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Apple's MacBook revival plan: Bring back old features

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Re: Apple's MacBook revival plan: Bring back old features

#61
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you take photos or videos with a camera other than an iDevice? I do, and I have to use a dongle every time to transfer data. Those wifi SD cards are a joke. I agree that they should not remove USB-C charging. People by now have powerbanks, or USB-C ports in their car that would stop working. However, my daily driver still is the 87W charger that came with the MBP, for the simple reason that it’s the fastest option…

Maybe I’m being naive, but when a common IO interface has been pretty much standardized for several years, I’m confused by why people are asking the companies dedicated to the standard to make exceptions and not asking the companies stuck on exceptions to adopt the standards.

Because replacing a DSLR is really expensive, but an SD card port is cheap. And even if it worked with USB-C, I would still need a cable between them.

Re: Apple's MacBook revival plan: Bring back old features

#62
Since 2015 I cannot even choose Mac Book Pro that would just fit for work with all that idiocy with touch bars, malfunctioning keyboards, lack of SD card slot and idiotic dongles, instead of working horse that has everything you need and makes things simpler, not harder.

But even MBP 2015 had gracefully died just recently having the best user care from me you can possibly imagine. This really encourages to move away from Macs. I do not wish to pay premium money for shitty equipment.

This 2015 model have just fallen apart, starting with screws that by some unknown to me reason where unscrewing themselves and you cannot not tight them back because some idiot made them non standard to make sure you really cannot do it, not even with the knife.

Then I discovered that screen has traces of buttons after closing the lid. Then I discovered those small traces are unremovable. Nice design.

Then battery even with a proper care died anyway after third of a cycles it suppose to have.

Then SD Card slot was reading only some of the cards, while cheap neighbour’s laptop had no problem reading all of them.

Then I discovered that connecting MBP to external monitor gets it heated too much to the level that loud funs make it unusable.

Then internal screen stopped working completely.

Then after some time this shit failed to boot at all ( even with external display).

I should also mention power cord ( with cheap plastic) that became yellow and was not always connecting , while it was carefully kept from banding too much.

HDMI that in critical situation did not work, with the best cable you can get.

Mac OS that was constantly confusing where the main screen is, forgetting the ‘mirror’ option at will and so on....

Overall the experience is horrible.

I have other models from previous years and nothing like that had happened.

And I am told MBP 15inch mid2015 is considered to be one of the best models from recent years, as after mid 2015 models are even worse, not mentioning lack connectivity that renders them useless for mobility I need.

So looking at the way Mac is made these days finally I hear something sane as I am not at all convinced they would continue to sell ‘tons of Macs’ in the following years otherwise.

I think only inertia saves them in such situation but for how long? In my case I cannot move from the platform now because naively I’ve decided to write a ‘proper File Manager’ for Mac. I am using what I wrote and I simply cannot live without it. I also cannot leave it unfinished as this would be a huge waste of effort. So I’ll have to finish it, and only then think of porting it to other platforms.

Right now I do not know even what do. Buy another 2015 one ?which could fall apart just as this one did? Buy new model? But which new model? They do not even have a model I need and looking at the quality of the shit I was counting on ... well, I see really no good options. Those with Touch-bars are unacceptable, smaller screens then 15 inch too. I would actually wish 17 inch for work in case some one sane from apple is reading. I wish model that have _all_ possible connections including USB3 which are still around a lot so I would not have to think about those stupid issues and concentrate on my work. And I have a lot of work. This is the way and how it _should be_ with a ‘proper laptop’.

Concentrate all _necessary_ ports_ on one left side at least pwr and video ports so I would not have dongkes or “Y” shape wires when you hold machine whike connected to external screen. Put only redundancy ports on the other side, and yes we need redundancy ports.

Bring magsafe back, this was good as long as the cable is not cheap-made so it can band nicely if required.

Having IRreceiver never hurts anyone especially those who have bought apple IR remote. I was using it when teaching tango for controlling music remotely so I do not have to run to the machine each time I wish to say something. It was so convenient, now for the same thing I had to make custom dongle with arduino.

There is no need for huge trackpad, the previous size was good enough and calming because you do not worry about palm faulty touches.

Half sized left/right keys where better then full sized, so you would not confuse them with alt-key. Why there is no ctrl on the right side? It inconsistent with left side and inconsistent with full-sized keyboards for muscle memory. And do not dare to remove it from big ones, please.

Oh yes, and bring me back my line-in as separated socket! Big thanks to one ’smart genius’ who removed it in 2015 model, combining it with phones port. Also this ‘genius’ made sure to activate it _only_ automatically with Apple headphones to create as much troubles as possible to connect my guitar on the go.

More then that, when you connect phones to listen what you are recording, and already agree to stupidity of recording sketch through the mic instead of a proper line-in you cannot choose what mic to use. Thus you cannot choose one built-in , so you end up recording with mic on the phones wire near your neck hitting your shirt or guitar as you play. ‘thank you very very very much’ for that. It has spoiled many good moods.

I wander about those who design those Mac Book Pro’s ... did they ever tried their creations or thought forward about real life situations and applications ? Or after Jobs there is no one who can do it and see how laptop should function?

If they so wish their touchbars, why not to put them _above_ function keys ?! Make option to turn them off completely if required so they would not disturb at night or stand on the way. They never heard of people with muscle memory? It is that hard? Goodness, it’s so obvious. I can go on and on ...

I feel I was robbed really with this 2015 model, I wish I could use those money for something more useful ...

Re: Apple's MacBook revival plan: Bring back old features

#63
post #14

My controversial hot take-- I have never needed an SD card, and have gone all-in on USB-C. I will be very disappointed if they add back in USB-A/HDMI/SD ports, or remove USB-C charging in favor of proprietary charge port. Sounds like unnecessary feature bloat. Please just do MagSage + USB-C, so I can maintain my one-cable-for-everything, making traveling lighter and simpler. Here's my counter argument to all those th…

Same here. I like the touch bar but unless they find a way to make it feasible on a Bluetooth magic keyboard, I’d rather have no touch bar for consistency. If they are going to kill it they should have killed it with the first M1 MacBooks.

I’m also all in on USB-c (even my shaver uses it for charging) and don’t miss MagSafe at all. Charging from either side is surprisingly handy. One charger for everything is a traveling game changer. $50 worth of charger and dongles has a permanent spot in my luggage.

Hopefully MagSafe in this case means wireless iPhone charging. I just don’t need MagSafe power in. I especially don’t need it now that the battery life is so long. I charge at my desk and if I use my MacBook somewhere else I don’t even take a charger with me.

That being said I wouldn’t mind one USB-a and one HDMI port. Since the rumour is for a less rounded design I guess the edge thickness may be enough to easily support those.

Re: Apple's MacBook revival plan: Bring back old features

#64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s working for me. I like being able to plug my laptop, tablet, and switch into the same charger.

Funny that you brought up the Switch, because its USB-C port is a huge mess: https://switchchargers.com/faq/ - you won't, for example, be able to use the same cable to connect both your laptop and your Switch to a monitor. You're also advised against using some laptop chargers. And so on.

I had to do a bit a of research, but I found an hdmi dongle and charger that work with both my switch and my MacBook and it’s been really nice for travelling.

Re: Apple's MacBook revival plan: Bring back old features

#65
post #53

I'd love if it had an excellent webcam. I imagined the M1 would have a better webcam than the 2015 Retina MBP but instead the newest built-in webcams are significantly worse in quality. I'd imagine including a camera system from an iPhone would make a huge difference for Apple's users given the popularity of remote meetings these days.

Unfortunately the back lid is not thick enough for that - even the iPhone isn't thick enough for the iPhone camera system, hence the "bump". I actually wouldn't mind something closer to the iPad + magic keyboard design in a pro macbook, which would have the thickness needed for a significantly better camera.

Why not have a bump in the MacBook screen with a small penalty in trackpad size?

Re: Apple's MacBook revival plan: Bring back old features

#66
post #14

My controversial hot take-- I have never needed an SD card, and have gone all-in on USB-C. I will be very disappointed if they add back in USB-A/HDMI/SD ports, or remove USB-C charging in favor of proprietary charge port. Sounds like unnecessary feature bloat. Please just do MagSage + USB-C, so I can maintain my one-cable-for-everything, making traveling lighter and simpler. Here's my counter argument to all those th…

>However vast majority of the time I use external keyboard+trackpad+monitor ... > one-cable-for-everything, making traveling lighter

How those two work together? Do you take external monitor , trackpad and keyboard with you ? It looks like most of the time you are not using your laptop as a laptop, when you need everything on the go and you wish to be prepared for diff scenarios. Then you wish laptop as much packed as possible and preferably nothing else, so you would avoid caring many dongles with you.

Re: Apple's MacBook revival plan: Bring back old features

#67

The article's criticism of the 12-inch MacBook are preposterous. The 2 lb Macbook is the best laptop I've ever owned, by far. Maybe I'm too sensitive about weight, but I feel an incredible difference between 3 lb and 2 lb laptops, especially if its sitting on your lap for extended periods of time. The keyboard and charger have never once been a hindrance to my workflow, as the article makes it out be. I really wish A…

Like everyone else, I love the MacBook 12. Give me one with a M-series, at the same (or less) weight, with Touch ID and the new keyboard. Like others, I don’t need more than 1 port. Not discounting anyone else’s need for it, but after living with it for a few years I really don’t need additional ports.

Re: Apple's MacBook revival plan: Bring back old features

#68
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you take photos or videos with a camera other than an iDevice? I do, and I have to use a dongle every time to transfer data. Those wifi SD cards are a joke. I agree that they should not remove USB-C charging. People by now have powerbanks, or USB-C ports in their car that would stop working. However, my daily driver still is the 87W charger that came with the MBP, for the simple reason that it’s the fastest option…

My camera, like many modern ones, has USB-C and can transfer photos over Wi-Fi, so I find it pretty convenient to connect to a Mac.

Some, but not most. And cameras have a lot longer life than other tech, so my guess would be that 99% of cameras in use don’t have the ability to connect via USB-C.

Re: Apple's MacBook revival plan: Bring back old features

#69
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you take photos or videos with a camera other than an iDevice? I do, and I have to use a dongle every time to transfer data. Those wifi SD cards are a joke. I agree that they should not remove USB-C charging. People by now have powerbanks, or USB-C ports in their car that would stop working. However, my daily driver still is the 87W charger that came with the MBP, for the simple reason that it’s the fastest option…

Maybe I’m being naive, but when a common IO interface has been pretty much standardized for several years, I’m confused by why people are asking the companies dedicated to the standard to make exceptions and not asking the companies stuck on exceptions to adopt the standards.

How do I plug in a storage device without it sticking out if it’s not an SD card in an SD port?

Re: Apple's MacBook revival plan: Bring back old features

#70

The article's criticism of the 12-inch MacBook are preposterous. The 2 lb Macbook is the best laptop I've ever owned, by far. Maybe I'm too sensitive about weight, but I feel an incredible difference between 3 lb and 2 lb laptops, especially if its sitting on your lap for extended periods of time. The keyboard and charger have never once been a hindrance to my workflow, as the article makes it out be. I really wish A…

I also love MB 12!
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