Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

The New MacBook Pro: Unfixable, Unhackable, Untenable

ifixit.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

181–190 of 353 posts

Re: The New MacBook Pro: Unfixable, Unhackable, Untenable

#181

Post by stan_rogers »

moystard wrote: post #27
jzeltman wrote: post #17

I 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, espe…

In Macbook Pro, there is Pro. These models have been designed for hackers/designers in mind and those people usually want to have a good control over their hardware (especially the former).

If I recall correctly, the "Pro" simply meant (originally) that the machine had the aluminum body and an Intel x86 processor (as opposed to the Gx series aluminum MacBook, which never carried the "Pro" designation).

Re: The New MacBook Pro: Unfixable, Unhackable, Untenable

#182

Post by blazingice »

martingordon wrote: post #49
raverbashing wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, but really, the thing is, the growth curve is bending down Processors have barely became faster in the last couple of years. Even a 5 year computer (with some upgrades) is good for doing what 99% of the people do today (internet) So chances are upgrades today are moot. Unless you're hitting the limits constantly like video editing, compiling software, etc

> Processors have barely became faster in the last couple of years. Funny you should mention that. I will be picking up one of the new MacBook Airs and when mulling over the 1.8 vs 2.0 GHz processors, I realized that my last three notebooks (including the new Air) have each had successively lower clock speeds while posting faster Geekbench scores. 2008 - Aluminum MacBook 2.4 GHz - 3374 2010 - MacBook Air 2.13 GHz - 3…

Don't forget about "Turbo Boost" - that "1.8 GHz" runs at 2.8 GHz when you're only using one of two cores.

Combined with a more efficient architecture, this helps explain the performance gains.

Re: The New MacBook Pro: Unfixable, Unhackable, Untenable

#183

Post by easp »

archgrove wrote: post #7

The argument doesn't really hold up, as we're only given two choices: Upgradable, or amazing screen. If there was a third, "Upgradable and amazing screen" with the applicable price/weight tradeoffs, then the "we can choose" view would be more tenable. Regardless, the lack of upgradability isn't something that bugs me. My last two Apple laptops were "upgradable", but all I ever did was throw some RAM in there. The sub…

I suspect that the entry level Retina pro is only as "cheap" as it is because Apple is assure of capturing all the upgrade revenue.

Further, if they were offering an upgradable model in addition to the current retina option, in addition to the existing model, they'd both be more expensive than if only one was offered, because the screen supply is constrained, and with the market split, the volumes on the thin/light model would be lower.

Re: The New MacBook Pro: Unfixable, Unhackable, Untenable

#184

Post by mirkules »

gnaffle wrote: post #174
mirkules wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is this the 2007 MBP you have? I would love to know the details of your upgrades because I have an '07 17" MBP that needs a refresher. Specifically the amount of RAM you have (I thought 4GB was the max) and the SDD?

That's right, 4GB is the max. I'm using an Intel X25-M SSD. I don't find the memory to be a problem using the SSD. Be prepared to remove a lot of screws to get to the HDD, but the iFixit guides are great.

Yeah, the likelihood of messing it up is really what kept me back all these years (that, and voiding the [now-expired] warranty). I might give it a shot this weekend. Thanks for the info!

Re: The New MacBook Pro: Unfixable, Unhackable, Untenable

#185

Post by beej71 »

bitwize wrote: post #150

Steve Jobs had a dream of selling sealed boxes to customers who would treat them as appliances, like toasters. That's what he's been pushing for, and now Apple is on track to doing it. So they deserve half the culpability, inasmuch as this is a bad thing. The other half is with the people who buy such machines.

It's the perfect machine for a lot of people. Just not for me.

Re: The New MacBook Pro: Unfixable, Unhackable, Untenable

#186

Post by Jtsummers »

fjorder wrote: post #177

Okay... This is kind of important: The new Macbook Pro's use Apple's proprietary pentalobe screw. That statement probably didn't rock your world, but it's one reason why I'm not buying a macbook pro. This screw has one purpose and one purpose only: to keep you out of your own laptop. The Air's have been using them for a while. You may think that you can get a driver when you need one, but it's not as easy as you thin…

http://www.ifixit.com/Tools/MacBook-Air-5-Point-Pentalobe-Sc...

It doesn't seem to have been taken down in the year or so that they've had it in their store. FUD is FUD, and also worthless. One google search for pentalobe screw turned that up.

I'm not going to defend Apple's decisions, it likely is related to making it harder for people to open up themselves, but $13 is not cost prohibitive for anyone buying a >$1k laptop. And for anyone buying a >$2k laptop, a warranty plan is within reach as well (10% extra).

Re: The New MacBook Pro: Unfixable, Unhackable, Untenable

#187

Post by beej71 »

theorique wrote: post #18

What'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.

I upgrade as needed, and consider it a fine piece of work when someone produces a laptop that keeps performing for 3+ years.

Re: The New MacBook Pro: Unfixable, Unhackable, Untenable

#188

Post by binarycrusader »

user49598 wrote: post #105
generalk wrote: post #57

I'm on the fence. On the one hand, the new MBP is a fantastic machine and if I pay the premium for the 16GB of RAM, I'm probably going to be set for years. That said, I'm currently running the original Late 2008 Unibody Macbook Pro. It's survived for four years because I've been able to, over time, upgrade the RAM, replace the spinning disk with an SSD, and replace the aging battery. SSDs weren't available when I pur…

The most compelling aspect of that, if you ask me, is the battery. You're completely in the hands of apple when it comes to replacing it. If they decide in 4 years that your computers battery is now $400 then you have no choice. You can't buy one online, you can't go to any one but apple to take apart your machine and put a new battery in.

They have no history of doing things like that no matter how old some of the hardware is.

Quite frankly, that seems a bit of a scare tactic to try to raise the concern that way.

The proper concern would be whether a replacement battery would still be available in four years.

Re: The New MacBook Pro: Unfixable, Unhackable, Untenable

#190

Post by niels_olson »

lmm wrote: post #153
MaysonL wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>can't be turned by readily-obtainable screwdrivers $11 from newegg. Including shipping. Unlikely, however, to be readily available to an inquisitive 5-year-old, who might easily do more damage to some expensive electronics than he meant to, if he could get it open.

Oh, come off it. Have you really had a 5-year-old open your electronics? If they find a screwdriver they can stick it through the screen just as easily whichever screws Apple uses, and that seems like a more likely damage path.

yes, and yes, here's a picture of my XO-1 that went viral

http://gizmodo.com/373124/kids-are-tearing-apart-the-olpc-la...

Post reply on HN