27-inch iMac gets a major update • Hacker News Board

Re: 27-inch iMac gets a major update

#541

Post by chrisweekly » Wed, Aug 05, 2020, 2:37 AM UTC

thewhitetulip wrote: post #94

efficax wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the 12" macbook is my favorite laptop of all time. Mine is the 2016 version and it's starting to feel dated and I'm hoping that they rerelease this on the new silicon first. I'll be smashing the buy button the day it's out.

Mine is a Macbook pro 2012 and it is still phenomenal. 2yrs ago, my screen used to flicker. I contacted everyone and they said 'change motherboard' and Mac support people were like buy a new laptop. so I kept the laptop in cupboard for a few months and I open it to check if it works, had decided to sell it and buy a new one and viola, it was working perfectly fine. ~5yrs with no issues.

2012 mbp15r, maxxed out specs at the time (16GB DDR3, 500MB SSD), daily driver for eight(!) years, and has maybe 5 tiny dead pixels as the only sign it's the worse for wear. Current gig requires use of client-provided 2019 mbp16r with approximately the same size, weight and perf. I don't hate it, but it's hard to believe my ancient personal box is about as capable. They really don't make em like they used to.

Re: 27-inch iMac gets a major update

#542

Post by epistasis » Wed, Aug 05, 2020, 2:38 AM UTC

Someone wrote: post #136

epistasis wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That appears to only have a single C port. It's a strange thing, you can get these super complicated docking stations with all sorts of different ports, but can't get a 4-port hub that's only usb-c connectors. At least neither tzs nor I have found such hubs.

Googling “usb-c to usb-c multiport hub” gives me plenty of hits, for example https://www.sitecom.com/en/usb-c-hub-4-port/cn-386/p/1881 : “Turn your USB-C port into 3 ultrafast USB-C ports and 1 USB-C Power Delivery Port”

Oh wow, thanks for that link, I have never come across that!

Also, when I google with your phrase, there are no hits like that on the first page. I wonder if google is customizing my searches away from what I want...

Re: 27-inch iMac gets a major update

#543

Post by xhruso00 » Wed, Aug 05, 2020, 2:42 AM UTC

indianhippie wrote: post #540

xhruso00 wrote: post #538

Is the RAM self-upgradable with T2 chip?

Yes it is. This might be the last iMac with user accessible RAM chip though.

I didn't know 21.5' is not user upgradable. Only 27 https://support.apple.com/guide/imac/install-memory-in-your-...

Re: 27-inch iMac gets a major update

#544

Post by joegahona » Wed, Aug 05, 2020, 2:43 AM UTC

rsynnott wrote: post #316

obmelvin wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It may work fine, but its slightly absurd to need a better webcam for a recently made 2k USD laptop

Few if any laptops have decent cameras. This is partially because until recently most users didn't actually care that much, but also for practical reasons; modern laptops have very slim lids, so you can't really fit decent optics (a phone is a good bit deeper).

> modern laptops have very slim lids, so you can't really fit decent optics (a phone is a good bit deeper).

What about the iMac?

Re: 27-inch iMac gets a major update

#545

Post by munificent » Wed, Aug 05, 2020, 2:55 AM UTC

chrstphrknwtn wrote: post #536

munificent wrote: post #526

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This one kills me. With COVID, I'm now stuck working from home. I literally spend all day staring at my work Macbook Pro's small screen with a glorious but unused iMac screen sitting five inches behind it.

Why don't you work on your iMac?

It's my personal machine and I can only use work-provisioned computers for (entirely reasonable) security reasons.

Re: 27-inch iMac gets a major update

#546

Post by numpad0 » Wed, Aug 05, 2020, 3:30 AM UTC

jonpurdy wrote: post #258

madengr wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The original Apple FireWire webcam was very good, with a large, motorized lens. Despite boasting higher resolution, I doubt many modern webcams are as good, especially integrated ones.

How awesome would an updated iSight be today? You could fit an APC-C sized sensor (1.6x crop DSLR) with a 22mm f/2 pancake lens for some insane bokeh. Probably at around the $300 price point. Sure would be easier than hooking a "clean HDMI" DSLR or mirrorless into a HDMI input/USB adaptor...

IMO YMMV etc but wide lens distortion can drag down what people would call “image quality”. 50 or 85 would work better for portraits if you can afford the distance.

Re: 27-inch iMac gets a major update

#547

Post by ben-schaaf » Wed, Aug 05, 2020, 3:37 AM UTC

nolok wrote: post #304

alkonaut wrote: post #295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don’t buy a desktop computer with non-user replaceable/upgradeable disks. In an air form factor I can buy the argument that it saves 50 grams or one mm of thickness. In a desktop it’s just ridiculous. Having any other standard than 2.5” or nvme is silly, and ideally a desktop even in the iMac form factor should have at least one empty 2.5” slot.

I don(t disagree but really a 1 TB nvme ssd is around 100e now, there is no reason for this kind of storage limits.

There's a great reason for it: profit! Apple knows their customers will pay because they don't have a choice - their computers are bought for them or their software only runs on macOS.

Re: 27-inch iMac gets a major update

#548

Post by gnicholas » Wed, Aug 05, 2020, 3:41 AM UTC

MultusSalus wrote: post #481

ollysb wrote: post #473

Earlier quoted context omitted.

oof, that is brutal. I just ordered one and assumed it would support it. My imac from way back in 2012 supported it and with connectivity only improving since then it never crossed my mind that it wouldn't support it.

I think that went away with the jump to 5k. I remember some intent to readd it when possible, but I haven’t seen it yet.

Actually, my research shows that the 2009 iMac was the last one that offered this functionality, which is described in 2009 as "27-inch models also support input from external DisplayPort sources (adapters sold separately)."

This matches my recollection that my 2008 iMac had this feature, and the one my wife got in 2012 did not.

2009 Tech Specs: https://support.apple.com/kb/sp696?locale=en_US

2010 Tech Specs: https://support.apple.com/kb/sp588?locale=en_US

Re: 27-inch iMac gets a major update

#549

Post by read_if_gay_ » Wed, Aug 05, 2020, 3:59 AM UTC

tedk-42 wrote: post #499

read_if_gay_ wrote: post #390

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Get a cloud VM and Blink.sh, an SSH/mosh client. You can totally have a Unix environment on the iPad. It's limited, but still pretty powerful.

Pretty sad to see people touting this as a workaround solution. It's still a workaround - possibly the most basic one for any kind of thin client there is. I want a consistent IDE as well and right now, you can't run vscode properly on an iPad. I'm still hopeful that future apple silicon macs will be able to do local development with more grunt than current macs. I guess we'll see.

Yes you can. Look at code-server.

And yes, for doing development on the iPad basically everything is a workaround, but that doesn’t automatically make it worthless. Neither does the fact that it’s basic. I don’t get your criticism.

Re: 27-inch iMac gets a major update

#550

Post by GeertB » Wed, Aug 05, 2020, 4:14 AM UTC

After 3 weeks of waiting, I just got my new iMac. Paid $4399 before tax. Old specs, same price as new one with improved camera, 2 additional cores etc. :-( I can't use Zoom with the camera of the old model, without using a 3rd party tool, as the color balance is way off making everybody purple/red. Sad.