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I'm somewhat disappointed with the 2012 redesign of apple products...(MBP included)

sofianito said:
They have billions of cash because there are many sheeps who buy systematically their products whether they are good or bad...:D
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Let me try a different angle. Apple is sitting on over $117B in cash because Apple has been extremely successful in identifying its target market for the iPod, iPhone and iPad. If Apple did not have these successful products, it would still be mucking around in the weeds trying to sell Macs to a market 95% dominated by PC/Windows products.

I think calling Apple customers "sheeps" is a little insulting. Yes, there are those who feel they must upgrade with every new product cycle. Those type of people exist in every market, not just those served by Apple. How do you think Apple survived all of these years before the iPod? The vast majority of Apple's revenue back then came from selling newer, upgraded Macs to its existing Mac base. That same dynamic exists for Apple's i-devices, just in a much higher quantity. This is a legitimate revenue stream for Apple as well as any other company that updates its products.

A lot of people, myself included, have invested in multiple i-devices. I've had an iPhone since the 3GS and recently picked up a new iPad this past April. I have made an investment in apps for those products. I also have made significant investments in software on the Mac side. Continuing to buy into upgrades of an existing ecosystem makes sense for those who have an investment in the software.
 
why change something that works?

and to ur iphone statement. how can u really change the over all design of it? a big screen and a home button. what do u want? a slide out keyboard? LOL
 
AZREOSpecialist said:
Let me try a different angle. Apple is sitting on over $117B in cash because Apple has been extremely successful in identifying its target market for the iPod, iPhone and iPad. If Apple did not have these successful products, it would still be mucking around in the weeds trying to sell Macs to a market 95% dominated by PC/Windows products.

I think calling Apple customers "sheeps" is a little insulting. Yes, there are those who feel they must upgrade with every new product cycle. Those type of people exist in every market, not just those served by Apple. How do you think Apple survived all of these years before the iPod? The vast majority of Apple's revenue back then came from selling newer, upgraded Macs to its existing Mac base. That same dynamic exists for Apple's i-devices, just in a much higher quantity. This is a legitimate revenue stream for Apple as well as any other company that updates its products.

A lot of people, myself included, have invested in multiple i-devices. I've had an iPhone since the 3GS and recently picked up a new iPad this past April. I have made an investment in apps for those products. I also have made significant investments in software on the Mac side. Continuing to buy into upgrades of an existing ecosystem makes sense for those who have an investment in the software.
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Didn't mean to insult... I wanted to point out that apple's marketing is very persuasive...

Think a bit, do you really need 3 iphones, 2 ipads, 2 imacs, a 17" and 15" cMBP, and a rMBP at home?, not to forget an MBA for travelling... :D. A number of people buy compulsively apple products, but they can't use them all at the same time... :D
 
urkel said:
The people here who are defending that things have stayed the same are the same people who will praise it when Apple does things different. This is probably the most annoying thing about Apples most vocal fans. They only know what they want after Apple tells them. (Oh I bet you miss that thumbs down button right now...)
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and the people here who get 'bored' of a good design and feel the need to vocalize that they might change phones just because of that are generally little kids who know absolutely nothing about anything.
 
sofianito said:
They have billions of cash because there are many sheeps who buy systematically their products whether they are good or bad...:D
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Apple have made billions of dollars by delivering technology in a form that is usable by all with a high level of quality, combined with very smart marketing. The general public vote with their $$$ with what works and what satisfies them.

Many will buy Apple products simply as they tend to hold a greater resale value, some will buy for family members as they perceive that Apple is offering a better, easier to use product.

Alternatively Apple has brainwashed millions of people globally :rolleyes:
 
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sofianito said:
They have billions of cash because there are many sheeps who buy systematically their products whether they are good or bad...:D
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Why are people so upset about that? If they have a bunch of "sheep" that just buy their products no matter how good or bad, why should that bother them? It doesn't effect you in any freaking way.
 
retinarob said:
The old Magsafe would not have fit the new rMBP. They needed a slimmer design to move forward with their slimming line of Pros and Airs.

It's actually a functional change.
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It's not a functional change because it brought no new functions. It was made slimmer to accommodate the aesthetic changes in the new rMBP but could have just as easily been left alone IF Apple wanted it to.

I'm not arguing. I'm just saying that, whether it be a power plug or a laptop enclosure, if a design change happens purely for aesthetics then it's not a big deal and we can easily find ways to pretend its necessary.
 
Black. Glass. Aluminum.
Those are the changes they planned on doing to the entire fleet. They are not even done yet. The Mac Pro was/may never/needs to finish the product line change from the 2003 12" Aluminum G4 PowerBook. When that is finished they will pick a new product to slowly esthetically change and then trickle down it's virtues. 10 year total refresh cycle. Your favorite product may or may not be next. I just got used to the unibody MBP. Do you really want to show up to your favorite restaurant and have all the ingredients sourced from changing areas so it tastes different each time? That's how establishments loose customers. That's how the PC companies do it. How is their brand loyalty? The only thing constant is Windows in that arena.
 
cntwtfrmynwmbp said:
For the last decade, a lot of Apple products looked really revolutionary to me when they were introduced. I remember seeing the iPod or the iPhone, the Macbooks/Macbook Pro's and the iMac for the first time, and I was thinking: Wow, I've never seen something like this.

At this point I'm somewhat disappointed with the "redesign" of Apple products in 2012. There is a new thinner MBP that has a retina display, but from a design perspective, the MBP looks pretty much the same for the last 4-5 years. Pictures of the new iPhone suggest that it will have a bigger screen but will not look to different from the current model.

Part of the problem is that Apple products look really nice already and there is not much room for improvement. Nevertheless I hope for more design surprises in the future as 2012 was no surprise at all.
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that's because the design went from complicated to simplistic. Apple already removed as much clutter as they could from the notebooks. from this point on, you can only add "aesthetic features" to meet your definition of a redesign, and that's something Apple will not do. now unless they changed materials of course.
 
sofianito said:
Think a bit, do you really need 3 iphones, 2 ipads, 2 imacs, a 17" and 15" cMBP, and a rMBP at home?, not to forget an MBA for travelling... :D. A number of people buy compulsively apple products, but they can't use them all at the same time... :D
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You're absolutely right on. I'm thinking how many Apple products we currently own in our household:
  • 2009 Mac Pro
  • 2010 MacBook Pro 17"
  • 2012 Retina MacBook Pro
  • iPhone 4
  • iPhone 4S
  • "New" Retina iPad x 2
 
urkel said:
It's not a functional change because it brought no new functions. It was made slimmer to accommodate the aesthetic changes in the new rMBP but could have just as easily been left alone IF Apple wanted it to.

I'm not arguing. I'm just saying that, whether it be a power plug or a laptop enclosure, if a design change happens purely for aesthetics then it's not a big deal and we can easily find ways to pretend its necessary.
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Yes, you are arguing, and excuse me for misusing the word "functional". The fact remains a Magsafe 2 is more practical for the design aesthetics of the newer, thinner profiled Apple notebooks. Without updating the Magsafe it would limit the options for Apple designers to get thinner, while having a good looking notebook.

When things are already measured in millimeters, shaving off a few here and there can make a big difference.
 
DTKblaster said:
While on the subjects of keyboards, Macs seem to have something against the delete key, but it is undeniably a very useful key to have, not just for windows compatibility. If you have noticed, currently a very short tap on the power key on the rMBP does nothing, with only a more deliberate press being accepted to bring up the shut down menu. This light tap could be repurposed into delete without needing any keyboard redesign, keeping with apple's simplicity.

While not really a design thing, LTE/HSPA is a major omission on portable laptops theses days, especially now that speeds and coverage are shooting through the roof.
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Assuming you're referring to the equivalent of the delete key in Windows, fn + Delete does the same thing in OS X without needing to run additional programs.

There honestly is no need to put LTE/HSPA+ on a notebook given the proliferation of phones with hotspot capabilities and mobile hotspots. Why duplicate that functionality?
 
sofianito said:
Didn't mean to insult... I wanted to point out that apple's marketing is very persuasive...

Think a bit, do you really need 3 iphones, 2 ipads, 2 imacs, a 17" and 15" cMBP, and a rMBP at home?, not to forget an MBA for travelling... :D. A number of people buy compulsively apple products, but they can't use them all at the same time... :D
Click to expand...

Here's my take on it.

I bought Apple laptops all during the years prior to the iDevice Era.

Apple computers have always served me well, both at home and at work. Some of my work is done in an R&D lab, some of it at any one of a number of the other locations my company maintains both in the US and abroad.

Therefore I like to have choices, and no one has the nice variety of choices in computers that Apple does. I have all current MBP's, MBA's, and two Mac Pro's because I can, and because I enjoy them. Not a single one is an impulse buy, nor is it because my ego requires the latest. Nor do I care what I'm seen with.

I don't sit around and admire these, I _use_ them to make a very good income. They are tools to me. Tools that get very heavy use. I upgrade annually because the mathematical, scientific, work I do requires powerful resources.

So well I'm sure that there are some that make impulse buys, not all of us do, nor should that be assumed.

After all, most of us has a selection of shoes, and a nice wardrobe of clothes.

And you sure can't wear more than one pair of shoes at a time :)
 
HP, Toshiba Sony and Lenovo. Every other year they changed the design of their laptop. That sometimes you loose track of which is which. But Apple stick to their design maybe do a tweak here and there. But still, Apple product stand out compare to other consumer product. And macbook pro is the most copied design of high end laptops. Take HP envy for example.
 
The unibody MBP design is amazing, coming from an owner of a brand new rMBP who just upgraded from my '06 17" C2D MBP dinosaur.

Why mess with it when it's the best designed laptop out there?
 
ixodes said:
Here's my take on it.

I bought Apple laptops all during the years prior to the iDevice Era.

Apple computers have always served me well, both at home and at work. Some of my work is done in an R&D lab, some of it at any one of a number of the other locations my company maintains both in the US and abroad.

Therefore I like to have choices, and no one has the nice variety of choices in computers that Apple does. I have all current MBP's, MBA's, and two Mac Pro's because I can, and because I enjoy them. Not a single one is an impulse buy, nor is it because my ego requires the latest. Nor do I care what I'm seen with.

I don't sit around and admire these, I _use_ them to make a very good income. They are tools to me. Tools that get very heavy use. I upgrade annually because the mathematical, scientific, work I do requires powerful resources.

So well I'm sure that there are some that make impulse buys, not all of us do, nor should that be assumed.

After all, most of us has a selection of shoes, and a nice wardrobe of clothes.

And you sure can't wear more than one pair of shoes at a time :)
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It is hard to compare shoes with apple products unless they are designed by brands such as Prada, Gucci, Jimmy Choo, Manolo Blahnik, Channel, Christian Louboutin,...etc :)
 
DTF said:
Why are people so upset about that? If they have a bunch of "sheep" that just buy their products no matter how good or bad, why should that bother them? It doesn't effect you in any freaking way.
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Indeed, I am not upset. I am pointing out to a consumer behavior that has a global effect on quality and price...

Steve Jobs used to consider its company as a big startup, but it seems the startup mentality is not there anymore... Apple is getting too comfortable with its success...
 
i for one am glad theyre not just poopin out radical designs for the sake of it. The whole point of spending years going in crazy directions (da cube) is to find your groove and build something that works and is solid.

So now that they found it after YEARS of trial and error you want them to abandon everything that works and jump off a cliff, so you can walk into an apple store, look at a five leaf carbon fiber laptop with laser key lights spinning on top of it.. just to laugh and walk out saying "apple lost their minds, what happened to the good ol days of unibody design and simple aesthetics"

im just fine with what things look like at the moment, they look great to me. just my toofers.
 
urkel said:
And we all know Apple would never do that...
Image
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here is solution ;) just 10$ bucks :)

dsc7501sm.jpg


dsc7497sm.jpg
 
sweetbrat said:
I'm curious about how you imagine this would function. The keys could be taller and retract down when the screen is being lowered. Ok...but that height has to have somewhere to go. As the keys retracted (or even as they're pushed while someone is typing) the bottom of the key moves downward, into the base of the machine. I would think that having taller keys would mean you'd need a thicker computer so the keys would have a space to retract into. Am I missing something?
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Image001.jpg


I guess maybe your talking about the side edges of the key? As they would have to raise above the metal keyboard tray, but they could be done away completely as in the floating island style of keyboard.

dmccloud said:
Assuming you're referring to the equivalent of the delete key in Windows, fn + Delete does the same thing in OS X without needing to run additional programs.

There honestly is no need to put LTE/HSPA+ on a notebook given the proliferation of phones with hotspot capabilities and mobile hotspots. Why duplicate that functionality?
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I know about that combination but its a massive hassle while editing to have to each time either fn+del or arrow key to the other side of the character to backspace it. I prefer James idea with that eject button app if it works with the rMBP power button.

What you suggest with the cellular hotspotting is exactly what I'm forced to do at the moment. Again, this is hassle having to get my phone out and turn on tethering (I've even got it set up as a shortcut on my home screen). It might not sound a lot, but to turn it on and off again on my phone(its a battery eater) on the train just to hammer out some emails sucks.
 
Disappointing is that the VAIO S 15", which is fully featured, weighs the same as the 15" MBA.

All Macs are heavy, as usual.
 
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