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The 2020 MacBook Air

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Re: The 2020 MacBook Air

#171

Post by acheron »

76543210 wrote: post #85
Niccizero wrote: post #27

I don't see the reason to buy a such a compromised machine over a X1 Carbon or a XPS 13. No ports, crappy soldered everything, worst company for consumer rights, etc. They have nice screens I guess? And you can't deny the brand appeal of the Apple logo.

>And you can't deny the brand appeal of the Apple logo. I would be embarrassed if I carried one around. But my friends are tech guys, not Starbucks hipsters.

I see you’ve stepped out of a time machine from 1999. You’ve got some catching up to do.

Re: The 2020 MacBook Air

#172

Post by robotresearcher »

pmichaud wrote: post #163
robotresearcher wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I still can’t understand how they ever thought it was acceptable. > I have a non-touchbar MBP. You or your employer bought it. This leads them to believe it was acceptable. [edit: this comment was pedantic and unhelpful. I do understand what the parent meant. See another comment down thread.]

I don't think this is a nuanced enough way to think about it. Most of the reason I still use my macbook and basically the only reason I'd consider buying a new one when the time comes is "soft lock in". I'm not literally stuck, but I'd have to carefully consider how to do literally everything differently, and learn whole different workflows and software packages and keyboard shortcuts. I'd have to consider how variou…

Yeah, I hear you. Some products get the value proposition really great (MBP 15" and MBA 13" both circa 2015), and some you can just settle for. I totally understand how different those buying experiences feel.

The new MBA seems to be well received by reviewers.

Re: The 2020 MacBook Air

#173

Post by bambataa »

robotresearcher wrote: post #141
bambataa wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a non-touchbar MBP with just two USB-C ports and nothing else. Two, on the same side, and one is always used for charging. So one free port on a pro laptop. I still can’t understand how they ever thought it was acceptable. Why bother moving to USB-C if you’re going to cripple their usefulness?

> I still can’t understand how they ever thought it was acceptable. > I have a non-touchbar MBP. You or your employer bought it. This leads them to believe it was acceptable. [edit: this comment was pedantic and unhelpful. I do understand what the parent meant. See another comment down thread.]

Yes, technically, but I was replacing a (superior) older MBP that got water damage and that was what they had available. I was abroad, needed a replacement for some contract work and didn't have time to dick around setting up a new Linux environment.

These days it's purely a question of whether the convenience of the Apple walled garden is sufficient to offset their hardware choices.

Re: The 2020 MacBook Air

#174

Post by chipotle_coyote »

scarface74 wrote: post #70
Rebelgecko wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually think he's escaped the Reality Distortion Field. If you read through his posts, there's actually a lot that are critical of Apple's recent missteps

You mean like in 2007 when he called the “sweet solution” of web apps for iOS a “shit sandwich”?

Or in recent years, as recently as the current year, where you can find Gruber frequently criticizing Apple products, software, services, and design.

Re: The 2020 MacBook Air

#175

Post by mmhsieh »

kirstenbirgit wrote: post #159
aczerepinski wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree on the 12" MacBook. My wife has one and I think it's a fantastic product. With only 0.2 lbs separating the Air and Pro right now, I don't think both lines really need to exist. If they had kept iterating on the ultra-light MacBook it would be such a great product to recommend to parents, etc.

I think it's a big shame they're not making the 12" anymore. It's a perfect computer for lounging around on the sofa or on the go. The new Air actually feels a lot more heavy and cumbersome compared to it.

I just made the switch recently; the larger volume of the new 13" and the increased mass really creates a discernible different in the moment of inertia. Subtle difference that makes me miss the 12".

Re: The 2020 MacBook Air

#176

Post by rsync »

JohnTHaller wrote: post #169
rsync wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Pro Tip: The MacBook Air line of today has taken over for the MacBook line ..." OK, I think that is correct. But then what is the MacBook Air now ? I am typing on a 2015 11" MBA that is, in my opinion, the high point of laptop design and execution ever . With this laptop, Apple solved the laptop - the same way that they solved the tower form factor with the original Mac Pro.

> But then what is the MacBook Air now ? There isn't one. There's the MacBook Pro, which is the higher end laptop line and the MacBook Air, which is the lower end. That said, both the current Pro and Air are thinner than the original MacBook Air and the same weight or slightly lighter.

"That said, both the current Pro and Air are thinner than the original MacBook Air and the same weight or slightly lighter."

That may be, but there is no 11" model so it's a bigger thing to put in my briefcase/bag ...

I knew I should have purchased three identical 2015 11" MBAs ... I bought two and I am on #2 now ... when it breaks there is nothing to replace it with.

Re: The 2020 MacBook Air

#177

Post by silviogutierrez »

Ididntdothis wrote: post #148
prewett wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a 2018 MBP, 2.9 GHz i9, 32 GB ram, Radeon Vega 20. The thing is like a portable server, I'm not sure what more features and power a laptop user would realistically neeed. (Obviously real servers are more powerful, but I worked at a company that ran MMO game servers written in Python [i.e. not that fastest] off of similarly spec'ed hardware a few years ago, it's certainly sufficiently for all of my development…

CPU power is fine. I wouldn’t mind having at least one USB-A port and HDMI port so I don’t constantly have dongle anxiety when I am traveling. I would also prefer a bigger battery even if it makes the laptop thicker.

As I understand it, the new 16 inch macbook has the biggest size battery you could have while still allowed on an airplane as a carry on. Security theatre, but... that's life.

Re: The 2020 MacBook Air

#178

Post by mnm1 »

ksec wrote: post #55

The most important thing to me about the new MacBook Pro and MacBook Air 2020 is ( hopefully ) the confirmation of price trend . $999 Retina Mac with 256GB Baseline Storage? Somewhere along the line in 2016, Apple's product value proposition went off. Everything from Mac to iPhone, they either had the same price but not as much improvement or a price hike with new feature. At first it was thought Apple is moving into…

What? An almost maxed out mbpro in 2014 cost around $2800 (512gb/16gb/i7). The same laptop is now priced over $4000 (2tb/64gb/i9). They are roughly equivalent just under top of the line laptops. They are absolutely going for luxury and the prices are unbelievably high.

Re: The 2020 MacBook Air

#179

Post by thelittleone »

vulcan01 wrote: post #158
thelittleone wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is pretty much it. OSX is what locks me in to Apple. Ironic that it (OSX) is free.

Nitpicking, but I wouldn't necessarily consider it "free". There is a cost to get it, which is the price of your Mac.

Fair point, although OSX can be installed on non-mac hardware (if one has the patience) or in a virtual host.

Re: The 2020 MacBook Air

#180

Post by JohnTHaller »

rsync wrote: post #176
JohnTHaller wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But then what is the MacBook Air now ? There isn't one. There's the MacBook Pro, which is the higher end laptop line and the MacBook Air, which is the lower end. That said, both the current Pro and Air are thinner than the original MacBook Air and the same weight or slightly lighter.

"That said, both the current Pro and Air are thinner than the original MacBook Air and the same weight or slightly lighter." That may be, but there is no 11" model so it's a bigger thing to put in my briefcase/bag ... I knew I should have purchased three identical 2015 11" MBAs ... I bought two and I am on #2 now ... when it breaks there is nothing to replace it with.

Ah right, the screen size and case size. I forgot about they were smaller in that respect, sorry.
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