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Tim Cook assures employees that Apple is committed to the Mac

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Re: Tim Cook assures employees that Apple is committed to the Mac

#501

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> many, many ordinary people buy them none the less. True, but Windows still has around 90% (or more) of the global PC market. Windows actually brought computing to the masses. Apple didn't.

We are using the same words to mean different things. When I say accessible , I mean approachable and usable , whereas you seem to mean affordable . When I say the masses , I mean in contrast to the elite , whereas you mean the overwhelming majority .

Windows is approachable. MacOS isn't significantly different, in terms of usability, for the majority of the non-computerate public.

And however you define it, the fact is that Windows did bring computing to the masses and Apple didn't.

Re: Tim Cook assures employees that Apple is committed to the Mac

#502
post #486

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was not the pro users who made Apple rich. It was the consumers buying iPods, and later iPhones. Pro users are at the same time extremely demanding and extremely conservative. Apple has never done much to cater to that market, and the fact that they have so many pro users these days is a happy accident which has more to do with how awful these people used to be treated when they were Windows users, and not a lot t…

I've heard that argument dozens of times, but I really can't understand it. The App Store has millions of apps. Who created those apps, if not pro users? Without the App Store, who would buy iPhones, iPads and iPods? If Apple shit on the pro users they shit on themselves.

Pro users are a more diverse group than just app developers. My impression is that app developers are not the ones who feel poorly served by Apple's current hardware lineup[1]. Which is not to say that app developers don't have other legitimate grievances with Apple.

[1] I know, I know; the disappearing of the escape key and the function keys affects everyone! Whatever will we all do?

Re: Tim Cook assures employees that Apple is committed to the Mac

#503

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trackpads (buttons) on thinkpads are not well designed and I doubt anyones mental health who says otherwise.

Unfortunately the new Macbook Pro Ret is terribly designed, imo. The trackpad may be good quality, but it is massive. Seriously, my hands naturally rest on the pad while i type, which causes all sorts of weird behavior because my palms are mashing all over the "mouse". Furthermore, Apple reduces the "action" of the keys and trackpad press to near zero, what!? The new non-button-bottons of the Macbook Pro Retina are a…

For what it's worth, I got a new MacBook pro(15", touch bar) from work last week. The keyboard stinks for me as a touch typer at around ~115 wpm. My previous laptop was a thinkpad t430, and it's the lack of travel I think that makes it so painful to use. I end up using the "normal" amount of force to touch a key on any keyboard, which seems to be way too much for the MBP's new keyboard.

The trackpad I haven't noticed any problems with while typing...but it does make a really annoying and hollow sounding "pong" sound with each click. I thought it was just me, but apparently the sound is something all the other users experience also. Maybe I'm picky, but I expect really expensive kit to not feel cheap.

The ports are a pain, but work bought me the usual type-a-to-c adapters, and an LG monitor that uses usb type C by default.

All in all..I want my thinkpad back, but some people might like this new machine, who knows? I think if they buy it with their own money, they are a lot more likely to tell themselves they like it, even if they do not.

Re: Tim Cook assures employees that Apple is committed to the Mac

#504
If Apple was really committed to the Mac, they'd be committed to the Mac.

* iPhone, iPad, Mac Buyer's Guide: Know When to Buy || http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#Mac

iMac - 2nd longest stretch since update (434 days as of today)

Mac Mini - longest stretch since update (796)

Mac Pro - longest stretch since update (1,097)

The Mac Pro is especially out of date... with $1,500 home-build PCs running circles around it.

Re: Tim Cook assures employees that Apple is committed to the Mac

#505

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Apple's mission has always been to make computing accessible to the masses (remember the slogan: "The computer for the rest of us"?), not to make it better for the elite few who already know how to use one. Except the masses buy Windows 10 laptops that cost $199 or whatever. The Mac has never been "accessible to the masses" because they won't pay Apple's prosumer prices...

The world is not divided into rich tech elites who can afford the best, and uneducated, poor people whose only hope to join the tech revolution is buying the cheapest of the cheap. There is a huge segment in between. It's true that Macs have never been the cheapest, but many, many ordinary people buy them none the less. Why? Maybe because a lot of people need a computer, but hate using it. So they choose to spend a l…

And you think finder is less hostile than file manger on windows?

Re: Tim Cook assures employees that Apple is committed to the Mac

#506
post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly I've been feeling the same way lately, not so much about iTunes but about the post-iPhone, post-Steve Jobs Apple. I've been a Mac user for over 10 years. In 2006 it felt that Apple was fully devoted to the Mac and its Mac customers. It made computers that fit the needs of a wide variety of people, from casual users to power users. Its hardware was upgradeable, even if it sometimes meant needing to unscrew a…

I've never been an Apple user but I feel you. For me the most baffling part is that a company with supposed hundreds of billions in cash reserves is just sitting on their bottom ignoring a good chunk of their users. I've heard some news that they fired a lot of QA engineers as well but I have no clue if that's true or not. It does make a lot of sense to keep a strong hold of your market even if you are struggling. Ev…

Wasn't it microsoft that fired a bunch of QA engineers?

Re: Tim Cook assures employees that Apple is committed to the Mac

#507
post #424

Personally, luxury laptop lines don't make sense for me at this point. There was a time when it was the only way to get decent hardware, but those days are long gone. Four years ago I spilled water on my 2009 17" MBP (RIP) and Apple wanted $1200 for the repair. Instead, I spent ~$1300, including three-year accident-protection insurance where they show up at your house THE NEXT DAY, on a Thinkpad T530 and I couldn't b…

So isn't $1500 still within the "luxury" category? You can get a perfectly fine laptop for $500. You mention 1080p. I believe the high-res displays (think 4k-ish/Retina) are still super expensive, even for non-Apple machines and they make a huge difference for me. For professionals working with print, it's an absolute bliss to "not see pixels" anymore and I generally love it for just reading super crisp text. Then th…

> I believe the high-res displays (think 4k-ish/Retina) are still super expensive

It's not so bad these days. If you want a comparison, you can look at Dell displays. On the 5510 and probably a couple other models, you can upgrade from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 for $299.

Comparatively, this is a better screen to the one provided by Apple. Apple's 13" MBP comes in at a lower 2560x1600 resolution, or 4.1m pixels to Dell's 8.3m, or for the 15" MBP you get 2880x1800 at 5.2m.

Re: Tim Cook assures employees that Apple is committed to the Mac

#508

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ditto. Last year, I made the mistake of buying a non-touch laptop thinking I didn't care that much. Had to take it back to the shop and swap it for a touch-screen machine....

If you want touch on your laptop and you're not ready to upgrade yet, you should check out the AirBar. You do need to buy the right bar for your screen size though. It's obviously not as good as a real touch screen, but it seems like a decent substitute until you can get one. Product Site: http://www.air.bar/ Video Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QR5r1EfvheI

Many thanks, that's very interesting.

Re: Tim Cook assures employees that Apple is committed to the Mac

#509

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am experiencing the same thing, but on the reverse side. At my home, I have a Ubuntu desktop which works perfectly. I use Eclipse, Android Studio and Atom editor. On work, I use MBP and pretty much the same environment. I know it is not a common opinion but no matter what I do, I still like Ubuntu more than macos. I agree that macos looks more polished, engineered and complete but somehow, I prefer Ubuntu's plastic…

I'm just trying to find a high end laptop that will run Linux flawlessly. No trackpad driver issues. Zero. Perfect plug and play. It's the only thing keeping my mac at this point. Fear of having to debug driver shit when i don't want to deal with any of that.

System76 sells laptops with Linux preloaded. I believe Dell does as well (or at least used to if they don't anymore). I'm not sure how high end you are looking for but a quick glance shows System76's most expensive laptop is well over $2,000.

Re: Tim Cook assures employees that Apple is committed to the Mac

#510

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am experiencing the same thing, but on the reverse side. At my home, I have a Ubuntu desktop which works perfectly. I use Eclipse, Android Studio and Atom editor. On work, I use MBP and pretty much the same environment. I know it is not a common opinion but no matter what I do, I still like Ubuntu more than macos. I agree that macos looks more polished, engineered and complete but somehow, I prefer Ubuntu's plastic…

I'm just trying to find a high end laptop that will run Linux flawlessly. No trackpad driver issues. Zero. Perfect plug and play. It's the only thing keeping my mac at this point. Fear of having to debug driver shit when i don't want to deal with any of that.

>I'm just trying to find a high end laptop that will run Linux flawlessly.

My 2nd Gen Lenovo X2 carbon is high end and runs Ubuntu flawlessly.

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