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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

#471

Post by orangecat »

jerf wrote: post #258
tomkarlo wrote: post #252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From the sales charts, it seems this is what the customers want, too. For some reason folks like to believe that Apple is somehow "fooling" customers into buying that experience. What if it's simply what non-developers want? Isn't that a simpler explanation?

The objection is that this isn't mutually exclusive. You can provide all the niceties, and make it so that there are still ways in to the simplified UI so that a nine-year-old can set out on their own and learn things about how the machine works. The companies are using this paradigm shift as an excuse to lock us in a box, they are not locking us in a box because the tech or the experience is only available if they d…

The companies are using this paradigm shift as an excuse to lock us in a box, they are not locking us in a box because the tech or the experience is only available if they do so.

Yes. It's clear that Apple considers the relative openness of Macs a defect which they're only keeping around for backwards compatibility.

unless they manage to fully legislate their locked boxes as the only option... which they are trying to do whenever we aren't looking

Or even when we are. Apple has been quite open about their desire to destroy Android with IP lawsuits, which would leave no significant mobile platform where you can legally run software of your choice. And I won't be at all surprised if the next version of OS X removes root access and the ability to run unsigned apps. (Neither of which you actually need in order to develop software for the app store; your test apps can be signed with a machine-specific key).

That said, I'm still getting the retina MBP as an upgrade from my 2006 model. AFAIK it still supports booting Linux if OS X becomes too user-hostile. It would be nice if every other PC manufacturer hadn't spent the last 5 years making their laptop displays worse, but oh well.

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

#472

Post by orangecat »

WiseWeasel wrote: post #294
SiVal wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If things keep going the way they're going, Apple fanboyism will become less and less of a problem among hackers. Apple appears to be in a gradual transition process from MacOS computers to iOS "Don't worry, just watch the pretty pictures, and we'll tell you which PAY button to press" devices. Windows, not wanting to be left behind selling computers instead of devices (Yuck! Computers! That's SO 20th century), is mak…

I think you're underestimating how much of an obstacle a traditional filesystem is to most people. The cloud integration and appification that seems so restricting to you is sweet, sweet relief for a great deal of people. By catering to them, Apple doesn't take anything away from you; though they do eventually entrap you as well with all that shiny and convenience, which I can understand being resentful about. It's a…

Yes, traditional filesystems have lousy usability. That's orthogonal to whether it should be a federal crime to run unapproved software on "your" hardware, which Apple believes should be the case with iOS.

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

#473

Post by mark_integerdsv »

SiVal wrote: post #386
WiseWeasel wrote: post #294

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you're underestimating how much of an obstacle a traditional filesystem is to most people. The cloud integration and appification that seems so restricting to you is sweet, sweet relief for a great deal of people. By catering to them, Apple doesn't take anything away from you; though they do eventually entrap you as well with all that shiny and convenience, which I can understand being resentful about. It's a…

No, they're not right about it. I completely agree with you that making the computing experience simpler, more like poking buttons on a high-end blender, is what most consumers need. Satisfying what most consumers need is most likely what the companies need. The companies have as much right to want what's best for themselves as I do. They're not doing anything wrong, IMO. That does not automatically make their design…

I think you might be missing the point...

Even customization is becoming easier. Consider the ease of jail breaking iOS vs rooting an Android device along wth the push button tweakability that is Cydia and you quickly realize that even the tinkerer/customiser world is headed for liberation from complexity.

The world of code and hackers and the purity of possibility will always be there but bringing greater Technological ability to all people is an important goal, a worthy challenge and one that the major players all seem to be taking on.

This is a very, very good thing because the dream and power of technology is far too great to be bound to the world of 'power users' and the like. The are wonderfully intelligent and creative people in the world who happen to fall outside of that category and we all stand to gain from their contributions.

It's not abut what's good for you. It's about what good for us.

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

#474

Post by Steko »

BHSPitMonkey wrote: post #395
Steko wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Apple is trying to impose that density is the same thing as resolution" I think you've confused "resolution" with "my preferred resolution". The new MBP has both a higher density and a better resolution then what you're looking for. You may be disappointed but I bet Apple thinks it can make more money by selling 2880x1800 MBPs.

It really depends on how OS X chooses to impose upon how the pixels are used. If the new "retina" desktop is merely a 1440x900 point desktop with much sharper fonts and artwork (much like how the retina iPhones are merely 320x480 point views), then this isn't necessarily desirable to someone who truly wants the higher-resolution workspace.

I thought the Aperture demo gave a pretty clear picture (I'll just show myself out...) of how it's not just sharper text.

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

#475

Post by DeepDuh »

msutherl wrote: post #282
SiVal wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If things keep going the way they're going, Apple fanboyism will become less and less of a problem among hackers. Apple appears to be in a gradual transition process from MacOS computers to iOS "Don't worry, just watch the pretty pictures, and we'll tell you which PAY button to press" devices. Windows, not wanting to be left behind selling computers instead of devices (Yuck! Computers! That's SO 20th century), is mak…

The move toward integrated, worry-free, easy to use products for consumers is a good thing. In order to keep such things being developed, Apple will need to provide an adequate development environment. Thus, Apple has an incentive to keep both worlds alive. The only thing to worry about is that, because they only have the incentive to keep their development ecosystem merely adequate, we won't see much improvement in…

I actually think that besides performance issues on older macbooks, Xcode has developed quite nicely in the recent updates. At least for obj-C it's a pretty productive and powerful environment. I definitely prefer it over VS2008 and lower, haven't yet had the chance to work with the newer VS versions though. I like eclipse too, however the panel management in XCode is so much easier - I don't see anymore why you would need a fully controllable widget-docking space that you have to micromanage until everything works the way you want it.

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

#476

Post by mattgreenrocks »

jarek wrote: post #295
mattgreenrocks wrote: post #250

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Power users" are probably the single worst demographic of all of them. Overly demanding, opinionated, and sometimes ill-informed.

And their early adopter mindset! Ugh, I don't see why anyone would want to target them at all.

Well, I did overlook that.

I suppose I've read one too many "why does my computer use all its RAM?!?!" threads...

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

#477

Post by orangecat »

alexobenauer wrote: post #235
zyb09 wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a real flaw, a old 15" MBP with 1680x1050 would practically be a better choice. This is just dumb, that a 2880x1800 display is worse than a 1680x1050 display because of the way the software handles these resolutions. Unless I'm missing something...

That's interesting... I didn't realize this until you said it. I currently have the 15" MBP at 1680x1050. Buying the new retina display would be a downgrade in screen real estate, since it would show an equivalent 1440x900. Sure it would be crisper, but when I'm developing on my laptop, it's all about screen real estate. This is odd.

In the worst case, the OS widgets will take up more space than you'd like. But for development most of your display is text, and you'll be able to significantly reduce the font size and maintain readability.

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

#478

Post by orangecat »

jaems33 wrote: post #436

The more annoying problem is the storage: the lowest end model only holds 256 GB with absolutely no option on checkout to upgrade. And because it's soldered on, one can't simply install an upgrade themselves. So, in order for me to just get double the amount, I have to spend a minimum $600 extra.

Although with USB3, you can get external storage that's both cheap and fast. Often not convenient for portable use, but great for a desktop replacement.

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

#479

Post by kbutler »

sfk wrote: post #431
jarek wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We need to remember that it's the nature of technology to continuously improve. We tend to take it for granted, but that is because continuous improvement has been that reliable. 2 MP 15" displays were available in 2002 and were a $2000-laptop technology by 2006 if not earlier. It is not surprising that 5 MP 15" displays are $2000-laptop technology six years later.

Display technology has been stagnating for decades. The "retina" display (if it is as good as promised) might be the first display that matches the quality of ancient IBM flexview displays or rarities like this one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_T220/T221_LCD_monitors So I'm having issues with the statement that technology continuously improves. In many areas that's just not true.

"Decades".

Stagnating for decades?

Two decades ago (1992), where was your high-resolution LCD monitor?

The link shows a high-res flat panel monitor that was announced for production at $18,000 about a decade ago. Technology improves, price comes down. Call it about a 20% year-over-year cost reduction for the decade.

It may be more accurate to say that technology mainstream technology improves in leaps and surges, rather than "continuously". Sometimes the same technology gets cheaper, sometimes new technology replaces older technology, but next year's is almost always better and/or cheaper than last year's.

That said, I am delighted that the improvement in laptop displays is shifting back to "better" instead of just "cheaper".

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

#480

Post by orangecat »

jarek wrote: post #271
electrograv wrote: post #154

This may be a bit off-topic, but I have to wonder why I see laptop screens with much higher resolution than desktop monitors. It just seems so backwards (in terms of practical use) that as screen size increases, the screen resolution seems to decrease . So now in many ways most desktop rigs are inferior to a 15" laptop as far as productivity goes. My intuition for the cause, is that the more surface area of the scree…

I don't think that really holds. I had a cheap 2048x1152 23" monitor in 2009. Excepting very rare 2048x1536 15" laptop displays, it was comparable in pixel count to the previously-top 1920x1200 laptop resolution. The iMacs have had a 2560x1440 27" option since 2009 and I'd expect the next update to go higher. There have been 2560x1440 or similar 30" displays for a while, my boss was using one in early 2009 or so, 288…

you should also remember that most 15" laptops are 1280x800 or 1440x900.

Today, most are the appalling 1366x768. I have to give Apple major points for sticking with decent resolutions and 16:10.

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