1) I think he means only one at a time sans buying an ad later since it only has one port.
That was my take.
2) if one feels they will need the multi-port adapter often I don't think they are ideal candidates for this product.
For most cases this may be true. It certainly isn't the computer to buy if you need to carry adapters on a daily basis. However this is almost perfect for people who understand their needs well and expect to only use the laptop docked with other hardware in one location, an office for example.
What I don't understand here is why Apple blew it with regards to the charger. The charger should have had a break out for a video port and at least two USB ports. That way you dock for power and have your office setup installs available. Here I imagine an office setup as having a large screen monitor, a high capacity disk for back up and at least one free USB port. The disk would occupy one USB port so the minimal number of ports would be two USB built into the power adapter.
This use case is so obvious to me that I'm not sure how Apple missed it. Maybe they have more hardware planned for the laptops debut, I don't really know of course but I'd be shocked if they didn't have plans to cater to this use case.
With some ridiculously costly adaptor? I have been a happy Mac owner since the eighties, seen a couple of instances where Apply has stumbled just short of making a great product. This looks like one of these, but I have no doubt Apple will make it, still to me this looks like a half-baked product!
I'm certian this product will find its niche. I considered it for a moment but I have a real need for USB ports. Well that and more performance than Core M can deliver. That is why I bought one of the new13" MBP's, I get retina along with ports. Plus I get enough of a performance boost to put a smile on my face.
I'm not sure Half Baked is the best description. I liken this product to the first Mac BOok Airs, pushing the envelop and sitting back to see what sticks. With the advent of SkyLake I would expect to see rev two of this product in the late fall time frame. Any short comings that are addressed to Apple will be dealt with. I'm hoping one of those short comings loudly heard at Apple will be the lack of ports, compelling Apple to offer the machine with two or more USB C ports.
This is the second time they've released a thinner keyboard with less travel. The end game might be for the whole keyboard to be a taptic device, and they are just easing us in by gradually reducing the travel over the years.
I'm certian this product will find its niche. I considered it for a moment but I have a real need for USB ports. Well that and more performance than Core M can deliver. That is why I bought one of the new13" MBP's, I get retina along with ports. Plus I get enough of a performance boost to put a smile on my face.
I'm not sure Half Baked is the best description. I liken this product to the first Mac BOok Airs, pushing the envelop and sitting back to see what sticks. With the advent of SkyLake I would expect to see rev two of this product in the late fall time frame. Any short comings that are addressed to Apple will be dealt with. I'm hoping one of those short comings loudly heard at Apple will be the lack of ports, compelling Apple to offer the machine with two or more USB C ports.
I totally agree with you. This product points to the future but it is not quit there. Personally i can live with what I have. But soon I shall get wat I want!
Have absolutely no doubt that a year from now I will buy the product, which will then be right. But 80 bucks is a rip-off, couldn't care less about the amount, but i dont accept to be ripped off! And I shall still like to connect my 1000 bucks Grado Statement headphones at that time, not the Beats crap!
So connect them. It has a 3.5mm jack. Personally I think $1000 for a set of headphones is bonkers when you can get amazing ones for far less, but...
So connect them. It has a 3.5mm jack. Personally I think $1000 for a set of headphones is bonkers when you can get amazing ones for far less, but...
Unfortunately, reasonably good sound reproduction, at a very agreeably price I agree, has replaced great sound reproduction, which is still fairly costly.
I love how power users are criticizing this machine for not being MacBook Pro enough in one way or another. It's like they can't see the bigger picture.
However, I still feel that the subtle suggestion that apple is cutting ties with adobe by using an in-house typeface is just feeding the anti-adobe trolls. Or maybe I'm reading into that part of the article too deeply?
I didn’t see any suggestions subtle or otherwise, that Apple is cutting ties with anyone.
Quote:
"so the more plausible explanation for using the typeset on the MacBook is that San Francisco creates a common aesthetic across Apple's product lines"
I have been a happy Mac owner since the eighties, seen a couple of instances where Apply has stumbled just short of making a great product. This looks like one of these, but I have no doubt Apple will make it, still to me this looks like a half-baked product!
You see it as a half-baked product because you don't realize it's for people that will almost always only ever use the power cable to charge. People said Apple removing the ethernet port from the current MBP design was going to doom them. I bought the RJ-45-to-TB adapter, just in case, and I've only used a couple of times. The average consumer doesn't ever use Ethernet for their portable. The new MB just takes it to the next level of wireless portability. If it doesn't work for you, that's perfectly fine, but don't say it's half-baked because it wasn't designed to fit your usage needs.
For me the single USB port is a step back into the past. I HATE having to carry a truckload of cables and adapters when I'm on the road, in a rush I always seem to forget the one extra that I really need. And when not in a rush I ended up taking far too much extra baggage just to "be prepared". Frankly it seems silly to me .. a sacrifice of function for form .. to make the devices thin and light but require the user to load up on heavy expensive external add-ons because the mother-ship is too thin to be able to contain everything in one package. Remember the good old days when international travellers had to carry a sackload of Cables and adapters to be able to hook up their machines to an external modem in order to be able to do any sensible communication with the device ???
If Apple had put two or more USB-C connectors, which one would be used to charge the MacBook? Either? Or Both? Should the MacBook charge faster if power is fed into more than one USB-C connector? Apple's single universal connector makes things easier, like a single-button mouse.
Google's new Chromebook has 2 USB C ports plus 2 USB A ports:
It can charge on either side. It must be able to adapt to power being plugged in on both sides at once.
The Macbook dropping from 3 usable ports plus power on the Air to 1 port including power is restrictive - something as simple as copying from one external drive to another isn't possible now without a powered hub.
If they have plans to use Skylake's wireless charging and they add another USB C port, it should be ok. There will be chips available in 6 months to put out an updated version of the Macbook.
Wireless charging could be in the form of a magnetic plate that sticks somewhere like onto the metal Apple logo. That would give the benefits of Magsafe and they can put a USB C port on each side and forget the USB C charging. I wish they could do wireless charging at a 1-2m distance and then you'd just put the brick in the socket and sit near it. The distance is about 4-5cm in the prototypes:
[VIDEO]
It probably makes more sense for the charger to be in the laptop base so that when people are at Starbucks, it charges on the table. That would mean at home, people would have to get a mat of some kind. Going with a single USB C port might be to encourage people to adopt wireless charging if they have to drive a display too.
I didn’t see any <span style="line-height:18.200000762939453px;">suggestions </span>
<span style="line-height:1.4em;">subtle or otherwise, that Apple is cutting ties with anyone.</span>
You don't quote these bits:
"while avoiding licensing fees"
And that VAG Rounded "is now licensed by Adobe."
Which is a baseless assumption since there is no licensing cost to continue using the typeface licensed by Adobe. Granted, perhaps the author isn't familiar with the finer points of font licensing. But why draw this dubious conclusion in the first place? It seems that the intent was to suggest apple doesn't want to pay adobe, rather would prefer to roll their own and cut out adobe, trotting out the 'throw off the shackles of the evil software overlords that we call Adobe" routine. Recalling the glory of Steve Jobs facing down Adobe over Flash on iOS and winning his game of chicken with them.
In the same sentence the author does suggest the typeface change was also likely intended to match the new typographical style used on the watch. This seems FAR more likely to me.
The Adobe licensing conclusion is at best rather sloppy journalism as it isn't based in fact or at worst is intended to add a small bit of anti-Adobe sizzle to this otherwise interesting article.
Sorry I focus on this little detail. It just bugs me.
Edit: and just to be clear, I was all for the decision to nix flash on iOS, and more generally as standards based web development has taken over. However, I feel Adobe has been dragged through the muck quite enough. They have launched an ambitious suite of web standards based authoring tools in the last few years and I am a satisfied customer of theirs.
I have been a happy Mac owner since the eighties, seen a couple of instances where Apply has stumbled just short of making a great product. This looks like one of these, but I have no doubt Apple will make it, still to me this looks like a half-baked product!
Conceptually, it's not much different from the original MacBook Air. Right now it is a niche device, and so exists alongside the current MacBook Air and MacBook Pro lines (just as the original Air existed alongside the then-current MacBook and MacBook Pro lines). Eventually, once USB Type C becomes more common, and Intel improves the GPU in the 4.5W chips, we'll probably see the MacBook replace the Air, in much the same way that the Air replaced the original MacBook in 2010.
I really liked the original MacBook Air back in 2008. It was my first personal Mac. Sure, it was comparatively underpowered and pricey, but it served my needs well. I expect the same from the new MacBook.
I remember the original "San Francisco" font, and that, sir, is no San Francisco!
LOL. They retired that San Fransisco a good while back (I don't think it was ever TType) and that would be a mess for those of us that are still not touch typist. It would certainly make the headlines though...
This is the problem, many of us do use those ports. Often multiple ports at the same time. So yeah how many make a difference and frankly one is a no go for some of us.
That is a strange way to count ports but you could be right in broad terms but here we are concerned about USB ports.
so what devices do you have plugged in 100% on an ultra portable?
All this subtle font stuff is huge with Jony Ives and Jon Gruber, etc., but basically as lost on me as trying to think of a non-dumb reason I'd spend $17,000 on a case for a $350 smart watch.
Guess I'm just a Philistine who'll never have a career in design... ...oh well....
You sound like a normal person. 17-grand watches aren't for normal people. Nor are 50-grand watches. They're for people who earn more than can be spent.
Haven't used the RJ-45 since 2009, have owned at least 20 Mac's, give or take, currently 6 in my household. Have jumped over a couple, and to me this looks like a jumper. Still good to be able to charge my iPhones, use an obsolete stick, or hook up an old-fashioned camera or harddrive from time to time. Wouldn't be a problem if that stuff was all wireless, but there will still be some stone-age technology around, even if Apple has moved on.
An ultra portable isn't the best device to occasionally hook up legacy hardware to. Unless you use an adapter.
Have absolutely no doubt that a year from now I will buy the product, which will then be right. But 80 bucks is a rip-off, couldn't care less about the amount, but i dont accept to be ripped off! And I shall still like to connect my 1000 bucks Grado Statement headphones at that time, not the Beats crap!
80 bucks is less than an hour of my time, but 1000 bucks for some headphones sound like a ripoff to me. Different strokes.
For me the single USB port is a step back into the past. I HATE having to carry a truckload of cables and adapters when I'm on the road, in a rush I always seem to forget the one extra that I really need. And when not in a rush I ended up taking far too much extra baggage just to "be prepared". Frankly it seems silly to me .. a sacrifice of function for form .. to make the devices thin and light but require the user to load up on heavy expensive external add-ons because the mother-ship is too thin to be able to contain everything in one package. Remember the good old days when international travellers had to carry a sackload of Cables and adapters to be able to hook up their machines to an external modem in order to be able to do any sensible communication with the device ???
Here's what you're getting wrong -- most people won't need those adapters. Some people will some of the time, but that's why they're optional accessories. The lighter base model benefits most people most of the time.
It just depends on what goes into them. Grado has $80 headphones that are actually rated pretty well. I cannot say the same about Beats.
The point was ripoff is relative. 80 for an optional accessory on my pricey laptop doesn't hit that point for me. Sure I'd prefer less, but it doesn't seem that big of a deal.
Comments
For most cases this may be true. It certainly isn't the computer to buy if you need to carry adapters on a daily basis. However this is almost perfect for people who understand their needs well and expect to only use the laptop docked with other hardware in one location, an office for example.
What I don't understand here is why Apple blew it with regards to the charger. The charger should have had a break out for a video port and at least two USB ports. That way you dock for power and have your office setup installs available. Here I imagine an office setup as having a large screen monitor, a high capacity disk for back up and at least one free USB port. The disk would occupy one USB port so the minimal number of ports would be two USB built into the power adapter.
This use case is so obvious to me that I'm not sure how Apple missed it. Maybe they have more hardware planned for the laptops debut, I don't really know of course but I'd be shocked if they didn't have plans to cater to this use case.
I'm certian this product will find its niche. I considered it for a moment but I have a real need for USB ports. Well that and more performance than Core M can deliver. That is why I bought one of the new13" MBP's, I get retina along with ports. Plus I get enough of a performance boost to put a smile on my face.
I'm not sure Half Baked is the best description. I liken this product to the first Mac BOok Airs, pushing the envelop and sitting back to see what sticks. With the advent of SkyLake I would expect to see rev two of this product in the late fall time frame. Any short comings that are addressed to Apple will be dealt with. I'm hoping one of those short comings loudly heard at Apple will be the lack of ports, compelling Apple to offer the machine with two or more USB C ports.
This is the second time they've released a thinner keyboard with less travel. The end game might be for the whole keyboard to be a taptic device, and they are just easing us in by gradually reducing the travel over the years.
I'm certian this product will find its niche. I considered it for a moment but I have a real need for USB ports. Well that and more performance than Core M can deliver. That is why I bought one of the new13" MBP's, I get retina along with ports. Plus I get enough of a performance boost to put a smile on my face.
I'm not sure Half Baked is the best description. I liken this product to the first Mac BOok Airs, pushing the envelop and sitting back to see what sticks. With the advent of SkyLake I would expect to see rev two of this product in the late fall time frame. Any short comings that are addressed to Apple will be dealt with. I'm hoping one of those short comings loudly heard at Apple will be the lack of ports, compelling Apple to offer the machine with two or more USB C ports.
I totally agree with you. This product points to the future but it is not quit there. Personally i can live with what I have. But soon I shall get wat I want!
Have absolutely no doubt that a year from now I will buy the product, which will then be right. But 80 bucks is a rip-off, couldn't care less about the amount, but i dont accept to be ripped off! And I shall still like to connect my 1000 bucks Grado Statement headphones at that time, not the Beats crap!
So connect them. It has a 3.5mm jack. Personally I think $1000 for a set of headphones is bonkers when you can get amazing ones for far less, but...
So connect them. It has a 3.5mm jack. Personally I think $1000 for a set of headphones is bonkers when you can get amazing ones for far less, but...
Unfortunately, reasonably good sound reproduction, at a very agreeably price I agree, has replaced great sound reproduction, which is still fairly costly.
However, I still feel that the subtle suggestion that apple is cutting ties with adobe by using an in-house typeface is just feeding the anti-adobe trolls. Or maybe I'm reading into that part of the article too deeply?
I didn’t see any suggestions subtle or otherwise, that Apple is cutting ties with anyone.
With some ridiculously costly adaptor?
I have been a happy Mac owner since the eighties, seen a couple of instances where Apply has stumbled just short of making a great product. This looks like one of these, but I have no doubt Apple will make it, still to me this looks like a half-baked product!
You see it as a half-baked product because you don't realize it's for people that will almost always only ever use the power cable to charge. People said Apple removing the ethernet port from the current MBP design was going to doom them. I bought the RJ-45-to-TB adapter, just in case, and I've only used a couple of times. The average consumer doesn't ever use Ethernet for their portable. The new MB just takes it to the next level of wireless portability. If it doesn't work for you, that's perfectly fine, but don't say it's half-baked because it wasn't designed to fit your usage needs.
For me the single USB port is a step back into the past. I HATE having to carry a truckload of cables and adapters when I'm on the road, in a rush I always seem to forget the one extra that I really need. And when not in a rush I ended up taking far too much extra baggage just to "be prepared". Frankly it seems silly to me .. a sacrifice of function for form .. to make the devices thin and light but require the user to load up on heavy expensive external add-ons because the mother-ship is too thin to be able to contain everything in one package. Remember the good old days when international travellers had to carry a sackload of Cables and adapters to be able to hook up their machines to an external modem in order to be able to do any sensible communication with the device ???
Google's new Chromebook has 2 USB C ports plus 2 USB A ports:
https://www.google.com/chromebook/pixel/
http://www.anandtech.com/show/9082/the-chromebook-pixel-2015-review/6
It can charge on either side. It must be able to adapt to power being plugged in on both sides at once.
The Macbook dropping from 3 usable ports plus power on the Air to 1 port including power is restrictive - something as simple as copying from one external drive to another isn't possible now without a powered hub.
If they have plans to use Skylake's wireless charging and they add another USB C port, it should be ok. There will be chips available in 6 months to put out an updated version of the Macbook.
Wireless charging could be in the form of a magnetic plate that sticks somewhere like onto the metal Apple logo. That would give the benefits of Magsafe and they can put a USB C port on each side and forget the USB C charging. I wish they could do wireless charging at a 1-2m distance and then you'd just put the brick in the socket and sit near it. The distance is about 4-5cm in the prototypes:
[VIDEO]
It probably makes more sense for the charger to be in the laptop base so that when people are at Starbucks, it charges on the table. That would mean at home, people would have to get a mat of some kind. Going with a single USB C port might be to encourage people to adopt wireless charging if they have to drive a display too.
You don't quote these bits:
"while avoiding licensing fees"
And that VAG Rounded "is now licensed by Adobe."
Which is a baseless assumption since there is no licensing cost to continue using the typeface licensed by Adobe. Granted, perhaps the author isn't familiar with the finer points of font licensing. But why draw this dubious conclusion in the first place? It seems that the intent was to suggest apple doesn't want to pay adobe, rather would prefer to roll their own and cut out adobe, trotting out the 'throw off the shackles of the evil software overlords that we call Adobe" routine. Recalling the glory of Steve Jobs facing down Adobe over Flash on iOS and winning his game of chicken with them.
In the same sentence the author does suggest the typeface change was also likely intended to match the new typographical style used on the watch. This seems FAR more likely to me.
The Adobe licensing conclusion is at best rather sloppy journalism as it isn't based in fact or at worst is intended to add a small bit of anti-Adobe sizzle to this otherwise interesting article.
Sorry I focus on this little detail. It just bugs me.
Edit: and just to be clear, I was all for the decision to nix flash on iOS, and more generally as standards based web development has taken over. However, I feel Adobe has been dragged through the muck quite enough. They have launched an ambitious suite of web standards based authoring tools in the last few years and I am a satisfied customer of theirs.
With some ridiculously costly adaptor?
I have been a happy Mac owner since the eighties, seen a couple of instances where Apply has stumbled just short of making a great product. This looks like one of these, but I have no doubt Apple will make it, still to me this looks like a half-baked product!
Conceptually, it's not much different from the original MacBook Air. Right now it is a niche device, and so exists alongside the current MacBook Air and MacBook Pro lines (just as the original Air existed alongside the then-current MacBook and MacBook Pro lines). Eventually, once USB Type C becomes more common, and Intel improves the GPU in the 4.5W chips, we'll probably see the MacBook replace the Air, in much the same way that the Air replaced the original MacBook in 2010.
I really liked the original MacBook Air back in 2008. It was my first personal Mac. Sure, it was comparatively underpowered and pricey, but it served my needs well. I expect the same from the new MacBook.
I remember the original "San Francisco" font, and that, sir, is no San Francisco!
LOL. They retired that San Fransisco a good while back (I don't think it was ever TType) and that would be a mess for those of us that are still not touch typist. It would certainly make the headlines though...
so what devices do you have plugged in 100% on an ultra portable?
You sound like a normal person. 17-grand watches aren't for normal people. Nor are 50-grand watches. They're for people who earn more than can be spent.
An ultra portable isn't the best device to occasionally hook up legacy hardware to. Unless you use an adapter.
80 bucks is less than an hour of my time, but 1000 bucks for some headphones sound like a ripoff to me. Different strokes.
80 bucks is less than an hour of my time, but 1000 bucks for some headphones sound like a ripoff to me. Different strokes.
It just depends on what goes into them. Grado has $80 headphones that are actually rated pretty well. I cannot say the same about Beats.
Here's what you're getting wrong -- most people won't need those adapters. Some people will some of the time, but that's why they're optional accessories. The lighter base model benefits most people most of the time.
The point was ripoff is relative. 80 for an optional accessory on my pricey laptop doesn't hit that point for me. Sure I'd prefer less, but it doesn't seem that big of a deal.