- Sunday, 12 July 2009
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I think there's a world market for maybe five computers - Thomas Watson, IBM
Apple updates MacBook and MacBook pro
THE fundamentalist fruit-themed manufacturer of entertainment gizmos has decided to update its MacBook and MacBook pro range.
It may be startling to know that Jobs' Mob still makes the odd computer, but the technology behind the laptops has been falling behind a bit after the Apple Air's release.
The new notebooks will have the latest Intel Core 2 Duo Penryn* processors and 2 GB of memory as a standard.
What is interesting is that the Apple press releases wax lyrical about the advanced 45-nm process which is thanks to the genus of Intel rather than that of the Profit of Cappuccino.
Also under the bonnet is the Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT with up to 512MB of video memory. This is a nice card which has found its way into several notebook designs.
Next up is a 13 inch widescreen display. Yep, Apple still thinks people buy stuff with piddly screens.
Prices are about what you would expect. They start at $1,099 for the basic model while the 2.4 GHz, 13-inch black MacBook is available for $1499.
MacBook Pro lineup has a nice Multi-Touch trackpad which Apple designers nicked from MacBook Air.
The Pro runs up to a 2.6 GHz processor with 6MB of shared L2 cache; up to 4GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM memory and up to a 300GB hard drive. It has a 15-inch display, 2.4GHz processor, 3MB of L2 cache, and a 200GB hard disk is priced at $1,999, while the 17-inch model, with a 2.5GHz Core 2 Duo chip, 6MB of L2 cache, and a 250GB hard drive costs $2,799. This strikes us as a bit pricey for the spec.
Still it does not matter what we say, there will be those who will rush out and buy one simply because Steve says they're available.
If you are so inclined, purchase of a MacBook will have the added 'advantage' that the sex therapist Violet Blue will actually agree to sleep with you. Blue, who once fondled Steve Jobs, told the flick Macheads she would never shag a windows user.
This might be something that may, or may not put you off. It is quite conceivably (or not) be the first time a laptop armed with XP makes an effective contraceptive.
*An Editor adds: Being of Welsh extraction, it annoys me greatly that these Intel buffoons cannot spell Penrhyn correctly. As any fule no, this is short for Penrhyndeudraeth, which, in an inferior language, means 'Headland between two beaches'.
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The Macbooks do not have a 8600M GT, they have integrated graphics (Intel X1300). The base model also only has 1Gb of RAM.

You're making them sound better than they are -- has Jobs seconded you onto his payroll?
Hey Nick, can you please spec me up an HP or Dell laptop running Windows (you can choose the screen size) with comparable hardware to the $1099 Macbook? 

Let me save you the trouble. You can't. 

And please, a little more subjectivity here? 

Thanks.
Who can blame Violet Blue for not shagging Windows Users? She's far less likely to catch something nasty from an Apple.
Being Cornish (kinda) I take exception that you assume that Penryn is anything to do with Wales rather than being named after the Cornish town :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penryn%2C_Cornwall

AST adds: The Editor's decision is final. So there.
Eh, subject says it all really.

:P
Bah...like spelling has ever been a concern of the INQUIRER.
Your buffoons made my day. Thank you! :)
I had ordered a new mac book just before the upgrades where announced - the first I new about it was when Apple sent me this email:

Apple is pleased to announce exciting improvements to the MacBook family that affect your recent order.
The new, faster MacBook now features the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors, a larger hard drive, and more.
Since your MacBook has not yet shipped, we are changing your original order to the new model at no extra cost to you. 
Although the Apple Remote no longer comes standard with the MacBook, we are including an Apple Remote with your order at no additional charge.

Fair play to Apple - this is the first Mac I have ever purchased. In all the years I have bought workstations, servers and laptops from D£ll this is a level of ethicality that I am just not used to!
MB Pro's are by far the finest laptop going. And they run XP better and with more stability than any of the numerous Dell's, ThinkPads, or Toshiba laptops that I've ever used, anyway.

This, quite logically then, proves that Nick is a big dork.
"Also under the bonnet is the Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT with up to 512MB of video memory."

To run which next-gen games? iTetris?

AFAIK mac users are way too "serious" to care about games ;)
Well port ma dog on tha bonnie and lavely Bryn Heulwen! 
So Violet Blue don't welch on Apples. She does them in tiny nibbles.