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MacBook Pro gets Retina Display; MacBook Air updated with Ivy Bridge

arstechnica.com

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Re: MacBook Pro gets Retina Display; MacBook Air updated with Ivy Bridge

#331

Post by X-Istence »

rbanffy wrote: post #262
jurre wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, they actually all use windows!

Microsoft has a very strong technology evangelizing program targeted at upper education. They almost pay colleges to offer Windows-centric courses and Windows-only labs. The Linux users generally consider OSX a nice Linux-like OS that lacks a decent package manager ;-) Much like Microsoft, the hardware is great. Disclaimer: I am mostly a Linux user who also uses Macs for certain tasks.

I actually argued against the Windowsification of all of the classes in my college and pushed back at every opportunity. I don't think it makes sense for a college that is teaching computer science to dedicate all of their resources and tools on Windows only software. C++ is used outside of Microsoft Visual Studio, and the code that works in VS will most likely not even compile due to not being standards compliant (Although VS2010 has gotten MUCH better at it than older versions).

Many of my teachers eventually would relent and realise that yes I was right. TCP/IP is one of the classes I took in which Windows was required. TCP/IP is a network protocol, it is available in all major OS's. I turned in entire assignments with a simple note "Windows required, don't have Windows." Luckily I didn't end up getting docked points because they realised I already knew all of the information in the course.

One thing that was really nice, and I am surprised none of the teachers used it against me was the fact that with MSDNAA I as a student had access to thousands of dollars worth of Microsoft software. You name it I could download a free legal copy of it for use during my tenure at college as a student. Microsoft seems to have that on lock. What better way to get students to play with your platform than to have them use all your tools and software free of charge. Windows 7, Visual Studio, SQL, SharePoint, Exchange and others.

Re: MacBook Pro gets Retina Display; MacBook Air updated with Ivy Bridge

#332

Post by gmurphy »

bermanoid wrote: post #187
steverb wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be frank, Apple makes awesome Windows PCs. Their Windows drivers are quite good also. Still hate the placement of the control key on the keyboard though, but I am slowly becoming acclimated to it.

Remap caps lock to control, and you'll be a lot more comfortable. Unless you use that other text editor, you know, the one that makes you always have to reach for the escape key...in that case, I suppose you should map it to escape instead.

Except there's a 200ms delay on the Capslock key to prevent accidental activations. Because this is built into the hardware, it means that even if you remap, if you press the second key really quickly after the first, the character ends up getting inserted into your document. It's ridiculously annoying.

Re: MacBook Pro gets Retina Display; MacBook Air updated with Ivy Bridge

#333

Post by swalsh »

dangrossman wrote: post #309
swalsh wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sure as LTE gets going, you'll see 4g built in. I would bet you could fit 4 antennas in one. Which would give you some amazing throughput in a 4x8 MIMO setup. Of course the interference from the computer might cause a lot of issues?

There's no technology problem waiting to be solved. Laptop manufacturers could build in LTE chipsets today if they wanted to. The issue is that no cell carrier wants them to; it would create demand they're not prepared to meet. The current trend is just the opposite -- to lower monthly limits and increase prices for 4G data services. Creating more demand would just lead to cities where there are more people connected…

> it would create demand they're not prepared to meet.

So what you're saying is carriers are not "technically" prepared to handle it? I wonder if 4g has any new technologies to handle making more efficient use of resources?

From my understanding of LTE, there's a lot of cool things being prepared in the specifications for 4G that make this scenario less burdensome. For instance femtocells are likely to become more common. I personally know of a specific carrier that's working on a technology so you can share resources between two sectors. OFDM in particular is good for minimizing interference which should allow networks to become more dense, I believe as technology evolves there's a lot of benefits to even the carriers to allow users to use 4G from their laptop.

Re: MacBook Pro gets Retina Display; MacBook Air updated with Ivy Bridge

#334

Post by robomartin »

drivebyacct2 wrote: post #107
jurre wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I study computer science and the amount of banter I get from fellow students for using a macbook air is unbelievable. Other people usually seem quite ok with it, although self proclaimed power users usually seem to have an opinion about it.

This is just rich to me. Yes, enjoy your Visual Studio and broken command line, I'll be using lightweight tools and an actual POSIX command line. *edit: Wow, -10? Sorry, I was just sharing my experience of being mocked by people who proudly brag about their Windows 7 machine and are barely proficient at .NET programming who give me a hard time because "Macs are lame and Windows is for geeks". Didn't know there were s…

I don't believe in down-voting without an explanation. Here's mine:

These Mac vx. PC arguments now beyond ridiculous. To those of us for whom computers are tools and not just a way to get on Facebook the metric should not be emotion or fan-boy-ism but rather applicability, efficiency, utility, cost and other factors.

I have a roughly equal number of PC's and Macs. I use both. I enjoy both. I get angry at both. There are good things with both OS's and there are thorn-in-my-ass problems with both. Welcome to having choices. As tools they are both fantastic. I love having unix behind the scenes with MacOS. Brilliant decision on their part. On the PC side, I have come to appreciate the non-nonsense cost-effectiveness of the platform. I have very powerful workstations setup for FEA fluid and heat simulation that cost a fraction of what our nicely-equipped Mac Pro's cost. And they rock.

I could say more but have to get back to work. There you go, a downvote with an explanation.

Re: MacBook Pro gets Retina Display; MacBook Air updated with Ivy Bridge

#335

Post by jonpacker »

dirkdeman wrote: post #311

Why for heaven's sake is the new macbook pro €2279 when it's only $2199 in the US? It's a beautiful machine, and I'm used to some price differences between the US and Europe (USD = EUR, right, Apple?) but this is outrageous! That's almost 500 dolars more...

Presumably because the € price includes VAT (which is usually 20%+ in the EU), and the US$ price does not. The real US price would vary by state, and they usually don't show the amount of sales tax on the purchase price. This is a tax thing, not an apple thing.

Re: MacBook Pro gets Retina Display; MacBook Air updated with Ivy Bridge

#336

Post by stan_rogers »

jakeonthemove wrote: post #273

2880x1800 pixels on a 15.4 inch display? That's pretty impressive from a technical stand point, but I can't see how it's going to be useful in real life - I find 1680x1050 to be at the threshold of usability for me. 1600x900 is perfect on a 15.6, and 1920x1080 is the maximum I'd go for on a 17 inch display. Any higher and I'd just connect a bigger external display... Can anyone give me an idea of what this resolution…

I'm still using a couple of ancient 15.6" Windows laptops (the cool kids all laugh at me) because they have 1920x1080 and 1920x1200 displays -- and I'm in my fifties, finding that my arms get shorter and shorter every year (that is, creeping presbyopia -- combined with myopia -- means that I need different glasses for everything now). Apart from text-based activity (development and such), I do a considerable amount of image manipulation using Photoshop and plugins. Current-model affordable machines tend to have resolutions that are far too small for my day-to-day use, making me choose between UI elements and what I'm working on. 1600x900 is far too restrictive (and yes, I own a machine with that resolution), and I'd really like the option of taking my work with me without carting around a separate monitor (the reason I use laptops in the first place).

Re: MacBook Pro gets Retina Display; MacBook Air updated with Ivy Bridge

#337

Post by pkamb »

jemeshsu wrote: post #316
pkamb wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Optical drive has gone the way of the floppy on the "next generation" MacBook Pro. It's still there on the "old" MacBook Pros that just got a spec bump today.

Not so sure about the updated MacBook Pro as the spec sheet does not list a optical drive. So it might also be gone.

http://images.apple.com/macbook-pro/performance/13-and-15-in...

Re: MacBook Pro gets Retina Display; MacBook Air updated with Ivy Bridge

#338

Post by X-Istence »

_b8r0 wrote: post #180
ageektrapped wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Speaking as a Windows user who uses a Mac for dev on iOS: you will be frustrated by Mac OS, at least initially. I've been using Mac OS daily for over a year and I still find Windows superior in many ways. This is my opinion, of course. Not trying to change minds or trolling. That retina display is dead sexy though.

As someone using the 2011 Macbook (bought about a month ago) I have to say some things really annoy me in OSX, some things less so. I'm slowly getting used to the Mac way of doing things, but still occasionally cmd-L to lock my screen only to find I have to go to a hot corner instead.

You can use Ctrl + Shift + Eject to lock your screen, also if you open up Keychain Access, then in options (Apple + ,) select "Show keychain status in menu bar", now you have a lock that shows up next to the rest of the menu bar icons, clicking on it provides an option named "Lock screen".

Re: MacBook Pro gets Retina Display; MacBook Air updated with Ivy Bridge

#339

Post by Inufu »

fjorder wrote: post #213
natural219 wrote: post #8

I have been a Windows user my whole life. As a hacker who has recently moved to San Francisco, I've continuously battled Apple fanboys and Linux fanatics alike on why I love Windows and absolutely do not understand why people want to switch platforms. Then I watched this keynote. I'm buying a Macbook Pro.

I've spent a reasonable amount of time using Windows, Linux, and OSX. All of them suck. All of them are also awesome, at different things. If you want an living room PC for entertainment, Windows is king. Neither Linux or OSX support Bluray properly and Windows still has a huge edge in gaming. Windows also supports the most hardware. That's become unimportant to most people, but if you work in a research lab with var…

I have found that XBMC makes for the ultimate entertainment PC. Simply install Ubuntu, put XBMC in autostart and enjoy. It catalogs all the movies and TV shows you've got on your HDDs and displays them in a stunning UI.

Re: MacBook Pro gets Retina Display; MacBook Air updated with Ivy Bridge

#340

Post by X-Istence »

jroll wrote: post #204
_b8r0 wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone using the 2011 Macbook (bought about a month ago) I have to say some things really annoy me in OSX, some things less so. I'm slowly getting used to the Mac way of doing things, but still occasionally cmd-L to lock my screen only to find I have to go to a hot corner instead.

Try Lock Me Now [1], which lets you lock your screen from the menu bar or configure a keyboard shortcut. [1] http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lock-me-now/id464265594?mt=12

Why a separate app when Keychain Access already supports this out of the box?
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