“With the new 13-inch MacBook looking and feeling more like the more expensive 15-inch MacBook Pro line than ever, it’s harder to tell the difference between the two laptops,” Dan Ackerman reports for CNET.
“So aside from 2 inches of display space, what advantages does the MacBook Pro offer compared with the less expensive MacBook? For starters, FireWire. The Pro is now the only current Apple laptop with a FireWire port–that connection was unceremoniously dumped from the less expensive 13-inch model with the new redesign,” Ackerman reports.
“Conspiracy theorists may cry foul, but FireWire is becoming increasingly used only in professional applications (although it may not feel like that if you have a FireWire-only camera). One can’t help feeling this move was made to push you toward the more expensive systems,” Ackerman reports. “In addition to its FireWire 800 port, the MacBook Pro also boasts an ExpressCard slot, an expansion option not offered on the MacBook.”
“MacBooks generally score better on our tests than similarly configured windows laptops (such as the Dell Studio 15), thanks in part to the efficiency of the Mac operating system, and the fact that applications such as Quicktime, iTunes, and Photoshop run more quickly on Mac OS X,” Ackerman reports.
Full review here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dale E” for the heads up.]
Fsck, they just had to bring up FireWire again?
Their argument is Apple apologist bullshit and it’s not going to fly.
Was there any doubt that CNET would love it?
@msr
Hey, your loquacity is surpassed only by your profundity. Verily, seldom has so little been expressed by so little.
Without Firewire an Apple computer is like a hot dog without mustard.
Do you not like mustard Mr Jobs?
The entry level $999 MacBook still has a FireWire 400 port. Add more RAM and boom, there you go.
People are still selling DV cameras for $400 new, and HDV for $700. Tthese can only connect via firewire. That’s hardly “Pro”. (IF they have USB, it is only for stills.)
And I have about 50 tapes of home movies. I’ll never be without a DV camera.
Hot dog we have a weiner!
I still using firewire 400 for my SONY camcorder, But I really don’t like to edit video on a laptop, and I believe that it could be worse to edit it in a13 or 15 inch laptop. I use a 20″ Imac, and when ever I need to edit “on the way”, I still capturing on the iMac and pass the file to the macBook. I really don’t see the big deal with losing firewire in such a small screen (even that you can attach a secondary screen).
Besides that, there will be a Firewire to USB adapter very soon.
@rattymouse
I Suggest you s***w yourself,if that’s all you can say.
To initially introduce a feature in a Pro product and then gradually bring it in to the consumer line is logical, but to take away a feature that has been in consumer machines for years and then take it away and say it is only for “pros” is absolutely ridiculous..
The worst decision Apple has made in recent history..
“I really don’t see the big deal with losing firewire in such a small screen (even that you can attach a secondary screen).
—————–
There is much more to it that that..
Besides using firewire for video, how bout target disk mode?
Or
Firewire only audio interfaces like the “Apogee duet” which Apple so proudly advertises on their site that it “works great with GarageBand.”
I was staring at my Dell laptop at work right now and I just realized it doesn’t have Firewire. Amazing!
In fact, I have the same ports on my new work laptop as I do on my personal Titanium G5 laptop (pushing 6 years old now). Doubly amazing!
Wow, where were all these morons when Apple was the only vendor carrying Firewire ports? Were they shouting that everyone should only get Macs? People who complain about FW, about glossy, about every little hangnail need to get a life.
Please CORRECT the source:
the review is not by CNET, but by CNN.com/technology
@edgeknight
Never get rid of your G5 TiBook as it is worth a ton of money, in view of the fact that it is probably the only G5 laptop that Apple ever made. Everyone else including me only had a G4.
@Calvin Grinder
Do you not think it illogical that Apple charges £719 for an older design laptop that has Firewire 400 and can connect to a users legacy equipment, whereas on the latest £949 laptop Firewire is discarded.
Editing vacation video on a smaller screen is undoubtedly a tad uncomfortable, but having the capacity to download and review whilst on the move is a valuable facility.
Taking Firewire off the latest consumer products seems a crazy decision and does not attract any feeling of goodwill from me. Hugely disappointed Apple fan I am.
FW is also important if you are attaching a larger external boot drive. USB works but the system is definitely slower. Pluse connecting a drive in that manner is certainly less expensive than removing and adding a new drive internally.
Oh, not again… The entire FW debate, all over… with all the same arguments! Aren’t people tired of this discussion? Didn’t we finish debating this?
Well, now that I’ve gone through all the posts, I may as well contribute.
One in 10 new camcorders uses tape (and Firewire); others use USB2 to move captured data.
USB2 provides ability to boot from external drive. Ethernet provides the ability to boot off a networked volume, using the software supplied for both Macs and Windows. I can’t really think of a situation where target mode would be the only solution.
Before the latest refresh, MB and MBP were two different beasts. After the refresh, the only difference was extra 2 inches of screen space, an obscure Expresscard slot that nobody uses and Firewire. If MB had FW, would anyone here pay $700 more just for extra two inches? Perhaps for genitalia; not for display real estate…
i only use firewire to import whine.
“Oh, not again… The entire FW debate, all over… with all the same arguments! Aren’t people tired of this discussion? Didn’t we finish debating this?”
I don’t understand it either. These trolls just don’t get it. If Steve says we don’t need firewire, then we don’t need it. Same with the glossy screens….
The new MacBooks are “Just Gorgeous” and “Sexy”, and “Delicious” . Who cares about functionality except these Window Trolls….
It was a typo, I meant G4 not G5. Hopefully you got my point.
I have yet to hear from anybody about my Dell laptop not having FW. Anybody?
For those complaining about not being able to boot from their external drives with FW, what percent of users actually do that? It’s like complaining that some cars don’t come with remote starters. Sure, it’s useful in the winter but I don’t use it everyday and even if I didn’t have it, I really wouldn’t be complaining about it.