A backward step ?

There is no way to tell any of this. Apple keeps everything secret and you usually only hear about things right before they launch.

Spec bumps are usually minor so it all comes down to if you need it, grab it now, if you feel like waiting to see if something better comes out you can.

 

I am sure i couple people have. For example getting rid of the express slot on macboook pro. If you don't like the new ones you can always get the last model, even for a discount maybe.

 

I don't think there has ever been an upgrade that was agreed upon as a backwards step.

Sometimes they drop features that make certain groups of people angry. Expresscard, SATA 2, hot-swappable battery, FW-800, hot swappable drive bays... These removals pissed off some groups of people, but they weren't generally agreed upon as downgrades. For example, I use the SD card slot on my Macbook Pro a lot more than I used an Expresscard slot. I don't personally consider it a downgrade, even though I know some people who would disagree.

 

I rarely use my ExpressCard slot on the 15", and everyone I know who does has an SD/XD/MMC adapter in there anyway. The only thing I think I'd miss going to a new 15" would be not having a CF adapter.

 

Steve Jobs is an inventor.
And an inventor's life creed is simple; "you don't know what you want because I haven't showed it to you"

Even though they are awesome today, we don't really know what tomorrow will bring - and how awesome that tomorrow will be.

 

In my opinion YES, they have been backstepping / mis-stepping.

The MacBook Pro.
What is the Pro for? Professional right?
So, why replace an ExpressCard slot - used by many profesionnal audiovisual hardware companies - by a SD slot, which is typically recreationnal.


(I'd vote for SD slot upgrade on MacBook and return of ExpressCard for MacBookPro.)

Note to Brien and goMac: I'm not arguing, I'm right.

 

As I remember, in some senses the Mac Pro 2009 was considered a backwards step. The 2008 Octo had been a great deal, and the refresh in 2009 had a lot of people looking to get significantly better value by finding one of the 2008's.

Obviously the 2009 and particularly the 2010 Mac Pros are great machines, and have in many ways advanced the platform, but as someone who bought one of the first 2008 Octos, I've never had even the remotest tinge of envy regarding what has been launched since mine. It was and is a great machine, and was a terrific value, at least for someone used to buying Apples.