Chit-chat on the www says many think the new MBP’s will not have the DVD-drive, but I think they will still have it. There is no point in ‘Airing’ the MBP’s, for the MBA is the option for those on the constant move who need a more compact, lighter, laptop. The MBP covers a more sedentary customer who values the bigger punch of the MBP, a separate market segment. The MBA is seemingly in line for a chip-uprating, yes, but the MBP will only have minor adjustments in my view (to cope with the heat problems I’ve heard tell of). There does seem to be a major uprating slotted for ’12, the casing seems to be an entirely new design, but even here I don’t see a major change for the electronics other than the on-chip SSD OS and possibly SSD Main HD.

I see no reason to wait until ’12, if the price is right, so I’m waiting for the impending, hopefully uprated, MBP 17″ with the old mechanical HD to arrive, as it will mostly be used at home, thus the size and weight is of no consequence and, as it’s thus not as vulnerable to transport-damage the larger capacity HD will be of more use. But what to buy for a outside portable unit is a problem. Money, actually, is the problem. The iPad does seem not to be what I want, but the small MBA is far more than my budget seemingly will allow, the MBP 17″ not being exactly cheap. The cheaper and seemingly more powerful iMac is of interest, but I feel a desk-top unit is not what I want, getting old and stiff I now like to shift seating occasionally, sit anywhere, a laptop would allow this. Maybe a secondhand or reduced-price MB ‘White would be more useful than the MBA, but I need battery-life outdoors.

Isn’t choosing a new computer interesting!