Design For the Present (marco.org) 299
Technology critic Marco Arment, who co-hosts an Apple-centric podcast called ATP with John Siracusa and Casey Liss, has shared his take on the design of the recently launched MacBook Pro models. Apple's decision to get rid of USB Type-A ports has irked many, with some saying that the company should have left at least a few USB Type-A ports on the computer, even if what it strives to do is lead the industry in how a computer should look like. Arment shares the sentiment. From a blog post: The new MacBook Pro is probably great, and most of the initial skepticism probably won't age well. But I want to pick on one aspect today. Having four USB-C ports is awesome. Having only four USB-C ports is going to hurt the versatility requirement of pro gear, because there's a very real chance that you won't have the right dongle when you need it. This is going to happen a lot, because even though USB-C is the future, it's definitely not the present. We've had the standard USB plug (USB-A) in widespread use for 18 years, and it's going to take a few more years for USB-C to become so ubiquitous that we can get away without USB-A ports most of the time. A pro laptop released today should definitely have USB-C ports -- mostly USB-C ports, even -- but it should also have at least one USB-A port. Including a port that's still in extremely widespread use isn't an admission of failure or holding onto the past -- it's making a pragmatic tradeoff for customers' real-world needs. I worry when Apple falls on the wrong side of decisions like that, because it's putting form (and profitability) over function."Design for the future, but accommodate the reality of the present," he adds.
Where's the parallel port (Score:4, Funny)
I'm still angry I can't connect my dot matrix line printer using a parallel port so I can print off all the ascii art I have stored on my floppies.
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I used to have a USB to serial adapter......I never used it, so it go freecycled off to someone else, but I've also seen them for parallel ports and 3.5" floppy drives. The U means Universal.....let's use it as such. I don't need a new proprietary port on my laptop waiting for people to build modules for my laptop's manufacturer's port.
The flip side of having the right dongle (Score:4, Interesting)
No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame.
When everything is USC-C then this whole argument about having the right dongle inverts. Right now I have storage bins filled with various saved cables converting between all different USB plugs, DVI, HDMI, VGAWall warts with all different diameter plugs, firewire, thunderbolt... I'm sure I have over 100 cables to cover all the possible ports on the vavious machines in my office.
Standardizing on one port for the next 5 to ten years is going to be a joy. I'll gladly carry dongles for he various peripheral connectors I target if I can at least standardized one end of them to USB-C. It's the interconversions that turn a few into many by creating a product space.
Re:The flip side of having the right dongle (Score:5, Interesting)
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Yup. And as we saw when Mac was the first to go from PS/2 to USB, if you don't get rid of the old stuff then everything will continue to use it - for fuckin' ever. Someone has to be "brave" enough to go first, and historically that's been Apple - PS/2, parallel, serial, CD-ROM, etc, etc.
I'ma let you finish but... (Score:2)
No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame [slashdot.org]
I was going to mod you up for that, but:
./'s salad days alive
1. that joke's old enough to get it's learner's permit
2. hence, you should provide a link, since some posters won't be properly imbued in troll lore
3. CmdrTaco's loooonnng gone, so we don't get the added satisfaction kicking him again when we beat that dead horse some more.
but hey, kudos on keeping the memory of
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When everything is USC-C then this whole argument about having the right dongle inverts. Right now I have storage bins filled with various saved cables converting between all different USB plugs, DVI, HDMI, VGAWall warts with all different diameter plugs, firewire, thunderbolt... I'm sure I have over 100 cables to cover all the possible ports on the vavious machines in my office.
Standardizing on one port for the next 5 to ten years is going to be a joy.
Except that's not how it works. By the time USB-C becomes ubiquitous, USB-D will be introduced and the whole thing starts all over again.
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By the time USB-C becomes ubiquitous, USB-D will be introduced and the whole thing starts all over again.
Unlikely. Everyone's tired of the shifting standards and everyone is ready to take a break and let USB-C become ubiquitous.
USB-C allows the full bandwidth of USB 3.1 to be used, allows enough power to run a real laptop, and has a well-designed connector (good connection, and the only USB connector that is symmetric so there is no "upside-down", it works either way). Also when USB-C becomes ubiquitous,
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Well it looks like the USB A connector has had a good ~20 year run.
That's a good point. And I'd much rather see USB-C emerge as the ubiquitous one than the special blue USB-A [wikipedia.org] with the extra pins (paired with the special blue USB-B [wikipedia.org] with extra pins, giant and ugly), or the weird Micro-USB connector [wikipedia.org] that is extra wide.
The rule should be "if you see USB-A, assume USB 2.x or older; if you see USB-C, you can assume you get USB 3.x speeds."
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https://xkcd.com/927/
This one [xkcd.com] is more appropriate (but it's missing USB-C, heh).
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No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame.
When everything is USC-C then this whole argument about having the right dongle inverts.
I agree. But I bet when that will happen 90% of those buying a Macbook Pro today will have bought a new laptop.
Standardizing on one port for the next 5 to ten years is going to be a joy.
Agreed. That's why Apple is wrong with proprietary ports such as Lightning and Dock. They should have used USB-C and micro-USB instead, like everyone else.
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Agreed. That's why Apple is wrong with proprietary ports such as Lightning and Dock. They should have used USB-C and micro-USB instead, like everyone else.
Yup. And if USB-C had been out when they came out with Lightning they would probably have gone with it. But it wasn't - and it not unreasonable to provide a few years of value for any given port you use.
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They could have waited just one more year with Dock (that they should never have used to begin with) and switch directly to USB-C.
Anyways, if they are going to switch the iPhone to USB-C, the sooner the less painful. Switching to USB-C after 5 iPhone iterations doesn't make any more sense than switching after just 1 on lightning. The other option is to stick to lightning until USB-D or whatever comes out in 20 years. I prefer they switch now.
As a reasonable consumer, when you buy a phone with a proprietary
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Sure you can! They make USB adapters. Problem is... they're USB-A adapters. Still need an adapter for the adapter to work on the "Pro" laptop.
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Yes, but... Apple is a change agent. (Score:5, Insightful)
Apple has always taken the role of change agent. If you don't forcefully abandon the past, it drags on. You end up supporting legacy requirements forever.
They've always taken that approach (remember abandoning floppies on the iMac, and what a hoo-ha there was over that?). It's painful at the start, but it acts as an impetuous for change in the market. A year from now you'll see PC's with only USB-C ports, and you'll see a proliferation of USB-C devices... starting with USB-C to USB-A converters.
It's painful, but it drives progress. Apple is "brave" enough to take the risk of impact to their bottom line to lead that change.
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It takes courage to act impetuous for change
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Apple has always taken the role of change agent. If you don't forcefully abandon the past, it drags on.
That's why Firewire is the de facto standard for so many peripherals now.
Re:Yes, but... Apple is a change agent. (Score:4, Informative)
https://www.google.com/search?... [google.com]
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Apple has always taken the role of change agent. If you don't forcefully abandon the past, it drags on.
That's why Firewire is the de facto standard for so many peripherals now.
You mean IEEE 1394? Bash Apple if you want, but that was a case of them going with the standard instead of doing something weird.
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And if I buy a brand new iphone, the sync cable has USB-A. Cowards.
They are selling a lot more iPhones than new MacBook Pros.
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I meant to type "And yet if I buy...".
The point is that Apple's argument for going all USB-C on the MBP is that USB-C is the future, and the fact that USB-A is ubiquitous today is not a valid excuse. The MBP team is expecting the entire rest of the world to abandon USB-A and switch to USB-C right now.
But this is undercut by the iPhone team. If Apple truly believed that USB-C was the way to go then the iPhone would have an USB-C connector. It doesn't, because the iPhone team is recognizing that it is pre
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The change from floppy to everything else would have happened with or without the iMac. The technology was there and was being adopted fast. CDs, USB thumb drives, network... Not having a floppy drive on the first iMac was dumb. Floppy was still useful back then. My college bought a whole lab full of iMacs. They also bought a USB-floppy drive for every single iMac. It completely defeated the purpose of having a clean computer and also added to the cost (probably by a factor of 3-5x over an internal floppy d
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No.
When USB was first introduced and Apple put it into the iMac, did they ship a mini-DIN keyboard with it and expect you to buy a dongle? No. It shipped with peripherals that worked out of the box.
What Apple is doing now is shipping a device with no native port compatibility with the rest of their product line, and then demanding that people buy dongles that Apple expects to become obsolete after the transition phase from USB-A to USB-C.
As for supporting legacy requirements forever, consider that USB-A i
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What Apple is doing now is shipping a device with no native port compatibility with the rest of their product line, and then demanding that people buy dongles that Apple expects to become obsolete after the transition phase from USB-A to USB-C.
Eh, they're shipping a laptop. And they're including a USB-C power supply. A laptop, which in many cases even in professional environments literally never has anything other than that power supply plugged into it.
the market will decide on its own, just as it did when USB-A first came out and a rapid-growing ecosystem of peripherals supported it based on its merits over the old serial port technology
The same market that kept making PS/2 keyboards and mice long after USB came out, until Apple dropped the ports? That market?
Its not the end of the world, and let's stop pretending that it is, mmmkay?
Re: Yes, but... Apple is a change agent. (Score:3)
Also the USB people miss here was introduced with the iMac in which it replaced all the legacy Apple connectors. Without that USB would have never caught. Sometimes you need to drag things into the future kicking and screaming or they will never move.
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Tell me then, how many products do you see still using USB-mini? How about USB 1.0? CD-ROM (or DVD-RAM)? Where'd the PATA ports go? Why is that I can't find a power supply with ISA card support?
USB 1.0 devices still work just fine in any USB-A port. Mini-USB devices are still common, but only on the B (device) end, the host being USB-A. I have a few on my desk. CD-ROM and DVD-RAM can still be read in DVD and BD drives, although they are being phased out on laptops because of size constrains. PATA was gradually phased out too, motherboards included both PATA and SATA during the transition. That's the way you do a smooth transition. Oh and current ATX power supply can still power those ISA cards bec
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Let's pretend you're a device manufacturer. USB-C is "the future" but many computers don't have it, and any computer that has USB-C also has the old stuff. What do you do?
You stay the fuck away from USB-C of course. Its the same reason that nobody built OS/2 software once they added a Windows compatibility layer.
Want people to build USB-C peripherals? You have to create an environment in which they're needed. Like it or not, Apple has historically held that position (see also PS/2, floppies, CD-ROMs, V
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Incidentally, the external PCIe that's effectively available on that stupid macbookpro might be useful - at worst, you'd use some ugly overpriced enclosure like those in the CP/M days before I was born, with PCIe and PCI cards in them. Thunderbolt to PC Card adapter looks possible too. They speak PCI underneath and I suppose you can use a PC Card card today on USB-C-Thunderbolt, through ridiculous means - adapter from the newer to the older Thunderbolt connector, Thunderbolt to PCIe adapter, PCIe to PCI ada
You only need one accessory (Score:5, Informative)
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You just need one of these [xkcd.com]
Well, you'd think so. But it doesn't have a USB-C adapter!
2 or 4 ports with one being needed for power is to (Score:2)
2 or 4 ports with one being needed for power is to low. At least have a power in port. and maybe at least 1 USB-A port.
Just wait for desktops to drop e-net and only have (Score:2)
Just wait for desktops to drop e-net and only have 4 usb-c ports. So after 2 $30 USB-C to A dongles and $30 USB-C to E-net one you only have one left that you need to use for power.
Consistency is hobgoblin of little minds (Score:2)
Old Rage Is New Again (Score:2, Insightful)
For everyone in froth mode, google the following: SCSI, USB, Optical Drive, BlueTooth Keyboard, Firewire, Ethernet, Mouse, Graphical Interface, etc. etc. From the arguments that function keys are better for word processing because a mouse take a hand off the keyboard, to where's the PS/2 port since no one sells USB keyboards, Apple has ALWAYS been the first (big player) to adopt new technology. And people ALWAYS spend a year complaining, until Dell etc. follow suit and becomes common place.
So rage away, b
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And that's because that transition year (or most likely 2-5 years these days) IS painful. When Dell and all other switches it's because the timing is good, not because Apple was somewhat right. If I buy a PC next year I can already tell you it will have at least one USB-A ports. And even if in 5 years every single gadget, device, TV switched to USB-C (which I doubt), I will still say that Apple was wrong in 2016 not to include any other port because USB-A is still useful today.
Also Apple isn't always the fi
Presently... Apple hates competition (Score:4, Interesting)
Anyone with a clue knows they removed the headphone jack because PoS services such as Square Reader were in direct competition with Apple Pay and Square relied heavily on the jack. Courage is nothing but marketing bullshit.
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Actually, the Square Reader is now a contactless stand-alone. The headphone jack dongle is obsolete.
If you are not using the new device, you can only process swipe cards.
So,actually, anyone with a clue doesn't agree with you.
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Lol. They removed it for a reason, but Square didn't compete with and doesn't now compete with Apple's payment systems.
I would look more in the direction of Beats. A shit set of headphones which none the less come in a lot of bluetooth variants.
There's a great opportunity there for someone (Score:3)
Obviously, times have changed and their allegiances lie with the mainstream consumer market. And given the obligations of good-old "fiduciary duty to stockholders", all professional users as a group are being thanked for their undying support by been dumped unceremoniously as un-necessary baggage they probably don't even want to remember anything about.
Now please do not confuse this post for yet another garden-variety rant about how "they've abandoned us". Rather, it should be obvious that there well may be a splendid opportunity here for smaller, more nimble hardware manufacturers to address this situation and take advantage of this void Apple has left behind by making a whole line of professional desktop and laptop systems squarely aimed at this market, with the possibility of their components being so well matched and compatible to Cupertino requirements that these machines could easily run under OS-X as Hackintosh rather than merely the plain vanilla Windows OS they would ship with. Legally speaking, there is nothing that can be done against building PCs that use similar enough compatible components, even if they're one generation behind it probably would still be good enough to satisfy most everyone. Let Apple have all of the fancy gadgets like touch-bar, which obviously isn't the sort of thing pro users need yet. (It may be once software out there can take advantage of these features, but that's years down the road)
There probably is a reasonably massive market out there for people willing to pay for Pro hardware that would be exactly compatible with Apple software, even if installing it is something they have to do themselves because the legality of it might otherwise be a bit fuzzy; and obviously Apple couldn't be arsed to license their OS to someone willing to do what they can't fathom doing themselves.
There's gotta be a way for someone out there to manufacture and sell the products Apple refuses to make and meet this demand
Apple never did this. (Score:5, Insightful)
Apple has always been slightly ahead of the game, in part because their products sometimes have a long life between refreshes. The assumption is normally that the old ports will go away quickly.
Unfortunately, USB is a little different, mainly because of the prevalence of thumb drives, for which an adapter is somewhat impractical because it is as big as the device you're plugging in, because people carry them in their pockets, because recent thumb drives last for years before you replace them, and because you don't always plug them into your computer (which greatly raises the risk of the thumb drive's owner not owning an adapter, much less having it with him/her).
The new MacBook Pro added some very consumer-centric features while removing lots of pro-centric features under the theory that wireless will somehow replace those features. I don't think Apple has really taken the time to understand just how slow wireless is in practice. In the absence of an 802.11ac infrastructure base station, the maximum speed two devices can communicate with each other is 802.11g speeds, or about 54 Mb/s. A 5D Mark IV RAW file can be ~60 MB. So it takes ~9 seconds to transfer a single photo. UHS-I can potentially read at ~100 megabytes per second, so it takes 0.6 seconds to transfer a photo. Transferring a batch of photos (say 500 photos for a day of light shooting) takes an hour and 15 minutes over Wi-Fi (long enough to run your camera battery down completely). Transferring the same photos via SD takes five minutes and doesn't run down your battery at all. And it is much easier to shove an SD card into the side of your machine than to keep your camera tethered by USB and using it to transfer photos and takes up less space in your bag than a separate flash card reader or a USB cable.
And then there's HDMI. Apple has always removed ports designed for computer video when newer ports come out, under the assumption that old monitors will get replaced with newer monitors with the new ports. The problem comes when TV is factored in. HDMI is a shared standard used by television sets, Blu-Ray players, etc. None of that gear will benefit from newer standards, and worse, has a much longer service life (decades) than computer monitors. Hotel room TVs will likely have HDMI ports in twenty years. So basically by removing the port, Apple is saying that they don't think most users need to connect their computer to anything except in their homes. Worse, most users who are impacted by this won't even know that they're going to be impacted. If connecting their computer to a TV is something you do every day, you'll have the adapter. Most people who are affected, however, are folks who suddenly decide to stay in the hotel and watch something on Netflix. Those folks won't even own the adapter, much less have it with them. And when they realize that they have to drive three hours to an Apple store to get a special adapter, it will sour their perception of Apple's product line.
These sorts of decisions aren't the sorts of bad decisions that kill a product line in the short term. They don't impact product sales for that model. They're the sorts of bad decisions that insidiously diminish users' expectations, leading them to question future product purchases. Unfortunately, the MBAs won't be able to connect cause and effect, which means they'll keep making the same sorts of mistakes.
Or, just... (Score:2)
It's not as if this has never occurred before......VGA to DVI (video), PS2 to USB (mouse and Keyboard), ISA to EISA, etc..
What a stupid premise.
Yes please, let Apple lead (Score:2)
From everything I've read about USB C, I really like it, except for its lack of widespread adoption. I'm actually happy that Apple is leading the way in this upgrade, and expect it will be a big benefit to me.
Of course, if I intended to buy any Apple products, I'd be pissed.
Bought a MB pro this summer (Score:2)
Apple, you are better that this effort.
Not just USB (Score:2)
Yes, I agree that hardware improves over time, but some specialized applications depend on the old hardware
Lots of old stuff depends on a hardware parallel port..NOT an emulated USB to parallel printer adapter
Even more stuff, mostly industrial, requires a serial port, and sometimes the USB to serial adapters don't quite work
The mass consumer market is not the entire computing market
Not great argument (Score:2)
And the MacBooks ports aren't just USB-C they are Thunderbolt-3 / USB-C.
it could have been so much worse. (Score:3)
Re:time to dial back the shill (Score:4, Insightful)
the truth is apple delt a killing blow to their laptop market with the USB C idea, the AMOLED bar, removing the escape key, and whatever paint-fume induced psychosis goes on in the development labs these days.
I dunno if it's the removal of the escape key that really scares me.
They removed the power button and replaced it with a software button. There is apparently no longer any way to manually turn the new MacBook Pros off and on. The removal of the "Mac startup sound" is apparently because they now automatically boot when opened. Or something.
Macs are not that reliable. I've routinely had to force-shutdown Macs or reset NVRAM simply to get the display working again.
You won't be able to on the new MBPs. They're simply missing the power button entirely - instead it's a "software" button on the "Touch Bar."
But you're right, they've killed their laptops. This "update" is so underwhelming and the lack of updates to other parts of the ecosystem so badly needed that every Mac fan I know is starting to look into plans to abandon Mac. It's become clear that Apple has.
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There's no reason a software-controllable button can't also be reliable. It's called a failsafe. Maintain contact for X seconds, and a completely separate circuit takes over and switches off the power. I'm willing to bet that Apple engineers thought of this.
Re:time to dial back the shill (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm surprised that Belkin or someone else hasn't made a C-to-MagSafe adapter for MacBook owners.
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There is a third-party magsafe-like adaptor, but Apple has patents on the MagSafe connector and so no one else can sell compatible things in the USA. The one thing that I'd actually like for them to have required a dongle for is power - a small dongle that plugs into USB-C and exposes a MagSafe port so that you still get the MagSafe goodness.
That said, no upgrade for me until they come with 32GB of RAM. 16GB in the current one is my biggest performance limit, so a slightly faster CPU and GPU with only
Magsafe to USB-C (Score:5, Informative)
I'm surprised that Belkin or someone else hasn't made a C-to-MagSafe adapter for MacBook owners.
You mean like this one [9to5mac.com]?
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If nobody has done it yet, I hope someone does, if for no other reason than to make my existing extra magsafe adapters live a bit longer.
Re:time to dial back the shill (Score:4, Informative)
Having four USB-C ports is awesome.
[...]How do we expect to issue this kit to the world that hasnt embraced "bravery" and thrown away every still entirely functional USB device they own?
Case in point: I currently have 9 USB-A cables connected to my desktop, and recently had to get a hub to plug in more. I have yet to put my hands on a single USB-C device.
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Same here... but one of those devices is a USB floppy disk drive. Clearly the MacBook Pro isn't for me, as I am attached to retro computers and devices. Perhaps the MacBook Pro is similarly not for anyone still attached to USB-A peripherals.
Apple is the future, unbound by modern convention. Those unchangeable liberal news sources you get in the default iOS news app? That's the future. Embrace it. Magsafe? That's the past, give it up. USB-C? If you want anything else, pay a dongle tax, because you live in
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Well, and this is actually exactly why Apple has removed all the USB-A ports on their laptop.
On the face of it, it's a hassle. There's really no arguing with it. But if you're the sort of person that buys Mac hardware, it's this full commitment to one port that will cause accessories manufacturers to start selling more USB-C devices.
Apple pulls this sort of stuff because it nips the whole chicken-and-egg race in the bud. You no longer have a problem where nothing has USB-C ports because there are no USB-C a
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As for the DongleDangle, and being in the very real situation of needing a dongle that is at home based on an unexpected trip over to a remote site, I get it, and I hate it. For me personally at this point, I really need a built-in Ethernet, HDMI, and USB-A ports. In a pinch I can survive without HDMI for a few hours, but when it comes to the other two it puts me pretty much dead in the water.
It
Made up "facts" (Score:3)
did you forget it requires an adapter to connect an iphone?
No it does not [apple.com]. You can use an adapter if you need to but it is not required.
unless you've real work to do. the future is swell until i need to transfer files to a dead server in the datacenter at 4 AM.
We can all contrive made up situations where having the wrong ports is a theoretical problem. Has this actually happened to you in real life? If not then I'm not sure what you are complaining about.
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No it does not [apple.com]. You can use an adapter if you need to but it is not required.
I'm not sure that having to buy a $25 cable to connect a BRAND new iPhone 7 (or 6, 5, 4, etc.) to your laptop is really convincing anyone that Apple's new port decisions isn't pretty darn onerous.
We can all contrive made up situations where having the wrong ports is a theoretical problem. Has this actually happened to you in real life? If not then I'm not sure what you are complaining about.
I frequently go to academic conferences. The kind of places where people hook up laptops and put on powerpoint displays to audiences of academics. It's humorous watch PC users just plug in, while Mac users have to fiddle through a bag of dongles and figure out what one fits (HDMI? DP? MiniDP? now USB-C? etc.). Same
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What I need from the technology industry is to PLAY WELL WITH OTHERS.
You are never, ever, going to get that from Apple. There's no use in crying about it. It's like getting mad that an insane serial killer won't stop trying to kill people, or that a rabid dog keeps trying to bite people. A tiger will never change its stripes. What people need to do is stop buying from companies like that.
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You're an idiot.
did you forget it requires an adapter to connect an iphone?
Did you forget that Apple could easily release a USB-C-to-lightning cable that will obviate the need to use a dongle with an existing USB-A-to-lightning cable?
Did you forget what the words won't age well actually mean?
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That reminds me of the 3 separate adaptors I needed for 3 subsequent versions of the Mini. I was only an Apple user for a short time but they managed to change the monitor outputs on every single revision.
Now those help clutter up a drawer somewhere.
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Just because they release a cable, doesn't in any way mean people should be happy about it.
Apple is *forcing* people to buy a cable so that you can connect an iDevice with your laptop. Apple does not include a USB-C cable with *any* of the iDevices. That means they are knowingly and intentionally selling you devices that are fundamentally incompatible unless you fork over *additional money* for the privilege.
If they had started including the relevant cables in their iDevices, then that would be fine. But
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No, the guy has a bit of a point, though he probably didn't express it very well.
The real key is that business laptops are not like consumer-grade laptops. Business laptops have to be more conservative, because they can be used in a lot of different environments, and compatibility and capability is more important than fancy looks and light weight and small size. Serious business laptops have always been bigger and bulkier, and have long retained older features for the sake of compatibility. I'm typing th
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Re:Apple is primarily a jewlery company (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Apple is primarily a jewlery company (Score:4, Funny)
What do you mean? That have a wonderful market in dongles!
From the GP:
"queer eye for the queer guy"
And you wonder why they have lots of "dongles" dangling off their products? Hmmm?
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USB-C is a Standard, anyone can use that standard to make adaptors.
This is not Apple proprietary hardware.
Given Apples prices, I would guess most people will buy what adaptors they need (if any) from 3rd parties.
Hopefully, Apple will prevent that. They can easily add a check in the OS so that only Apple-approved dongles are allowed, and others are ignored. This would be a good thing to do in the name of "protecting the customer" from "potentially harmful" 3rd-party devices. And of course would be great f
Apple is a software company (Score:5, Insightful)
Jobs and now Tim Cook are just "queer eye for the queer guy" marketers with no unique features in their devices whatsoever.
You mean except for all the software which you cannot get from anyone but Apple.
This is what people don't seem to get about Apple. Apple is a software company [youtube.com]. Don't take my word for it because Steve Jobs is the one that said it. Software is what makes their products different. Apple's hardware is barely different from their competition aside from some fit and finish details. People buy Apple gear and pay a premium for it because of their software. It's why they are so profitable and why their margins strongly resemble those of Microsoft rather than Dell. What makes Apple kind of unique as a software company is that they will not sell you the software as a standalone product in most cases. They only sell it with a (usually good quality) piece of hardware optimized to use their software.
Apple is an interface company (Score:5, Interesting)
Fixed the subject line for you.
Apple creates superior interfaces. Through custom (& patented) hardware and software. And a lot of thought.
Personally I can't stand the Apple tax (that those same patents enable), but as an engineer, designer and analyst I have to give them full credit for their interfaces. Well. Thought. Out.
As to the latest MBP, it is much like Windows 10 -- put annoying stuff into your product when sales are flagging -- it will give the press something to chatter about and any publicity is good publicity.
Nope - software comany (Score:3)
Fixed the subject line for you.
No you didn't. Apple is a software company that happens to understand the value of good interfaces, good hardware design, and well built products. Software with a well thought out interface is still software. The value and defining characteristics of a company is what they make themselves. Apple cannot be a hardware company because they don't make any hardware themselves. It's all outsourced. That wasn't what was valuable about what they do. Apple kept two functions in house. Software and product de
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What software? I've owned Macs. There's nothing that Apple makes that I found terribly impressive or special. It's also not anything that can't be replaced by multiple alternatives.
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What software? I've owned Macs. There's nothing that Apple makes that I found terribly impressive or special.
These days they are down to Final Cut Pro. As far as I can tell, that is literally the only software which is of any relevance which is mac-only. The typical photo workflow involves a whole lot of Adobe CS which is really not meaningfully different on Windows. Sure, Windows might crash. But when I was using Adobe CS on a mac it was beachballing all the time, so who cares? Either way you lose work. You lose it a lot more cheaply on Windows.
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Logic Pro is also Mac-only (no wonder as it was created by Apple) and has still lots of fans and users.
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Apparently so, because it seems they have no serious interest with creating or updating decent pro hardware. The company I work for just recently had to buy several three-year obsolete Mac Pro machines as servers (!!!). Old, expensive, and a nightmare to install as rack-mount machines, all because we need reasonably fast mac build machines. We knew there might be a hardware refresh soon, but we needed those machines now. It's fine for Apple to sell appliances, but they really should take responsibility
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it seems they have no serious interest with creating or updating decent pro hardware
It's because the "pro" they are targeting is not who we think when we hear that word. Apple caters its professional products to entertainment and arts professionals, and its consumer products to folks who like to be entertained.
No wonder the iPad "Pro" is just an iPad with a larger display and a stylus. Apple cares little for industry professionals who don't produce the kind of content that flows back into the Apple ecosystem.
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Jobs hated holes in his Precious. There are few holes in the current generation of Apple hardware. Jobs adored slim, the new laptops and phones are slimmer than ever. The legacy is being carried on all too well, with a dead man at the helm.
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Jobs would be rolling in his grave over the "Innovations" apple is hocking now. It's not anywhere near where his standards were.
Speaking of standards: "hocking" is something you do at a pawn shop. "Hawking" is something you do to con people into buying something.
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I beg to differ. They hocked their Innovation to keep the lights on. Some pawn shop owner in Oakland is now in possession of Apple's Innovation, and unless they go to buy it back soon, it'll be sold off to Samsung for a song.
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Jobs didn't start Pixar. Lucas did.
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NeXT and Pixar are marketing companies, not hardware companies or even really software companies.
All the power of a NeXT cube was already available in the Linux world.
Re:USB-A must go to the history's garbage bin (Score:5, Insightful)
I used to work with someone who described USB-A as a "4 dimensional device" - often you can be unable to insert it, flip it over, still be unable to insert it, flip it over again, and then succeed.
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It's a quantum device. It doesn't have an orientation until you look at it.
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And then there's the other fact that a USB-A plug fits very nicely into the RJ-45 jack for networking.
I've had to diagnose more than a few "why doesn't my USB device work" which involved "unplugging" the USB cable from
Re:USB-A must go to the history's garbage bin (Score:5, Funny)
1. Try plugging it in, and find it doesn't work.
2. Turn it around, and try it the other way. You'll find it doesn't work that way either.
3. Turn it around a second time. It'll now go in. You had it right the first time.
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Just like PS/2 when USB came out. FFS, my bike trainer used a PS/2 adapter. Sometimes someone has to go first.
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Do you want a bottle of tangle remover with that? https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod... [amazon.com]
or perhaps a de-tangling comb?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod... [amazon.com]