mackbook-pro

Software and operating systems

Sat, 12 Feb 2011 09:38:59 +0100

The Mac OS X operating system has been pre-installed on all MacBooks Pros since release, starting with version 10.4.4 (Tiger).^[1] Along with OS X, iLife has also shipped with all systems, beginning with iLife '06.^[1]

The MacBook Pro comes with the BIOS successor, Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) 1.1. EFI handles booting differently from conventional BIOS-based computers,^[59] but provides BIOS backwards compatibility, allowing dual and triple boot configurations. In addition to Mac OS X, the Microsoft Windows operating system is installable on Intel x86-based Apple computers. Officially, this is limited to both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows XP, Vista, and 7, with the necessary hardware drivers included with the Boot Camp software.^[55]^[60] Other x86 operating systems such as Linux are also unofficially supported.^[61] This is made possible by the presence of the Intel architecture as provided by the CPU and the BIOS emulation Apple has provided on top of EFI.^[62]^[63]

[edit]Compatibility

PowerPC emulation: As the MacBook Pro uses a different hardware platform than earlier PowerPC (PPC)-based Macintoshes, it is incapable of running PPC applications natively. It instead uses the Rosetta emulator to seamlessly run PPC applications, though at some performance penalty. Due to the manner in which Apple chose to implement it, Rosetta is incapable of emulating some lower level PPC code, and does not support 64-bit (G5 specific) PPC features.^[64]

Classic emulation: Intel-based Macs do not support Mac OS X's Classic emulation environment (Mac OS 9 and earlier), although third-party emulators such as SheepShaver may allow these applications to run.^[65]^[66]

Design And Reception (Unibody MacBook Pro)

Sat, 12 Feb 2011 09:37:49 +0100

Design

The unibody-construction MacBook Pro largely follows the styling of the original aluminum iMac and the MacBook Air and is slightly thinner than its predecessor, albeit wider and deeper due to thewidescreen display.^[27] The screen is high-gloss, covered by an edge-to-edge reflective glass finish, while an anti-glare matte option is available in the 15- and 17-inch models in which the glass panel is removed.^[37] The trackpad has also been enlarged, giving more room for scrolling and multi-touch gestures.^[37] When the line was updated in April 2010, inertial scrolling was added, making the scrolling experience much like that of the iPhone and iPad.^[43]^[44]^[46] The entire touchpad is usable, and approximately the bottom two thirds act as a clickable button.^[37] The keys, still backlit, are now that of Apple's now-standard sunken keyboard with separated black keys.^[43]

[edit]Reception

When first released, reviewers praised the quality of the screen and sturdy unibody build.^[29] With the new unibody design came easier upgrading of internal components as compared to the discrete models.^[29] Reviewers lauded the improved quietness and heat management of the unibody MacBook Pro as compared to the discrete models, which tended to run hotter than its successor.^[29] The MacBook Pro's compact size for its performance range was also complimented.^[29]

Reviewers lamented the loss of a matte screen option for the 2008 unibody MacBook Pro, noting the reflectiveness of the screen in sunlight, even when its brightness was turned all the way up.^[29]CNET's Dan Ackerman commented of the mid-2009 models, "According to Apple, the new display offers a wider color gamut, and the screen certainly looks bright and colorful, but we wish the same matte-screen option offered on the 17-inch MacBook Pro was available across the line... While the LED screen means a thinner lid and some battery life benefits, the edge-to-edge glass covering the entire display panel grabs stray light rays with ease, making the glossy screen hard to see in some lighting conditions."^[37] Furthermore, the addition of Mini DisplayPort instead of the more popularHDMI was criticized.^[29] The relatively low number of ports and lower end technical specifications when compared to similarly priced laptops from other brands were also frowned upon.^[29]

Laptop Magazine's Michael Prospero praised the 2010 15-inch model's display, calling it "bright and crisp". He further commented, "While reflections from the glossy display weren’t overwhelming, it’s also nice to know there’s an antiglare option—though only for the higher resolution display. Still, colors were bright, blacks were deep and dark, and viewing angles were excellent both vertically and horizontally." He also lauded the quality of the iSight webcam, the responsiveness of the touchpad, the microphone and speakers, as well as the performance of the new CPUs for the 15" and the long battery life. Complaints included the price of the laptop, the low number of USB ports, and the lack of HDMI.^[44]

Of the 2010 models, CNET praised the automatic graphics switching features of the 15- and 17-inch models as well as the graphics cards themselves. Acclaim was also given to the Core i5 and i7 CPUs, the multi-touch trackpad, and the addition of audio capabilities to the Mini DisplayPort video output.^[46] They also called for the addition of HDMI and the Blu-ray optical disc format, saying that most other computers in the MacBook Pro's price range possessed these features.^[46] CNET also criticized the option of a higher resolution screen in the 15-inch model, saying "the higher-resolution screen should be included by default."^[46]

UniBody MacBook Pro

Sat, 12 Feb 2011 09:35:47 +0100

Unibody MacBook Pro

A size comparison of the unibody line of MacBook Pro laptops.

On October 14, 2008, at a notebook-oriented event at Apple's headquarters, a new 15-inch MacBook Pro was announced featuring an aluminum unibody construction and tapered sides similar to those of the MacBook Air.^[27] This method of construction has been dubbed "precision aluminum unibody enclosure" by Apple, usually shortened to "unibody".^[28] All of the MacBook Pro's ports were shifted to the left side of the case. The optical disc drive slot was moved from the front of the unit to the right side, similar to the MacBook. The video cards saw a major update; Apple decided to place two new video cards in the MacBook Pro, the Nvidia GeForce 9600M GT with either 256 or 512 MB of dedicated memory and a GeForce 9400M with 256 MB of shared system memory.^[27] The FireWire 400 port was removed but the FireWire 800 port was retained, and the DVI port was replaced with a Mini DisplayPort receptacle.^[27]The original release unibody MacBook Pro came fitted with a user-removable battery, with a claimed five hours of charge.^[27] During normal use, a battery life of just under four hours was reported.^[29] Apple has said that the battery will hold 80 percent of its charge after 300 recharges.^[30]^[31]

At the MacWorld Expo keynote on January 6, 2009, Phil Schiller announced a 17-inch MacBook Pro with unibody construction. This version diverged from its 15-inch sibling with an anti-glare "matte" screen option and a non user-removable lithium polymer battery.^[32] Apple affirmed the battery's design was unlike any existing notebook battery. Instead of traditional round cells inside the casing, the lithium-ion polymer batteries are shaped and fitted into each laptop without wasting space. Adaptive charging extends battery life, which uses a chip to optimize the charge flow to reduce wear and tear.^[32] Compared to the previous iteration, battery life for the 17" version is quoted at eight hours, with 80 percent of this charge remaining after 1,000 charges cycles. This battery is not intended to be user-removable; doing so voids the warranty.^[32]

At Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 8, 2009, it was announced that the 13-inch unibody MacBook would be upgraded and re-branded as a MacBook Pro,^[33] leaving only the white polycarbonate MacBook in the MacBook line.^[34] It was also announced that the entire MacBook Pro line would use the non user-removable battery inherited from the 17-inch MacBook Pro.^[35]The updated MacBook Pro 13- and the 15-inch would each have up to a claimed seven hours of battery life, while the 17-inch would keep its eight-hour capacity.^[33]^[35] Some sources even reported up to eight hours of battery life for the 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pros during casual use,^[36] while others reported around six hours.^[37] Like the 17-inch MacBook Pro, Apple claims that they will last around 1,000 charge cycles while still containing 80 percent of their capacity.^[38] Graphics card options stayed the same from the previous release, although the 13-inch,^[39] and the base model 15-inch, came with only the GeForce 9400M GPU.^[40] The screens were also improved, gaining a claimed 60 percent greater color gamut.^[39]^[40] All of these mid 2009 models also included a FireWire 800port and all except the 17-inch models (which retained the ExpressCard/34 slot) would receive an SD card slot.^[28] The 17-inch model would retain its ExpressCard slot.^[35] For the 13-inch MacBook Pro, the Kensington lock slot was moved to the right side of computer body.^[41]

On April 13, 2010, the MacBook Pro saw another update.^[42] Intel Core i5 and Core i7 CPUs were introduced in the 15- and 17-inch models, while the 13-inch retained the Core 2 Duo with a speed increase.^[42] The power brick was redesigned^[43] and a high-resolution display (of 1,680 × 1,050) was announced as an option for the 15-inch models.^[44] For video cards, the 13-inch gained an integrated Nvidia GeForce 320M graphics processing unit (GPU) with 256 MB of shared memory, while the 15- and 17-inch models were upgraded to the GeForce GT 330M, with either 256 or 512 MB of dedicated memory.^[42] The 15" and 17" models also have an integrated Intel GPU that is built into the Core i5 and i7 processors.^[42] The 15-inch model also gained 0.1 pounds (0.045 kg).^[44] Save for a third USB 2.0 slot, all the ports on the 17-inch MacBook Pro are the same in type and number as on the 15-inch version.^[45] All models come with 4 GB of system memory that is upgradeable to 8 GB across the board.^[42] Battery life was also extended further in this update, to an estimated ten hours for the 13-inch and 8–9 hours on the 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pros.^[42] This was achieved through greater power efficiency and adding more battery capacity.^[42] Through actual use, reviewers reported anywhere from six (in the 15-inch)^[46] to eight (in the 13-inch) hours of battery life.^[43]

Reception

Sat, 12 Feb 2011 09:18:30 +0100

Upon release, reviewers noted the speed increase of the MacBook Pro when compared to the PowerBook G4 as well as the improved wireless performance.^[3]Reviewers were impressed with the performance increase offered by the 15-inch MacBook Pro over the PowerBook G4. At times, two- or threefold improvements in performance were seen;^[3] for example, the 3D rendering program Cinema 4D XL was 3.3 times faster^[3] and the boot-up time was more than halved.^[4] The MacBook Pro generally performs better on performance analyzer utility tests, XBench and Cinebench, over the PowerBook G4.^[4] Although a few vertical pixels were lost (1,440 × 900 in the MacBook Pro instead of 1,440 × 960 in the PowerBook), the screen quality was noted as "nothing less than stellar" by one reviewer, with bright, crisp, and true colors.^[4] The maximum screen brightness was increased by 67 percent over the PowerBook G4, something that reviewers lauded along with the excellent horizontal viewing angles and the matte options.^[5] The battery was found to last around 3.5 hours per charge, similar to the PowerBook it replaced, and reviewers praised the functionality of the MagSafe power adapter introduced along with the MacBook Pro.^[3] The backlit keyboard and large trackpad received positive reviews as well, as was the virtually silent operation of the machine.^[3]^[5]

Reviewers commented on the notebook's overall performance but were critical of the decision to underclock the ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics card by about 30 percent its original speed.^[5] The notebook was also noted for producing significant heat.^[3]^[5] Complaints included the increasing difficulty of upgrading system memory as compared to older Apple notebooks.^[4] Since the dimensions for the 15-inch MacBook Pro were tweaked slightly from the 15-inch PowerBook G4, accessories such as notebook sleeves were not interchangeable between the two models.^[4] Also, a slight flickering was also mentioned when the screen was on lower brightness settings.^[4] Furthermore, despite the addition of ten watt-hours (from 50 in the PowerBook G4 to 60), the battery life averaged at slightly over three hours, about the same as the PowerBook G4.^[4] This was attributed to the more powerful Core Duo CPU.^[4] Reviewers were hoping for around an hour more of battery life, but noted that battery life was already about on par or better than competition.^[4] Although the addition of the MagSafe charging port was praised for saving notebooks from falling to the floor when the power cord is tripped over, it was found to disconnect too easily in some instances, leading to irritation for one reviewer.^[4]

Discrete MacBook Pro

Sat, 12 Feb 2011 09:14:20 +0100

Discrete 15-inch MacBook Pro, displayingMac OS X Leopard.

The original 15-inch MacBook Pro was announced on January 10, 2006 by Steve Jobs at the Macworld Conference & Expo.^[1] The 17-inch model was later unveiled on April 24, 2006.^[2] The first design was largely a carryover from the PowerBook G4 and utilized Intel Core CPUs as opposed to the PowerPC G4chips used by its predecessor^[3]. It is 0.1 inches (0.25 cm) deeper, 0.4 inches (1.0 cm) wider, and 0.1 inches (0.25 cm) thinner than the 15-inch aluminum PowerBook G4, while weighing the same.^[4] Other changes from the PowerBook include a built-in iSight webcam and the inclusion of MagSafe, a magnetic power connector designed to detach easily when pulled to prevent the entire laptop from being pulled off a surface. Both features were later brought over to theMacBook. In order to accommodate the slimmer form factor of the MacBook Pro, the speed of the optical drive was halved compared to that of the PowerBook G4 and dual layer DVD writing support was omitted.^[3]^[5]

Both the original 15- and 17-inch discrete model MacBook Pros come with ExpressCard/34 slots, which replace the PC Card slots found in the PowerBook G4. All discrete 15-inch models have two USB 2.0 ports and one FireWire 400 port,^[6] while the 17-inch models have three USB 2.0 ports as well as one FireWire 400 port.^[7] When first introduced, the MacBook Pro did not come with FireWire 800 or S-Video ports,^[4]^[6] although FireWire 800 was added in the next 15-inch model revision^[8] and was present in every version of the 17-inch design.^[7] S-Video capability can be attained through the use of a DVI to S-Video adapter.^[4] External displays with up to a 2,560 × 1,600 pixel resolution are supported through a dual-link DVI port.^[9] All models include a built-inGigabit Ethernet port, Bluetooth 2.0, and 802.11a/b/g.^[6]^[7] Later models include support for the draft 2.0 specification of 802.11n^[10] and Bluetooth 2.1.

Apple refreshed the entire MacBook Pro line on October 24, 2006, to include Intel Core 2 Duo processors.^[8] Memory capacity was doubled for each model, to 1 GB on the low-end 15-inch and 2 GB for the high-end 15- and 17-inch models.^[8] FireWire 800 was added to the 15-inch models. Hard drive capacity was increased, although video card options stayed the same.^[8] The MacBook Pro line received a second update on June 5, 2007 with new Nvidia Geforce 8600M GT video cards and faster processor options.^[11]^[12] LED backlighting was added to the 15-inch model's screen, and its weight was reduced from 5.6 pounds (2.5 kg) to 5.4 pounds (2.4 kg).^[12] Furthermore, the speed of the front-side bus was increased from 667 MHz to 800 MHz. On November 1, 2007, Apple added the option of a 2.6 GHz Santa Rosa platform Core 2 Duo CPU as well as reconfigured hard drive options.^[12]

Discrete 17-inch MacBook Pro.

On February 26, 2008, the MacBook Pro line was again updated.^[13]^[14] LED backlighting was added as an option for the 17-inch model.^[13] Processors were updated to "Penryn" cores, which are built on the 45 nanometer process (65 nanometer "Merom" cores were previously used), and hard drive and memory capacities were increased.^[13] Multi-touch capabilities, first introduced with the MacBook Air earlier that year, were brought over to the MacBook Pro'strackpad.^[13] At the time of the introduction of the 15-inch unibody MacBook Pro on October 14, 2008, the discrete model with the same screen size was discontinued, while the 17-inch discrete model continued to be sold.^[15] The discrete model was discontinued on January 6, 2009, when the 17-inch MacBook Pro was also updated with unibody construction.^[16]

MacBook Pro

Fri, 11 Feb 2011 09:25:32 +0100

The MacBook Pro is a line of Macintosh portable computers introduced in January 2006 by Apple Inc. It replaced the PowerBook G4 and was the second model to be announced in the Apple–Intel transition (after the iMac). Positioned at the high end of the MacBook family, the MacBook Pro is currently produced in three sizes: the 13-, 15-, and 17- inch.

There have been two designs for the MacBook Pro, both using aluminum. The first design was largely a carry-over from the PowerBook G4 and used the Intel Core central processing units as opposed to the PowerPC G4 chips used in the model it replaced. It was first released as a 15-inch model in January 2006, followed by a 17-inch model in April of the same year. These original models received several updates and were upgraded with Core 2 Duo processors in late 2006.

The second "unibody" model has a more tapered design with most of the casing made from a single block of aluminum. This design was introduced with the 15-inch MacBook Pro in October 2008, along with the 13-inch aluminum unibody MacBook. The 17-inch model was updated with the same design the following January, also introducing the built-in battery that was later used in the rest of the MacBook Pro line from June and in the regular MacBook from October 2009. Apple updated the unibody line in April 2010 with Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors in the 15- and 17-inch models, while the 13-inch models retained the Core 2 Duo processors.

MacBook Pro
The unibody 13-, 15-, and 17-inch MacBook Pro models
Developer	Apple Inc.
Type	Laptop
Release date	January 10, 2006 (original release) April 13, 2010 (current release)
Operating system	Mac OS X 10.4.4 and later
CPU	Intel Core i5/Intel Core i7 (current 15- and 17-inch) Intel Core 2 Duo (current 13-inch) Intel Core Duo (original release)
Website	Apple – MacBook Pro