>ABC Corp tried feature XYZ before Apple and it didn't work so this feature is dumb
While Apple is certainly far from infallible and has made blunders before (sometimes from neglect, once in a while from a fundamental blunder in their understanding of proper target market functionality), what you've written seems to come up like clockwork with nearly every change they make. "Oh, but someone else did the idea before!" I really don't understand why so many tech people in particularly seem to have difficulty grasping that ideas are usually of only marginal value, the real key value any given effort brings to the table is the implementation. There is a world of difference between a mediocre implementation of a decent idea and a stellar one, even if they're 100% the exact same concept. In fact sometimes a great implementation of a mediocre concept can even beat out a crappy one of an amazing concept. Even good intentions and hard work are not enough in software or hardware development.
From a fundamentals perspective I'm honestly pretty surprised by the visceral instant rejection, without having seen anything about the actual implementation, by crowds at HN, Ars, etc. I don't really see how this is fundamentally much different from what I've already got in macOS with my MS Natural Ergo 4000 keyboard and the universal generic USB driver "ControllerMate", which allows me to arbitrarily alter key mappings (including full scripts) for any active application. I don't generally change the main layout of course, but I do have dozens of profiles changing the upper function and special keys to suit the program I'm in, which I find particularly valuable for jumping from GUI apps to Vim and other CLI programs with a different history of thinking about UI behind them.
Apple trying to just making this more available for the average user in a more flashy way may or may not be helpful for a pro, but I also don't see how it would be particularly harmful. What's with all stuff about "no more escape" and the like, what difference does it make if you tap the corner to get escape? As long as inputs are there that show up on the USB HCI what's the issue? On the other hand having a good Touch ID implementation (presumably with the HSM included) available built-in could range from great to fantastic depending on how much custom use we're able to make of it.
Apple's current non-AIO desktops (Mac Mini, Mac Pro) are utter junk and that's really depressing, but they've put more effort into their notebooks while maybe this MBP will disappoint too but I don't think the massive doom mongering in this or the other thread seems justified just yet.
"Apple's current non-AIO desktops (Mac Mini, Mac Pro) are utter junk and that's really depressing, but they've put more effort into their notebooks while maybe this MBP will disappoint too but I don't think the massive doom mongering in this or the other thread seems justified just yet."
It seems justified to me.
In fact, as I look at a picture of a macbook "pro" with no physical escape key, I can't help but think of George Lucas and the re-released, re-edited star wars movies.
Mac pro basically disappeared with nothing to take its place.
Mac mini as a very nice all in one device is neutered by lack of an optical drive.
The super thin macbook 12" (whatever it is) can't have power and a usb device at the same time without some weirdo splitter dongle thing.
Oh, and the headphone jack thing.
Get these people away from the product development room. Give them something else to do. Tell them to take a vacation or something - please!
You're just saying the same things that are always said about Apple products
>In fact, as I look at a picture of a macbook "pro" with no physical escape key, I can't help but think of George Lucas and the re-released, re-edited star wars movies.
Is exactly what everyone said about a phone with no physical keys
Mac mini as a very nice all in one device is neutered by lack of an optical drive.
Is exactly what everyone said about an iMac without a floppy drive, or serial port, or all the other old things Apple have moved away from.
It's also fascinating you criticize their whole product line for not having all the features. Yes, the mini is "mini". It does not have optical, but happily they build a different computer that does! And yes, the MacBook has a limited number of ports - but happily they have a model with a ton of powerful ports, and as a nice hint of who might need it, they even put the word "Pro" in the name!
It's like you want them to only build one computer that fits exactlyyour needs. Heaven forbid they build and sell a computer that is targeted at a different set of needs than yours!
Next you'll complain that the Ford Focus sucks because it doesn't have a pickup bed, when you could easily go and buy an F150 for that....
If you don't like it, there is an extremely simple solution for you. Don't buy their stuff.
"It's also fascinating you criticize their whole product line for not having all the features. Yes, the mini is "mini". It does not have optical, but happily they build a different computer that does!"
The interesting use-case for a mac mini is as an HTPC. It's the best HTPC that has ever been made and the models with an optical drive allowed you to cover every use-case including edge cases with one nicely designed box ... no cable or peripherals.
An all-in-one mac isn't a candidate for an HTPC.
"If you don't like it, there is an extremely simple solution for you. Don't buy their stuff."
Agreed. I bought the very fastest, maxed out mac mini that still had the optical drive and have not purchased anything since (after having refreshed my HTPC mini every two years prior).
I still run my 2009 mac pro and would love to throw money at apple to make a new, refreshed tower for power users ... but alas.
And now I will buy a maxed out 11" macbook air (which is what I am typing on right now) as a spare laptop so I can continue with the form factor I prefer, even if this one dies.
> Mac pro basically disappeared with nothing to take its place.
It's still there, just hasn't really had a refresh. Have a feeling it is going to get killed due to not enough demand.
Even the original Mac Pro behemoth of a tower didn't really sell all that well.
> Mac mini as a very nice all in one device is neutered by lack of an optical drive.
Wat?
I have owned a Mac Mini since 2012 and not once have I said "Damn, I wish I had an optical drive".
I haven't touched optical media in years. I still have some DVD's and whatnot but they are all in boxes in storage (thanks for the reminder, need to drop em off at Goodwill).
What do you need an optical drive for?
> The super thin macbook 12" (whatever it is) can't have power and a usb device at the same time without some weirdo splitter dongle thing.
Yes, and for 99% of the target population this isn't a problem. I've had a couple of friends and family buy them, they charge the device overnight and use it during the day. Depending on how often they use it it gets charged maybe once or twice a week.
They don't use headphones with it, the device is used to check email, browse the web (facebook mostly) and that is about where it ends. Which is what the device is perfect for. No moving parts, nothing. Most of my friends also pair their bluetooth headphones to it if they are using it to watch movies. I blew one of my friends minds when I told him that it was USB so he could plug in his camera, instead he had been transferring pictures using Wifi (took a little longer, but he didn't mind).
> Oh, and the headphone jack thing.
Not a big fan of that one myself... kinda like my 3.5mm, but only because my preferred Bose headphones (QC20's) don't come in a bluetooth/lightning version yet. If they made a bluetooth version I'd be all over that asap.
"I'm not sure how that plays into account. Where would the DVDs come from? It's not like schools hand those out."
Like I said, I have no idea where they come from. We just have them and we keep getting more.
It kind of makes sense, too - if you have a 4yo it's very easy to show them the physical act of inserting a DVD and having it autoplay (at 6am on a sunday) whereas browsing netflix and choosing (possibly inappropriate) content is not so easy for them.
> From a fundamentals perspective I'm honestly pretty surprised by the visceral instant rejection, without having seen anything about the actual implementation, by crowds at HN, Ars, etc.
Every time anything changes, there is a rather predicable response of this kind. There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth when laptop manufacturers stopped making models with 4:3 screens, when smartphone manufacturers abandoned physical keyboards, when Apple abandoned any type of drive or connector port ever...
It's always enjoyable to come back to such threads and read the dire predictions of the naysayers after a few years, i.e. the one where the naysayers predicted that Apple would be doomed because the iPhone 5 was too small, and the one where the naysayers predicted that Apple would be doomed because the iPhone 6 was too big.
While Apple is certainly far from infallible and has made blunders before (sometimes from neglect, once in a while from a fundamental blunder in their understanding of proper target market functionality), what you've written seems to come up like clockwork with nearly every change they make. "Oh, but someone else did the idea before!" I really don't understand why so many tech people in particularly seem to have difficulty grasping that ideas are usually of only marginal value, the real key value any given effort brings to the table is the implementation. There is a world of difference between a mediocre implementation of a decent idea and a stellar one, even if they're 100% the exact same concept. In fact sometimes a great implementation of a mediocre concept can even beat out a crappy one of an amazing concept. Even good intentions and hard work are not enough in software or hardware development.
From a fundamentals perspective I'm honestly pretty surprised by the visceral instant rejection, without having seen anything about the actual implementation, by crowds at HN, Ars, etc. I don't really see how this is fundamentally much different from what I've already got in macOS with my MS Natural Ergo 4000 keyboard and the universal generic USB driver "ControllerMate", which allows me to arbitrarily alter key mappings (including full scripts) for any active application. I don't generally change the main layout of course, but I do have dozens of profiles changing the upper function and special keys to suit the program I'm in, which I find particularly valuable for jumping from GUI apps to Vim and other CLI programs with a different history of thinking about UI behind them.
Apple trying to just making this more available for the average user in a more flashy way may or may not be helpful for a pro, but I also don't see how it would be particularly harmful. What's with all stuff about "no more escape" and the like, what difference does it make if you tap the corner to get escape? As long as inputs are there that show up on the USB HCI what's the issue? On the other hand having a good Touch ID implementation (presumably with the HSM included) available built-in could range from great to fantastic depending on how much custom use we're able to make of it.
Apple's current non-AIO desktops (Mac Mini, Mac Pro) are utter junk and that's really depressing, but they've put more effort into their notebooks while maybe this MBP will disappoint too but I don't think the massive doom mongering in this or the other thread seems justified just yet.