Hamartia

I watched the news roll in from the Steve Jobs' MacWorld Keynote, wondering what we might see.  I was expecting some of the announcements, and a bit surprised by others.  The part that surprised me the most was what intel-processor based products they chose to introduce, and which ones they didn't.  MIA were Mac minis and iBooks, but present was the iMac and MacBook Pro.  The iMac seemes like a good machine, with not much to complain about, and a lot to like.  The MacBook however was a shock.  This is one of the first computers to come out of Apple in recent memory which is in many ways a downgrade.  "Blasphemous" you say?  It's 4-5 times faster you say?  Yeah, well, speed is only one part of the equation.  Let's compare the PPC-based 15" Powerbook and the new 15" MacBook Pro, and see what we find.  Note that I am going to compare them from the viewpoint of a graphics and video professional, which is a large part of the intended market, and who I am.

 

MB MacBook Pro        PB PowerBook        ~ Roughly equivalent         = Same

 

That covers most of the bases.

So let's examine this a bit.

What do we gain with the MacBook?

1) Faster System Performance

Performance should be as much as double that of the Powerbook for general use because of the dual-core processor, faster memory bus, etc...  This advantage may go the other way for Altivec optimized software though, as Altivec is a superior SIMD architecture to that of SSE/2/3.  Software that is not Intel-native (most of it at this point) will have to run under Rosetta emulation (if it can), which will negate any speed advantage the MacBook might otherwise have.

2) Graphics Processor

The jump to an X1600 over the older 9700 should give a nice boost to video performance.  The option to have 256MB of VRAM in the top configuration will be very nice for things like Aperture & Motion.

3) iSight Camera

Many people will have fun playing with the new built-in camera.  Some will even make good use of it for business conferences and such.  For most people though, it will be a good 30 minutes of fun in PhotoBooth and then completely forgotten.  Reports of it causing trouble in the new (PPC) iMacs with video editing programs though, could actually mean this feature is a thorn.  For those who work in high security environments (FBI, CIA, etc...), this camera will mean the end of Apple laptop use entirely, as a camera is a definite no-no.  Apple should really offer a version without the camera for those people.

4) MagSafe Power Connector

This is a very nice addition.  Tons of laptops suffer major failure because of power-cord related accidents and stress.  This new connector will safe many an otherwise doomed laptop from attempting to fly off a desk/table....

5) Remote Control

For controlling the new FrontRow software, this remote will be fun.  I don't know how system-wide support for it is though, so its wider usefulness is debatable.  Nice touch, but will probably end up keeping a quarter company under a cushion in your sofa.

 

What do we lose with MacBook?

1) Video Output (NTSC/PAL)

For a world that is moving toward digital convergence, and more people than ever using their computers do play video and games on their TVs, this is a real head-scratcher.  I'm almost certain the graphics processor supports this functionality, but for some reason they removed it.  Forget using your 'Book as a DVD player for your TV anymore, or for that sales pitch you have to give in a pinch without a projector.  Need a quick way to record your Powerpoint/Keynote presentation to VHS? Forget it!

2) Firewire 800 / Second Firewire port

This is a biggy.  The Powerbook has two Firewire ports.  One of which is FW800.  The loss of this second port is nearly catastrophic for video professionals.  With the Powerbook you can hook up a video deck, audio interface, or camera up to the FW400 port, and then a high-speed FW800 drive or RAID to the FW800 port.  This allows each device full bandwidth on its own bus, and also allows faster 7200 drives and RAID arrays to make better use of their full speed.  I use both ports on a 17" Powerbook I use quite a bit.  Tragically, while industry support for Firewire 800 has been recently growing, Apple is choosing to get rid of it. Firewire 800 also allows much longer cable runs than FW400 or USB-2, allowing a noisy hard drive to be put in another room when doing audio recording for instance.  I can only hope that the lack of FW800 on the MacBook is a result of rushing the product to market, and having to use an off-the-shelf Intel chipset, and that the next round of MacBooks will see this feature put back on.  This one big backward step alone is enough to keep me from buying one, and if you are a video professional it probably will be for you too.  Please don't talk to me about USB-2.  USB-2 is not, can not, and never will be able to replace Firewire for the content-creation market.

3) PC Card (PCMCIA) Slot

This widely used slot interface has been around for years, and there are a ton of cards for it.  The most important for video people being the P2 video storage card from Panasonic.  The P2 can just be popped into a Powerbook and the files imported like nobody's business.  This slot is gone on the new MacBook Pro.  In its place is a totally new slot called an ExpressCard/34.  There are two variants of the ExpressCard, with the 34 being the smaller of the two.  So we can all just run out and get cool ECs to slap in there right?  Nope.  Not a single one on the market.  Can I get an adapter so I can use a PC Card like the P2 in it?  Nope.  It's physically too small.  So what's this new slot good for?  Right now, absolutely nothing!  And not having the PC Card slot means no P2 for you!

4) Battery Life

One of the reasons Apple gives for switching to Intel processors is Power-to-Energy rates.  The Intel chips are supposed to consume less power and give better performance.  We've been told the performance is up, and I believe that.  But notably missing from the keynote and Apple's website is any indication of battery life.  The Powerbook page clearly says 5.5 hours (optimistic of course).  Which can mean only one thing: Apple isn't proud of the power consumption and battery life on the new MacBook Pros.  Which is scary.   We won't know until real units ship and people can see for themselves.  This makes one very wary of buying right now, unless you plan on using it as a desktop replacement.

5) Dual Layer Burning and 8x Burning

This one is the most peculiar to me, and one that I can only blame on cost-cutting measures.  The MacBook Pro only burns at 4x, and only to single-layer DVDs.  The Powerbook burns at 8x and does dual-layer.  The difference in writing time between 4x and 8x is enormous.  It can mean the difference between getting that video you've been working on into Fedex on time, or missing delivery and losing a client.  In an iBook this would be acceptable, but not in a computer meant for professionals.  And having no dual-layer burning is a real bummer.  You'll end up having to buy an external Firewire/USB2 DVD burner; another $100+ bucks.

6) Modem

For those in big cities where there is always an open wifi hub nearby, this may be a "who cares".  But for those who live in or travel to less populated areas, a modem is a last line of defense against being off the 'net.  When on the road, you can always carry the latest junk-mail disc from AOL around and use your modem it to connect to the net in a pinch.  It also allows you to send faxes in a pinch, and quickly connect your LAN to the net when one's broadband goes out at the worst possible time.  Sure you can buy a USB one for $50, but why should you have to?

 

So what's the Verdict?

For some people, the MacBook Pro will be a perfect replacement for their existing laptop, or even good first laptop.  For content professionals, particularly people in the video field, this laptop is a case of one step forward and two steps back.  Like the case of an over zealous barber, they simply took too much off.  Hopefully the major flaws in this new 'book (no FW800, old DVD drive, no Vid out) will be fixed in a future revision.  If not, they've done a huge disservice to their customers.  They should have left the silly camera and remote control out of the deal, and given us our FW800 and faster DVD drive.  Each person needs to evaluate their needs, but as for me, it's time to start waiting for Rev. 2 (or break down and buy a PB G4)  We also need to find out if we can get Windows running on one, because if we can it'll be nearly a one-stop shop for cross-platform software developers (I do that too), and thus a real steal (with the FW800 and DVD capabilities back of course).