“When Apple announced its new notebooks on Tuesday, it said the new machines would be in the company’s retail stores the next day,” Peter Glaskowsky reports for CNET. “So I went to the Apple store at the Westfield Valley Fair mall in Santa Clara, California… It looked as good in real life as it does in the pictures. The tapered edges make it look thinner than it really is, considerably more svelte than the older MacBook Pros like mine.”
“The trackpad was very nice, easily the best I’ve ever used. It also doesn’t look or feel like glass. I can confirm that Apple thought of the same thing that I did in my previous post–a click with one finger generates a left-click, and a tap with two fingers generates a right-click. Awesome,” Glaskowsky reports. “So now Apple has the world’s only two-button mouse that doesn’t have any buttons at all, and it isn’t even a mouse!”
“As for the new glass-face display: I’m sure it’ll be great for watching movies in a dark room. I’m sure it’ll be fine for most purposes, if you’re in a dark room. And wearing dark clothing, and nothing shiny. But wow, I really don’t like to see windows or lights or my clothing reflected in glossy displays, and the only way this new machine’s display could be any more glare-prone is if it were mirrored like a highway cop’s sunglasses,” Glaskowsky reports.
MacDailyNews Note: You can easily make a glossy screen matte, but you simply cannot make a matte screen glossy. Apple MacBook, iMac screens too glossy? Apply inexpensive non-glare film – November 05, 2007
More in the full article here.
Glossy is the killer. Doesn’t matter how wonderful the notebook is the visual interface still sucks.
Glossy creates eye strain because of the glare. Eye strain takes a toll on your eyes over time as well as promoting headaches for many people.
This is purely a cost saving move by Apple. Give everyone want Apple wants to give them and they’ll be happy about it if we tell them this is what they want.
Greg M,
What part of the following statement did you not understand, exactly?
MacDailyNews Note: You can easily make a glossy screen matte, but you simply cannot make a matte screen glossy. Apple MacBook, iMac screens too glossy? Apply inexpensive non-glare film – November 05, 2007
How much will it cost to add a matte filter? $10? $15? I know it’s annoying not to have the matte option to begin with, but when the fix is so easy and inexpensive, the level of uproar seems out of place. Granted, I haven’t seen any of the filters at work, so I stand corrected if they don’t work.
He’s amazed at the two-finger right-mouse-click trick, but that has been a part of Apple’s laptops for at least 4 years now… possibly longer.
But its sister notebook doesn’t have FW!!! Can’t you be objective and get us all riled up about something?
@Greg,
Thank you. For helping rile up the masses. It doesn’t matter if one can purchase a matte film for cheap to get rid of the glossy–what matters is having something to bitch and moan about.
Now, that’s what we’re all about!
Greg M
Spoken from someone that hasn’t laid his hands on one of the new displays, obviously.
The led backlight is strong enough to wash out most of the glare. Similar to iPhone’s screen.
glor
You really do get used to a glossy screen – I hated it at first on my Macbook, especially with a sunny window right behind my desk, but after a couple years using one, I don’t notice it any more.
“What part of the following statement did you not understand, exactly?”
How about the fact that any “filter” placed on a screen does effect the quality of the display. Only an idiot minion would believe that there is some magical application that will transform the screen into something that it isn’t.
Glossy with a filter on it is not the same as a true matt screen. When spending $2000 I shouldn’t have to put a $10 filter on the screen.
Now boys…
New actor’s name….Matt Screen.
Not a bad review in terms of what the guy thinks about the product, but a bit shocking in that he doesn’t seem to know much about computers or Apple computers in particular.
He did not know about the 2 finger clicking? (It almost seemed as if he was taking credit for inventing the idea as well.)
He did not know what the “slot” was beside the battery indicator lights? (the ExpressCard slot).
This is kind of like if your grandpa reviewed a computer.
I agree with you. I bought my Pro with the glossy screen and you see right through the glare. In fact I can see this screen way better than any matte screen mac laptop I had before. People just like to bitch without using. Just like people complaining about the iPhone keyboard without ever using one.
I checked out the new 13″ MacBooks at a local Apple Store.
Very nice fit & function. The new trackpad works so simply for clicking, beautiful screen and it’s remarkably thin. It’s a winner.
if the screen is so glossy how could he even review?
As far as the 2 finger click previously it actually took 3 fingers, 2 for the pad and one for the button. Now you can just click with the 2.
@Greg M
I’m “forty something” and I’ve sat in front of a glossy screen in a well lit office 40+ hours per week for nearly 20 years.
I have ZERO complaints with glossy displays, ranging from the NEC’s in the 80’s to the 17″ MacPro I’m typing on, so consider this…
Your OPINION on glossy screens is just that (an opinion), and it’s not borne out in my experience.
Oh yeah;
@ Greg M,
If you’ve never used a glossy screen for any decent period of time, WTF do you know about them?
How much are you paid to rag on Apple products?
Where the hell is the Firewire 400 in the new MacBooks? Not in the new Nvidia chipset, that’s for sure.
I wonder if Matt Screen is a screen actor?
I can see my kid getting in trouble with the eyes in the back of my head, but, for some reason, I have never had a problem with the glossy screen in my Macbook. Do people live in glass, curtainless houses now? I missed the boat. The iPhone has a glossy screen…now let’s be O’fair and spread the iComplaints to all products rather than let them “trickle down”.
@whatever
My white MacBook (late 2007) only needs a two-finger tap (and no mouse button) for right-click. Hey, life’s better if you tweak the settings.
Glossy’s a dealbreaker for me. I don’t want to have to resort to some fucking matte screen cover to do my work.
Face it, Apple blew it with this glossy-only non-option.
🙁
I have both Glossy and Matte and I think there are benefits to both. I curse the Glossy sometimes and I curse the Matte others. It isn’t a deal killer for me and lets face it, how much do you REALLY use your laptop outside or at the beach. I “like” the idea of working outside but in reality it doesn’t ha ha…work! I also find that the times I used to want or need to work outside the iPhone is PERFECT. I was worried about finger prints or the glossy screen on the iPhone but neither have been an issue AT ALL…ok that is a lie, when my 7 year old gets done playing with the iPhone I need to clean it.
Oh, hang it up, MDN!
You CANNOT easily make a shiny screen matted. And you know it. It looks like SHIT when you do, and it doesn’t really work. Quite defending Apple all the time. Be credible!! Let people form their own opinions & assessments.
@Macintosher
I agree that you can do that but try to make the tap select work when you use graphics apps like photoshop and illustrator – it just doesn’t work. One thing nice about the new trackpad is that it actually acts just like the current ones you can still click at front edge just like a button – pretty cool. I wish they would make a separate input device like this for the desktop machines like te iMac and MacPro. I love the trackpads.
Glossy is a BIG mistake from Apple. Yup – buy a laser-blasted, cutting edge, super-powered, ahead of its time, laptop form Apple… and stick a bit of $10 sticky-back plastic over the screen before you can use it!!
What the fuck is Jobs thinking of??
Apple computers… See Different! (all the bloody lights in your ceiling).
I know Jobs wanted to put ‘WIndows’ on the Mac… but this is taking things far too literally.
etc etc
“And wearing dark clothing, and nothing shiny.”
Deal breaker.