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Where is Apple ultimately going with their laptop line?
- Thread starter waywardsage
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When i read your post, it seemed like you were complaining because you spent $3000 on a system without those ports, and not saying "I wish Apple would include X Y Z." I apologize. I just don't see that much demand for blu-ray, esata, and card readers in systems. I have never used any of the above, and know nobody that uses those either. So why toss it into a entire model of notebooks? Thats all.
Wow, you sound like a pleasant individual.
EVERY movie is not available to download. That's patently false. So foolishly false, its laughable. Apples downloadable selection of movies/tv is paltry compared to DVD. And it most likely always will. Some studios or owners of films refuse to do online distribution.
With that said. You downloading zealots have been eternally ignoring key stumbling blocks that downloading will face from here on out:
bandwidth capping, (many major ISP's are doing it)
length of download
archiving and storage problems. What happens when your hard drive fails? It always will. Are you just going to off load it to another hard drive and so on, constantly backing it up? It's not fool proof. And sounds like a lot of work.
What bothers you so much about Optical storage of films? Is it that big of a pain to get up and put the disc in the player? You still have to get up to get your beer and chips.
I don't think most people have a problem with optical storage, I think the high-def optical media playback is not important for a mobile computer. Its fine in the living room and what not, just not practical for the mobile platform. Just clarifying.
Nice thread here.
One thing not mentioned, which I think is a big issue is the display selections. What about all of the pros who want the portability of a 13" display. Right now, consumers should only want 13" displays, and pros should only want 15" or 17" displays. For me, a 15" MB makes a lot of sense as does a 13"/12" MBP!
I agree with all of the other comments concerning the selection in an $800 laptop with Windows at Best Buy. Can buy the World with Blu Ray, all the ports could need, beautiful display, and more for only $799!
Apple is stuck on profit margins. And until the cashflow starts to suffer, Apple will keep doing what it wants instead of what its customers wants. The masses are served well, but the others are not. I just wish we could pay more to get everything we need. BTO options of all sorts would help out while Apple could still make its profits.
One thing not mentioned, which I think is a big issue is the display selections. What about all of the pros who want the portability of a 13" display. Right now, consumers should only want 13" displays, and pros should only want 15" or 17" displays. For me, a 15" MB makes a lot of sense as does a 13"/12" MBP!
I agree with all of the other comments concerning the selection in an $800 laptop with Windows at Best Buy. Can buy the World with Blu Ray, all the ports could need, beautiful display, and more for only $799!
Apple is stuck on profit margins. And until the cashflow starts to suffer, Apple will keep doing what it wants instead of what its customers wants. The masses are served well, but the others are not. I just wish we could pay more to get everything we need. BTO options of all sorts would help out while Apple could still make its profits.
This is basically what i'm saying. And all of those "don't buy it if you don't like it" and " and "nobody even knows what eSATA, HDMI or Blu ray is!" people don't realize is that Professional users just want OPTIONS.
They don't have to make the stock model come with it. Just offer the option to include it for X amount. You can customize a Dell 10X ways or an HP. But for some reason, apple doesn't want to allow its Pro users to customize much.
The Macbook is built for the average user. Mom and Dad and Aunt and Sister can use that if they don't know what "blu ray" or eSATA is. The Macbook Pro should be something more. It should have a more expanded, focused Pro feature set.
Apple did it with the Mac Pro line. Why can't they do with with the Macbook Pro?
And, for those that will say, "thats know what apple is interested in". Who is the Macbook Pro for?! The cost is hardly mass market oriented. And its not a high powered gaming laptop, because it's OSX. Most games are for Windows.
Who is the Macbook Pro for? Who should it be for?
Apple moved away from catering to pro's with the PowerBook/MBP line because, for better or worse, you have people who are willing to spend 2-5 thousand dollars on a notebook to surf Facebook on.
I've seen it first hand; I can count in the dozens personal acquaintances that have maxxed out 17" Pro's and they don't even have any creative/industry software installed.
I've seen it first hand; I can count in the dozens personal acquaintances that have maxxed out 17" Pro's and they don't even have any creative/industry software installed.
I've met some of these people. It's pretty silly. Who would want to carry around a 17" if all you need is a macbook?!
Kind of like people who buy escalades when truly they'd be fine with a Honda Civic...or people with a 3,500 square foot house when truly they could live in a 1,200 square foot house, or people who shop at whole foolds when walmart would suffice, and on and on and on.
Point being this is nothing new, but for some reason in the computer industry you should only buy what you need?
Where is Apple ultimately going with their laptop line?
TO THE BANK
And as a shareholder I am well pleased.
As an Apple laptop user - well pleased also
TO THE BANK
And as a shareholder I am well pleased.
As an Apple laptop user - well pleased also
Thanks for the personal insult. Listen, why don't you listen to 8 tracks or use 8mm film for your home movies? Do you watch everything on a CRT? Files are the future. They take up less space and are easier to organize. And as I said earlier they are much easier to navigate. I'm not really arguing that Apple SHOULDN'T put in Bluray. I wouldn't complain at all. Why not? But I won't have a fit over it like some people here. It really isn't that important. Unlike a memory card reader which WOULD actually piss me off if included for the reasons I stated earlier.
Please - no card/memory stick reader slots in future Mac laptops. Ugly, and they just get obsolete. And which slots to include? It's never been a problem finding a small external card reader fairly cheap.
I'm thinking the future of Apple laptops is about all SSD storage, all multi-core (4/8/16 core) Apple-designed cpus and internal architecture, Hi-def 16" (OLED) screens for the intermediate MBP (available in non-glare configurations,) a 13" Macbook Pro w/discrete graphics, (1440x900 OLED also w/non-glare option) - modular gpu, not hard-soldered, and FW/expresscard slot, 8-10 hr. battery life, wireless recharging (yup,) carbon graphite construction, increased multi-touch, including touch screen capability. Also, future versions of HDMI probably will show up, but not right away as long as Apple is pushing the displayport/mini display port. I'm sure we won't see most of this real soon... but technologically it's not really much of a stretch.
I don't quite see the need for built-in Blu-ray. For viewing HD content on your laptop and home entertainment center, downloaded files are certainly the future, agreed. External blu-ray burners can make sense for data archiving or HD video authoring, but why carry it around. Maybe Blu-Ray player capabilities for the
TV might be worthwhile, though, because most downloaded HD content is not as good as Blu-ray - most is still 720p, and even the 1080p content is generally compressed to the point of some visibility. And it would get rid of one more piece of equipment, the current Blu-Ray player connected to your TV. The only place I can see Blu-ray really mattering in a laptop is gaming... and Apple will probably explore the idea of jumping into that (gaming) with a new console incorporating the TV with Blu-ray, and an embedded hybrid OS X waiting in the wings to be unleashed.
I'm thinking the future of Apple laptops is about all SSD storage, all multi-core (4/8/16 core) Apple-designed cpus and internal architecture, Hi-def 16" (OLED) screens for the intermediate MBP (available in non-glare configurations,) a 13" Macbook Pro w/discrete graphics, (1440x900 OLED also w/non-glare option) - modular gpu, not hard-soldered, and FW/expresscard slot, 8-10 hr. battery life, wireless recharging (yup,) carbon graphite construction, increased multi-touch, including touch screen capability. Also, future versions of HDMI probably will show up, but not right away as long as Apple is pushing the displayport/mini display port. I'm sure we won't see most of this real soon... but technologically it's not really much of a stretch.
I don't quite see the need for built-in Blu-ray. For viewing HD content on your laptop and home entertainment center, downloaded files are certainly the future, agreed. External blu-ray burners can make sense for data archiving or HD video authoring, but why carry it around. Maybe Blu-Ray player capabilities for the
TV might be worthwhile, though, because most downloaded HD content is not as good as Blu-ray - most is still 720p, and even the 1080p content is generally compressed to the point of some visibility. And it would get rid of one more piece of equipment, the current Blu-Ray player connected to your TV. The only place I can see Blu-ray really mattering in a laptop is gaming... and Apple will probably explore the idea of jumping into that (gaming) with a new console incorporating the TV with Blu-ray, and an embedded hybrid OS X waiting in the wings to be unleashed.
Gee, miss the point much?
I didn't say people aren't allowed to buy expensive things, it's just one reason why Apple has moved away from catering to pros.
Simplicity
I am not going to lament on what has already been said in great detail, but from my perspective, my uMBP is exactly what I wanted when I purchased it. I can do everything from high end video production for work, to tinkering with audio, to writing essays for my college courses.
Looking at production from Apple's point of view is like this: They need to please the majority of the consumer base with what they have available. A certain percentage of consumers want different things so they can utilize their computer in different ways. Some want Bluray, some want eSATA, some want a HDMI port, some want card readers. The desire from the consumer base makes for a computer that would be well over $4000 if Apple were to incorporate everything, and it would go against their idea of simplicity. They chose to rather satisfy all of the consumer base by allowing expansion through the ExpressCard 34 slot and through Firewire 800. Most people who purchase a Mac, as many have already said, dont know what half of the ports are used for. Apple is able to please more customers by allowing this expansion and allowing each customer to choose how they are going to utilize their new fangled computer. I do agree though that Apple could offer some more accessories that PnP Apple branded devices such as a MacBook Air style Bluray drive, or an Apple branded eSATA or Card reader that was an ExpressCard 34 device. But we also know that we would pay for the "Apple" brand on these products as well. I can go online and find whatever I need for cheeper than Apple sells some items.
If you are going to purchase an Apple product, dont just buy a laptop to have a laptop or a desktop and vice versa. Actually think about what you are going to be using your device for. If you are truly dissatisfied with the lack of certain features on a given device, explore the option of purchasing a MacPro. You can swap things in and out of it, from hard drives, to optical drives, to PCI cards, the limits are endless. If you are truly happy with paying $3000 for a MBP like I was, then you have to learn to use what you are purchasing, and to be ECSTATIC that you have a new computer. Learn to use accessories that suit what you are going to be doing on your computer. I personally would not want to purchase a MBP with a Bluray drive, 15 different ports, and god knows how many different pieces of hardware slapped into a 3" tall body with a 10" screen. I carry my MBP with me daily and if I wanted the a device with all these options I would have bought a WinBlows device. Having the MBP tailored to customization allows anyone to carry with them just what they need for a given day. If you need to burn 30 BluRay DVD's, and have an eSATA drive, and connect to a VGA projector and a HDMI, use a miniSD, and a CompactFlash, and use 15 USB devices all at the same time, then something is wrong. Plus the processor and Ram wouldn't be able to keep up with you and you would have a snail as a computer.
Moral: Assess what you are going to be doing with your computer and utilize accessories for only the tasks you need to do right then and there. Apple has accessories for everything, and if you can't find it on Apple's website, do some googling and I'm more than sure you will find what you need. If you still dont like how a MBP dosen't have 50 bagillion ports, go buy a PeeCee. I like my back and dont want a 30lb computer.
Anyone remember these??? They were all the rage way back when. People actually carried them on their back as their "Portable Desktop" computer!!! God I loved the SE.
I am not going to lament on what has already been said in great detail, but from my perspective, my uMBP is exactly what I wanted when I purchased it. I can do everything from high end video production for work, to tinkering with audio, to writing essays for my college courses.
Looking at production from Apple's point of view is like this: They need to please the majority of the consumer base with what they have available. A certain percentage of consumers want different things so they can utilize their computer in different ways. Some want Bluray, some want eSATA, some want a HDMI port, some want card readers. The desire from the consumer base makes for a computer that would be well over $4000 if Apple were to incorporate everything, and it would go against their idea of simplicity. They chose to rather satisfy all of the consumer base by allowing expansion through the ExpressCard 34 slot and through Firewire 800. Most people who purchase a Mac, as many have already said, dont know what half of the ports are used for. Apple is able to please more customers by allowing this expansion and allowing each customer to choose how they are going to utilize their new fangled computer. I do agree though that Apple could offer some more accessories that PnP Apple branded devices such as a MacBook Air style Bluray drive, or an Apple branded eSATA or Card reader that was an ExpressCard 34 device. But we also know that we would pay for the "Apple" brand on these products as well. I can go online and find whatever I need for cheeper than Apple sells some items.
If you are going to purchase an Apple product, dont just buy a laptop to have a laptop or a desktop and vice versa. Actually think about what you are going to be using your device for. If you are truly dissatisfied with the lack of certain features on a given device, explore the option of purchasing a MacPro. You can swap things in and out of it, from hard drives, to optical drives, to PCI cards, the limits are endless. If you are truly happy with paying $3000 for a MBP like I was, then you have to learn to use what you are purchasing, and to be ECSTATIC that you have a new computer. Learn to use accessories that suit what you are going to be doing on your computer. I personally would not want to purchase a MBP with a Bluray drive, 15 different ports, and god knows how many different pieces of hardware slapped into a 3" tall body with a 10" screen. I carry my MBP with me daily and if I wanted the a device with all these options I would have bought a WinBlows device. Having the MBP tailored to customization allows anyone to carry with them just what they need for a given day. If you need to burn 30 BluRay DVD's, and have an eSATA drive, and connect to a VGA projector and a HDMI, use a miniSD, and a CompactFlash, and use 15 USB devices all at the same time, then something is wrong. Plus the processor and Ram wouldn't be able to keep up with you and you would have a snail as a computer.
Moral: Assess what you are going to be doing with your computer and utilize accessories for only the tasks you need to do right then and there. Apple has accessories for everything, and if you can't find it on Apple's website, do some googling and I'm more than sure you will find what you need. If you still dont like how a MBP dosen't have 50 bagillion ports, go buy a PeeCee. I like my back and dont want a 30lb computer.
Anyone remember these??? They were all the rage way back when. People actually carried them on their back as their "Portable Desktop" computer!!! God I loved the SE.
Please - no card/memory stick reader slots in future Mac laptops. Ugly, and they just get obsolete. And which slots to include? It's never been a problem finding a small external card reader fairly cheap.
I'm thinking the future of Apple laptops is about all SSD storage, all multi-core (4/8/16 core) Apple-designed cpus and internal architecture, Hi-def 16" (OLED) screens for the intermediate MBP (available in non-glare configurations,) a 13" Macbook Pro w/discrete graphics, (1440x900 OLED also w/non-glare option) - modular gpu, not hard-soldered, and FW/expresscard slot, 8-10 hr. battery life, wireless recharging (yup,) carbon graphite construction, increased multi-touch, including touch screen capability. Also, future versions of HDMI probably will show up, but not right away as long as Apple is pushing the displayport/mini display port. I'm sure we won't see most of this real soon... but technologically it's not really much of a stretch.
I don't quite see the need for built-in Blu-ray. For viewing HD content on your laptop and home entertainment center, downloaded files are certainly the future, agreed. External blu-ray burners can make sense for data archiving or HD video authoring, but why carry it around. Maybe Blu-Ray player capabilities for the
this is way too future....
I would love all that and NO superdrive please....
I do not need it....
this is way too future....
I would love all that and NO superdrive please....
I do not need it....
I thought the thread 'topic' question was speculative... "where is Apple ultimately going with their laptop line?"
So... I gave it my best shot...