roundaboutnow

scampercom said:

I use my 12-inch MacBook for writing, so, though I’m super-interested in an ARM-based replacement, my ability to purchase one is 100% dependent on the availability of Scrivener (ARM) for macOS.

I don't know anything about Scrivener, but I happened to notice there is an iPad (ARM) version. Wouldn't an iPad Pro with the new Magic Keyboard work, or is there a feature difference with the macOS version that makes it a problem?

That RAM price doubling sucks, but for anyone that really needs the 16GB of RAM (along with 512GB SSD), there is now no reason not to go with the higher spec MBP 13"...

...yes, it would be yet another $100, but then not only do you get the 16GB/512GB SSD, you also get the faster, 10th gen CPU and four TB ports.

Even before the RAM price increase, AI was recommending the higher spec version:
https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/05/21/review-the-13-inch-macbook-pro-with-10th-generation-processors-is-the-one-to-buy

fastasleep said:

chasm said:

So CarPlay (which completely takes over the infotainment system) doesn't exist. That's funny, it does in my vehicle ...

CarPlay is not system control, it's dashboard monitor for your iPhone.

Believe me I would love for Apple to take end-to-end control and produce a vehicle. But its clear that none of the commenters who imagine this have given any thought to what that actually takes. Have any of you been to a car assembly plant? Those take years to build, and years more to really get up to speed. Apple doesn't have any of those.

Apple doesn't "have" any assembly plants for their existing products, they're all owned and operated by manufacturing partners. If anyone would potentially upend how one thinks about what manufacturing a vehicle "actually takes" it would be Apple. Why are you assuming there's only one way to build a vehicle? They certainly aren't.

If Apple's going to design "all the parts,"  or even just the new parts they may be inventing, they'll need other factories to make those parts. Apple doesn't have any of those either, and again that's a massive employment and building effort -- Foxconn isn't going to shift direction, let's put it that way.

Why not? They and many other manufacturing partners have many times. Shall we revisit the well-tread story of Corning making glass for the first iPhone?

There are already contract car manufacturers that Apple could partner with. Magna is one that actually offers "Complete Vehicle Manufacturing":

"Magna currently holds contracts to produce vehicles for BMW, Daimler, Jaguar Land Rover and Toyota"

lorin schultz said:

randominternetperson said:

lorin schultz said:

randominternetperson said:

neilm said:

ap1971 said:

Quick question. I need a Macbook Pro without Touch Bar.  Is any model available now? 

"Need"?

No, other than maybe old stock in the retail chain, or possibly a refurb — either of which would mean settling for the old keyboard. Not a good idea. 

Other than price, there's no obvious reason to prefer the non-TB version of the MBP. If you don't like the TB, just ignore it. It's not in the way. And with the TB you get the fingerprint reader, which is well worthwhile, and with this new MBP the physical ESC key has now been restored, which matters to some people.

Maybe he spends all his time emulating a VT-220 terminal and is addicted to those physical F-keys.  I'm sure there are 2 or 3 users out there with that use case.  Yes, Apple has "abandoned" those (niche) users.  Oh well.

As someone else mentioned, it's common for production software to make extensive use of the function keys. My bread-winner app, Pro Tools, uses them for switching editing modes, something I do almost as often as hitting "play." Not having them would significantly impact my workflow and productivity.

Have you actually tested this hypothesis?  Have you tried working with one for a few days and seeing if your muscle memory doesn't solve the (potential) problem?

Personally, I like the touch bar and prefer it for things like changing volume and brightness.  The only things I used the physical keys for were for those actions (which are better done with a slider than key presses).  But I suppose I'm not "pro" enough.

If you didn't use the old F keys constantly for a primary function of your software, it's not surprising that you wouldn't miss them. I suspect spending an afternoon editing in Pro Tools would give you a different perspective. You'll be hitting an F key every few seconds.

To answer your question, yes, for a while I tried to work with just the laptop's keys, Touch Bar, and the mouse. It's certainly possible, but it's comparatively cumbersome and much slower. I TOTALLY understand your point about muscle memory, but in this case there really is a difference in efficiency. I now just carry a full-size keyboard with me. I'd prefer not to, though.

Isn't it possible to make the function keys display permanently in Touch Bar when using Protools? 

I don't have a Touch Bar Mac yet, and I use a few F keys regularly in AutoCAD.  I looked up how AutoCAD uses Touch Bar and they simply replace the F# button labels with icon labels when using their app, so the button layout is the same, just the button graphics are different (but consistent with the on screen UI).

GeorgeBMac said:

From its earliest days Apple has always thought that they should decide what users want and need.  While that philosophy has served them well, when you implement it, you better make sure that you're right.   It leaves no room for error.

In this case, Apple was correct (I think) that using a touch screen on a laptop is awkward.  

But they missed one important thing: It wasn't about "either / or" - it was both -- at the user's option:   If the user wanted to use the touch screen he could, if he wanted to use the cursor he could do that too -- and he could switch back & forth and mix and match as needed.

I saw an example of that when my grandson's father tried to sign into Netflex on his son's new MacBook:   He kept reaching up and tapping the screen while I patiently reached over to tap the trackpad for him.   That didn't happen just once but over and over again (5 or 10 times).   He simply couldn't get it through his head that it was not a touch screen and, when I explained it to him, he thought the MacBook was garbage because it didn't have a touch screen.

There's nothing wrong with giving the user options. 

I generally agree that options are a good thing.

However, as another commenter pointed out, many of us regularly touch our screens to point something out (I personally don't and I cringe when someone else touches my screen, but that's just me). Anyway, I have come across several examples with different users on Windows touchscreen laptops experiencing unexpected behavior when pointing at something on their screen. These were typically users already very comfortable and familiar with Windows--not expert, but not total neophytes. I think since so many new and even low cost PCs come with touchscreens, when these users ended up acquiring a new PC, they did so without expressly asking for touch, and therefore would keep forgetting about it. With my dad, he messed things up so many times due to inadvertent screen touches, I had to disable the touch feature on his laptop (which is not the most straightforward process BTW).