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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

#201

Post by fastball »

someonehere wrote: post #196

I bought a Microsoft Surface laptop 13” for work to test builds with. That laptop has a headphone port, USB-A, USB-C and a proprietary Microsoft port the power adapter plugs into. Don’t have that adapter handy while traveling? You can still charge it via the USB-C port with another charger. I can see Apple copying another facet of Microsoft’s Surface line. The other being the Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro.

That sounds like a terrible idea. Why have a proprietary charge port if it can also charge with USB-C?

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

#202

Post by fastball »

vemv wrote: post #181

Honestly I've never understood why laptops are so strongly associated with developer culture. They are inefficient and conflated machines - two things that tend to be contradictory with software engineering. More practically, many people find themselves completely dependent on Apple's design whims. Mac Pros (or server racks in general) are closer to the kinds of machines that we deploy to (they use Xeons for one thin…

One of the best things about being a software developer in 2021 is that I can do it from almost anywhere.

I'm not lugging my Mac Pro to a cafe. I'm certainly not taking it on a trip.

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

#203

Post by atonse »

1996 wrote: post #100
BlackVanilla wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love this and have considered doing it myself. However, what worries me is whether using a single power adapter will shorten the life of devices which require different levels of wattage. Sure you can use the same USB-C cable, but the benefit is largely diminished if you have to carry a bunch of different power adapters for each device's unique wattage. Or am I worrying about this unnecessarily?

> Or am I worrying about this unnecessarily? You are. Provide a lot of amps. Each device will take just as much as it needs. So err on the side of more watts - it will even help your batteries charge faster. The only thing that can be diminished with fast charging is the number of battery cycles (the battery lifetime) so set a low charging engage (only charge if 90%) in your bios: this will increase your battery life…

I got excited at the idea that I could set those thresholds on my MacBook (like on a Tesla) but then realized when you said BIOS that you’re talking about a PC.

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

#204

Post by yourapostasy »

BluSyn wrote: 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…

Not a fan of Apple's USB-C port implementation. Loosened ports that no longer "click" when a cable is plugged in is a common problem [1], and plagued my MacBook Pro straight out of the box. Even after getting it fixed under AppleCare, planting the laptop on a cradle at my standing desk, then leaving it there for months with no activity due to WFH for the pandemic, a dozen cable insertions of a USB-C drive last week and it started on one of the ports again.

If Louis Rossman had a more permanent fix with a third-party compatible port part that is far more durable, I'd send my now-un-AppleCare'd laptop to him in a heartbeat.

[1] https://appletoolbox.com/are-your-macbook-usb-c-ports-loose/

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

#205

Post by Brozilean »

fastball wrote: post #201
someonehere wrote: post #196

I bought a Microsoft Surface laptop 13” for work to test builds with. That laptop has a headphone port, USB-A, USB-C and a proprietary Microsoft port the power adapter plugs into. Don’t have that adapter handy while traveling? You can still charge it via the USB-C port with another charger. I can see Apple copying another facet of Microsoft’s Surface line. The other being the Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro.

That sounds like a terrible idea. Why have a proprietary charge port if it can also charge with USB-C?

Why would having multiple options be bad? It doesn't turn the usb c port into a useless port or anything?

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

#206

Post by mstade »

BluSyn wrote: 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…

I’m with you, for all the listed reasons. Travel is so much easier now that I’ve usb-c-ified all the things. The only thing I wasn’t able to find a usb-c option for (back in the dizzy) was a 4g modem, but that’s ok I just stopped using it altogether and started tethering my phone or iPad instead. I often use my iPad Pro as a second screen, so usb-c there also. I do carry a small dongle that I got just in case, but I think I’ve used it maybe five times in the past two years.

I really don’t miss MagSafe, and I find the MagSafe usb-c adaptor solutions one can easily get these days to be quite a good compromise for those that truly want it.

The only thing bothering me is that lightning connectors are still a thing on iPhones. The second they release a usb-c phone I’m getting it. Usb-c all the things!

Oh almost forgot, hard pass on replacing the Touch Bar though. I know people hate it, but for me it’s much more useful than Fn-keys. I don’t miss them, and once the Touch Bar with a physical escape key showed up that was it – perfection. I hope they keep Touch Bar as an option at least, brilliant piece of design in my opinion.

As always, mileage varies etc.

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

#207

Post by fastball »

scyzoryk_xyz wrote: post #130
Mistri wrote: post #90

I'm excited about everything mentioned in the rumors, except for the "flat edge design similar to the iPhone 12". One of my favorite parts of the MacBook design is how easy it is to pick up off of a flat surface with one hand. The tapers help me slide my fingers underneath the computer to hold on. I feel like if there is a flat edge, it'll be hard to grip on the side unless you're using 2 hands.

Fair point. I do think that they have a team in place to make these decisions and the experience you’re describing was thoroughly tested and designed already. One thing they’re frequently berated for is an emphasis on visual aesthetics. But I think that’s a misunderstanding - they design for function, and the aesthetic pleasure comes from that function. I suspect they will find a way to make these match the visual lo…

They definitely have not been designing for function over form, at least while Jony Ive was there without Jobs to curtail his worst impulses.

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

#208

Post by fastball »

someonehere wrote: post #194

Of course Ive pushed the design this way. He also designed the Apple Watch to be a design centric device and didn’t want it to be about health. I wonder if any of these design choices are what led to him leaving. I’m almost confident a consensus was around one of these major changes he bet on and leadership heard all the nasty feedback across the web. Maybe Ive took it personally and just decided his time was over.

Ive was terrible for Apple as soon as Jobs was no longer there to curb his worst impulses. He's a great designer, but he's the kinda guy you want designing your concept cars, not your production vehicles.

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

#209

Post by jahnu »

fastball wrote: post #201
someonehere wrote: post #196

I bought a Microsoft Surface laptop 13” for work to test builds with. That laptop has a headphone port, USB-A, USB-C and a proprietary Microsoft port the power adapter plugs into. Don’t have that adapter handy while traveling? You can still charge it via the USB-C port with another charger. I can see Apple copying another facet of Microsoft’s Surface line. The other being the Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro.

That sounds like a terrible idea. Why have a proprietary charge port if it can also charge with USB-C?

Because it's a magnetic port similar to magsafe.

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

#210

Post by toper-centage »

fastball wrote: post #201
someonehere wrote: post #196

I bought a Microsoft Surface laptop 13” for work to test builds with. That laptop has a headphone port, USB-A, USB-C and a proprietary Microsoft port the power adapter plugs into. Don’t have that adapter handy while traveling? You can still charge it via the USB-C port with another charger. I can see Apple copying another facet of Microsoft’s Surface line. The other being the Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro.

That sounds like a terrible idea. Why have a proprietary charge port if it can also charge with USB-C?

I had an XPS that had both and indeed it was useless to have a port for just charging. But if the charging port is also used for magsafe that makes it worth it.
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