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Author Topic: open letter to Apple  (Read 7638 times)

Endeavour

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open letter to Apple
« on: November 07, 2016, 07:00:55 pm »

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Pictus

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Re: open letter to Apple
« Reply #1 on: November 07, 2016, 07:56:39 pm »

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Endeavour

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Re: open letter to Apple
« Reply #2 on: November 07, 2016, 08:04:13 pm »

haha
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Torbjörn Tapani

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Re: open letter to Apple
« Reply #3 on: November 08, 2016, 06:05:24 am »

I can't even feel sorry for folks invested in Apple gear. Memory is so short. Apple dictates what you need. And you don't need ports. Classic Apple :)
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Jeremy Roussak

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Re: open letter to Apple
« Reply #4 on: November 08, 2016, 01:16:33 pm »

I can't even feel sorry for folks invested in Apple gear. Memory is so short. Apple dictates what you need. And you don't need ports. Classic Apple :)

I'll survive without your sympathy, I expect. Apple has done things similar to this in the past, when they removed floppy disk drives and, later, CD/DVD drives. The howls of disapproval died down pretty quickly. I'll miss the MagSafe power connector, which I did find useful, but in a short time there will be a multitude of USB-C devices. Until then, adaptors are cheap.

Jeremy
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NancyP

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Re: open letter to Apple
« Reply #5 on: November 08, 2016, 05:14:47 pm »

Yes. The MagSafe connector was a great idea, and I really thought that they would keep it on.
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NancyP

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Re: open letter to Apple
« Reply #6 on: November 08, 2016, 05:36:58 pm »

The matte screen has been gone for a while now (all Retina MBPs are glossy), but I like it (I have the last MBP made with a matte screen, the mid-2010). I can understand that the maximum resolution of a Retina screen might not be compatible with the matte screen surface used in the old days, but I would think that some materials engineer would have some slightly less glossy screen material on offer.

And tops of 16 G RAM seems dumb. I would rather have more RAM, say, 32 G, and a slightly bigger form (and 1 Tb should be fine for the drive). I like to buy computers that are somewhat future proof - that can hang on for 6 or 7 years - and that generally means that I max out on RAM up front. I take good care of my laptops, and I have had zero trouble with my MBs and MBPs, with the annoying exception of a vertical row of pixels at the far left of the screen (it runs through the Lightroom directory etc panel).

Finally - I liked having a full set of different ports. if you insist on having only USB-C, at least ship the computers with a fully tested and functional multi-port adapter in the box:  USB-A/B, Lightning, Thunderbolt 2/3, FireWire (dating myself here - but I do have a few FW drives sitting around). USB A/B thumb drives are ubiquitous in academia, as cheap transport for presentation files, etc. I carry my thumb drive to the lecture hall and plug it into the AV computer belonging to that room - I don't bother with dragging the computer over and putzing with adapters.
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FabienP

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Re: open letter to Apple
« Reply #7 on: November 10, 2016, 04:37:08 pm »

It looks like the author of the article cited by the OP forgot to take his pills and is slowly awaking from his Stockholm syndrome dream. Where is Putin's nurse with her big syringe when you need her? ;D

Thankfully, Microsoft managed to alienate enough users with flaky updates and telemetry in Windows 10 so there will not be too many defectors.

The matte screen has been gone for a while now (all Retina MBPs are glossy), but I like it (I have the last MBP made with a matte screen, the mid-2010). I can understand that the maximum resolution of a Retina screen might not be compatible with the matte screen surface used in the old days, but I would think that some materials engineer would have some slightly less glossy screen material on offer.

AFAIK the lack of matte screens has nothing to do with retina resolution. New 4K monitors from NEC et al. have similar pixel densities and are available as matte screens. Standardising on a type of screen might make sourcing of components easier. To me, this is really a point that could alienate potential users. But people who care about accurate displays likely only represent 1% of total MBP sales.

Also, since MacOS and Windows 10 both use memory compression by default, the need for more than 16 Gb memory might not yet be there outside of the workstation and server world. This apparently includes people doing video editing, according to this article.

Cheers,

Fabien
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luxborealis

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Re: open letter to Apple
« Reply #8 on: November 10, 2016, 05:51:13 pm »

I've been an Apple user since the first Mac Classic in the early 1990s and have no regrets. I continue to believe I can be more creative in an Apple environment as I can focus on what's in front of me rather than what's under the hood, but I'm now beginning to question my thinking.

We've had glimpses of Apple's ignorance of the needs of pros for sometime now given the debacle of Final Cut and the loss of Aperture, but the latest release of MBPs, as evidenced by this open letter and scads of other opinions, really shows how Apple is putting glitz and market attractiveness ahead of the needs of people who really use their products. Apple are clearly building amazing machines with truly "pro" features (e.g. wide-gamut displays), but consistently handcuff power users with other decisions, the 16GB ram limit being a case in point.

This extends to iPad Pros, as well, which are not "pro" if I can't keep my same work flow on tablet and laptop/desktop environments as is possible with, for e.g. LR on Surface Oros and laptops/desktops. iOS on iPad Pros is lame with the number of work around required to get to the same point as on a laptop/desktop system.

Let's face it, the vast majority of Apple-buyers are not Pros relying on pro features and Apple are now cow-towing to these buyers more so than ever. It's sad to see a company lose its way. Perhaps they will find it again. I still prefer the vast majority of Apple products over the equivalent Windows options. Hopefully before upgrading my laptop better options will be available.
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ppmax2

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Re: open letter to Apple
« Reply #9 on: November 10, 2016, 09:16:08 pm »

I've been an Apple user since the first Mac Classic in the early 1990s and have no regrets. I continue to believe I can be more creative in an Apple environment as I can focus on what's in front of me rather than what's under the hood, but I'm now beginning to question my thinking.

We've had glimpses of Apple's ignorance of the needs of pros for sometime now given the debacle of Final Cut and the loss of Aperture, but the latest release of MBPs, as evidenced by this open letter and scads of other opinions, really shows how Apple is putting glitz and market attractiveness ahead of the needs of people who really use their products. Apple are clearly building amazing machines with truly "pro" features (e.g. wide-gamut displays), but consistently handcuff power users with other decisions, the 16GB ram limit being a case in point.

This extends to iPad Pros, as well, which are not "pro" if I can't keep my same work flow on tablet and laptop/desktop environments as is possible with, for e.g. LR on Surface Oros and laptops/desktops. iOS on iPad Pros is lame with the number of work around required to get to the same point as on a laptop/desktop system.

Let's face it, the vast majority of Apple-buyers are not Pros relying on pro features and Apple are now cow-towing to these buyers more so than ever. It's sad to see a company lose its way. Perhaps they will find it again. I still prefer the vast majority of Apple products over the equivalent Windows options. Hopefully before upgrading my laptop better options will be available.

I think this fellow would beg to differ:
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/thomas-grove-carter/one-professionals-look-at_b_12894856.html

He's editing *5K ProRes* on a new MBP and doesnt appear to be hobbled or hampered by any of the limitations you mention. In fact he says it's "buttery smooth." It's only one person's opinion of course...YMMV.

FWIW, I mourn the loss of Aperture too...but I'm still using it for library management and all the pics that don't require "extraordinary" processing.

I tried a non-TouchBar MBP at an Apple store the other day: I can't imagine being disappointed with the performance of Apple's new laptops.

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rdonson

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Re: open letter to Apple
« Reply #10 on: November 11, 2016, 12:02:22 pm »

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Regards,
Ron

rdonson

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Re: open letter to Apple
« Reply #11 on: November 11, 2016, 02:30:24 pm »

In poor taste at the very least
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Regards,
Ron

Endeavour

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Re: open letter to Apple
« Reply #12 on: November 11, 2016, 04:03:43 pm »

In poor taste at the very least

funny though
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luxborealis

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Re: open letter to Apple
« Reply #13 on: November 11, 2016, 04:26:18 pm »

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Terry McDonald - luxBorealis.com

Farmer

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Re: open letter to Apple
« Reply #14 on: November 12, 2016, 04:59:09 am »

Yeah, and Bill Gates was on the money when he said 640kb was enough.

If you're paging then you don't have enough memory - a fast SSD is just no substitute for fast RAM.  Whilst an individual app might be OK most of the time, how many people only do one thing or only have one thing open?  You might not be chewing processor time with multiple operations, but you have stuff in memory.  16GB isn't going to kill anyone, but removing the option because slower RAM was going to be an issue?  As I said, slower RAM is still orders of magnitude faster than fast SSD.  The storage is always the bottleneck - everything you can do to avoid having to go to storage helps.

Apple have pioneered many changes and advances, but they've also made mistakes.  That's OK - every company does.  Automatically accepting everything they do with blind faith isn't a great business decision.
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Phil Brown

rdonson

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Regards,
Ron

Garnick

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Re: open letter to Apple
« Reply #16 on: November 13, 2016, 03:04:50 pm »

Jeez, a small dose of dark humor never harmed anyone.

Your opinion, but most definitely NOT one I agree with.  I imagine you went even darker on voting day!  Too bad.
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Gary N.
"My memory isn't what it used to be. As a matter of fact it never was." (gan)

Hans Kruse

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Re: open letter to Apple
« Reply #17 on: November 15, 2016, 06:37:08 am »

I have ordered a new 15" with the bigger GPU and 1TB SSD. The 2TB would be nice to have but too pricy compared to my needs.

I'm happy with the retina screen in past MBP's and yes, you can sit in a way that the reflection is annoying, but it is easy to avoid. The only thing I might be missing is the magsafe. The USB-C is in my opinion coming fast and dongles will be gone. In the meantime it's not a problem having them in the bag. I will also order the LG 5K display when it is available for ordering. I have a 4K display now, but it is not the perfect option for the Mac at 27" due the way scaling is done. Only one cable between the screen and the MBP is great. When I use the MBP as a desktop the new OLED strip is not useful as there is not (yet) an external keyboard with this available.

16GB will be enough for me as effectively with memory compression it is like 24GB and I never have memory pressure. I think for Lightroom the new bigger and less power consuming GPU will be welcome for Lightroom editing. I will know when I get the machine. I will miss the SD card reader but I always carry a card reader anyway so it is not a big issue.

All in all I'm for the changes and the smaller form factor and weight is not bad either. People always complain about changes. I have an electric car and compared to a fossil car this is a huge upgrade. I like progress. I think this MBP is progress despite what the working pros say. I'm one too that differ in opinion.

Joe Towner

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Re: open letter to Apple
« Reply #18 on: November 15, 2016, 03:37:57 pm »

So Apple is missing a few different cables:

- USB-C to TB cable, really should be male-male rather than the TB female (and like 1m) for the same price.  One less joint, and one less cable you need to have on hand

- USB-C to Magsafe2 nub - literally as small as possible, lets you use your existing Magsafe2 plugs with same break away safety

- USB-C 90 degree cable - flush to the side of the laptop for low profile use, with USB-C straight on the other end

The perfect dock for me would be one that actually clamps to the bottom of the laptop, and stays attached by grabbing the USB-C ports on both sides.

I just purchased the USB-C to TB and USB-C to USB-A adapters - they should be 1/3 the price due to the over packaging that is happening.  It's disgusting, the absolute waste for an adapter that most folks will need for the next few years.
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NancyP

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Re: open letter to Apple
« Reply #19 on: November 16, 2016, 05:01:37 pm »

Yes, the single most resented loss in the new MBPs is our beloved MagSafe.
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