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The 2020 MacBook Air

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Re: The 2020 MacBook Air

#201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think that's vanity, I think they made a conscious tradeoff in service of thinner computers. It's a good tradeoff in my opinion: the thinness of the computer has more of an impact on my average day to day usage than being able to remove a faulty logic board.

Until your logic board fails (mine has failed and been replaced 3 times on a 2016 MBP). How much space did it save to remove the most simple data recovery option that ever existed?

Not removed.

https://9to5mac.com/2016/11/24/apple-special-cdm-tool-macboo...

Re: The 2020 MacBook Air

#202
post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Removing ports from MBPs for one.

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?

You got the low end "pro" version. The 4-port version was on offer.

What do you need the extra ports for? Monitors have USB hubs.

Re: The 2020 MacBook Air

#203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

MacOS

This cannot be stated enough. Why is it so difficult to understand for most people that MacOS is a much larger part of the equation than simply comparing mac vs. pc hardware?

I'm an Android user and don't see myself moving to entire apple ecosystem. So if I had a MacOS I don't directly see many benefits. (correct me if I'm wrong)

Re: The 2020 MacBook Air

#204

I wish Apple would bring back a true anti-glare matte display option. I can't stand the reflectivity on any of their laptops despite their claim that it's "anti-glare." I love the macOS ecosystem, but I REALLY love the 100% Adobe matte 4k screen on my Dell Precision.

You can buy a matte screen protector

Re: The 2020 MacBook Air

#205

Absolutely glowing review. Personally, I'm not as enthusiastic about its design. My 2016 Dell XPS 13 (Ubuntu) with a 4k screen is lighter at 2.6lbs and smaller without a bezel around the screen.

Of course and most Mac users are just dying to use Linux....

imo macos is the best unix distro

Re: The 2020 MacBook Air

#206

Absolutely glowing review. Personally, I'm not as enthusiastic about its design. My 2016 Dell XPS 13 (Ubuntu) with a 4k screen is lighter at 2.6lbs and smaller without a bezel around the screen.

How is the fan noise?

Imagine a world where you could really haul on the fan past the max speed. Get them singing at 20,000 RPM and that macbook air could be pinned at 3.8ghz, provided you had earplugs of course.

Re: The 2020 MacBook Air

#207

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.

So far they make the only laptops I can chuck down the stares over the course of 8 years and not skip a beat. Can't beat a solid slab of metal. The hardware is fine, price is certainly steep compared to the competition but it's scratch if I plan on owning this thing for a couple years.

Re: The 2020 MacBook Air

#208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I haven’t checked recently, is Windows still available off-license?

Re: The 2020 MacBook Air

#209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One should definitely do some research before buying anything expensive. On the other hand I think some models are extremely reliable and despite (or because of ;)) the fancy design far most robust than most PC laptops. 128 GB is really ridiculous, on the other hand it's possible to upgrade that. I think the higher price tag is reasonable for a laptop that lasts so many years. Also for anything compute intensive I th…

I don't think the keyboard is particularly reliable. And the storage is not upgradeable.

Sure, especially for the models you pointed out. But other models...

On the other hand with PC laptops it's so common that a part at the display's hinge falls off or even a key for that matter. Recently a MacBook Pro fell from 1 meter or so, and the was just a tiny ditch, everything else was still working.

Re: The 2020 MacBook Air

#210
I'm really surprised that the Macbook Air is the most popular. I had this idea that it was a niche product for people who wanted portability above everything. I guess it's a really good thing because presumably it has lower power consumption than higher performance machines. There was a time when the standard PC that your grandma would buy from Dell came with a top of the line Pentium 4. It's good that this is no longer the case.
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