This should be quite interesting. If the leaked photos show the new design - it's really less-is-more.

Have a look

It's kind of tough to tell what might be coming down the pike, but I do think Apple has done a much better job of integrating less-is-more into their hardware.

You said it. For a company with such sexy laptops, holy crap, the software running on it is a fucking JOKE.

OS X seems to get worse with every passing day. Who uses spaces? Who is not completely nut-driven by the "Downloads" folder, "Stacks", etc? it's all bullshit. Spotlight doesn't work. And we STILL don't have the correct scrollbars, we have the fugly crystal sausages, while only iTunes has the better designed ones.

Aside from some of the keyboard issues, I think the current line of iMacs are really a nice product. I know this is a MacBook thread, but I just wanted to point out that, as much as I think the iBulb iMacs were severely lacking, the current iMacs fit the bill nicely and aren't extremely overpriced, at least for what you get. And the back-lit keyboards and other small features (from what I've seen from friend's computers and in the store) on the laptops are some nice improvements. And, yeah, compared to the hardware, the relative backwardness of OS X's interface makes no sense. Less, baby, less. Let the lefty interface designers at Apple proclaim we are raping Mother Aqua. But it needs to be drilled of superficial fluff like an abscess tooth.

Broeder Thalo, calm down. For this moment try to enjoy the good hardware-design they can deliver.
I have to admit i'm excited about the new 'books, which is a bit silly but i can't help it.

OS X is lousy, we can't help that. <sigh> ... I'm still using 10.4.11, so no "Stacks" and other useless wuss.

Btw, i would really like to know what Ives is truly thinking about the UI. I mean he's mostly (some exceptions) an excellent designer with a feel for forms and "less-is-more". He MUST see there is discrepancy between the Hardware and the Software. I would pay some euro-cents to know this.

Oh most definitely, Ive must have been eye rolling at that interface from day 1.

Somewhere out there there's got to be a MINIMALIST like him, who can do in 2 dimensions, what he does in 3.

I know no digikid wants to hear this, but we could bring back the legacy as an interface theme. Retro is so popular now, what goes around comes around. I would be a most happy camper if the vintage Mac interface would come back just as a lark.

Well, there were quite a few "platinum"-themes for OS X when theming was easy. It worked, but somehow that missed the point, because the interface looked a bit like platinum but behaved like OS X. That made little sense to me, because it's not just the look but also the behaviour of the UI that makes the UI experience.

So, i clicked around in a legacy-like UI and witnessed all the useless fades/zooms/whatever... Completely confusing to me.

Diggin in rumors is so muddy fun, here's another:

http://daringfireball.net/2008/10/contains_spoilers

If this is true, there will be no matte displays anymore. I can't wait to hear about that. Old MBP here i come!

Steve said it today: "We're going all glass" ...
No more matte displays in Notebooks.

Steve said it today: "We're going all glass" ...
No more matte displays in Notebooks.

Big mistake. I don't mean that shiny things won't sell. Apple has shown that they can sell rube-things to the rubes, the kind of people who would have sold Manhattan Island for ten dollars worth of bobbles and trinkets. But don't you need an anti-glare screen especially in a laptop where lighting conditions are less controllable? I guess they could start selling these things as the iMirror. When the lighting is right, they're gorgeous. But when using them in the real world, you have a portable vanity mirror.

Original Quotes

Q: Concern about the glossy screens. Are you going to offer another option?
A: Steve: We're going all glass -- we won't offer another version. Phil: You offset the reflection by the brightness, and consumers love it. One of the great things about a notebook is you can turn it however you want!

<eyeroll>
It's not the hardwares fault, the fault is you. Does that mean what Schillers is talking about? Move the notebook around if the glossyness is getting annoying? WTF?

Besides that, my personal views on the new Books:

-new case is great, really less-is-more finish.
-glass trackpad. ho-hum. nice. the whole pad is the button. sounds good and looks good, but i don't know the real-life usability. need to check that out in the store.
-harddrive can be changed by user, very good. Finally a notebook-design that makes sense
-Glossy is crappy, black bezel is OK, but nothing to be too proud about.
-But less-is-less: only 1 FW port left on MBP, no more FW on Macbook! WTF?
-mini display-port means again adapters are needed to connect external screens. Of course they're not included.
-finally better gfx-chip in MB
-i'm not too sure about black keyboard

The result is an extremely mixed bag for me. ATM Glossy kills it for me, but i have to check it out in the store. Any glossy notebook i checked out in the past made me want to destroy the screen. I have my doubts Apple uses some magic coating that behaves different.

Speaking of bobbles and sugary tastes, on a show I saw recently (I think it was on The History Channel) it mentioned how basically the entire African slave trade was based on people's desires for the sweet taste of sugar. Think of that. Not that Aqua is on par with the slave trade. But the same stupid human propensity for losing all good taste and sensibility underlies both. Nothing wrong with enjoying life, enjoying consumer products, and even having a little sugar. But sometimes there's a mindless vibe to this attraction to sugar-and-shiny that is like the attraction of a moth to a flame. We have the round mouse, Aqua, and a number of other Stupid Apple Initiatives that show how sugar- and facile-minded they often are. I think going to shiny, glary screens is another indication of this moronic mentality. But if that's what people want, that's what people want. But do people really like screen glare? Are we humans no more than a simple circuit that says "Oooo....see shiny, buy shiny"?

I fear we see a generation rising up that don't know anything else besides glossy all the way, they don't know what a matte display is.

The consumers love it. (because they have no other choice...)

I remember even when CRTs were coated in the legacy days, there was a booming industry of anti-glare screen covers.

Now, how much worse is it going to be now, when polished glass is the norm for Mac screens? Mark my words, there will be a spate of colorforms-like matte screen skins to cut the glare.

Did you guys catch this 24" LED Cinema Display specifically made for the new MacBooks.

This isn't an in-depth review, but I thought it was a very common-sensical thing to say. LCD Monitors: Glossy vs. Matte
By Joel Johnson, Popular Mechanics

quote:

Which is better is a matter of environment and personal preference. If the screen is in a room that's generally dark, consider a glossy finish. In a controlled environment it offers a best-case picture. But I wouldn't be too afraid of a matte finish. Most of us use our screens in mixed light where the minor qualitative difference is offset by the anti-reflective benefit.

Another glossy vs. matte article:

quote:

I prefer a matte screen for one main reason. I detest looking at dirt specs and smudges. I don’t want to have to clean my monitor every day… or several times a day. Glossy screens are bad about that. They show *everything*! However, the colors are more vibrant on a glossy screen, and the blacks are richer. A matte screen is non-reflective, but that can be a pro OR a con. It depends on your preference, again.

Thanks to Ustream, I have the capability to do a live poll via my stream. I asked our viewers and chatters which type of monitor they prefer. 65% chose matte, while only 35% chose glossy.

quote:

I prefer matte screens. I don’t like to see my face on screen instead of my desktop on a sunny say (my laptop has a glossy, beautiful, unusable under sunlight screen…).

Twenty years ago we payed extra for matte screens, that was logical.

Another opinion that just confirms that Apple is trying to cause us all to go blind:

quote:

Glossy screens have vibrant colors, highest contrast and brightness because they have a smooth, high-gloss surface. As a result, outdoor visibility becomes much better. However, strong lighting causes glare on these screens, which is very annoying and may harm your eyes if you have to stare at it all the time. You can also see reflections on the screen; besides, some designers find the colors unrealistic.

Honestly. The first time I saw a glossy screen in a store I thought "Bad idea." There's just no way I would buy a glossy laptop. I know I'd be fighting the glare all the time.

Here's another good article on this burning controversy. Here's a poll mentioned in that previous article that says that 86% prefer anti-glare.

It all boils down to passive entertainment vs. getting work done. A glossy screen works best in low ambient light situations. You'd never be able to use this laptop outside. It just won't happen. Not without some serious shade.

For watching a movie (unless you have to read subtitles), it's probably going to be fine. For looking at photos or listening to music, neither of which require text or precision mouse placement, fine.

But in creating the ultimate casual-use laptop, Apple has once again, sliced out all pro users.

We hear much less about CPU power, storage, and memory than we do about enviro-friendliness, unibody construction, and the graphics card. So it's more like a portable DVD player and picture viewer, game system, than it is a serious laptop for work.

That being said, I do love the design. I even think the black glass bezel works. I'd watch a DVD on this baby any day. If I was mostly a casual user, instead of a 100% pro user, I'd probably adapt to the gloss screen, and find dark rooms in which to use the keyboard. Not only so I could see the screen, but also so I could invoke the light-up keyboard. I do that now with my powerbook from time to time, just because it's a cool, gee-whiz hardware effect.

Carving the cases out of a solid slab of aluminum, I must say is really cool. I'm sure it gives a nice rigidity to the laptop. And I bet the glass does too. Glass also solves the problem of the keys "printing" on the monitor surface, should they come into contact with them. Gloss is a design response to that, and so it's just a tradeoff, durability for readability.

I laugh when I think of all the poor slobs who will have to figure out ways to see their screens if the drapes are open. Maybe they'll sell microfiber towels that you can tent over the screen and your head... like a person with a cold breathing steam over a simmering saucepan.

Maybe there will be some kind of clip-on shield, a big cumbersome contraption that will negate the slimness and portability of the laptop.

Naw, it's like I said. Gloss is perfect for colorforms-style static adhesion. There will be matte skins that stick to the glass. That won't be too bad. If I was smart, I'd start manufacturing them right now, and sell them to the rubes for something like $70. (figure they'd be about 25¢ each to produce). It'll be the #1 most purchased Mac laptop accessory.

I laugh when I think of all the poor slobs who will have to figure out ways to see their screens if the drapes are open. Maybe they'll sell microfiber towels that you can tent over the screen and your head... like a person with a cold breathing steam over a simmering saucepan.

There could be a run on those old black photographer's hoods.

But there are just too many good PC notebooks to be stuck with the MacBroke. Style over substance again. And I would expect those polls that show anywhere from 60 to 86% of people preferring anti-glare to reduce to 10% or so, at least in the Mac community which has proved itself to be an unprincipled, facile, Scientologist-like customer base. That's how it works. Facts don't matter. It's what the rest of the monkeys are doing. If they're all eating bananas, then bananas it is. If they're eating kumquats, then kumquats it is. If Apple says that hard-to-read, glary, blinding laptop screens are the thing, they'll all say "It's what we wanted all along!"

Delusions or honesty? You decide:

quote:

I love my glossy Macbook Pro Screen. I ordered it the day the Macbooks came out, and then read all the horrible things people said about glossy screens. I was real worried until it came. But now I love it. I don't notice any glare, and it is VERY bright. It is even usable outdoors, which is a lot more than i can say for my previous iBook.

A guy quoted here thinks the glossy screens are an attempt to sell more desktop systems to pros.

quote:

IMO, Apple’s decision to go with a glossy screen is a calculated one. This is a company who thinks of 50 different ways to soften a corner on an iPod. They know full well that designers will balk at the glossy-only iMac, and hence be forced to spend freaking 5k on a desktop model. What is that? It’s shameless, methodical marketing. Of course, I liken it to taking a wizz on their own loyal base to spur higher desktop sales. Nice, eh? At the end of the day it’s not about me, or you. It’s about stock-holder expectations being met. When desktop sales start slumping due to the iMac’s success, this is how marketers apply their strategic “creativity.”

I think the real answer is simply an infatuation at Apple with gloss, just like they have an infatuation with bulbous, bouncing, Aqua-like gel-cap things. It's chimp-like superficial aesthetics that care little for how a product works in the real world.

That's exactly it. Infatuation.

It fits with the market. Hey, glass is a sexy, luscious material. They use it WELL. It's more durable, and is easier to maintain than a matte finish. And in fairness to them, they have brightened the screens to compensate. But it's just not a pro tool. Not unless you're a digital photographer who's always going to view your work in the semi-dark. And I have to laugh at all the Apple store graphics of the laptops, with the big swash of GLARE on the screens, as if that's a selling point. I'm telling you, I actually laugh out loud when I see the product images.

I find this irritating, but not the end of the world. Like I said, it's going to be as simple as a matte screen cover. Again, whoever sells those is gonna be rich.

What's more interesting about the new laptops, is the price structure. Is it just me, or is Apple for the first time in its history, dropping its laptop prices to be a bit more competitive? I'm sure this has everything to do with the economy, I bet their sales have dropped dead. I actually NEED a new computer, but am putting it off as long as I can because of cashflow.

I find this irritating, but not the end of the world. Like I said, it's going to be as simple as a matte screen cover. Again, whoever sells those is gonna be rich.

In this era of Aqua and mushy fonts, to actually be in the position of wanting to smear the equivalent of a little vaseline onto the screen in order to make it better is truly ironic. Me being the fussy obsessive twerp that I am, that screen would be a deal-breaker...unless, like you said, someone gets rich by offering some kind of anti-glare cover. But I find it hard to imagine that some add-on product would be anything but a kludge compared to the hi-tech coating they integrate during manufacturing. But I expect in a few months the Mac apologists will be walking around, tapping their blind man's black canes on the curb edges, telling everyone how easy on the eyes the MacBook glare screens are.