Comments on: Apple 15″ MacBook Pro Review http://www.geardiary.com/2007/02/08/apple-15-macbook-pro-review/ Everyone can understand technology; sometimes it just takes a little translating. Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:16:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: test av Apple MacBook Pro 15.4 inch - Intel Core 2 Duo T7400 2.16GHz MA609LL/A, Test Apple MacBook Pro 15.4 inch - Intel Core 2 Duo T7400 2.16GHz MA609LL/Ahttp://www.geardiary.com/2007/02/08/apple-15-macbook-pro-review/#comment-25327 test av Apple MacBook Pro 15.4 inch - Intel Core 2 Duo T7400 2.16GHz MA609LL/A, Test Apple MacBook Pro 15.4 inch - Intel Core 2 Duo T7400 2.16GHz MA609LL/A Wed, 12 Mar 2008 12:21:52 +0000 http://www.geardiary.com/2007/02/08/apple-15-macbook-pro-review/#comment-25327 <!--%kramer-ref-pre%-->[...] one of the principles at WUGNET (The Windows User’s Group NETwork) remarked to me that I... Läs hela testet » [...]<!--%kramer-ref-post%--> [...] one of the principles at WUGNET (The Windows User’s Group NETwork) remarked to me that I… Läs hela testet » [...]

]]> By: DOMINIQUE9http://www.geardiary.com/2007/02/08/apple-15-macbook-pro-review/#comment-5983 DOMINIQUE9 Mon, 12 Mar 2007 00:47:06 +0000 http://www.geardiary.com/2007/02/08/apple-15-macbook-pro-review/#comment-5983 Hey Mitchell I have got to hand it to you! Great review!...I have spent the last week looking for a good review about the 15inch mac-book pro to decide weather it is worth switching to Mac from Windows as i have heard the occasional rumors that vista is microsoft's unsurpassed release yet... i mean although im sure it wouldn't be a regrettable choice lol , i know somewhat software ideas came from apple!...neway moving on just read through your post and i have to admit it covers point-blank literally! everything I need to check before i make a switch especially the "windows on mac" section, now that i have been able a check all the boxes that needed to be confirmed before i make a not so difficult decision, doh ive been using windows all my life, making it possible for me the operating system in and out! specially the hacking part its fun:-)...however you have managed to convince me the mac usage is a lot more smoother than all the other brands out there including my Compaq presario which has served me for about 4 years without 1 problem. doh 192mb ram is hardly hardware routine these days. OK! before i get carried away. Bottom line. Is Thank you for the review. i have now considered buying a mac-book pro to start university ;-) good job. Hey Mitchell I have got to hand it to you! Great review!…I have spent the last week looking for a good review about the 15inch mac-book pro to decide weather it is worth switching to Mac from Windows as i have heard the occasional rumors that vista is microsoft’s unsurpassed release yet… i mean although im sure it wouldn’t be a regrettable choice lol , i know somewhat software ideas came from apple!…neway moving on just read through your post and i have to admit it covers point-blank literally! everything I need to check before i make a switch especially the “windows on mac” section, now that i have been able a check all the boxes that needed to be confirmed before i make a not so difficult decision, doh ive been using windows all my life, making it possible for me the operating system in and out! specially the hacking part its fun:-)…however you have managed to convince me the mac usage is a lot more smoother than all the other brands out there including my Compaq presario which has served me for about 4 years without 1 problem. doh 192mb ram is hardly hardware routine these days. OK! before i get carried away.

Bottom line. Is Thank you for the review. i have now considered buying a mac-book pro to start university ;-) good job.

]]> By: Mitchell Okehttp://www.geardiary.com/2007/02/08/apple-15-macbook-pro-review/#comment-2923 Mitchell Oke Fri, 09 Feb 2007 22:30:24 +0000 http://www.geardiary.com/2007/02/08/apple-15-macbook-pro-review/#comment-2923 Tyler, I was very glad you brought up those things. I didn't take them as an insult at all. You are quite right that it is a bit unfair to judge iLife from the point of view of a advanced user. That's not its target market. For whom it targets, it will perform very well. Yes I have been pretty happy with my switch to Mac OS X. Everything is just a bit smoother, but it's not all roses like some will say. I have had a few crashes, and bizarre stuff happen, but overall I have been suitably impressed. One game that runs amazing on Mac OS X is Call of Duty 2. The Mac version is universal, and takes advantage of the incredible performance that the Core 2 Duo has to offer. Even with the X1600 128Mb I can run everything setting maxed out at 1440x900, and its stunning!! And best of all it works great for LANing with PCs! Tyler, I was very glad you brought up those things. I didn’t take them as an insult at all.

You are quite right that it is a bit unfair to judge iLife from the point of view of a advanced user. That’s not its target market. For whom it targets, it will perform very well.

Yes I have been pretty happy with my switch to Mac OS X. Everything is just a bit smoother, but it’s not all roses like some will say. I have had a few crashes, and bizarre stuff happen, but overall I have been suitably impressed.

One game that runs amazing on Mac OS X is Call of Duty 2. The Mac version is universal, and takes advantage of the incredible performance that the Core 2 Duo has to offer. Even with the X1600 128Mb I can run everything setting maxed out at 1440×900, and its stunning!! And best of all it works great for LANing with PCs!

]]> By: Mitchell Okehttp://www.geardiary.com/2007/02/08/apple-15-macbook-pro-review/#comment-2922 Mitchell Oke Fri, 09 Feb 2007 22:26:00 +0000 http://www.geardiary.com/2007/02/08/apple-15-macbook-pro-review/#comment-2922 I completely agree!! Every time I buy a computer, phone, camera, whatever, I look around on the internet and find prices much cheaper over in the USA. For example, the MacBook Pro I bought without student discount is AU$3777.99 (including 3yr warranty and everything else standard). The exact same MacBook Pro on the USA website is AU$3008 after conversion. Where the hell is that extra $770 going? I didn't see anything special extras in the box to account for it. Its the same with Dell. This is one manufacturer that REALLY infuriates me with their pricing difference. They regularly get HUGE coupons which bring excellent laptops under US$1000, when we over here are paying AU$2300 for the same thing. Many other devices share the same markup as well. I completely agree!! Every time I buy a computer, phone, camera, whatever, I look around on the internet and find prices much cheaper over in the USA.

For example, the MacBook Pro I bought without student discount is AU$3777.99 (including 3yr warranty and everything else standard). The exact same MacBook Pro on the USA website is AU$3008 after conversion. Where the hell is that extra $770 going? I didn’t see anything special extras in the box to account for it.

Its the same with Dell. This is one manufacturer that REALLY infuriates me with their pricing difference. They regularly get HUGE coupons which bring excellent laptops under US$1000, when we over here are paying AU$2300 for the same thing.

Many other devices share the same markup as well.

]]> By: Elohttp://www.geardiary.com/2007/02/08/apple-15-macbook-pro-review/#comment-2921 Elo Fri, 09 Feb 2007 22:12:57 +0000 http://www.geardiary.com/2007/02/08/apple-15-macbook-pro-review/#comment-2921 While we are on the subject, Mitchell, I would like to know your opinion. The price difference of the Macbook pro in the US and Canada vs Australia is ridiculous. Its the same story for many more devices too. Personally, I think it is an insult. Are we good natured enough that we can be charged 1000$ more on every notebooks and not be offended ? While we are on the subject, Mitchell, I would like to know your opinion. The price difference of the Macbook pro in the US and Canada vs Australia is ridiculous. Its the same story for many more devices too. Personally, I think it is an insult. Are we good natured enough that we can be charged 1000$ more on every notebooks and not be offended ?

]]> By: Tyler Pucketthttp://www.geardiary.com/2007/02/08/apple-15-macbook-pro-review/#comment-2911 Tyler Puckett Fri, 09 Feb 2007 15:21:26 +0000 http://www.geardiary.com/2007/02/08/apple-15-macbook-pro-review/#comment-2911 Mitchell, Thanks. I hope I didn't come across as holier-than-thou or anything else, I was just trying to point out some misconceptions. Indeed, a lot of people are under the impression that iLife should be the be-all, end-all suite for users. If it was, they wouldn't make Shake, Photoshop, Aperture, Final Cut Pro, or even Final Cut Express or Dreamweaver. I see you've switched to Mac entirely minus games, congratulations :). I think that in a year or so we'll see more games ported to OSX natively much more quickly because of the Intel chips, it'll be much easier to port them over. Mitchell, Thanks. I hope I didn’t come across as holier-than-thou or anything else, I was just trying to point out some misconceptions. Indeed, a lot of people are under the impression that iLife should be the be-all, end-all suite for users. If it was, they wouldn’t make Shake, Photoshop, Aperture, Final Cut Pro, or even Final Cut Express or Dreamweaver. I see you’ve switched to Mac entirely minus games, congratulations :) . I think that in a year or so we’ll see more games ported to OSX natively much more quickly because of the Intel chips, it’ll be much easier to port them over.

]]> By: Mitchell Okehttp://www.geardiary.com/2007/02/08/apple-15-macbook-pro-review/#comment-2904 Mitchell Oke Fri, 09 Feb 2007 09:22:31 +0000 http://www.geardiary.com/2007/02/08/apple-15-macbook-pro-review/#comment-2904 Tyler, thank you very much for your comments. I am making the adjustments now :D Tyler, thank you very much for your comments. I am making the adjustments now :D

]]> By: Tyler Pucketthttp://www.geardiary.com/2007/02/08/apple-15-macbook-pro-review/#comment-2902 Tyler Puckett Fri, 09 Feb 2007 07:19:55 +0000 http://www.geardiary.com/2007/02/08/apple-15-macbook-pro-review/#comment-2902 Also, there is an application that is supposed to allow you to read and write to NTFS drives. I haven't tried it, as I'm on a PowerPC Mac, but it's worth a shot. It's located here: http://code.google.com/p/macfuse/ and called MacFUSE. :) Also, there is an application that is supposed to allow you to read and write to NTFS drives. I haven’t tried it, as I’m on a PowerPC Mac, but it’s worth a shot. It’s located here: http://code.google.com/p/macfuse/ and called MacFUSE. :)

]]> By: Tyler Pucketthttp://www.geardiary.com/2007/02/08/apple-15-macbook-pro-review/#comment-2901 Tyler Puckett Fri, 09 Feb 2007 07:14:16 +0000 http://www.geardiary.com/2007/02/08/apple-15-macbook-pro-review/#comment-2901 Mr. Spera, You have listed many facutal inaccuracies in your comments. Some are small, and easily missed. However, some are pretty big. The first one I saw was you listed the Ethernet port as 10/100. In fact, it is 10/100/1000 (Gigabit), and has been standard on all 15 and 17" PowerBooks/MacBooks since 2001-ish. Also, you state students using a Mac is a bad decision. I disagree, as I am a student and I use a Mac. I have a 12" Powerbook. Here, at UNC-Charlotte, all the computer-related classes I have taken use the exact same system you review here, but in OSX, not Windows. That's right, in Charlotte, NC, every computer class I've taken (be it Business Computing, C++ Programming, or Network Engineering), all use Macs exclusively. Also, I know of several companies in this area that use Macs. I'm not saying Windows isn't more prevalent (it most certainly is), but Macs definitely aren't only for "graphic designers or advertising agencies" as they have been in years past. OSX is a beautiful multipurpose OS that can do everything Windows can, it isn't limited as OS9 and earlier versions were. Times are changing :) Additionally, Apple has made Servers since before the iMac. Currently, they're called XServe and XRaid. They're among the most powerful servers available. They run OSX Server edition, and are "mildly" popular (in relation to Macs in general). They power iTMS and the Apple site, obviously, among other sites. Our entire university of 24K students are served from a cluster of XRaids and XServes. Also, iWeb (like the rest of the iLife suite) isn't really targeted for people like us that handcode our websites and upload them via SSH. It's targeted towards home users who want to set up a cutesy little website without ever having to touch code. That sounds cliched, but iWeb won't even allow you to edit code. The option isn't there. Needless to say, I've never messed with it. I don't want to create a family website. It's just not for me, nor for you as I gather :) Additionally, You say Only Win XP SP2 will work because of EFI. Actually, what's going on s when you run Boot Camp, Boot Camp creates a header partition before your OSX partition that is in effect a /boot partition in Linux. This partition includes the Boot Camp Boot loader, and also translates the EFI-based firmware into what is effectively BIOS, which Windows can understand. No version of Windows can understand EFI. The reason Apple requires SP2 isn't because of EFI (because no version of Windows can use EFI, including Vista), but I'd guess because of drivers. The drivers Apple provides are made for SP2, and in order to cut down on customer service calls they just said "SP2 only" to cut down on confusion. I'm not trying to call you dumb or anything, I'm just trying to hopefully rectify some errors. I know you're new to Mac, and I'm not a mean person so I don't believe in being hateful. Hope you enjoy Mac-dom :) Tyler Mr. Spera, You have listed many facutal inaccuracies in your comments. Some are small, and easily missed. However, some are pretty big.
The first one I saw was you listed the Ethernet port as 10/100. In fact, it is 10/100/1000 (Gigabit), and has been standard on all 15 and 17″ PowerBooks/MacBooks since 2001-ish.
Also, you state students using a Mac is a bad decision. I disagree, as I am a student and I use a Mac. I have a 12″ Powerbook. Here, at UNC-Charlotte, all the computer-related classes I have taken use the exact same system you review here, but in OSX, not Windows. That’s right, in Charlotte, NC, every computer class I’ve taken (be it Business Computing, C++ Programming, or Network Engineering), all use Macs exclusively. Also, I know of several companies in this area that use Macs. I’m not saying Windows isn’t more prevalent (it most certainly is), but Macs definitely aren’t only for “graphic designers or advertising agencies” as they have been in years past. OSX is a beautiful multipurpose OS that can do everything Windows can, it isn’t limited as OS9 and earlier versions were. Times are changing :)
Additionally, Apple has made Servers since before the iMac. Currently, they’re called XServe and XRaid. They’re among the most powerful servers available. They run OSX Server edition, and are “mildly” popular (in relation to Macs in general). They power iTMS and the Apple site, obviously, among other sites. Our entire university of 24K students are served from a cluster of XRaids and XServes.
Also, iWeb (like the rest of the iLife suite) isn’t really targeted for people like us that handcode our websites and upload them via SSH. It’s targeted towards home users who want to set up a cutesy little website without ever having to touch code. That sounds cliched, but iWeb won’t even allow you to edit code. The option isn’t there. Needless to say, I’ve never messed with it. I don’t want to create a family website. It’s just not for me, nor for you as I gather :)
Additionally, You say Only Win XP SP2 will work because of EFI. Actually, what’s going on s when you run Boot Camp, Boot Camp creates a header partition before your OSX partition that is in effect a /boot partition in Linux. This partition includes the Boot Camp Boot loader, and also translates the EFI-based firmware into what is effectively BIOS, which Windows can understand. No version of Windows can understand EFI. The reason Apple requires SP2 isn’t because of EFI (because no version of Windows can use EFI, including Vista), but I’d guess because of drivers. The drivers Apple provides are made for SP2, and in order to cut down on customer service calls they just said “SP2 only” to cut down on confusion.
I’m not trying to call you dumb or anything, I’m just trying to hopefully rectify some errors. I know you’re new to Mac, and I’m not a mean person so I don’t believe in being hateful. Hope you enjoy Mac-dom :) Tyler

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