I Want a MacBook Pro
August 16, 2006, 5:42 PM | 8 Comments
Even before Apple announced the switch to Intel processors a year ago, I knew I would be seriously considering the purchase of a new Mac for my next computer. Well, the time has come and I’m at the point where I’m ready to buy, but I find myself hesitating. The problem I’m having now is that there are some rumours going around about Apple updating their laptops to the new Intel Core 2 Duo processors in the near future.
These rumours were circling around and some industry analysts were predicting the Core 2 Duo MacBooks announcement at WWDC 2006, which has since come and gone. After Steve Jobs gave a less than stellar keynote address with no mention of the Core 2 Duos (correct me if I’m wrong), the talk began heating up that the changes to the MacBook and MacBook Pro are now going to happen in September (assuming they’ll make the announcement at their annual event in Paris).
So, if I’m ready to buy now, why bother waiting? Am I really going to benefit from the difference between the 32 bit Intel Core Duo processor and the 64 bit Intel Core 2 Duo processor? Probably not, or at least, not noticeably. I run a Windows x64 machine at work, and I’ve never once been impressed by it. In fact, most of the time I’ve been hindered by the fact that 64 bit support is (at least so far) very weak on the Windows side and while I do expect that Apple’s 64 bit implementation will be a lot stronger, that’s not even my motivation for waiting.
The plain, simple truth is that I can’t stand the thought of buying a brand new machine, and then having Apple update the processor (and presumably at least 1 more item in the MacBook Pro) a few weeks, or even a couple of months later. This is especially true when you add in Apple’s history of packing more features into the same product and not even bothering to adjust the price point.
Don’t get me wrong though, I’m not bashing Apple’s practices in this regard. The fact that they offer more features and better components in the same product at the same price (or in some cases an even lower price) is exemplary in the industry and only endears consumers towards the Apple brand even further. I’m not sure that I’ve ever seen that type of practice from the Dell or HP camps, but I have digressed.
Over a year ago I mentioned that I thought Apple had bridged the gap between Windows and Mac users. With the advent of Parallels and Apple’s own Boot Camp, my thoughts have been confirmed. The fact is that an Intel based Mac has become the perfect ideal platform for web professionals to develop with and I’m definitely not the only one who shares this thought.
When I finally do make the switch and get a MacBook Pro, you can bet that I’ll be posting an on-going journal to share the experiences of transforming myself from a long-time Windows user to a Mac user.
The time has come, and it’s getting harder to hold off.
Update: A new report has shown up on AppleInsider detailing a little bit more about Apple’s plans.
Update, October 24, 2006: Apple has released new MacBook Pro models with Intel Core 2 Duo processors. There have been a lot of good upgrades that they’ve seen as well such as a Firewire 800 port, bigger hard drives, more RAM, better optical drives. I sure am glad that I’ve been holding out for the upgrade, because it was well worth the wait.
Update: I now HAVE a MacBook Pro! Be sure to check out my “Switch Journal” as I chronicle my experiences switching from a PC/Windows user to a Mac user.
Posted in: Apple, Life, Technology
Comments
1. Erwin Heiser - August 25, 2006, 5:20 PM
I’m in the same position as you are. The new towers are nice but frankly overkill for my needs and the iMac may lacks any expandability. A laptop lets you carry your work with you but with new models rumoured and reading about the teething problems of the first generation books I’ll try and hold out a few months (or weeks) more…
Nice blog you have here, btw
2. Jonathan Eckmier - August 26, 2006, 10:51 AM
Erwin: Thanks! I think the new iMacs are great machines if you’re in the market for a desktop machine for home use. My problem is that I just can’t see myself going back to just desktop home machine after I’ve had a laptop for so long. You just can’t beat the portability (which in turn produces so many options of where and when you can get some work done).
The new Mac Pros I think are a great value and blow anything Dell has at the moment out of the water. I think in the future I’d consider grabbing an iMac though for a “home” machine. Having the option of both a MacBook Pro and an iMac sounds pretty tantalizing!
3. Gabe - August 29, 2006, 2:05 PM
Thanks for the post. I caught wind of this just as I was about to buy a MacBook Pro 17” screen - I was very excited until my “insider” mac friend said to wait one month… that was a week ago. I haven’t followed Apple the last couple of years, but isn’t just about every TECH launch delayed by a few months. Given that Apple isn’t even talking about this… are we going to be in a position to wait a month and then a month and then another month and before we know it, it’s 2007?
4. Jonathan Eckmier - August 29, 2006, 5:33 PM
Gabe: You’re welcome.
are we going to be in a position to wait a month and then a month and then another month and before we know it, it’s 2007?
I suppose that’s always a possibility really, but judging by Apple’s product update history an update to their MacBook line is probably not that far off. I would say October at the latest.
Also, you have to take into account that Apple will not be the first company to release laptops with the Intel Core 2 Duo processors (Dell, Toshiba and others released their first Core 2 Duo offerings yesterday) and they’ll want to keep up with their competition.
I suspect that an announcement will be made sometime in mid-September, but if not I would be shocked if there were no announcement by the end of October.
5. Chris Iwanowski - October 1, 2006, 10:24 AM
Core 2 Duo’s will be coming from Apple, you just have to hold your horses. Yes other companies will beat Apple to the punch, but I’m sure the Apple hardware will have all the bells and whistles it usually has.
Off Topic, my 10.4.8 Update on my MacBook Pro did not go so well. It look about 2 hours to clean up the mess that it created.
6. Chris Iwanowski - October 2, 2006, 10:53 PM
Sounds like Core 2 Duo in the MacBook Pros might never happen. Apple may choose to jump a chip.
7. Jonathan Eckmier - October 4, 2006, 9:47 PM
Thanks Chris (x2)!
I’ve been reading a lot of mixed opinions on whether Apple will or won’t update their MacBook line (specifically the Pros) to the Core 2 Duo chips.
From all that I’ve read it’s really hard to choose an opinion to believe. MacRumors has reported the Merom MacBook Pros won’t happen until 2007, while AppleInsider is still expecting the updates before the US Thanksgiving.
If what that Spymac article claims is true (that the Merom chips don’t offer much performance upgrades in laptops), I may not end up waiting for the Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro after all. I will just have to wait and see a little longer I guess.
8. Jonathan Eckmier - October 6, 2006, 1:17 PM
Everyone: Some new information has been released. See update above!