For years Apple has wanted to get closer and closer to the "appliance" model for their products. They are targeting consumers who's gut instinct when it comes to fixing their computers is to call a "geek". These consumers just want the damn things to work and would rather not worry about upgrading it over time. This is of course very unattractive to the hacker crowd, but they make up a much smaller percentage of the computer using public now than they did 20 years ago.
The New MacBook Pro: Unfixable, Unhackable, Untenable
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Re: The New MacBook Pro: Unfixable, Unhackable, Untenable
#12The title part "But should we really blame Apple?" rather than the original "UNFIXABLE, UNHACKABLE, UNTENABLE" is a perfect replacement for Apple loving HN crowd.
I love the idea that upgrading RAM/Hard Disk somehow equates to hacking your machine.
It's akin to someone thinking they are an F1 mechanic because they can replace the car battery.
Re: The New MacBook Pro: Unfixable, Unhackable, Untenable
#13If theydriver hey made the battery and drive readily upgradable by technicians I think the article would be moot. They didn't so it isn't. Today's laptops tend to sell with the maximum addressable ram in them (apple only charges $200 for the 16GB option).
I had a PowerBook 1400 - the most modular and upgradable apple laptop ever, with the CPU on a daughtercard. When I upgraded the CPU the laptop was still pretty useless because the ram was maxed out. Today, CPU progress is far slower, you're almost certain to have maxed out RAM, so the only things that really matter are storage and battery.
Re: The New MacBook Pro: Unfixable, Unhackable, Untenable
#14The title part "But should we really blame Apple?" rather than the original "UNFIXABLE, UNHACKABLE, UNTENABLE" is a perfect replacement for Apple loving HN crowd.
Well, considering that the entire article was about Apple offering the market a choice and following the direction the market chose, it's not exactly an incorrect title. And the other title tells us nothing about the story itself.
But try to ask a anti-mac-fan to see reason instead of blaming the community and screaming bias? Nope! That kettle and pot are best friends.
Re: The New MacBook Pro: Unfixable, Unhackable, Untenable
#15> Would we support laptops that required replacement every year or two as applications required more memory and batteries atrophied? This is the key misunderstanding most people made: a 2010 MacBook Air still makes a fine system, even for software developers. For almost all users, hardware capacity has exceeded their needs for years and the newer battery technology holds up better than the older designs as well.
If it was just a case that hardware capacity has reached a point where most of us really don't need to upgrade our computers any more, that would be one thing. But the article also says that many of Apple's decisions are making their laptops less recyclable - even if the actual materials they're being made from are more so. This is a serious issue that people should care about. People should also care about not being…
What are you talking about ? The battery IS replaceable just not by you.
And I hardly think saving an hour at an Apple Store once every 3 years is worth having a substantially thicker device.
Re: The New MacBook Pro: Unfixable, Unhackable, Untenable
#16I bought an Asus netbook some years ago. The battery(easy to put or remove) died pretty soon, so I went to see the replacement new battery cost more that what I paid for the netbook.
As it has a special shape is it very difficult to replace with a generic battery, and it is on purpose.
I see all the manufacturers doing the same if they can. As a geek I could make it to work but 90% of the people can't.
Re: The New MacBook Pro: Unfixable, Unhackable, Untenable
#17I know this isn't the place to say this, but. Think about the context of who they're [Apple] going after now.
Regular people who don't care whatsoever if they can upgrade their RAM or have a bigger hard-drive.
They want something that just works. Furthermore, even though applications eventually require more RAM or computing power, the majority of Apple products purchased today will handle that for years to come, especially when most people use them as facebook machines. They aren't running xCode alongside of Photoshop along side of Chrome with 20 tabs open.
Re: The New MacBook Pro: Unfixable, Unhackable, Untenable
#18What's the life cycle on laptops?
I tend to upgrade every 18 months or so. I'm sure many other professionals and power users upgrade even more frequently.
At this rate, as the article states, we've voted with our actions.
Re: The New MacBook Pro: Unfixable, Unhackable, Untenable
#19For years Apple has wanted to get closer and closer to the "appliance" model for their products. They are targeting consumers who's gut instinct when it comes to fixing their computers is to call a "geek". These consumers just want the damn things to work and would rather not worry about upgrading it over time. This is of course very unattractive to the hacker crowd, but they make up a much smaller percentage of the…
Even as a person who works with computers a lot, I'd still rather just have a "geek" fix my computer. As much as I like hacking around on stuff I usually have better things to hack on and I expect my computer to just work when aiding me.
Re: The New MacBook Pro: Unfixable, Unhackable, Untenable
#20"Unrepairable Apple hardware bad" says Apple hardware repair company.
Bravo to iFixit for their PR efforts, but it's clear that the market simply doesn't care.