If Apple were intending the MacBook Pro to be exclusively designed to meet the specific requirements of "creative professionals" they would have designed a different laptop. But given that their real target audience is hundreds of times (?) larger than that, they designed a general purpose laptop that will also suit such users.
And thus the problem. Apple has been moving away from the needs of 'creative professionals' for some time now. A reflection of current leadership. Steve was a visionary, creative, and surrounded himself with like-minded people to make tools that fed the industry.
Apple is now looking more and more like a Sony/Hewlett Packard splice. It's more about business and the bottom line. They aren't so much innovating anymore as they are competing. Microsoft, Google, and others are capitalizing on this 'phase' to regain market share, and at times, beat Apple at their game.
I've said it before, if they completely abandon the creative pro industry - I wouldn't want to be holding on to any shares. Minority or not, it's that minority that are Apple's loudest vocal supporters. It's Apple's 'mojo'. The ones creating the marketing and doing interesting things that others want to do.
There is frustration from Apple's founding supporters that they are being left behind because of their recent success - after being loyal for decades, even through the rough times.
That said, this MBP is more of a 2 seat Ferrari than a Bentley SUV - and creatives don't want to tow a trailer with this Ferrari.
This is a development that started under Steve Jobs, make no mistake. Swappable drive bays were replaced with the thinnest-ever PowerBook G4. The PC Card slot was removed in 2009 and replaced by the stupid consumer SD slot. There was no replacement option; MacBooks simply were no longer an option for pro workflows requiring external expansion - until Thunderbolt, two years later.
Comments
Steve was a visionary, creative, and surrounded himself with like-minded people to make tools that fed the industry.
Apple is now looking more and more like a Sony/Hewlett Packard splice. It's more about business and the bottom line. They aren't so much innovating anymore as they are competing. Microsoft, Google, and others are capitalizing on this 'phase' to regain market share, and at times, beat Apple at their game.
I've said it before, if they completely abandon the creative pro industry - I wouldn't want to be holding on to any shares.
Minority or not, it's that minority that are Apple's loudest vocal supporters. It's Apple's 'mojo'. The ones creating the marketing and doing interesting things that others want to do.
There is frustration from Apple's founding supporters that they are being left behind because of their recent success - after being loyal for decades, even through the rough times.
That said, this MBP is more of a 2 seat Ferrari than a Bentley SUV - and creatives don't want to tow a trailer with this Ferrari.