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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Mac Notebooks > Do you like the style/design of the new Macbook's?

View Poll Results: Do you like the new design?
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Yes 46 votes (74.19%)
No 16 votes (25.81%)
Voters: 62. You may not vote on this poll
Do you like the style/design of the new Macbook's?
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frankthetank966
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Oct 14, 2008, 04:14 PM
 
Do you like the new design with the black screen and aluminum keyboard?
 16 GB 2nd Generation Black iPod Touch w/Contour Showcase
 White Core 2 Duo Macbook with: 2.0 GHz/1 GB Ram/80 GB Hard Drive
     
Smillz
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Oct 14, 2008, 04:15 PM
 
To be honest no, I am fairly disappointed with this update, or lack of
     
highstakes
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Oct 14, 2008, 04:18 PM
 
No, but may be it looks a little better in person
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frankthetank966  (op)
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Oct 14, 2008, 04:26 PM
 
It looks very ugly. Honestly I think the aluminum and black make the comptuter look to similar to an Acer laptop such as this. The colors also clash.



I liked the idea of bringing back the "black" matte finish for the macbook. I love the white design since its so unique and I could always distinguish an Apple in a crowd because of its color
 16 GB 2nd Generation Black iPod Touch w/Contour Showcase
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Simon
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Oct 14, 2008, 04:27 PM
 
Yes. On the MBP, I'd say the looks are the best part of the upgrade.
     
stevebez
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Oct 14, 2008, 04:28 PM
 
do I like the design? Yes.
Will I buy one? No.
The reason: no FireWire.
Seriously, no FireWire? WTF! Tell me Apple, how am I supposed to use migration assistant with no FireWire? How about hooking up my vidcam, or a usefull external hard disk? If you are going to create the modern equal to the first iBook it should be your cheapest laptop. If it had been $800 I would think nothing of it. Exactly how much does a FireWire chip and socket cost, $1 or $2? Please add $20 to the price of the MacBook and give me a FireWire port. Is that really too much to ask?

Edit: I should also point out that you can still buy the O.G. Macbook with a FireWire port for $300 less.

The new MacBook is completely useless to me. Despite all the upgrades I consider it a complete POS due to one glaring and deliberate omission.
     
Simon
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Oct 14, 2008, 04:29 PM
 
Originally Posted by stevebez View Post
Seriously, no FireWire? WTF! Tell me Apple, how am I supposed to use migration assistant with no FireWire?
MA works beautifully over USB. It has for quite some time already.

What you don't get with USB is TDM.
     
slugslugslug
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Oct 14, 2008, 04:53 PM
 
Well, I'm going to tentatively say Yes. But I'm not gonna vote in this poll until I've had a chance to go to my local Apple Store (or Uni computer store) and fondle--er, I mean handle one first.

I think the previous MacBooks are downright beautiful, though, so I might be disappointed when I eventually trade mine in for a new model. On the other hand, I think the old MBP and Aluminum PBG4s before them were pretty ugly..
     
applesbiggestfan
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Oct 14, 2008, 05:16 PM
 
Why is everyone so fussy about the Firewire.

Design = love it
Graphics = gotta love it
Trackpad = sweet
Larger FSB = yay

I don't even use FireWire so I'm gonna get either a 2.4Ghz Macbook or a 15" 2.8Ghz Macbook Pro.

AWESOME!
     
applesbiggestfan
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Oct 14, 2008, 05:18 PM
 
Yeah the only things I dislike about the new ones are:

- Macbook stayed 2.4Ghz instead of going 2.53Ghz
- The Macbook and the Macbook Pro are identical. (the previous macbook used to be so perfect and unique)

Otherwise............................... ROCK ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
     
molala
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Oct 14, 2008, 05:47 PM
 
Looks wise, it's great.

But I also want the firewire port. I need it for an external hard drive I have. Also, how do I use target disk mode now?

I may just get a blackbook if those are still available.
     
stevebez
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Oct 14, 2008, 06:01 PM
 
Originally Posted by applesbiggestfan View Post
Why is everyone so fussy about the Firewire.

Design = love it
Graphics = gotta love it
Trackpad = sweet
Larger FSB = yay

I don't even use FireWire so I'm gonna get either a 2.4Ghz Macbook or a 15" 2.8Ghz Macbook Pro.

AWESOME!
Many of us who have been Mac users for any length of time have an investment in FireWire gear, back when the Mac had USB 1.1. Furthermore even FireWire 400 is considerably faster than USB 2. Have an older vidcam that you want to continue using with your new MacBook? Sorry, you are out of luck. Go buy a new one. How about that large external hard disk you put together a few years back? You are at a minimum going to need a new case, and even then your transfer speeds are going to drop like a rock.

All the new features you listed above are wonderful upgrades, but to me all of them combined are not worth the loss of FireWire. I guess I'll be buying the old model. Thanks for the price drop apple! I hope you add FireWire to the new one in the future.
     
Scooterboy
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Oct 14, 2008, 06:17 PM
 
No, I like neither the aesthetic design of the new "Pro" Apple portable, nor the so called upgrades. The colors do indeed clash and it really does look like many windows laptops.

I use my PowerBook in a variety of places some with light sources from every angle and a polished glass screen is going to have glare and reflectivity issues. The graphics are not "sweet". Not for a pro or even a gaming laptop. The 9600M GT is simply the same old 8600M GT made on a smaller die and running a slightly faster clock speed. They could have paired a better discrete GPU to go with the integrated graphics on these new macbooks.

Ports have been removed. I use all the I/O ports on my PowerBook G4: FW 800, FW 400, and both USB ports. No, using a clumsy adapter is not a solution for I/O taken away.

No BluRay? Not yet? Then when? Apple got behind BluRay quite early on and now when the DVD industry is going BluRay, the PS3 has BluRay, many PC laptops have BluRay, but the MacBook Pro still does not and I'm not buying.
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Brien
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Oct 14, 2008, 06:25 PM
 
The omission of FW from the MacBook and new ACD may be telling. I'm a bit worried that once USB 3 hits the scene, we may see it dropped completely; Apple didn't seem very invested in getting S3200 approved. Let's just hope the iMacs keep at least one FW port (but more than likely, no, they won't).

Apple is all about upsell, and unfortunately, they've done it to cripple the MB. From a business standpoint, it makes sense - the top-of-the-line MB is pretty close to the Pro, spec-wise.
     
Andrew Stephens
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Oct 14, 2008, 06:36 PM
 
I think the large black bezel round the screen makes the dock look like it's floating halfway up the screen. It looks horrible. ONe reason to switch the shelf off or have the dock on the side I guess.
     
Faust
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Oct 14, 2008, 06:43 PM
 
I do like the design quite well. What I absolutely despise, however, is the look of the new Cinema Display for the Macbook. I strongly assume that the new displays that will be released at a later date will also look like this which is too bad because I find the new design has lost its elegance entirely. It looks cheap, just like the Alu iMacs that also look cheap to me. I like it on the Macbook but not on the display.

I always valued Apple's aesthetic eye when it came to their ACDs and bought them, knowing there were better products out there such as some of the Eizo displays. Now, I am not so sure anymore whether my next display upgrade will be Apple. I'll still get the Mac Pro, but for displays, I'll probably give it a miss and go for Eizo instead, eventhough they're just as ugly.
     
bballe336
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Oct 14, 2008, 06:45 PM
 
Originally Posted by applesbiggestfan View Post
Why is everyone so fussy about the Firewire.
Some of us actually rely on firewire for our jobs. USB 2 is horrible on the mac.
     
imitchellg5
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Oct 14, 2008, 06:58 PM
 
I like the MacBook Pro's design a lot, but I wish that there was differentiation between the Pro and regular 'Books. Not a huge fan of the LED Cinema Display's look either, but I love the concept (hate the price).
     
mduell
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Oct 14, 2008, 10:14 PM
 
There are no downsides to the new design compared to the old design, IMO, but they missed out on improvements I'd like to see (and would have motivated me to buy immediately): eliminate the bezel, add HDMI and eSATA, eliminate the ridiculous bezel, round off the front edge (MBAir digs into my forearms sometimes), and oh yeah, eliminate the bezel.

When I'm in a space constrained situation (airplane, conference table), it's the footprint that gets me, not the thickness.
     
Buckaroo
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Oct 14, 2008, 10:58 PM
 
I liked it so much, I ordered one tonight. I'm working a lot of overtime, so I went all out. I know it's a waste, but I got the 2.8ghz.

I did get an education discount that helped.
     
bonniescotland
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Oct 14, 2008, 11:57 PM
 
Apple getting rid of firewire on macbooks is crazy! I am an indie filmmaker have had short get into film festivals and I guess what I edited them on my macbook, yes I believe I can't run motion, but as the type of stuff I do isn't special effects (or whatever motion is for) I don't need a macbook pro, I also like the portability of the macbook. Yes I can see that the macbook pro would be better for serious editing, but for us semi-professional indie filmmakers working out of our garages and having a separate day job to keep us going, the macbook was the perfect economical/space saving option. Also as someone pointed out a lot of camcorders are still FW, when it comes to consumer camcorders the USB ones are problematic for editing. So for anyone who is either at my level or for someone just wanting to edit their family videos, no firewire port on a macbook is really problematic. For instance I have a friend who wants to edit her soccer matches for her soccer club, what will she do now? By the way she actually had tried editing stuff from a usb camcorder and had lots of problems, till I told her to use a FW camcorder. Fortunately she had a fw macbook to edit on. I think apple has underestimated the number of people who are trying to make and edit their own video, yes to them a soccer mum editing her soccer video may not be considered professional, it's not going to make it to the cinemas, but it still will be important for her to do a good video, so she can show it at her end of year soccer party etc.
     
himself
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Oct 15, 2008, 12:19 AM
 
I love the new design. The simplicity and thought behind it is stunning. The fact that the body is milled from a single block of aluminum is mind blowing in and of itself. That translates into a significantly lighter and sturdier body (none of the typical structural support materials are needed); I doubt there will be any complaints about "warping" and the lid not fitting precisely with the body.

And who is this saying that the "colors clash?" Are you kidding me? It's black and silver! There is no color... it's called monochromatic. I'll grant you, I would prefer a single unified "coloring" for the mew Macbook [Pro]'s, but this doesn't "clash" by any stretch.

They seem more than adequate as far as power goes (especially graphics), but I am disappointed in the lack of firewire... they are really pushing people towards the Macbook Pro's with that omission. I also wish that Apple would do away with those massive screen bevels. Why can't they go back to the Titanium-era bevels? Or at lest, something half as thick as the current bevels. Otherwise, I like the new direction overall.
( Last edited by himself; Oct 15, 2008 at 12:27 AM. Reason: P.S. The trackpad is incredible too... (What would RIM think?))
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AKcrab
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Oct 15, 2008, 12:20 AM
 
Originally Posted by bonniescotland View Post
..Rant about Firewire..
OK. So you need firewire.

Do you like the style/design of the new Macbooks?
     
stevebez
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Oct 15, 2008, 01:13 AM
 
Originally Posted by AKcrab View Post
OK. So you need firewire.

Do you like the style/design of the new Macbooks?
I think of things like ports and hardware configuration to be part of the design.
     
Brien
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Oct 15, 2008, 01:14 AM
 
Originally Posted by Buckaroo View Post
I liked it so much, I ordered one tonight. I'm working a lot of overtime, so I went all out. I know it's a waste, but I got the 2.8ghz.

I did get an education discount that helped.
Same here, although I 'downgraded' to a 250gb 7200rpm drive, so it only cost around $220 extra for the speed bump. I figure I'll want this computer to last a couple of years at least, why not?
     
B Gallagher
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Oct 15, 2008, 03:17 AM
 
Originally Posted by bballe336 View Post
Some of us actually rely on firewire for our jobs. USB 2 is horrible on the mac.
Curious - have you ever used Firewire on your Mac?
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Simon
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Oct 15, 2008, 04:54 AM
 
Originally Posted by applesbiggestfan View Post
- Macbook stayed 2.4Ghz instead of going 2.53Ghz
In each an every one of the prediction threads you participated in you were told that 2.53 GHz on the MB wasn't going to happen. Hanging on to that idea was simply setting yourself up for the disappointment you now experience.
     
Simon
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Oct 15, 2008, 05:02 AM
 
Originally Posted by mduell View Post
eliminate the bezel
I agree 100%.

add HDMI
No interest here.

eSATA
On the MB I'd prefer EC/34. On the MBP EC/34 is there so there's already an easy way to get eSATA. I want bus-powered eSATA to become widespread before Apple starts using limited port space to build in yet another connector type.
( Last edited by Simon; Oct 15, 2008 at 05:19 AM. )
     
molala
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Oct 15, 2008, 06:05 AM
 
Firewire - I feel like I did when they dropped the PCMCIA slot from the iBooks and 12" PBs. I hated it but then learned I could live without it.
     
blackmur
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Oct 15, 2008, 07:56 AM
 
i have to see the "real thing"....
but based on pictures... i would say the new machines have an incredible lack of personality.... i can recognize a portable mac like a pismo, a powerbook 12 or 17, a mbair even without the apple logo on the back... here... well i dont...
the macbook at the end, i think it's ok.... i suppose they will sell a lot of them... the pro.. well.. i guess it's too visible they designed the 13 first and the the 15 is a derivate... it happenend in the past as well.... like the alu powerbook 15.. but in that case the result was accetable.. in this case i dont think so .. it looks like a big macbook to me.... it's a nice pc anyway
     
Merkava_4
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Oct 15, 2008, 08:02 AM
 
I think the new MacBook is out of this world gorgeous.
     
StevenSimpson
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Oct 16, 2008, 11:00 AM
 
Originally Posted by stevebez View Post
do I like the design? Yes.
Will I buy one? No.
The reason: no FireWire.
Seriously, no FireWire? WTF! Tell me Apple, how am I supposed to use migration assistant with no FireWire? How about hooking up my vidcam, or a usefull external hard disk? If you are going to create the modern equal to the first iBook it should be your cheapest laptop. If it had been $800 I would think nothing of it. Exactly how much does a FireWire chip and socket cost, $1 or $2? Please add $20 to the price of the MacBook and give me a FireWire port. Is that really too much to ask?
.
I with ya...but because I want TDM
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Railroader
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Oct 16, 2008, 11:28 AM
 
Originally Posted by highstakes View Post
No, but may be it looks a little better in person
Agreed
     
Jerome
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Oct 16, 2008, 12:22 PM
 
I like it, except for the glossy finish of the screen...
     
   
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