook Pro’s new trackpad is made of glass, and is a button itself. You just press and it clicks. This is not like the current software option where you can enable “Tap to Click” in the trackpad preferences, but instead a glass trackpad that acts as a physical button, with a click you can feel.

The new MacBook Pro is not available with a matte-finish display. If you don’t like glossy, you can suck it.

Engadget is also correct that there is no new 17-inch MacBook Pro. I don’t know if the 17-inch revision is simply forthcoming, or whether it’s being phased out. My hunch is that it’s being phased out. The current 17-inch model will remain for sale for the time being — albeit with a larger 320 GB hard drive and 4 GB of RAM instead of 2 — but there is no 17-inch model with the features or appearance of the new 15-inch Pro.

...all these new MacBooks — regular, Pro, and Air — ship with the new Nvidia 9400M GPU. It’s apparently a screamer performance-wise, especially compared to the Intel integrated graphic chipsets that shipped with previous MacBooks and MacBook Airs, and it is capable of driving the 30-inch Cinema Display as an external monitor. In addition to the 9400M, the MacBook Pro sports a second GPU, the Nvidia 9600M GT.

In the new (aluminum) MacBook lineup, there are only two standard configurations:
$1299: 2.0 GHz, 2 GB memory, 160 GB disk
$1499: 2.4 GHz, 2 GB memory, 250 GB disk
Which is notable in that the new $1299 model sports a CPU that is 16 percent slower than the old one. That is not to say the system itself is “slower”, Apple’s argument will apparently be that the new Nvidia GPUs more than make up for the difference. What we’re seeing may be the beginning of the end of CPU hertz as the rule-of-thumb metric for system performance.
Also notable is that the 2.1 GHz white MacBook remains in the new lineup, at a new price of $999 — technically breaking the $1000 barrier, but nowhere near the $800 price point some financial analysts have been whacking off to.

[Simon]

So if this is correct the 17" will be phased out and the new Al MBs will start at $1299 with only the old white MB left at $999. I predict we'll be seeing record levels of b!tching here quite soon. Add in no FW on the MB, no matte on the MBP and I think it's time to get out that flame-retardant suite...

[Andrew Stephens]

Am I alone in thinking that Apple may be loosing it slightly here. The previous books were such a success because they accurately catered for what the market wanted and needed. Consumers didn't need big screens, ports to the max and separate GPU, the pros needed screen, matt displays and performance. The looks of the machines were great but really a lot of sales were down to the OS and the machine specs.

It seems to me that Apple is being overly led by it's designers now. They seem to think that all we want is fancy design. I'm really ticked about the lack of matt on the pro, the lack of track pad button, the shoe horned iMac design aesthetics.

[CharlesS]

Boy, the stuff in that report from John Gruber fails to make sense in so many ways, I don't even know where to begin.

Was Steve drunk when he approved this?

[moep]

I don’t really get the new scheme yet. At all.

Let’s see…

- Macbook 13" 2.1 Ghz 2GB 160GB old white plastic design $999
- Macbook 13" 2.0 Ghz 2GB 160GB new unknown aluminum design $1299
- Macbook 13" 2.4 Ghz 2GB 250GB new unknown aluminum $1599
- Macbook Pro 15" 2.? Ghz ?GB ???GB new aluminum/black design $1999
- Macbook Pro 15" 2.8 Ghz 4GB 320GB new aluminum/black design $2499
- Macbook Pro 17" 2.5 Ghz 4GB 320GB old albook design $2799 (*)

(*) will be phased out within a few months

new designs = nvidia chipset, new gpu (plus second one for the MBP), glossy display, trackpad, keyboard, et cetera
old designs = none of that

did I get that right?

[angelmb]

Originally Posted by TheoCryst 

Looks authentic to me. Am I the only one that thinks its kind of sexy?

No, you're not the only one, I find it really nice.

[Pierre B.]

Originally Posted by Simon 

Daring Fireball's John Gruber confirms

I find so hard to believe anything from what he says it is not even funny. This is going to be a very interesting day... though I will be off during the event revelations.