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New Apple Macbook Pro RAM is soldered to the motherboard | Ian Chilton

ichilton.co.uk

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Re: New Apple Macbook Pro RAM is soldered to the motherboard | Ian Chilton

#131

Post by jwr »

gouranga wrote: post #115
jonknee wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> consider how hard it is recycling that machine Tell Apple and they'll send you a shipping label. Just like any other Mac. http://www.apple.com/recycling/gift-card/

No - that's how hard it is for YOU to initiate the recycling of the machine. The actual recycling bit is considerably harder.

Just so that I know — how exactly do you (I mean yourself) recycle Li-Ion battery cells?

I'm curious, because I never tried to do that at home. I always returned the whole appliance for recycling.

Re: New Apple Macbook Pro RAM is soldered to the motherboard | Ian Chilton

#132

Post by Hates_ »

gouranga wrote: post #84

Sorry but you have got to be a fucking idiot to buy one to be honest if that is the case. Apple are making an attempt to turn generic computers into disposable appliances with moves like these. I would never accept a compromise like that with a computer that I owned. My rationale is as follows: If I pay £1800 for one of those machines, I expect to be able to repair common problems easily. That's a lot of money sittin…

When was the last time you replaced anything yourself in your TV/Car/Other high priced item? If non-user serviceable parts are a consequence of ever increasing technology, then I'll happily accept that.

Re: New Apple Macbook Pro RAM is soldered to the motherboard | Ian Chilton

#133

Post by 54mf »

These days, I purchase laptops with a life expectancy of around 2-3 years. By then, the tech will have advanced to far that I'll want a new one anyway, and prices are dropping to the point where I can justify spending $1000-1500 on a device I use 10 hours or more a day, and for my primary source of income.

These days, if I wanted more RAM, I'd just buy a new machine.

Re: New Apple Macbook Pro RAM is soldered to the motherboard | Ian Chilton

#134

Post by ioquatix »

netcan wrote: post #54
ioquatix wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I appreciate the kind of perspective you have, but I own 3 MBP and I use the ethernet about once a year - normally when doing an initial Time Machine backup. Wireless is sufficient for all day to day tasks in my experience. * Finally, if it really is a problem, buy the Thunderbolt to GigE adaptor.

Carrying around adapters is a solution buts its not fun or elegant. Especially when you don't always need them in the same place. I think the point is valid. One of the things "pros" need is ports. Ports that hardware assumes you have because its standard on most machines. This thing about ports is that you don't need them unless you do. Maybe you never use ethernet, but a lot of people do. Maybe you need to plug in…

I think you need to quantify a lot, as in "a lot of pros need ethernet". I work in a university and I see a lot of laptops and I don't think I've ever seen anyone plug in the ethernet except for very specific situations like LAN parties or DC++ (since people are charged per GB for wireless data over a certain monthly cap). I also work in the entrepreneurial business environment and most people have MBA, netbooks, iPads and other similar devices. It would be interesting to have other technicians opinions on this though.

In the case of the hotel room, yes that is sometimes the case... then again, I guess that is what the adaptors are for. It is the same reason that laptops no longer have 56k modems built in - it simply isn't that common these days. Ethernet on laptops isn't that useful anymore. Wireless is the default.

The challenge in any technology is to balance the realities of the world with the vision for the future. This laptop is clearly designed with the future in mind.

Re: New Apple Macbook Pro RAM is soldered to the motherboard | Ian Chilton

#135

Post by 51Cards »

feralchimp wrote: post #122
gouranga wrote: post #84

Sorry but you have got to be a fucking idiot to buy one to be honest if that is the case. Apple are making an attempt to turn generic computers into disposable appliances with moves like these. I would never accept a compromise like that with a computer that I owned. My rationale is as follows: If I pay £1800 for one of those machines, I expect to be able to repair common problems easily. That's a lot of money sittin…

> you have got to be a fucking idiot to buy one Whenever I get the urge to write something like that, I ask myself: "Am I in the target market for this?" A product built to these tolerances is not one that a rational person (even a competent one, with experience fixing computers) should want to crack open. Make the professionals worry about getting in and out of it, and enjoy the fact that they'll be liable for anyth…

... while it's under warranty. Pay through the nose when it's not because it can't be serviced anywhere else. Simply put, would you buy a car that once beyond the warranty had to have brakes, tires, battery, air filter, and spark plugs replaced ONLY at the dealership with parts at factory cost? In addition if any part broke on the engine you would have to replace the entire engine. It's not that much different.

I would expect for that price a lot of people would like their MacBook to outlast the warranty with an option to fix it at a reasonable price. I can guarantee if the RAM fails they will replace the MB, and they won't do that for the price of the RAM chips.

The bigger problem to me is that the general consumer is unaware of these 'gotchas' until it's too late. That's where I have a problem with it. Have had to inform a few friends with Apple products that no, as much as I wanted to I could not help fix their notebook like I used to with their PCs.

Re: New Apple Macbook Pro RAM is soldered to the motherboard | Ian Chilton

#136

Post by jonknee »

gouranga wrote: post #115
jonknee wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> consider how hard it is recycling that machine Tell Apple and they'll send you a shipping label. Just like any other Mac. http://www.apple.com/recycling/gift-card/

No - that's how hard it is for YOU to initiate the recycling of the machine. The actual recycling bit is considerably harder.

Then why complain? Apple makes a machine that you think is hard to recycle (and some of the things you think are hard include a special screw--I bet that isn't very hard for Apple) and at the same time covers the full cost of recycling it. Who cares if they have to spend another 10 minutes, it's their problem.

Re: New Apple Macbook Pro RAM is soldered to the motherboard | Ian Chilton

#137

Post by ioquatix »

gouranga wrote: post #84

Sorry but you have got to be a fucking idiot to buy one to be honest if that is the case. Apple are making an attempt to turn generic computers into disposable appliances with moves like these. I would never accept a compromise like that with a computer that I owned. My rationale is as follows: If I pay £1800 for one of those machines, I expect to be able to repair common problems easily. That's a lot of money sittin…

No one is holding a gun to your head forcing you to buy this computer.

For some people (some being the vast majority of MBP users) this design actually makes a lot of sense.

Re: New Apple Macbook Pro RAM is soldered to the motherboard | Ian Chilton

#138

Post by JackC »

its_so_on wrote: post #50
silvestrov wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In advertising it is very important to keep the message simple and straightforward. Adding (too many) details makes the ad ineffective. Most people who knows the big deal about size & weight can see it on the details page and in the movie ads. The retina screen is what the competition can't match, not fully nor partially.

This is exactly what I thought was happening, from the press headlines and the front page. (That it's a new macbook with retina display.) Until I clicked the video and found out the extent of the reduction here. They have completely blown the announcement in my opinion. Even something as little as "The All-New Macbook with Retina Display" would have been enough to draw attention to it. ('all-new') It's not everyday t…

I agree with you it's a big deal, but it's also out of the price range of most of their customers -- until the new design trickles down in a year or two, like it did for the Air. This is the part of the product cycle where you make a product just for wealthy or fanatical people while you figure out how to scale. So their marketing strategy is probably as much about selling the other 5/6 of their product line that people can afford. "Retina Display" is enough to get people's attention -- no reason to also emphasize that the rest of the product line is using an old design that's on the way out.

Just another factor to think about when you decide what and how much to trumpet ...

Re: New Apple Macbook Pro RAM is soldered to the motherboard | Ian Chilton

#139

Post by briguyd »

jwr wrote: post #129
gouranga wrote: post #84

Sorry but you have got to be a fucking idiot to buy one to be honest if that is the case. Apple are making an attempt to turn generic computers into disposable appliances with moves like these. I would never accept a compromise like that with a computer that I owned. My rationale is as follows: If I pay £1800 for one of those machines, I expect to be able to repair common problems easily. That's a lot of money sittin…

No need for profanity. Why the strong emotions? To make a laptop this small and thin with this much stuff inside, you have to get rid of certain elements. Before calling people names I'd suggest you check if it is at all possible to fit two (you'd want TWO, right?) SODIMM slots in the space available. Same goes for the battery — when I saw the first pictures of the internals, I said "well, they finally got rid of the…

And what am I supposed to do if I don't want to spend $2200 on a computer that only lasts me two years? My laptops usually last me 3-4 years, at least, after a hard drive and RAM upgrade, as well as a new battery.

Re: New Apple Macbook Pro RAM is soldered to the motherboard | Ian Chilton

#140

Post by gouranga »

Hates_ wrote: post #132
gouranga wrote: post #84

Sorry but you have got to be a fucking idiot to buy one to be honest if that is the case. Apple are making an attempt to turn generic computers into disposable appliances with moves like these. I would never accept a compromise like that with a computer that I owned. My rationale is as follows: If I pay £1800 for one of those machines, I expect to be able to repair common problems easily. That's a lot of money sittin…

When was the last time you replaced anything yourself in your TV/Car/Other high priced item? If non-user serviceable parts are a consequence of ever increasing technology, then I'll happily accept that.

I'm the wrong person to ask that question to. I repair everything from clothes, through computers, through cars to televisions.

There need to be more wrong people to ask that question to.

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