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This is good news. I have one question though...

Will the ports be flush with the Power... errr... MacBook, or will there now be components sticking out the side? I suspect the later, unless the new card slot is taller than the old PC card slot that I am currently looking at on my Powerbook. The Firewire port itself is taller than this slot.

How do I make the burner faster ?

No, macnut222- I have the 1st gen PowerMac G5 1.8 sp 900Mhz. model that has the same problem as the 2nd gen. (Yes, 3nd Gen too).

I have a headache

Maybe this is finally a use for PC cards slots. I've never had to use the PCMIA slot in my PB. But having a card slot that would allow for SATA external drives, tv tuners etc sounds great.

Of course - when will these cards be available is a totally different question.

Remeber when the first iMacs came out with only USB ports. Teh clamor then was that there were no devices available. Now every printer, mouse, keyboard etc uses USB.

As always, Apple adopts new technologies and time will tell whether appliances will become popular using it. USB did, FW400 did, Wireless did, SATA is picking up momentum. FW800 hasn't gained much attraction.

To the people who say "Firewire is dying" - in professional audio/video fields, firewire is very much alive ... just because YOU don't use it, doesn't mean it's not being used.

For Apple to not offer firewire 800 on a "PRO" machine is a gross oversight. An iBook without firewire 800 - well who really cares(?) - but the "MacBook Pro" is supposedly aimed at a different target market.

Sure, the ExpressCard slot is a solution, but it shouldn't be necessary on a $2500 laptop.

Cheers.


P.S.
Nice of Apple to drop the modem - I guess keyboards and displays are a bit superfluous these days too ...

C'mon people. How many times have you actually used the Pcmcia slot on your old Powerbook? How many of you have FW800 devices anyway?

The 100th threads on why Apple called it a Macbook Pro is getting boring and stale

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=317438&tstart=0

@Aaron

1st question--No
2nd question-LaCie gives your alot of different cables which is great and people shouldn't whine and Apple sells an external modem

No, SteveJack, you are wrong: FW800 on an ExpressCard is not as good (even if there were such cards in existence).

I bought a WallStreet PowerBook as Apple was closing it out, not worrying about its lack of FireWire and USB because – using the same logic you’re espousing – it had two CardBus slots. Well i learned the hard way that ports added via cards are not on equal footing for a number of reasons. It took years for MacOS X to support my cards, they draw more power, they hang out from the PowerBook in undesirable ways, they need to be ejected from and then toted along with the PB when packing it into its travel case, etc. Many were the time i had wished to have those ports built-in.

Cost of FW800 has been cited too, but since there’s a FW400 port, the incremental cost increase can’t be that significant.

No sir, folks have a right to complain about this omission. There are only two reasons why i can see Apple doing it: 1) The MacBook Pro is being rushed to market, or 2) FireWire is soon to be abandoned by Apple. I don’t care for the looks of either option.

The ExpressCard technology improves the data transfer speed by using higher performance serial data interfaces rather than parallel buses. ExpressCard-compliant host platforms must support both the PCI Express and USB interfaces. This includes a single PCI Express lane (X1) operating at the baseline 2.5Gbps data rate, in each direction, as defined in the PCI Express Base Specification 1.0a by the PCI-SIG. The host interface must also support the low-, full- and high-speed USB data rates as defined by the USB 2.0 Specification of the USB Implementers Forum. An ExpressCard module may use one or both of the standard interfaces depending on the application requirements.
Whiners and Whiner-callers should use Google or Dogpile and STFU. Express Card/34 and /54 denote the widths. There are already Express Card card readers. And there is even a new Video Card Bus format (that would allow upgrading..??? you got it...the Video!) nVidia is working on a solution called MXM (Mobile PCI Express Module) and ATI is working on Axiom (compete with MXM). Either way, you won't be stuck with the notebook builtin graphics.
A book or box with slots, display, input devices, storage, and comm.
Yawn.

you could also use it to store a piece of cheese in there.

1) The MacBook Pro is being rushed to market

If this is the case, Apple sells junk

What's FW 800?

I don't know what's worse.

Whiners who complain about real (or perceived) shortcomngs.

Whiners who complain about other people complaining about real (or perceived) shortcomngs.

Whiners who complain about other whiners complaining (whether real or perceived) about other whiners complaining about real (or perceived) shortcomngs.

Whiners who complain about whiners complaining (whether real or perceived) about other whiners complaining (whether real or perceived) about other whiners complaining about real (or perceived) shortcomngs.

Wait a minute...I think that's me...strike that last one.

Maybe MDN needs a complaint dept.

Steve, are you sure about this?

The only 1394b ExpressCards I can find available are ExpressCard 54, i.e., 54mm wide.

The MacBook Pro only supports ExpressCard 34.

How do we put a 54mm card into a 34mm slot?

If you know of a specific 34mm ExpressCard 1394b adapter card, please let us know. If it exists, I have not be able to find it!

I have a maybe 30-40 1394b HDD's filled with audio and video. Having that 800Mbps guaranteed isochronous delivery of data to prevent delayed or out-of-order frames is the great value of 1394b.

MANY THANKS to "guessing" for suggesting a viable workaround that I probably should've known about, so I can still use S-Video with these new MacBooks, I use a dvi to vga adapter everyday in the classroom with an older digital projector, PowerBooks or MacBooks still seem like great teaching tools . . . thanks to ALL THE PEOPLE who make helpful suggestions and observations in the MDN forums
MW- Thanks for all the useful info.

My brother is somewhere in Iraq tonight.

My grandmother is still waiting for a home in Louisiana.

My gas may be turned off next month.

So many more have so much less than me.

Maybe tomorrow will be better.

I would use the ExpressCard slot in exactly the same way as I use a PCMCIA slot, for a Compact Flash adaptor. By doing that, if I need to examine any images from my digital cameras on a decent screen, I just pop the card in.

I don't need to remember special cables, it doesn't need any. I don't need to remember the adaptor as it lives within the slot, unlike USB dongles that have to be removed. You hardly know it's there - until you need it.

The deal breaker for me is the lack of modem. I'm the first to admit that I rarely use the modem, but when I do, it's usually totally unexpected and the only option as all alternatives have gone.

Believe it or not, there really are places without broad band or WiFi access. But you can get a phone connection almost anywhere. Even when I've checked into a hotel which is supposed to have BB, it isn't always working.

The problem with the USB modem is that it isn't built-in, therefore it can get left behind. My TiBook has to fight for space with other stuff in a limited amount of space when I travel, so I can't take all my accessories. An external modem is likely to be elsewhere when you suddenly find that you need it.

Even an ExpressCard modem probably won't be a good solution as although the modem might be in the slot ( if I don't take the CF adaptor instead ), it has to be lass than 5mm high and probably won't have room for a standard jack, so the special lead is likely to be left behind when I need it. But a built-in modem would have a standard jack and I could find a suitable lead almost anywhere in the world.

Well, who did you vote for?

According to "Macheads whine too much", PC users unquestioningly accept any decisions made for them by PC makers. Says it all really.

Are they free?

C'mon, more people use FW then express cards, how many people use iSight? or any peripherals for that matter?

Hey MacJack, is Steve Jobs going to change the so called stupid name and add FW 800 in February? No. I thought so. And makes Revsion B any better than Revision A. You guys will wait till September and the only thing Apple will probably do is bump the speed. Probably use the same motherboard too.

"Well, such complaints are largely moot."

Or largely moo. Like a cow's opinion. It just doesn't matter.
(Thanks to Joey Tribbiani for that one.)

So you guys get a laptop that's four times faster than anything else Apple has ever produced in that category -- and you want them to lower the price??? Wait for the iBooks, then. Jeez!

So what if you need a usb modem? When you use the modem you need to carry the phone cord, right? Just keep the cord plugged into the usb modem at all times and carry them as one item.

You guys are forgetting one thing. FW800 is not just for external HDDs!!
The future video cameras will need more bandwidth than FW400, and naturally FW800 is probably what's going to be used in the future for video. Like everyone else is saying, for external storage eSATA express cards should come out soon enough (hopefully some SAS ones too).

Wow, great logic! Now every single laptop on the market from any company has Firewire, Airport Extreme, and Dual Layer DVD burning. Why? Because you can plug it into your computer... Duh. Nothing needs to be native anymore.

"So you guys get a laptop that's four times faster than anything else Apple has ever produced in that category -- and you want them to lower the price??? Wait for the iBooks, then. Jeez!"

Well aren't you Steve Jobs' wet dream?

Jesus!

Stop bloody whinging! Deal with it, it seems that only e real minority have a problem with this! I'm an ICT technician using both PC and Macs and have never found a lack of firewire 800 a problem! Ever! And yes, i do have a Lacie drive but it also supports USB and Firewire 400, just wait for a PCIXpress Card to come out and shut up!

:-(

I am sure the 17" model will have the FW800 built-in plus the ExpressCard/34, so just shutup already.

'Whats in a name' says "The 100th threads on why Apple called it a Macbook Pro is getting boring and stale"

I say, tell that to Ford Motor Company. They haven't used the name "Edsel" in a while, so they must mean something.

MacBookPro is a STUPID change. First, because PowerBook sounds better 'off the tongue' (so to speak), but second it also has built in, long established BRAND RECOGNITION. You can't buy that with a pile of benjamins, or a flashy transition, or a heaping helping of keynote RDF. It only comes from time and success - both of which PowerBook has now, and MacBook Pro will only achieve after years, if ever.

F*ckin change the name BACK Steve. Since everybody thinks MacBook Pro is a rush job introduction to Intel CPUs anyway, it will be considered a minor bump in company history. Until then, the grief about it WILL continue, and that's bad for building brand.

It's the easiest but most cost effective thing Steve could do to deal with what is obviously a love/hate release for a whole host of reasons (desireable features dropped, poor battery life, same high price). To not deal with a lackluster brand name is the hieght of stupidity for any businessman.

NOW GET ON WITH IT

FW will not die by Apple's hands! Their entire niche market mentality would die with it... Pro producers of audio and video NEED FW and will not put up with a pc card dongle operating at much lower speeds and efficiencies. This product had to have been rushed to market. But we will see. If this is the trend with high end Macs then they will not be able to justify either their premium prices or their claims of superiority. Dell or someone else will will do it cheaper. Then the few markets that Apple actually does own (high end work stations used for production) will go away.

Believe it or not: MDN magic word - dead! God I hope not...

MacWrath: "Pro producers of audio and video NEED FW and will not put up with a pc card dongle operating at much lower speeds and efficiencies."

Just a correction:

The ExpressCard/34 is 2.5 to 3 times faster than FW800, and there is no overhead compared to a regular FW800 port. One card could hold 2 or 3 FW800 ports with absolutely no loss of "speeds and efficiencies."

But I understand the point you're trying to make.

Actually, the big problem here is that Apple didn't use Express Card/54. This obviously means that 54 mm cards won't fit, but most painfully compact flash cards won't either. So photographers will no longer be able to just stick them in their laptop like they can now. As this is now the only card slot, it really should have been 54.

I was planning on buying a MacBook Pro at first, but then I realised that I can't put an adapter for my compact flash cards in the PC card slot (because there isn't one!). Now I'm reconsidering. I think I'll wait until there's an SD card adapter available for the ExpressCard 34 slot. I guess I'll get some more SD cards too. I think I'll keep my 2 GB compact flash card as an emergency backup.

I'm a photographer, and I shoot about 5 to 6 GB of photos at each shoot. I need a notebook computer where I can offload that data to get ready for the next shoot. My old notebook only has a 40 GB drive. I got a 60 GB iPod, but I can only offload about 500 MB per charge into it. I thought I had the perfect solution when I bought that thing.

In defense of the people who want a firewire 800 port: the 15 inch PowerBook has one, and it also has a PC card slot (instead of the new ExpressCard slot). There's something missing from the new MacBook - a firewire 800 port. If I was using a PowerBook with a few accessories (and I use a lot of those), such as a USB printer, a USB scanner, and a USB iPod (like my new one), I'd be pissed that there are only 2 USB ports. Now, if I also wanted to capture video from my video camera (which I do often) through the firewire 400 port to my external hard drive which I connect through my firewire 800 port, how could I upgrade (downgrade) to the new computer without making some serious changes to the way I work? Hmmmmm.

I think Apple has (once again) dropped the ball here. Regressing to fewer useable ports by almost half the ports and regressing to a slower DVD burner that also does not burn dual-layer DVD discs like the old one did sure seems silly to me.

And claiming 4 times the speed of the fastest PowerBooks? I doubt it. I think there might be just a few operations that are seriously accellerated, but I bet that if someone tests the true power of one of these systems by compressing a 10 minute video or rotating a 100 MB image or something, we'll see there is only a 20 to 30 percent gain in "true" speed. I'll be interested to see the final analysis to Apple's claim of 4 TIMES FASTER!!!

One more thing . . .

The new notebook is called MacBook "Pro" for a reason right? I imagine a "pro" might use it. That implies there might be a need for professional equipment on that thing right? Well who the hell do you think uses firewire 800 devices? Amateurs?

The firewire 800 port should DEFINITELY have been included!!!!

Ever try to use your 250 GB firewire 800 port with your firewire 400 port? Hmmmmm.

Besides, now there is only one firewire port, but they didn't add a USB 2 port, so if they're moving away from firewire, why didn't they at least give us another USB port?

And what about all the other firewire 800 devices? (firewire 800 hubs, external DVD burners for burning disks twice as fast - something someone would really want to do with the new MacBook Pro, etc.)

Well, I guess I could use one of the currently nonexistent adapters to connect them, but I wouldn't be able to use that other cool device I wanted to plug into the new ExpressCard 34 slot. I think it's called a video accellerator or something! I was hoping to use it to render the effects faster when using Final Cut Pro HD to make that 1080p movie from all those clips on my two portable firewire 800 drives.

I guess Apple figures a real pro would do that kind of work on a Quad, and I guess if he could afford it he would. Besides, a true pro has plenty of money to buy a fast desktop machine, or he can't be a true pro right? Well, what about that new 30 inch screen that I just bought. What about all the hard drives. What about that new Hi-Def video camera that cost me $2,000? What about the new notebook computer that I need? Maybe I can't afford a new desktop system as well as a notebook too. Maybe I should just get the desktop system and sacrifice portability, or maybe I should take an external hard drive with me, and sacrifice portability, but wait! I don't have power on location, so how will I use an external hard drive? Hmmmm. I guess I'll break out the iPod.

Maybe I'll just get a Quad, and wait for a better notebook to come out next year. Hmmm. Maybe I could save some money by getting a dual processor PC? I hear they have Intel processors in them too!

What the hell, maybe I'll make the switch to PC.

Guess now that Mac has switched to an Intel chip we need something new to argue about? Really, this is the first generation of a newer technology - and it's the same price! This is unusual, so I'd bet Apple had to save some money somewhere. They looked at what the MAJORITY of the people do with their Powerbooks and found out that relatively few use their modem or FW800 port. I agree that FW800 is better than USB2. Then again Betamax was better than VHS. Look at the external hard drives out there - only a handful have FW800. There also seems to be newer technology coming out that is even better - such as the eSATA. The expresscard will allow us to evolve without buying a whole new computer. It would be nice to have a 2nd expresscard slot, though there will probally be multi-function cards coming out. As far as downgrading the Superdrive.... I am not happy with that, but I believe the 2nd generation will have an even better drive than anything out there today. If you can wait until the 2nd Generation MacBooks come out I advise doing so. If you need a computer now - this is still a great machine! Oh, I also believe a 3rd USB port would be nice, but I don't see that in the future.

hey guys i have a concept email the guy and ask him... this is his email... i think and yes the loss of Fw00 is stupid

Here's a good reason for FW800. I use a MacBook Pro to run Capture One software tethered to a Phase One P25 Back. If I try to capture to an external FW400 drive it really slows down the camera - meaning the camera is not ready when you want to take the picture. Work around - means you shoot to cards but why have a $30K camera if you can't hook it up to your computer. It's not a big deal when I'm home but to fly with a G5 and 2 monitors is a pain. BTW the MBP processes the images way faster than the dual G5.

Not to be a bitching geek but it really would make my workflow a lot more efficient.

Hey, in hindsight, don't you think it was stupid to almost promise something based on potential? The article was practically dismissive of these concerns, but it's about eight months since the MacBook Pro's introduction I still can't find an EC/34 FW800 card.

I guess my only hope is that Apple makes a second revision with that connector though I don't know how they would fit it in unless they dropped the FW400 socket and offered an adapter for those that need the FW400 connector.

Everyone likes to pick the macbook pro apart for what it doesnt have, but compared to any other laptop out there, there is nothing that hold a candle to it.(when you take everything into account) just my opinion
clyde
http://www.christiancarsalesman.com