disappointed with the design refresh or lack thereof. also disappointed with the subpar camera, 8gb ram as base spec. so thanks but i will pass
Introducing the next generation of Mac
491–500 of 1001 posts
Re: Introducing the next generation of Mac
#492Earlier quoted context omitted.
The only bad thing about the current 16" is the Touch Bar. There is a lot to like about the rest though.
Is the keyboard less awful now compared to say 2018-19 15" MBPs?
much better than those but a far cry from the one they killed off in 2015. feels like half the key travel.
Re: Introducing the next generation of Mac
#493Earlier quoted context omitted.
Perhaps this pricing was brought about by the same head injury that caused someone in management to believe 8GB is an adequate base spec for RAM in 2020.
It is definitely an adequate base spec. What would the random MacBook user fill 16GB of RAM with?
Chrome?
Re: Introducing the next generation of Mac
#494I wonder, is the 8GB vs. 16GB "unified memory" the kind of thing where all of the hardware actually has 16GB, but they disable half of it to sell the lower price version? Like Tesla's Model S 40 kwh?
Probably binning where faulty memory gets disabled and flagged as a 8GB chip? Intel did that for the 486SX processor 30 years ago. The 486 was the first x86 CPU with an integrated FPU. Chips that failed the FPU test were sold as cheaper 486SX with the FPU disabled.
I've never heard that the 486SX was a binned 486 - my impression was that it was a deliberate choice done during manufacture. Wikipedia backs up my recollection: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_80486SX
Re: Introducing the next generation of Mac
#495Straw poll: I need a new development machine, price is not an object but it has to be a Mac. Should I buy this new M1 or go with the Intel 16 inch MBP? My gut says there’s going to be a year or two of cross-compilation nightmares. I do a lot of Docker-based development. Wondering what everyone else thinks?
With Rosetta a lot of x86_64 programs actually do work, and the porting to arm64 is not _that_ bad.
Besides you get all iPhone/iPad apps :)
Re: Introducing the next generation of Mac
#496Earlier quoted context omitted.
Air only has passive cooling; Pro has a fan.
So the Pro should be able to maintain higher clock speeds for longer, is the assumption?
Yes, that is almost certainly the case. They didn’t mention clock speed at all though so we’ll have to wait for real-world tests.
Re: Introducing the next generation of Mac
#497I don't understand the pricing of the MacBook Air vs the 13" Pro. The Air ($1249) vs 13" Pro ($1299), you get: - same CPU - same GPU - same Neural chip - same RAM (8gb) - More storage for the Air (512gb vs 256gb with 13" Pro) - You get Touch Bar with 13" Pro So if you don't care about the Touch Bar, you actually get with the Air: - better specs - smaller device footprint - and $50 cheaper. Am I missing something?
I literally had to cancel orders after noticing this as well, was very confusing even for a developer.
Also, what's the difference between the left and the right versions? just the storage? can't you configure the storage? why do they make it look like there are 2 different options.
Re: Introducing the next generation of Mac
#498I wonder, is the 8GB vs. 16GB "unified memory" the kind of thing where all of the hardware actually has 16GB, but they disable half of it to sell the lower price version? Like Tesla's Model S 40 kwh?
Probably binning where faulty memory gets disabled and flagged as a 8GB chip? Intel did that for the 486SX processor 30 years ago. The 486 was the first x86 CPU with an integrated FPU. Chips that failed the FPU test were sold as cheaper 486SX with the FPU disabled.
That's not the only way they "bin" things. some have one time blow fuses and they will disable parts of the chip if they are being "lean" and just manufacture towards the number they expect to sell of each version. . It costs about as much to make one with an FPU or without it from a chip manufacturing point of view.
Re: Introducing the next generation of Mac
#499Earlier quoted context omitted.
Perhaps this pricing was brought about by the same head injury that caused someone in management to believe 8GB is an adequate base spec for RAM in 2020.
It is definitely an adequate base spec. What would the random MacBook user fill 16GB of RAM with?
More than one electron app?
Re: Introducing the next generation of Mac
#500Apple mentioned in the event that these Macs will have hardware verified secure boot. Since I’m not very knowledgeable in this area, can someone explain (or even try to guess) what this would/could mean for running Linux on these? I use Macs way beyond Apple’s support timeframe with OS X/macOS, and Linux is the one that runs on some of the older Macs and provides adequate security and security related software update…
Take action: buy a Mac, and return it. If they want to know why, tell them¹. Repeat for every new model. ¹ They will have to give you a full refund: it's your right as a consumer. Note that this may not work for companies.
Who downvoted your comment and why ?
This is a good comment and good strategy to teach them a lesson. Without some efforts those companies would not recall moral values. Richard Stallman was warning us about this development long ago and he was right. Cripled hardware is useless for hacking mind.