Upset about firewire? Write apple!
TBaggins in another thread posted and link and suggested we write apple if we were angry about the removable of firewire on the macbook. I think that's a great idea so I did. Anyone else that is upset write apple as well and post what you sent them below. Hopefully Appleinsider won't be like the Apple discussion boards and delete this thread.
Here's the feedback link: http://www.apple.com/feedback/macbook.html
Here's what I sent them:
Here's the feedback link: http://www.apple.com/feedback/macbook.html
Here's what I sent them:
Quote:
I am extremely disappointed by the lack of firewire on the new macbooks. I sit typing this on my mac and right now I am connected to no fewer than 4 non-professional firewire devices. I watched the keynote excited about the new design but my heart sank when I saw the lack of firewire on the macbook. I have the cash in hand to buy one and will not now. And no, I will not step up the a pro machine either. I don't think owning a canon HV30 and some lacie hard drives as well a firewire burner means I should spend more on a bigger screen (that I don't want) and a discreet gpu (that I don't need). I have my desktop mac for that, the notebook was supposed to be for just logging simple footage before being transferred to my main mac as well as daily computing. Sure I could just buy the white macbook, but I don't want to, I love the new design and I'd already own one by now if not for the lack of firewire. Instead I'm going to a notebook from another manufacturer, not because the white macbook doesn't do what I want but out of principle. Apple is starting to consistently show that they do not care for their core users and are only interested in wowing windows switchers, removing things on a whim that have become a vital part of many people's computing experience.
I actually work for an Apple reseller and have been hearing the same thing from my customers. It seems instead of forcing people to upgrade to something they don't need, they are instead alienating people that until recently would have put up with anything.
Consider me alienated.
I am extremely disappointed by the lack of firewire on the new macbooks. I sit typing this on my mac and right now I am connected to no fewer than 4 non-professional firewire devices. I watched the keynote excited about the new design but my heart sank when I saw the lack of firewire on the macbook. I have the cash in hand to buy one and will not now. And no, I will not step up the a pro machine either. I don't think owning a canon HV30 and some lacie hard drives as well a firewire burner means I should spend more on a bigger screen (that I don't want) and a discreet gpu (that I don't need). I have my desktop mac for that, the notebook was supposed to be for just logging simple footage before being transferred to my main mac as well as daily computing. Sure I could just buy the white macbook, but I don't want to, I love the new design and I'd already own one by now if not for the lack of firewire. Instead I'm going to a notebook from another manufacturer, not because the white macbook doesn't do what I want but out of principle. Apple is starting to consistently show that they do not care for their core users and are only interested in wowing windows switchers, removing things on a whim that have become a vital part of many people's computing experience.
I actually work for an Apple reseller and have been hearing the same thing from my customers. It seems instead of forcing people to upgrade to something they don't need, they are instead alienating people that until recently would have put up with anything.
Consider me alienated.
Comments
It's true what people were saying, between ethernet and firewire, firewire was more important. The reason being that you get usb - ethernet adaptors like people use on the Macbook Air. You can't do this for firewire.
Writing to Apple won't offer any short term solutions though. We'll still have to wait about 6 months to see what changes they make and they won't base it on feedback but sales.
$1300
No FW
No ExpressCard 34
No Blu-ray
No Card Reader
This isn't a consumer laptop this is a stripped web surfer.
This is Apple's fault for not having the balls to develop a Pro machine.
The most important feedback, to Apple, is going to be how well it sells. And I think it will sell very well.
I don't think so. They'll laud the sales numbers and all of that but it all depends on the overall sentiment of the product.
The iPod wasn't just a cool thing to buy it came with the sentiment that "it'll change how you listen to music"
The benefits of the new Macbook are purely centered around design. It's nice to look at but in the end we buy computers to compute and the missing features or the need for workarounds will begin to grate on buyers or prospective buyers.
The price hike during this economy isn't doing anyone any favors either.
Apple just has not performed this year in any areas beyond shipping the iPhone. They have clearly lost focus and motivation.
If they can make Target Disk Mode work with USB, fine. Otherwise, this sucks. Big. I don't want to hear about convoluted alternatives either. Target Disk Mode "Just Works". That's all I'm going to express when I write to Apple.
No...you cannot do TDM with USB because of architectural limitation. Ethernet or Wireless are your only options now.
I'm going to do my part as well. I will mention the lack of firewire in any Macbook review I see where the reviewer glosses over this important fact.
$1300
No FW
No ExpressCard 34
No Blu-ray
No Card Reader
This isn't a consumer laptop this is a stripped web surfer.
This is Apple's fault for not having the balls to develop a Pro machine.
I agree with you 200%!
If they wanted to drop FW so bad, at least give those people who do use it the option to get an ExpressCard adapter. This way, I could use eSATA drives as well.
Blu-Ray I really don't care for that much, but the card reader is another pet-peeve of mine with Apple: they offer these slick, amazing-looking machines but force you to get a USB adapter... All PC notebooks I've seen in Best Buy and Circuit City have at least an SD card reader and some have multi-format readers.
I will be writing to them!
No ExpressCard 34
No Blu-ray
No Card Reader
This isn't a consumer laptop this is a stripped web surfer.
ExpressCard wouldn't fit at all on a 13" model.
Blu-Ray is way too expensive right now. The slot-loading drives are upwards of $500. Fair enough if they had a BTO option but the cheap solution is having only Ram and HD options as they can be changed very quickly. Superdrives across the lineup is an improvement. I personally still watch DVD and I have no plans on upgrading to HD for a while.
Card readers would have been a pain to make on moulded metal and which standard? SD, CF, Micro-SD etc. Last time I checked, the readers had something like 11+ card types. Normally, I plug in the USB cable for a camera. I know that it can be a pain having a card reader but Apple wouldn't have included it for free.
The only thing I miss is firewire and it's annoying because they probably could have replaced ethernet with it and provided a USB->ethernet adaptor.
I wouldn't say it's just a web surfer, it's also a great gaming machine, DVD player and it can be used for home videos if you have the right camcorder.
I agree with you 200%!
If they wanted to drop FW so bad, at least give those people who do use it the option to get an ExpressCard adapter. This way, I could use eSATA drives as well.
Blu-Ray I really don't care for that much, but the card reader is another pet-peeve of mine with Apple: they offer these slick, amazing-looking machines but force you to get a USB adapter... All PC notebooks I've seen in Best Buy and Circuit City have at least an SD card reader and some have multi-format readers.
I will be writing to them!
I agree. I think that Apple's dream of clean aethetics and small design are often betrayed by real world needs. We mac users end up finding that we have to carry around multiple adapters.
ExpressCard wouldn't fit at all on a 13" model.
Blu-Ray is way too expensive right now. The slot-loading drives are upwards of $500. Fair enough if they had a BTO option but the cheap solution is having only Ram and HD options as they can be changed very quickly. Superdrives across the lineup is an improvement. I personally still watch DVD and I have no plans on upgrading to HD for a while.
Card readers would have been a pain to make on moulded metal and which standard? SD, CF, Micro-SD etc. Last time I checked, the readers had something like 11+ card types. Normally, I plug in the USB cable for a camera. I know that it can be a pain having a card reader but Apple wouldn't have included it for free.
The only thing I miss is firewire and it's annoying because they probably could have replaced ethernet with it and provided a USB->ethernet adaptor.
I wouldn't say it's just a web surfer, it's also a great gaming machine, DVD player and it can be used for home videos if you have the right camcorder.
Apple should have spent the time and effort and cash and make Blu-ray a Macbook Pro only feature if they wanted some clear distinctions between the MB and MBP. Their argument could easily be "who needs HD on a 13" screen?"
Im for removing the two USB ports in their entirety and replacing them with an EC34 port. Ship the Macbook with a 2 USB one FW "personality card" and voila problem solved now and EC34 allows for future upgrades in the future (a la TV Tuner, WWAN cards, SSD memory and more)
These laptops are indeed good gaming but they're quickly going to fall off the wagon as they're closed boxes.
They will work fine for some people but for others they will be woefully inadequate for their $1300 expenditure.
ExpressCard wouldn't fit at all on a 13" model.
Blu-Ray is way too expensive right now. The slot-loading drives are upwards of $500. Fair enough if they had a BTO option but the cheap solution is having only Ram and HD options as they can be changed very quickly. Superdrives across the lineup is an improvement. I personally still watch DVD and I have no plans on upgrading to HD for a while.
Card readers would have been a pain to make on moulded metal and which standard? SD, CF, Micro-SD etc. Last time I checked, the readers had something like 11+ card types. Normally, I plug in the USB cable for a camera. I know that it can be a pain having a card reader but Apple wouldn't have included it for free.
The only thing I miss is firewire and it's annoying because they probably could have replaced ethernet with it and provided a USB->ethernet adaptor.
I wouldn't say it's just a web surfer, it's also a great gaming machine, DVD player and it can be used for home videos if you have the right camcorder.
There are plenty of third party card readers, Apple need not provide one. The pro cameras all use CF cards, and downloading with a FAST card reader, using a FAST card, via FW 800, beats the dog snot outa any USB connection, if you have more than a handful of images to download.
Im for removing the two USB ports in their entirety and replacing them with an EC34 port. Ship the Macbook with a 2 USB one FW "personality card" and voila problem solved now and EC34 allows for future upgrades in the future (a la TV Tuner, WWAN cards, SSD memory and more)
The trouble is that the ports would stick out the side and everyone would pretty much be using it. Look at the state of this one:
http://www.usbnow.co.uk/PCMCIA,_Expr...duct_info.html
They'd always have to keep the thing plugged in. It would almost be like Apple had designed it with a lump on the side.
I prefer the idea that they get rid of the optical drive and replace that side with extra USB and firewire ports. Then you can use an external optical drive. It would probably be a good idea for Apple to track optical dive usage stats to be able to decide this. I know that in the space of about 3 years on a desktop, I've burned about 50 DVDs, none on the internal drive. That's about once every 3 weeks. I have my firewire drive connected every other day at least.
This also saves money. Apple including a superdrive will raise prices by about $100-200. ExpressCard vs USB is probably negligible regarding saving money. It is more flexible and offers more expansion but I don't think replacing the USB ports with one would have been good. If the optical drive went, I wouldn't mind seeing one on the other side though.