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Apple Updates Air, Pro Laptops, Kills Off the MacBook

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Re: Apple Updates Air, Pro Laptops, Kills Off the MacBook

#121

Post by JadeNB »

AJ007 wrote: post #112
geerlingguy wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure if the whole post or only part is /s, but IMO they need to have the courage to drop the Touch Bar. Everything else I can live with, but now there’s literally no MacBook Pro I will buy. I have the 2016 Function Key model, and maybe my next upgrade will be to a 2015 Pro... or to a non-Apple laptop (sigh).

I wouldn’t be surprised if the Touch Bar turns in to the entire keyboard. Surprise, no more stuck keys! The 12” MacBook is the only laptop model I’ve purchased twice. Very disappointed to see it get the axe. I bought one in 2015 despite only reading negative reviews, stuck key issue was there for a few days on and off in the beginning and then never an issue again. If you travel a lot, the extra weight of the MacBook…

> Surprise, no more stuck keys!

And the ultimate in low travel!

Well, I don't know … auto-correct does a sufficiently good job that I'm actually more accurate typing on my iPad Pro's soft keyboard than on my MBP's real keyboard. (And the Smart Cover's keyboard is definitely better than the MBP's; no skipped or doubled keys, and comparable travel, or at least it feels like it.)

Re: Apple Updates Air, Pro Laptops, Kills Off the MacBook

#122

Post by JadeNB »

tadfisher wrote: post #37
chrischen wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm certain people who are OK with the touch bar don't care about it as much as the people who hate it, but I for one prefer that they are iteratively innovating on the keyboard for macs. I'd rather they do that than make a thick brick of a laptop with a row of mostly useless function keys that a vocal minority has been harping for.

That's fine. I myself will continue to purchase from Lenovo, who tried something similar to the Touch Bar and removed it after listening to customer feedback.

Lenovo actively lost my trust (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superfish), as opposed to Apple which doesn't care about my opinion but is upfront about it.

Re: Apple Updates Air, Pro Laptops, Kills Off the MacBook

#123

Post by hombre_fatal »

SllX wrote: post #94
farisjarrah wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You complained about the best part of the Macbook, the trackpad! I wish I could get that Mac trackpad on my thinkpad x1

Unless you are really good at keeping your hands off the trackpad when you rest your hands, the previous generation trackpad was overall better in day to day use, and anything bigger is better as an external peripheral. The problem is, Apple’s palm rejection tech just isn’t good enough, and if you have to write fancy software to cover a deficiency in the size of a piece of hardware, then you’re better off going with…

The palm rejection tech is so good that I can't recall a single time I ever accidentally triggered it. In fact, it was so good I didn't even consider that it had palm rejection tech until I read about it, I just never considered that it was a problem.

Re: Apple Updates Air, Pro Laptops, Kills Off the MacBook

#124

Post by hombre_fatal »

skyyler wrote: post #86
farisjarrah wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You complained about the best part of the Macbook, the trackpad! I wish I could get that Mac trackpad on my thinkpad x1

It absolutely boggles my mind that people can't keep in mind that everyone has different preferences. It's not the best part of the Macbook, it's your favourite part of the Macbook. There very rarely is an objective best in anything. There is only what you like and need.

Right, but they were already making that point themselves. The comment they responded to literally hated the feature. They pointed out, okay, but it's my favorite feature.

Re: Apple Updates Air, Pro Laptops, Kills Off the MacBook

#125

Post by gnicholas »

b212 wrote: post #101
tomca32 wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, the touch bar is quite a turn off for me too. That and the crappy keyboard made me always use the laptop in clamshell mode, which ironically I ended up liking quite a bit.

Sometimes I wonder how many people use Macs mainly in clamshell mode. I’ve been doing this for the last 10 years or so because working on a laptop is a huge ergonomy antipattern and Apples keyboards are famous for giving RSI.

I would do this but the fan runs much more when closed. As is, I use my 2017 MBP exclusively with the wireless keyboard from my 2008 iMac.

Re: Apple Updates Air, Pro Laptops, Kills Off the MacBook

#126

Post by chrischen »

dcsilver wrote: post #110
andrew_wc_brown wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The sticking keys on the new macbook pro is a serious problem. Always get Apple Care. I have had a problem with the last 3 mac purchases.

I knew about the keyboards when I bought mine, but didn't opt for Apple Care because they're offering a 4 year warranty on the keyboards whether you bought Apple Care or not.

Of all the complaints about the keyboard, the reliability issue with them are real, but also they're the one thing Apple owns up to. When I get the keyboard swapped they often also swap out a new battery for me.

Re: Apple Updates Air, Pro Laptops, Kills Off the MacBook

#127

Post by truncate »

SilasX wrote: post #65
wwweston wrote: post #38

Macbook Pro "improvements" over the last 3-7 years: * No more matte display * RAM soldered to the board * SSD soldered in * remove all ports except USB-C * make keyboard worse * remove function keys, replace with touch surface that's redundant at best But it's very thin! And even thinner was the recent Macbook, and if the law of "diminishing returns" matters as little as the usual defenses of all the above tradeoffs…

I also hate that MacBook Pro touchpads are oversized and easy to touch with your thumbs by accident. I had one issued for a job and had annoying, error-inducing swipes about three times a day.

So, I use Dell XPS 13 personally, and when I got MacBook Pro 15 2018 model, I was super unhappy with size of trackpad. It took a while, but I got used to it and now prefer over my XPS-13 trackpad.

The trackpad was always amazing (force touch, sensitivity, palm detection and all), but I think the extra size makes doing gestures super smooth. As in, my fingers don't feel constrained.

Re: Apple Updates Air, Pro Laptops, Kills Off the MacBook

#128

Post by cutler »

Considering a 128Gb SSD costs $47 and a 500Gb SSD costs $78 Apples's $400 "upgrade" to 500Gb over the base model's 128Gb disk represents a 6-fold price hike on its market value. Why do we put up with this? Now it's soldered on so we don't even have the freedom to upgrade our own machines.

Re: Apple Updates Air, Pro Laptops, Kills Off the MacBook

#129

Post by JadeNB »

bubblethink wrote: post #95
reaperducer wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the weird ass product names IME, Apple's product names make more sense than virtually any other computer maker, or auto maker. Currently computers from Lenovo are: ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 6 Yoga C930 ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 5 ThinkPad X1 Extreme Legion Y740 MacBook (RIP), MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro make complete sense comparatively.

Why do names of tools need to make sense? I don't go around calling my screwdriver with cute names. It has a job to do. It needs a unique identifier to distinguish from other screw drivers.

> I don't go around calling my screwdriver with cute names. It has a job to do. It needs a unique identifier to distinguish from other screw drivers.

Screw drivers also aren't regularly re-designed to hop on current design trends and bump specs (or, rather, if manufacturers try it then people ignore it). Car models are probably a more apt comparison.

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