adrayven

bloggerblog said:

I use the SD card slot as a second drive on my MBP, and the HDMI port to display my work during a conference. Carrying adapters is a pain in the arse, I already carry around an HDMI for the iPad Pro and have one lost already, they're $50 each. The fact that I also have to carry two sets of headphones, a Lightening for my iPhone and a standard for my laptop is yet another head scratcher.

I wish Apple had aligned their ports ahead of time. I'm not sure wether to buy or hold out. Will the new iPhone 8 sport a USB C or will the next MacBook Pro sport a Lightening?

You don't need 2 sets of headphones. If you got the iPhone 7, you'd know you have a lighting to 3.5mm converter WITH the phone for free.

as for port b!tching.. well, when you buy premium, expect NEW technology.. not old tech..

Funny really. They don't update the Mac Pro; people b!tch.. they update the MacBook Pro with latest.. people b!tch.. I'll bring some cheese for that whine..

I think people whine just for attention these days.. Me, I'm all in on USB-C and not looking back. I'm updating most of my cabling now. Fact is, many external USB devices, you can get replacement USB-C cables so you don't need dongles.. This is especially true of USB storage and display cables.

for those saying they want to stay in the past.. fine.. stay there.. no one is saying you have to buy it.. /talk to the hand

I get the feeling the Gov't is going to force feed this flawed view of 'special access' and when it blows up, gets exploited and millions pay the price, they will blame the technology companies for 'not doing it right'.. foolish, arrogant, and many other words I cannot say here.

How quickly congress forgets it doesn't set policy for the world. Their is basically no way to enforce this law globally, and because of that, all it does is weaken US based companies. Dumb and Dumber are in the HOUSE.. heh.

The new Ad-ware infection... Windows 10 itself. LOL

Metriacanthosaurus said:

Mike Wuerthele said:

Metriacanthosaurus said:

AppleInsider said:

As Thunderbolt 3 is adopted by more and more companies primarily driven by the MacBook Pro, the external GPU marketplace looks like it will grow -- as practically demonstrated by the Devil Box. 

I highly doubt that. 

Other companies are way out ahead of this kind of solution. LiquidSky, which will be launching soon, really destroys the idea of an external GPU. Granted this is mostly (but not exclusively) for gaming, but that is the single largest use case for external GPU shoppers.

The idea of Free-to-Cheap access to a cloud computer with specs far beyond your own, allowing you to use virtually any device but still take advantage of the power of a massive PC will be the go-to option for the majority of people who would potentially be in the market for an external GPU.

The truth about external GPU's is that they simply took too long to get here. Other, better alternatives to complete a user experience have sprung up in their absence.

We'll see. There were no less than five TB3 eGPU enclosures at CES. I'm bullish on LiquidSky and similar, but they can be hamstrung by poor Internet and LAN conditions.

True, but no more so than gaming in general. In fact, far less so. You only need decent 10 Mbps DL with average latency...thats not asking much.

And for Mac users, the eGPU isn't the full solution. That's just step one. If a Mac user wants to play PC games, there is much more involved, like Boot Camp, and some of the nightmarish incompatibilities that come with that. Its the lowest common denominator when it comes to hardware device support. Plus...you have to live in Windows. On your Mac.

I'd stay bullish on LiquidSky and whatever else comes next in a similar fashion. The potential for leveraging the cloud in this way is staggering. A true breakthrough.

I disagree with you for several reasons and agree with Mike.

First, as he pointed out, T3 Docks, like OWC are already running at around $300.. With us seeing only a $80-$100 premium to get a spot for a GPU, thats a no brainer for most who would get an eGPU because I can virtually guarantee you they were likely ALREADY looking for a good Dock anyway.

Anyone looking for eGPU expandability was highly likely to be looking already for port expandability anyway. /shrug As for Living in Windows; not me.. I game in macOS most of the time.. (Guild Wars 2, WoW, and yes, some PC Games (DAoC) with PlayOnMac service) Yes I give up some performance vs convenience of not having to switch OS's. but I prefer it stay in macOS and I use the GPU for more than gaming.. Many pro's would snap this up simply for Adobe and Final Cut alone. I love portability when I need it; but horsepower when at the office. I hate having to maintain multiple systems, so this is the perfect solution for me.

Lastly, you're assumption is strictly based on gammers.. when a vast majority of users with a Mac are Pro's doing transcoding and Editing. This solution OPENS UP gaming for Mac, but would largely tailor to professionals looking to eek out more GPU for projects and work.

My interest, in Mac gaming exclusively, is because my 'hope' is this will vastly even the playing field when it comes to hardware excuses for not creating Mac based games. I know, not likely, but I hold onto this hope with Apple backing Metal in both iOS and macOS.

I'm thought for a few months now that Apple was going to largely skip Skylake in favor of Kaby Lake to get TB3 built in with 3.1.. The rumors around the Thunderbolt 3 Apple monitor with built in Video card just reinforced it..

I just think the leaks on the new monitor made people jump the gun, assuming it would be released with WWDC.. That was wistful thinking.. It makes a boat load of sense that Apple release this new Thunderbolt 3 monitor with the systems that can use it this fall. We'll see Kaby Lake Macbook Pro's and likely the rumored GPU based Thunderbolt monitor this fall..

My only question is what kind of GPU will Apple use? Mobile? probably. High End mobile that has a chance to work with VR? hmmm. maybe? but probably not this first round..

That said.. if Apple DOES release a GPU based Thunderbolt 3 Monitor; I'm betting NO Macbook Pro's will have a discreet GPU.. None.. They will go all-in and if you want discreet GPU, you'll need a TB3 Apple Monitor. However, I don't think it would be long before we'd see 3rd party GPU based monitors with UPGRADABLE GPU slots.. and a new GPU form factor will be born! Mark my words.. this is just the beginning ..

Guess We'll see.

cali said:

I wish Apple would take Apple TV seriously for gaming. We would see more games like this.

What more are you after? Steelseries has a great controller. Apple no longer requires Apple remote support.. Dev's can require a solid controller and develop for it.. Nothing is really holding developers back.. I think the main issue is Game / App discovery on Apple TV just plain sucks.. I saw some cool games on Apple TV the other day, but didn't know they existed .. having searched for games previously just couldn't find / browse anything.. I also think they REALLY need to allow some kind of trial play.. I'd pay more if I could at least see some of the game play first.

So, I've gone from a citizen down to a customer. why is this a good thing? Oh, right, it lines the 1%'s pockets even more because, you know, this is a good thing. /sick..

suddenly newton said:

"Intel needs competition," said no PC fan ever.

Except every other PC fan you apparently have not met. ROFL.. Virtually the entire community of PC users rejoiced when AMD Ryzen came out and look forward to AMD pushing Intel even harder.

I honestly hope AMD keeps this trend, and gets Apple's attention in the MacBook Pro lineup. I wouldn't mind seeing an comparable AMD APU, based n Ryzen, with R series GPU built in, touting 6 and 8 core multi-threaded APU's in a MacBook Pro.

This is what Intel should really be shaking in it's boots about. With competition, comes competitive pricing, both from AMD and Intel. Both PC market and Apple Mac/Macbook markets benefit from this..

Rayz2016 said:

I have trouble understanding how this is supposed to work. 

They charge Pegatron for using their tech when making devices for Apple. 
So what is Apple being charged for if the don't manufacture devices themselves?

I have no idea what the agreements said, but it looks to me like they can charge Apple or charge Pegatron, but I don't see how they can charge both companies for making the same unit. 

Thats what the dispute is about, it's forcing royalties to be paid both by suppliers and the OEM (Apple) at same time.. Qualcomm is double dipping and basically holding the market hostage since its the only game in town; even though these patents are under FRAND.

Apple has started to buck this and play hardball.

and now, the EU has declared Qualcomm a monopoly in this space.. That does not bode well for them. With Google and others weighing in as well about Qualcomm's abuse of their position, I honestly think they might loose this one.