Mac Book Pro (Late 2008) and glossy screen

I am so seriously disappointed in Apple with this new so-called Pro MacBook.

I do video production and I shoot stills and 90% of my work is done on my two year old MacBookPro 17". When I edit video, I can edit picture anywhere, and I have edited in an airport (using an outboard drive for video files). I know that I can not do color correction on my MBP, and so I do that on a CRT reference monitor that is calibrated.

And it's similar with my photos, too. I don't do the top level photography (or even the second level), so I can 'get away' with processing my photos on the MBP's screen.

But.

I have tried to use a new iMac with the glossy screens, and I simply can't do it. I can't stand seeing the whole world behind me reflected on my computer monitor. I can't tell if what I am looking at is actually on my screen or if it's a reflection. I found myself bobbing and weaving constantly while looking at dozens of reflections to figure out if they were real or a reflection. Serious loss of productivity there.

Last week I was processing a batch of photos in an airport. There was a huge picture window back behind me. Had I had a glossy screen, I would have seen NOTHING on my monitor except that. How is that supposed be 'professional'???

And as a video professional 70% of my gear is FW400. While I use FW800 for the hard drives, I have many accessories that are FW400. How is forcing 70% of my gear into the garbage supposed to be 'professional'???

I will NEVER buy or use a glossy screen. I was going to buy an new Apple laptop about a year from now, and I am warning Apple right now, that I will simply NEVER buy a glossy screen computer.

I MUST have FireWire 400. I MUST have 2 FireWire ports, how am I supposed to connect both a hard drive and a video deck if my 'professional' computer has only one port? I used to have the TiBook 667 mHz and it had only one FW port, that was a serious problem for us Professionals.

The second Apple makes a Professional laptop that brings back the items we professionals need, a matte screen and FW400, then I will rush to buy one. I simply will not spend a dime on a glossy screen or a laptop without FW400.

I think this IS a serious issue for us professionals. Those of us who love the Mac and don't see Windows as a serious option need to make Apple take notice. Unfortunately for us, the general consumer market is MUCH larger than the professional market, and at the moment Apple is doing very well at appealing to the consumer market. Is this disloyalty to the creative professionals who helped Apple survive through its darkest years? Sure. But Apple is a company that exists to make a profit just like any other — perhaps they can afford to ditch us now and ride the consumer market success to world dominance?

Maybe, but as another poster pointed out, our voice is worth something to Apple. Consumers believe they are getting a superior product because everyone knows that the 'professionals' swear by Apple. Take that away and Apple has a harder time justifying their higher price tag.

So make your voice heard. When your friends ask you for advice about a new computer, tell them (as a professional) what you think. And tell Apple you are telling people what you think!

Here's the link:
http://www.apple.com/feedback/

robin,

concerning the FW 800 port - it is backwards compatible, so you can still use your FW 400 devices with the new MBP. all you need is a FW 800 to 400 cable.

the glossy screen leaves a bad taste in my mouth - i don't understand the limitation of making it only available in glossy.

discostu514 wrote:
the glossy screen leaves a bad taste in my mouth - i don't understand the limitation of making it only available in glossy.

I guess it has to do with the glass cover.. Is it at all possible to get anti-glare coating on the glass, and would it help? Since the underneath the glass, there is the actual display.

putting any kind of film on top of the glass will not only look like garbage, but i think it would only blur the screen and not really provide you with the same image as an authentic matte display would provide. i don't know what a possible solution could be at this time.

i've tried one of these machines out in the store last week - i really love how it handles, but that screen was far too difficult to ignore. i don't think i could stand sitting in front of it for hours at a time. my gf wants to get a MB, but she'd be using it for a different purpose, so the glossy screen would be fine for her (her current laptop has a glossy screen anyway).

i'm hoping apple reverses their decision to have glossy only for the pro models... and especially the cinema displays!! there's the argument that you shouldn't be doing colour critical work on a laptop anyways, but if they're making their large displays glossy as well? nevermind the other display options... it's just poor to not be offering (more in the future when all of their displays will be glossy) cinema displays for professionals to use as well.

Your AppleCare warranty guarantees that Apple must replace your computer with one that is at least "functionally equivalent" to the one you had. You can argue that a computer with a glossy screen is functionally inferior to the matte-screen computer you had because the glare and reflections hinder your work, and thus reducing the functionality of your computer, in a way that the matte screen didn't. Also, you should check into the screen specs themselves to make sure that Apple didn't put an inferior screen into the new MBP. When Apple moved from the white iMac 20" to the aluminum one, it switched to an inferior screen with a much poorer viewing angle hidden behind that glaring piece of glass.

I want to post here to add to the concerns expressed about the glossy screens on the new MBP and MB with the intent that at least Apple can have the feedback. I spend a lot of time using my work and home (old) G4 iMacs and time has come for a new laptop to replace both. I checked out the MB and MBP at our university computer store yesterday. Beautiful machines, but... I had no trouble adjusting my tie and combing my hair in the screen! Even compared to some iMacs nearby the new laptops were just too shiny. So my complaint is based on the distraction of the reflections rather than a more sophisticated need for accurate color calibration. But this is just as crucial for me if I am to sit in front of that screen for many hours a day.
On a purely personal and aesthetic level, I find the glossy screens much too glossy which for me translates into cheap, showy, flashy; not the functional, subdued, tasteful elegance I have always enjoyed in Apple design.

So I was wondering if there was a really big advantage of watching movies on a glossy vs. matte. And does a matte make the movie look less crisp. I'm trying to weigh the options of what I'm going to do about this and this piece of information would greatly help me.

The new MacBook Pro is ugly. The keyboard *****. The older curved silver (titanium) keys are much more finger friendly. I hate the new keyboards. I bought one to use with my MacBook Pro (Titanium, 2.4 GHz) and I ended up using an older white keyboard with curved keys. Flat keys are not ergonomic. I really don't know why Apple has to change everything. The dark keys contrast with the whole overall look. A unibody titanium computer would just be fine with me. Also a large glass screen is not attractive either. I like the silver boarder myself. Now it looks like an iMac.

Hello Bud,
i agree with you...
i was considering buying a new one, since my PB G4 is quite slow now, but i can not stand glossy screen... it's so tiring for the eyes~!

kyle,

i don't really think there is any advantage over watching movies on a glossy vs. a matte screen. the only real difference is that colours will look a little more vibrant on the glossy display, but that's sort of a negligible "advantage".

i've got a late 2007 MBP with matte screen and i can tell you that colours look just fine, image is very clean and crisp as well.

tahsali wrote:
The keyboard *****. The older curved silver (titanium) keys are much more finger friendly. I hate the new keyboards. I bought one to use with my MacBook Pro (Titanium, 2.4 GHz) and I ended up using an older white keyboard with curved keys. Flat keys are not ergonomic. I really don't know why Apple has to change everything.

I've got to disagree about the keyboard. I was skeptical about it too, but I bought one out of morbid curiosity and was utterly sold after less than an hour using it. Standard keyboards feels so clunky now by comparison.

If Apple didn't like to 'change everything' we might still be looking at DOS prompts!! But like any company, sometimes they get it right, and sometimes they screw up. The round 'pucklet' mouse released with the original iMac was a screwup. The transparent menu bar in Leopard was a screwup (which thankfully we can change in preferences now.) Discarding matte screens is a MAJOR screwup.

You make some very good points Kalsta. I can see that meeting of the notebook group. The different departments see the accolades given to the iPhone and iPod people and they want to get their own kudos. They forget the creatives that bought their products and want to romance the all mighty dollar, yen and euros. If they install the same material that is on the other devices, they can lower overhead, make the product groups consistent and make Steve happy. They forget that we creatives have certain needs for us to complete our projects and allow us to purchase their products. They are thinking about the teenagers with disposable income and people that buy because it's trendy and have no idea about color reproduction, contrast or whether what is on the display is actually in focus or how it will reproduce in print.

I don't think this is an small issue. Maybe Apple is waiting for a critical mass for the non-glossy option. Well, we really need a non-glossy option (a lot of us).
I'm not upgrading until Apple give us the old matte screen or something similar.

This is a serious issue for me and the real reason why I don't buy the new MBP.

take a serious look at the lenovo w700. That's a real professional laptop made for photographers with a wacom tablet built in. that will be my next laptop. I may wait out things till the next iteration of the macpro and see if Apple comes to their senses because I don't like the idea of moving to Windows (I'll sell my MacPro if I go to a PC laptop cause I can't keep my Adobe apps on two platforms), but eventually if Glassy is all that is available I'll probably leave Apple entirely.