Embracing a wireless future: What it's like to use Apple's 12" MacBook as your main computer

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  • Reply 141 of 222
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by wizard69 View Post





    Reps ones like this highlight a significant ignorance on the part of many in these forums, weather that or people can't read for content. The article did not bash the machine at all, it was actually a fairly positive review. It did point out really issues with the lack of ports which limits the machines Appeal to many.

    It is a great article because it reflected his experiences using the machine. It wasn't a piece of fluff written by someone pretending to be a bleeding edge user. Rather It is valid commentary from a real user



    I really don't know what is the matter with people here, you take a good review that is honest and trash both the messenger and the message because it apparently ruffles a few feathers. Is that really rational?

     

    Oh please. You ruffled your own feathers. Is that really rational?



    If you think I "trashed both the messenger and the message" then you are projecting that into my post. It's a reflection of your beliefs, not mine.

     

    I wasn't commenting on the original review, which, if you bothered to find my post from that thread you will find that I said I liked the reviewMy comment in this thread is about this "editorial" in which Neil decided to hold his particular use case (he's using a old school camera) against the MacBook. My comment was that his use case wasn't a universal one, and many users today won't miss the SD card reader because they're using their iPhone to take pictures. I also said that I have the same use case as Neil (I need a SD card reader), but that I wasn't going to ding the MacBook for not supporting my use case.

  • Reply 142 of 222
    monstrositymonstrosity Posts: 2,234member

    This is the kind of shitty review I would expect from other sites, NOT Appleinsider.

  • Reply 143 of 222
    When did this glorified floppy disk replacement (SD Card) become so necessary to so many people?  I usually just plug my rather old SLR in using a USB cable, which means I just need the appropriate USB cable.....
  • Reply 144 of 222
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by idrey View Post





    In Bangkok? ???? I have to fix their screens. I usually give them to family. But everybody has iPhone now, so might sell them

     

    Yes, lived here for at least 5 years now.  

     

    There is always a market for old hardware -- even if there is not a market in the home country.  Even really really old computers get saran wrapped on a pallet and shipped overseas once they are no longer suited for first world countries.....  I see stacks of them in places like Pantip Plaza.....  I have no doubt that some places there probably collect all the old phones and do the same thing.....

  • Reply 145 of 222
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by xixo View Post

     

    (tl;dr: new MacBook is all about looking forward, Apple's standard battle plan)

     

    When Apple introduced the first iMac, their existing customers complained "No SCSI, no ADB, no floppy drive". They could not see that it was a future-based machine.


     

    Personally I'm still mad Apple ditched the external SCSI port. I have this nice LaCie external CDRW drive that I can't use on my Mac Pro because Apple abandoned me.

     

     

    /Semi sarc, since I do actually have the SCSI external drive.

  • Reply 146 of 222
    xixoxixo Posts: 450member
    Personally I'm still mad Apple ditched the external SCSI port. I have this nice LaCie external CDRW drive that I can't use on my Mac Pro because Apple abandoned me.


    [SIZE=10px]/Semi sarc, since I do actually have the SCSI external drive.[/SIZE]

    They'll only take target disk mode from me when they pry it from my cold dead hands....
  • Reply 147 of 222
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Suddenly Newton View Post

     



    You missed my point. The death of Aperture and the legacy-port-free 2015 MacBook have nothing to do with each other. The lack of Aperture does not make the MacBook any less of a product for you.


     

    I didn't say it did.  The point here is the growing trend of "This product isn't for you™".  Aperture is just another example.  I could list other examples, and maybe hit upon one that you care about.

     

    There are valid criticisms of some of Apple's products and some of their decisions.  Some kids here have their panties all in a bunch crying troll instead of perhaps seeing that some of Apple's decisions have been exclusionary to the point of growing a larger number of people who bring this up, but increasingly they hear nothing but "This product isn't for you™", instead of any valid counter argument as for why having only one USB-C port is somehow more desirable.

     

    Look through this thread...  Do you notice one comment that appears to be missing???  It's the one rational comment of "Yes, I would've preferred an additional port, but I can live without it"  or anything else that at least acknowledges benefit of another port instead of blind fanboyism or irrational self-justification of their purchase.

     

    Instead there's a lot of shouting down of those of us who would've otherwise purchased the new MacBook if it had another port.  We're called idiots for thinking the product would fail (even though we're not saying that it will fail), we're getting called trolls for saying nobody should buy it (even though we see the utility in it, and I've even said I would recommend it to some people) and we get called self-centered for thinking Apple should build products for "me" (even though it's "us" simply saying there's one deal breaker for us in what would otherwise be the perfect device).

     

    Again, the real criticism here isn't for the new MacBook, it's that the MacBook Air is such a lesser machine except for the additional ports that we need, and the MacBook Pro is too big/heavy.  We're not saying, "OMG Apple is the doomzed!" We're simply saying that Apple had a near perfect device for many of us, and then excluded many of us from that group by only including one USB-C port.

  • Reply 148 of 222
    I am a photographer and when I travel, I use a micro four third camera as it is small and almost as good as a full frame. I have a MacBook Air 11" to transfer my photos and start to work on them in lightroom. Sorry the new Photos app doesn't cut it; Aperture did; not the new app. I would have loved to work on a retina display, however the lack of real world connectivity is a no go for me. They should have managed to put another USB A port or include with the machine the dongles to connect your hard drive, camera or whatever else you need to connect.
  • Reply 149 of 222
    This is why I stick to my Macbook Pro. I am very aware of the advances in technology. It's just that we (Philippines) are not there yet. I use whatever works and that is something with USB ports and SD card slot. Also CDs and DVDs. Yep. It still exists in our world. Now it's just funny how this review by Mr. Neil Hughes angers some. I guess not all can relate to it. As for us developing countries, we can absolutely relate. We can't go all the way wireless YET that is why people with the latest Apple products in the country still have to buy extra accessories. :)
  • Reply 150 of 222
    relicrelic Posts: 4,735member

    Except there's no physical room on the casing, which means it would have been larger, and the battery would have been reshaped because of the extra space lost. Larger = heavier.

    There is plenty of room.

    internals_layer_start_large.jpg
  • Reply 151 of 222
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,310moderator
    The reason for the lack of ports is down to the internal layout:

    [IMG ALT=""]http://forums.appleinsider.com/content/type/61/id/58473/width/800/height/1000[/IMG]

    The best they could have done is add another USB C port. The single port is capable of handling everything though as the following dock demonstrates:

    https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kickshark/hydradock-11-port-usb-c-dock-for-apple-macbook

    [IMG ALT=""]http://forums.appleinsider.com/content/type/61/id/58474/width/800/height/1000[/IMG]

    That has:

    1 — 3.5mm stereo headphone port
    1 — Gigabit Ethernet port
    1 — SDXC card slot
    1 — Mini DisplayPort (up to 2,560 x 1,440 resolution, w/HDCP)
    1 — HDMI (up to 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, w/HDCP)
    4 — USB 3.0 ports
    2 — USB-C ports (data only, no video)

    If you were regularly plugging in and unplugging the device, a single plug is far easier than doing each item every time. Google sells a displayport cable:

    https://store.google.com/product/usb_type_c_to_displayport_cable?gl=US

    USB C is a new standard but it is the new USB so everyone will adopt it eventually.

    Now combine this with Skylake's wireless capability, which is not only wireless charging but WiGig (gigabit wireless data):


    [VIDEO]


    Then add a WiGig SD card:

    http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/30/wigig-sd-card-gets-demoed-on-tablets-makes-dvds-gone-in-60-seco/

    and you'd be able to put the camera next to the laptop to transfer the data at up to 1 gigabit/s (125MB/s).

    It would have been nice if Apple had included 2 USB C ports and sold a less expensive display adaptor and the current model isn't Skylake but the design direction makes sense. When wifi arrived, some people still preferred to use ethernet but very few people use ethernet now (no mobile devices have ethernet). The same will be true for power and data.

    Gigabit speed isn't enough to replace all wired uses but it will be much better for mobile users. I'd love to be able to have SSDs in a drawer somewhere that I could just mount wirelessly when I needed to for backups or grabbing files from without even taking them out the drawer. Wireless power has a short range of a few centimetres just now. It would be good if they could get it up to 1 metre. The Magsafe cable is a bit longer (just under 2m) but wireless range would be in a straight line so they'd be comparable. Then you'd just plug the brick in somewhere and all your devices (storage, phone, tablet, laptop) can get power without any cables at all. For now, what would happen is you'd need a mat to sit on the table and all peripherals would sit on it for power and then data is wireless.

    Hopefully some of the design will make it into the next Macbook Pros. The stronger metal hinge (which explains the lower text location as it is split), the lower sturdier keyboard with better backlighting, the larger force touch trackpad. The performance of it seems ok, the following review was editing and exporting 1080p video no problem on it and space grey is closer to the old black Macbook:


    [VIDEO]
  • Reply 152 of 222
    cnocbuicnocbui Posts: 3,613member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by tmay View Post

     

    Some high end DSLR's, and even many older DSLR;s don't in fact use SD cards at all, so an SD slot, while covering a wide swatch of the market, doesn't cover it all. 




    Which ones don't?

  • Reply 153 of 222
    bkkcanuckbkkcanuck Posts: 864member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Relic View Post





    There is plenty of room.



    internals_layer_start_large.jpg

    You are missing lots of components in that photo (wireless antennaes, ribbon cables that connect to the motherboard and the ports, hinges area, and of course all the stuff sits on top of it like keyboard, microphone etc.).  That said I see two issues about the additional port.... one another chunk of the battery would have to be removed or the audio connector.  The motherboard would have to grow a bit to make room for another USB ribbon cable connection, and potentially supporting chip set.  The case just past the first port starts to narrow fairly quickly, and the port is fairly snug.  

     

    Could another USB port be added..... Probably.... Also other compromises would probably have to be made to accommodate it.  Amazingly, I am actually one that needs the audio port more than a second USB.... I actually like using standard headphones and there would likely be much less options if the port is replaced with a USB (I am pretty picky about headphones).  

  • Reply 154 of 222
    bkkcanuckbkkcanuck Posts: 864member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by cnocbui View Post

     



    Which ones don't?


     

    I have to admit, my camera comes with one..... it also comes with an SD Card reader that works perfectly fine....  so I just plug the USB cable in to the port and use that reader :p

  • Reply 155 of 222
    relicrelic Posts: 4,735member
    Marvin wrote: »
    The reason for the lack of ports is down to the internal layout:

    1000

    The best they could have done is add another USB C port. The single port is capable of handling everything though as the following dock demonstrates:

    https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kickshark/hydradock-11-port-usb-c-dock-for-apple-macbook

    1000

    That has:

    1 — 3.5mm stereo headphone port
    1 — Gigabit Ethernet port
    1 — SDXC card slot
    1 — Mini DisplayPort (up to 2,560 x 1,440 resolution, w/HDCP)
    1 — HDMI (up to 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, w/HDCP)
    4 — USB 3.0 ports
    2 — USB-C ports (data only, no video)

    If you were regularly plugging in and unplugging the device, a single plug is far easier than doing each item every time. Google sells a displayport cable:

    https://store.google.com/product/usb_type_c_to_displayport_cable?gl=US

    USB C is a new standard but it is the new USB so everyone will adopt it eventually.

    Now combine this with Skylake's wireless capability, which is not only wireless charging but WiGig (gigabit wireless data):


    [VIDEO]


    Then add a WiGig SD card:

    http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/30/wigig-sd-card-gets-demoed-on-tablets-makes-dvds-gone-in-60-seco/

    and you'd be able to put the camera next to the laptop to transfer the data at up to 1 gigabit/s (125MB/s).

    It would have been nice if Apple had included 2 USB C ports and sold a less expensive display adaptor and the current model isn't Skylake but the design direction makes sense. When wifi arrived, some people still preferred to use ethernet but very few people use ethernet now (no mobile devices have ethernet). The same will be true for power and data.

    Gigabit speed isn't enough to replace all wired uses but it will be much better for mobile users. I'd love to be able to have SSDs in a drawer somewhere that I could just mount wirelessly when I needed to for backups or grabbing files from without even taking them out the drawer. Wireless power has a short range of a few centimetres just now. It would be good if they could get it up to 1 metre. The Magsafe cable is a bit longer (just under 2m) but wireless range would be in a straight line so they'd be comparable. Then you'd just plug the brick in somewhere and all your devices (storage, phone, tablet, laptop) can get power without any cables at all. For now, what would happen is you'd need a mat to sit on the table and all peripherals would sit on it for power and then data is wireless.

    Hopefully some of the design will make it into the next Macbook Pros. The stronger metal hinge (which explains the lower text location as it is split), the lower sturdier keyboard with better backlighting, the larger force touch trackpad. The performance of it seems ok, the following review was editing and exporting 1080p video no problem on it and space grey is closer to the old black Macbook:


    [VIDEO]

    Works for me, still needs built in Miracast or WiDi though, Airplay is fine for audio but I still can't find a TV or monitor that has it built in. All of my TV's though have Miracast and work fantastically, I did find a small dongle called the EZcast that has Airplay and can be used to display both the iPad and Macbook but it's performance is no where near that of a device that has built in Miracast or WiDi and it's still a third party device.
  • Reply 156 of 222
    cnocbuicnocbui Posts: 3,613member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by bkkcanuck View Post

     

     

    I have to admit, my camera comes with one..... it also comes with an SD Card reader that works perfectly fine....  so I just plug the USB cable in to the port and use that reader :p


    My camera has an SD card, USB port/cable and Wifi.  Of the three, by far the fastest and most convenient method for transferring photos is to just pull the SD card and pop it into the slot in the laptop.

     

    I feel sorry for Neil.  He has given an honest review from the point of view of someone trying to do an active real-life task with the new Macbook and found that it isn't well suited to what he was trying to do.  I think he was trying to make a point that for people who need to connect stuff to a computer physically, this machine isn't the best one to choose from those that Apple make.  I would bet that not one in ten of his rabid critics have any intention of buying one of these for their personal use.

  • Reply 157 of 222
    bkkcanuckbkkcanuck Posts: 864member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cnocbui View Post

     

    I feel sorry for Neil.  He has given an honest review from the point of view of someone trying to do an active real-life task with the new Macbook and found that it isn't well suited to what he was trying to do.  I think he was trying to make a point that for people who need to connect stuff to a computer physically, this machine isn't the best one to choose from those that Apple make.  I would bet that not one in ten of his rabid critics have any intention of buying one of these for their personal use.


     

    The situation below is a dishonest example of allowing your bias to get in the way when reviewing....  My god, before he purchased a Macbook he had nothing to review -- he could not take the same effort to make sure he had the connectivity he needed....  He should know his own use case and he could not take the effort to source a USB A-C cable or adapter?  A simple search on the internet would show that he could order one.  It is not difficult.  The only reason to allow it to be the "major roadblock" to force you to use the other computer because the other one could not do the job -- is intellectual dishonesty.  This is just throwing up artificial roadblock.  I could have accepted that he preferred a built in SD card slot and it was worth the extra bulk or weight for him to have it built in because it is something he always carries with him... but this... really.....    How can you trust reviewers that do that sort of thing?

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post



    I do not own a USB-C to USB-A adapter, and the new MacBook does not have a traditional USB slot, nor an SD card slot.



    Once I hit this roadblock, I had no choice. I had to turn to my MacBook Pro



     

     

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by cnocbui View Post

     

    My camera has an SD card, USB port/cable and Wifi.  Of the three, by far the fastest and most convenient method for transferring photos is to just pull the SD card and pop it into the slot in the laptop.


     

    I always found the USB cable to be simplest.  I will take your word that the SD slot is faster.....  than USB 2 (which is what my camera holds)..... but then going forward both USB3 and WiGig will be just as fast .... if not faster for cameras that will be building in the faster flash memory (as opposed to the SD cards).   

  • Reply 158 of 222
    rolandgrolandg Posts: 632member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by XWin2MacUser View Post

     

    I use AirDrop to transfer file between iPhone, iPad and Macs on my network. In Finder on the left. Piece of cake.




    I wish Apple made AirDrop available on non-Apple systems. Unfortunately, opening up the spec does not seem to be enough for 3rd parties to adopt it as witnessed with the FaceTime protocol.

  • Reply 159 of 222
    frykefryke Posts: 217member
    I have to quote this from the article:

    [quote]The fact that that person would need to have a dongle handy in order to transfer over photos from their camera, whether via USB or an SD card reader, is likely too much of a sacrifice to make for a $1,300 ultraportable notebook.[/quote]

    Do you SERIOUSLY believe that someone who would like to be using the new MacBook will say: "I'd gladly pay the 1300$, but buying and taking with me a dongle that costs 19$ is TOO MUCH OF A SACRIFICE??"

    You must have lost your mind somewhere. Basically, your whole gripe with the new MacBook is with your not having a 19$ dongle around. That's just crazy, isn't it?
  • Reply 160 of 222
    idreyidrey Posts: 647member
    bkkcanuck wrote: »
    Yes, lived here for at least 5 years now.  

    There is always a market for old hardware -- even if there is not a market in the home country.  Even really really old computers get saran wrapped on a pallet and shipped overseas once they are no longer suited for first world countries.....  I see stacks of them in places like Pantip Plaza.....  I have no doubt that some places there probably collect all the old phones and do the same thing.....

    Wow cool. Yes I know a lot of old hard ware also gets ship to south and Central America. Phones mostly. Specially the stolen one. It's gotten to the point where some countries are starting to put regulatory rules to try and control "phone smuggling" second hand hard ware is big business in third world countries. A lot of people there can't afford to buy new.

    Don't have too much fun in Bangkok now ;)
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