[agocke]

In fact, it looks worse. Previously, Apple had high end portable machines for the true power users among us. I've had two generations of Apple Intel laptops because I wanted an easy to maintain Unix system. This announcement makes me very disappointed as it appears that Apple is unifying the two sectors in order to cut costs. The hardware quality is still probably superior to most competitors, but this isn't the bleeding edge kind of stuff I expect from top of the line Apple hardware.

[carbon8]

I understand why people want the card slot, but the number of people who actually used it must be miniscule (which was apparently confirmed in the keynote). Hell, I've been using powerbooks and macbook pros for a decade for video, audio and programming, and I have been working mobile full time for years, and I still have never used the slot. I know musicians and video guys who have, but that was years ago, before widespread decent quality usb/firewire audio and video devices. Sure some people want it, but this isn't a big deal for the vast majority of users.

Honestly, I find it incredibly strange that people still make the pro/consumer distinction. It's been a while now that even low end computers have been more than enough for most people, even most "pro" users. There are plenty of people out there working full time on low-end macbooks (though, in that case, often hooked up to a larger display). At this point, the ONLY reason I've been buying macbook pros rather than low-end macbooks is the screen size.

[adw]

I've been working fulltime on a 12" Powerbook G4 (and I've written and released an entire album on the same machine, for that matter). And the G4 Powerbook wasn't especially fast when it came out! Computers have been by and large fast enough for most things for years.

I'll be going for the 13" MBP for my next machine, I suspect.

[dgallagher]

"At this point, the ONLY reason I've been buying macbook pros rather than low-end macbooks is the screen size."

Some of the higher-end Pro models have better video cards, which yields better 3D performance, and sometimes better output on larger displays (e.g., running 1080p video on a 1920x1200 monitor). I'd imagine Photoshop CS4 runs quicker with a better video card (assuming Open GL is enabled in PS).

A few extra USB ports on the big guys too, and semi-faster CPU's (which doesn't make a heck of a difference unless you're doing something intense).

Other than a few people who care about the above, you're right. You're mostly picking for screen-size/native-resolution, and weight/form-factor.

[mbreese]

I don't know about that... it looks like they are bringing the older non-metal macbook back to prominence. And they are moving the metal 13" to the macbook pro line, which is where it always belonged anyway. The 13" model straddled the line ever since they went unibody with it. Now they are firmly picking a side.

[GHFigs]

Define "true power users".

[agocke]

Well, people who use a dedicated graphics card are a good start. For audio editing I used the express card slot for an external audio processing card.

[GHFigs]

I'm not sure I understand. Do you need both a dedicated graphics card and an to use ExpressCard to qualify? Is someone that uses a FireWire audio interface not a "true power user"? What about programmers that don't need either?

[aaronblohowiak]

8 gb of RAM! 8!