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Hands-On: OWC's 'DEC' Adds an SD Card Slot, Ethernet, and USB Type-A Ports to the MacBook Pro
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Thin, environmentally friendly twine.
Seriously bring back the BTO options. Pay more for what you need and leave off that which you don't (need). How about a 22" non-disposable rMBP? Xeon, dGPU, magsafe, dual ethernet, dual flash, real Thunderbolt 3 and a swappable battery. Thick and heavy so it can't fly off off a workstation, enough aluminum or whatever to disperse the heat w/o throttling or sounding like a 747-8's dual APU.
Because I want to do this: http://us.focusrite.com/about-audio-networking
[doublepost=1483747537][/doublepost]
Yeppers! And the partnerships that could be built.
http://en.antelopeaudio.com/products/goliath/
https://www.avid.com/media-composer
https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/
http://www.uaudio.com/
http://www2.solidstatelogic.com/studio/network-i-o
https://www.aja.com/products
http://hdr.technicolor.com/
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WOW.. We really have taken a step backwards with this new MBP when you see things like this.Reminds me of the old IBM ThinkPads that used to have docking stations so you could have a few more ports and a disc drive.
If someone needs these ports so much, wouldn't it just be easier, cheaper, and far more elegant to just buy last year's model? The speed difference won't be that huge, and if you're a video professional then even this computer will be underpowered for you anyway. For everyone else, I doubt they'd notice the difference in performance, but I bet they'll notice the difference in (the lack of) features such as the ports and function keys.
For better or worse, it can sort of be 'fixed' with dongles - search 'Snapnator' and/or 'BreakSafe'.
While those would theoretically restore the functionality in question, I can't see myself willing to reward Apple for this move (though these alternative options might be welcome for folks who must have a 2016 MBP for whatever reason).
Maybe for some people but not me. I'm in the live events business and I would NEVER rely on a cloud connection to serve content in front of thousands of people. I NEED ports for displays and when random people hand me their thumb drives and external hard drives with their content. Some of the multi-port add-ons will suffice but this permanent form factor looks interesting as well and would fit nicely in my pelican case as usual.
Actually, I think an awful idea was to release a "pro" MacBook that didn't fit the needs of so many pro users, including myself. When you focus on form over function, you're going to have a lot of unhappy people, and by choosing thinness and uniformity, knowing full well that people will need to use dongles was a failure, in my opinion. And I am not one of those people who enjoy criticizing Apple. In fact, I can't remember the last time I criticized something they did.
I don't want to have to use a dongle every time I need to plug something in, especially my SD card, since there will be times when I need to plug something in (or grab photos or video off my camera) and I won't have the right dingle. Then I'm screwed.
That's why, right after the new ones came out, I bought the 2015 model.
The problem is that Apple removed needed functionality of ports and jacks to solve two "problems":
1) make gadgets ever thinner
2) force wean folks off their functioning peripherals by eliminating the needed ports and jacks, in the name of some future scenario (currently USB-C and wireless)
This is a bad move in the current tech climate, with alternative offerings by PC and Android manufacturers of great tech and software at cheaper prices. It is especially vexing when Apple's own products need dongles and doo-hickeys to communicate with EACH OTHER within the Apple mothership. Apple products no longer "just work", can't be upgraded and so are cursed with planned obsolescence, and are incredibly expensive, to boot. I could be wrong, for sure, but short of some sort of epiphany of which I can't conceive, Apple looks to be headed down.
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No thanks, I would rather have a couple adapters or a small hub that is easy to remove and doesn't require me to have the extra bulk when I am just using the computer without plugging anything in ( which is most of the time). Those that want a thicker laptop in exchange for more ports should be happy with the option, though.
I doubt they will sell enough to make Apple notice them at all.
I do think that Apple is happy with people using third party devices to fill in the gaps that they may need. I needed a CF card slot for use with my camera, but Apple doesn't put one in any of their laptops. Should they have added it because many Canon owners need it? Also, there have been third party, portable battery chargers around for years. Even Apple makes a case to add battery power to the iPhone. It is something that many people need some time, but not something that most people will need or want to carry on a daily basis. They would rather make the devices thin for the vast majority and for those that don't mind carrying around more weight, Apple and other third parties can make docks, large portable batteries, dongles, etc.
As it has been said before, you can take off a battery case and put it back on when you need it. You can't make a large device that contains a large battery any smaller if you don't need the extra battery. Like it or not, that is where Apple falls in the equation. I don't really understand why they need to make the iMac thinner since it isn't portable, but I do understand why they want their portable devices as light as possible.
Those line docks actually look good!! Any idea if we can get the smaller size but use it with the 15"?
All they have to do is make a 3rd line (lumping vanilla into 1 line, pro into another line). This third line would be bigger and have most (if not all) of the stuff we are asking for. Avoids accessories like this. Save the e-stalking...apple just needs to dig up the CNC programming for the 2011 shell....room for days imo if re-released sans the optical drive. And was not a burden to carry imo.
This is what dell and others do. need lots of horsepower....xps. Inb4 well enjoy your lack of battery life. Not a concern for some users, our tasks we know well need house power to function. I am like this with my 2015 MBP. Broken record...I get crap battery life using FCP off house power. Ergo I avoid this as much as possible.
As many XPS/Razor/ballsy gaming laptop owners do I am sure, they know they can't slam their systems off house power. They didn't want a tower system. They wanted power and portability. Caveat of this will not be 10hr runtime laptop....accepted and just move on.
If off house power concerns were a consideration there is.....the other dell lines to choose from. Same with IBM. And others Pick that inspiron and lenovo to your needs.
They make laptops clearly meant to run best off house power (and have features to work that) and they have what I like to call the road warrior options. Need some decent but not over the top power and long battery life (since you aren't getting both at once...lets face facts here on that) here ya go.
Apple could do this. Apple is needing to do this. At this point its clear the MBP is becoming a road warrior oriented laptop. Apple needs that 3rd line for those of who aren't road warriors but need portable power.
Features cut because it won't last 10 hours off battery? Not an issue anymore. Our studies indicate road warriors like small and compact. Not an issue. They can buy the new midline and those of who who don't need a road warrior laptop get our present. Win win here is all I see really.
Issue here though is apple is pigeon holing sales. How do we get more MBP sales. They know...make the vanilla not so great (but decent still) and the road warriors have no choice but to hit the pro moniker system. Which is gimping it imo. So we get this stuff to appeal to those put out into the cold a bit on that call.. Not my cup of tea I won't lie (but I have a NAS and such to simplify the home setup...and my t-bolt display still works so ethernet and such over t-bolt connection used heavily)....but see where OWC is coming from.
In a perfect world you may be right, but I haven't yet seen a DSLR that comes from that perfect world. In built wifi tends to be slow, and network setup arcane and fiddly. Once you have it working, your camera has to sit powered on next to your computer for the time it takes to download 64GB of images. If you're connecting your computer to your camera's wifi network, you lose access to the internet for the entire time it takes to download the images.
For all the negatives, there is actually little incentive for 'the industry' to catch up. What DSLR shooters want is things that give us better photographs, e.g. improved DR at base ISO, less sensor noise, better AF (better spread, more points, better subject tracking), more pixels, hybrid viewfinders, fast hybrid DPAF/CDAF, global shutter video, a true medium format body, 5-axis IS, etc etc. Better wifi is a 'nice to have' feature, but (at least for me) isn't going to figure in the buying decision either way.
You're appealing too much with history, when in fact the USB type C spec is unprecedented and wireless transfer technology has improved immensely. The future will not be like the past in this regard.
[doublepost=1484073439][/doublepost]You are not seeing past obsolete peripherals. The problem it solves is inadequate bandwidth and a ridiculous array of obsolete connectors.
I recently checked out the Manhattan 5th Ave Microsoft flagship store; Surface, Dell, HP, Alienware. Yes, all the machines will accept a 10 year old USB thumb drive etc. Few had a single Thunderbolt port. You need that to connect to 4k monitors or their dock. Most give you mini display + USB3.
They don't have adequate ports to simultaneously drive a 5k display AND a high speed external SSD raid. Those are the machines that are obsolete. They are new on the shelf and already can't fully support the new generation of displays and high speed drives.
Apple released notebooks with incredible I/o bandwidth [160 GB/s on the 15", That is 5K resolution x2 with 80 GB/s left for external drives]
USB 3.0 is only 5 GB/s. Its not really reaching its supposed 10 GB/s. Why can't people see past their cheap-o thumb drives and old monitors?
Next, OWC should release 17-18" matte 4k screen to clip in front of mbp's screen!
And after that, an Osborne look-a-like chassis, where you could stuff those 3 with egpu box.
Then carry that to videoproduction to Apple's new HQ!
And after that, an Osborne look-a-like chassis, where you could stuff those 3 with egpu box.
Then carry that to videoproduction to Apple's new HQ!
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I am holding on to my 2011 for as long as I can, upgraded the HD (SSD) and the RAM. So I have no plans as of now. Hopefully we can get one or two more OS version's out of it. Fingers crossed.
Scoop: here's the picture!
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh_Portable)
...however, being serious, there is a role for "laptops" that sacrifice a bit of thinness and lightness for internal expandability, connectivity (without dongles) and the ability cope with the thermal output of more powerful CPUs and GPUs.
When I'm retired and have enough time I will take one of those and put the internals and the screen of a MacBook Air in it just for the fun of it.Scoop: here's the picture!
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh_Portable)
...however, being serious, there is a role for "laptops" that sacrifice a bit of thinness and lightness for internal expandability, connectivity (without dongles) and the ability cope with the thermal output of more powerful CPUs and GPUs.
As much as people heap withering criticism on Tim Cook in forums like this, if Apple is looking at an EOL for Macs, they're only doing it because that was Steve's eventual intention to do as well.
Doesn't anyone remember what Jobs said himself about the Mac in 1997? Milk it for all it's worth, and then move on to the next great thing?
Yeah, upon further review...the latest Macbook Pro is a vanity project that has placed form over function—again.
Yeah, yeah, I know...Apple doesn't do ugly and clunky, and under Ive they have strived to push envelopes...but it has to be remembered that people use these computers to do things, to create content, to create the software that allows for human innovation.
Elegant and powerful and functional do not have to be mutually exclusive.