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Apple Unveils M2

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Re: Apple Unveils M2

#501

Post by kube-system »

bogwog wrote: post #474
kube-system wrote: post #410

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm following. Modular designs are not without tradeoff. Using memory on a board requires different types of memory (i.e. not LPDDRX), which have different performance and power characteristics. It requires changes to packaging and the overall design to facilitate that modularity. It changes their ability to share subcomponent designs with other products in their offerings. It introduces opportunities for commercial…

All true, but what I'm saying is that nothing has been "proven". The market has not decided that this is what it wants, Apple has. They have a pure monopoly on the market for Mac-compatible hardware, so whatever they do is immune to the regular market forces which would normally require them to make different product decisions. So again, whatever Apple manages to sell does not really reflect the reality of the market…

Apple's laptops compete in the same market for laptops that others do. I definitely doubt that Apple's customers prioritize modularity more than Linux or Windows users. Very likely the opposite. Yet, the most popular devices of any OS are moving towards non-modular designs.

Re: Apple Unveils M2

#502

Post by airstrike »

reaperducer wrote: post #401
airstrike wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Office for Mac is a non-starter for power users due to the lack of Alt-key accelerators. There are countless other missing features, but that alone is enough to never make the switch

Interesting that you state there are missing features. I remember a speech given by one of the leaders of Mac development at Microsoft saying that new features are tested out on the Mac first, and if they work out, they're brought into the Windows version. Is that no longer the case?

The problem is that Alt-key accelerators are encouraged by Windows across the entire OS and it has been the case since the very first version of Excel (it really predates Excel)

I love the approach of testing new features on the Mac first, but it isn't sufficient since the Mac version was never updated to be 100% parity with the Windows version, which means some of the preexisting features would forever be missing from the Mac

Re: Apple Unveils M2

#503

Post by soperj »

darkteflon wrote: post #490
soperj wrote: post #466

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is really funny considering how high people were about their MacBook pros during this era.

Funny, I remember we all complained about this issue ceaselessly.

I remember hearing people complain about their keyboards, not that they couldn't video conference.

Re: Apple Unveils M2

#504

Post by darkteflon »

godelski wrote: post #485

Why does the 13" Pro have a 720p camera and the Air have a 1080p? Seriously, why is Apple still putting in 720p cameras? This has to be a mistake, right? Edit: Also the pro is missing the magsafe charger. Are they phasing out the 13" pro? Pro: https://www.apple.com/macbook-pro-13/specs/ Air: https://www.apple.com/macbook-air-m2/specs/

To clarify, you’re talking about the 13” Pro only. But yeah, total mystery to me why they’re still selling it. It made sense in 2020 on the cusp of the Intel/Silicon transition, but now that we already have the redesigned 14”, don’t really understand what they’re doing here.

Who would buy one of these? The Touch Bar is an evolutionary dead-end, and the design of the new 14” and 16” Pros seemed specifically targeted at addressing the well-known shortfalls of this previous generation.

Re: Apple Unveils M2

#505

Post by wildrhythms »

Xeoncross wrote: post #82

I'm not surprised they are keeping the M1 Air alive. That thing is a great price/performance combo in a very light and portable wrapper. It's been $850-$900 multiple times at Costco, Bestbuy or Microcenter. Also, the first computer where getting the upgraded hard drive (512GB or 1TB) really helps with the low ram because of the integration bus they have with the drive for swap. It's fast.

I have the M1 Air and it is incredible to have such a powerful machine that doesn't blast an annoying fan at all times, and is still thin, light weight, and with a very high resolution display and incredible battery life. I travel frequently so it's the perfect laptop for me. And the best part is there's NO TOUCHBAR. I will absolutely be trading this in for the M2.

Re: Apple Unveils M2

#506

Post by michael1999 »

godelski wrote: post #485

Why does the 13" Pro have a 720p camera and the Air have a 1080p? Seriously, why is Apple still putting in 720p cameras? This has to be a mistake, right? Edit: Also the pro is missing the magsafe charger. Are they phasing out the 13" pro? Pro: https://www.apple.com/macbook-pro-13/specs/ Air: https://www.apple.com/macbook-air-m2/specs/

remember 14" is more like a 13" with a narrower bezel.

Re: Apple Unveils M2

#507

Post by lynguist »

guelo wrote: post #102
kyleplum wrote: post #2

I can't help but wonder what Microsoft's answer to Apple Silicon will be going forward. They don't really make hardware, but selling Windows laptops gets harder and harder the further Apple gets ahead. It seems inevitable that there needs to be some ARM-based Windows laptops to compete in perf/watt to the M1/M2 but I don't know what company can provide an ARM chip that competes with Apple at this point.

I'm not convinced that Apple's advantage is due to ARM vs x86. I think it has more to do with Apple's exclusive rights to TSMC's most advanced proccess. After all Apple is also beating Qualcomm's ARM Android CPUs.

The ISA does not matter in a CPU design.

But the process node is also not the main reason.

What matters is only microarchitecture. And Apple has by far the most performant microarchitecture design of all CPUs.

Re: Apple Unveils M2

#508

Post by mrob »

coder543 wrote: post #484
mrob wrote: post #453

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The relevant standard is proprietary, but Wikipedia quotes it, confirming that "visually lossless" is marketing lies: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DisplayPort#Display_Stream_Com...

"Marketing lies" is unnecessarily inflammatory. I googled before posting to see if I could find anyone legitimately complaining about DSC, and it really seemed like pretty much everyone was happy with it. There are always people like "audiophiles" who claim to be able to distinguish impossibly small differences, and there is perhaps a very small number of people with exceptional hearing who actually do... but 320kbps…

>in almost all test cases

Common sense suggests that "visually lossless" means no detectable difference by the naked eye ever, not in "almost all test cases". MP3 is a very old codec, and it's possible that there are still some "killer samples" that can be ABXed by skilled listeners with good equipment even when encoded by a modern version of LAME. A better example of something that could reasonably called "audibly lossless" might be something like Opus at 160kbps, for which I've seen no evidence of any successful ABX. But even that is is usually called "transparent", not "audibly lossless", so not only is "visually lossless" a lie, the name itself is propaganda.

Re: Apple Unveils M2

#509

Post by nevi-me »

sliken wrote: post #435
edgefield wrote: post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

100% agree. The last generation of MacBook pros with intel processors were virtually unusable for zoom calls or any intensive processing power tasks.

I got a late model MBP 16" i9. Zoom, Teams video confs, backups, and anything else even mildly intensive and it would ramp up to impressively loud levels, enough for people in the next room to ask what the noise was.

I had a laptop that did that (got people noticing), I went to IT a few times to tell them that something was wrong with my laptop, as colleagues' were a bit quieter.

I wish that I'd have been more firm with getting a replacement. I now have tinnitus after a year of a really loud laptop. I'm in my early 30s. I can't even tolerate my desktop with relatively quiet fans.

One day in the office, I shutdown my laptop for the day after the air conditioners turned off at 5pm. There were about 6 people left in the room, everyone noticed that "something had just turned off".

Be careful that your laptop doesn't damage your hearing.

Re: Apple Unveils M2

#510

Post by lynguist »

vegai_ wrote: post #62
kyleplum wrote: post #2

I can't help but wonder what Microsoft's answer to Apple Silicon will be going forward. They don't really make hardware, but selling Windows laptops gets harder and harder the further Apple gets ahead. It seems inevitable that there needs to be some ARM-based Windows laptops to compete in perf/watt to the M1/M2 but I don't know what company can provide an ARM chip that competes with Apple at this point.

The only reason to buy a Windows laptop is so you can install Linux on it. If Asahi gets there, the last reason will vanish.

What is even a Windows laptop? A laptop for which Windows has drivers? You buy a laptop for which Windows has drivers in order to install Linux? That doesn’t make sense.

What you mean to say is: you buy a laptop for which Linux has drivers for. Windows is not in this equation, my friend.

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