Reasons Why I Don’t Want a MacBook Pro

Even with the increased performance, the new MacBook Pro has some unresolved shortcomings compared to a PowerBook G4. Henry Norr got a chance to look at the new MacBook Pro and made some observations that may scare people away.

• No FireWire800. While I don’t rely on this, I do have a FW800 drive. Supposedly Intel-designed motherboards never supported FW800 so the new MBP doesn’t have FW800. There is one FW400 port though (and two USB 2.0 ports).
• Single Layer DVD burner. The latest revs of PBs have double layer, 8x DVD burners. The MBP has a single layer burner and it’s slower too (4x).
• No PCMCIA slot. The MBP supports the latest industry standard ExpressCard/34 expansion slot. What’s that? Exactly. That’s why it’s a problem.
• No internal modem. Up to recently, I’ve lived off of regular dialup, and it is useful when there’s nothing else. Need to get an external USB modem.
• No S-video out. How am I supposed to watch my BitTorrent TV shows on a television set without S-video out? Reports are indicating that there’s an adapter for the MBP’s DVI port that converts to S-video. Another do-hickey to carry around.

Do I need a MacBook Pro? Maybe. Do I want a MacBook Pro? Sure.

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