MacWorld: 17" MacBook Pro has 8GB and 8-hour non-removable battery. Also: DRM-free iTunes deal

Apple announced a 17" MacBook Pro, offered at $2799 and up with a non-replaceable battery. Gizmodo's just published a hands-on of the big book, in which Christopher Mascari says it's beautiful and very thin indeed.

There'll be wireless iTunes downloads direct to your iPhone, and Apple's finally giving rights management a proper kick in the ass: also announced was a new deal with the labels to take iTunes more substantially DRM-free.

There was a revamp of iLife, including facial recognition in iPhoto. Sting, finally imprisoned for good inside Garage Band, will also teach you to play guitar.

For more, read Harry McKracken's liveblog coverage and Technologizer.

[#1 posted by zuzu , January 6, 2009 11:50 AM]

The 17" MBP has an option for 8GB of memory (finally!), but for a whopping $1200 extra. (And I thought paying $150 for 6GB in my previous generation MBP was a bit pricey, but totally necessary for multitasking.) No word yet on Apple adding the 8GB option to the 15" MBP or the 13" MacBook.

[#2 posted by Anonymous , January 6, 2009 11:51 AM]

Note that the reviewer said it "feels thinner".

This is a Mac, after all; like every other mac, it's probably not particularly thin compared to other vendors, but has a carefully chamfered and sculpted edge to appear exceptionally thin.

The ipod touch actually is thin, though. For a change.

Measure the thickest point on an Apple lappie and compare it to a comparable Dell or Sony (running Ubuntu, of course - why use a fat OS like Windows or MacOS on a thin machine?). Prepare to be surprised.

[#3 posted by haineux , January 6, 2009 11:57 AM]

Note that the battery, because it is non-removable, and because Apple hired a bunch of chemists and wrote special software, is bigger and longer-lasting -- it'll last "up to 8 hours" and "up to 1000 recharges, 3x as many as typical notebook batteries."

[#4 posted by Rob Beschizza , January 6, 2009 12:18 PM]

Good points -- I'll add both in.

[#5 posted by pewma , January 6, 2009 12:35 PM]

It' kinda stinks that you still have to pay to "update" the iTunes songs you own to strip the DRM. Not that I expected a free update on songs from Apple. But it still stinks.

I checked my iTunes and it wanted $175. For songs I already own!

[#6 posted by grimc , January 6, 2009 12:48 PM]

Non-removable battery FTL.

If you need to replace the battery, you have to give up your computer for X days. If you're lucky, the Genius Bar can do it; if not, you're going to have to send it in. Weak. Seriously makes me consider switching back to PC when my current MBP gives up the ghost.

[#7 posted by Anonymous , January 6, 2009 12:57 PM]

"Apple hired a bunch of chemists and wrote special software"

To the commenter who wrote this... Apple did not design the battery, they speced it and one of their many battery manufacturers designed it. Special software however is likely true. People have this odd vision that apple is an engineering house instead of a design and software house...

[#8 posted by Halloween Jack , January 6, 2009 12:59 PM]

Can I make Sting dance like a little monkey on the screen?

[#9 posted by zuzu , January 6, 2009 1:01 PM]

If you need to replace the battery, you have to give up your computer for X days. If you're lucky, the Genius Bar can do it; if not, you're going to have to send it in. Weak. Seriously makes me consider switching back to PC when my current MBP gives up the ghost.

Or do it yourself. It's really not that hard. MacBook / Pros are easy to work on.

The only real argument I heard about the non-replaceable battery in the MacBook Air is when you're on a plane or someplace that you don't have a table and screwdrivers to work on.

I'm assuming Apple is pitching that an 8-hour battery life makes up for this.

[#10 posted by DSMVWL THS , January 6, 2009 1:15 PM]

I'm holding out for the Macbook Wheel.

[#11 posted by grimc , January 6, 2009 2:11 PM]

@zuzu

But that would void the warranty, no? Granted, by the time the battery needs replacement the warranty will have expired, but still. And I have no problem with working on computers myself, but this is a lame move on Apple's part. I don't know if it's about aesthetics or greed, but this is definitely anti-user.

[#12 posted by Dean , January 6, 2009 2:15 PM]

Zuzu: I would tend to disagree with the idea that Macbooks are easy to work on, especially the current ones. The Macbooks (I say nothing about the Pros) are designed for quick RAM and hard drive replacement, but that's it. The unibody design almost completely eliminates your ability to repair the computer yourself.

I worked on iBooks for a couple of years. Hundreds of them. You can definitely get good at fixing those, and they're very easy to play around with. Very hacker friendly. The plastic Macbooks are one step more difficult, and anything Apple makes that's aluminum and not the Mac Pro I would highly recommend that you get repaired professionally.

If you go into a store and you use Time Machine (which you should) you can probably just swap it out right there for a new one. No loss of time at all, just restore from your backup when you get home. Otherwise, you can have a professional repairman come to your house and do the repairs on site. Sending it in should be a last resort.

Unless you have a lot of experience working with the new Macs, I really don't think you should be opening them. The aluminum is very very soft, and you will almost definitely bend it irreparably. And if you bend it, you likely void the warranty Apple likely won't be happy about replacing it.

Just my recommendations on the matter.

[#13 posted by haineux , January 6, 2009 3:34 PM]

Apple claims the battery will 1,000 recharges.

That's 3-5 years of normal use.

Is having to undo some screws every three years really that big of a deal?

You seem to have missed a much bigger problem: Apple is using their own battery chemistry/charging circuitry, and therefore you will have to buy replacement batteries from Apple.

Of course, the reason they're rolling their own batteries (literally) is so that you get the 8 hour battery life and 1,000 recharges, so complaining that the crapvendors don't sell replacements is also missing the point, but at least it's a better class of missing the point.

[#14 posted by ZoopyFunk , January 6, 2009 3:59 PM]

From Technologizer:

"...if they could seal a battery into iTunes, they would."

[#15 posted by zuzu , January 6, 2009 7:51 PM]

@9 GrimC

But that would void the warranty, no?

Not unless you actually cause damage yourself in the process.

@10 Dean

I worked on iBooks for a couple of years. Hundreds of them. You can definitely get good at fixing those, and they're very easy to play around with. Very hacker friendly. The plastic Macbooks are one step more difficult, and anything Apple makes that's aluminum and not the Mac Pro I would highly recommend that you get repaired professionally.

Odd, I actually thought the iBooks and the 12" PowerBook were some of the most difficult to work on. I haven't worked on the plastic MacBooks, but the other PowerBooks (since Titanium) and MacBook Pros have all been cake to work on. You basically unscrew the screws underneath or on the sides and remove a big panel to access the hardware inside. I really appreciate how elegant Apple hardware is in this way. In other words, I have precisely the opposite impression. the aluminum laptops are the ones that need the least professional help of all of them, in my experience.

Otherwise, you can have a professional repairman come to your house and do the repairs on site. Sending it in should be a last resort.

What world do you live in? Apple Geniuses don't make house calls. Bring it into the store and more than likely they'll fix it in a day or two. If you tell them they'll even order the necessary parts in advance, so they can work on it in the back room. If your Apple Store lacks a competent Genius though, they'll send it in, and you'll get it back in about a week.

Unless you have a lot of experience working with the new Macs, I really don't think you should be opening them. The aluminum is very very soft, and you will almost definitely bend it irreparably.

Are you specifically referring to the new unibody Macs? I haven't worked on those yet either, but supposedly the machined aluminum is stiffer by design than previously, so... I'll be surprised if the new Macs are as fragile to work on as you claim.

[#16 posted by remmelt , January 7, 2009 3:31 AM]

No comments about the anti-glare option? That was one of the main gripes of the unibody MB Pro and now the $50 buys you matte on the 17".

[#17 posted by dhuff , January 7, 2009 6:33 AM]

MacBook, SchmackBook...I want an updated Mac Mini! :P

[#18 posted by Anonymous , January 7, 2009 8:16 AM]

$2799 and up...ROTFLMAO...for about $300 worth of hardware. Apple has PWNED you guys for years...

[#19 posted by pewma , January 8, 2009 3:26 PM]

@ DHUFF #17:

MacBook, SchmackBook...I want an updated Mac Mini! :P

I'm with you on that! The mini is one of the most understated computers to ever come out of Cupertino. Cheap, functional, reliable and small. If I could put my mini and terabyte drive and airport extreme into one casing I'd be the happiest camper on the block.

[#20 posted by a_user , January 18, 2009 10:26 PM]

I like Apple

but this is funny
http://www.theonion.com/content/video/apple_introduces_revolutionary