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Why is APPL so obsessed with banishing Ports?
- Thread starter zipur
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Yes, I do. Significant amount of people use solely Cloud and wireless services for data storage and transfer.
I do the same for the last 4 or 5 years now. In fact it is much safer to keep data online, access it securely via a VPN than having immigration officers pull the data off your device like it they do routinely in some countries. Direct connections are easily available everywhere, via mobile phone networks and, if need be, satellite connections.
But apart from that it is simply more convenient, not to mention it makes it much easier to work in geographically diverse working groups while everyone has access to the current status of all documents. Or simply keep the data synchronized between your home PC and your on the road device.
Apple do this because they are in a position to dictate market trends to an extent. They were first to ditch floppies, first to really push USB hard, first to ditch optical media, etc. The trend they currently wish to push is wireless connectivity. Hence airdrop, iCloud, etc.
Steve Jobs hated cables (and thus, ports), and has pushed to get rid of them as much as possible for years. Apple is continuing along this trend.
Also, Apple likes to push the limits in terms of size and battery capacity in a given space.
Personally, I don't have a big problem with that. Yes, the rMB is not for everyone (it's certainly not for ME). However it will encourage more people to move to wireless options for peripherals such as bluetooth for keyboards and other accessories, the cloud for storage, etc. Yes, that will be a little painful during the transition period as more suitable products enter the market, and people adapt their behaviour to suit the new way of doing things.
By the time the second generation of this machine comes around, it will be considered normal.
90% of the time, I don't use any ports on my machines either. I used the optical drive on my MBP 15" 3 times in 4 years. I'm glad its not included in my 13" rMBP. If I do need to use one, i can plug in an external, which means i don't need to carry the weight and sacrifice battery in the machine to have one internally.
Given the rMB's goal is to be the lightest and most portable machine possible, it is not a surprise that they have stripped everything they could from it that you don't need the majority of the time. I'm surprised they included the audio jack to be honest, because bluetooth headphones are available.
The lack of an additional USB port may be a technical issue due to the chipset in use, I'd rather seen an additional USB-C port in its place (or even better, perhaps a legacy USB3 type A on this model so people can at least plug in a thumb drive), but expecting it to include a heap of ports on this type of machine is unrealistic.
If you need/want the ports, you don't buy an rMB. Apple make other machines that are more suitable.
"The cloud is not for everyone. Like with all solutions, you have to weigh what level of risk you are comfortable dealing with...Using cloud solutions is like kissing someone you don't know — you don't know what types of germs they have and whether you'll catch something from them". (Neil Rerup, founder of Enterprise CyberSecurity Architects (ECSA). (Extract from BusinessNewsDaily article by Sara Angeles, October 1, 2013).
http://www.computerworld.com/articl.../no--your-data-isn-t-secure-in-the-cloud.html
http://www.techradar.com/news/internet/data-privacy-how-safe-is-your-data-in-the-cloud--1170332
http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/5215-dangers-cloud-computing.html
http://idtheft.about.com/od/Data-Security-Tech/a/Cloud-Computing.htm
Last but not least I share SlCKB0Y's opinion, let me cite him:
Yup, cloud is a risk, and i don't store my data on other people's cloud either.
If you want storage or data transfer options for an rMB without using "the cloud", consider ownCloud (on your own machine), wireless portable hard drives (they exist), etc.
You CAN use third party cloud solutions though if you encrypt your data sufficiently. Its easier to just not, though.
This has not been my experience at all. The typical wifi transfer rate is 4-5MB/sec. And often slower depending on how congested a wifi network may be. So a 2 GB file would take over 6 minutes. So if I want to transfer several movies, I'm looking 30-60 minutes, compared to pulling them off a drive, or over Ethernet, which is typically up to 10x that rate.
And not having an Internet connection is my entire point -- files can be stored on a hard drive, accessed from a hard drive at any time, and transported minimally for access anywhere with or without an Internet connection. The draw of a high quality screen in a light weight laptop is great for a vacation photographer. But 256GB can get filled up rather quickly. It would be nice to be able to carry drives without having to carry docks and dongles as well.
At the end of the day, it's great you are getting above average performance on your home network, and have no need to store or back up your files locally, regardless of whether you use the cloud or not. Regardless, the rMB sacrifices functionality unnecessarily and arbitrarily in favor of wireless access, with no other substantial gains over the MBA form factor.
Well, as I continue to point out, the MBA has plenty of ports despite not being significantly larger or heavier, or having greater battery life. So it's not a matter of finding a way of including them, it's a matter of specifically excluding them, for no practical reason.
As a stock holder, I don't see offering 6 competing MacBooks as a smart model, especially when one of them caters solely to a niche market. As I've said, a redundant USB-C port takes nothing away from the size, and offers several positives, especially with the elimination of MagSafe. Now, if supporting two USB-C ports truly is a technical limitation here, then I can accept that, but I do find that hard to accept. However the numerous other arguments against don't make sense to me. Eliminate the 11" MBA, and offer the rMB instead, with two USB-C ports, and it should meet the needs of anyone otherwise tempted to buy the MBA, and net Apple more profit in the process. But to unnecessarily expand the product line just seems pointless.
You didn't see the "practical reason" I outlined in my post.
Apple want to push people (and the rest of the industry) to move to network services or devices via wifi, rather than plugging in cables. Much like they pushed USB by removing legacy ports back with the iMac, and much like they helped kill off the floppy drive by dropping them before everyone else.
That is a big practical reason for removing ports - as far as Apple is concerned.
You may not like not having the ports, and at the moment I need more than a single USB-C myself (which is why I bought a Pro), but this is a bleeding edge 1st generation machine that is intended to sway market trends. You say the MBA isn't "significantly heavier", but its about 50% heavier... not a lot in terms of actual weight, but compared to the rMB - it's a lot more.
Yup, if Apple wanted to put more ports into it like an MBA, they could. They didn't want to. Because of reasons.
Reasons being that 3-5 years out, Apple want people to be not using cables.
The tech is all pretty much there, people just need to adapt their habits. WIDI (wireless display, e.g., airplay), high speed wifi, bluetooth, airdrop, cloud services. People are working in more geographically dispersed locations. Far more often to get someone a copy of something these days it is e-mailed/drop-boxed/etc. rather than copied DVD or USB. Because it is just as likely that the person you are dealing with is across town, interstate or in another country.
Not sure where you're getting 50% heavier. The rMB weighs 2.03lbs. The 11" MBA weighs 2.38lbs. That's a difference of .35lbs. 50% heavier would be something like 3.05, or 1.02lbs difference. So no, these two Macs are negligibly different in size and weight.
Otherwise, yes I read and generally agree with your reasons Apple is eliminating ports. Or more specifically to lock users into iCloud services. There's just no reason to limit the rMB to one USB-C when it is so versital, especially when they include an antiquated 1/8" audio jack.
That actually depends on use case. For those of us that are travelling more than 200 days a year the difference is worlds apart.
I gladly ditched our 11'' MBAs to get the (in my opinion) much lighter and smaller rMB. As there is only a negligible difference in price (comparing both top of the line BTO options) it was also a good business decision.
And as long as apple doesn't force anyone to use iCloud (which they don't) you can use whatever online service you want to. From a security point of view that is of course none of the big services, rather set up your own "cloud" with a secure access. Easy enough to do, most NAS servers offer some rudimentary level, but it isn't hard to do it on your own, one of the cheapest choices for those, that like to build their own stuff, might be a raspberry.
Apparently the market is not that small a niche, seeing the still considerable lead times to get one.
Ah, i was comparing to the 13" MBA, the 11" is a machine I always kinda neglect because it's just something I could never deal with - the screen is just too small.
But yeah, you're right.
And yeah, i don't see Apple offering 5 different MacBook models for long.
You'll have the rMB as the entry level eventually when retina screen costs come down and the early adopter tax is gone. The MBA will be discontinued and the 13" and 15" pro might get a bit thinner (and maybe get 14" and 16" screens in the same form factor with smaller bezels).
I simply don't see Apple carrying non-retina screens for much longer, and there's simply too much overlap in the current lineup if that's no longer a differentiating factor.
We'll have to agree to disagree on whether .35 pound and 3.7 square inches is a substantial difference, and whether $100 difference between the two comparable top of the line BTO machines is negligible.
But I am curious, do you ever carry anything else for use with the rMB when you travel aside from the rMB and the power brick?
I use networks to transfer data from machine to machine or from machine to NAS. If I need to transfer a virtual machine of 80Gb of size, I copy it from my NAS to my Mac wirelessly. I do not use a USB harddisk since that is inconvenient.
For smaller files I usually use Dropbox to keep files in sync between devices.
Backup is done wireless both locally and to the cloud.
The move to cloud solutions for both private and company use is going extremely fast. Very few companies are not moving all or part of their infrastructure to the cloud.
If you are not embracing the cloud, I would wager that the rMB is not for you.
If you are only getting 4-5Mb/s you do not have a 802.11AC router and devices running AC.
You should not dismiss wireless technology when you have such an abysmal implementation of it.
Also, I have never watched a movie on a Mac and I probably never will in the future. Also I do not have my pirated movies on a USB-drive. They are stored on a NAS, removing the need for individually USB hard drives.
I do not need more than 256Gb of data on my Macbook. If I needed more I would have bought the 512Gb version. I do not transfer a lot of new data every day. All the changes I make during a day can easily be transferred wirelessly and through the Internet. Most of my work is done directly on remote servers. There are no data transfer except screen sharing data. I would never bring USB hard drives with me. I either copy the data before I leave home or I download it through the Internet.
The high resolution screen is almost the most important feature of the rMB. Without it, the machine would be almost a completely waste. Have you tried reading text and doing a lot of work on the 11" MBA? It is not a good solution.
The screen, the size, the weight, the screen size/to physical size ratio, no fans is worth more than ports, more than CPU and GPU performance.
If you spent $1000 to $2000 moving to a wireless world, you would be much more likely to use a rMB.
I'm not liking where Apple is going. From the cMBP -> rMBP, it was fine since I didn't use firewire, ethernet, or the CD Drive rarely if ever. However, I use all the ports on my rMBP on a regular basis(USB Ports, HDMI, thunderbolt, SD Card slot). The way Apple went with the new MB has worried about the future. I can see it now, the next generation Macbook Pro: unnecessarily thin chassis with only 2 or 3 USB-C ports that throttles after prolong stress on the CPU/GPU.
No. And on my day travels, flying out in the morning and back home in the evening, i don't even carry the power brick, the battery holds up well enough for a day of work. I do carry my retina iPad mini though for reading and other media consumption on the plane though, and it is a nice 4G hotspot as well of course.
You are quite right Hans, the rMB and the "Cloud" is not for me. The reasons amongst others are enumerated in the links I have posted.
What concerns the "very few companies" aspect of your post: I have my doubts about that. "Cloud Computing" is gaining momentum, no question about that, but not for those who deal with sensitive data.
Yeah, I'm just wondering what sensitive data means?
I mean all the major multinational companies and financial institutions are using both over the shelf and proprietary cloud solutions. All the major governments and intelligence agencies, even militaries in the world are using highly secure, proprietary cloud solutions. Not exclusively, of course, but extensively, yes. Same with the major scientific research centers, institutes and universities around the world, globally, just ask @Queen6 and he'll tell you his use case.
If you work for a large multinational, you're exposed to and using a cloud solution already in some form or another. If you work for a mid-sized national or international company, you're probably even more exposed to "the cloud" and these days the smaller the company, the more likely the cloud is involved at a much more integral level.
What sort of data is it you are using that is so sensitive, anyway, if I might ask? Is it sensitive to you in a private sense, or sensitive to your company in a corporate/financial/HR sense, or is it sensitive to your clients in a client/patient priviledge sense, or what?
Carrying around a USB stick with a password on it in your bag is much more vulnerable to loss, destruction, corruption, or improper appropriation than having that data on a remote, redundant server in the cloud requiring two step verification to gain access to, and ultimately, the user dictates the effectiveness of any security implementation.
I mean, just because you have links to a bunch of security breaches doesn't mean you can put your head in the sand. That's like reading about a plane crashing in the news and then refusing to fly because planes are unsafe.
Yes there is an element of convenience if you happen to have a USB stick handy (but then what's the big deal in buying that USB-C/USB-A thumb drive?) and your recipient is sitting across the desk from you, but there is no better or more convenient way to exchange data and collaborate over multiple remote offices/locations in real time than wirelessly.
Almost all of the risks associated with wireless and cloud computing is connected to unknown and/or public wifi networks. Private, known wireless networks are largely secure, and as stated before, any security system is only as secure as the user makes it.
I get that you still need to have your physical media, and thus need to have multiple physical ports in use at all times, and feel it is totally unacceptable to carry around an adapter or two, or to lay out for the 512GB SSD to alleviate the need for too mucn reliance on external storage, be it cloud or physical...and that's fine...
What I don't understand is the compulsion/motivation behind the need to go all missionary in the rMB section of the forums here surrounded by those that have bought and love the machine for what it is, and find that it actually does fit their needs and use cases perfectly?
Do you hope to convert or convince people that the cloud is not to be trusted?
Well said. As I return to the project next month, I will be interacting continuously with multiple entities across; Europe, Scandinavia and Continental US, physical delivery of sensitive business & technical data in a timely fashion is clearly impractical. This being said security of the data is a continuous concern, hence all data is encrypted and transmitted over secure VPN. The brutal reality is there is more chance of physical intervention than data loss via wireless interception.
Many major companies have their own secure "Cloud" services, there is also a growing market in the public sector for the secure "Cloud". My own choice of "Cloud" storage for personal data is secured with "point to point" encryption with the "keys" limited solely to the user. For the small outlay it allows for a vast amount of flexibility when one works across multiple systems, as once set up my Mac`s are always up to date with exactly what I need, saving both time and money.
As with all in life, it`s about balancing the risk. I would be very cautious about placing sensitive data with the free "big names" unless it was encrypted, personally I have better options. A little like VPN`s the very best service`s are the one`s that are not common in the public domain. Being secure on the Web is not difficult, nor is being secure in the "Cloud" a little reading and some common sense is all it takes.
I plan for the worst, and hope for the best, have more than adequate disk space on all my systems, the very last thing I want is loose thumb/flash drives lost in transit and or misplaced with sensitive data stored. Such drives can be encrypted, however in my experience very few people actually do this as their intention is to just quickly copy data, "more often than not" they get "sidetracked" and the data remains, let alone the ability to seamlessly transfer Malware in some circumstance.
Q-6
Let me clear something up. There is a difference between "own cloud" and "third-party cloud". The institutions you have mentioned use their own cloud and not third-party cloud solutions. Average users usually use "third party cloud".
I have posted some links that deal with the question of safety and security of third-party cloud services. Read them. Take your time.
Your use case seems very specific and above average. I'd say have a standard/average implementation of wifi in my home. And it's likely what the average wifi user is going to encounter in many public and private locations at present. And that's how I'm judging this rMB. So you're reinforcing my perspective that this MacBook is built for a niche market.
You don't watch movies on your MacBook? Many do, as evidenced by the screen ratio of the MBA. So, of course you wouldn't carry any on drives -- I have a couple of 64GB CF cards that I load with movies for my iPad when I travel, which I organize on my MacBook. The movies themselves are stored on a small portable USB drive, because like you, I don't want to store all of my media on my work computer. Before I discovered how to do this on the iPad, I used to travel with a backed-up drive and my MacBook. While the home network you describe would be a dream, the average person buying a new MacBook is not looking to invest another $1-2K into additional equipment for their home to have a screaming network, especially since doing so doesn't serve up the internet any faster than the connection speed they are paying for. Don't get me wrong ... everybody should be more concerned about their home interface, but cost is the determining factor that I don't see catching up to the reality of the rMB for a few more years.
I would also suggest that doing most of your work on a remote server is also atypical of the average MacBook users needs. Obviously the rMB makes perfect sense for you and your workload. I'd argue that's not so for the average user, again reinforcing that this is currently a niche market product. As I mentioned earlier, the download speed of the internet at any given access point is not likely to anywhere near close to the speeds your getting at home on your state of the art network. So leaving that to chance for large file downloads seems risky. I know it wouldn't be the first time I've gotten stuck using public internet somewhere without the bandwidth to do what I needed to do quickly. And that's to say nothing of not having enough time to copy all of the files that I need before I leave even from my high speed home network server, so to be able to simply grab the drive that I need and go is a blessing.
I have compared the 12" rMB right next to a 11" MBA in the Apple store. I just didn't see the difference enough to justify the price. I have a 2014 13" rMBP and a 2011 13" MBP. I find them virtually indistinguishable when working on them. I do see a noticeable difference between the Retina iPad and the iPad 2, but then again I'm holding those devices inches away from my face. Not so with the MacBooks. And as I've said before, the fan almost never comes on in my MacBooks. And of course as I've already stated numerous times, I don't see any substantial difference between the size and weight, certainly not enough to have to carry around a bunch of hubs and dongles to be prepared, especially for the price difference.
So as a purely niche product for a niche user, it's probably fantastic. For the average consumer who will be looking to buy a new MacBook to use with their current hardware, perhaps not so much. For me, I keep going back to Apple necessarily expanding their product line for what seems to be a niche market. If they truly intend to force their flock down the wireless path, then they should have just discontinued the MBA altogether and made us all deal with it, or upgrade to a MBP. As it stands they're just cannibalizing from the MBA while supporting 3 different models, and allowing people to continue to lag behind in their old ways. Dropping the floppy and CD from the iMac, SCSI and firewire from the PowerBook and MacBook at least forced customers into the new paradigm. This decision waffles around the issue and ends up costing Apple money.
USB-C is the future. The MacBook Pro will probably get 2 Thunderbolt 3 ports when it is completely redesigned, since it offers the benefits of USB-C. The MacBook of the future may or may not get Thunderbolt 3. In any case, the MacBook Air will gradually be deprecated and the MacBook will be the entry level Mac in a few years.