Apple to Introduce New Macs at October 27 Event

[bingeciren]

I'm certain to buy a new iMac to replace my existing aging one. However, I've been doing my TimeMachine backups over Firewire, and I am anticipating with dread how I am going to restore to a new USB-C only machine. I am okay with dongles, but after several hours of research I still cannot figure out exactly what I would need to hook a Firewire 800 drive to a USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 port.

i've looked pretty much everywhere. There's no direct solution, so I assume I have to cobble something together. One thought would be to start with Apple's Thunderbolt to FW adapter, but how does that connect to Thunderbolt 3? There don't seem to be a lot of solid Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt adapters available-- I found one, but it seems sketchy. Am I missing something? The articles I've read say Thunderbolt to Thunderbolt 3 requires some kind of adapter.

Maybe I'll be lucky and with Apple will provide a solution, or the iMac will come with some legacy ports. But someone with a MacBook Pro must be facing a similar problem-- what's the solution?

You have a valid point. Worse comes to worse, like you said, you can replace your FireWire drive with a USB drive for your backups.

However, in my case, I do a lot of video conversion from old tapes to digital using the iLink FireWire port of the DV camera. Unless I find an adapter for FireWire to USB, I'm forced to keep my old Mac with the FireWire port and will never be able to use a USB-C only equipped machine.

 

[bostero2]

You could always buy a Macbook Pro from 2012 (non retina) - it is far from a perfect machine but it does allow you to upgrade the internals yourself. It has 2 ports of USB 3 and a SD card, a Thunderbolt over display port but no HDMI.

Suggestion if you go for this my recommendation is to upgrade the RAM to 16GB, replace the existing HDD with a good SSD, AND replace the superdrive with another SSD unless you need the superdrive.

I know, it's something that crossed my mind, but at this time I think that the non retina MBP is way too overpriced for the machine that it is. If the new machines don't convince me I hope Apple doesn't ditch that model and lowers the price (or upgrade it) and if they do ditch it, I'll be on the market for a refurbished one.

 

[insomniac86]

When one wishes something soooooooooo much, it will become a reality.

There you go! It's REEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALL haha

 

[Steve121178]

Now calling USB old tech and ditching it now when it's the mainstream port for 99.99% of users is absolute stupidity. Even if in 2 years everyone is on USB-C, Apple is still 100% wrong to take away the industry standard ports today.

No, they are 100% correct to ditch if, if that's what they choose to do. If people have USB-A ports on new tech, it will never go away. And it needs to vanish!

 

[robinp]

Great news. Just hope it was worth the wait!

I'm thinking min 256Gb storage topping out at 1Tb? I hope Apple really have beefed up the graphics. The new toys are all well and good, but it's still the core most people will use!

I think the 100% USB-C's will be annoying to many; even for basic things like Mice etc. I think even getting a Time machine capable HD will be a challenge for a while. I know a new WesternD Passport has just been announced that appears to be non-USB-C Oh my printer and Logitec Webcam won't work OOTB either . . . arse!

I guess we all have to just hold the faith for a while!

Are there any HDs which aren't time machcine compatible? Re USB C, just buy a new cable

 

[dilbert99]

Dongles hanging out? Please. Do you carry your charger? If not, the odds are pretty low you need to carry anything else and if you do, be real about your dongles and the space they consume.

I carry an unusual amount because of the varied nature of my work. Networking is where things bite me the hardest, but the adapters are a small issue. I need connector cables and such anyway. My TB->Ethernet is smaller than my USB->Serial cable. The nice thing about USB-C is there is a focus on multi-port mini hubs which actually make life easier for someone like me (presuming it's USB only and not TB3).

You're either carrying a bunch of stuff that you need adapters for... or your aren't. If you carry a bunch of accessories, the added load from the adapters is nothing. If you're regularly commuting to a location that you need to connect to a bunch of stuff, your adapters are either there or (smarter) part of a central hub (thanks Thunderbolt).

Who are these mythical people that need TONS OF ADAPTERS? If you have a ton of adapters, odds are EXTREMELY high that you're simply "doing it wrong." This is just complaining to complain at this point. It has been for ages. About the only normal use case I see is hooking up to projectors and such. Guess what? I have to carry a VGA adapter for old ones anyway. It's tiny. Before I had a rMBP and was sporting an Air (and a 2010 13" Pro before that) I carried Mini DisplayPort -> HDMI. These adapters take up as much space in your bag as a damn pen. The totality of my adapters (and again, I'm even abnormal in this regard) weigh less and take up roughly the same amount of space as a charger. Woop-dee-doo.

And if you hate Apple's prices, guess what? USB-C and TB3 are being adopted at a much higher rather than TB2. Head to Monoprice and grab a couple of cheap adapters.

Calm down and re-read my post.

I said my bag was heavy enough before I add to its weight with dongles.
I didn't mention in my post about disliking Apple prices, but have in other posts, mainly due to the current exchange rate.
But you have to admit a phone costing the same as a laptop is ridiculous.

As for dongles hanging out on the train, I was referring to using my laptop on the train, the last thing I want is to have a dongle plugged in so that I can use my current tiny discrete thumb drive.

 

[kerr]

It's old tech and will be ditched. People need to accept that.

perhaps you can explain the stupidity and lack of consistency of Apple sticking with Lightning on iOS devices, then introducing two needless and ridiculous things:
- Lightning to 3.5mm Headphone Jack Adapter (can't be used on macOS devices)
- EarPods with Lightning Connector (can't be used on macOS devices)

when a move to USB-C would have been the sensible and consistent thing to do? Then we could have:
- USB-C to 3.5mm Headphone Jack Adapter (which could be used on both iOS and macOS devices)
- EarPods with USB-C Connector (which could be used on both iOS and macOS devices)

 

[Savor]

Getting my $850 MacBook Air very soon. Probably once Best Buy opens. Not overly excited but finally being a Mac guy does. I told myself this will be the last chance I will give Apple since I despise iOS devices. Macs have a file manager and torrent apps while iPhones and iPads don't. Oh yeah, and some actually have an SD slot. All the hoopla for iPhones when Macs are the true superior products coming from Apple. Their roots are computers.

Apple Computer > Apple Inc

Just bought a Seagate Backup Plus Slim 2TB premium metal edition. Will look great next to my "older" MacBook Air with the standard USB. I studied the MacBook Airs for awhile too ever since the Haswell chips. I prefer 12+hr battery life. The "12 MacBook comparison also made me pick the Air instead. Only advantage that MacBook had was Retina Display and even with the weaker SoC, it still was inferior to battery life. I really don't care about sharpness on computers.

There are moments when "newer" isn't always "better." Not waiting another week just to find some port-less Macs like what Apple did to the iPhone 7 series by removing the headphone jack and have the iPhone SE be the final iPhone to offer it. And believe me, an iPad Pro with keyboard could never replace MacBooks. Losing ports will just bring newer Macs to that watered-down iPad level.

So going to pass on this Oct 27 event and shrug it off because I doubt Retina on the Air or e-ink display on keyboard would impress me that much and probably ruin battery even worse. Get iPhone SE if you want an iPhone with headphone jack. Get the current MacBooks if you want to maintain having standard USB, MagSafe, and SD slot. All these current new standards is protocol for planned obsolescence that every company does.

 

[maflynn]

when a move to USB-C would have been the sensible and consistent thing to do? Then we could have:
- USB-C to 3.5mm Headphone Jack Adapter (which could be used on both iOS and macOS devices)
- EarPods with USB-C Connector (which could be used on both iOS and macOS devices)

But then Apple couldn't charge licensing fees to those who want to make cables for the iPhone

 

[Steve121178]

perhaps you can explain the stupidity and lack of consistency of Apple sticking with Lightning on iOS devices, then introducing two needless and ridiculous things:
- Lightning to 3.5mm Headphone Jack Adapter (can't be used on macOS devices)
- EarPods with Lightning Connector (can't be used on macOS devices)

when a move to USB-C would have been the sensible and consistent thing to do? Then we could have:
- USB-C to 3.5mm Headphone Jack Adapter (which could be used on both iOS and macOS devices)
- EarPods with USB-C Connector (which could be used on both iOS and macOS devices)

Perhaps the iPhone 8 in 2017 will come with a lightning to USB-C cable? Lightning is not going anywhere and will remain the default port on iOS devices.

I've no comment to make regarding Apple earphones. I just throw them in the bin as they are that bad and invest in some decent earphones & headphones.

 

[bingeciren]

I've no comment to make regarding Apple earphones. I just throw them in the bin as they are that bad and invest in some decent earphones & headphones

Actually, they are perfect for voice communication and using your device in quiet mode while surfing the web and/or watching You Tube etc.

As for listening to music, they are garbage.

 

[DevNull0]

No, they are 100% correct to ditch if, if that's what they choose to do. If people have USB-A ports on new tech, it will never go away. And it needs to vanish!

My latest computer doesn't have a VGA port, but the one before it did. It's been about 10 years since I've seen a monitor that is VGA only yet as recently as 2 years ago, VGA was standard on non-Apple computers.

My current monitor is about 6 years old, when I first bought it, I connected it through VGA, now it's connected through DVI to my PC and its native DisplayPort input to my macMini. The transition was 100% painless and the old tech has vanished.

It has worked that way for every piece of tech outside apple-kool-aid-land since the dawn of the computer age. My centronics parallel port used to be essential, I could never buy a computer without it. Well I don't even remember the last computer I had with that port, but I never missed it. 15-pn game port. By the time it disappeared it was a non-issue.

So now you would rather ditch a port with 99.99% market penetration in favor of a port with 0% that may or may not be the next big thing and then expect the 99.99% of devices to be connected through $80 adapters. Why?

Why does a port with 99.99% market use right now need to vanish for something with minimal improvement that nobody uses yet?

 

[maflynn]

So now you would rather ditch a port with 99.99% market penetration in favor of a port with 0% that may or may not be the next big thing and then expect the 99.99% of devices to be connected through $80 adapters. Why?

Apple has done this many times before and causes a bit of a headache in the beginning.

First iMac ditched SCSI and ADB in favor of USB, they also dropped the floppy drive. The 2012 MBPs dropped the optical drive, and I believe that's when they killed off firewire as well (not that it was popular but it was starting to catch on).

 

[Steve121178]

So now you would rather ditch a port with 99.99% market penetration in favor of a port with 0% that may or may not be the next big thing and then expect the 99.99% of devices to be connected through $80 adapters. Why?

Why does a port with 99.99% market use right now need to vanish for something with minimal improvement that nobody uses yet?

Because it's better. Much, much better.

Here's a great article that you should read:

https://www.cnet.com/uk/how-to/usb-type-c-thunderbolt-3-one-cable-to-connect-them-all/

You can still use your old USB stuff with USB-C with an adapter that costs a couple of $.

I'm always looking to the future and if I'm buying premium priced tech in 2016 I want it to have modern standards. USB-C just makes a lot of sense.

 

[Gasu E.]

You have a valid point. Worse comes to worse, like you said, you can replace your FireWire drive with a USB drive for your backups.

However, in my case, I do a lot of video conversion from old tapes to digital using the iLink FireWire port of the DV camera. Unless I find an adapter for FireWire to USB, I'm forced to keep my old Mac with the FireWire port and will never be able to use a USB-C only equipped machine.

Misery loves company. Even if I abandon my FW drives in the longer run, I still have to install, ideally using my TimeMachine backups or Target Mode over FW. My old drives support USB 2.0, which is an alternative for TM; but yuck. I really don't want to be down for an entire weekend, and would pay $100 to avoid that.

 

[Appleaker]

Budget will be a bit tight on the new one, definitely getting a 27" for sure, but need to see the speed difference between the mid level i5 and the i7 (which I'd like more as a method of future-proofing, than necessarily an actual "need".)

Main big things I do are Photoshop and recording music, so SSD or flash memory is basically mandatory (had to change out my old HDD from my Mini because it was way too slow.)

Also plan on incrementally upgrading the RAM, probably to 32 gigs, which might make the i5 fine for the future...

Yeah the i5 should be fine but you may slightly benefit from the i7. Like you said, the main benefit there is future proofing.

 

[mrxak]

When 1000 days since last release rolled over on the counter for the Mac Pro, which at the time of release was already using outdated tech, I started looking very seriously at Linux (I liked OS X for the Unix, I am not going to switch to Windows). I've been comfortable with it and other *NIX flavors for years, but these days it's a serious option for me to switch to completely. I'm not sure what effects switching would have on my other purchases, but the halo effect was certainly real buying Mac Pros and PowerMacs all these years, and the Apple ecosystem frankly hasn't had as big a hold on me lately, with a lot of things I just don't like about iOS 10 and the latest Mac laptop designs. Some of the recent OS X versions have been hit-or-miss too.

Neglecting the Mac Pro has been a huge mistake by Apple for far too long. My last computer was a refurbished Mac, which Apple got no money from. The nnMP better be incredibly impressive for me to buy another new Mac ever again, and if it's not announced at this event and released shortly thereafter, then I've probably made my last Apple purchase already.

 

[Phil A.]

As for dongles hanging out on the train, I was referring to using my laptop on the train, the last thing I want is to have a dongle plugged in so that I can use my current tiny discrete thumb drive.

This is what I use when I want to connect a thumb drive to my rMB - it's hardly indiscreet or heavy (and cost less than a tenner) - the thumbdrive next to it is for size comparison

 

[DevNull0]

Apple has done this many times before and causes a bit of a headache in the beginning.

First iMac ditched SCSI and ADB in favor of USB, they also dropped the floppy drive. The 2012 MBPs dropped the optical drive, and I believe that's when they killed off firewire as well (not that it was popular but it was starting to catch on).

SCSI was never mainstream and for what little support it ever had, it was on its way out when Apple dropped it. And ADB was another one of Apple's little joke "standards". Dropping them was a minor nothing.

The floppy drive was also on its way out, but dropping it was not a good move. People talk with hindsight like a floppy now would be a horrible thing to include so of course Apple should have removed it. At the time, it caused a lot of trouble for no good reason. Similarly, the Optical drive was a really stupid move.

You can say it all worked out for Apple, but there's a pretty good reason Apple can't crack a 5% global market share, and it's not because people want clunky $300 Dells. It's because a clunky $300 Dell with the ports/features people want to use today is a heck of a lot better than a $3000 machine with a bunch of useless ports that may be useful in 5 years but will more likely be long forgotten in 5 years.
[doublepost=1476975413][/doublepost]

Because it's better. Much, much better.

Here's a great article that you should read:

https://www.cnet.com/uk/how-to/usb-type-c-thunderbolt-3-one-cable-to-connect-them-all/

In 2016, USB3 is the 1 port to connect them all.

But that's just a response to your silly point. Why in the world is 1 port so much better? It really kills you to have USB3, USB-C, and DisplayPort in the same machine?

You can still use your old USB stuff with USB-C with an adapter that costs a couple of $.

I'm always looking to the future and if I'm buying premium priced tech in 2016 I want it to have modern standards. USB-C just makes a lot of sense.

So a clunky, ugly adapter that costs 80 bucks is just a simple couple of $ minor thing for you. That puts you in a very, very tiny minority of users and you must be very, very rich (which makes me wonder why you have the time to rack up such a high posting count here). If Apple is meant for people like you, it explains their tiny market share.

 

[cult hero]

Calm down and re-read my post.

I said my bag was heavy enough before I add to its weight with dongles.
I didn't mention in my post about disliking Apple prices, but have in other posts, mainly due to the current exchange rate.
But you have to admit a phone costing the same as a laptop is ridiculous.

As for dongles hanging out on the train, I was referring to using my laptop on the train, the last thing I want is to have a dongle plugged in so that I can use my current tiny discrete thumb drive.

I did read your post. And I was addressing more than just you. The dongle freak-out is... just nuts.

If your bag is heavy, adding 1-2 dongles isn't even going to be noticeable. If your bag is light... it's not going to be noticeable. You'd have to be carrying a ton for this to have any realistic impact. How many dongles do you actually need? That's the point I am trying to hammer in.

I brought up prices because, again, this was a general address about dongles. It's tiring memes. It's constant whining.

If your single thumb drive is the issue and you're going to be paying around $1,500 for a laptop... get a new thumb drive.

Here's the thing: ports change eventually. At some point something that is fine now is going to be deprecated. Hopefully USB-C is going to be the standard for a LONG time. Given the number of devices adopting it across the board and the fact that TB3 is working over it, it should be the standard for longer than USB-A was (we can hope). However, technology and standards move forward. If old is your thing, don't change out your laptop.

 

[borgusio]

You have a valid point. Worse comes to worse, like you said, you can replace your FireWire drive with a USB drive for your backups.

However, in my case, I do a lot of video conversion from old tapes to digital using the iLink FireWire port of the DV camera. Unless I find an adapter for FireWire to USB, I'm forced to keep my old Mac with the FireWire port and will never be able to use a USB-C only equipped machine.

I have the same problem:
- 2 TB disk firewire 800
- 1 DV Camera over firewire

I need firewire for my video editing stuff.

Any ideas?

 

[itsamacthing]

Totally agree. It would have been a great addition to the 5D4. Also, selfishly, as a 1DX2 owner, I was hoping the 5D4 would get CFast so the increased demand would bring the high prices (of CFast) down.

Cheers,
Bryan

Still... Canon did a helluva job on the 5D4, I am loving it. USB-C 3.1 and CFast would have made it too good No room for the M5!

Cheers.. Allan

 

[SparkFlash]

I personally don't want it to be thinner...the MacBook and air already seem too thin. Flimsy almost to me. There isn't a point to make it thinner to me. But what do I know.

 

[Easttime]

I have a USB A dongle for SD cards. So when I get a new Mac I'll need a dongle for the dongle. That would be a dongle-dongle?

I am ok with USB C. There will be couple of years of transitions and dongle-dongles is all. But USB C makes sense.

 

[dilbert99]

I did read your post. And I was addressing more than just you. The dongle freak-out is... just nuts.

If your bag is heavy, adding 1-2 dongles isn't even going to be noticeable. If your bag is light... it's not going to be noticeable. You'd have to be carrying a ton for this to have any realistic impact. How many dongles do you actually need? That's the point I am trying to hammer in.

I brought up prices because, again, this was a general address about dongles. It's tiring memes. It's constant whining.

If your single thumb drive is the issue and you're going to be paying around $1,500 for a laptop... get a new thumb drive.

Here's the thing: ports change eventually. At some point something that is fine now is going to be deprecated. Hopefully USB-C is going to be the standard for a LONG time. Given the number of devices adopting it across the board and the fact that TB3 is working over it, it should be the standard for longer than USB-A was (we can hope). However, technology and standards move forward. If old is your thing, don't change out your laptop.

Thing is its going to take a lot of years before I need anywhere near like 4 usb-c ports but I do need usb-a ports now.

I'm just pissed off at Apple now, I have two laptops to take back to Apple tomorrow that are both around 666/1000 cycles but reading service required and I just looked up the price - an eye watering $289 USD. That is just ridiculous, no wonder Apple have several hundred billion in the bank, all those dongles we have to by, paying extra to future proof laptops by soldering extra ram early on and then when batteries need replacing, you can't DIY.

And no, I didn't pay nearly 1500 for a laptop, it was $3200 AUD.

It's not that it is just about cost, its Apple's attitude towards the customer.

Apple is supposed to be making my life easier. Is supposed to be a pro, premium grade product that is just leaving a sour taste.

I don't understand why you are sticking up for Apple. They could easily leave some usb-a ports, they could even have left the 3.5mm jack.

It is not up to Apple to "FORCE" the market, they should lead by other means of effecting change.

Think about it another way, what If I took something out of your favourite product. Perhaps release a tv that had no HDMI ports so that it no longer worked with your Audio system. You make change gradually, not abruptly.
[doublepost=1477040793][/doublepost]

This is what I use when I want to connect a thumb drive to my rMB - it's hardly indiscreet or heavy (and cost less than a tenner) - the thumbdrive next to it is for size comparison

View attachment 666813

I'll pass and probably switch from Apple, I'm just sick of them, I'm going to be up for $500 of batteries tomorrow, such a shock and pisses me off so much.

Why would I want to put something like that out the side of my laptop and give it extra chance of breaking off.