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Apple laptop naming conventions
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amazing
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Jun 27, 2009, 11:59 PM
 
When I saw this particular link in another thread, I couldn't stop chuckling:

http://barefeats.com/mbpp14.html

Excellent article, but the chuckle lies in how the laptops are named: Here we've got a great comparison between the 15" MBP e08 (early '08) and the 13" MBP m09 (mid '09). Of course, the former's an MBP with replaceable battery and EC, the latter is a unibody newly-designated-(perhaps gentrified?)-MB-surnamed-P with non-replaceable battery but with SD-slot.

Confused?

This post is written from my 15" MBP e08-bought-on-discount-L08(late '08)-after the L08-unibodyL08 MBP was introduced. I'm somehow thinking that I should have "matteLCD" in that description, somewhere...
     
Simon
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Jun 28, 2009, 04:00 AM
 
The Early/Mid/Late 200x scheme is IMHO a huge step up from monikers like iBook (FireWire) or PowerMac (Digital Audio).
     
Spheric Harlot
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Jun 28, 2009, 04:10 AM
 
Originally Posted by amazing View Post
When I saw this particular link in another thread, I couldn't stop chuckling:

http://barefeats.com/mbpp14.html

Excellent article, but the chuckle lies in how the laptops are named: Here we've got a great comparison between the 15" MBP e08 (early '08) and the 13" MBP m09 (mid '09). Of course, the former's an MBP with replaceable battery and EC, the latter is a unibody newly-designated-(perhaps gentrified?)-MB-surnamed-P with non-replaceable battery but with SD-slot.
Firewire development (and the switch to 800 for the Pro series) is the consistent factor in the laptop naming scheme.
     
Big Mac
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Jun 28, 2009, 04:29 AM
 
Yeah, I'd say early, mid and late year descriptors are superior to trait-based descriptors, but it's still confusing to users who aren't as technically adept to try to figure out what specific release they have. It would be helpful if Apple included that information in System Profiler in parenthesis after the model name (and not just the cryptic model identifier technical name).

"The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground." TJ
     
Simon
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Jun 28, 2009, 05:40 AM
 
Apple should indeed use those identifiers in Sys Profiler.

For those 'technically not so adept' users Apple however does usually have KB articles like "which MB do I have?" and they also have spec pages for all their hardware (present and past). Also, Wikipedia entries for the different lines usually help determine which exact model somebody has.
     
Spheric Harlot
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Jun 28, 2009, 06:11 AM
 
Also, there is Mactracker
     
Simon
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Jun 28, 2009, 06:25 AM
 
     
ghporter
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Jun 28, 2009, 08:03 AM
 
At least there's some sort of timeframe context in the "early middle late early 06ish" terminology. Beats the heck out of "3G iPod video" in my opinion.

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
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Jun 28, 2009, 05:52 PM
 
Originally Posted by Simon View Post
Apple should indeed use those identifiers in Sys Profiler.
++

Also, Everymac also has the entire list of old Macs. So far I haven't found it to be wrong on anything important.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
amazing  (op)
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Jun 28, 2009, 07:19 PM
 
You could easily say that what distinguishes the MBP from the MB is the separate graphics chip--especially when looking at the performance differences in gaming. From that point of view, the 13" MBP m09 really isn't worthy of the MBP name.

Maybe we should call it the 13" MBP m09 "Junior." (Rather than "Gaming Impaired.")

Obviously I haven't figured out why the 13" MB is now in the MBP lineup. Do cosmetic changes in appearance make it a "Pro?" I simply can't believe that a new battery redesign justifies calling it a "Pro!"

To my mind, performance is what makes a "Pro" and the MB still falls far behind. But then I'm biased, because I've always thought that my 12" Al PB should have really been called a "Super-iBook" and not a Powerbook.

Meanwhile, Apple's in charge of naming, so that's that...but it's darned confusing. Especially in the forums, when you're trying to figure out who's got what.
     
AKcrab
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Jun 28, 2009, 07:28 PM
 
Originally Posted by amazing View Post
... From that point of view, the 13" MBP m09 really isn't worthy of the MBP name.
And that would mean the entry level 15" MBP is also not worthy of the name.

Instead of making all the aluminum machines MBP's, I think they should have just introduced the new 15" MacBook...

I guess that's why I'm not a marketing whiz...
     
lpkmckenna
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Jun 28, 2009, 08:41 PM
 
Yeah, the 15" MacBook Pro with only the 9400m was a big surprise, but they needed to find a way to make it cheaper in this economy.

The decision to now call the 13" a "Pro" laptop was a surprise too. Why the rename? I think the whole "FW800 = Pro" is a red herring. I think Apple is gonna keep the plastic MacBook and reposition it as a "subnotebook." Apple knows the budget subnotebook/netbook is here to stay. They will probably keep the DVD drive but somehow make it smaller and lighter and sell it cheaper. That's why they wanted to distinguish the 13" aluminum MacBook with the Pro moniker. MacBook will mean "subnotebook" or "netbook."

I've got the unibody 13" MacBook without FW. I think that's a pretty good identifier. I used to have the aluminum 15" PowerBook (1 GHz with FW800), and before that the 400 MHz iMac DV SE. I've never had any trouble telling someone which Mac I owned. I never use the year because it isn't helpful.
     
CharlesS
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Jun 28, 2009, 08:44 PM
 
The reason the new 13" model is called the MacBook Pro is because it's the successor to the 12" PowerBook. That machine wasn't a graphics fiend either, but it was still a PowerBook, and a lot of people loved it, so Apple's making a modern equivalent.

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lpkmckenna
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Jun 28, 2009, 08:49 PM
 
I don't know about that. The 12" PowerBook was a lot smaller. Many still long for a real replacement.
     
CharlesS
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Jun 28, 2009, 09:41 PM
 
Only in one dimension, which is only because Apple now uses widescreen monitors across its line (and the 13" MBP is actually thinner than the 12" PB was). The 12" PowerBook was roughly the same size as the basic iBook at the time - the 13" MBP is the same size as the white MacBook. It parallels pretty cleanly.

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AKcrab
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Jun 28, 2009, 09:45 PM
 
I'm always surprised how many customer think the nearly 2 inch difference in width is a "Big Deal™"... Even though the MBP is .1 pounds lighter than the 12" PB.
     
amazing  (op)
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Jun 28, 2009, 10:28 PM
 
Originally Posted by AKcrab View Post
And that would mean the entry level 15" MBP is also not worthy of the name.

Instead of making all the aluminum machines MBP's, I think they should have just introduced the new 15" MacBook...

I guess that's why I'm not a marketing whiz...
Yep, most might say that the low-end 15" MBP is semi-Pro. You're right: It should be in the MB line, just like there were 12" and 14" iBooks. If Apple had done it that way, they could have later introduced a 12" MBP with a good graphics chip and better performance than the MB line.

Probably that would lead to too much overlap between the laptop lines. Not to say that changing the 13" MB to a Pro designation isn't confusing, just because it's got an aluminum skin and firewire...

In the end, we've got some 13" semi-pro models and now a 15" semi-pro.
     
amazing  (op)
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Jun 28, 2009, 10:37 PM
 
Originally Posted by AKcrab View Post
I'm always surprised how many customer think the nearly 2 inch difference in width is a "Big Deal™"... Even though the MBP is .1 pounds lighter than the 12" PB.
That 2" difference makes it amazingly easy to handle and carry--that's why the 12" AlPB still has a devoted following. Mine's still sitting nearby, haven't brought myself to sell it yet.

Pretty cynical for Apple to take firewire away from the MB, then cite it as a reason for promoting the 13" into the MBP line when they bring firewire back.

As if nobody would notice.
     
CharlesS
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Jun 28, 2009, 11:31 PM
 
Well, they upgraded it to FireWire 800, which the MacBook didn't have before.

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Simon
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Jun 29, 2009, 02:40 AM
 
If Apple somehow got rid of that ridiculously oversized bezel around the screen the 13" MBP would be a whole lot more like a widescreen version of the 12" PB.

But with that bezel the 13" MBP just looks and feels so much bigger. Heck, I hardly notice a big difference between carrying around the 15" MBP and the 13" MBP.
     
tooki
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Jun 29, 2009, 06:40 PM
 
Originally Posted by Simon View Post
Apple should indeed use those identifiers in Sys Profiler.

For those 'technically not so adept' users Apple however does usually have KB articles like "which MB do I have?" and they also have spec pages for all their hardware (present and past). Also, Wikipedia entries for the different lines usually help determine which exact model somebody has.
Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot View Post
Also, there is Mactracker
Originally Posted by Simon View Post
Originally Posted by P View Post
++

Also, Everymac also has the entire list of old Macs. So far I haven't found it to be wrong on anything important.
Uhh, you can also go to apple.com/support, click "Check your warranty status" paste in your serial number (copied from System Profiler), and it'll tell you what model you have.
     
Brien
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Jun 29, 2009, 07:00 PM
 
Originally Posted by Simon View Post
If Apple somehow got rid of that ridiculously oversized bezel around the screen the 13" MBP would be a whole lot more like a widescreen version of the 12" PB.

But with that bezel the 13" MBP just looks and feels so much bigger. Heck, I hardly notice a big difference between carrying around the 15" MBP and the 13" MBP.
The bezel needs to die on all the notebooks.
     
P
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Jun 30, 2009, 10:34 AM
 
Originally Posted by tooki View Post
Uhh, you can also go to apple.com/support, click "Check your warranty status" paste in your serial number (copied from System Profiler), and it'll tell you what model you have.
That's great, but putting the model in System Profiler would be even easier.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
   
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