I too want a MBP Retina. Went to the apple store on Saturday to purchase and was told that they have no idea when they will get them in. Apparently people are ordering online and canceling if they can get one in store first.

6/18/2012 11:52:54 AM

Played with one at a Best Buy yesterday. They're cool and all. If I were paying that much for a laptop I'd at least want a semi-decent video card though. Of course that's the gamer in me talking.

[Edited on June 18, 2012 at 11:57 AM. Reason : s]

6/18/2012 11:56:30 AM

I'm more concerned with not upgrading the SSD from 256GB :/

6/18/2012 12:22:51 PM

So it's probably impossible to find a retina in stock at this point right

6/19/2012 9:18:58 AM

i bet ebay has some

6/19/2012 9:23:10 AM

For those people wondering if the new MBP can do 2 Thunderbolt displays and HDMI at the same time:

http://www.theverge.com/2012/6/20/3104640/macbook-pro-retina-display-three-external-monitors

6/21/2012 8:15:45 AM

Should be ordering mine today. Wish I hadn't waited.

6/21/2012 9:22:32 AM

^^ neat, though as noted in the article, actual performance might blow when you start to DO things

apple is only willing to claim that it supports (up to) 2 external monitors: http://support.apple.com/kb/SP653

6/21/2012 9:31:33 AM

Well yeah when you get to that point you should just get a desktop computer. Trying to push that many pixels on that video card is silly.

6/21/2012 9:36:25 AM

6/25/2012 12:46:55 PM

Anyone upgrading to Mountain Lion? I didn't upgrade to Lion from Snow Leopard, but now I have an iPad and figure it will make things easier to share and sync up.

7/25/2012 9:53:39 AM

I got it. I already think it's worth the upgrade from Lion. It fixes two of the biggest issues I had with Lion, and seems to really improve the general performance of my MacBook. I'm pretty annoyed that screen mirroring over airplay only works on 2011 model hardware, because that was by far, the biggest feature I was looking forward to but both of my Macs are 2010 models, but I read somewhere that it worked fine on older hardware in the betas and it probably won't take long before a hack is out that enables it on the final version.

7/25/2012 5:44:36 PM

I'm assuming it's terrible since gizmodo isn't crowing it's greatness from the highest mountain

7/25/2012 6:21:16 PM

^hope you aren't serious. After AAPL had the Gizmodo offices raided for the leaked iPhone4, things have been a bit...frosty

7/25/2012 6:44:06 PM

that hasn't stopped them from fellating every apple product to come out up to this point

7/25/2012 6:49:56 PM

no, gizmodo hates Apple now. Almost every other review I've read about it was glowing though.

7/25/2012 7:11:23 PM

Quote :

"It fixes two of the biggest issues I had with Lion, and seems to really improve the general performance of my MacBook. "

what were those 2 issues?

7/25/2012 7:36:08 PM

The first one was the time it took to awake from hibernate/sleep mode on my MBA. On Snow Leopard it was instantaneous when you opened it up, and on Lion sometimes it took 10 seconds or more to wake up. Now it's back to almost instantaneous again. It honestly feels like I have a brand new laptop now.

The second one is probably not one that affected too many people, but it bugged me to no end. I had set up several 3 and 4 finger gestures on Snow Leopard to do certain tasks in certain programs. Like a 3 finger swipe down to delete a file, pinch to close the active window, etc. Those still worked great on 90% of the programs I used on Lion, but for some reason three finger gestures did not work on the Remote Desktop Connection program (which I keep open on a separate desktop at all times when I am at home so I can swipe over to my Windows Box) Any time I accidentally used a 3 finger gesture when I was "in windows" it would crash my RDC connection. Sometimes it even crashed it when it wasn't the main focus. I just assumed this was because Microsoft hadn't bothered to update their RDC program or whatever. But now the gestures that I configured in Snow Leopard work again on RDC. Which kind of makes me wonder now exactly what the problem was in Lion and why Apple couldn't have fixed it sooner rather than wait for a major release.

7/25/2012 7:51:43 PM

I think I'll just stick with SL until I get a new mbp next spring.

7/25/2012 8:48:47 PM

Like it so far, if for nothing more than getting it on a similar os as my iPad

7/25/2012 10:35:34 PM

Pretty good synopsis of what we get with Mountain Lion.

http://daringfireball.net/2012/07/mountain_lion

7/26/2012 9:48:59 AM

it does seem to run smoother. not necessarily faster, but smoother. both on an '09 MacBook poly-body and a 2011 MB Air.

i mean, for $20 bucks and covering two machines, im pretty sure i wasted that much money on a drink or two last weekend. i feel ok about it.

7/26/2012 1:51:36 PM

http://gizmodo.com/5819418/mac-os-x-lion-this-is-not-the-future-we-were-hoping-for

Gizmodo usually loves Apple.

Quote :

"If it weren't for the fast, rock-solid Unix, graphics and networking cores, Lion would be Apple's very own Vista."

7/26/2012 1:54:41 PM

Can I buy it once and install it on both my Macbook (aluminum body) and my wife's 2011 MBP?

7/26/2012 1:55:12 PM

do you share the same apple id? if yes, yes. if not, no.

7/26/2012 1:58:17 PM

That's what I was afraid of. No.

I miss the days of Snow Leopard...buy one CD and install it on as many systems as you want.

7/26/2012 2:02:27 PM

^^ Actually, I downloaded and installed on my computer, then got on the App Store on my wife's computer with my Apple ID and downloaded a second copy there. I think you can have the OSX on at least two machines.

7/26/2012 2:16:37 PM

I'll try this tonight and report back.

7/26/2012 2:18:01 PM

Good luck. I downloaded and installed on mine last night, and only downloaded on hers. I will test the install tonight, but I have seen many reports/articles saying that you should download one copy, save the installer and transfer over to other computer to avoid having to re-download.

Also, this: http://lifehacker.com/5929045/install-mountain-lion-on-as-many-macs-as-you-want-without-purchasing-additional-copies

But seriously, I think if you just log on with the Apple ID you purchased it with in the App Store, you're gravy.

7/26/2012 2:26:41 PM

So apparently Hulu Plus is now on apple tv. That inches me closer and closer to giving up satellite.

8/12/2012 8:31:45 AM

In case you weren't aware, Hulu Plus costs money, still contains the same amount of ads, and has less of a selection than Hulu's website due to licensing issues.

8/12/2012 12:40:42 PM

My friends roku has some really nice streaming options. AirPlay is the only reason to get an appletv.

8/12/2012 3:23:27 PM

apple tv is not that great. airplay is cool, the radio option is cool, connectivity with itunes is ok even though you can't access your purchased content that I have found.

if apple goes to lower rental rates in the itunes store I will be happy I have it.

I am not very impressed

8/14/2012 3:06:12 PM

I use an app called reflection on my HTPC that does exactly what airplay does on the Apple TV. Although the only reason I use it is to wireless put photo booth up on the tv. lol.

8/14/2012 3:14:50 PM

In fairness, when you airplay to an ATV, it actually turns the ATV on, I'll bet your HTPC doesn't support that.

8/14/2012 4:35:02 PM

My HTPC stays on 24/7. Why would I need to turn it on?

8/14/2012 5:18:40 PM

^^It's called WOL (Wake On Lan) and has been supported by PC's for probably a decade.

Any APP that uses DLNA can do the same thing by sending a WOL packet preceding the DLNA handshake. I don't think any TV's currently support this, but apps do (and everything can).

8/14/2012 5:59:41 PM

I'll use it on rare occasion with logmein but usually my home server and desktop stay on 24/7.

8/14/2012 6:14:15 PM

Quote :

"It's called WOL (Wake On Lan) and has been supported by PC's for probably a decade. Any APP that uses DLNA can do the same thing by sending a WOL packet preceding the DLNA handshake. I don't think any TV's currently support this, but apps do (and everything can)."

Sure it can, setting up the wake on lan would be pretty difficult, especially if you want your tablet to function as a remote control, and want it to be able to send the WOL packet. You could probably spend hours trying to find out how to configure it, spend even more hours configuring it, and then spend more time when it inevitably breaks. Meanwhile, all I had to do to get it to work with the ATV is open the box.

8/15/2012 12:26:36 PM

In the grand scheme of things, that's along the lines of bragging that your toyota corolla has really nice cupholders.

8/15/2012 8:55:36 PM

Haha win.

8/15/2012 11:39:53 PM

Well it's those ancillary features that sell apple products for me. I got an apple tv because it has those little things in it, not just because it plays videos or hooks up to netfilx, there are hundreds of other devices that do that just fine. The same thing goes for the macbook. I don't buy it just for the 'specs'; I like things like the multitouch trackpad, the magsafe adapter, photosensitive backlit keyboard, etc.

8/16/2012 11:39:53 AM

Yeah it's like a Kia. Lots of nice features but in the end it's still a Kia.

8/16/2012 1:29:20 PM

That analogy was funnier 4 posts ago

8/17/2012 12:38:36 AM

Who cares about multitouch and photo sensors and such? Remember Nokia's Vostro phones? That was tworth paying the high price for, that was the real Mercedes! That sapphire screen and those diamond-encrusted battery covers really added the value to the phone. Those phones were really worth the premium, as any jeweler would have told you. None of this cheap ass aluminum and gorilla glass (really, "gorilla"?) junk Apple puts out, with gimmicks such as "retina display" and "app store" that are useless and are only there for marketing hype to make you buy the new generation iPhone or spend money on useless games. And who needed Siri when Vostro phones came with a live French concierge that would look up the answer to your question in the Encyclopedia Britannica and the latest edition of Yellow Pages, not on some shady "Google" website. These Apple products are just korean junk like Kia and Hyundai.

8/17/2012 1:24:20 PM

I think you guys are missing the analogy. We're not comparing brands we're saying AppleTV is to a Kia as an HTPC is to a Mercedes. Sure the Kia might have nifty features that some Mercedes don't but in the long run having a dedicated computer hooked up a TV will always out perform and have more features than a cheap dedicated box like an ATV.

8/17/2012 1:37:40 PM

you are correct to say that HTPC hooked up to the computer will have more features and be more powerful, but sometimes those features and that power is not utilized by the user, and in that case the less powerful, but better integrated box can be of more value. I have a computer hooked up to my TV. It even has Media Center and such, and plays blu-ray movies, although it is not really a dedicated HTPC. It can even run photoshop and office on my tv, although I am not sure why i would ever want to do that. And sure, there are a ton of entertainment-centric software i could use to make it more media-friendly than WMC. But without major tinkering with softwaer, the user experience of turning it on and scrolling thorugh the media is still not as fluid as some of the dedicated boxes with less features. I think better comparison would be HTPC to ATV is like competition-grade nitromethane monster truck to an E-series Mercedes. First will be powerful and will go anywhere/do anything with the right mods, but the second one is much more refined and offers an everage person much more confort driving down a paved and marked road.

8/17/2012 2:13:49 PM

I got lion for the SSD benefits, not getting mountain lion because certain software I require is not compatible with it yet.

Funny how that gizmodo article and (mostly) a few of the commentators pretty much want more complexity, they seemingly want a high barrier of use for some reason. Is it vanity? Is it wanting to be among a more exclusive group of 'computer users' that 20% of the population lacks the ability to grasp / achieve?

Just seems odd that they would object to a slicker simpler first layer interface. It's like they want a car with no hood or body work. Or how one guy put it, they want a car to start with 3-4 toggles of switches, a crank, and a precise setting of the throttle to start, rather than a single push button.

I agree in part that the complexity should be accessible for those who need/want to tweak things even more. But as a default level you shouldn't have to wrangle with the machine for 20 minutes to accomplish a simple task. The quicker you can get to actually doing what you want is far more important than the feeling of satisfaction one may get with fiddling with various drivers and settings for 30 minutes before even starting to get to work.

The article has one point though, the new version seems to be more compromised than before. Controls and finger gestures aren't unified quite right. There should be 2-3 views. Standard desktop. Launcher (like iOS). And a all open documents/windows view. Gesture controls should be uniform through all the views, and you should get the option to pick which you want as default or to switch too at any time.

Shrug.

^ Good analogy.

[Edited on August 17, 2012 at 2:32 PM. Reason : Analogy]

8/17/2012 2:31:05 PM

Quote :

"But without major tinkering with softwaer, the user experience of turning it on and scrolling thorugh the media is still not as fluid as some of the dedicated boxes with less features."

Quote :

"I agree in part that the complexity should be accessible for those who need/want to tweak things even more. But as a default level you shouldn't have to wrangle with the machine for 20 minutes to accomplish a simple task. The quicker you can get to actually doing what you want is far more important than the feeling of satisfaction one may get with fiddling with various drivers and settings for 30 minutes before even starting to get to work."

Completely understandable. Although after that initial setup XBMC with a nice remote is WAY more fluid, responsive, and gets the job done faster than any dedicated device out there. That's because it's dedicated software. When someone picks up my Harmony Remote and scrolls through XBMC the experience is vastly better than any dedicated cheaper device.

Sure you can make the argument that for particular functions a dedicated device might be better but for what I (and many people) use these devices for an HTPC running something like XBMC is far more powerful, fluid, and involves a much better user experience than something like an ATV.

Quote :

"I think better comparison would be HTPC to ATV is like competition-grade nitromethane monster truck to an E-series Mercedes. First will be powerful and will go anywhere/do anything with the right mods, but the second one is much more refined and offers an everage person much more confort driving down a paved and marked road."

I'd still say a Kia. It's a 99$ device. If you had a $500-1000 device then you could say a Mercedes but how limited the features and power are you can't really say it's a Mercedes.


[Edited on August 17, 2012 at 3:50 PM. Reason : s]

8/17/2012 3:48:15 PM

So...

The iPhone 5 is nice, but kind of yawn-worthy. It basically just gets Apple back on pace with a top-tier phone. iOS and the myriad apps are compelling as always, but in general, yawn. I still have an iPhone 4, and I'm not really on fire about upgrading.


If, after double the length of their normal update cycle, they don't release a bad ass iMac, complete with Retina display (and most rumors now instead point to just a pretty minor update), I'm going to say "fuck it" and buy a cheap, shitbox Windows PC (I'm currently down to a nearly 2.5-year old cheap netbook running Ubuntu with a dead battery and a finicky DC-power plug).


Am I the only one feeling like Apple is kind of losing their way? They're making nice stuff, but not spectacular, gotta-have-it stuff.

9/26/2012 12:24:12 AM