dissapointed with new macbook pro

[technologist]

I'm kinda with him (her) on this one. But really, laptops are not where the action is anymore. As pigoo3 says, they are mature technology. The machines get faster, the corners get rounded off, but Apple is now the iOS company. Macs are a solidly profitable legacy line.

Compared to my old 12" PowerBook, the 13" MacBook Pro has
- No number pad toggle
- Mushier keyboard (the 12" keyboard was especially solid, for some reason)
- Integrated graphics
- No matte screen, even as an option

These are minor quibbles. Yes, it's vastly more powerful and has double the battery life. Yes, I would definitely rather have the newer model than the old. But newer Macs aren't exciting, they're just...better.

 

[zukermaister]

I'm kinda with him (her) on this one. But really, laptops are not where the action is anymore. As pigoo3 says, they are mature technology. The machines get faster, the corners get rounded off, but Apple is now the iOS company. Macs are a solidly profitable legacy line.

Compared to my old 12" PowerBook, the 13" MacBook Pro has
- No number pad toggle
- Mushier keyboard (the 12" keyboard was especially solid, for some reason)
- Integrated graphics
- No matte screen, even as an option

These are minor quibbles. Yes, it's vastly more powerful and has double the battery life. Yes, I would definitely rather have the newer model than the old. But newer Macs aren't exciting, they're just...better.

That is exactly my point, the user experience is basically the same. However, they are still amazing devices and the MacBook Pro is definitely the best laptop available

 

[MikeIsGood]

So you aren't as much disappointed with the new MBP as you are with how far notebooks have come in general since your last purchase.

Expecting the things you mentioned earlier is expecting too much at this point, IMO.

 

[iWish]

I think what really hasn't changed much is OS X over this time period. Sure, Time Machine, Spaces, etc have been added and I think they're great touches, but I just made the leap from Tiger on a G4 Mini to Snow Leopard on a MacBook Pro 13" and I must say that my excitement has come not from the OS, but from getting the laptop.

I know that going from laptop to laptop in your case isn't as exciting, but again I wonder if this isn't more of a disappointment with the lack of a quantum leap in the OS as opposed to the improvements in MacBook technology?

 

[crossbonesX]

I understand where OP is coming from on this one. I remember I took a long break from video games once (around 7 years), and when I started buying the highest-rated contemporary titles I was disappointed to find that graphics were about the only thing that had improved. The actual controls weren't really more intuitive, and a lot of the games had WORSE stories than earlier ones.

Waiting that long can raise your expectations a lot, but even if they can't live up to all that Apple's done a decent job with the last few years (imho).

Also, I don't think it's a question of being able to name specific features that you want.... Apple's business model for innovation has always been to try to provide what consumers didn't even realize they wanted. So I don't think OP has to name features he was expecting to be disappointed by what he got.

EDIT: Oh, and Apple did hold off on features in 10.6 to make under-the-hood improvements, I'd wait and see what they have for us with 10.7 to see if they've been innovating much over the last couple of years or not.

 

[iggibar]

saying that 6 years is a lot of time

Typical thing for someone to do/expect out of Apple but not anyone else. Everyone places Apple on the highest pedestal. With your expectations, you would have the same problem with every single portable computer. Also, expecting great achievements on a laptop because of what has been achieved on the iphone's lifespan is just wrong. That's like being disappointed at a pencils advancements because the same company has created a calculator that can record sound. Or something along those lines...lol

 

[chas_m]

Zuckermaister: don't feel intimidated by the skeptical reaction. You're right, six years is a long time in the computer world and the truth of the matter is that Apple laptops *haven't* changed that much in terms of BIG features.

What they HAVE done, however, is lots and lots and LOTS of "spit and polish" -- little barely tangible changes that really up the productivity and enjoyment of the experience.

Take, for example, being able to play full-screen, high-def video. Is that a big deal when the G4 could play standard-def perfectly fine? Maybe not, but its a definite upping of the game.

Another example: being able to run any Windows or Linux program available. I'd call that a big deal (I don't take advantage of this myself but its a huge deal for many).

Finally, put that G4 screen up next to your new one and tell me that's not a huge improvement.

But even if (for example) iTunes feels kinda-sorta the same as the Tiger version, I love how much *smoother* everything is on the newest models.

If you really want to see six years' worth of innovation, though, go play with an iPhone 4 or better yet an iPad. That's where Apple has really been focused the last few years.