Ad Terras Per Aspera

Dear Steve Jobs:

I’ve known of Apple since I was a child. One of the first computers I used was an Apple //e with it’s little monochrome screen. I’ve watched Macs come into the world, I’ve watched PowerMacs come into the world, and I’ve watched iPods and the new Macintels come into the world. I am now watching the iPhone take it’s first baby steps into the world. I have even written about Apple, both positive and negative, on my blog. Last but not least, I have seen people enjoy Apple products.

I’ve seen other companies fail where Apple managed to pull it off. I’ve seen Apple create new products that no one has produced before, or at least, didn’t get right before (the iPod wasn’t the first, but it was the first that actually got it right). And in my entire life, I’ve never owned an Apple product.

So, I’ve decided that I want to finally join the Cult of Mac and buy a Macbook Pro sometime in the next 6 months. Please release a model that contains the following items and/or features:

• LED-backlit LCD to improve power efficiency, lower heat output, increase color vibrancy and brightness, darken blacks, and increase contrast.
• Said LCD panel should be available in 1920×1080/1920×1200 resolution. I do not care if it is 15 or 17″, however manufacturers are currently shipping panels with that resolution in both sizes.
• Either Intel’s new solid state cache module, or a hard drive with built-in hybrid technology.
• A large 5400 or 4200rpm drive as an option, which in theory should boot faster than a 7200rpm drive without a solid state cache, yet use far less power, make less noise, and be less expensive.
• Intel’s new Santa Rosa platform.
• The option of 4 gigabytes or more of 800mhz RAM to go with said Santa Rosa Core 2 Duo.
• A WiFi chipset that can be software upgraded to spec-N when the 802.11N specification is finally released sometime next year; this does not, however, mean I want a new chipset if the current pre-N ones now shipping will work properly with spec-N.
• A 3D accelerator that, on a PC, could be described as DX10 compatible: Nvidia’s, ATI’s, or even Intel’s if their new DX10 chip doesn’t suck.
• Leopard.
• Even after all these features, I also want a total powered-by-battery time longer than the previous Macbook Pro model; however, this should be easier due to the backlight using less power, the CPU being able to idle more efficiently, and the optional slower drive using less power when spun up.

You may consider my request odd and specific, however I would like my first real Mac experience to be enjoyable and fruitful. Please consider my request.

However, do not misunderstand: this is not an ultimatum. Even if the Macbook Pros coming around the corner do not include all of these options, I will still consider one as my next laptop. I am simply giving you first chance at my business before everyone else gets a chance.

Signed,
        Patrick McFarland

Well, as everyone has heard by now, Apple is going to release a gigantic 17″ MacBook Pro, news originally broken by websites like AppleInsider.

I predict that its going to …

• … be released in late July or early August (after a short delay in being mentioned at this year’s World Wide Developers Conference).
• … come defaultly with either a 2.16ghz Core Duo processor (an option in current 2ghz 15″ Macbook Pros) with a faster one optionally; or a >=2.2ghz Core Duo by default, and an optional faster one.
• … have a default hard drive will be atleast 120GB, more likely 150 or larger.
• … stay with the current memory configurations of the 2ghz 15″ MacBook Pro. I don’t see the default of 1GB of memory changing any time soon, 1GB is more than enough for most people.
• … have a brighter/higher contrast/overall better performing screen than the 15″ models.
• … not have an HDMI connector. I think UDI killed HDMI before HDMI ever took off, and Apple is apart of the UDI Special Interests Group.
• … cause waiting time at the Apple Store to increase one or two more weeks (it seems to be down to 3 weeks at the moment), due to common parts being shared between the Core Duo iMac and the two 15″ MacBook Pro models and the soon to be released 17″ MacBook Pros.
• … cost at least $2799 for the default model, with the two current model’s prices going down $100 or $200.

We’ll know in a few months if I’m right or not.