Gregarius » BetaNews.Com » juin 13, 2012

BetaNews.Com (10 non lus)

Apple is the new Compaq

Publié: juin 13, 2012, 11:03pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

Surely we can blame Tim Cook for that. Wait. You're too young to remember Compaq? Well, Apple's CEO worked there in the 1990s, and his leadership brings some decidedly bad Compaq habits from Texas to California. So for those of you thinking Apple is different under Cook than Steve Jobs, most definitely.

See, my eyes buggered when reading in iFixit's terrific MacBook Pro with Retina Display tear-down: "Unlike previous generations of MacBook Pros, the MacBook Pro with Retina display is guarded by Apple's proprietary pentalobe screws". Proprietary screws? That sounds familiar. Oh yeah. Compaq!

Screw you screws

Apple actually started using the five-point screws in 2009, but we can still blame Cook for them. As then-COO, he was responsible for Apple manufacturing and logistics and most certainly these screws would come under his area of responsibility. Perhaps the ever-micromanaging Jobs had a say, too, but he sadly has left this world and Cook remains to take the blame.

Apple first started using pentalobes -- let's call them the "screw you screws" -- to secure stuff it didn't want people accessing, like previous generation MacBook Pro batteries, iPhone 4/4S and MacBook Air. They're screw you screws because they require special tools. I can understand iPhone, but MacBook Pro? Surely the kind of person plunking down $2,199 or more for this computer might want to use it for a very long time and upgrade later on.

Cook and Company don't want you doing that. In December 2010, I asserted: "MacBook Air will redefine personal computing". It has, at least for Apple, which MacBook Pro with Retina Display clearly demonstrates. MBA bears more resemblance to a consumer electronics device than personal computer. Buyers make final configuration decisions when ordering -- there are no upgrades later on. I wrote two years ago: "MacBook Air's design is compact and tidy, packing some proprietary components in a package not meant to be touched after manufacturing".

Apple brings the same kind of design philosophy to where it hasn't really been: High-end laptops. Along with the screws, the flash memory, which Samsung makes, is proprietary, too. Sure, we've seen this on MacBook Air but it's new to the Pro line. Perhaps for safety reasons: "Someone really did not want the battery in the MacBook Pro to come out of the upper case", according to iFixit. "We tried valiantly with our iFixit 6 Inch Metal Ruler to free the battery from its aluminum confines, but to no avail. Rather than risk puncturing a lithium-polymer battery cell, we left the power source in place".

Score One for Repairability

The bottom line should send shivers down the spine of any CIO or IT manager considering buying MacBook Pro with Retina Display. The iFixit folks give the new laptop a repairability rating of one out of 10. If this was a Rotten Tomatoes-rated movie, you would spend your money elsewhere. Reasons include the screw you screws, soldered-down graphics chip, proprietary memory, glued-in battery and fused display assembly. This box is never meant to be opened, and your AppleCare warranty better be up to date if something breaks MBP. Replacement may be the only option.

Apple really is the new Compaq, which was renown for proprietary parts that made mockery of the whole Windows PC ecosystem of interchangeable everything. Compaq did invent the PC clone, after reverse-engineering the IBM BIOS. I guess those Texans didn't want done to them what they had done to others. Proprietary parts kept Compaq cloners at bay, locked in customers and assured beaucoup bucks for the company's resellers. Enterprises complained long and hard about everything from proprietary memory to power supplies.

Long-time Mac fans will argue there's nothing new here and that Apple has long been proprietary. (Gasp, and that's a good thing?) I won't debate this, because it's not relevant to this discussion. In the past, Apple wanted Macs to be serviced, now it doesn't. Compaq worked with select resellers who had the tools to tinker inside its boxes and order proprietary parts. Apple has done likewise for years, but going further. Every part must be accounted for under warranty and returned to Apple. Now, no one other than perhaps your smarter-than-Albert-Einstein Apple Genius is meant to crack open the MacBook Pro enclosure. Say, do these experts don white coveralls and work in clean rooms hidden inside Apple Store?

This locked-down approach continues the shift started with MacBook Air -- making computers more like end-to-end consumer electronics products, which are often thrown away when busted rather than repaired.

But Apple's approach exceeds Compaq's in a way fitting corporate culture. Apple treats its product designs like works of art. Now the company wants you to do likewise. Look, but don't touch.
Cisco debuts networking products for the cloud

Publié: juin 13, 2012, 8:04pm CEST par Ed Oswald

Cisco knows that the cloud is worthless without networking, so its Cloud Connected Solution announced on Wednesday shouldn't surprise anyone. The company debuted both new cloud-enabled software for its ASR and ISR routers as well as a virtualized router aimed at extending virtual private networks to the cloud.

This new router software will be found on the ISR G2 platform, and a new Aggregation Services Router (ASR) platform based router, the ASR 1002-X was introduced. Cisco announced new Unified Computing System (UCS) E-Series Server Modules on the ISR G2, which is also on the way.

"The Cisco Cloud Connected Solution redefines the WAN architecture with key innovations that leverage the network intelligence as a critical link in cloud deployments by putting more functionality into traditional enterprise routing", Cisco Services Routing Technology Group chief Praveen Akkiraju says.

Cisco says the new router software should help improve the performance and security of cloud applications, while the the new CSR virtualized router should prove useful to those looking to adopt hybrid cloud architectures.

The San Jose, Calif. based company's moves to cozy up to cloud computing don't come as a surprise. As said previously, the network is key when it comes to the cloud: if that doesn't work, neither does the cloud. Cisco is also making a smart move making a play for the hybrid cloud market, as an increasing number of IT departments are embracing the cloud by incorporating both public and private elements.

"Network infrastructure must rapidly adapt to fully support future enterprise communications systems, which will be highly virtualized, intelligent and application-aware. The impact of new infrastructure and application strategies on the network cannot be overstated", Gartner principal analyst Bjarne Munch says.

Everything announced Wednesday is currently available except for the Cisco UCS E-Series on ISR G2, which will ship in the fourth quarter, and the the ASR 1002-X, which is due in September.

Photo Credit: Inq/Shutterstock
Windows 8 lacks true spirit [review]

Publié: juin 13, 2012, 7:59pm CEST par Itamar Even-Zohar

I have been testing Windows 8 Release Preview 64-bit for over 10 days now. I have installed it onto a second partition on two computers: Lenovo ThinkPad T61 and desktop clone computer. On both PCs, Windows 7 is also installed as an alternative OS. I set up dual boot using free tool Easy BCD.

My conclusion so far: this is an operating system one can live with, but that hardly justifies upgrading from Windows 7. That is unless you have got a tablet computer and like the new Metro UI. Since I haven't got one, the new Metro UI for me is just a bother -- simply a hindrance for efficient work. Except for this new user interface there is actually hardly anything new, while on the other hand, not one single awkward or archaic concept has been replaced by something new.

Monstrous Labyrinth

For example, the Registry is the same monstrous labyrinth, the Desktop is the same desktop, and the overall configuration of the computer is basically unchanged, although the so-called Classical Display has been eliminated. In reality, this hasn't changed much the possibilities of customization. I naturally immediately customized the display for "best performance" (only adding "smooth edges of screen fonts") and selected a solid background to allow the icons to be visible.

I'm sorry to say that the amount of garbage that has accumulated in my computer during these 10 days is astounding -- and unfortunately, it could not be purged. For example: items planted by various programs into the Notification Area, which could at least be manually eliminated in Windows 7 can no longer be removed the same way, and I haven't found any direct method for handling the undesirable implants.

However, the Notification Area is a minor trouble in comparison to the Registry, which still needs daily cleansing by dedicated programs, and this will continue to prosper because so much garbage accumulates here and nothing is ever deleted. This is the situation, unless you've got a good uninstall program; Microsoft's remove applications procedure will not take care of the leftovers of misbehaved programs. Based on my short experience, the accumulation of garbage is so quick that I fear that the Registry under Windows 8 will impede fast performance as it has done in all of its predecessors.

Talk to Me

Another unchanged feature, Windows Speech Recognition (WSR), which was one of Windows Vista's major innovations, is happily still a built-in feature of the new OS, but is now concealed one level deeper under Easy Access. The feature itself hasn't changed a bit since Windows Vista; it seems that Microsoft has given up on the idea of introducing speech recognition as a major feature. WSR has a great potential to become a superpower tool, especially with its added macro language, which is also concealed by Microsoft for the average user. There is still much to fix in WSR, but in view of the huge investment made so far, it is almost incomprehensible why Microsoft has decided to forget about it.

Memory management has always been a major issue. I have read some contentions that the memory management under Windows 8 should be much better, especially with a 64-bit computer and 4GB RAM or more. My subjective experience: There is no difference between Windows 7 32-bit and Windows 8 64-bit in matters of speed or crashing. During the 10 days of testing, the OS got stuck many times, and I had to resort to Task Manager quite often, even to force reset. This reminded me very much of previous versions of Windows, namely those that preceded even Windows 7.

I fully join the opinons expressed by various reviewers that Microsoft make it possible for desktops and notebooks to completely turn off the Metro UI and return to the desktop option. Of course, it would have been nice had Microsoft introduced some innovations into the latter, too, but I believe one can live with the Windows 7 configuration quite well.

Where is Metro's Off-switch?

There is a vicious circle here, because with the Metro UI turned off and the desktop restored, Windows 8 simply becomes quite identical with Windows 7. This does not mean that I would like to have the Metro UI in the first place even if I had a tablet computer. I find Metro applications to be hardly attractive, in part because I can't find any way to control them. Even playing a video by the Metro application turns out to be painful because there are no buttons to control them. I assume that the applications can be controlled not by mouse or keyboard but by touching gestures, but since I've got no access to such options on my computer that couldn't be tested. And frankly, as I use my computer for doing work rather than for playing and gaming, I am not even tempted to get those options in future. On the whole, I find touching the screen of a regular computer to be quite uncomfortable -- and even worse than a mouse for repetitive stress injuries.

Another astounding issue is that after all these years Microsoft has left the user with a primitive tool for copying and moving files, namely Windows Explorer or My Computer, which should have been replaced long ago by an application like the good old Norton Commander or its modern equivalent Total Commander.

Although this is only a short review, there is no way to avoid the extremely painful security measures that often prevents one from accessing one’s own disks. This can sometimes be solved through a tedious and, often unclear, permission and sharing settings. But I find that Windows 8 has made it even tougher than Windows 7, because even when I turn completely off, I still cannot copy, move or open files to my own folders where for some reason I have got no permission.

Sync illuminates the Gloom

Against the background of this rather gloomy view, there is one new feature in Windows 8 that might foretell some beneficial future, but its current implementation is rather limited. I am referring to the new sync account, which is the default in W8 (alternatively, or side-by-side with it, you may open “local” accounts). The advantage of the sync account is that some of one’s settings are automatically synchronized on all computers where you open the same user account.

For example, if you add a language on one of your computers, that language will also be configured on all of your other PCs. It would be naturally helpful if such a feature was at least optionally extended to other domains, such as certain folders, though SkyDrive is meant to render a similar service, but with far less comfort.

To sum up this hasty review, I'm not sure what Microsoft has achieved with this OS except the Metro UI that is not likely to serve non-tablet users or encourage people to get one. When a beta tester for Windows Vista, I was quite appalled by its so many useless features and unnecessary complications. Windows 7 later fixed many of those unfortunate components. Windows 8 doesn't appear to be appalling in any way -- it simply lacks any true spirit. It has adopted too much the Macintosh view of computer users as complete idiots.

Naturally, I don't object to providing people with an OS that liberates them from making decisions, but a good OS also can be freely, openly and amply customized by users who wish to do so. And a good OS does not waste the user’s time on such a myriad of places for configuration (Control Panel, Settings under the new Start menu, and more).

Itamar Even-Zohar has been professor of Culture Research at Tel Aviv University since 1969. He was an early adopter of PC applications and belonged to the first group of pre-Internet networkers ("Humanist Listserv"). In 2003 he founded the Microsoft Speech Recognition Group on Yahoo, which helped promote discussion and powerful use of the feature in Windows.
Unroll.me launches in public beta, puts an inbox within your inbox

Publié: juin 13, 2012, 7:56pm CEST par Tim Conneally

Email newsletters are about a half of a step above spam. If you purchase something online, install some piece of software, or sign up for some service and thoughtlessly breeze past the checkbox that says "Keep me informed about (product)!" you can very easily find yourself getting monthly, weekly, or in the case of the most egregious mailers (like Bed, Bath, and Beyond or Victoria's Secret) daily newsletters or circulars, and those things add up quickly.

Or, if you are a systems administrator of one sort or another, and you receive automatic server notifications in your inbox, you can go from inbox zero to a deluge of semi-important messages in no time at all.

This is the type of thing Unroll.me can help you with. When you pair your Gmail or Yahoo mail account with the Unroll.me service, it automatically "rolls up" all of your subscriptions (i.e. categorizes, organizes, and summarizes them) and you can then manage how you receive them, or indeed if you continue to receive them at all.

By default, Unroll.me pulls all your subscription emails out of your immediate inbox view, and puts them in a timeline which is emailed to you in the morning, afternoon, or evening, depending on when you'd like it. Clicking anywhere on the timeline will take you to the Unroll.me site, where your timeline becomes a full rollup history, and where you can change the states of your subscriptions.

New users to the service will want to pay close attention to what is getting "rolled up" initially, because it will not appear as a new message in your inbox. It is very easy to lose track of automatic email notifications, because we train ourselves to look at them when they're there, but not look FOR them when they're not. This means Unroll.me requires a degree of vigilance on the user's part, but can ultimately result in a uniquely organized inbox, by using a sort of virtual inbox within it.

Unroll.me is now in public beta, and is accepting new users.
MacPro is doomed

Publié: juin 13, 2012, 5:54pm CEST par Robert X. Cringely

Not all of Apple’s new and upgraded products were even mentioned in Monday’s Worldwide Developer Conference keynote. I was especially interested in Apple’s tower computer, the Mac Pro, which was both upgraded and killed at the same time.

The Mac Pro is Apple’s machine for media professionals. With up to 12 CPU cores, 64 gigs of RAM and eight terabytes of disk storage, it is a very powerful machine aimed at video editors, DNA sequencers, and anyone else who needs a supercomputer under their desk. And on Monday Apple upgraded the Mac Pro for the first time in two years, adding faster processors, better GPU options (it has, remember four PCI Express slots), and interesting SSD options. But what Apple didn’t upgrade was the Mac Pro’s USB ports to USB 3.0.

That told me the Mac Pro is doomed.

Product lines come and go all the time at computer companies, even at Apple. But this simple decision not to go to USB 3.0 shows that Apple has no further plans for the Mac Pro beyond this model. They didn’t rev the motherboard. And what makes that worth writing about is the Mac Pro is Apple’s only expandable product. There are no card slots, no extra drive bays, no GPU options on any other Apple products.

Apple has effectively killed its last conventional computer.

Taking away customer options, especially customer-installed options, will make Macs more reliable and easier to support. But what about the power users?

Apple will eventually have to explain to those folks how less is more and how this new world is even better for them. I think I know how Apple will do it.

When the Mac Pro dies for good Apple will replace it in the market with a combination of Thunderbolt-linked Mac Mini computing bricks backed up by rented cloud processing, all driven from an iMac or MacBook workstation.

I just wonder: when they’ll get around to telling us?

Reprinted with permission

Robert X. Cringely has worked in and around the PC business for more than 30 years. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Newsweek, Forbes, Upside, Success, Worth, and many other magazines and newspapers. Most recently, Cringely was the host and writer of the Maryland Public Television documentary "The Tranformation Age: Surviving a Technology Revolution with Robert X. Cringely".
AVG Family Safety alternative browser launches on Windows Phone, updates on iOS

Publié: juin 13, 2012, 4:35pm CEST par Tim Conneally

Security software company AVG has taken an active role in providing security apps for the popular mobile platforms like iOS and Android, and has garnered approximately 114 million active users across them all.

Today, AVG has released its free alternative Web browser AVG Family Safety for Windows Phone, following yesterday's update to the software for iOS.

AVG Family Safety is a mobile browser built to protect its users against malicious and generally unsavory websites. If you're one of those parents who finds himself handing his smartphone over to his kid to keep them occupied on long trips or while waiting in line or suchlike, AVG had you in mind with this app.

Websites that are known to harbor malicious content, malware, phishing, pornography, or proxy and anonymizer web services are blocked using data provided by AVG’s LinkScanner technology. This feature rides on top of the built-in mobile security provided by the operating system.

On iOS devices, for example, you can password-protect Safari so your kids can only use AVG Family Safety. This feature does not exist on Windows Phone, but Internet Explorer can be buried in sub-menus and AVG Family Safety can be put front and center and set as the default so that parents can provide a comparable level of security.

AVG Family Safety is not quite a "freemium" app, because it can be a fully enclosed experience on its own. But it can also be paired with AVG's $20 per year Family Safety account, which allows users to set up user security profiles and apply them to up to three different mobile devices per household.
UpdateFreezer ices apps in place

Publié: juin 13, 2012, 3:45pm CEST par Mike Williams

When managing a PC you’ll normally want software updates to be installed just as soon as they become available. But there may be occasional exceptions.

If you’re working on a slow and expensive mobile internet connection, say, or you’re going to make a really important presentation tomorrow and want to be sure your PC behaves exactly as it does today, then you may want to disable updates, just temporarily. And Update Freezer is a compact, portable and free utility which makes that very straightforward.

Just launch UpdateFreezer.cmd and you’ll immediately see the current update settings for Windows, Adobe, Google, Java, Firefox and Skype. The program also displays the various update options available in each case – “Disabled”, “Notify Only”, “Automatic”, whatever they might be – and you can change them at a click. (Which of course you could do from the individual applications anyway, but Update Freezer just simplifies the process by making several settings available from a single interface.)

And, conveniently, Update Freezer also includes a Restore All option which resets your update settings to whatever they were before you first ran the program. So when you’re happy to receive updates again, simply hit the “Restore All” button and you’ll be back to normal.

Of course while disabling updates can be convenient sometimes, you don’t have to use Update Freezer for that purpose: the program is just as handy for checking a PC’s status, or turning updates on. If you’re troubleshooting a computer and wondering what its update settings might be, say, running Update Freezer from a USB stick will quickly tell you more, and you can correct any problems with a click.

Photo Credit: Stephen Orsillo/Shutterstock
Get Bitdefender Parental Control Beta for Android and Windows

Publié: juin 13, 2012, 2:49pm CEST par Mike Williams

Most security companies don’t seem to place much value in parental controls, usually demoting them to an underpowered module in the darkest recesses of their security suite. But maybe that’s about to change. Bitdefender has just made available the first public beta of its standalone Parental Control package, and at first glance it looks really quite impressive.

You can of course use the program to prevent particular actions. In just a few clicks it’s possible to filter inappropriate web content, for instance. You’re able to restrict the use of particular applications, block instant messages from anyone other than a list of allowed contacts, and ensure the child can only use the internet at the times you define.

And because Bitdefender also includes a mobile component, you can also stop them receiving phone calls or text messages from certain phone numbers (although at the moment this is only available for phones running Android 2.3 or later).

If you’d rather take a hands-off approach, though, you could just use the program to monitor your child’s activity. You’re able to see what they search for online, the sites they visit, and everything that happens on their Facebook account, for example. Install the Android app and you’ll also have access to their calls, messages, settings and more. And because all of this is visible from a web interface you’ll be able to check up on them easily, wherever you are.

As this is a beta, there are of course some oddities. One issue is that Parental Control only works with Bitdefender Antivirus 2012, for instance, and the company says if you’ve an earlier Bitdefender product installed then you’ll need to uninstall it. Which seems drastic. The Bitdefender site has more.

The program worked well for us, though, so if you’re interested then we’d say it’s well worth a look. Parental Control downloads are now available in 32-bit, 64-bit and Android flavors.
Verizon Share Everything plan shares very little savings

Publié: juin 13, 2012, 12:45am CEST par Patrick Roanhouse

I find it humorous to read a press release from a large telecom in regards to cellular service plans. They use powers of the telecom heavens to make their calling and data plans "easier" for simple, dumb mortals. Carriers play it up like they have come down from Olympus to give us fire. All so we can build temples to them faster.

Of the top-three of the pantheon of cellphone carriers, Verizon is the biggest of them all -- the Zeus of wireless, who can screw anyone in any form. It's pretty simple for them. They have the biggest lightning bolts if you didn't know. It's clearly in their commercials for the "lightening" fast 4G LTE data speeds. So when they have something they think is "game changing" they send their fastest messenger.

The Hermes for this plan change is Tami Erwin, vice president and chief marketing officer of Verizon Wiresless:

“Customers asked, and today Verizon Wireless delivered an industry first" ... "Share Everything Plans are the new standard for wireless service. They are simple; customers no longer have to think about their voice and message plans, because both are unlimited. Share Everything Plans are convenient; customers purchase one data plan and they share it with up to 10 mobile devices. And, they are worry-free; customers can connect their 3G or 4G devices wherever and whenever they want on America’s most reliable network.”

Isn't that nice? Silly mortals no longer have to worry about voice and message plans. That means the cost of service is all one simple clean fee with the data rates right? WRONG! What once was the voice and phone service is now a "Monthly Line Access" fee. This line access fee is $10 per month for tablet devices, $20 per month for USB modems, hotspots, and netbooks; and $30 per month for basic dumb feature phones. Lastly it's $40 a month for a smartphone. This is on top of the $50 to $100 dollar per month fee for the shared data that you have from 1GB to 10GB to share.

To clarify this in a simple form. For $100 dollars a month you can have unlimited voice and messaging with only 2GB of data on a smartphone. For $90 dollars share 2GB of data on three tablets. Or for one laptop, one tablet, and one laptop / modem share 2GB data for $130. And this 2GB is over both LTE 4G and EDVO. To everyone on Verizon who will lose your unlimited grandfathered plans since your telecom god has forsaken you, I'm sorry for your loss. The temple of Sprint says hello though. That's where I worship.
Will you buy Apple's 15.4-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display?

Publié: juin 13, 2012, 12:26am CEST par Joe Wilcox

I ask because one of my colleagues already has ordered one (shipping time is a couple weeks), and I got into an interesting Google+ debate about display technologies earlier today.

Apple announced the new laptop yesterday during its Worldwide Developer conference. The new MBP is thinner and lighter, which are nice-to-have features but nothing remarkable. The 2880 x 1800-resolution, IPS screen is really what sets the portable apart from other notebooks, whether Macs or Windows PCs. Apple has raised the standard of art, but the technology isn't gamechanging, as some bloggers or reporters claim. Apple is a laggard with respect to high-res displays, which on Windows PCs have outclassed Macs for years.

Mac Fan Club

You may have noticed that Macs are quite popular among tech writers. There are lots of reasons for this. Among them: More and more journalism schools require Macs; Apple has long appealed to creative types; and iLife is the jack-of-all tools for anyone producing media content. Many Mac-loving writers who don't use Windows also don't know what they're missing out on. That combined with Apple passions can lead them to mistake something old for something new.

For example, writing for Wired, Nathan Olivarez-Giles asserts: "MacBook Pro With Retina Display gives Apple 1-Year lead on Ultrabooks". That might be true, but where was the story years ago about, say, Lenovo ThinkPad or Sony VAIO, having a year (and it turned out to be several) lead over MacBook Pro?

Perhaps MacBook Pro is a game-changer for my Mac-obsessed peers who suffered with lower-screen res for years -- well, compared to their Windows counterparts who have long enjoyed much better. Apple isn't leading the pack but catching up from behind. What's new for the people using Macs and writing about them isn't for the broader PC market.

Laggard plays Catchup

I've criticized Apple's lagging behind competitors' displays for more than four years. I noticed the difference because high resolution has long been a priority when buying Macs or Windows PCs and where the Wintel camp has long excelled. In a long 2009 missive, for example, I explained why I chose Windows 7 on a Sony VAIO Z720 over Snow Leopard on 13.3-inch MacBook Pro. High among my reasons: "While the computers are fairly close in terms of base hardware, I find the VAIO's higher screen resolution to be a highly appealing feature, and the major reason for my replacing the MacBook rather than installing Windows 7 via Boot Camp. The VAIO had stunning 1600 x 900 compared to the Mac's 1280 x 800".

Apple started upping the resolution on portables in 2010. For example, 11.1-inch and 13.3-inch MacBook Airs ushered in 1366 x 888 and 1440 x 900 resolutions, respectively, long after Wintel competitors got there. New models announced yesterday keep the same resolution.

The current VAIO Z Series model, by comparison, offers 1920 x 1080 resolution on a 13.1-inch display; that exceeds the MacBook Air, which is same size class. The VAIO costs $100 more than the high-end 13.3-inch Air, with twice the RAM (8GB) but half the storage (128GB). The point: In the market sweet-spot, Windows laptops still outclass Macs. Where Apple raises the bar above Wintel machines is high-end 15-inch models.

Apple offers four standard 15.4-inch MacBook Pros -- two of which with 1440 x 900 panels; like the predecessors, they can be upgraded at extra cost to 1680 x 1050. Hell, the 15.4-inch ThinkPad T60p I used more than 5 years ago had a panel with that resolution. To get 1440 x 900, you pay Apple $1,799. Retina Display starts at $2,199.

Sound Advice

Some of my peers do put MacBook Pro with Retina Display in proper perspective, and they're worth calling out. At AnandTech, Anand Shimpi offers a superb analysis of the new MacBook Pro, focusing on the improved display technology. This is a must-read analysis for anyone considering buying the new MacBook Pro mainly for its display.

Peter Pachal writes for Mashable:

With this machine, Apple is sending a loud message to the world: We aren’t content to just sell computers -- we want to define what people want in them. While Apple would probably say that attitude has always been in its DNA, it’s really only been delivering on it since it unveiled the first MacBook Air. Before that, Apple machines -- the hardware -- were certainly capable machines, but their standout features typically had more to do with design (think the original iMac) than usability and performance.

Peter's right. Mac laptops have trailed Windows PC hardware for years.

At Chip Chick, Chance Kinney asks and answers: "The New MacBook Pro with Retina Display -- Hot or Not?" Regarding the display, "as far as clarity and pixel density goes, no other laptop on the market is matching that, or even coming close". Kinney continues:

Next up is the graphics processor, and this is where we need to put the brakes on the Apple hype train for just a second. This is a quote from the presentation: 'You are going to see a gaming experience unlike any you’ve seen before'.

I don’t know exactly where the line between hyperbole and outright lying is, but I know this quote is toeing it. The next generation MacBook Pro will have an Nvidia GeForce GT 650M graphics processor. For laptops, that is the highest of Nvidia’s mid-range line of notebook graphics processors. That means that while you’ll be able to play most computer games on the market (at least, the ones you can actually play on a Mac), you won’t be running them on the highest settings. Again, the Retina display is very nice, but the GT 650M isn’t going to maximize the potential of that display for gaming. It will be a gaming experience that you have assuredly seen before.

Kinney warns: "Before you make your decision, you should consider this -- you can get an awful lot of other high-end notebooks that are almost as impressive for much, much less money".

On June 11, 2012, Apple debuted the 15.4-inch MacBook Pro with 2880 x 1880 resolution Retina Display. Prices start at $2,199. Will you buy one?

Price Comparisons

Unquestionably, MacBook Pro with Retina Display has jaw-dropping specs and price to match. That's one of the main reasons Olivarez-Giles' year-advantage over ultrabooks claim is so outrageous. These computers aren't in the same class. Ultrabooks are thin-and-lights with displays generally smaller than 14 inches and selling for $1,000 or less. MacBook Pro with Retina Display sells for $2,200 or more. But let's spec it out, and do more meaningful comparisons.

MacBook Pro with Retina Display: 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor (with 6MB L3 cache); 15.4-inch display (with 2880 x 1880 resolution); 8GB of RAM ; 256GB flash memory; Intel HD Graphics 4000 and 1GB Nvidia GeForce GT 650M; 720p webcam; Thunderbolt and USB 3 ports; SDXC card slot; HDMI port; Bluetooth 4.0; WiFi N; and OS X Lion.

As aforementioned, that one sells for $2,199. Apple also offers standard config with faster processor and 512MB flash storage for $2,799. I wondered, what kind of value is this? So I configured a comparable Lenovo ThinkPad T530 -- and, whoa, it costs more.

ThinkPad T530 BTO: 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor (with 6MB L3 cache); 15.6-inch display (with 1920 x 1080 resolution); 8GB of RAM ; 180GB SSD; 1GB DDR3 Nvidia GeForce NVS 5400M graphics; DVD burner; 720p webcam; USB 3 ports; express card slot; mini-display port; Bluetooth 4.0; WiFi N; and Windows 7 Professional 64-bit. Price as configured: $2,324. Price about balances out when adding Ethernet adapter and DVD drive to the MacBook Pro. Still, IBM's sold-state storage tops out at 180GB and the LED display resolution falls below the Mac's IPS display. Apple's laptop is thinner and lighter, too.

I also priced the Sony VAIO S with 15.5-inch display.

VAIO S: 2.1GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor; 15.5-inch display (with 1920 x 1080 resolution); 8GB of RAM ; 256GB SSD; 2GB Nvidia GeForce 640M LE graphics; DVD burner; webcam; USB 2 and 3 ports; SD card and Memory Stick slots; HDMI port; Bluetooth 4.0; WiFi N; and Windows 7 Home 64-bit. Price as configured: $1,729. The VAIO sells for $470 less than the Mac, but offers twice the graphics memory and lower high-resolution screen -- granted, Apple's display offers more.

Specs are but one consideration. There are many of factors that make up a good computer, with operating system and motherboard design being among them. But the question remains: Will you buy Apple's 15.4-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display? Please take the poll above and answer in comments below.