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Apple, this time you made a mistake

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Re: Apple, this time you made a mistake

#161

Post by hokvel »

I am really concerned about where the whole mac train goes.

It is so clear they did not consider touch-typists when they designed touch bar. They could have used textured glass to cover it, or aligned its keys to 0-9 row, or added haptic feedback, or at least kept 2 options for keyboard as they did with 13 inch model.

Seeing Craig Federighi when he tried his best to show the demo was hilarious. Is it how they see professionals working in the next decade? It turned out that Microsoft has better understanding of it. At least is see Surface Dial being used.

I can cover that ugly "MacBook Pro" branding by duct tape. I can buy dongles for SD/HDMI and magsafe-like USB-C cable. But... the whole story of giving up on professionals seems to be unforgettable.

Re: Apple, this time you made a mistake

#162

Post by r00fus »

0x0 wrote: post #96
trackofalljades wrote: post #42

FFS, they didn't remove the F-keys, you can still have F-keys if you want...and they made all the ports do everything. They removed the card reader. Whiny posts by people who didn't even pay attention are more annoying than Apple.

But you can't FEEL them. So you can't use them without looking down at your keyboard. Which is a pretty horrible proposition for touch typists.

Uh, I have to look down to know where my F2 key is right now anyway.

Also - external keyboards are still possible!

I'm hopeful that the customization of TouchBar will have some perks that weren't quite made loud & clear in the preso.

Re: Apple, this time you made a mistake

#163

Post by r00fus »

grzm wrote: post #126
JoelBennett wrote: post #124

Do we know why they removed the MagSafe power cord? I always thought it was a smart design. It seems kind of silly to remove it.

Tradeoff between the break-away design for a single-purpose port and the multiple multi-purpose ThunderBolt 3 ports.

Personally if they could've had an Apple accessory that mitigated that (ie, something built-in like Griffin's breaksafe - maybe recess the port so the accessory could be flush), it would've been a coup.

Everyone needs to plug in their laptop; Not every one needs 4 connectivity ports.

Re: Apple, this time you made a mistake

#164

Post by r00fus »

randomsofr wrote: post #107

I've been holding on my 2012 non retina. I hate that every newer model comes with almost everything soldered.

I'd love to see a plot of resale prices for the 2012 15" non-retina - I bet they go up from here. The 13" is still for sale, but the 15" is gone.

Re: Apple, this time you made a mistake

#165

Post by dloose »

jitbit wrote: post #120
AndrewStephens wrote: post #65

What a whiney, content-free blog post. The author complains about removing the function keys, MagSafe, HDMI, SD Card and the escape key but doesn't give any examples of how they used those in the past or how those features' absence will cripple their workflow. Here are my thoughts: Removing the function keys and replacing them with the touch bar is a step up. The function keys have been annoyingly inconsistent on mac…

It all comes down to this: NOW I HAVE LOOK AT THE KEYBOARD. For example, as a developer I press the ESC button zillion times a day. I'm used to "upper-left corner is cancel/close/undo". Now with the new touchbar it can have an "OK" there. Or "Done". Or "edit". It's up to a developer now.

As a developer do you not use an external mouse, keyboard, and display?

Re: Apple, this time you made a mistake

#166

Post by grzm »

r00fus wrote: post #163
grzm wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tradeoff between the break-away design for a single-purpose port and the multiple multi-purpose ThunderBolt 3 ports.

Personally if they could've had an Apple accessory that mitigated that (ie, something built-in like Griffin's breaksafe - maybe recess the port so the accessory could be flush), it would've been a coup. Everyone needs to plug in their laptop; Not every one needs 4 connectivity ports.

I'm a MagSafe fan myself. I remember pre-MagSafe laptops taking a flyer now and again, and being the worse for it.

That said, I can understand why they did it. Laptops are lighter now, so the corresponding damage may be less as well. And I don't know how snugly the TB3 ports fit. Maybe they disconnect more easily than, say, Firewire 400.

I've got a couple of years left in my current laptop. I'm hoping there's a solution that incorporates some type of break-away power connector.

Re: Apple, this time you made a mistake

#167

Post by tekklloneer »

Bud wrote: post #75
tekklloneer wrote: post #7

While I appreciate USB-C, it's still too early to go USB-C only, especially on a "professional" laptop. And, the transition to lightning headphones is a glaring example of the left hand SOMEHOW not being aware of what the right hand is doing. Plus, the touch bar sucks. Compensating with indentations and force touch could have made it an amazing and useful tool.

a) you haven't used the Touch Bar. Seems a tad early to conclude that it sucks. b) what transition to Lightning headphones? The MacBook Pro keeps the old headphone jack. Do your homework before reflexively criticizing, please.

a) i develop for touch interfaces. Short of any unannounced magic, I know how they work. You have to look at them, and keyboards are input devices based around not looking at them. I'm sure they'll be useful in their current incarnation for some users, but very detrimental for others.

b) I was referring to the transition to non-wireless lightning headphones on the iphone 7, which they proposed as an alternative. It looks and feels sloppy in that regard. One hand working on macbooks isn't aware what the hand working on iphones is doing.

Do your homework before reflexively criticizing, please.

Re: Apple, this time you made a mistake

#168

Post by tekklloneer »

mikeash wrote: post #26
tekklloneer wrote: post #7

While I appreciate USB-C, it's still too early to go USB-C only, especially on a "professional" laptop. And, the transition to lightning headphones is a glaring example of the left hand SOMEHOW not being aware of what the right hand is doing. Plus, the touch bar sucks. Compensating with indentations and force touch could have made it an amazing and useful tool.

That's how Apple does things. When they see something new that they want to push, they jump on it even if it seems premature. Before long, they're just ahead of the curve. 1998 seemed too early to go USB-only, but it turned out to be a great move. And that was a situation where you often needed all-new peripherals, versus this machine where you just need a cheap adapter or a new cable.

I fully agree, but the situation two decades ago is extremely different today. Also, I wasn't clear but I was specifically thinking of the lack of HDMI/display port unless I missed that it has it (which is possible).

I already have a laptop that lacks hdmi and has usb c, and i miss it on a regular basis. Carrying dongles really sucks.

Re: Apple, this time you made a mistake

#169

Post by lpgauth »

fzzzy wrote: post #143
dingaling wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Detaching easily from the wall socket is a peculiarly US phenomenon. In the UK for example it takes considerable force exactly perpendicular to the socket to remove a plug, and all retail cables are moulded to the plug. So one end is anchored to the wall ans the other is connected to a €3500 laptop... It would have made more sense to move the Magsafe connector onto the PSU DC output.

I think they are talking about the USB-C connector detaching at the wall, not the power plug detaching.

Exactly ^^

Re: Apple, this time you made a mistake

#170

Post by mikeash »

tekklloneer wrote: post #168
mikeash wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's how Apple does things. When they see something new that they want to push, they jump on it even if it seems premature. Before long, they're just ahead of the curve. 1998 seemed too early to go USB-only, but it turned out to be a great move. And that was a situation where you often needed all-new peripherals, versus this machine where you just need a cheap adapter or a new cable.

I fully agree, but the situation two decades ago is extremely different today. Also, I wasn't clear but I was specifically thinking of the lack of HDMI/display port unless I missed that it has it (which is possible). I already have a laptop that lacks hdmi and has usb c, and i miss it on a regular basis. Carrying dongles really sucks.

It doesn't have those, no. The adapters are apparently pretty simple, but you do need them.
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