2009: 17” Hi-Res Antiglare MBP, with 2 SSDs, a nice big reliable keyboard, a MagSafe power connector, 4 USB ports,an Ethernet port, audio in and analog & digital fiber optic outs, the cool little micro-perforated power indicator that disappears into the aluminum when off, an infrared receiver for remote operations, a trackpad of reasonable size that doesn’t interfere with your keyboarding, a low power chipset that doesn’t burn holes in your desk, a logo that lights up the rearranged rainbow Apple logo I stuck on it like the batsignal.
It runs Sierra smoothly, Win10 and Win7, has just enough beef to drive 3D solid modeling programs, works with old Wacoms, new Wacoms, plotters, scanners, printers CNC machines, 3d printers, entertainment systems, connects to any kind of network in any condition, takes pci expresscards to connect to any hardware in the world with ease. You name it, i can show up with this thing, and it can do it. It’s the single most useful tool I own.
I really looked forward to upgrading it to a new model as Apple continued to make changes to it, such as a the big tapered slanted body like the MacBook Airs, the addition of usb3, the replacement of the bulky card slot, minidisplayport with a Thunderbolt fiber port, some kind of high speed reliable (wired) screen sharing and touch connectivity with an iPad, etc etc etc, as Apple continued to surprise us with their vision for the future of the pro Mac user. Instead, Apple had no vision at all, dropped the model, nearly all it’s features, and half the software, and became a phone, watch, fashion, speaker and fad chaser.
I actually like Tim Cook, but I increasingly look forward to the company’s next phase, where someone with an actual vision takes over.
