801.11N on CoreDuo MBP's?

Probably not. However, since these cards are removable, I'm hoping a third party will step up to the plate and offer and offer an upgrade.

I believe the MBP (at least the C2D versions, and maybe the first rev) offer 802.11n in hardware. However, I read somewhere that this isn't enabled (via drivers) in the current OS. One post indicated Leopard would have the proper drivers to support this spec.

Personally, I am keeping my fingers crossed, since I have an issue with my 15" C2D MBP and a Dlink DIR-625 running Draft-N. (The MBP locks up when it tries to connect to the 625...)

Do you think Apple offer an airport card upgrade in
order for this models to work on the new standard?

From what I understand, the C2D MBP's have a different antenna configuration - so it looks like it won't be possible.

So, like me, you're scr*wed. You're an early adopter and you're being punished by Apple for your loyalty and eagerness. Far more than an expected speed bump, the difference between the C2D and CD MBP's is night and day. Once 802.11n is implemented, your machine and mine will be five times slower than those with the C2D architecture. Five times. Forget 64-bit versus 32-bit. This is the real kicker.

2.16GHz MacBook Pro  2G RAM • 256MB VRAM Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Read this.

http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=2398

very interesting.

So, like me, you're scr*wed. You're an early adopter
and you're being punished by Apple for your loyalty
and eagerness.

Hmm....,let's look at the word "punished". Why is that term being used? When we bought the MacBook Pro with the original Core Duo, the 802.11n was not part of the deal. You must have known that. I knew that. We can say it's too bad our MBP can't use 802.11n but to use the word "punished" is hardly qualified.

Hmm....,let's look at the word "punished". Why is
that term being used? When we bought the MacBook Pro
with the original Core Duo, the 802.11n was not part
of the deal. You must have known that. I knew that.
We can say it's too bad our MBP can't use 802.11n but
to use the word "punished" is hardly qualified.

Bull. Are you telling me that when Apple released the original MBP a year ago they weren't working feverishly on the 802.11n C2D MBP at the same time? They were under pressure to get out a "pro" Intel notebook, and that's just what they did, knowing it would essentially be obsolete in less than a year.

Now, they could have figured some sort of motherboard upgrade program. (Heck, I would have gladly forked over $199 or so for a C2D upgrade.) But they didn't. They stuck the early Intel adopters with machines that will be hobbled when Leopard and the new 802.11n AE comes out.

Look - I love my Mac. I would much rather use it than a PC. I'm just bitter that I bought into Apple's hype when the MBP came out, and I bought one. I knew they would release subsequent versions that would be faster - that's normal. But I didn't think they would release a version that was so radically different from its predecessor that it would render it obsolete in the wireless department.

Bull. Are you telling me that when Apple released the
original MBP a year ago they weren't working
feverishly on the 802.11n C2D MBP at the same time?
They were under pressure to get out a "pro" Intel
notebook, and that's just what they did, knowing it
would essentially be obsolete in less than a year.

Man, you act like you've never bought a high-tech product in your life! Get real. This happens with everything from computers to televisions to washing machines. It's a fact of life. You buy a product for TODAY based on what it can do TODAY. Complaining about a new feature that's not part of the deal a year later is not very productive.

Man, you act like you've never bought a high-tech
product in your life! Get real. This happens with
everything from computers to televisions to washing
machines. It's a fact of life. You buy a product
for TODAY based on what it can do TODAY. Complaining
about a new feature that's not part of the deal a
year later is not very productive.

I guess TODAY wasn't a very long time.

Yes, I've bought plenty of high-tech products. I realize that once bought, a product will be eclipsed by later, better versions.

My issue is that the difference between the CD MBP and the C2D MBP is like the difference between a G4 Powerbook and an MBP. But the G4 PowerBook had a long life-span (six years?) - it's one of the many reasons we buy Macs. But the CD MBP was obsolete nine months after it was released. And for a supposedly top-of-the-line computer, that's unacceptable in my book. But, as stated before, I have no choice but to accept it because Apple is the sole manufacturer of OSX-capable machines.

Yeah, my 2.16 GHz Macbook Pro is soooo obsolete. Honestly, I'm thinking of using it as a paperweight. Seriously, you're not going to see amazing performance gains with 802.11n for a while, especially in a mixed environment.
~D

I bought my PB G3 6 weeks before Apple released the Ti Book. I bought my iMac G4 15" right before they released the 17". I bought my iMac G5 20" as soon as it came out, and I got to have the best iMac ever for a whole year until the intel version came out. I bought my MBP in August. In October they came out with the Core2Duo.

All I can say is, "Time Marches On".

My son's iMac G3 died this summer. He is going to college in a year. I gave him my iMac G5 and told him that when he goes to college I will buy him a laptop, because whatever I bought him this summer would be yesterday's news in a year and I was right.

On the other hand, compared with my Apple II rev 1 with 16K of RAM, for which I paid $1300, plus an additional $500 for a 160KB 51/4" floppy, the MBP is a very good deal! 250,000x more RAM, 1 2.16 GHz processer vs 1.5 MHz and 100GB of storage. I think I am doing pretty well all told!

On the other hand, compared with my Apple II rev 1
with 16K of RAM, for which I paid $1300, plus an
additional $500 for a 160KB 51/4" floppy, the MBP is
a very good deal! 250,000x more RAM, 1 2.16 GHz
processer vs 1.5 MHz and 100GB of storage. I think I
am doing pretty well all told!

Oh, don't I know it. My first computer was a greyscale Mac SE, freshman year of college - a 40MB hard drive. Yep 40 MB. And how much did I pay? $3,500 - academic discount pricing!

Listen. I realize that time marches on. I just wasn't expecting such a radical architecture change in such a short time-span. I'll get over it. Besides, I'll just hand this off to the wife and buy a new one in a couple of years.

I think probably not even though I hope so to. I had a quick look at the old (Core 2) card part #AR5BXB6 and the new (Core 2 duo) card part #AR5BXB72.

They look to have a similar pin arrangement but the new card and MacBook pro have 3 antennae cables coming out not 2.

So I'm not convinced.

On another note.

http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2007/01/20070115102215.shtml

Specifically::

Because of the [Sarbanes-Oxley Act], the company believes that if it sells a product, then later adds a feature to that product, it can be held liable for improper accounting if it recognizes revenue from the product at the time of sale, given that it hasn’t finished delivering the product at that point.


Or:

http://backstage.ilounge.com/index.php/backstage/comments/oh-about-that-80211n-c ard-in-your-c2d-mac/

Specifically:

I’m not going to claim to understand this next part, which really just makes no sense to me at all, but the claim Apple’s making is that it can’t give you the 802.11n-unlocking software for free. The reason: the Core 2 Duo Macs weren’t advertised as 802.11n-ready, and a little law called the Sarbanes-Oxley Act supposedly prohibits Apple from giving away an unadvertised new feature for one of its products. Hence, said the Apple rep, the company’s not distributing new features in Software Update any more, just _bug fixes._ Because of Sarbanes-Oxley. If this is an accurate statement of Apple’s position, which as an attorney (but not one with any Sarbanes background) I find at least plausible, this is really crazy.

But I didn't think they would
release a version that was so radically different
from its predecessor that it would render it obsolete
in the wireless department.

I'm suprised to see so much negative stuff about the lack of N/pre-N in MBP. Personally, I don't know why so many people want to use it. In the UK the highest consumer internet connection is about 8Mbps, I still have a 384Kbps internet connection because I'm not paying silly money for hidden download charges and usage limits.

Even if you have 8Mbps internet connection:

Wireless b = 11Mbps
Wireless g = 54Mbps (up to 108/125Mbps with proprietry speed boosters)
Wireless n = Who knows? (who cares in my opinion)

I still use a wireless b router. The internet will always be the bottleneck. If you really really need to copy Gb ang Gb of data from computer to computer on a regular basis from different places then yeah sure. Otherwise if like me you only copy that amount of information maybe once or twice a year when you're upgrading a computer then just plug in an ethernet cable or a crossover cable.

My C2D MBP doesn't even connect wirelessly (something I have been speaking to apple about) but I'm not that bothered as a 10/100/gigabit ethernet connection is excesively fast and I'm only really going to need it if i take it out of the house. Calling something obselete when it ****** all over anything microsoft have ever done is going a bit far especially when it's just wireless, which as I say worked 10 years ago but is becoming steadily more unreliable as the big companies don't want to agree on any standards and always find ways to make you use there propriety technology (speed boost, range boost, MIMO etc) all pointless unless you have a T1 connection or spend you life moving tens or hundreds of Gigs wirelessly.

hmm... e t_h_e_r_n_et appears to be censored! ha

MacBook Pro 2.16GHz Core 2 Duo Mac OS X (10.4.8) 30Gb iPod Video, iTunes 7