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The new MacBook

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Re: The new MacBook

#111
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The combo of thinner/lighter/no fan is pretty awesome in my opinion. These aren't for peopled doing hardcore computing, they're for people doing hardcore commuting really.

Do you have a source for the "no fan" bit? If the Core M processor can deliver the same performance as a Haswell ultrabook processor (i.e. the previous Air) without requiring a fan or getting unreasonably hot, I think that's a pretty nice feature.

The live feed on Mac Rumors says no fan.

"What's on the inside is just as innovative as the outside. Latest unibody architecture. New MacBook has no fan at all."

Re: The new MacBook

#112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm glad apple picked this up after so many others pushed it forward :) To be fair, Apple had a lot of people on the USB-C standards... 'committee', second only to Intel. Source: http://www.theverge.com/2015/1/6/7505187/apple-macbook-2015-...

Not to denigrate their work, but this happened very very late in the type-C game. (Look at who attended what meetings, and where it was proposed, how far it was along when it was proposed, and then when apple started showing up. It looks like they saw the writing on the wall, and joined in to make sure they weren't going to get left behind)

Probably realized that they needed to go with USB-C because of cars, European regulations, etc. Finally, everyone is using one connector. PC, Mac, Android, and iOS?

Re: The new MacBook

#113

Are there things here where Apple is significantly further ahead than the competition? Innovating on keyboards, trackpad, battery life, power usage and form factor - there just seem to be innovating simultaneously on more levels than the competition. Another thing - that vibrating trackpad gizmo feels like a couple of innovations away from true touch feedback on an iPhone? Any thoughts?

Apple's role here is often to be more opinionated, or braver, than others. They were the first to adopt USB, first to stop shipping floppy drives, first to ditch optical drives, first to make high-DPI ('retina') displays a standard feature... they are willing to be the one who goes out there and says 'we all know this is where things are going - so let's quit pussy-footing around and just do it'. This new MacBook ann…

Plenty of laptop manufacturers had laptops without optical drives before Apple, so I'm guessing you mean across the whole line?

Re: The new MacBook

#114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The thing about Apple's lineup is that they offer both main lines: the MacBook Pro caters to users who want thin with great battery life, while the Air caters to those who prefer a lighter laptop while still maintaining good battery life.

Or quad-core CPUs

Naturally, but that's secondary in a debate about battery vs. thickness.

Re: The new MacBook

#115
post #105
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm glad apple picked this up after so many others pushed it forward :) But 1 port is sad, because now you have to choose between a lot of things (charging, using hdmi, whatever)

"But 1 port is sad, because now you have to choose between a lot of things (charging, using hdmi, whatever)" No, USB Type-C allows multiple concurrent uses, such as: charging and using HDMI at the same time. See http://www.anandtech.com/show/8518/hands-on-with-usb-type-c-... : "This opens up the possibility for a dock scenario where a single cable to the monitor can charge a laptop and also mirror the laptop's displa…

Theoretically, yes. But I'm not obsoleting my new 4K 60" screen to add a port. So if I want to output display to a monitor/projector and I'm low on battery, I better have a powered USB hub handy...

It may come with a 1-port USB plus power adapter in place of the standard power cable though?

Re: The new MacBook

#117
post #2

USB-C as the "one connector to rule them all" is the big news. That's the end of MagSafe and the exploding era of USB-C docking stations that work for multiple devices. I think we'll start to see an era of expandable computing coming up soon: USB-C is a perfect connector to push your data and state into a larger desktop experience. Why not carry around your laptop in tablet form when you are mobile? [1] [1] https://g…

My only regret is that MagSafe is actually really cool. I think I'd have to say it's worth it for full standards-compliance, though.

Battery life is long enough such that MagSafe isn't as necessary as it used to be. Back when you had to haul your power cord to meetings, coffeeshops, and the like, cord tripping was a serious problem. Now? Far less so.

Re: The new MacBook

#118

Seriously? Couldn't they have put _two_ ports in it so you can plug something in while it's being charged without lugging around a usb hub?

Eventual Windows competitors will have more than one port, but they won't be identical. Only a single port will be able to be used for charging, the others will be data-only.

That's too inelegant a solution for Apple, they'd rather just have a single port than have two ports that look like they should be identical but aren't.

Re: The new MacBook

#120
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It just means we're going to stay stuck in dongle hell. When I'm on the road the minimalism of a Mac is nice, but at my desk, hooked up to everything I really need for heavy work, my desktop is a cluster-f of cables and adapters and wires.

Isn't it only dongle hell for a few years? Theoretically monitors, printers, hard drives, etc will all have USB-C connectors as well at some point.

So we are basically back to the old days of Daisy-chaining SCSI devices?
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