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The new MacBook

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Re: The new MacBook

#471

Post by billions »

nkoren wrote: post #261

This is a beautiful machine. Once again, Apple excels at hardware. But what the living hell is going wrong with Apple's desktop software? OS X and Apple's applications suite have been getting steadily worse with every release. Look at the App store: the latest releases of OS X, iPhoto, iMovie, Pages, and Numbers are (in stark contrast to earlier versins) all rated at 2.5/5 stars, with the plurality being 1-star revie…

Hardware brings the $, hardware gets budget increased. Typical corporate strategy. The only way someone in power could adjust the focus is if, say, the company failed while they were on leave or something.

Re: The new MacBook

#472

Post by baddox »

codezero wrote: post #50
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

I followed the link hoping I could point out how wrong you are. Nope, that's a pretty beautiful laptop. Thin, light, great screen, etc... In the end, you can look at the 12 inch MacBook as being a new notebook for people who care about running Mac OS/don't want to switch to Windows. It's a big deal because the Dell isn't an option most people want to consider :)

Disregarding for the moment subjective issues like design and operating system, I would ask two important questions. How is the battery life, and how is the build quality? That's usually where Windows PCs quickly lose any desirability (to me) compared to Macs.

Also, I notice that this XPS is 0.6-0.8 pounds heavier than the new MacBook, and as far as I can tell the XPS has a fan.

Re: The new MacBook

#473

Post by rosser »

safepants wrote: post #434
cheald wrote: post #413

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a guy with small children, the loss of MagSafe is actually a huge downgrade for me. The number of times MagSafe has saved my laptop and/or power cable from damage after a child blitzed through the living room and tripped over the power cable is not insignificant.

i think the idea is not to have it plugged in to power while using it, only charge overnight

With the limited number of charge-discharge cycles that even LiPo batteries have (typically estimated at ~500), that means you'd be replacing the machine within its depreciation lifetime if you fully — or even mostly — discharged it daily.

Oh, wait. That benefits Apple, too...

Re: The new MacBook

#474

Post by [deleted] »

AmVess wrote: post #121
thesimon wrote: post #28

1.2Ghz processor seems like a dealbreaker for professional applications (Coding, Video editing) but for applications the Air was used before it actually seems okay.

The 1.2 GHz Core M has a maximum frequency of 2.9 GHz with turbo boost. The 1.1 GHz model will spool up to 2.6 GHz. Further, both processors are dual cores with hyperthreading. It'll be about 5% less performant than the previous Macbook Air while using vastly less energy (4.5 watts vs 15 watts).

[deleted]

Re: The new MacBook

#475

Post by egypturnash »

drblast wrote: post #9
dchuk wrote: post #3

Say what you will about the logic behind a single port for everything (as far as I know this is the first computer to do this so there's nothing to compare it to), this Air is a pretty drastic change from what we're all used to when it comes to laptops. We're basically hitting the limits of thinness at this point right?

I'd hate to have to worry that I'll cut myself on my laptop. Is there anyone that's super-excited about a thinner Air? My preference is always for greater battery life. I'm curious if there are people that wish their already thin laptop were even thinner, and if so, why?

The "thinner" is a thing that tempts me to upgrade.

Thinner means lighter: I live in the middle of a very walkable area. So I walk a lot. It is great to be able to throw my computer into my bag and go out to work in the middle of a park or wherever; my computer plus my drawing tablet is only slightly more weight to haul then a hardbound sketchbook. I think the new machine would cut it down to about as much weight. It is pretty cool to go out carrying everything I need to do my job and only carry about six pounds of stuff on my shoulder. And that's including the bag I keep the laptop in, plus wallet and suchlike.

Thinner means style: In general, things that are slim are also things people see as "elegant". Back around 2000 I carried a Handspring Visor Edge in my pocket rather than a clunky plastic Palm Pilot, not because it was any more powerful, but because it was a sleek little piece of shiny metal that made me happy to hold in my hand.

There's a point where there is Enough Battery. I can take my 2013 Air out for a day of rambling around the city and drawing wherever I feel like stopping, and not worry about it running out of power as long as I charged it last night. I think the new Macbook has a lower estimated battery life than my current machine, so that's a downside of it.

Re: The new MacBook

#477

Post by jonhohle »

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

What's strange to me is that Apple used to have extremely thin bezels. The Titanium Powerbooks barely had any bezel and the display was just as thin (though, this was before LED backlights).

Re: The new MacBook

#478

Post by darrenkopp »

exelius wrote: post #363
jader201 wrote: post #210

Is the world really as obsessed with smallness as Apple thinks it is? From what I keep hearing (and this is anecdotal, of course), it seems that most people would prefer to (reasonably) maximize the battery life with the downside of adding a bit more heft. Of course, there's always a balance that has to be stricken, but it seems like Apple always pushes much more to the side of size over battery vs. what seems to be…

This is one product at a specific price point. Hardware wise, this thing is a cell phone with a really nice screen, a full size keyboard and a gigantic battery. Could they have made the battery a little bit bigger? Probably, but I'm sure they have detailed metrics on how often people charge their laptops. Apple doesn't strike me as the type of company to make arbitrary design decisions. Hate them all you want, but th…

Seems like you'd need to run that "benchmark" on windows. My 2014 MBP gets like 4 hours on a full charge while running windows.

Re: The new MacBook

#479

Post by joesmo »

Is there a USB-C to thunderbolt adapter/hub that would work with existing Cinema displays as well as power the laptop? Or a similar adapter/hub for HDMI?

Re: The new MacBook

#480

Post by dismal2 »

I remember in collage (2000's) when everyone just started to get laptop and before magsafe macbooks the broken power ports were THE cause for people breaking their laptops. Sometimes repair shops could fix this but usually the motherboard was damaged and you just had to get a new machine. Sad to see it go, it was a brilliant idea.
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