The new MacBook • Hacker News Board

Re: The new MacBook

#371

Post by ryanSrich » Mon, Mar 09, 2015, 8:02 PM UTC

72deluxe wrote: post #349

I'm not sure if I'm an old fart or something (I'm 31) but this has to be the daftest MacBook I've ever seen. I have a 2012 MacBook non-retina, with DVD writer and all the ports I need (MagSafe, Gigabit ethernet, FireWire, ThunderBolt (also Mini DisplayPort so I don't need fiddly adapters to connect to TVs), 2 USB ports, an SD card slot, as well as headphone output, and line input (both switchable to digital optical S…

Well to be fair it's a Macbook, not a Macbook Pro. If you need multiple ports and are doing "productive" things then you still have the Pro.

This is meant to be a sleek, fun machine that's portable and powerful.

Side note, what line of work are you in where you need so many ports? I could see if you're a photographer, where you have a camera, the charging cable, an SD card, and an external, but I can't really think of too many other use cases where you'd need multiple ports at once.

Just noticed you program OSX apps. Why do you need so many ports?

Re: The new MacBook

#372

Post by drinchev » Mon, Mar 09, 2015, 8:04 PM UTC

jedrek wrote: post #330

bane wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It just means we're going to stay stuck in dongle hell. When I'm on the road the minimalism of a Mac is nice, but at my desk, hooked up to everything I really need for heavy work, my desktop is a cluster-f of cables and adapters and wires.

Apple laptops have been limited by a lack of docking ports, which is my favorite use case for having a work and home workstation. Now, instead of hooking up a power cable, monitor cable and USB hub, you slide one connector in. How is that bad?

It would not be bad, but the adapter that gives me two ports will be a part of my trip.

At airports for example I'm carrying only my MacBook and usually put in there charger and the my phone, now I have to also carry an adapter to do that.

Re: The new MacBook

#373

Post by Xorlev » Mon, Mar 09, 2015, 8:05 PM UTC

news_to_me wrote: post #352

tenfingers wrote: post #294

Earlier quoted context omitted.

16:10 is a much better ratio for working compared to 16:9.

Can you explain? I'm interested why this is. Is there any research into this?

Do you need research to appreciate vertical screen real-estate? I have two 16:10 monitors and love the extra space. I loved it enough that I then flipped one of my 16:10s into portrait.

It's occasionally problematic in that pages I make sometimes pack the perfect amount in on my display, and get cut off on 16:9s.

Re: The new MacBook

#374

Post by jszymborski » Mon, Mar 09, 2015, 8:06 PM UTC

Turing_Machine wrote: post #346

jkot wrote: post #30

I am bit disappointed. Dell has similar sized laptop, with bigger display, smaller bezel and higher resolution. http://www.dell.com/us/p/xps-13-9343-laptop/pd

The Dell weighs 2.6 pounds compared to 2.03 pounds for the Apple machine, uses a Core i5 rather than a Core M, no USB-C, etc. Does the Dell have a camera? I don't see it mentioned on that page, so maybe not.

It does, but it's at the bottom right of the screen. It's actually a pretty neat design and I didn't notice much difference from the youtube video I saw.

Re: The new MacBook

#375

Post by lsaferite » Mon, Mar 09, 2015, 8:06 PM UTC

mmastrac wrote: post #7

toomuchtodo wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is this the end of Thunderbolt as well?

Thunderbolt runs over USB-C, as well as DisplayPort. USB 3.1 features re-configurable lines that can negotiate almost any protocol. [1] [2] [1] http://www.anandtech.com/show/8558/displayport-alternate-mod... [2] http://www.anandtech.com/show/8539/usb-power-delivery-v20-an...

Just to clarify what you said, Alternate Mode allows two directly connected devices to negotiate what the SS lanes and a few other wires are used for. The signaling that happens over the wires after negotiation is totally outside of the USB spec as the signals are simply MUXed onto the wires. In theory you could MUX anything over the wires as long as the signaling parameter fell within the specs defines for the cabling.

Re: The new MacBook

#376

Post by dilap » Mon, Mar 09, 2015, 8:06 PM UTC

72deluxe wrote: post #349

I'm not sure if I'm an old fart or something (I'm 31) but this has to be the daftest MacBook I've ever seen. I have a 2012 MacBook non-retina, with DVD writer and all the ports I need (MagSafe, Gigabit ethernet, FireWire, ThunderBolt (also Mini DisplayPort so I don't need fiddly adapters to connect to TVs), 2 USB ports, an SD card slot, as well as headphone output, and line input (both switchable to digital optical S…

Different strokes, different folks. I love my MB Air and this looks even better; I almost never plug anything into it, just my iPhone or a HD occasionally.

It does seem a little insane to not be able to e.g., run a harddrive to backup the computer while it's plugged in...

Re: The new MacBook

#377

Post by ihnorton » Mon, Mar 09, 2015, 8:06 PM UTC

CamperBob2 wrote: post #311

vinhboy wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Man... the folks at Dell are just terrible at marketing. Look at that page the OP linked and the apple macbook page. There is absolutely no comparison. I had to make an effort to find pictures of their product. Even then, the pictures are completely distracting because of those ugly award logos they put on it. If I was Dell, I would just sit down my entire design and marketing team and make a plan for redesigning and…

Also: No, actually, I don't want to "chat with a Dell expert." GTFO the page I'm trying to read. The one thing that could change my mind about patent trolls is if one of them were to pop up and banish those unsolicited floating chat windows by suing everyone who uses them.

The prevalence of "chat with us!" and "take a quick survey?" website popups encapsulates everything that is wrong with non-Apple computer hardware manufacturers.

Re: The new MacBook

#378

Post by quadrature » Mon, Mar 09, 2015, 8:07 PM UTC

rsync wrote: post #351

mdeslaur wrote: post #11

Seriously? Couldn't they have put _two_ ports in it so you can plug something in while it's being charged without lugging around a usb hub?

"Seriously? Couldn't they have put _two_ ports in it so you can plug something in while it's being charged without lugging around a usb hub?" I have been a macbook air user since 2008 (6 years with a 13 and 1+ with an 11) and I love them. I will not buy one that has zero ports available while I am charging. No hard feelings - I just can't do it. I am not a feature wizard and I don't need to address every possible use…

You will probably be able to buy a charger with a hub.

Re: The new MacBook

#379

Post by sterlingross » Mon, Mar 09, 2015, 8:07 PM UTC

jfernandez wrote: post #102

Accidentally clipping the power cable is something I definitely got used to not worrying about anymore. I'm loving the single mother-of-all ports USB-C will provide but I highly appreciated the magnet component of MagSafe..

No only that, but clipping power is much safer than a data stream in mid transfer.

Re: The new MacBook

#380

Post by brador » Mon, Mar 09, 2015, 8:08 PM UTC

gress wrote: post #339

brador wrote: post #332

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe the market that anticipates an Apple keynote is shrinking. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think I am.

I think you're wrong - it was in all the major news outlets and blogs.

Looking at the number of comments left on news article sites. It used to be in the 500's within an hour, now it's around 10-30. That's what I'm basing my judgement on...Again, maybe I'm wrong.