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Apple Finally Updates MacBook Air with Retina Display, Touch ID

arstechnica.com

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Re: Apple Finally Updates MacBook Air with Retina Display, Touch ID

#241

Post by eastbayjake »

sometime wrote: post #147
mobilio wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everything is OK except keyboard...

The Carbon X1 6G is 120 grams lighter and has much more ports. Gonna leave Apple for good. The MacBook Air was an amazing machine for the past 8 years, but Apple lost its way. Too many cargo cults (slimness, few ports, radical changes, secretiveness, to name a few) and too little closeness to their customers (poor repairability, high prices, unwanted features).

I just priced out the Carbon X1 with similar CPU/RAM/SSD and it costs $1331 (vs $1399) -- plus the Lenovo has a slightly larger screen with lower weight and normal USB ports. I don't think it moves the needle for Mac fans, but it definitely moves the needle for people who are ambivalent between the two.

Re: Apple Finally Updates MacBook Air with Retina Display, Touch ID

#242

Post by dwighttk »

51lver wrote: post #133
lathiat wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean I've got 2 AT keyboards and 3 PS/2 mice in my drawer. Why can't I plug these into the latest MacBook pro? It's a travesty.

I gotchu fam! AT > PS/2 > usb A > usb C If I were you, I'd stick all that crap inside the massive schoolbus sized AT keyboard where you can't see it. There is probably plenty of room. Hell, go ahead an integrate a USB hub too, then you can use the keyboard itself to adapt other legacy devices to usb C.

why didn't they include an ADB port?

Re: Apple Finally Updates MacBook Air with Retina Display, Touch ID

#243

Post by mmcconnell1618 »

toasterlovin wrote: post #153
minhazm423 wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Given that 15 minutes later, in the iPad part of the event, they claimed the new iPad is faster than 92% of all notebooks sold in the last year, the writing is on the wall. For me, the next Macbook to be excited about, would be one with an ARM processor. hey not a huge technocrat when it comes to pc parts, but could u explain that part to me? what is the writing on the wall? what is arm exactly? and what makes u thi…

> what makes u think its better than whats being offered currently and that it will be in a macbook soon? Not the person you're replying to, but: 1) Apple hates being dependent on Intel's ability (or lack thereof) to execute on their processor roadmap, and 2) Apple will be able to use processors better suited to their needs.

Apple has switched chips several times. Around 1996 they moved from Motorola 68K chips to IBM PowerPC chips for the G1-G5 series of machines. PowerPC innovation fell behind Intel and around 2006, Apple decided to move to Intel chips to keep up with PC technology.

The move to Intel chips allowed dual boot Macs which I believe brought a whole new set of customers. Developers loved the ability to run Windows, Mac and Linux on the same hardware.

Microsoft has ARM versions of Windows produced for the Surface RT. If Apple switched to ARM to build their own chips, they have the ability to innovate quickly. But, they also have the risk of falling behind Intel again down the road.

Re: Apple Finally Updates MacBook Air with Retina Display, Touch ID

#244

Post by kbenson »

beat wrote: post #201
kbenson wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ARM based processors which are used in most mobile devices and use a different instruction set, as opposed to x86 based processors, such as those available from Intel and AMD. Apple licensed the ARM technology and builds their own chips using it, and really good chips at that. So good, that some people are now calling for Apple to release an ARM based laptop (which has been done by others, but not to much popularity)…

Odds are they already have ARM-based Macs in house, with all the cross-compilation stuff worked out. The reason they haven't made the switch yet isn't because of work they haven't done. Back when they switched from the PowerPC chips to x86, it was revealed that they had been building experimental x86 Macs in-house for years. That's just good planning.

Oh, I'm fairly sure they've tested all their MacOS core software that comes with the OS (and the OS), but all the third party stuff and things in the MacOS app store likely need a lot more time. (at least for those that weren't already shipping iPhone/iPad versions).

Re: Apple Finally Updates MacBook Air with Retina Display, Touch ID

#245

Post by reaperducer »

oliv__ wrote: post #205
hartator wrote: post #166

The current line is a bit weird. MacBook 12” vs MacBook Air 13” vs MacBook Pro 13” without Touch Bar. I just wish they release a 14” MacBook. That would have made more sense.

Exactly. The Macbook feels out of place now. It has one less USB-C port, less battery power, and is $100 more expensive with lesser specs. And it has a different name. Before this new Air came out, I figured they were just going to kill the Air line and release a 13" Macbook at a cheaper price. (Which is essentially what this is)

The Macbook feels out of place now

Think of it as an entry-level, but fully capable Mac. For people who use their phone almost exclusively, but need a computer once or twice a month for work.

That's exactly how my wife uses hers.

Re: Apple Finally Updates MacBook Air with Retina Display, Touch ID

#246

Post by lenocinor »

izacus wrote: post #230
starbugs wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I tend to disagree on this one. Even if PC hardware has caught up to a certain extent, software has not. Windows is a nightmare from my perspective (usability, privacy, developer tools, lack of good shell, package management, etc.) and Linux is not a viable alternative when you need certain commercial software. A commercial Linux alternative focussed at desktops with appropriate support for commercial software and an…

shrug I regularly use all three and I'm always baffled by posts like yours. Yes, macOS might be marginally more polished, but it's pretty much a matter of few days to get used to new patterns of the OS and that's it. But yeah, if you decided that you will never in your life ever use anything but Apple operating system, then you just don't have a choice in the market. You'll have to buy what they serve you.

I agree with starbugs, for the record. I'm not married to Mac laptops (I used PCs for many years) but even with the new great ultrabooks out there (which I keep a close eye on), I still haven't seen something that adequately replaces the Macbook. It's gotten a lot closer but I don't think the market has quite caught up yet.

Re: Apple Finally Updates MacBook Air with Retina Display, Touch ID

#247

Post by maxxxxx »

izacus wrote: post #198
yodsanklai wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It just feels natural to look for an alternative at this point. I don't consider myself an Apple fanboy (I'd certainly not buy an iphone). But as far as laptops go, I don't see any viable alternative. I'd get a MBP for Mac OS alone, but the hardware is great too.

If anything, there's plenty of alternatives in laptop space. From Surfaces, Lenovos, Dells, Huaweis to bunch of other really good hardware that is only marginally different. Even the OSes have converged to the point where they differ in mostly in the keyboard shortcuts and types of annoyances you deal with.

I am not sure about this. I have always worked with Windows professionally and until 4 years ago also had Windows laptops. Then on whim I bought a 2014 MBP for personal use and I think the software and hardware are much better than anything I have seen in the windows world. At work I can use Surface Book, Surface Pro and HP laptops and in my opinion they are far away from the level of quality of my MBP.

Re: Apple Finally Updates MacBook Air with Retina Display, Touch ID

#248

Post by Xixi »

klodolph wrote: post #207
Xixi wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are comparing prices without VAT to prices with VAT. In France VAT is 20%, quite typical in the EU, so the comparison is not fair at all. There's VAT in many states and cities in the United States, although typically at rates much lower than in the EU. Buying a MacBook Air in New York City for instance will be at least $1,300 (combined VAT rate of 8.875%). [EDIT] Granted, the exchange rate is not great, but it's…

There’s currently no VAT in the US, there used to be a VAT in Michigan but currently there are only sales and use taxes, which aren’t universal. Buying a MacBoox Air for $1,199 in Oregon will cost $1,199 out of pocket.

Indeed you are correct, I'm not using the term VAT correctly. But here in New York you still have to go through three layers of sales taxes to acquire your MacBook Air: New York City local sales and use tax rate of 4.5%, New York State sales and use tax rate of 4%, and Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District surcharge of 0.375%

My main point was that it makes little sense to compare prices US prices without sales tax to EU prices with the VAT included. The second -more subtle- point that I wanted to get into but was really only skimming, is that the very meaning of the price on a sticker is vastly different in the EU and in US.

In the EU if you write 1,350 EUR on a sticker, anyone can walk in your store and buy that product at that price without paying a eurocent more. No handling fees, service fees, sales tax or any other obscure hidden tax. This is the law. Sticker price is final price. If it's not on the sticker the merchant has to pay for it. It's quite a shock when you first walk in a store in New York City while visiting from France and the price asked at checkout is not the one written on the sticker.

The law is the same for online sales, though shipping costs don't have to be included. Ridiculous $30 dollars "handling fees" or "service fees" on $50 tickets that you print at home, added at the very end of the lengthy checkout process, are to my knowledge completely forbidden. I'll be happy (in fact I'll be sad) to be corrected if I am wrong about that.

Re: Apple Finally Updates MacBook Air with Retina Display, Touch ID

#249

Post by lwkl »

briffle wrote: post #32

| It will start at $1,199, which is a slight jump from the $999 starting price of the older MacBook Air. apparently, a 20% increase is a 'slight jump'

Could there be economic reasons for the price jump?

The Surface Pro was in a similar price region. I'm interested to see if Microsoft raises the prices of the new Surface Generation too. It looks like new computers are getting more expensive overall. Maybe it's because the hardware lives longer nowadays.

Re: Apple Finally Updates MacBook Air with Retina Display, Touch ID

#250

Post by reaperducer »

toasterlovin wrote: post #154
slantyyz wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> It's getting better every year, as peripherals and other devices switch over to USB-C. Speaking for normal people, though, how often do they turn over their devices and peripherals? When I bought my laptop over a year ago, I made sure it had USB-C/TB3 from a future-proofing perspective, but I have yet to actually buy any device that connects to it via USB-C, and I don't foresee myself buying many either. On the ot…

Normal people don't plug shit into their computers. Neither do I, for that matter.

He's crude, but he's not wrong. 90% of the market will never use more than one USB-C port. And even then, almost exclusively for charging.
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