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Object of Desire?
Okay, I want one, and you probably do too.
Yes the new MacBook Pro, with two graphics chips must be a dream for us Aperturites. I’ve been busy trying to find out how much better the new machines will work with our program, but sadly won’t have first hand experience for a while.
I suspect however, that in many places within Insideapertureland, there are those who couldn’t wait another second and are busy installing Aperture on their new MacBooks or MacBook Pros. Please tell us what you know about how Aperture works on your new computer in the comments section!
What I do know is the new machines each have two graphics processors. The GeForce 9400M coupled with the Mac OS X operating system says its maker Nvidia, “allow you to take advantage of graphics intense applications like Aperture and Final Cut Studio 2 for a new level of photo-editing and video-creation for home or work.”
On Apple's website, there is a performance converter for gamers and a vague description stating “even more powerful graphics performance with Aperture.” So you tell us, lucky new MacBook and MacBook Pro owners.
The fact that there are now two graphics processors in every laptop doesn’t mean they can both be running at the same time. My understanding is the the GeForce 9400M is on for everyday use and maximizes battery life. But when you want to use Aperture or any other graphics intensive program, you switch to the GeForce 9600M GT. The switching process is something I’m not clear about, you may have to actually log out of the OS X to switch, but there is talk on the blogs that when the next OS X upgrade Snow Leopard is released, the two chips may run simultaneously for even speedier performance.
Those of us iPhone users are looking forward to the new finger-gesture-intensive glass track pads on the new machines.
But they did take away the matte screen option(!), which is one I think I would have preferred given the choice. Glossy screen owners have told me it can be challenging seeing the screen properly in bright light, and there is less viewable detail in shadow areas then with matte; but I haven’t first hand experience.
The lack of Firewire Port on the MacBook line appears to be a deal breaker for some judging by comments posted on a variety of Mac forums. Aperture Users Network founder David Schloss talks about the issue in his editorial.
But enough negativity. The new LED Cinema Display has most of the features Mac users were asking for in updated monitors, the instant-on LED backlit technology, built-in iSight video camera, microphone, speakers, three USB 2.0 ports and a built in MagSafe adapter which lets you leave your other adapter in your laptop case; nice! The adjustable aluminum body, matches your new laptop for the fashion conscious.
I don’t know how many of you remember the old docking mac laptops of old, but the new 24-inch display teams up with the new laptops to make a compelling argument for a one computer system.
So for those of us Aperture users who don’t yet have a new Apple laptop, let us live vicariously through the commenters who have had the chance to test them out.
I'm distinctly mixed on the new line. The two graphics cards are pretty cool, but yes, switching cards means logging out, which I almost never do. I like the new shell (magnetic latch and access to the hard drive are big pluses in my mind). I like the sound of the new trackpad. I'm not as thrilled with the missing (or expanded) mouse button. I'll have to try it before I'm convinced. No more matte screens is annoying - again, like you, I'll have to try it to see how I feel about that. The biggest annoyance to me is the reconfiguring of the ports. I would go pro, so I wouldn't lose the Firewire completely, I'd just need an adaptor. My main gripe is with the new display port. I use second displays very frequently: projectors, a 19" display at home, a 30" display at work and my television from time to time. I'm used to carrying a DVI->VGA adaptor for the projectors, but I have one the is small (basically the size of the plugs themselves) and I finally starting to see more projectors with DVI ins. In any case, Apple used to ship a DVI->VGA adaptor with their laptops. Now it seems I would have to splash out some $160 on adaptors just to be able to keep my standard practice (yes, $100 for a dual-link DVI adaptor).
That said, I would count this as revision 1 of a new design and I try never to go with any revision 1 machine. I was forced to with the first generation of Macbook Pros and I still regret it (though I didn't really have a choice at the time).
glossy screens are maybe ok for watching movies, but using a glossy screen for photoshop, aperture, etc is kind of frustrating, the odd reflections only get in the way - unless you are in a room w/ no other sources of light - i imagine working in a brightly lit ofice during the day could be painful -
apple needs to offer a matte screen option on the new macbook & pro, unfortunately, i'll be sticking to the older machines :( until they do
I'm also somewhat mixed, but I'm also about ready in my upgrade cycle so I know one of these is in my fairly near future. From what I've heard, performance gains of up to 50% are to be expected for Aperture, but that was not a benchmark number, just a ballpark number. I think that sounds reasonable, and will depend on other nuances like RAM and hard drive speed, and even solid state vs hard drive storage. From the specs and the talk I've heard, expect a new Macbook to run Aperture significantly faster.
I've worked with both matte and glossy screens, and the glossy's reflectiveness is usually easy to fix with an angle adjustment. That said, brighter is harder to deal with, and it's possible to truly have a hard time with them in bright light. I'm also surprised that the matte option disappeared, as did Firewire 400 and adaptors included in the box.
These Macbooks seem very much along a theme of subtraction of what Apple doesn't feel is necessary, and some of those cuts do sting. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on one, and not having to wait so much on Aperture to keep up, but it's kinda bittersweet.
"Okay, I want one, and you probably do too."
No, not really.
I got a basic Macbook for my wife, replacing her old Macbook which I will give to my parents. The glossy screen of either version is not much of a concern in my house, and I don't need the firewire port (regarding video, most of the new HD consumer camcorders are USB!).
There was a comparison between the new Macbook and Macbook Pro in one of the blogs, and the screen of the Pro version appears to have a better viewing angle and better black point. In any case, if I were to do any serious photo work with either I would hook them up to an external monitor.
I just convinced the guys at the 5th ave NYC apple store to let me download and install aperture on a macbook (2.4). I loaded up some of my 40D raw files, and was very impressed. Speed was on par with my MBP 2.33 (late 2006) with ATI 100 256MB GPU. I tried all the adjustments, no lag. The only lag was trying to straighten an image while zoomed into 100%. loading pics was a bit slower of course, anywhere from 4-8 secs. Interestingly, when trying the stock aperture demos on the new MBPs, the load time was the same.
I think its safe to say the MB will make a great field machine, especially if you have a workstation at home to do the serious editing.