zoetmb

When I watched the beginning of the overall presentation, it got me pissed off.   Maybe I'm just too old (I was around for the original Mac and the Apple ]['s before it), but I thought the music sucked; I'm not interested in Apple's earbuds because they don't fit my ears, I don't want Bluetooth in my head, I'm not buying earbuds that you throw away when the batteries can't be charged anymore and Apple's examples of playlists that you ask Siri for played music I would never want to hear.   And I don't believe one can really do immersive audio in two channels, although that nonsense may be more in Dolby's corner than Apple's.   

Then I got more pissed when I saw the HomePod Mini because I thought, "Apple's innovation is three more colors?    They've completely run out of ideas."

But then they brought out the new MBP's and I was completely blown away by how great they seem.    In spite of some rumors about an M2 processor, I really thought it would be the M1 (and there's nothing wrong with the M1) plus some slight enhancements.   But IMO, they've made major and incredible enhancements across the board and considering how Mac is now a tiny fraction of Apple's revenues, I was quite impressed with the effort.   Personally, while I would have liked to have seen a CFExpress slot instead of an SD slot, SD is still more universal, although it might not be five years down the road.     I would also have been happier to have seen lower prices on storage upgrades, but it is what it is.  (I just bought a 2TB Sandisk external SSD for $300).   

It will be interesting to see how the press reacts to these new machines and whether they recognize what strides Apple has made.  

docno42 said:

omasou said:

The screen is bigger so the notch is not taking away from he screen. If anything it's part of the menu bar

How do you figure?  For full screen content it's going to be there.  Indeed it was pretty prominent in the full screen shots they had during the show.   The screen is wider than 16:9 so that notch is going to be there when you play full screen video.  It's a baffling decision to me for a company so otherwise focused on aesthetics.  Even the notch on the iPhone doesn't interfere with full screen video in landscape mode. 
Oh well, guess I'll find out pretty quick just how much of a distraction it is. 

16:9, 1.85:1 and 2.4:1 aspect ratio content is not full screen, so it won't matter.   And even if it did, it looked to me that when they played a video, the top of the video was below the notch.   I would agree that if there was image to the left and right of the notch, that would be annoying, but I don't think that's going to be the case.   I think the only thing to the side of it is going to be menu bar.  

MacPro said:

docno42 said:

Not thrilled about the notch; everything else looks like a solid home run. 

Only question - will this be a one kidney day, or two?

I thought the way Apple's video explained it, 'we added more screen either side" as opposed to how some see this, 'we took away some screen area' would put an end to these comments.  But no. /sigh

Agreed.  The menu appears to the left off the notch.  And if there was no notch it would be bezel like it's been previously.  So it's much ado about nothing.   My only concern is what happens when the menu is wide (long).  Does it wrap around the notch.   Other than that, much ado about nothing.  IMO, just people who like to complain and get hysterical over nothing.  

In spite of the M1 processors, there's another reason why Apple might not do a full redesign:    Mac is becoming an ever-smaller part of Apple's revenue stream.   In the first three quarters of the current fiscal, Mac represented just 9.2% of Apple's net sales.   It was 10.4% last fiscal.    Only the IPad had a smaller share.   Wearables (this fiscal) is 10.5% and Services is 17.8%.    If the average Mac sale is $2000, Apple sold about 14.3 million in fiscal 2020, compared to approximately 172 million iPhones (if the average is $800 ea.)     

Personally, I'm with Darkvader.   I think it's completely ridiculous that Mac doesn't have user replaceable memory, storage and battery like it once did and if the price of that is a thicker case, so be it.    Of course, Apple will never do it because in spite of promoting itself as a green company,  its strategy is to force people to buy a new computer instead of upgrading an existing one.      I've attended a number of "safe-disposal" events recently and while PC's dominate, there's plenty of people tossing Macs as well.  

fastasleep said:

lkrupp said:

With the tech giants and streaming services all producing content it’s going to generate more and more jobs in the movie business. Actors, directors, editors, all those names you see scrolling across the screen at the end of a movie will have a lot of work. A close friend’s daughter just graduated cum laude from USC with her degree in Cinematic Arts. We’re all hoping she finds good work in the industry. 

She'll find grueling, underpaying work for sure.

I think the impending strike (whether the strike itself actually happens or there's a negotiated settlement) is going to substantially change things   Union jobs in the industry used to pay extraordinarily well.   Back in the day, I was a recording engineer in an independent studio, but I got a call to work on a shoot for a series of TV commercials.   The shoot ran overtime and I made more in that one day than I normally made in a week.    And unlike current complaints about missed meals, we got paid extra for missed meals, but got to grab food from the craft table that was pretty good food anyway.   Because it ran over and I think it was a weekend, we went into what was called "Super Golden Time" pay.   And the job was nothing - I just had to wire up an announcer with a lavaliere and record audio onto a Nagara tape recorder.   If there was anything negative about the job, it's only that it was boring, whereas at the independent studio, I was doing highly creative work.  

All of the unions have voted to support a strike because current working conditions - 18 hour days, low pay, etc., are poor.    I believe that's going to change things and I think pay scales especially at the bottom are going to be vastly improved.     There's no reason why Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Hulu, etc. can't pay well when they produce directly and they should insure that people are paid and treated well even when they buy programs from independent producers or other studios (or the unions should insure this).   On union shoots, I'm surprised things have gotten so bad (if indeed they really have) because the union rule books are quite intense (and complex).