Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
I suppose a combination of secure erase, changing the full drive encryption keys, and physical overwrite should be fine for anyone... except those rare few who will be abducted by aliens.

/Jim

and the aliens know who you are! ;)

You mean there's someone out there with a Mac using full disk encryption?
Nobody I know trusts the disk image based File Vault that Apple currently offers and I'm not aware of any full disk based solutions for Mac.
 
See, I've heard both about this, and I don't know which is correct, will it kill the drive or get it back to optimal performance? Do you have any technical articles that can explain this?

As I said, "Just look up '"secure erase" ssd' on your favorite search engine."

You'll see lots of articles, including many that discuss using it to restore performance.

The default effect is to zero all the sectors on the drive - which on an SSD is implemented rather quickly by marking all pages as "free" and "erasing" them. This restores original write performance, since from the factory all the pages are pre-erased and ready for immediate writing. (TRIM" helps ensure a big pool of erased pages ready for writing by letting the OS tell the drive which sectors are not in use. When all the sectors in a page are TRIM'd, the drive can erase that page and put it in the pool.)

A very useful tip that you'll see mentioned repeatedly in those articles is to "under-provision" the drive - if you have a 128 GB drive, create a 120 GB or 112 GB (or 113.323754 GB - it doesn't need to be power-of-2 based) partition when you restore. The space you "waste" becomes a scratch area for the drive to pre-erase pages and keep the performance high, even without TRIM support. The more "wasted" space, the closer to a drive with TRIM you'll get.

A typical "128 GB" drive will really be a 128 GiB drive (137.4 GB) of actual flash storage, and the 9.4 GB will be "under-provisioned" for working space for the SSD controller. A higher-end 120 GB drive will also be 128 GiB, but will leave 17.4 GB under-provisioned.

You can get the same resistance to performance loss as the higher-end drive simply by making the partitions (after the secure erase but before using them) smaller than the max.
 
Apple knows what's best for us, we're not cable of deciding that for ourselves, hence the more control Apple has, the better off we are as consumers. I'm sure Steve has a valid reason with our best interests at heart why the ssd will be soldered to the motherboard. We just don't know or understand what it is because he is so many levels above us it is impossible for us to comprehend. The man bears a heavy burden worrying about mankind and how to improve it.

You must be joking, although it is hard to tell.
 
I was planning to limit myself to the smallest capacity SSD and possibly upgrade later. This move would take away that possibility.

And that's exactly why Apple is making this move. It's all about making their products sealed and unserviceable by the user.

Key advantages are all on the Apple side, cost savings will be kept by Apple so as to continue to increase profits, and Steve's smile will grow larger accordingly.

Say good bye to the concept of value for the consumer.
 
For the intended purpose of the Macbook Air, this makes loads of sense. People don't buy Airs to have a mobile powerhouse or anything. They buy it because it's extremely thin, light, portable, durable, and has excellent battery life... all while still being very snappy and useable for all but the most demanding tasks. The more Apple can improve any of those things (while keeping the price reasonable), the better.

People complaining about an un-upgradeable laptop are people who shouldn't be considering a Macbook Air. They should be looking at a Macbook Pro. Sorta like the name suggests ;)

That's a ridiculous statement. I fully expected to be able to upgrade my MBA when I bought it. I, reluctantly accepted the idea of not being able to upgrade RAM, and bought all that was available. But I want to be able to upgrade my storage. Otherwise, why not buy an iOS device? I'm perfectly happy with 7 hours of battery life, but I would not be happy with non-upgradeable/replaceable storage.
 
Paying $249 to insure something that has a 2.4% chance of failing...

At first I thought you were joking, so I visited the online store. Really, Apple? $249 for AppleCare on a maxed-out Mac Pro Server (price tag: $17,973.00), and the same $249 for a computer that costs less than a grand?

That's effing ridiculous. The cost of AppleCare should be prorated based on the computer's actual (non-retail) replacement cost. Who in their right mind is paying 25% of retail for two extra years of warranty?

You're right. I'm backpedaling on this one. If AppleCare on a MBA was $49, I'd recommend it for peace of mind. Instead, just leave the laptop running non-stop for thirty days. Most manufacturing defects will be revealed in that time.
 
At first I thought you were joking, so I visited the online store. Really, Apple? $249 for AppleCare on a maxed-out Mac Pro Server (price tag: $17,973.00), and the same $249 for a computer that costs less than a grand?

That's effing ridiculous. The cost of AppleCare should be prorated based on the computer's actual (non-retail) replacement cost. Who in their right mind is paying 25% of retail for two extra years of warranty?

You're right. I'm backpedaling on this one. If AppleCare on a MBA was $49, I'd recommend it for peace of mind. Instead, just leave the laptop running non-stop for thirty days. Most manufacturing defects will be revealed in that time.


Who knows when the MBA's are all soldered SSD's like an iOS devices perhaps the Apple care will drop as well. There will be no user serviceable parts anymore.

That said I still buy Apple Care for all my devices. The piece of mind is worth it to me.

I am still very interested in how/or if this rumor will be implemented. If done correctly, I.E more disk for less money I may be in the market. But if all it does is drive the price up, with no chance for future growth, I will be reconsidering that option.

It is all a matter of trade offs. Do we trade faster/ more disk space for less money and no upgrade path or do we keep the upgrade path, and spend a bit more.

Only time will tell.
 
You mean there's someone out there with a Mac using full disk encryption?
Nobody I know trusts the disk image based File Vault that Apple currently offers and I'm not aware of any full disk based solutions for Mac.

Well... Lion supposedly offers FV2 which is rumored to be really good. Irrespectively, I think it is a much better strategy to never rely on any single piece of hardware to protect their data. I believe in dual automatic backups... one locally for convenience, and a primary backup to the cloud. I do this for all of my machines... so even if all of computers were wiped out at the same time, I still have a backup.

I currently think of my laptops as the weakest link in my data security. If my MBA is stollen, anyone can get all of my data with an install disk despite my strong login passwords. I do keep the most sensitive data encrypted on the machine (Knox vaults) but I still do not like the relative lack of security in OSX. By contrast, at least my iPhone and iPad can be remote wiped... plus they have the "wipe after 10 failed password attempts" enabled.

When I get my new MBA with Lion, I intend to use full disk encryption. Also, when I upgrade the rest of my Macs (currently 2 iMacs and 2 MBAs) to Lion, I'll encrypt the disk on those as well. Of course, this is all dependent on a good implementation by Apple.

/Jim
 
What were some of the complaints when the Ipad was first introduced?

Exposed screen
Macbook Air....solved

No keyboard
Macbook Air....solved

Not enough internal storage
Macbook Air....solved

No external ports
Macbook Air....solved

And I'm sure there are more but the Macbook Air with Lion could be called a hybrid that bridges the gap between an Ipad and and a Macbook Pro.
Apple has something portable for light users in the $500 range up to heavy users in the $2500+ range. A full lineup of products from Apple.......oh wasn't that another complaint?

Some people can't see the forest for the trees.
 
All of you saying that this change (if true) doesn't affect you are ignoring the idea that the moment your Mac refuses to boot, it does affect you. Your data can be rescued off of a removable drive (regardless of the form factor) if the motherboard or some other component fails. It can't if the storage is soldered on. Imagine a scenario where the Mac gets immersed or is hit by a surge. You want your data back. Even if you don't ever intend to open your Mac and take out the drive, the technicians you take your Mac to do. But their hands are tied if the drive is not removable. "Too bad, you should have had a current backup" is literally all they'll be able to say.

EVERYONE SHOULD DEMAND REMOVABLE DRIVES IN THEIR COMPUTERS.

Until iCloud fully backs up the settings, configurations, documents & folders, purchased applications fully for Mac OS X via AppStore, I highly doubt that an imbedded (soldered SSD to motherboard) MBA or laptop/PC of any kind would be feasible against lost under regular or extended warranty. Just my opinion ... but TimeCapsule is the argument against that.
 
At first I thought you were joking, so I visited the online store. Really, Apple? $249 for AppleCare on a maxed-out Mac Pro Server (price tag: $17,973.00), and the same $249 for a computer that costs less than a grand?

That's effing ridiculous. The cost of AppleCare should be prorated based on the computer's actual (non-retail) replacement cost. Who in their right mind is paying 25% of retail for two extra years of warranty?

You're right. I'm backpedaling on this one. If AppleCare on a MBA was $49, I'd recommend it for peace of mind. Instead, just leave the laptop running non-stop for thirty days. Most manufacturing defects will be revealed in that time.

The price reflects cost of servicing. Laptops cost more to service because of their tight configuration as opposed to a desktop computer like a Mac Pro (which isn't going to be be carried around)

Prorating the value doesn't work. Those that buy Apple Care know the probability of a laptop needing repair is likely higher than a desktop. How many people pour liquid into their desktop?

The people that buy AC on laptops know that they will not be shelling out another grand in 3 years to replace their notebook.

Insurance is always a gamble.
 
Until iCloud fully backs up the settings, configurations, documents & folders, purchased applications fully for Mac OS X via AppStore, I highly doubt that an imbedded (soldered SSD to motherboard) MBA or laptop/PC of any kind would be feasible against lost under regular or extended warranty. Just my opinion ... but TimeCapsule is the argument against that.

My first MBA (2009) had a DOA USB port. It took me several months to notice because I pretty much do everything wireless on my MBA. The Apple Store gave me a new MBA and TM recovered it perfectly. Every application, every setting, mail, bookmarks, everything was perfect.

As I said in other posts... I double back up all of my computers. They are backed up locally every hour to TC and they are backed up every 15 minutes to the cloud (Crashplan+). About every month or so, I talk to someone who has lost all of their data because their HDD crashed and they do not back-up. Personally, I think that anyone who trusts there data to a drive is nuts. Once you have a good backup strategy... then there is no worry about your data anymore.

/Jim
 
The price reflects cost of servicing. Laptops cost more to service because of their tight configuration as opposed to a desktop computer like a Mac Pro (which isn't going to be be carried around)

Prorating the value doesn't work. Those that buy Apple Care know the probability of a laptop needing repair is likely higher than a desktop. How many people pour liquid into their desktop?

The people that buy AC on laptops know that they will not be shelling out another grand in 3 years to replace their notebook.

Insurance is always a gamble.
AppleCare does not cover spills. It is burning money, if you can't afford the 1% chance of a hardware failure during years 2 and 3, you can't afford a Mac in the first place.
 
AppleCare does not cover spills. It is burning money, if you can't afford the 1% chance of a hardware failure during years 2 and 3, you can't afford a Mac in the first place.

Other way round...
Applecare covers the shortfall in your contents insurance.
If can't afford to insure your productivity chain you shouldn't be in business.
 
The price reflects cost of servicing. Laptops cost more to service because of their tight configuration as opposed to a desktop computer like a Mac Pro (which isn't going to be be carried around)

That would be fine if Apple actually serviced the majority of their faulty hardware, but these days we mostly hear stories of replacement instead. Of course, Apple then services the machine and resells it as a refurb, but seeing as how they are selling the same device twice (the second time being nearly all profit), AppleCare costs shouldn't reflect any of that service work.
 
AppleCare does not cover spills. It is burning money, if you can't afford the 1% chance of a hardware failure during years 2 and 3, you can't afford a Mac in the first place.

I disagree. I have Apple care on my iOS Devices and MBP. The iMac just expired. This is nice because every time I have any type of issue that I do not understand, I can call, and the Apple care automatically covers all Apple HD. They even cover and help out with my airport routers, which have no Apple care.

Most of my Apple hardware runs perfectly all the time, but there has been several times where my network started conflicting with some of the neighbors. I am NOT an IT person I called Apple care they spent as much time as necessary with me on the phone helping me test different channels and understand what is going on. They never rushed me and we tested everything completely. This was what I call 5 star service.

My brother just came to see me yesterday, he actually has a WiFi network tester. He tested my network and was impress that I was the only one of the 10 he could see that was on its own channel. I no longer collide with the neighbors. This was totally Apple care.

It is SO MUCH more then just replacing bad or damaged hardware. It is piece of mind about all Apple hardware, and setup. I can call almost any time I want, and be talking to a real tech who has knowledge within 5 minutes. Not to mention what is does if you Hardware actually does develop a hiccup and you go to the genius bar.

Apple care highly valued at least by this Apple user.
 
That would be fine if Apple actually serviced the majority of their faulty hardware, but these days we mostly hear stories of replacement instead. Of course, Apple then services the machine and resells it as a refurb, but seeing as how they are selling the same device twice (the second time being nearly all profit), AppleCare costs shouldn't reflect any of that service work.

Your comments make no sense.

You buy machine 1 it develops a problem.... you have apple care, they give you a brand new machine 2 for free. (who would not like this?)

They take machine 1 back to factory fix it and resell it to recover some of the cost of giving you machine 2 for free. How is this nearly all profit?

If you had to purchase machine 2 and they simply took machine 1 off your hands then your comment would be true, but that is not what happens.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.