New 17” MacBook Pro

[Martin_Doudoroff]

You can read about it here.

Notable points:

• Claimed 7-8 hour battery life
• Matte screen finish option
• 8GB RAM

[Martin_Doudoroff]

What Apple has done for those wanting the matte finish is produced a variant that foregoes the back-painted glass sheet over the display. Therefore, the matte edition of the 17” model has a silver bezel.

Not as sexy, but arguably preferable for photographers.



Too bad there's no corresponding option for the 15” model.

[Noel_Carboni]

Longer battery life... Does that mean maybe it's not as blisteringly hot on the bottom as its predecessor?

I think my son is going to want one of these to upgrade his non-pro model.

-Noel

[Jerry Skrocki]

The only complaints i have read about the new design is that the battery is not user replaceable like the previous models. It must be sent back to Apple when a replacement is necessary.

The hot case issue was resolved a couple of revisions back. I have the early 2008 model that gets warm but never hot.

Jerry

[Martin_Doudoroff]

I've had a Mac Book Air for the better part of a year, and I'm feeling pretty good about sealed batteries these days. Now, there's no question that there are users out there who genuinely need removable batteries (or the ability to tap into external portable power). It has been pointed out elsewhere that what these people really need is for Apple to be more open about licensing the MagSafe power connector so that more third party portable battery products can enter the market.

[Martin_Doudoroff]

More details and first impressions about the new 17” Mac Book Pro from the expo floor. Some highlights:

• LED backlight very bright (too bright) if cranked all the way up
• “matte” screen looks great, although bezel on that model is ugly
• memory & hard disk drive are indeed user replaceable (but it’s more work than on the 15”)

The user-replaceable RAM is particularly important because apple is charging an eye-popping, gag-inducing $1,200 for the 8GB (2x4GB) SDRAM, which you should be able to order for around $600 from a third party. The 8GB RAM capacity is one of the key reasons I see this laptop as attractive for photography use.

[BobSmith]

Originally Posted by Martin_Doudoroff

memory & hard disk drive are indeed user replaceable (but it’s more work than on the 15”)

I have upgraded drives in a number of different Powerbook or MacBook Pro models over the years. Just did my 17" MacBook Pro a week ago. While not trivial, it's not that difficult either. The cases are well made and come apart easily when you know the proper sequence.

On the other hand... I recently tried to replace the drive in a late model G4 iBook. I was trying to put together a simple cheap working system for a friend who just needs email and web browsing. What a crock!! Those cheap plastic cases were constructed around the hard drive. It's WAY more effort to get into the thing and next to impossible to do without breaking something. I now have a pile of parts that used to be an iBook. I can hook the components up and it works... but the case will never resemble a working computer again.

Back to the main topic... I'm extremely pleased to see that they continue to offer a matte screen option on at least this model. And am glad they boosted the max RAM capacity.

Bob Smith