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[Baconsammy]

Ok - another question...

I've placed my order on the Retina Pro and now I'm having second thoughts.

I'm wondering if I should wait on a first-gen Mac product (since that seems to be running opinion) and get an upgraded Air instead. With the money I'd save, I could get a new iPad. Anyone have any thoughts about buying a first-gen Mac product? I've got a 2010 white unibody MacBook, so I'm aware that each year Apple is going to put on the next best - but I'm just wondering if I get the Retina Pro will I have something that will last 3-4 years (I was getting the 16 gigs of RAM to go along with)?

Thanks

It's almost never a good idea to be an early adopter of a new electronics product. It's even more true with Apple products. The problem is that with Apple products it's often hard for many of us to wait. I'm very happy I never got the original iPhone. I'm incredibly thrilled that I never bought the original Macbook Air. The product both of them eventually became when I bought them are so much better than what they were. Given past history, I think its a fair guess to say that a year from now the Retina Macbooks will be much better than what you get today. Both in terms of hardware, choices, price, and compatible apps.

 

[Skel1ingt0n]

It might just be the particular Apple store I went to (in this instance the one at the Leigh Valley Mall), but man the service I got last night sucked.

I wanted to buy a 13" MBA with 8 gigs of ram instead of the base 4. I called ahead 2 days earlier and was told that they had this model in stock. I was skeptical but whoever was on the phone assured me that they had this model in stock. So I was visiting my sister's house last night and decided to pop over to the Apple store (with my twins in tow, their first visit incidentally).

When I get there I immediately am greeted by a friendly Apple store employee, but this guy was clueless. He barely seemed to understand what I was asking for and then after checking with his supervisor tells me the only way I could get what I wanted was to get the maxed out 13" Air (which is about $2200). I told him thanks but no thanks (which is where this exchange should ended) but then he tries to convince me to buy the base model with 4 gigs of ram saying that no one will ever need more than that. I was getting a little annoyed at this point and tell him that I am expecting to use the laptop for some time and that the RAM is not upgradeable. He assures me that that much RAM is unnecessary and again tries to get me to place an order. I tell him thanks but no thanks and leave (unfortunately there were no magazine racks around to knock over because I would have considered it at this point). I go home and did what I should have done in the first place and ordered online, but I hope that my shitty experience at the Apple store was an isolated experience because I generally have had good experiences in the past, especially at the Genius Bar. That is the kind of shit I expect when I go into Best Buy and the employees try to get to buy Monster accessories an an unnecessary warranty.

Sorry to hear that. The Apple Store I visit is usually pretty cool (KC Plaza location). The Genius bars are friendly/helpful; and general staff are quick to ask if you need help. In my experience, an Apple Store is usually friendly - but like anywhere else, uninformed folk can rear their ugly head, like they did in your case.

Reminds me... last night at Best Buy, while looking at the Retinabook, I had a BB employee tell me that the AMD GPU wasn't even necessary - that the processor is so fast and there is so much RAM, that I'd probably be fine without it. That Apple just through it "in there because." :-/ SMH.





***

Question for those of you with a Retina book; is your RAM usage going up by any significant margin compared to using the same apps on previous computers. I'm wondering if the high res is going to make much a difference in RAM usage. To me, 8GB really does seem more than enough. I mean, I'm usually the first to jump on upgrades when they're available, but I feel like Apple did good this time, and that the RAM upgrade isn't that necessary, even though I keep reading how much it's recommended. I mean, I'd probably go for the 16GBs anyway ;p But, still... I have 12GB in my gaming desktop and I never use it all. Sorry, just kind of thinking out loud...

 

[The_Inquisitor]

Define a lot.

Lightroom moves generally very quickly with the 1.8 ghz i5 in the Air now. Going photo through photo is instantaneous. When you zoom into large raws is where you'll have to wait as the CPU crunches large 18 MP files.

Shots from my 60D (18MP) generally take about 5-6 seconds to completely load at 100% view. From my 40D (10MP), they take about 3 seconds.

So if you can live with that, then sure. Otherwise if you want to cut down on that then I'd consider going for the i7 upgrade or a mbp. That plus a USB 3.0 external should be good. (All my photos are on a usb 2.0 external. Now I can finally upgrade that pos.)

I shoot with a 60D too. I only shoot 10mp raw. I find 18mp to be a bit much but may go back up. (Need HDD prices to go down).

So they didnt put USB 3.0 in new airs?


I am planning on keeping this computer for the length of applecare (3 years). So perhaps I should bite the bullet now. Is the 16gb ram upgrade really worth it?

 

[giga]

I shoot with a 60D too. I only shoot 10mp raw. I find 18mp to be a bit much but may go back up. (Need HDD prices to go down).

So they didnt put USB 3.0 in new airs?


I am planning on keeping this computer for the length of applecare (3 years). So perhaps I should bite the bullet now. Is the 16gb ram upgrade really worth it?

They did, my external is usb 2 though.

 

[LiveFromKyoto]

It's almost never a good idea to be an early adopter of a new electronics product. It's even more true with Apple products. The problem is that with Apple products it's often hard for many of us to wait. I'm very happy I never got the original iPhone. I'm incredibly thrilled that I never bought the original Macbook Air. The product both of them eventually became when I bought them are so much better than what they were. Given past history, I think its a fair guess to say that a year from now the Retina Macbooks will be much better than what you get today. Both in terms of hardware, choices, price, and compatible apps.

It's true. It's totally inconvenient that my gen 1 iPad is already obsolete.

If I didn't need a new laptop now I'd be comfortable waiting for Haswell.

 

[The_Inquisitor]

They did, my external is usb 2 though.

Agh I can't decide. Going the air route would be a lot cheaper. On the other hand not having to wait when zooming into photos would be handy.

Would you say it has an adverse effect on your photo editing capability? I am likely going to use photoshop on this thing too. My concern is that thunderbolt technology is much faster than USB3.0. But from an adoption standpoint USB seems posed to have more support. It's very hard to tell at the moment.

 

[ruxtpin]

alright. Cancelled my order. After seeing numerous recommendations to steer away from first-gen Mac products, I'm thinking about the Air instead. Going to simmer on it a little bit.

Is that 100$ upgrade from a 1.8ghz to 2ghz worth that much?

 

[Clayton Bigsby]

alright. Cancelled my order. After seeing numerous recommendations to steer away from first-gen Mac products, I'm thinking about the Air instead. Going to simmer on it a little bit.

Is that 100$ upgrade from a 1.8ghz to 2ghz worth that much?

Not really, but the $90 upgrade for ram Is probably worth it

 

[lunch]

It might just be the particular Apple store I went to (in this instance the one at the Leigh Valley Mall), but man the service I got last night sucked.

I wanted to buy a 13" MBA with 8 gigs of ram instead of the base 4. I called ahead 2 days earlier and was told that they had this model in stock. I was skeptical but whoever was on the phone assured me that they had this model in stock. So I was visiting my sister's house last night and decided to pop over to the Apple store (with my twins in tow, their first visit incidentally).

When I get there I immediately am greeted by a friendly Apple store employee, but this guy was clueless. He barely seemed to understand what I was asking for and then after checking with his supervisor tells me the only way I could get what I wanted was to get the maxed out 13" Air (which is about $2200). I told him thanks but no thanks (which is where this exchange should ended) but then he tries to convince me to buy the base model with 4 gigs of ram saying that no one will ever need more than that. I was getting a little annoyed at this point and tell him that I am expecting to use the laptop for some time and that the RAM is not upgradeable. He assures me that that much RAM is unnecessary and again tries to get me to place an order. I tell him thanks but no thanks and leave (unfortunately there were no magazine racks around to knock over because I would have considered it at this point). I go home and did what I should have done in the first place and ordered online, but I hope that my shitty experience at the Apple store was an isolated experience because I generally have had good experiences in the past, especially at the Genius Bar. That is the kind of shit I expect when I go into Best Buy and the employees try to get to buy Monster accessories an an unnecessary warranty.

That was almost literally my experience too, except I settled on having four gigs of RAM. I really hate going into Apple stores, but the immediately resulting Macbook Air is worth the awful service.

 

[giga]

Agh I can't decide. Going the air route would be a lot cheaper. On the other hand not having to wait when zooming into photos would be handy.

Would you say it has an adverse effect on your photo editing capability? I am likely going to use photoshop on this thing too. My concern is that thunderbolt technology is much faster than USB3.0. But from an adoption standpoint USB seems posed to have more support. It's very hard to tell at the moment.

Depends on what you're used to. Ivy Bridge is no slouch and turbo boost should kick in when you're doing intensive work. For the price, it's damn fantastic for me and is as good as or better than the 2011 base MBP.

Both Apple and Best Buy have returns with no restocking fee. Take advantage of that. If you're going to keep it for 3 years, 8GB is a must.

 

[Bearded Dudebro]

Well now I feel like a proper asshole. I cancelled my order for the base 15" Retina, called them back, reordered and told them "Max it out"

 

[bionic77]

That was almost literally my experience too, except I settled on having four gigs of RAM. I really hate going into Apple stores, but the immediately resulting Macbook Air is worth the awful service.

Sad to hear my experience is not isolated. When they initially opened the service was amazing for a computer/electronics store.

 

[Midas]

Was the external dvd drive updated or is it still the same? Just so I don't pick up the wrong one in a store.

 

[Baconsammy]

alright. Cancelled my order. After seeing numerous recommendations to steer away from first-gen Mac products, I'm thinking about the Air instead. Going to simmer on it a little bit.

Is that 100$ upgrade from a 1.8ghz to 2ghz worth that much?

The Macbook Airs are exceptional computers. I've never been happier with a laptop.

 

[ruxtpin]

The Macbook Airs are exceptional computers. I've never been happier with a laptop.

I feel better after just ordering one. I really liked the Retina display, but I hate that feeling of biting on a product too soon and then seeing the subsequent version come out and wish I could get that one.

I envied an old coworker's Air. The portability + performance and money saved means I'm happy.

 

[Baconsammy]

I feel better after just ordering one. I really liked the Retina display, but I hate that feeling of biting on a product too soon and then seeing the subsequent version come out and wish I could get that one.

I envied an old coworker's Air. The portability + performance and money saved means I'm happy.

Yep, with the Air you're now buying an established product. A really awesome established product.

 

[Gary Whitta]

I'm really glad to see the Air really coming into its own. Such a great machine.

 

[giga]

I'm really glad to see the Air really coming into its own. Such a great machine.

The apple rep at best buy told me it's about 50/50 between the 13 Air and 13 Pro sales right now. People are definitely realizing you don't need an optical drive as much as you used to anymore.

 

[Zutroy]

Has the been any reports on the performance of the retina MBP on the snow lion beta?

 

[Alchemy]

I don't want to get an 11in MBA because my friend had this tiny netbook and it was hilariously emasculating.

I dunno, compared to other laptops the MBA makes my penis look gigantic.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

i was deadset on buying an 11inch MBA but I did find it a bit too small when I tried it out. Also the price difference isn't' large enough between 11 and 13 to make it a value to me. I also have huge hands.

 

[Alchemy]

i was deadset on buying an 11inch MBA but I did find it a bit too small when I tried it out. Also the price difference isn't' large enough between 11 and 13 to make it a value to me. I also have huge hands.

I have hands large enough to enjoy the original Xbox controller (long live the Duke), and my main computer set up is a top of the line (2 years ago) gaming desktop with two 24" monitors. The entire reason I like the 11inch MBA is because its so small. I didn't get it to replace any current computer configuration but to complement it.

I'm not the sure Air makes sense as a main computer, especially if that person does lots of heavy tasks (like gaming). But as a portable computing solution its brilliant. I'm also starting to dig OS X a bit, but that is mostly because of the 'omg new toy' feelings I have right now.

 

[Baconsammy]

One thing I didn't know is that the new Airs share the Retina's new fan-blade configuration. It keeps the new Airs cooler overall but when the fans kick in, they're still the same loud jet engines that they are on the older models:

The fans are not quiet

As for the 11 vs 13 discussion, I tried an 11 and couldnt stand it. Too darned small. The 13 isn't ideal for my eyes, but as my main web viewing computer it's been great. Not a gaming machine, and not one I'd ever want to use to work on all day.

 

[killertofu]

Has anyone replaced their optical drive/ harddrive with a SSD? Is it something that is really beneficial?

 

[bionic77]

i was deadset on buying an 11inch MBA but I did find it a bit too small when I tried it out. Also the price difference isn't' large enough between 11 and 13 to make it a value to me. I also have huge hands.

Don't have huge hands but I had exactly the same experience.

Just not comfortable typing on the 11".

 

[FantasticMrFoxdie]

Has anyone replaced their optical drive/ harddrive with a SSD? Is it something that is really beneficial?

I've been researching this all day. On the verge of getting my new laptop, but i'm trying to compare prices.

Having an SSD is definitely benefitial.
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1177020

 

[Alchemy]

Has anyone replaced their optical drive/ harddrive with a SSD? Is it something that is really beneficial?

I was never really sold on getting an SSD for my desktop because of price and storage issues, but it really does help my Air keep up performance. The thing flies when performing regular tasks as a result.

 

[r1chard]

Has anyone replaced their optical drive/ harddrive with a SSD? Is it something that is really beneficial?

I did this to my 13" unibody MacBook about 12 months ago when considering upgrading. I swapped out the optical drive and moved the existing HDD into that bay, and added a new 120GB SSD. I also updated the RAM to 8GB.

The old girl flies now.

The operation was relatively trivial. You can get the HDD brackets for the optical bay all over the Internet. I just needed to source the bizarro screwdrivers that Apple uses to lock down parts of the internals. Ended up finding a set at a $2 shop after trying computer supply stores, hardware stores, electronics stores, ...

Now that I've successfully flashed the buggy firmware in the SSD (be very careful to research the SSD you end up buying) it's actually stable enough to keep me going to see what Apple does with their 13" MBP line (retina pls?)

It does seem to run hotter now - I guess the CPU is doing more work since it's not waiting for the HDD as much.

 

[r1chard]

Played with my neighbors Retina (base model) ... the problem with Chrome is that it's god-awful ugly on the screen. Hopefully they make their browser Retina-friendly soon.

Apparently that's already fixed in the Canary builds.

 

[The_Inquisitor]

You guys we making this so hard for me to decide between a MBA and MBP. Of course I'm typing this on an iPad. I think likely the iPad will get sold when I get the laptop. I love it, but when I get e iPhone 5 with the bigger screen it will fill the roll.

I don't think I'll play too many games on it. My main use will be running unix programs from school (cadence design tool), lots of photo editing, and media watching.

Obviously having a powerful discrete GPU and a faster clock speed on the CPU will help dramatically. Being able to see almost my entire photo at once will be great. However even with my student discount that's 2600 easily after apple care.

The MBA is cheaper lighter, and a bit slower, and a hell of a lot cheaper. I don't want to dump my laptop until applecare expires. It makes sense to me the retina book is way more future proof. But if I'm only using the discrete GPU for photo editing I'm on entirely sure it's worth the premium. The screen rez may though. Am I making any sense?

 

[Baconsammy]

You guys we making this so hard for me to decide between a MBA and MBP. Of course I'm typing this on an iPad. I think likely the iPad will get sold when I get the laptop. I love it, but when I get e iPhone 5 with the bigger screen it will fill the roll.

I don't think I'll play too many games on it. My main use will be running unix programs from school (cadence design tool), lots of photo editing, and media watching.

Obviously having a powerful discrete GPU and a faster clock speed on the CPU will help dramatically. Being able to see almost my entire photo at once will be great. However even with my student discount that's 2600 easily after apple care.

The MBA is cheaper lighter, and a bit slower, and a hell of a lot cheaper. I don't want to dump my laptop until applecare expires. It makes sense to me the retina book is way more future proof. But if I'm only using the discrete GPU for photo editing I'm on entirely sure it's worth the premium. The screen rez may though. Am I making any sense?

One of the only true lowlights of the Air to me is the screen. Viewing angles are terrible, and you really need to find a good line of sight to get the best out of the screen. I love the resolution on the 13 though.

 

[Skel1ingt0n]

You guys we making this so hard for me to decide between a MBA and MBP. Of course I'm typing this on an iPad. I think likely the iPad will get sold when I get the laptop. I love it, but when I get e iPhone 5 with the bigger screen it will fill the roll.

I don't think I'll play too many games on it. My main use will be running unix programs from school (cadence design tool), lots of photo editing, and media watching.

Obviously having a powerful discrete GPU and a faster clock speed on the CPU will help dramatically. Being able to see almost my entire photo at once will be great. However even with my student discount that's 2600 easily after apple care.

The MBA is cheaper lighter, and a bit slower, and a hell of a lot cheaper. I don't want to dump my laptop until applecare expires. It makes sense to me the retina book is way more future proof. But if I'm only using the discrete GPU for photo editing I'm on entirely sure it's worth the premium. The screen rez may though. Am I making any sense?

The MacBook Air is a spectacular laptop. My ex-gf had a C2D 2nd Gen model (same design, old CPU), and it was easily the best laptop I've ever used. And I had a C2D MBP at the time.

IMO, you're taking two differences and blowing them into a huge decision. I'm not saying this will make things easier; but just consider that the two big differences are:

Higher Res screen in the Retina, and a dedicated GPU.

Sure, the processors are faster, and you can get more RAM, and better speakers, blah blah blah. But the Ivy Bridge CPUs, even in the MBA are pretty damn solid. They're not going to struggle too much unless you're really working hard with CAD/Adobe filters/etc. And the 8GB of RAM you can get in the Air is likely more than what 90% of computer users need right now and in the near future.

So, yeah...

Is the higher-res screen and the GPU worth the ~$1K difference to you?

It very well might be! I'm not trying to lean you one way or the other. Just trying to break down the terms for you.

Good luck, man. I know it's rough! I remember spending a couple weeks debating between the black Macbook and whit Macbook when they first came out in... 2006? lol




EDIT: Also, I know this is an unpopular opinion; but I never worry too much about "future proofing." Buy the computer that suits your needs best right now. There are a million and one reasons why you might end up having to buy a new computer in a year or two anyway; and there are a million and one reasons why either the Air or Retina could possibly last you longer than you could have ever dreamed. But at the end of the day, realistically, both are going to start feeling "old and outdated" around the same time, anyway.

 

[The_Inquisitor]

The MacBook Air is a spectacular laptop. My ex-gf had a C2D 2nd Gen model (same design, old CPU), and it was easily the best laptop I've ever used. And I had a C2D MBP at the time.

IMO, you're taking two differences and blowing them into a huge decision. I'm not saying this will make things easier; but just consider that the two big differences are:

Higher Res screen in the Retina, and a dedicated GPU.

Sure, the processors are faster, and you can get more RAM, and better speakers, blah blah blah. But the Ivy Bridge CPUs, even in the MBA are pretty damn solid. They're not going to struggle too much unless you're really working hard with CAD/Adobe filters/etc. And the 8GB of RAM you can get in the Air is likely more than what 90% of computer users need right now and in the near future.

So, yeah...

Is the higher-res screen and the GPU worth the ~$1K difference to you?

It very well might be! I'm not trying to lean you one way or the other. Just trying to break down the terms for you.

Good luck, man. I know it's rough! I remember spending a couple weeks debating between the black Macbook and whit Macbook when they first came out in... 2006? lol

I had a 2007 C2D MBP up until 2 years ago. Sold it to build a PC rig. Regretted selling it and I have missed my Mac since.

The real question I have is whether Lightroom uses the GPU for much acceleration. That and possible CS5 usage are my real concern. I understand turbo boost turns off a core to boost the other. I thought that Lightroom and CS5 are designed to use 2 cores versus 1 by now.

 

[Baconsammy]

I never future proof my Macs. All my Macs have held their value (resale) remarkably well, so I just buy what I need for a year or two.

 

[The_Inquisitor]

I never future proof my Macs. All my Macs have held their value (resale) remarkably well, so I just buy what I need for a year or two.

Sold my 4 year old Mac for 450. Prolly could have gotten more cash but I wanted the quick sale. I know about hardware value.

Okay let's say I go with the MBA. obviously the 8gb ram is a must. I'm not so sure the 200mhz bump is. Because of my student discount I get 50 dollars off plus 10 dollars off either the ram or CPU upgrade.

My experience says 200mhz is near negligible. However for only 90 bucks more it seems silly not to.

 

[mollipen]

I checked out the new retina MacBook Pros today, and now I'm not sure what I think. The screen is pretty, and text/icons look hot, but man... images on websites. They're so, so noticeable in terms of being upscaled.

The only way the web is going to look good again on these things is for each and every website to completely redo any images they contain. But, of course, you'd then have the problem of having to serve different images specifically for those who are on retina displays.

 

[Gary Whitta]

Yeah there is a BIG early adopter tax on the MBP-R as it's going to take a while for devs and content publishers to support the new resolution. The iPad 3 has been out a while now and a lot of stuff on there is still very noticeably blocky.

I think next year is when we'll start to see retina really come into its own on Macs as it starts to appear on other models and the content is there to support it properly.

 

[jcutner]

I think I just fucked myself.
I was drinking beer and I forgot it was full, spilled some on my shirt, and some droplets on where your palms rest on the MacBook. I soaked it up with my shirt, but then my Trackpad stopped working.

I restarted, trackpad started glitching like crazy (right clicking on it's own, etc). Left the Macbook off for 10 minutes, turned it back on, the top half of the trackpad is response but the bottom half isn't doing much of anything

Fucked?

 

[njean777]

I checked out the new retina MacBook Pros today, and now I'm not sure what I think. The screen is pretty, and text/icons look hot, but man... images on websites. They're so, so noticeable in terms of being upscaled.

The only way the web is going to look good again on these things is for each and every website to completely redo any images they contain. But, of course, you'd then have the problem of having to serve different images specifically for those who are on retina displays.

Yeah I had the same experience, the pixelation on the images and videos was just horrible. I have no clue how long it will take for most websites to update everything. (I actually have no clue if it is called pixelation BTW lol)

I think I just fucked myself.
I was drinking beer and I forgot it was full, spilled some on my shirt, and some droplets on where your palms rest on the MacBook. I soaked it up with my shirt, but then my Trackpad stopped working.

I restarted, trackpad started glitching like crazy (right clicking on it's own, etc). Left the Macbook off for 10 minutes, turned it back on, the top half of the trackpad is response but the bottom half isn't doing much of anything

Fucked?

You could order a new trackpad from ifixit, but if not then take it to the apple store. Yes, in other words, you are pretty much screwed.

 

[Jimrpg]

Can't install Windows via Remote disc, sorry.

You can get Windows as a download; but I don't believe it comes as an iso file. But, you can use their freely accessed iso links (legit ones ) and activate it with your key.



The Bootcamp Assistant in Lion only supports Windows 7 and up.

I'm not sure how they do it / what they recommend at the Retail store, but when I work with people I usually recommend a minimum of 20~25 gigs; but it really depends on what you want to do on the Windows side. 50 GB's could add up pretty quickly depending on your Steam Library



oops. yeah.

Thanks. It sounds a bit confusing but when I get the retina macbook ill give it a shot.... so i just run bootcamp assistant, create a partition, and then click on the windows.iso and let it install then i suppose

It's almost never a good idea to be an early adopter of a new electronics product. It's even more true with Apple products. The problem is that with Apple products it's often hard for many of us to wait. I'm very happy I never got the original iPhone. I'm incredibly thrilled that I never bought the original Macbook Air. The product both of them eventually became when I bought them are so much better than what they were. Given past history, I think its a fair guess to say that a year from now the Retina Macbooks will be much better than what you get today. Both in terms of hardware, choices, price, and compatible apps.

Yeah there is a BIG early adopter tax on the MBP-R as it's going to take a while for devs and content publishers to support the new resolution. The iPad 3 has been out a while now and a lot of stuff on there is still very noticeably blocky.

I think next year is when we'll start to see retina really come into its own on Macs as it starts to appear on other models and the content is there to support it properly.

it all depends on the product doesn't it? I thought the original iPad was kinda big slow and clunky, whereas the iPad 2, the processor was much better, and browsing is a pretty good experience. Also flash didn't work very well at all on the iPad, and now it seems most websites seem to be able to cater for the iPad 2 reasonably well. You can view most videos on websites on the iPad 2 now, whereas before there was a need to download some browser that handled flash. There was a big uproar about not supporting flash games, but you don't really hear about that anymore.

With the Macbook Retina I think there's a difference though, I don't think there's a BIG early adopter tax like everyone says. For example its priced pretty close to the current 15" macbook.... there's $500 difference in the base model, but there's a new retina screen, 256gb SSD and a better graphics card. So to me its way better to buy the new 15" retina macbook.

Of course it will come back down to about $1800 like the current 15" model with better specs, but as Apple does yearly updates, you have to wait a long time and its not going to drop $500 next year. So unless you're prepared to wait two years for it, you should just get it now.

I think we will probably see a 11" 13" 15" in retinas next year not this year. I think Apple are quite happy to keep the 11 and 13 airs around as the entry level laptop and anyone that needs the performance can jump up to the 15. The 15 is not that much bigger than the 13" pro and the same weight.

 

[Baconsammy]

I enjoy Lisa's review of hardware. Here's her thoughts on her new Retina Macbook.

 

[Alchemy]

With the Macbook Retina I think there's a difference though, I don't think there's a BIG early adopter tax like everyone says. For example its priced pretty close to the current 15" macbook.... there's $500 difference in the base model, but there's a new retina screen, 256gb SSD and a better graphics card. So to me its way better to buy the new 15" retina macbook.

Of course it will come back down to about $1800 like the current 15" model with better specs, but as Apple does yearly updates, you have to wait a long time and its not going to drop $500 next year. So unless you're prepared to wait two years for it, you should just get it now.

I think we will probably see a 11" 13" 15" in retinas next year not this year. I think Apple are quite happy to keep the 11 and 13 airs around as the entry level laptop and anyone that needs the performance can jump up to the 15. The 15 is not that much bigger than the 13" pro and the same weight.

Cost isn't the early adopter tax for the MBR, functionality is. I don't think the cost of the hardware is outrageous, but most applications look pretty bad when scaled through pixel doubling techniques. Definitely worse then running them at native resolution. So the early adopter tax here is paying more for a higher quality display that runs uglier applications then lower resolution displays.

Will this be fixed in time? Certainly. After that having the higher resolution display is going to be totally worth it. But for now its pretty limited in usefulness. That is why Apple is being smart and only offering limited versions of the MBR though and not instantly refreshing the entire line of computers with one (engineering and costs aside). They want to get the product out there so companies are incentivized to update their programs for it, but don't want a majority of their user base to own a product delivering a sub optimal viewing experience.

 

[Yoshiya]

I've jumped on the Mac bandwagon with a discounted last-gen Pro - $999 AUD, which is a pretty great price. I have a 256GB Crucial M4 to go in place of the HDD, is this difficult? I'll use the 500GB drive in an external enclosure so I'm not wanting to pull out the Superdrive.

Given the M4 uses a Marvell controller is it safe to force-enable TRIM? I know some say it's inadvisable to do so with Sandforce drives.

 

[Lord Error]

Has the been any reports on the performance of the retina MBP on the snow lion beta?

ML seems to be using GPU for OS UI a lot more, and it runs notably smoother on new MBP compared to Lion. I've seen some videos, and it's great how smooth web page scrolling and window scaling is. All the UI lag issues people are having with retina MBP are solved by it.

 

[Witchfinder General]

Just ordered the base Mac Mini with the ram bumped up to 8 gigs. Considering my dead iMac is a 2007 model this should do me fine for Photoshop/Illustrator/InDesign, iTunes and web browsing.

 

[Jimrpg]

Cost isn't the early adopter tax for the MBR, functionality is. I don't think the cost of the hardware is outrageous, but most applications look pretty bad when scaled through pixel doubling techniques. Definitely worse then running them at native resolution. So the early adopter tax here is paying more for a higher quality display that runs uglier applications then lower resolution displays.

Will this be fixed in time? Certainly. After that having the higher resolution display is going to be totally worth it. But for now its pretty limited in usefulness. That is why Apple is being smart and only offering limited versions of the MBR though and not instantly refreshing the entire line of computers with one (engineering and costs aside). They want to get the product out there so companies are incentivized to update their programs for it, but don't want a majority of their user base to own a product delivering a sub optimal viewing experience.

I understand where you are coming from as the new iPad has this exact problem, but the retina macbook by all accounts looks really good pixel doubled at 1440x900 (on the 2880x 1800 screen) its really only on the other two resolutions where its not exact that u can be nit picky about it, and even then it looks pretty good.

but yes most apps will need to be updated and it will take a good few months before its supported.

like someone else has said - I'm still a bit indecisive about whether to get the 13" macbook air or the 15" retina macbook - the $800 difference is huge... I think i will pick up the retina though... I know that if I pick up the 13" macbook air, i lose the screen real estate, the ability to play most games decently (even though i don't really play all that much), but at least with the retina i know for the first two years or so its going to be a fantastic laptop, while the macbook air will start to show its age a bit next year. and it would be a good two or so years before the air ever met the performance of the 15" retina macbook if at all as its unlikely to ever get a discrete graphics card. otherwise I did think about getting the 13" macbook air now and then pick up an iMac when they got updated for almost the same amount but thats probably overkill

 

[Zutroy]

ML seems to be using GPU for OS UI a lot more, and it runs notably smoother on new MBP compared to Lion. I've seen some videos, and it's great how smooth web page scrolling and window scaling is. All the UI lag issues people are having with retina MBP are solved by it.

Haha! Yes, Mountain Lion, I thought snow lion sounded wrong as I typed it! I'm glad to hear the lag is gone, I was pretty sure it was just going to be a software issue that ML would solve.

 

[r1chard]

I understand where you are coming from as the new iPad has this exact problem, but the retina macbook by all accounts looks really good pixel doubled at 1440x900 (on the 2880x 1800 screen) its really only on the other two resolutions where its not exact that u can be nit picky about it, and even then it looks pretty good.

I recommend seeing it in person beside a non-retina display. I did that in the Apple store yesterday and yes, the text is a little sharper, but honestly it just didn't seem worth going for except perhaps for bragging rights. The other displays are great displays, crisp and usable in their own right.

 

[jcutner]

I think I just fucked myself.
I was drinking beer and I forgot it was full, spilled some on my shirt, and some droplets on where your palms rest on the MacBook. I soaked it up with my shirt, but then my Trackpad stopped working.

I restarted, trackpad started glitching like crazy (right clicking on it's own, etc). Left the Macbook off for 10 minutes, turned it back on, the top half of the trackpad is response but the bottom half isn't doing much of anything

Fucked?

so, in the morning it's a bit better but there's a definite deadzone on the trackpad. about 2/3rds down - almost a solid horizontal line across, i can't move the cursor vertically when i move my finger over it. weak

 

[teruterubozu]

I would not turn on and off the Macbook (or plug it in) if you've had a liquid spill. That's how I fried mine. Take it to the Genius bar immediately.