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MacBook Pro with faster performance and new features for pros

apple.com

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Re: MacBook Pro with faster performance and new features for pros

#411

Post by PeterisP »

TomVDB wrote: post #143
mantas wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm yet to see a serious VIM user who didn't remap ESC to caps lock yet. Regardless of keyboard configuration.

You must found one. I used caps lock all the time for its intended function (shocking!), so remapping it is just not an option.

This is interesting - what are the typical use cases where you need to write more than 2-4 letters (e.g. "FBI" or "NASA" or something like that) in all caps ? It seems like quite unusual domain of writing - is it legal documents or something like that?

Re: MacBook Pro with faster performance and new features for pros

#412

Post by rdiddly »

jetsnoc wrote: post #218
r0fl wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They didn't do that because it is not what most people want. Apple has to make changes that will sell more laptops to the masses to maximize shareholder value. The niche developer/macrumors posters will never be happy regardless of what Apple does. Better to focus on the 90% of customers who buy products and make up 10% of the complaints then to focus on the 10% of customers who make up 90% of the complaints.

In the article they cite the MBP as being the most popular notebook for developers so this niche must be important, otherwise why list it?: > Already the most popular notebook for developers around the world, the new MacBook Pro can compile code faster and run multiple virtual machines and test environments easier than before. What we want is a functional keyboard. They are losing this market-share quickly but you're…

Take a look at the photos for a moment. Curious what the keyboard is like? Too bad - Every single photo shows the keyboard from the side.

Ah but you can still tell something. If there's anything to the idea that a picture sends a message or that there's such a thing as "visual language," this group of photos is loudly and stubbornly doubling down on "Thin is all that matters."

Customer: "Does the keyboard work this time?"

Apple: "IT'S THIN!"

Considering that the drive toward thinness is precisely what's ruining the keyboards, that tells you plenty, without even reading anything.

Re: MacBook Pro with faster performance and new features for pros

#413

Post by baseten »

lcnmrn wrote: post #190
no1youknowz wrote: post #20

> The new keyboard has the same dimensions and look as its two predecessors, but the keys feel just a little bit different. They're quieter, for one thing. They have a softer, less click-y feel that is a little closer to the pre-2016 models' chiclet keys. We found the new keyboard to be a little nicer to type on, but it's not a radical difference. It's unlikely to convert the detractors, but it's a welcome iteration…

They have to recover the money spent on TouchBar R&D. We won’t see a proper MacBook Pro until 2020.

It seems to me the touchbar was just a clever way to get their own processor into their laptops for some large scale real-world testing before they ditch intel and build the entire thing themselves. 2020 is a good guess I'd say.

Re: MacBook Pro with faster performance and new features for pros

#415

Post by kev009 »

School-Cotton wrote: post #341
kev009 wrote: post #314

Wonder why they wont put the xeon in there with ECC. Lenovo P50/P51 are still my choice.. 2x nvme, ECC, 4k color corrected, undeniably superior keyboard

Because 99.99% of laptop users have no need for ECC.

It doesn't really hurt anything, especially with Apple's purchasing power. The "pro" in there means something to a lot of people, if you are doing a live DJ set and your laptop crashes it can be catastrophic for instance. Rare, maybe, but yes studies confirm bit flips are real and at 32GB you are going to see them a few times a year. A DJ isn't going to necessarily know that adding $50 to the BOM and $100 to the purchase price is worthwhile, but a company like Apple is one of the few that can make good design decisions like this for their users.

Also the caches and data buses in the very same computer are all ECC protected. This is basically intel propagating ignorance, and Apple not stepping up. They whiffed on APFS and data checksums too.

Re: MacBook Pro with faster performance and new features for pros

#417

Post by b3b0p »

gwbas1c wrote: post #103
no1youknowz wrote: post #20

> The new keyboard has the same dimensions and look as its two predecessors, but the keys feel just a little bit different. They're quieter, for one thing. They have a softer, less click-y feel that is a little closer to the pre-2016 models' chiclet keys. We found the new keyboard to be a little nicer to type on, but it's not a radical difference. It's unlikely to convert the detractors, but it's a welcome iteration…

Better yet, why don't they go back and grab the 2006 17" form factor? That was the best developer laptop I had. The missing 2" on the 15" just makes the IDE too narrow.

My favorite was the first Aluminum Powerbook 12 and 17. I wamted both. I owned the 17 inch. I envied the 12 inch also. The 17 inch was almost the size of a Dell 15 inch at the time, so it wasn't as large it seemed. It was and is my favorite laptop I owned, ever. Well, that or my IBM Thinkpad 600e.

Re: MacBook Pro with faster performance and new features for pros

#418

Post by jetsnoc »

School-Cotton wrote: post #300
jetsnoc wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the article they cite the MBP as being the most popular notebook for developers so this niche must be important, otherwise why list it?: > Already the most popular notebook for developers around the world, the new MacBook Pro can compile code faster and run multiple virtual machines and test environments easier than before. What we want is a functional keyboard. They are losing this market-share quickly but you're…

What does wanting a functional keyboard have to do with being a developer? All laptop users use the keyboard, not just software developers.

Good point. I was pretty myopic when I wrote that. Having a good keyboard that does not fail is something all laptop users would want.

Re: MacBook Pro with faster performance and new features for pros

#419

Post by tjr225 »

nottorp wrote: post #116
_bxg1 wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Macbook Pro has been the go-to software developer machine for years now, and that segment is seeing a massive exodus after the touch bar launch. I don't know how big a percentage that is of total sales, but it can't just be a trivial niche.

I'm holding on to my 2013 mbpro with a real keyboard, but if it dies... looks like they only have emoji keyboards now. I'll have to join the exodus then.

I have a 2013 13" and a 2014 (I think) 15" for work and having had used a lenovo thinkpad for work briefly I can confidently say that there is no way I will be joining any sort of exodus when my work laptop or personal laptop come time for upgrade.

Re: MacBook Pro with faster performance and new features for pros

#420

Post by calebm »

hesk wrote: post #92

At least there's some movement but this upgrade still falls far short of what I'm hoping for. The 13" model is still limited to 16 GB. And the model without touch bar only has 2 USB-C ports. Why, Apple, why?!

I was so sad to see that too! I'm still waiting on a 13" 32Gb macbook.
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