I would have preferred it if Apple had designed it to be the same thickness, given it a bigger battery, took out the CD drive and allowed us to replace SSD and RAM... As great as they are, I won't be getting one.. Stuff breaks too quickly for me.
The New MacBook Pro: Unfixable, Unhackable, Untenable
71–80 of 353 posts
Re: The New MacBook Pro: Unfixable, Unhackable, Untenable
#72I'm on the fence. On the one hand, the new MBP is a fantastic machine and if I pay the premium for the 16GB of RAM, I'm probably going to be set for years. That said, I'm currently running the original Late 2008 Unibody Macbook Pro. It's survived for four years because I've been able to, over time, upgrade the RAM, replace the spinning disk with an SSD, and replace the aging battery. SSDs weren't available when I pur…
Same here which is why Im thinking Ill go from my 2009 17" Unibody to the latest Sandy Bridge model I can find.
Re: The New MacBook Pro: Unfixable, Unhackable, Untenable
#73Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's not the only point mentioned in this article. You are forgetting about two aspects: - Environment: Gluing glass and aluminum most probably forbid recycling both of them, that's just a waste. - Cost of repairing: While with previous models, any of us could replace some part of his laptops easily (to repair as well as to upgrade), that won't be possible anymore. That means that it will cost tons of money to cust…
Gluing glass and aluminum most probably forbid recycling both of them, that's just a waste. I doubt that's an insurmountable technical hurdle. Apple should take the machines back at the Apple store, though, and they should handle the separation.
You have to weigh the results of separating the glass vs. the problems with throwing away the glass. If the process leaves 5 gallons of toxic water and requires $5 of solvent, is it more economical or more environmentally sound to use the process or just throw away the screen?
Re: The New MacBook Pro: Unfixable, Unhackable, Untenable
#74Earlier quoted context omitted.
> apple only charges $200 for the 16GB option Only $200? That's twice what it would cost to buy from Newegg.
And they're charging 200$ for an 8GB upgrade, not the whole 16GB!
That's what they charge, but your cost to upgrade is either $200 via Apple or $100 or so via newegg. The 8GB option is two 4GB dimms, and the 16GB option is two 8GB dimms, it's not like buying one more 8 GB dimm and throwing it in.
Re: The New MacBook Pro: Unfixable, Unhackable, Untenable
#75> Would we support laptops that required replacement every year or two as applications required more memory and batteries atrophied? This is the key misunderstanding most people made: a 2010 MacBook Air still makes a fine system, even for software developers. For almost all users, hardware capacity has exceeded their needs for years and the newer battery technology holds up better than the older designs as well.
When I was 14 I would build my own computer from parts and boy did I care about upgradability and serviceability. One of the reasons I switched to Apple is I didn't want to spend time making computers, I wanted to spend time making things with my computer. My 2011 Macbook Air is the best computer I've ever owned. Go to any meetup for software developers and you see a lot of the people in the crowd who have gone the s…
I think this is true for many people. But apart from growing old, boring and having less free time, I think gaming is a big part of it. I knew some people who would buy a new MBP every year because they wanted to both use OS X and play recent games on Boot Camp.
Re: The New MacBook Pro: Unfixable, Unhackable, Untenable
#76I've been using the MacBook Air since 2008 which shares many of the same design choices. It hasn't been an issue at all. The resale value of Apple computers has to be considered too. If I can resell my old machine for 50-60% of it's original list price then upgrade-by-replacement is a good strategy. I only paid about $300 to upgrade from the 2008 MBA to the late 2012 MBA.
Re: The New MacBook Pro: Unfixable, Unhackable, Untenable
#77Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah, but really, the thing is, the growth curve is bending down Processors have barely became faster in the last couple of years. Even a 5 year computer (with some upgrades) is good for doing what 99% of the people do today (internet) So chances are upgrades today are moot. Unless you're hitting the limits constantly like video editing, compiling software, etc
> Processors have barely became faster in the last couple of years. Funny you should mention that. I will be picking up one of the new MacBook Airs and when mulling over the 1.8 vs 2.0 GHz processors, I realized that my last three notebooks (including the new Air) have each had successively lower clock speeds while posting faster Geekbench scores. 2008 - Aluminum MacBook 2.4 GHz - 3374 2010 - MacBook Air 2.13 GHz - 3…
That's because the boards are getting more cycles in GPU and cache and things, which are more important than straightahead serial speed.
Re: The New MacBook Pro: Unfixable, Unhackable, Untenable
#78The title part "But should we really blame Apple?" rather than the original "UNFIXABLE, UNHACKABLE, UNTENABLE" is a perfect replacement for Apple loving HN crowd.
I gave it some thought before replacing the title. I'm confortable with what I came up with because the new title echoes both of the article's main points, while the original focuses a bit too much on the "unhackable" side and is, frankly, a bit click-baity. Anyway, I'm sorry if it passed as blind apple love. Wasn't my intention.
Re: The New MacBook Pro: Unfixable, Unhackable, Untenable
#79For years Apple has wanted to get closer and closer to the "appliance" model for their products. They are targeting consumers who's gut instinct when it comes to fixing their computers is to call a "geek". These consumers just want the damn things to work and would rather not worry about upgrading it over time. This is of course very unattractive to the hacker crowd, but they make up a much smaller percentage of the…
No, they are targeting consumers who call their "bank". The service life of modern computers is more than 3 years. So instead of buying a 16GB memory upgrade for $29 in 2015 to rejuvenate your laptop, you're looking at buying another $2,000 device. (Assuming that Apple doesn't decide that you only need an iPad 8)
I generally replace my laptops on a 4-5 year schedule and have not performed upgrades on any of those systems. Usually by year four I'm thinking that some upgrades would be nice, but there are usually major improvements on the newer systems that make putting money into my old system of questionable worth.
So while I get where you are coming from, I do question how many actually take advantage of that ability? I imagine it is an exceedingly small group.
Re: The New MacBook Pro: Unfixable, Unhackable, Untenable
#80The title part "But should we really blame Apple?" rather than the original "UNFIXABLE, UNHACKABLE, UNTENABLE" is a perfect replacement for Apple loving HN crowd.
I love the idea that upgrading RAM/Hard Disk somehow equates to hacking your machine. It's akin to someone thinking they are an F1 mechanic because they can replace the car battery.
How would you define hack, if not fiddling with hardware against the manufacturers intent?