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2018 MacBook Pro Review

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Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#451

Post by eptcyka »

stickfigure wrote: post #406
batiudrami wrote: post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In 2008 the iPhone was a $500 subsidised device (at a time when other phones were "free" or up to $200) which really didn't do anything. It didn't do MMS, third party apps didn't exist, google maps didn't have turn-by-turn. I'm sure the user experience of a reasonable sized capacitive touch screen was great compared to the alternatives - but I never even saw one in real life and on paper it was very expensive and did…

This is absolutely silly. I am not an apple fanboy, but I had a couple generations of Danger products (by far the most modern at the time) prior to the release of the iPhone and owned a few generations of iPhone from the start. The 1st generation iPhone was revolutionary and deserves every last bit of credit it gets. The 3G was a yawner, like adding leather seats to a flying car. Yeah 3G is nice... but seriously, the…

The 2G did not have an app store, it had no killer features. It was a nice device to use when it could be used. But it wasn't often that one could.

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#452

Post by toyg »

djhworld wrote: post #425
toyg wrote: post #398

Finally adding 32GB gets a big thumbs-up from me, somebody at Apple is finally listening. I'll have to check the keyboard, however I don't expect any improvement - maybe it'll get stuck a bit less, but I bet travel will still be atrocious. The MBPr was released in 2012 and redesigned in 2016, so I guess we might expect the next big iteration to come in 2020 or so; then it will take a year or two to work out the bugs,…

> Finally adding 32GB gets a big thumbs-up from me Worth noting the 32GB option is only available on the 15" model and costs £2,700+

For a professional, that's a few days of work. Over 5 years, after tax etc etc, it's still a blip for what is effectively one's main tool.

An IT pro must invest in three primary tools: chair, monitor, and laptop. A £5K budget to amortize over 5 years is fair game, and in the grand scheme of things (traders etc) is actually very very low.

If it's to watch movies and play games, then of course it's insanely pricey; but then you don't really need 32GB, nor a MBP in the first place.

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#453

Post by dahauns »

twblalock wrote: post #178
TheSpiceIsLife wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand. At this point, what are the benefits of a thinner laptop? Lighter I can understand, but what does a thinner laptop enable you to do?

It takes up less space when folded in a bag, in luggage, etc., so it is less of a burden to bring with you when you go somewhere. How would you feel if your laptop suddenly doubled in thickness but didn’t gain any weight? Most people would be unhappy about that.

Always with the hyperbole. How would you feel if your laptop suddenly increased 2mm in thickness but didn't gain any weight? Most people wouldn't even notice the difference if you didn't point it out to them.

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#454

Post by nkkollaw »

copperx wrote: post #320
designcode wrote: post #234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Getting the keyboard fixed isn't dependant on Apple Care. They have a 4 year program to fix any issues, outside of warranty.

I wonder what happens if you have a keyboard issue AND your logic board dies at the same time after the first year? Will they replace the logic board for free, given that the keyboard was malfunctioning?

Happened to me (in Europe).

Keyboard was replaced twice. Logic board died too (along with the data on SSD since it's soldered on).

All repairs were done for free by the Apple store, but of course I lost about 10 days of work (or at least I didn't have my main laptop).

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#455

Post by fiblye »

Kurtz79 wrote: post #411
sophistication wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who doubted Apple would be successful in ~2008? The iPhone and the MacBook Air were phenomenal products.

The first Macbook Air was a seriously limited device, style over substance. Expensive, weak CPU, mechanical hard drive, low battery life. It was with the second generation (2011) that they knocked it out of the park, where they added fast Core i5/i7 CPUs, SSD, greatly improved battery life, two (!) USB ports, choice between 11' and 13' models. And most of all they sold it at an entry level price (for Apple standards)…

The Macbook Air wasn't in any way intended for developers, though. All the people I knew buying Airs (even first gen) were the frequent travelers and types of people who do loads of work involving email, text documents, and slideshows. Nothing that required heavy processing, but work that involves being out of your desk and having to haul your work with you.

A lightweight PC small enough to slip in a folder was what they wanted.

The Macbook Pro was generally for more of the processing-intensive work and development side. Recently I've been seeing/hearing more and more dissatisfaction from that crowd.

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#456

Post by dahauns »

1996 wrote: post #183
godzillabrennus wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It would increase the thickness of the laptop. Apple is design driven. I also hate the new keyboard but couldn’t care less about using dongles if I get a thinner laptop.

It might increase the thickness. It is not a given. I remember about old single slot pcmcia cards which had a push mechanism that would show a RJ-11 so you could connect a modem. Check the "XJACK connector" for pictures. It was technically possible. It still is.

Just take a look at the Lifebook U937/938. Thinner and lighter than the Air, but has 1xUSB-C, 2xUSB-A, SD, HDMI and even RJ45(!). All the while sporting a 15W TDP CPU and slotted RAM. (And yes, battery life is good as well.)

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#457

Post by nobodyshere »

nkkollaw wrote: post #448
zinckiwi wrote: post #421

I don't begrudge Apple their quest for thin and light. All else being equal, of course everyone wants that. But they have three portable product lines: the MB, and Air and the Pro. Surely the point of that is to allow them to differentiate? It seems strange that "thin and light" is the priority above all others, for all three. I'd happily sacrifice a couple of millimetres and a few ounces of my 2016 MBP to a return t…

I'm not sure everyone wants thinnes. I'm working on a 3-cm thick gaming laptop and I'm about 100 times more productive compared to my old 2016 MBP, just because the keyboard actually registeres all keystrokes. I've also upgraded it by opening the bottom case with 4 Phillips screws. People want thinness if everything else works. If to have thinness you have a laptop that you cannot type on, and you lose all your data…

Right. Backups are for pussies.

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#458

Post by Kurtz79 »

fiblye wrote: post #455
Kurtz79 wrote: post #411

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The first Macbook Air was a seriously limited device, style over substance. Expensive, weak CPU, mechanical hard drive, low battery life. It was with the second generation (2011) that they knocked it out of the park, where they added fast Core i5/i7 CPUs, SSD, greatly improved battery life, two (!) USB ports, choice between 11' and 13' models. And most of all they sold it at an entry level price (for Apple standards)…

The Macbook Air wasn't in any way intended for developers, though. All the people I knew buying Airs (even first gen) were the frequent travelers and types of people who do loads of work involving email, text documents, and slideshows. Nothing that required heavy processing, but work that involves being out of your desk and having to haul your work with you. A lightweight PC small enough to slip in a folder was what…

It wasn't a powerhouse, but it was (the second generation one) the first successful "thin" laptop that made reasonable compromises so that it could be used a development machine.

In an era of remote servers and web scripting languages, not every developer needs a full-blown workstation.

I agree it wasn't indended for developers, but it ended up being adopted by many of them.

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#459

Post by nkkollaw »

nobodyshere wrote: post #457
nkkollaw wrote: post #448

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure everyone wants thinnes. I'm working on a 3-cm thick gaming laptop and I'm about 100 times more productive compared to my old 2016 MBP, just because the keyboard actually registeres all keystrokes. I've also upgraded it by opening the bottom case with 4 Phillips screws. People want thinness if everything else works. If to have thinness you have a laptop that you cannot type on, and you lose all your data…

Right. Backups are for pussies.

I always make automatic, incremental hourly backups.

That doesn't mean it's positive for a computer to take your data with it in case of failure when it's completely avoidable (ex., don't have the SSD soldered to the logic board).

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#460

Post by innagadadavida »

derefr wrote: post #224
Stratoscope wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lately I've been working at a company that uses YubiKeys for 2FA. You can use a traditional YubiKey, but the YubiKey Nano is especially popular because you can put it in your laptop and leave it there. It barely sticks out at all, just enough that you can touch it and activate the touch sensor. [1] I started noticing people in meetings with their new MacBook Pros and six inch cords sticking out the side, and on close…

That's even more funny, because the MBP's touch-bar is essentially the same type of device as the YubiKey—an isolated offboard CPU with its own TPM that can be unlocked with a fingerprint and then asked to encrypt secrets for the host/parent PC. The touch-bar just has more screen. I'm surprised nobody's hacked the YubiKey app into making use of the touch-bar as the YubiKey "device."

It’s implemented as a auth mechanism to memento, it might be open sourced at some point.

The reason yubikey doesn’t do this is that it will kill their business and product.

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