<p>After I ordered mine, a co-worker went to the Apple Store yesterday afternoon, took a look at one and ordered one. He currently uses a damaged MacBook Air and was looking at replacing it with a MacBook Pro because the resolution of the Air models isn’t sufficient for his work. I think that he would have been happy with a true 15 inch Air at 1680x1050 but I think that he is going to be very happy working at 1920x1200 on the MacBook Pro Retina.</p>
<p>They should have done 1920x1200 but used an OLED screen instead, it would have looked much better than a higher resolution LCD especially at that size where you would hardly notice the resolution difference anyway.</p>
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<p>Sorry, but why are you being so belligerent?</p>
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<p>Nope, you were the first to bring up bandwidth:</p>
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<p>Besides, for regular uses, even if you plug in 1 Gbit ethernet + multiple USB + VGA + FW 800, you’re still not going to saturate one Thunderbolt port, which was the point. You decided to take it further by naming extreme use cases unrealistic for a laptop or college student.</p>
<p>(For the record, Thunderbolt offers 10 Gbit throughput in each direction.)</p>
<p>Bottom line: the new Pro’s lack of ethernet, Firewire, and optical drive is a non-issue, since these can all be easily supported via adapters/hubs. I’m replacing my 2010 11" Air + iMac setup with one of these in a few weeks, before entering college.</p>
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<p>I actually like the approach that they took. Back around 2002-2004, laptop makers typically offered three resolutions on their models and this was obviously a pain in the neck for them as the higher-resolution models were usually BTO and they had to keep display inventories around. Today, super-high resolutions are pretty hard to find - it seems that computer companies prefer to build it and then sell it to you. They still do BTO but I think that they prefer not to as it complicates the supply chain.</p>
<p>With the Retina display, Apple only needs one screen solution so they don’t have to order 1440x900 and 1680x1050 panels as with the regular MacBook Pro. It also means that your laptop will have more resale value. I have a 15.4 inch Dell Inspiron 8500 with 1920x1200 resolution. Most people wouldn’t want to buy something like this which is why everyone dropped this many years ago. So I could sell mine to someone that wanted a lower resolution. It also makes it easier for someone that I loan it to (within my family or at work) to use it at whatever resolution is most comfortable for them.</p>
<p>I think that it’s an interesting experiment (one that I’m willing to pay to try out).</p>
<p>Am I odd in that I actually dislike the lack of an optical drive? I’m going to college in the fall, and my huge DVD collection is leading me to want either the previous MacBook model or even a PC.</p>
<p>You can get the non-Retina models in 13 or 15 inch if you want the optical drive. You can also go with an external drive or a networked drive.</p>
<p>I have seen many complaints about the lack of an optical drive in the comments section of the review sites.</p>
<p>Are the non-retina 13’ and 15’ models upgraded as well? In terms of hardware.</p>
<p>Yes. Ivy Bridge, nVidia graphics, USB 3, Thunderbolt on the 15 inch MBP.</p>
<p>Okay thanks! I was looking at my college’s computer store online and they listed the Air and Pro 13/15’ models, then listed them again with <em>new</em> labeled on them. </p>
<p>Kind of unrelated to the topic, but Macs are OK for engineering (esp MechE or EE)? I’ve talked to upperclassmen and they’ve said they haven’t had “too many” problems, and that classes accommodate either or. And AutoCAD 2013 will be Mac compatible. If going into engineering, should I get a Parallels for VMware when I buy my computer, or wait it out and use bootcamp? Should I buy windows then, too?</p>
<p>I have BootCamp and run a Windows VM on my MacBook Pro (2008 model). I much prefer using the VM but I don’t do anything computationally heavy on Windows. I use VirtualBox (freebie VM software). You need to have a valid Windows license to run Windows - you may be able to get these inexpensively at your university. If not, then Newegg runs specials on Windows 7 Home Premium from time to time. They had a sale last weekend for $80 for an OEM license.</p>
<p>I believe My school has the Windows license available to all “eligible purchasers” (students, departments, etc). </p>
<p>Should I get it in one fell swoop? This summer?</p>
<p>Apple products are so expensive, average consumers go for windows computers, which in my opinion are wayytyyyy better </p>
<p>Sent from my Desire HD using CC</p>
<p>Eligible purchasers refers to anyone who is allowed to buy from the computer store (with the discounted rates). So anyone with a valid ID. </p>
<p>I’m looking online now, they actually only have Windows 7 Professional full at $279 and Windows Home and Student for $129. I guess I’ll just have to check when I get there If I don’t want to buy Windows separately, straight from MS.</p>
<p>And to be sure, when I buy my Mac, it doesn’t come already with MS Office, correct?</p>
<p>Those are full retail prices but you can move the license to a new machine down the road. The OEM licenses are less but you are not supposed to move them from one machine to another though I have heard that some people have been successful in doing this. You have to call Microsoft to get a new license key and if you can convince the person on the phone that you have a legitimate reason to need a new key, then they might give you one.</p>
<p>Macs don’t come with MS Office. I bought MS Office Ultimate for my son a few years ago at theultimatesteal.com for $80 and he installed it on his Mac. I personally use LibreOffice. I do have a MS Office license on one of my computers that my employer paid for but I haven’t had to use it in several years.</p>
<p>Okay, thanks!</p>
<p>I just spoke to someone at the local store. They have received five of the Retina MBPs so far. They have people camping out in the store waiting for shipments to come in and they go out as fast as they come in. He told me to order it online for a guaranteed slot.</p>
<p>In case someone can’t decide and couldn’t find this by themselves:
[10</a> Reasons The Macbook Pro with Retina Display Might Not be For You | Netbooknews - Netbooks, Netbook Reviews, Smartbooks and more](<a href=“http://www.netbooknews.com/50650/10-reasons-the-macbook-pro-with-retina-display-might-not-be-for-you/]10”>http://www.netbooknews.com/50650/10-reasons-the-macbook-pro-with-retina-display-might-not-be-for-you/)</p>
<p>I’m entering my junior year in the fall and am getting a MBA 13" after having a VAIO for the past two years. Honestly, the battery life of Macs are so much better than PCs, no matter what the specs on the website for your PC say. They also boot up faster, run programs faster, freeze less, etc. All my friends with Macbooks have had no hiccups with their computers and are always having an easier time, especially in libraries when I need to plug my computer in after 2 hours and am nowhere near an outlet when their computer is still going strong. I know the cost is a lot up front, but my VAIO was about $900 and already I need to replace it after two years. The $1600 MacBook I’m looking at will last me probably about 4-5. So the cost/year really is no different.</p>
<p>Your comment cannot apply to all PCs. There are windows laptops that get better battery life than any macbook - and you can replace the battery with a fresh one if you need more. Any laptop with a decent SSD will load programs at about the same speed - in fact, Apple does not use the best SSDs available and you’ll have to upgrade it to match the best PC laptops. Furthermore, Apple has never used any Intel CPU with the XM moniker (these are the fastest available laptop CPUs), let alone the desktop-class CPUs found in some extreme gaming laptops.</p>
<p>It’s not even close - Mac dominates for creative. Graphic design, video editing and composing music are so far superior on a Mac then a PC, it’s actually a comedy.</p>