Four Reasons Not to Buy a Macbook Pro Right Now

Apple just announced an updated line of Macbook Pros with much better battery life (batteries can't be swapped out, though), a new SD card reader (no more ExpressCard slot, though), faster processors, and support for up to 8GB of RAM. Plus a new 13" model. And slightly lower prices. But here are reasons to wait for the next generation:

1. The next big thing in notebook computers will be inclusion of cellular modems, which will get online from just about anywhere (no more hunting for wifi!).

2. Laptops equipped with cell modems will require data plans with cellphone carriers (though, depending on bandwidth limitations and throughput when you're at home, you may be able to cancel your current ISP). That may sound like bad news, but this also means carriers are likely to subsidize some of the laptop's price, as they do with iPhones.

3. Two generations back, Apple eliminated the option for matte screens, and the glossy ones can be awfully glarey (plus any shmutz that gets on the screen is acutely distracting). There's been much outrcry, and they've just added back a matte option for the 17" Macbook Pro. So it's not unthinkable that matte will be offered once again in future generations of 15" Apple laptops.

4. If you can consider waiting to buy a computer, you certainly ought to. No electronic equipment should ever be bought until the need is acute, because something better/cheapers/faster is always right around the corner!