Detnator

baconstang said:

Even if all your ports are USB-C, you will still need different cables for high power, or high data rates or both.
The fun part is they all have the same connectors, but are not interchangeable.

Thunderbolt 4 (and with one caveat, USB-4 also) now require them to be interchangeable.  USB-C has been a mess but TB4 is finally straightening it out. 

MacQuadra840av said:

Apple has continued to make everything more and more difficult to manage their product.  Removing delta and combo updaters that people used to manage their Macs makes no sense.  So now you have download a full 12GB installer and wait an hour to do a re-install if you are troubleshooting something strange?

The worst was the introduction of the T2 chip which by default prohibits you from installing macOS on your own system, without jumping through hoops (when you want to do a clean-install).  The default is to only allow a macOS install from the Command-R recovery mode, requiring a long download.  By default, you cannot boot from any external drive, unless you specifically disable the restriction that prohibits external drives.  Also, you have to allow macOS install from any source.  If you do not change those settings and you wipe the drive to re-install from an external USB boot disk, you can brick your Mac if you do not have internet access to re-install macOS.

Also, the creator of Diskmaker X has 'retired' the product because he does not have the time to re-write the program to figure out how to make a Big Sur boot disk with all of Apple's changes.  He never could get it to work running Catalina.  So the only way to make a Catalina boot disk is to run it from Mojave.  So I am guessing it is nearly impossible to make a USB boot disk of Big Sur.

Bit of an unnecessary angry rant here. The only reasonable statement here is about the removal of delta updaters, except the full install doesn't take an hour but whatever.  The rest is misinformation...

You can rant about defaults all you want but Apple has almost always had everything they make default to the easiest simplest option for end users, but with extra power under the hood for those who need it. The vast majority of Apple users turn on their Mac and use it. They don't need or want to boot from anything other than the internal drive or maybe occasionally from recovery mode when instructed to by Apple support.

The default is improved security for everyone.  You do understand that if someone steals your Mac and boots it from any volume other than yours you'll get no help from Find My Mac? But if there's no way to boot it from any other volume than yours then it's a useless brick to them, plus they can't even turn it on without it telling your iCloud account its location, so your chances of getting it back are better. That's worth something to most Mac users.

The rest of us still have the option to disable that security and have all the options we've always had (for booting from other sources). The process to do so is a documented process of about three mouse-clicks in Recovery Mode and not half the hassle you're making it out to be. It's one of the first things I do when I get a new Mac and it's been seamless every time.

As for your comments about DiskMaker X... I can't speak for the motivations of its developer not to support Big Sur, but the Apple built in process of making a standalone macOS installer is no more or less complicated or difficult than it has ever been (https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372). Every Mac OS since 10.11 including Big Sur is covered there. Building a GUI around a Big Sur version should be no harder than for any other Mac OS before it.

Please check your misinformation - and maybe even your anti-Apple anger - at the door.


Edit:  This link: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211683 has all the standalone installers since 10.10

screenscriber said:

Genuinely surprised that they didn’t fix the webcam. Sounds like 2021will be the year for something fresher, crisper and broadly compatible.

If that's the case, I'm sorry to say you'll continue being "genuinely surprised".  People really need to get past this.

Unless some significantly new technology comes out they will not "fix" the webcam because it's not (currently) possible, without making the display significantly thicker, which would compromise the design in ways that normal people would really prefer they didn't.

Have you noticed the "camera bump" on all the iPhones since the 6 series over 5 years ago - which is still a problem today?  They can't fit a decent camera in the iPhone's 8mm thickness without a bump.  So how are they going to fit a decent camera in the 2mm thick laptop displays?**

It's a webcam for goodness sake. You're not shooting a feature film with it (while some people are doing so with the iPhone cameras). Why should anyone care if you look a little fuzzier for your zoom meeting than you would with a better camera (that as I say would severely compromise the experience of everything else).  Alternatively if it really is that big a deal, enough that the compromises required are less important to you, then get a professional external one.

Ya'll need to get over it.

----

** In 10min of googling I can't find any other decent laptop with a webcam better than 720p. Anyone feel free to point me to one if you know of any.

zimmermann said:

Apple sometimes feels like the very rich uncle that counts every round of drinks, and takes care never to be the first to pull his wallet. Apple is never generous. Like you buy an expensive house, and you still have to negotiate with the seller about every sink that stays. A Bentley without real leather seats. And by the way, you should buy your own tires. Once you drive the car the experience is great, but the moment you have to fork the money over in stings. The coming Bentley will have those real leather seats...

You really think they're doing this to save a few bucks?  Good grief.  Have you seen how thin the laptop screens are?  You know about that "camera bump" on the iPhones and iPads, right?  

When you figure out how to fit a 1080p camera inside the MBA and MBP laptop screens, I'm sure Apple's engineering team would love to hear from you.

anantksundaram said:

StrangeDays said:

chemengin1 said:

Most underwhelming phone ever announced.

You're on some serious, serious drugs. Seek help.

He's not out of line. I don't see people breaking down doors to comment or react here. That is quite contrary to prior (significantly new) iPhone intros...

Revealed preference.

My experiences here in the past is that people have been breaking down the doors to complain about what wasn't included or a load of other negative stuff.  Those people appear to be silenced for the most part, which leaves the few of us who do actually like Apple stuff and are capable of intelligent conversation having some actually pretty sensible (albeit less vocal without the whiners) discussions for a nice change.

;-)