RIP 17" MacBook Pro

[James Huenergardt]

RIP, Lapzilla: Apple quietly retires 17″ MacBook Pro | Ars Technica

I ordered one about 10 days ago and was going to use Apples 14-day return policy to return it IF they announced a new 17" model. But alas, it's been discontinued.

Oh well, at least I had a backup plan.

[Mark Bolding]

This pretty much sucks for people like me that use the Mac Book Pro 17" to transfer S x S cards. I was also surprised they adopted USB 3.0 and dropped Firewire 800 from the 15" though there may be a dongle for it using one of the Thunderbolt ports. Not a good day.

[James Huenergardt]

There is a Thunderbolt->Firewire 800 dongle.

Maybe someone will make a Thunderbold->Express 34 dongle.

I own 2 EX1s so for me, losing the Express 34 was not good.

[Les Wilson]

Originally Posted by Mark Bolding

... I was also surprised they adopted USB 3.0 and dropped Firewire 800 from the 15" though there may be a dongle for it using one of the Thunderbolt ports. Not a good day.

The MacBook Pro 13" and 15" still have Firewire 800. Just the Macbook Pro 15" Retina lost the Firewire 800 port but sprouted a 2nd Thunderbolt in it's place.

[Brent Kaplan]

get the sonnet SXS thunderbolt card reader, its a great alternative

[Betsy Pearl]

I was waiting for this new Pro. I need to upgrade and the rumors where, of course, swirling. I figured they'd do away with FW and add the extra TB. Kinda bummed about it though I haven't used the TB for much on my partners Mac Pro. But then again, I still have a G5 tower that I should probably get rid of and move into the 21st Century.

[Simon Wood]

Yup, I have one of the last 17" with max specs. End of an era.

While the new retina display will have better resolution, nothing beats overall size, especially showing clients videos in the field and so forth.

"Lapzilla"....thats pretty funny.

[Alister Chapman]

Not sure I like the Retina MBP. No ethernet, no firewire, no express card, RAM soldered to the motherboard so unless Im mistaken, no way to upgrade other than when you buy the machine.

I know you can get adapters for ethernet, firewire etc, but generally each adapter takes up a thunderbolt port, so if I want ethernet and firewire then I can't add anything else like the sonnet express card adapter. In many respects the new conventional MBP's. With a TB port plus all the other ports including USB 3 these are more versatile. Need more resolution, then get the 1680 x 1050 LCD upgrade or plug in an external monitor. Just wish they had put an extra TB port on them.

[Andy Wilkinson]

One thing I would be pretty concerned about is just how hot are these new Retina MBPs going to get on any long renders. There were some reports of the previous generation MBPs locking up/freezing when doing long renders since they got so hot - that I read somewhere - I guess we'll find out soon enough.

I know it is slightly off topic for this thread, but I'm amazed (and pleased) that the Mac Pro got a refresh - I really thought they would kill it. Given she still lives, I am VERY surprised that they did not do the Thunderbolt and USB 3 treatment on it though. [At least that means I don't have to crave a new one and will rest happy that my 2009 Mac Pro is still "current"!].

However, given that it is still in the line-up, it seems silly to have the top end desktop from Apple still sporting old school connectivity when the (relatively) cheaper offerings from Apple have Thunderbolt and USB 3 - excluding iPads etc. Weird or what? I'm sure a Mac Pro with these features would be (again relatively) a big seller with some pent up demand from professionals wanting a workhorse that is much more flexible than the iMac etc. Maybe they'll kill it next time or maybe there is a next generation Mac Pro in development....I won't hold my breath though.

[Mathieu Ghekiere]

Originally Posted by James Huenergardt

Maybe someone will make a Thunderbold->Express 34 dongle.

I own 2 EX1s so for me, losing the Express 34 was not good.

Sonnet - Echo ExpressCard/34 Thunderbolt Adapter

I tested it with SxS on a 13" MBP. Works as advertised.

[Bruce Schultz]

With the ($150 USD) Sonnet Thunderbolt > Expresscard 34 device which reads SxS cards and readers natively, and the ($99) Expresscard 34 > CF Card reader, plus the USB 3.0 ports - the MBP Retina can perform ultra fast transfers from;

NanoFlash CF cards
SxS cards & readers
Samurai SSD/HDD reader via USB 3.0

Coupled with an HD quality screen display, it looks like a winner to me. I have a sheiss-load of usb 3.0 drives to connect to the 2nd USB 3.0 port for transfers. No more waiting around after the shoot wrap whilst the transfer drones on - I won't mind trading up from my original Intel MBP 15" with Expresscard slot to this new gem.

[Buba Kastorski]

Originally Posted by Mathieu Ghekiere

Sonnet - Echo ExpressCard/34 Thunderbolt Adapter

is there anything USB3 compatible, second year in the row none of Sony's laptops has express 34 slot,
i guess it's a dying format

[Alister Chapman]

It's relatively easy to make a thunderbolt to express card adapter as thunderbolt is basically an external extension of the computers internal PCI Express bus as used by Express cards. But USB 3 to express card would be harder to do.

[Thomas Smet]

Having a high resolution display is not really the same thing as a retina display. Sure everything may be crisper but the new MBP is basically a 1440x900 15" screen. Non retina applications are going to look and act like a 1440x900 display. Bootcamp and Windows software will look like a 1440x900 display.

Working with the 17" has always been about screen real-estate and space to move things around. Having a 15" is still going to be like working on a 15". It justs looks crisper and more detailed. Menu bars and tool windows are still going to take up the same percentage of screen space. Even though FCP X can display video as full 1920x1080 it takes up the same percentage of screen space as a 1440x900 monitor if you were viewing at 1/2 res.

So for all intents and purposes the new MBP is a 1440x900 screen with clearly crisper details. Thats not to say it is bad. In fact I think it will look very nice but it is no where near a replacement for the 17" and in no way shape or form can you think of it as a 2880x1800 display when comparing it to the 17" 1920x1200. It is not the same thing. If you feel your application tools and windows are cramped on a 15" 1440x900 display they will be exactly the same on a retina 2880x900 display. Tools in applications such as Motion are going to feel just as cramped.

As a iPad 3 user myself I do like retina displays but everything is still rendered as if it was a 1024x768 display meaning applications still basically have the same scale. Safari still feels just as cramped and the keyboard is still the same physical size. Retina to me is more like a fancy form of anti-aliasing then it is a high resolution display.

[Evan Donn]

it is no where near a replacement for the 17" and in no way shape or form can you think of it as a 2880x1800 display when comparing it to the 17" 1920x1200.

Actually this isn't entirely true. Yes, the base resolution is treated as 1440x900 - but this is a user-configurable setting. It doesn't look like you can set it to use the native 2880x1800, but you can currently choose a base resolution of 1680x1050 (the native res of my current 15") or 1920x1200 like the 17". So if your preference is for more screen real estate you can have that, while those who prefer larger interface elements can choose to leave it at the default setting. I'd be surprised if they don't eventually add a full 2880x1800 option, but I'd guess that for most people the interface elements would start becoming hard to use at that resolution.