Where is the 17" MBP in the new product line?

Thanks Arc.

And Good point.

But keep in mind, I'm still using my late 2008 MBP17.

I've modded it with 6GB RAM and an SSD. The Solid State Drive makes all the difference, much more so than Memory and you can install it yourself if you're careful.

And yet when the logicboard went on it about a year ago and the AppleCare Warranty was gone, they still took it in at the Eastview Mall Apple Store and shipped it gratis to TX repair center and made it new again for a flat $300.

I don't know if you all are aware of this service, but it doesn't matter what's wrong with your machine.

They will restore it to full glory for right around $300 no matter what they need to replace.

And fast?

Holy moly, I think it was there and back in 3 days OVER THE WEEKEND no less!

Make no mistake, I do love this company.

On the other hand, I need a very large mobile office with plenty of USB3 ports to drive my USB powered portable displays.

And keep in mind also that that Samsung I talk about is 1400 bucks so you can buy two of the darned things for one similarly equipped MBP 17.

Windows 8, once you get past the foofoo crap is absolutely amazing, rock solid and fast as anything.

I do hope Apple puts out a MBP19

Apple takes care of their customers, bottom line.

Hank

An SSD is absolutely worthwhile, although the Macbook Pro models (like my two 2008 4,1 units) are unnecessarily hobbled to SATA 1 speeds.

Some companies' SSDs (like OCZ) can have their firmware upgraded inside a Mac, but most require plugging the unit into a Windows box.

Even with the SATA 1 bottleneck, I'd never go back to a mechanical hard drive.

Since this event has occured i've bought my low battery with bonus planned obsolescence processor iphone 5, upgraded to the featureless mountain lion and have stopped becoming interested in Apple products. They don't engineer products for me anymore.

I do feel you, my fellow 17 mpb users though, so as i was unsubscribing from this thread wanted to leave you with this that might help..

The other day I was installing windows on my girlfriends rmbp... and realized its could possibly be decent for our needs. When you're in bootcamp, the retina display is used at native pixel resolution, so you actually get 3800 pixels worth of space. The fonts must be run at a higher dpi, and even them im finding that i'm zooming in on web pages even further.. but you DO get a large amount of screen real estate to fit pixels of content on (im thinking us daytraders here). And your eyes are blurry after a while sure. But it does feel like you're using a bigger display due to the resolution (even though the screen is physically near microscopic from what we're used to 🙂

The dual displayports also carry the lack of a decent display a bit further in that context..

Yeah osx's handling of the "retina" properties are what's borked about the rmbp. I without a doubt prefer the windows option of having all the pixels in my control and scaling ui to my taste rather than having osx forcibly assume what resolution it thinks i need. Its actually impressive when run in boot camp.

Hope this helps someone somewhere. Goodbye! Im off to greener technology pastures now! And they do exist!

It just occurred to me...

That the alternative notebook I just bought for day trading is Samsung's top of the line machine.

Call me dense but it never even dawned on me that I bought a notebook from Apple's arch rival.

Now I've already covered how a MBP19 with a .2" thinner lip around the active display would only be a modest amount larger than the original MBP17 and that that would be necessary anyway to make it stand out from the MBP15.4.

What I hadn't really thought about is that Apple is ready to engage Samsung in the TV market but won't hold it's ground in the notebook market?

What?

Are you kidding me?

Apple is actually allowing Samsung to beat it's butt on Apple's home turf...

And then is going to jump into something it's never done before?

That's nuts.

If you're on board with the idea of a MacBook Pro 19.

Please submit your feedback to Apple at:
http://www.apple.com/feedback/macbookpro.html

Please set up your own thread on a MacBook Pro 19" if you want one that badly, your comments are polluting this board which is specific to the 17" unit that was discontinued, I'm sure if anyone wants to join you 19" thread they will.

I prefer not to tell Apple exactly what size to build, but to suggest that:

1) a physically very large screen portable is an important part of professional use of computers,

2) that it is currently missing from the Apple product line

3) the Retina 15" may be nice, but does NOT satisfy this need.

4) Apple needs to get a physically larger screen in their lineup, or lose the leverage of professional users. "Kick the tires on the Cadillac, and buy the Chevy with confidence."

well said, thanks.

http://mashable.com/2013/01/08/panasonics-20-inch-4k-tablet/

The beginning of the end.

Cheers.
H

Arc:

Thanks for your well-reasoned post. I trust you've sent it to Apple's feedback site, where it's more likely to find its way to minds that matter than it will as a post in this gripe thread.

As another long-time Mac user (since 1986), I too am dismayed at the extinction of the 17" MacBook Pro, as well as Apple's trend toward increasingly closed hardware architecture that offers the user little or no extensibility. Compared to some of Apple's earlier brilliant successes in creating such feature-rich versions in the PowerBook and MacBook Pro series, the current notebook line-up is a regrettable triumph of form over function.

Nevertheless, I realize that this is not the venue to debate Apple's business decisions. The question is, what experiences can we Mac users share that can solve the problem created by the demise of the 17" MBP? Toward that end, I can only summarize the obvious choices already mentioned in this long thread:

1. Take advantage of whatever repair options are available to keep your existing 17" MBP operating.
2. If (or when) your beloved 17" MBP does an irreparable crash-and-burn, buy a refurb or used machine from a reputable vendor and keep on truckin'.
3. Send your heartfelt pleas to Apple feedback for a rebirth of the 17" (...or larger) MacBook Pro.

On that last point, I'm greatly in favor of Barefoot Hank's idea of a 19" MBP. I'm not as adamant about the inclusion of a numeric key pad, but the general concept of a large-screen MBP that essentially would be the Nuclear Laser Turbo-Diesel Supercarrier™ of notebook computers would certainly put Apple back in the limelight at a time when the tech pundits are beating their breasts about the lack of buzz in consumer electronics...some of which is prompted by Apple's conspicuous absence from CES 2013. (See http://www.zdnet.com/why-doesnt-anyone-care-about-ces-oh-wait-apples-not-there-7 000009519/)

But the more relevant point (from Apple's perspective) is this: A full-featured, large-screen, highly extensible, supersized MBP would be the very next Apple product I would buy.