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The new MacBook

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Re: The new MacBook

#621

Post by IkmoIkmo »

grecy wrote: post #31
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?

With that battery life, I don't suspect I'll ever be charging it while using it - I'll only ever charge it while I'm asleep.

It's what, 9 hours? If you want to compile some code, you probably get 8 hours. That's fine, but that's a cycle or more every day, and that has an effect on the battery life. If you want to plug it in to a screen you ideally want to charge it, too, instead of degrading the battery. Your screen is in a socket, your MB should, too.

Given it's USB-C there'll be plenty of hubs, docks etc... but it'd have been nice to get it out of the box (charger being a hub), or at least having two ports.

1 port is just ridiculous, it's basically 'we force you to make big tradeoffs, like an external screen or charging, unless you want to buy and carry with you various externals for what is supposed to be the most portable device in our Mac lineup'.

Lack of an SD card is another one of those things. Not as big of a problem but would 2 ports have really been that difficult?

Re: The new MacBook

#622

Post by wnissen »

bithush wrote: post #300
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…

I would love a bigger battery for a slightly bigger device but this isn't what Apple is aiming for. Apple design the hardware to work with what they want it to look like not design a device around the hardware. I used to think that was stupid but it clearly works for Apple. Their business is not making the best device spec wise but the "best" device design wise (in their view obviously).

The "best" device is also one that is hard for their competitors to manufacture. The strategy is to dump a huge amount of money into a competitive advantage that's not easy to duplicate. Charge a huge premium by being out in front, then the rest of the industry falls in line eventually (such as with Intel's Ultrabook initiative). The followers pay somewhat less, but they also don't see a premium. It almost doesn't matter what they do as long as it's hard for a competitor to match cheaply.

Re: The new MacBook

#623

Post by simonh »

Throwaway90283 wrote: post #571
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…

Random story from last week, and my experience with Apple software. I don't use Apple products too often, but I was downloading some apps for a family members ipod touch 4g (latest model being 5g). The 4g only supports up to iOS 6, and nearly every app I tried downloading on the device gave an error saying it required iOS 7 and it couldn't be installed. I thought that was strange, I used most of these apps before on…

The 4G was launched in 2010. It s not what I'd call 'relatively new'.

The reason for the block on just automatically downloading an old version is that it is not the version advertised on the App Store. Advertising a product with features you won't actually get is generally frowned on. The reason the hack works is that it tricks the App Store into thinking you must have 'bought' an earlier version of the software, so supplying a previous version is fine.

Bear in mind governments take advertising accuracy very seriously. You casualy talk about free apps, but there's no such thing on the App Store now because the EU doesn't consider apps provided at no initial cost, but which might be add supported or have in app purchases as being free.

Re: The new MacBook

#624

Post by JBiserkov »

reilly3000 wrote: post #595
JBiserkov wrote: post #575

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I personally swear by Total Commander[0] (previously Windows Commander). [0] http://www.ghisler.com/

Looks like truly handy software. but my god that website. I mean, if you have have a counter that old, I wouldn't touch it either, but the rest... oiy. I want keybindings for browsing through screenshots, damnit!

I agree. The product itself is not updated as regularly as I would like, yet it's still way ahead in many areas - multi-rename tool, search, FTP client, plugins, customizability to name a few.

Re: The new MacBook

#625

Post by Gustomaximus »

mmastrac wrote: post #2

USB-C as the "one connector to rule them all" is the big news. That's the end of MagSafe and the exploding era of USB-C docking stations that work for multiple devices. I think we'll start to see an era of expandable computing coming up soon: USB-C is a perfect connector to push your data and state into a larger desktop experience. Why not carry around your laptop in tablet form when you are mobile? [1] [1] https://g…

> Why not carry around your laptop in tablet form when you are mobile?

For me I prefer a laptop because its workable on the lap and small surfaces. I have seriously considered a Surface Pro but using a kick stand doesn't work on a bus/train/lounge which are common usages for me when on the move. And given tablets are about the same size as an ultrabook I may as well get the additional usage benefit.

If I did want the mobile tablet form I would prefer a larger size phone that docks and become my desktop when at home/work.

Re: The new MacBook

#626

Post by svckr »

PhasmaFelis wrote: post #79
mmastrac wrote: post #2

USB-C as the "one connector to rule them all" is the big news. That's the end of MagSafe and the exploding era of USB-C docking stations that work for multiple devices. I think we'll start to see an era of expandable computing coming up soon: USB-C is a perfect connector to push your data and state into a larger desktop experience. Why not carry around your laptop in tablet form when you are mobile? [1] [1] https://g…

My only regret is that MagSafe is actually really cool. I think I'd have to say it's worth it for full standards-compliance, though.

Considering the new MacBook is just 2 pounds, I guess they'd have to put a really weak magnet in there to actually keep your Mac safe. I assume the threshold where the plug should "let go" is pretty close to the force required to keep the cable plugged during regular use.

Related: Can you still open the lid with one finger without lifting the bottom case up with it?

Re: The new MacBook

#627

Post by GhotiFish »

Xorlev wrote: post #373
news_to_me wrote: post #352

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Personally I've transitioned into splitting windows in half when I'm writing code or reading anything substantial. At 16:9 this is more than effective.

I mean, the only thing I can see in favor of this is that 16:10 is better for working because it has more resolution, but that's not arguing for that aspect, only for more resolution.

Would you take a screen that was 1728*1080?

If not, then standardize on 16:9, get a higher resolution screen.

Re: The new MacBook

#628

Post by notsony »

geophile wrote: post #579
nsxwolf wrote: post #561

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Curious - what do Finder complainers consider the gold standard of file browsers that Finder should aspire to be? I do most of my file management at the command line so I don't experience the pain of Finder very often, and I've generally been able to get Finder to do what I want without much fuss. Windows Explorer is, to me, a painful experience (but its 1980s DOS command line is so much worse) I've found the various…

How about showing the actual filesystem? Instead of some restricted fictional view? For example, how the hell do you get to /tmp from the Finder? What's with the stupid column per directory level? This is an extremely bad use of display space. Haven't used Windows in a long time, and the equivalent in Linux is useless. (Or, more precisely, I don't use it.) But there are a number of irritations that have been there fo…

~/Library/Application Support

Keeps getting hidden and you have to set a preference option via the command line to show it... only for it get hidden on the next OS update. Very frustrating!

Re: The new MacBook

#629

Post by 72deluxe »

ryanSrich wrote: post #371
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 o…

I work in the audio industry where I route audio over ethernet and also use USB devices in development to flash devices (like putting firmware on USB stick and then taking said USB device to the audio hardware).

I also use my FireWire for running external mic preamps; it's really useful to have a rack mounted 8 channel mic preamp on FireWire and to turn up and record a practice / gig with just your laptop, particularly as the ADCs in the external hardware will be significantly better than the ones in the MacBook.

I use the ThunderBolt / Mini DisplayPort for hooking up to an external screen when I take the laptop home and want to game in Windows after rebooting; it is useful to have a device that will do all of that without external hardware, and I don't feel the extra pain of having a laptop half a centimetre thicker than a Retina model :-)

And the SD? For my ancient camera!

And the DVD writer is useful for giving CDs to other band members who don't like MP3s for odd reasons, or to play CDs in the car (yes my "ancient" 2008 Golf TDi supports MP3 CDs but the iPod interface for it is severely inadequate).

You're right about the Pro though - it's probably the thing I'd buy again.

Re: The new MacBook

#630

Post by ceejayoz »

jameshart wrote: post #40
colinramsay wrote: post #8

Are there things here where Apple is significantly further ahead than the competition? Innovating on keyboards, trackpad, battery life, power usage and form factor - there just seem to be innovating simultaneously on more levels than the competition. Another thing - that vibrating trackpad gizmo feels like a couple of innovations away from true touch feedback on an iPhone? Any thoughts?

Apple's role here is often to be more opinionated, or braver, than others. They were the first to adopt USB, first to stop shipping floppy drives, first to ditch optical drives, first to make high-DPI ('retina') displays a standard feature... they are willing to be the one who goes out there and says 'we all know this is where things are going - so let's quit pussy-footing around and just do it'. This new MacBook ann…

Don't forget ditching Flash support.
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