Say that the laptop is charging wirelessly, has bluetooth peripherals, sends data to a display wirelessly then what needs to be plugged in? Storage might need plugged in and certainly copying from one drive to another would need a second port but wireless advances would make up for a lot of the downside of having a single port.
Aside from displays, everything else is within sight for going wireless. Also remember that Apple is investing heavily in datacenters, which likely indicates they feel cloud storage is going to play an important part in this.
Honestly sick of people going on about USB-A ports and SD card slots. It's embarrassing. Thank god that Katherine finally said something sensible. I think anyone going on about USB-A and SD card slots should lose their job in technology journalism. I'm a right Anna Wintour. Not only are those dead tech, the damn product isn't aimed at professionals [still using old tech]. I'm in tech and I barely use the USB-A ports (only for iOS devices and thats only for charge convenience) and I never ever use the SD card slot.
This review, among others, make it pretty clear that the New MacBook is pretty much what everyone secretly feared it would be: an overpriced iPad with non removable keyboard.
Cook should have just given the Air line a retina screen and held off another year or two on this thing. Or at least figured out how to give it more than one dang port.
Lol. No.
It's Apple pushing the envelope.
And an iPad can't do half the things you can do with the MacBook.
Though the MacBook encroaches upon the portability of ipad, it's much more useful for many many tasks.
But it's also Apple pushing the industry forward, forcing change.
Does this Macbook run iOS or OSX? Get that fact straight.
+1. It's an OS X device. I find a lot of people think their usage model of a mac is the same as others; it is not. I have an iMac for heavy lifting. I have a 2008 macbook for work on the go (as an attorney). Like most lawyers and MBA's I know, I rarely use any ports when on-the-go. There are times when I need to import files, project a video to a TV, or connect a peripheral, but they are less than 1% of the time I use my notebook. And for video output I still needed a dongle.
For your typical road warrior, they care about being able to do the basics (web, word, etc) without slowdown, battery life, a good keyboard, and portability. I think the new macbook checks all those boxes. I'm certain it's not for everyone, but I have a suspicion there is another notebook that will satisfy other users instead.
I do agree it's always nice to have the ports and options built-in but hardly a deal-breaker for me. If I think I can get used to the keyboard I'll get one; otherwise I'm going to get an 11" MBA.
I think the performance is fine for the weight benefits, my old late 2008 macbook pro is still fast enough in most tasks I use it for, and this new macbook demolishes it in geekbench scores (At least double the score in both single and multithreaded benchmarks), so I have little doubt it would perfectly fine for what I'd be using it for, at the benefit of much, much longer battery life, and far less weight.
USB expansion issues will soon disappear and won't resemble anything like the thunderbolt 2 car-crash given the nature of the USB standards group.
Apple already has a 3 way adapter in the online store. Allows you to charge, plug in 1 usb device, and has HDMI.
It has four varieties, all "unavailable", which can mean anything from they'll be available soon after the MacBooks start selling tomorrow or possibly a little later or maybe much later. Or they'll be available in small quantities tomorrow most people won't get one before they sell out, not be refreshed for...a month?
This laptop has a niche and it's someone who doesn't need ports in this purchase. No one should buy it counting on the adapters being available in quantity, whether or not they show up soon. When the "unavailable" tag is gone and they're in all the stores that will mean they're available.
It isn't a delemma, it is a real short coming of the device.
The problem here is that a lot of people will be interested in such a computer, if it simply supported enough I/O to remain flexible to their needs. Even Google was smart enough to put two USB-C ports in their latest.
Certainly, but you should be able to grasp the frustration this machine produces in people. If the machine didn't give up so much functionality it would have been a great machine for people needing a bit more than an iPad.
It's only a short coming of the device because you perceive that it's one. There are many people who don't need all of those ports. They will charge the device and if they have more needs, buy a docking station. Not a big deal. If the device doesn't meet your needs, then buy something else.
One port is enough. Apple decided to remove the "hub" from the computer. Most likely this will integrate into a new monitor/hub that Apple will be releasing. The device is built as a super-mobile device, not as a desktop replacement. Most non-commercial services are wireless at this point, or should be.
I'm not frustrated. I know of no one who is. You are inventing your own frustration by setting unfounded expectations. Just get a 13" MBPr and be happy.
It's obvious this is a polarizing device. Example, Jim Dalrymlple loved it, including the keyboard. He said it's the only Mac he's using right now. Jason Snell on the other hand was more critical, especially of the keyboard.i get the feeling some are reviewing the machine not for what it is and how it performs but for what they wish it would have been. So basically most of the reviewers are people who had no intention of ever buying this thing. But yet we're supposed to take their reviews as complete objective facts. BS.
I really can't see why Apple didn't add had at least one more USB C port, on the opposite side would have been great.
You would still need a bunch of dongles because none of the common peripherals are USB-C compatible yet. The reviewers who expressed the opinion that this machine is for rich people are right on and that is what I have been saying from the beginning.
Rich people don't need peripherals. They just want a beautiful sleek machine for email and surfing the web. The workers are the ones that need all the flexibility of ports to accomplish whatever unreasonable and nearly impossible thing the rich boss tells them to do. This is not a machine for the workers.
Rich people don't need peripherals. They just want a beautiful sleek machine for email and surfing the web. The workers are the ones that need all the flexibility of ports to accomplish whatever unreasonable and nearly impossible thing the rich boss tells them to do. This is not a machine for the workers.
This is quite possibly the dumbest thing I have seen written here...
This review, among others, make it pretty clear that the New MacBook is pretty much what everyone secretly feared it would be: an overpriced iPad with non removable keyboard.
Cook should have just given the Air line a retina screen and held off another year or two on this thing. Or at least figured out how to give it more than one dang port.
What an obtuse, false, and troll-like statement. This machine runs a desktop class OS, and am sure can easily cut through the needs of 90% of consumers out there. For the rest (like you know, tech reviewers that bitch and whine), Apple hasn't stopped selling its other models. Most people I know don't use their Macs for anything beyond web browsing, emails, watching video, and word processing.
"Over-priced iPad"? What horse-shit. There are a million things this machine can do that an iPad can't, and there's almost nothing a MBP or a MBA can do that this machine can't, even if there's some performance differences. Oh, and grow up. Stop pretending that Cook dictates all these specific product decisions.
These reviewers said the same shit about the iPhone, iPad, and Macbook Air. All polarizing products that eventually transformed and dictated the rest of the market. Everyone bitches and moans that Apple "doesn't innovate" anymore, yet whenever they do, and push against the limits of technology and whats possible, they are bashed to hell and back.
These reviews don't surprise me one bit but most of them are still garbage IMO. It's basically the tech press throwing a hissy fit because Apple didn't throw a retina screen into the MBA. But do that and you've basically got a rMBP. Anyone with brains can see that eventually the rMBP will become as light as the Air and the Air will go away. So you have the ultra portable rMB and the rMBP for people who need more ports and power. And the price of the rMB will come down over time. Early adopters are paying for the new design and technology in the device.
One thing which I didn't hear too much about was that Apple removed the SD card reader from the MacBook. I find it very useful as some people (like me) still use digita cameras, so it's handy. I guess someday people won't miss those and use their iPhone for all their photography needs; it takes really good pictures and has wifi and cloud syncing. It's not a dealbreaker, I just thought it was very useful for consumer-oriented Macs like the Mini and iMac and MacBook Air to include the SD card reader. I am fully aware it can attached to the USB-C as another dongle.
Remember when every 20-30 something chick had a white MacBook to manage digital photos and do email? That's what I see here all over again, yes the second gen and a price drop will help but that's where I see this going.
Uh, I'm not a white "chick" and I have a white MacBook...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rogifan
My god reading some of this stuff you'd think the only computer Apple sells is this new MackBook. It's ridiculous. Need more power, ports and mag safe? Get a 13" rMBP!
Exactly. Apple's tightening up the product line. The Air as it stands is a messy product; the majority of the users don't need the power and the rest are trying to be cheap and don't want to buy an rMBP. There are a few who may have weight concerns; that's why the Air will stay until we get a thinner rMBP.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bdkennedy1
This is probably the first Mac I have no desire to own. The price is ridiculous.
How do you figure? Configure a 13" Air with 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD, then figure in the Retina Display and other new tech, and it's priced reasonably.
Hey I'm 46, might be to late to grow up. Just to clarify though I only ment this post in a positive way. I think the white MacBook was awesome for Apple, OSX, and the people who loved them. Sorry about your easily offended wife but my definition of the word chick is an young attractive carefree woman. What does chick mean to you? I think this machine will be awesomly popular and people will love it. I've been using apples since the Apple II, and we had a 512k Mac when I was in high school, now we have three Macs in our household, I'm definitely not anti Mac. I guess just try not to let your wife see my earlier post...
Honestly sick of people going on about USB-A ports and SD card slots. It's embarrassing. Thank god that Katherine finally said something sensible. I think anyone going on about USB-A and SD card slots should lose their job in technology journalism. I'm a right Anna Wintour. Not only are those dead tech, the damn product isn't aimed at professionals [still using old tech]. I'm in tech and I barely use the USB-A ports (only for iOS devices and thats only for charge convenience) and I never ever use the SD card slot.
You know the brand new Canon 5Ds has an SD slot, right? There are countless workflows in professional photography where it makes the most sense to import from SD, and one would hope to not have to carry a card reader and a USB-C adapter on top of the photography gear.
You know the brand new Canon 5Ds has an SD slot, right? There are countless workflows in professional photography where it makes the most sense to import from SD, and one would hope to not have to carry a card reader and a USB-C adapter on top of the photography gear.
May I present the Retina MacBook Pro?
I'm in a good position regarding this product; I used a 2008 Air for the last year, but I've since switched to a 2008 MacBook. Honestly I haven't used the SuperDrive, and I've only used the ports a few times, almost entirely USB. (I used the FW port to install Lion on my Mini, but I could just as easily used my Mac Pro for that). So a one-port laptop that's 2 pounds sounds amazing.
The problem IMO is that because single port is used for everything, it's all the more inconvenient than if it was a single port for a specific purpose (power, for example). It means people will be constantly fumbling around swapping power/USB stick/phone/whatever, at least if it had one dedicated charging port (a-la MagSafe) and one USB-C port, it'd be much less hassle. But as it is now, if the battery is low and you need to use a peripheral, you have to wait for the MB to charge before being able to swap to the peripheral. Really seems pretty stupid to me.
I know all this can be "solved" so to speak with multi-port dongles, but to me, that really defeats the point of a portable if you have to lug around a bagful of adapters to make it work with anything. With the MPBr you're pretty much guaranteed it'll work with anything standard; be that Ethernet, USB, MagSafe, etc, without a multitude of dongles.
I really can't see why Apple didn't add had at least one more USB C port, on the opposite side would have been great.
Apple makes plenty of machines with more ports, so if that's your "deal breaker", buy one of those.
However, for people who spend most of their time traveling or in meetings or doing whatever, the single port probably works well. If you need to come home and plug in to a bigger screen and a drive, just buy a MBP or buy the adaptor and leave it plugged into all of those devices. (You know, what other people call "a dock".)
I'm a developer and yes, I have a 15" MPB that's often plugged into multiple monitors and drives and networks and so on. That said, I'm seriously considering the new MB as a grab-and-go machine for taking notes at meetings, doing quick code reviews, and so on.
Time and again, people only consider their own use cases and assume that they fit everyone else...
Comments
Say that the laptop is charging wirelessly, has bluetooth peripherals, sends data to a display wirelessly then what needs to be plugged in? Storage might need plugged in and certainly copying from one drive to another would need a second port but wireless advances would make up for a lot of the downside of having a single port.
Aside from displays, everything else is within sight for going wireless. Also remember that Apple is investing heavily in datacenters, which likely indicates they feel cloud storage is going to play an important part in this.
Honestly sick of people going on about USB-A ports and SD card slots. It's embarrassing. Thank god that Katherine finally said something sensible. I think anyone going on about USB-A and SD card slots should lose their job in technology journalism. I'm a right Anna Wintour. Not only are those dead tech, the damn product isn't aimed at professionals [still using old tech]. I'm in tech and I barely use the USB-A ports (only for iOS devices and thats only for charge convenience) and I never ever use the SD card slot.
Good for you. You want a cookie?
Lol. No.
It's Apple pushing the envelope.
And an iPad can't do half the things you can do with the MacBook.
Though the MacBook encroaches upon the portability of ipad, it's much more useful for many many tasks.
But it's also Apple pushing the industry forward, forcing change.
If history is any indicator, that's a good thing.
Does this Macbook run iOS or OSX? Get that fact straight.
+1. It's an OS X device. I find a lot of people think their usage model of a mac is the same as others; it is not. I have an iMac for heavy lifting. I have a 2008 macbook for work on the go (as an attorney). Like most lawyers and MBA's I know, I rarely use any ports when on-the-go. There are times when I need to import files, project a video to a TV, or connect a peripheral, but they are less than 1% of the time I use my notebook. And for video output I still needed a dongle.
For your typical road warrior, they care about being able to do the basics (web, word, etc) without slowdown, battery life, a good keyboard, and portability. I think the new macbook checks all those boxes. I'm certain it's not for everyone, but I have a suspicion there is another notebook that will satisfy other users instead.
I do agree it's always nice to have the ports and options built-in but hardly a deal-breaker for me. If I think I can get used to the keyboard I'll get one; otherwise I'm going to get an 11" MBA.
I think the performance is fine for the weight benefits, my old late 2008 macbook pro is still fast enough in most tasks I use it for, and this new macbook demolishes it in geekbench scores (At least double the score in both single and multithreaded benchmarks), so I have little doubt it would perfectly fine for what I'd be using it for, at the benefit of much, much longer battery life, and far less weight.
USB expansion issues will soon disappear and won't resemble anything like the thunderbolt 2 car-crash given the nature of the USB standards group.
Apple already has a 3 way adapter in the online store. Allows you to charge, plug in 1 usb device, and has HDMI.
It has four varieties, all "unavailable", which can mean anything from they'll be available soon after the MacBooks start selling tomorrow or possibly a little later or maybe much later. Or they'll be available in small quantities tomorrow most people won't get one before they sell out, not be refreshed for...a month?
This laptop has a niche and it's someone who doesn't need ports in this purchase. No one should buy it counting on the adapters being available in quantity, whether or not they show up soon. When the "unavailable" tag is gone and they're in all the stores that will mean they're available.
It isn't a delemma, it is a real short coming of the device.
The problem here is that a lot of people will be interested in such a computer, if it simply supported enough I/O to remain flexible to their needs. Even Google was smart enough to put two USB-C ports in their latest.
Certainly, but you should be able to grasp the frustration this machine produces in people. If the machine didn't give up so much functionality it would have been a great machine for people needing a bit more than an iPad.
It's only a short coming of the device because you perceive that it's one. There are many people who don't need all of those ports. They will charge the device and if they have more needs, buy a docking station. Not a big deal. If the device doesn't meet your needs, then buy something else.
One port is enough. Apple decided to remove the "hub" from the computer. Most likely this will integrate into a new monitor/hub that Apple will be releasing. The device is built as a super-mobile device, not as a desktop replacement. Most non-commercial services are wireless at this point, or should be.
I'm not frustrated. I know of no one who is. You are inventing your own frustration by setting unfounded expectations. Just get a 13" MBPr and be happy.
I really can't see why Apple didn't add had at least one more USB C port, on the opposite side would have been great.
You would still need a bunch of dongles because none of the common peripherals are USB-C compatible yet. The reviewers who expressed the opinion that this machine is for rich people are right on and that is what I have been saying from the beginning.
Rich people don't need peripherals. They just want a beautiful sleek machine for email and surfing the web. The workers are the ones that need all the flexibility of ports to accomplish whatever unreasonable and nearly impossible thing the rich boss tells them to do. This is not a machine for the workers.
Rich people don't need peripherals. They just want a beautiful sleek machine for email and surfing the web. The workers are the ones that need all the flexibility of ports to accomplish whatever unreasonable and nearly impossible thing the rich boss tells them to do. This is not a machine for the workers.
This is quite possibly the dumbest thing I have seen written here...
outside of what BF would write.
This review, among others, make it pretty clear that the New MacBook is pretty much what everyone secretly feared it would be: an overpriced iPad with non removable keyboard.
Cook should have just given the Air line a retina screen and held off another year or two on this thing. Or at least figured out how to give it more than one dang port.
What an obtuse, false, and troll-like statement. This machine runs a desktop class OS, and am sure can easily cut through the needs of 90% of consumers out there. For the rest (like you know, tech reviewers that bitch and whine), Apple hasn't stopped selling its other models. Most people I know don't use their Macs for anything beyond web browsing, emails, watching video, and word processing.
"Over-priced iPad"? What horse-shit. There are a million things this machine can do that an iPad can't, and there's almost nothing a MBP or a MBA can do that this machine can't, even if there's some performance differences. Oh, and grow up. Stop pretending that Cook dictates all these specific product decisions.
These reviewers said the same shit about the iPhone, iPad, and Macbook Air. All polarizing products that eventually transformed and dictated the rest of the market. Everyone bitches and moans that Apple "doesn't innovate" anymore, yet whenever they do, and push against the limits of technology and whats possible, they are bashed to hell and back.
This is quite possibly the dumbest thing I have seen written here...
Guess you are not rich then. I think it is a lovely machine for a CEO especially the gold.
One thing which I didn't hear too much about was that Apple removed the SD card reader from the MacBook. I find it very useful as some people (like me) still use digita cameras, so it's handy. I guess someday people won't miss those and use their iPhone for all their photography needs; it takes really good pictures and has wifi and cloud syncing. It's not a dealbreaker, I just thought it was very useful for consumer-oriented Macs like the Mini and iMac and MacBook Air to include the SD card reader. I am fully aware it can attached to the USB-C as another dongle.
Remember when every 20-30 something chick had a white MacBook to manage digital photos and do email? That's what I see here all over again, yes the second gen and a price drop will help but that's where I see this going.
Uh, I'm not a white "chick" and I have a white MacBook...
My god reading some of this stuff you'd think the only computer Apple sells is this new MackBook. It's ridiculous. Need more power, ports and mag safe? Get a 13" rMBP!
Exactly. Apple's tightening up the product line. The Air as it stands is a messy product; the majority of the users don't need the power and the rest are trying to be cheap and don't want to buy an rMBP. There are a few who may have weight concerns; that's why the Air will stay until we get a thinner rMBP.
This is probably the first Mac I have no desire to own. The price is ridiculous.
How do you figure? Configure a 13" Air with 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD, then figure in the Retina Display and other new tech, and it's priced reasonably.
Honestly sick of people going on about USB-A ports and SD card slots. It's embarrassing. Thank god that Katherine finally said something sensible. I think anyone going on about USB-A and SD card slots should lose their job in technology journalism. I'm a right Anna Wintour. Not only are those dead tech, the damn product isn't aimed at professionals [still using old tech]. I'm in tech and I barely use the USB-A ports (only for iOS devices and thats only for charge convenience) and I never ever use the SD card slot.
You know the brand new Canon 5Ds has an SD slot, right? There are countless workflows in professional photography where it makes the most sense to import from SD, and one would hope to not have to carry a card reader and a USB-C adapter on top of the photography gear.
I didn't say white chick? And if you not a chick then I wasn't talking about you obviously.
You know the brand new Canon 5Ds has an SD slot, right? There are countless workflows in professional photography where it makes the most sense to import from SD, and one would hope to not have to carry a card reader and a USB-C adapter on top of the photography gear.
May I present the Retina MacBook Pro?
I'm in a good position regarding this product; I used a 2008 Air for the last year, but I've since switched to a 2008 MacBook. Honestly I haven't used the SuperDrive, and I've only used the ports a few times, almost entirely USB. (I used the FW port to install Lion on my Mini, but I could just as easily used my Mac Pro for that). So a one-port laptop that's 2 pounds sounds amazing.
Still, this made me smile:
The problem IMO is that because single port is used for everything, it's all the more inconvenient than if it was a single port for a specific purpose (power, for example). It means people will be constantly fumbling around swapping power/USB stick/phone/whatever, at least if it had one dedicated charging port (a-la MagSafe) and one USB-C port, it'd be much less hassle. But as it is now, if the battery is low and you need to use a peripheral, you have to wait for the MB to charge before being able to swap to the peripheral. Really seems pretty stupid to me.
I know all this can be "solved" so to speak with multi-port dongles, but to me, that really defeats the point of a portable if you have to lug around a bagful of adapters to make it work with anything. With the MPBr you're pretty much guaranteed it'll work with anything standard; be that Ethernet, USB, MagSafe, etc, without a multitude of dongles.
I really can't see why Apple didn't add had at least one more USB C port, on the opposite side would have been great.
Apple makes plenty of machines with more ports, so if that's your "deal breaker", buy one of those.
However, for people who spend most of their time traveling or in meetings or doing whatever, the single port probably works well. If you need to come home and plug in to a bigger screen and a drive, just buy a MBP or buy the adaptor and leave it plugged into all of those devices. (You know, what other people call "a dock".)
I'm a developer and yes, I have a 15" MPB that's often plugged into multiple monitors and drives and networks and so on. That said, I'm seriously considering the new MB as a grab-and-go machine for taking notes at meetings, doing quick code reviews, and so on.
Time and again, people only consider their own use cases and assume that they fit everyone else...