Mac pro r display, disappointing

[sweetbrat]

Screen or battery was not the point in question. Ethernet

The point was that the internals of the two machines are very different, and the retina MBP's battery is much larger so that there's decent battery time while providing the power needed for the retina screen. Since there are very different internal components, you're comparison isn't very valid. With the larger battery and other differences it's entirely possible that Apple didn't have space to include Ethernet. There's more to take into account than just thickness. You can't pick and choose individual components...they all have to fit together as part of the system.

 

[stevelam]

Your right, I do have the right. But many people who have opted for this computer have complained about the screen. It's simply not that good and cost allot of money. I think this should be discussed and what better forum to do so.

It's ok to have connecting cables that do the job of other ports if Apple have not included the needed standard ports in the first place. But at least they should come with the computer. The computer should also have more than 2 USB if this is how Apple want people to connect. USB is standard.

I do feel this computer is taking 1 step forward and 3 steps back. Why not let people know this. If it helps others to make an informed decision and consider then options then great. We all can make our own choice in the end.

If people are upset with me highlighting these problems. They have a bigger problem than my computer.

-

the RMBP does have its issues. but the only thing you're really bringing to light here is the fact that you couldn't be bothered to do simple research on your own before buying.

 

[the read]

The point was that the internals of the two machines are very different, and the retina MBP's battery is much larger so that there's decent battery time while providing the power needed for the retina screen. Since there are very different internal components, you're comparison isn't very valid. With the larger battery and other differences it's entirely possible that Apple didn't have space to include Ethernet. There's more to take into account than just thickness. You can't pick and choose individual components...they all have to fit together as part of the system.

Your complicating the issue. The point was in relation to the thickness of the computer and how an Ethernet port could be enginerd into the computer if apple desired. Other manufactures have found solutions with a thinner computers.

Simple. The rest of your point is void.

----------

the RMBP does have its issues. but the only thing you're really bringing to light here is the fact that you couldn't be bothered to do simple research on your own before buying.

My research or lack of is not the issue.

Apples design over function is far more of an interesting subject. Is the Pro as good and functional a product as it could be? After using it for two weeks, my answer is no. Its disappointing.

 

[flipnap]

Other manufactures have found solutions with a thinner computers.

why do you and others keep saying this? its not true. no other manufacturers have done it, ever. If you put a retina display in those "other" machines they would have a 1 hour battery life (at best)

 

[leenak]

I think lack of research is the issue. If someone is ANGRY about aspects of a computer they bought that could've been found by spending 5 minutes reading the specs page, it is no fault but their own. It is a brand new design and the specs are clearly shown. I don't know why someone would buy a system so blindly.

 

[Pentad]

I don't understand the no advantage at best for retina setting. The advantage is 2880x1800 resolution! Sure the icons are the same size, but they are 1024x1024 resolution! As for the ethernet port. That would have made the unit larger, and most people are very happy with the new form factor. They sell a TB adapter which will give you all the bandwidth you need. It is only $29 so it's not a huge expense.

Wait, wait, wait... Are suggesting that a major benefit of an extremely expensive notebook computer is that the icons are 1024x1024 resolution??

Tell me again how the OP should be excited to spend an additional $29 for a world-wide standard connection on a Pro based notebook? Wireless wouldn't have been so bad but crippling the machine with 802.11n by not using 802.11ac is just plain bad. If you want decent speed you have to attach a cumbersome connector that kind of defeats the look and portability...

 

[stevelam]

Wait, wait, wait... Are suggesting that a major benefit of an extremely expensive notebook computer is that the icons are 1024x1024 resolution??

Tell me again how the OP should be excited to spend an additional $29 for a world-wide standard connection on a Pro based notebook? Wireless wouldn't have been so bad but crippling the machine with 802.11n and not 802.11ac is just plain bad. If you want decent speed you have to attach a cumbersome connector that kind of defeats the look and portability...


Ah, Tim, I think some of your sheep have had enough Kool-Aid...

'crippling' with the 802.11n? there are barely any routers with 802.11ac, let alone established in anyones workplace, duh.

 

[Pipper99]

With the OP's extreme reaction to the rMBP, lack of research before purchasing, and his quick dismissal of every contrary argument as something akin to "you're wrong", I don't think that he's here to "discuss" anything: he's just here to yank our chains. For example, from the OP's quote below:

"...many people who have opted for this computer have complained about the screen. It's simply not that good and cost allot of money. I think this should be discussed and what better forum to do so."

What discussion can ensue from, "it's simply not that good" except, "Oh, yeah? Is too, is too". To many more people, the display simply is that good. I believe that the op is being disingenuous in his desire to discuss these issues

 

[Southernboyj]

Screen or battery was not the point in question. Ethernet

If a Ethernet port is SO important to you, that you can't buy an adapter and would return the whole computer over it.. then go buy a Sony Vaio as this argument is going nowhere. You've already made up your mind and just want to rant about nothing.

 

[flipnap]

Ah, Tim, I think some of your sheep have had enough Kool-Aid...

apple users want to commit suicide? koolaid? anyway...

and whats your purpose of coming onto a forum of people who own this product, then you calling them "sheep?".. especially when the use of the term "drinking the koolaid" is about as much of sheep behavior as anything ive ever seen.

there are a large majority of people who never use an ethernet port. im sorry but its true. And since when does "pro" mean a need for an ethernet port?

 

[Pentad]

So..it's a thin and light computer that needs additional dongles and hubs to supply original functionality of the previous generation ports that are still widely used. Gotcha. So that pretty much negates the thin and light part of Apple's pitch.

Also, I completely disagree with you that something is "wrong" if you cannot see a difference with retina screen. I own a 17" 2011 MBP and I can't see a difference from working distance between the 17" I own now and the retina MBP I owned for 2 weeks.

----------



Perhaps you should have done a bit of research before dropping over $2k on a computer, alas, you did not, and now it's Apple's fault?

Gore, every time I read a post from you I think, "Damn! I was going to say that."

I'm not sure sure if you should be flattered or worried.


-P

 

[flipnap]

Screen or battery was not the point in question. Ethernet

yes, its TOTALLY the point. how would this "other manufacturer" fit an ethernet port if they needed a battery twice the size to power a retina display. You are saying they made a unit as small as a rmbp, but left an ethernet port. But you arent factoring in that a rmbp has to power a retina display, which needs a larger battery. if you put a retina screen onto this "other" ultrabook and left e same battery, youd get an hour battery unless you started making room for a bigger battery, by pulling the ethernet, and the optical, etc..

i cant believe i have to spell that out..

 

[flipnap]

So..it's a thin and light computer that needs additional dongles and hubs to supply original functionality of the previous generation ports that are still widely used. Gotcha. So that pretty much negates the thin and light part of Apple's pitch.

Also, I completely disagree with you that something is "wrong" if you cannot see a difference with retina screen. I own a 17" 2011 MBP and I can't see a difference from working distance between the 17" I own now and the retina MBP I owned for 2 weeks.

some people cant see the difference between VHS and bluray. seriously. for the remainder the retina is a HUGE difference. And if you cant bring 1 inch dongle with you when you take a trip then maybe you shouldnt be traveling. widely used? so are floppy drives, whats your point.

 

[elephant stone]

some people cant see the difference between VHS and bluray. seriously. for the remainder the retina is a HUGE difference. And if you cant bring 1 inch dongle with you when you take a trip then maybe you shouldnt be traveling. widely used? so are floppy drives, whats your point.

By who?

 

[flipnap]

By who?

by the millions of people buying external floppy drives from amazon..

 

[astrorider]

I'm confused why the scaling is causing so much of a problem. It was my understanding the retina display looks better even at the higher resolutions that are scaled, when compared to previous native displays at those same higher resolutions. Below is a quote from a review from Anandtech. Original poster, if you're having problems with headaches at higher scaled resolutions on the retina screen, you may have also had problems with other displays with native higher resolution, because objects on the screen are smaller.

"Even at the non-integer scaled 1680 x 1050 setting, the Retina Display looks a lot better than last year's high-res panel. It looks like Apple actually renders the screen at twice the selected resolution before scaling it to fit the 2880 x 1800 panel (in other words, at 1920 x 1200 Apple is rendering everything at 3840 x 2400 (!) before scaling - this is likely where the perf impact is seen, but I'm trying to find a way to quantify that now). Everything just looks better. I also appreciate how quick it is to switch between resolutions on OS X. When I'm doing a lot of work I prefer the 1920 x 1200 setting, but if I'm in content consumption mode I find myself happier at 1440 x 900 or 1680 x 1050.
Read more at http://www.anandtech.com/show/5998/macbook-pro-retina-display-analysis#g7eCXQEVbDZOkHkx.99"

 

[cmChimera]

So the first post is some guy that didn't research an expensive product before he bought it. The rest of the posts are people complaining about the fact that you have to use a dongle for ethernet, and nonsensically claiming that the screen is no big deal. Great thread.

 

[Southernboyj]

why do you and others keep saying this? its not true. no other manufacturers have done it, ever. If you put a retina display in those "other" machines they would have a 1 hour battery life (at best)

Not only this, he keeps showing us an old Sony Vaio with a flip down ethernet port. The inside of the rMBP is very different than that old Sony, the Sony had a much much lower processor, compared to this Quad-Core i7. Had no Dedicated graphics, was a mere 64 GB SSD and 2Gigs of 500mhz ram. My point is, the rMBP requires way more power than that Sony and still gets way better battery life. There was no room for Ethernet, and we don't want some get-in-the-way ethernet port that 90% of us wouldn't use.

 

[RVspidey]

Just get the thunderbolt to ethernet.. Seriously stop crying man.. You knew what you where buying.

Return it, so someone who deserves it can have it, youre too whiny .

 

[elephant stone]

by the millions of people buying external floppy drives from amazon..

There is a massive difference between a floppy drive and an ethernet port though. One is a completely obsolete technology that's barely ever used with an almost unusable small storage capacity, and the other continues to find widespread use at businesses and still has a lot to offer regardless of your position on whether it should have been included in the new rMBP.

FWIW, I don't use the ethernet port on my computer and won't be losing much sleep over the loss but comparing it to a floppy drive is just daft.

 

[Interstella5555]

After cracking open the box and spending the past 2 weeks working with the new fully loaded Mac pro with retina display, I have to say I'm really disappointed.

The my main gripe is with the intergration of the screen and OS. Apple have not revised the OS to display to the capabilities of this screen. The more screen realestate you attempt to gain, the more blurred the image becomes, the quicker I get a head-ache. Putting the screen to (best for Renina) provides no advantage over the standard screen. Spending the extra cash makes me feel that Apples marketing team have just cheated me.

My second main problem is with the lack of Ethernet connection. First I didn't realize that the computer did not have this connection port. It still is and has been for the past 10-15 years an industry standard for fast and reliable connectivity to any network. Being a pro labeled computer this should be standard. For my work I require transfer of data that runs into gigs every day. relying on wifi eventually frustrated me to the point of walking out the office and rushing down to the nearest Mac store to spend more money on a device that quite frankly should not be needed.

Then I wanted to transfer data from my network to my portable external drives. Something I've been doing for years. To my rage, I then realized, I only have one remaining USB port. How can I connect 2 drives through a standard USB at the same time and have access to my network. It's not possible.

As a result; I'm now back on my 2008 Mac pro, not having any headaches and transferring data as required. I'm still frustrated with my old computers screen res, and the new pro is collecting dust in the corner of the room, while I determine if I'm going to return it back to apple or spend more money trying to enable the computer to do what is expected of it.

I didnt buy an Air, I bought a Pro, that has the limitations of an Air.

Am I angry, yes. Have I lost trust with Apple, yes. Do I feel cheated, yes most defiantly.

I'm sure some people will feel different about some of my comments and thats ok. I'm logging these concerns as I think people should know the limitations I've experienced with Apples latest flag ship laptop. I've been an Apple user for years. But I'm convinced apple are now a marketing driven company, with little respect for the users who have adopted their tech and the challenges we face on a daily level.

All in its a very disappointing product. This is not innovation, it's misunderstanding what people need. 1 step forward = 3 steps back.

I'm sorry, but couldn't a lot of this have been solved by simply reading the tech specs of the new machine you were getting?

 

[DaffyDuck]

I'm confused why the scaling is causing so much of a problem. It was my understanding the retina display looks better even at the higher resolutions that are scaled, when compared to previous native displays at those same higher resolutions. Below is a quote from a review from Anandtech. Original poster, if you're having problems with headaches at higher scaled resolutions on the retina screen, you may have also had problems with other displays with native higher resolution, because objects on the screen are smaller.

"Even at the non-integer scaled 1680 x 1050 setting, the Retina Display looks a lot better than last year's high-res panel. It looks like Apple actually renders the screen at twice the selected resolution before scaling it to fit the 2880 x 1800 panel (in other words, at 1920 x 1200 Apple is rendering everything at 3840 x 2400 (!) before scaling - this is likely where the perf impact is seen, but I'm trying to find a way to quantify that now). Everything just looks better. I also appreciate how quick it is to switch between resolutions on OS X. When I'm doing a lot of work I prefer the 1920 x 1200 setting, but if I'm in content consumption mode I find myself happier at 1440 x 900 or 1680 x 1050.
Read more at http://www.anandtech.com/show/5998/macbook-pro-retina-display-analysis#g7eCXQEVbDZOkHkx.99"

Since the OP isn't willing to post a screenshot and point out the blurring he is talking about I'm just going to assume he is a troll that doesn't even own the rMBP.

 

[flipnap]

There is a massive difference between a floppy drive and an ethernet port though. One is a completely obsolete technology that's barely ever used with an almost unusable small storage capacity, and the other continues to find widespread use at businesses and still has a lot to offer regardless of your position on whether it should have been included in the new rMBP.

FWIW, I don't use the ethernet port on my computer and won't be losing much sleep over the loss but comparing it to a floppy drive is just daft.

you asked by who and i told you. im making a point that to some optical drives are outdated tech. Ive gone my whole life and never needed an ethernet port. Platter HDD speeds has always been MY biggest speed bottleneck. im simply trying to put things into focus. im not arguing that an ethernet port isnt necessary. And im telling you millions of people still use floppy drives. simple.

 

[wethackrey]

After cracking open the box and spending the past 2 weeks working with the new fully loaded Mac pro with retina display, I have to say I'm really disappointed.

The my main gripe is with the intergration of the screen and OS. Apple have not revised the OS to display to the capabilities of this screen. The more screen realestate you attempt to gain, the more blurred the image becomes, the quicker I get a head-ache. Putting the screen to (best for Renina) provides no advantage over the standard screen. Spending the extra cash makes me feel that Apples marketing team have just cheated me.

I've had exactly the opposite results after two weeks with my MBPr. I'm migrating from a one-year-old 17" MBP and I was concerned when I ordered the MBPr that I might be giving up precious screen real estate. After a few days with the Retina, I've boxed up the 17" and sent it to my business partner. I'm VERY happy with the retina display. It's terrific on my aging eyes.

My second main problem is with the lack of Ethernet connection.
<...snip...>

All in its a very disappointing product. This is not innovation, it's misunderstanding what people need. 1 step forward = 3 steps back.

Well to each his own I guess. For me this is the best laptop I've ever owned -- and that's quite a long list.

I consider my use case that of a "Pro" user. I'm a software consultant and cloud architect. I use my laptop constantly, I'm on odd customer networks all the time, and I have eight virtual machines on board to support everything from Solaris to Win7 to W2k8R264. The machine is extraordinarily light weight and wicked fast. It boots up in about 20 seconds and I'm currently running a Windows server VM and a Scientific Linux VM concurrently with Photoshop CS6 native on the Mac. All three environments are fast. You wouldn't even know there two VMs running.

As for Ethernet, I have a GigE network in my home office and I'm often in data centers or service provider conference rooms. I use Ethernet quite often. I ordered Apple's $29 GigE dongle. My MBPr actually shipped with one as well, so I now have two. It's small, sits in a bag in my briefcase with several other adapters, USB cables, a retractable CAT5 cable, a Thunderbolt cable and Seagate Thunderbolt drive adapter. I don't find the requirement to use a Thunderbolt to Ethernet adapter any burden at all. You have to have a CAT5 cable anyway and the adapter is pretty damned tiny.

My only gripe at this point is that I wish Apple would get off their butts and ship the Thunderbolt to Firewire 800 adapter they promised. Most, but not all of of my FW800 drives are also USB 2 but that's pretty slow. Thankfully I started using Seagate GoFlex external drives a couple of years ago and on those it's just a matter of using the Thunderbolt I/O adapter instead of the FW800 one.

In any case, I'm sorry your disappointed with your MBPr. Personally I could not be happier with mine.

 

[the read]

yes, its TOTALLY the point. how would this "other manufacturer" fit an ethernet port if they needed a battery twice the size to power a retina display. You are saying they made a unit as small as a rmbp, but left an ethernet port. But you arent factoring in that a rmbp has to power a retina display, which needs a larger battery. if you put a retina screen onto this "other" ultrabook and left e same battery, youd get an hour battery unless you started making room for a bigger battery, by pulling the ethernet, and the optical, etc..

i cant believe i have to spell that out..

Your off on another planet with 0 relevance, I'm discontinueing this thread...