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Apple News From WWDC and iPhone 5 Rumors

First time accepted submitter zer0point writes "Apple has just announced the next-generation Macbook Pro with a retina display. Starting today you can also order a MacBook Pro upgraded with Ivy Bridge CPUs, and Nvidia graphics. Mountain Lion got some various updates, and as expected iOS 6 was announced. In rumor news, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo wrote in a note to investors, 'Based on the release schedule for iOS 6 GM, there is a very good chance iPhone 5 will start shipping also in early September.'"

91 of 683 comments (clear)

  1. Re:So what? by dyingtolive · · Score: 5, Funny

    or vagina.

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  2. More Rumors by Lord+Lode · · Score: 4, Funny

    In 2013 the iPhone 6 will be released, and in 2014 the iPhone 7.

    1. Re:More Rumors by WrongSizeGlass · · Score: 5, Funny

      In 2013 the iPhone 6 will be released, and in 2014 the iPhone 7.

      You must be using the new & improved Crystal Ball app included in iOS 6! That's amazing!

    2. Re:More Rumors by Samantha+Wright · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Personally, I don't think Apple will let a numeric inconsistency like "iPhone 5 released with iOS 6" stand. They'll either bump it up to be the iPhone 6, or just stop numbering them like the iPad, and call it the 2012 model iPhone. They don't do it for their other products, after all.

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    3. Re:More Rumors by Anubis+IV · · Score: 4, Informative

      Personally, I don't think Apple will let a numeric inconsistency like "iPhone 5 released with iOS 6" stand.

      They let the iPhone 3G come out with iOS 2 and the 4S ship with iOS 5. That said, I do agree that they're likely to simply drop the numbering.

    4. Re:More Rumors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      You're right, the year numbers are way off. Apple will redesign the calendar system in iOS 8 to end the usage of our current year numbers and start over using the release date of the original iPhone as the start of year one, and each numbered iPhone release marking the new year. As the fourth year comes to a close, I look forward to the impending simplification of our dates.

  3. Re:ethernet dongles (likely at added cost on $2k+) by spire3661 · · Score: 2

    People that already carry a ethernet wire are really not going to have a problem carrying a dongle too. I love wired , I jsut finished wiring up my house for ethernet, but this move makes sense for the people that arent us.

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  4. OMG OMG OMG OMG by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    You mean a product that is released every year is going to be released again this year? This is very exciting and unexpected news.

  5. Re:ethernet dongles (likely at added cost on $2k+) by Ardeaem · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Ethernet dongles (likely at added cost on $2k+) laptop.

    Face it wifi is not all over the place and Ethernet is faster, has more security, work better in some places, ect.

    I was just in a hotel with in room cable modems hooked to the tv system with Ethernet and Poor wifi in room.

    Yes, added cost, but consider that you're buying with that extra cost a thinner laptop (because it didn't have to be included) and the option of NOT carrying it around. I've found that I almost never need either the display adapter or the ethernet adapter, so I don't have to carry them around if I don't need them (I have an Air). For me, the thinness is worth it. You could just as easily say that the base model, with no dongle, gives people who don't need the dongle(s) the opportunity to buy a slightly cheaper Macbook - thus, it is a price discount for them, rather than an extra cost for us.

    Not everyone likes this, of course, but that's why you have the option of buying other notebooks.

  6. Re:ethernet dongles (likely at added cost on $2k+) by mikael_j · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'll take an ethernet dongle and smile if it's attached to a 15.4" laptop with a 2880x1800 screen.

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    Greylisting is to SMTP as NAT is to IPv4
  7. Nice specs...but.... by erp_consultant · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I don't like the idea of having proprietary SSD chips built on the motherboard. It makes it impossible to upgrade. I prefer the 2009 vintage MacBook Pro that I'm using now. I can upgrade the RAM and/or HD (which I've done). I can take out the optical drive and put in an SSD for the OS and keep the other HD for files (which I've also done). Too bad I can't put more than 8GB of memory in it though. Not everyone will choose to do what I've done but the point is that you have the choice. The current generation of MacBooks take those options away from you. The good news is that my MBP is still running like a champ and probably won't have to be replaced any time soon. The bad new is that it's probably the last MBP that I'll buy. It's the same reason I switched from an iPhone to an Android. There is no way to expand the storage on the iPhone. With the Android I just pop in another SD card.

    1. Re:Nice specs...but.... by Dahamma · · Score: 2

      I don't like the idea of having proprietary SSD chips built on the motherboard. It makes it impossible to upgrade.

      If it's like the Air, they are not soldered to the motherboard, they are on a small (proprietary) daughtercard. So it's not impossible to upgrade, just annoying and expensive. I guess that's the trade off for a 0.7" thick, 4.5lb laptop... no one buys Macbooks for their low price and ease of upgrade...

    2. Re:Nice specs...but.... by alen · · Score: 4, Informative

      Mac's hold their value so well that its better to sell and buy a new Mac than to keep and treasure a computer for many years and upgrade it

    3. Re:Nice specs...but.... by iluvcapra · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Macs hold their value because people think they do.

      That's how everything holds its value.

      --
      Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
  8. Retina Display is good and all, but... by Cyrano+de+Maniac · · Score: 2

    The MacBook Pro with a Retina Display of 220ppi sounds great, but I have a serious question.

    Has Apple fixed the problem with the system font being sized in a fixed number of pixels? My parents' 17" MBP with hi-res display is almost unusable with my parent's aging eyes (or even my middle-aged eyes), and it doesn't have a ppi anywhere near 220. I'm incredulous that Apple has allowed this UI flaw to persist for so long -- my parents cannot be the only ones who would appreciate a larger system font.

    --
    Cyrano de Maniac
    1. Re:Retina Display is good and all, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      The point of the "retina display" resolution is that everything is doubled. 2880x1800 is going to work effectively like 1440x900. Fonts are rendered at twice the size, images are twice the size, etc.. You're not going to be looking at tiny windows with tiny fonts, you're going to be looking at normal sized windows with normal sized fonts that look much smoother - almost print like. The higher resolution just allows much more detail.

    2. Re:Retina Display is good and all, but... by Microlith · · Score: 2

      I'm disappointed if that's how it's actually going to work. I guess Apple hasn't gotten resolution-independent UI scaling down either.

    3. Re:Retina Display is good and all, but... by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 3, Informative

      Which is to say, in response to GP's actual question - the text size will be exactly the same as the older MacBook Pro, and it will still not be adjustable. So if it's too small for you today, it'll remain too small. No resolution independence is coming.

      OS X: if you can't see shit, your vision is not good enough for Apple products.

    4. Re:Retina Display is good and all, but... by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 2

      Everything that isn't written in .net breaks, including half of windows' own components

      Have you actually used DPI scaling in any Windows version newer than XP? I routinely use it at 150% DPI, and not a single window or dialog coming from the OS itself breaks. Nor do any of the apps that I use.

      I also love how you had conveniently omitted Linux, where both Gtk and Qt apps work just fine with DPI scaling.

      Anyway, surely Apple, being all that awesome, can do it better than MS can?

    5. Re:Retina Display is good and all, but... by catmistake · · Score: 4, Funny

      The MacBook Pro with a Retina Display of 220ppi sounds great, but I have a serious question.

      Has Apple fixed the problem with the system font being sized in a fixed number of pixels? My parents' 17" MBP with hi-res display is almost unusable with my parent's aging eyes (or even my middle-aged eyes), and it doesn't have a ppi anywhere near 220. I'm incredulous that Apple has allowed this UI flaw to persist for so long -- my parents cannot be the only ones who would appreciate a larger system font.

      Yes, Apple has a solution for you. It's about time you upgraded those aging parents for new shiney Apple parents! Your children are likely due for a parent upgrade as well.

  9. Re:So what? by Dan+East · · Score: 4, Funny

    Someone is going to come across your comment a few years down the road, and the context of your joke will be completely lost. Dear future reader: sorry, but I'm not going to fill you in on this joke either. We'll just have to see how good your google skills are (is google still around?).

    --
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  10. Re:ethernet dongles (likely at added cost on $2k+) by imemyself · · Score: 2

    Realistically though, I have a feeling that a Thunderbolt NIC dongle costs quite a bit more than it would cost to put the NIC on the motherboard.

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  11. Re:So what? by Iniamyen · · Score: 5, Informative

    Here, future reader. Although the link will probably be broken 10 minutes after this post.

  12. Re:ethernet dongles (likely at added cost on $2k+) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Apple Defence Force, ASEEEMBLEEEE!!!!!

  13. Re:So what? by ColdWetDog · · Score: 5, Funny

    Somebody is going to come across this whole friggin web site, sit down and go

    What the Holy Hell was exactly going on at that time?

    No wonder the whole civilization collapsed.

    So lighten up.

    --
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  14. Re:No Classic or Rosetta by mikael_j · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You seriously think "the only reason" for dropping Rosetta (PPC emulation layer for those who don't know) and Classic (Mac OS 9 compatibility layer) is greed?

    How about you maintain your own legacy compatibility layers then? Unless maybe doing so is actually something that requires a lot of extra effort for very very little good reason since by now the vast majority of users have moved away from both PPC and OS 9.

    Seriously, Rosetta I can almost understand that a handful of people still haven't gotten completely free from but Classic? That means you have been running (most likely) unsupported software on a deprecated platform for 10+ years without figuring out how to move away from the software and platform at hand to something slightly more modern...

    --
    Greylisting is to SMTP as NAT is to IPv4
  15. Shut up and take my money! by Sgs-Cruz · · Score: 4, Informative

    I mean, it's a bit expensive ($2199 in stock configuration), but how can you look at these five lines:

    2880x1800 resolution screen (this is insane)
    256 GB solid-state hard drive
    2.3 GHz quad-core Intel i7
    8 GiB memory
    7-hour battery life

    and not want one?

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    1. Re:Shut up and take my money! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      http://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/specs/

      Memory: Configurable to 16GB.

      Storage: Configurable to 768GB flash storage.

    2. Re:Shut up and take my money! by spire3661 · · Score: 2

      Geforce 650M is pretty beefy.

      --
      Good-bye
    3. Re:Shut up and take my money! by Fallingcow · · Score: 2

      I could build 3 high performance desktops for that much.

      Or a bit more than one, with displays pushing at least as many pixels and SSDs that large.

    4. Re:Shut up and take my money! by NatasRevol · · Score: 2

      Cheaper, if your time is worthless.

      --
      There are two types of people in the world: Those who crave closure
    5. Re:Shut up and take my money! by TheSkepticalOptimist · · Score: 4, Insightful

      To all the naysayers, duh, Mac's have always been more expensive "then the rest", but then they are not marketed to people like you so get over it.

      This is impressive, a lot of tech in a very small package and you can't even find that tech in ANY of the competition yet. While I know there is significantly better values out there if you just want a new computer, when you start building a Dell or HP laptop with any where close to the same tech in something no where near as well engineered as the new Macbook, you are paying close to $2000 anyways.

      Someone said they can build 3 desktops for that money, then what? Have 3 unused boxes of crap lying around?

      Same as always, Macs are never going to be the average joe's computer, I find it difficult to imagine the average joe requiring 2880 x 1800 displays anyways. This is squarely marketed to video editors, graphic designers, developers where the added screen real-estate will be welcomed. The fact that this thing isn't $3000+ because of the Retina display (which is not a commonly stocked component ANYWHERE), it is surprising they are selling it for so cheap.

      So, don't worry you can't afford or don't want to buy this new MacBook Pro. Your comments are useless. This product is not marketed towards you and if you don't get it, then no worries. Wait for Dell's cloned version of this and while it might be cheaper, it won't be the same, but you will feel happy for 1-up'ing a Mac fanboy.

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    6. Re:Shut up and take my money! by Sancho · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I find it difficult to imagine the average joe requiring 2880 x 1800 displays anyways

      That's not the point of this display. It's to provide extremely high-quality images and text at roughly the same size (in e.g. inches) as on the 1440x900 display.

      Go to Best Buy and look at the difference between the iPad2 and the iPad3 (or New iPad or whatever.) Go to a webpage and look at the text. If you see a difference, that's what they're talking about. If you don't see a difference, then the "Retina" display probably isn't for you.

    7. Re:Shut up and take my money! by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 4, Funny

      I could build 3 high performance desktops for that much.
        Or 2 gaming windows laptops.
        Or even a god damn server.

      Wow, your backpack must be huge.

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  16. Re:No Classic or Rosetta by Conception · · Score: 2

    "Their hardware is plenty fast enough to perform the emulation." Buy Parallels/Install VMWare Hypervisor and emulate it yourself. You don't need 10.8 to run decade old software.

  17. Re:ethernet dongles (likely at added cost on $2k+) by samkass · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Ethernet dongles (likely at added cost on $2k+) laptop.

    Face it wifi is not all over the place and Ethernet is faster, has more security, work better in some places, ect.

    I was just in a hotel with in room cable modems hooked to the tv system with Ethernet and Poor wifi in room.

    I don't know too many frequent travelers that don't carry around an AirPort Express or other pocket-sized wi-fi device of their own for those hotels that either haven't or can't upgrade to pervasive wi-fi. Your hotel Ethernet is not going to be "faster, more secure, or work better" than if it was plugged into an AirPort Express anyway.

    For lab use, you probably wouldn't get the dongle but rather the whole docking station and connect the monitors, ethernet, keyboard, mouse, everything via that one port.

    --
    E pluribus unum
  18. Re:ethernet dongles (likely at added cost on $2k+) by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 2

    Realistically though, I have a feeling that a Thunderbolt NIC dongle costs quite a bit more than it would cost to put the NIC on the motherboard.

    What's worse is you'll probably want to buy two of them, one for that connection that you're always plugged into (i.e. work or home) then the second one for when you're oot and aboot somewhere.

    --

    "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)

  19. Yes and no by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 3, Informative

    So no in the strict sense, OS-X is still resolution dependent, it doesn't have true independent scaling like Windows 7 does. However yes in the sense of this device in that it uses the HiDPI pixel doubling trick of the iPad.

    So this screen is precisely double a 1440x900 screen, which is a pretty normal mid-rez 15" screen. What happens is if apps are flagged as HiDPI aware, they get presented with the real resolution and can render things with more detail. If not, they are presented with quarter resolution and all pixels are doubled in each direction.

    So it solves the problem in sort of a sidelong manner. It works since Apple maintains control over the hardware and thus can say "screens will be available in the following resolutions".

    1. Re:Yes and no by tlhIngan · · Score: 2

      If it's like the Air, they are not soldered to the motherboard, they are on a small (proprietary) daughtercard. So it's not impossible to upgrade, just annoying and expensive. I guess that's the trade off for a 0.7" thick, 4.5lb laptop... no one buys Macbooks for their low price and ease of upgrade...

      Actually, the Air's SSD isn't proprietary. It's called mSATA and it's used on netbooks as well, though the Air is the primary reason these days by volume sales. It's not as easy to get, but it's part of the SATA standard.

      So no in the strict sense, OS-X is still resolution dependent, it doesn't have true independent scaling like Windows 7 does. However yes in the sense of this device in that it uses the HiDPI pixel doubling trick of the iPad.

      So this screen is precisely double a 1440x900 screen, which is a pretty normal mid-rez 15" screen. What happens is if apps are flagged as HiDPI aware, they get presented with the real resolution and can render things with more detail. If not, they are presented with quarter resolution and all pixels are doubled in each direction.

      I wonder though if it's possible for those of us with sharper eyesight to use all those pixels in super-teeny-tiny mode just to have the resolution - more windows on screen, more code on screen, etc...

  20. Re:ethernet dongles (likely at added cost on $2k+) by BasilBrush · · Score: 5, Insightful

    WiFi isn't everywhere. But it's at a hell of a lot more places than ethernet. Last time I used ethernet was 2009.

    Are you saying that Laptop should be held up thickness wise, at the point where the body can accomodate an RJ45?

    The minority of people that are still ufing ethernet for laptops need to carry an ethernet cable with them anyway. It's no hardship to them to take a cable with a dongle in instead. Meanwhile the majority who use WiFi now get a better laptop.

  21. i'm getting the fear by Sebastopol · · Score: 2, Interesting

    That is a LOT of features and behaviors. I don't feel prepared to understand and manage all of them. I feel like iOS is adding too damn much and is danger of becoming a Windows/Linux jumble of weird features in too many weird places. I want simple.

    Anyone else getting the fear?

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    1. Re:i'm getting the fear by Symbha · · Score: 4, Funny

      Fear leads to anger...

  22. Is it truly expensive? by Shivetya · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Who else on the market is doing that?

    Let alone in the same form factor

    and only 4.4 lbs?

    The display beats my 27 inch iMac which has 2560x1440!

    I am really curious how well that Nvidia chip can push 5 million plus pixels in a game because you know games will/have gone there.

    I was fully expecting a 2499 entry price, the 2199 is an amazing price for what they have packaged.

    Granted your going to be buying an external optical drive if you want for around a hundred, a three year warranty for at least 250 or 350 more... so it will quickly hit 3k

    --
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    1. Re:Is it truly expensive? by ceoyoyo · · Score: 2

      "Granted your going to be buying an external optical drive if you want for around a hundred"

      Why? I was shooting some weddings and wanted to make lightscribed DVDs so I picked up an external drive - for $25. You can probably find the things on street corners now.

    2. Re:Is it truly expensive? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      From experience, non-AA graphics on a retina display can reveal individual pixels and display stairstepping. The retina display is just barely beyond the limit of human perception in the average case; we can still distinguish some types of finer details under ideal circumstances so AA still has a reason to exist.

  23. Re:So what? by crazyjj · · Score: 4, Funny

    "Granddad, why did western civilization collapse?"

    "Well kid, let me tell you about kdawson..."

    --
    What political party do you join when you don't like Bible-thumpers *or* hippies?
  24. Re:ethernet dongles (likely at added cost on $2k+) by BasilBrush · · Score: 4, Informative

    On the store now. $29.

    That's hardly going to break the budget for a top of the line $2,199 laptop buyer.

  25. Re:ethernet dongles (likely at added cost on $2k+) by NatasRevol · · Score: 5, Funny

    640x480 is enough for anyone.

    --
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  26. mac pro only got a small bump by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 2

    they made the Optional 3.2 Quad-Core the base CPU and bumped the ram to 6gb. But why take 2 years to do that?

    But
    NO video card update (the ATI Radeon HD 5870 still costs $200 on top of base video card.) why not just make it the base video card??
    NO thunderbolt
    NO USB 3.0

    1. Re:mac pro only got a small bump by dusanv · · Score: 4, Informative

      He's talking about the red-headed step child of the Mac line: the Mac Pro. Mac Pro is still stuck in USB2 land. I think it's outrageous they're marketing it as "new". It's 3+ year old technology at $2500 base price for 4 cores.

    2. Re:mac pro only got a small bump by RyuuzakiTetsuya · · Score: 2

      Because it's not baked into the motherboard controller logic.

      Although seriously Apple? The Mac Pro isn't meant to be a tiny machine. Just put a discrete USB3.0 controller on there.

      --
      Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
    3. Re:mac pro only got a small bump by Lord_Jeremy · · Score: 2

      This. The talk I've been hearing at work (Apple retailer) says this is the last Mac Pro refresh. I'm told they don't sell well enough to justify the huge design and engineering costs needed for each major refresh. As someone who has serviced many different models of Mac Pro, this doesn't surprise me at all. Internally they are incredibly overengineered, with daughterboards and slide-out compartments for all the major components. They're even practically cable-less, with all the component connections and power rails routed through the motherboard!

      Furthermore, the continued lack of Thunderbolt doesn't surprise me in the slightest. Mac Pros already have PCIe slots to serve their high-speed bus needs. It's not like Apple to allow overlapping functionality in their products.

  27. Re:ethernet dongles (likely at added cost on $2k+) by Solandri · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Yes, added cost, but consider that you're buying with that extra cost a thinner laptop (because it didn't have to be included) and the option of NOT carrying it around. I've found that I almost never need either the display adapter or the ethernet adapter, so I don't have to carry them around if I don't need them (I have an Air).

    The cost of an ethernet or display dongle and the cost of carrying around a built-in versions, pales in comparison to the cost of not having the port or dongle when you need it. We had a convention recently and one of the presenters forgot to bring his display dongle for his Mac. We spent a few minutes scrounging around for one while someone worked on copying his presentation over to a PC. 3 minutes * 150 guests = a cumulative 7.5 hours of wasted time. (And for you Mac fans who don't like how I'm counting time, it's how Steve Jobs thought of saving time.)

    For me, the thinness is worth it.

    That's the problem. People are starting to think of laptops as fashion statements foremost, rather than as tools. It's fine to want good aesthetics (a good-looking laptop is nicer than a bad-looking one), but one should never give up functionality for the sole purpose of aesthetics. If you're never going to present or plug in, then there's no problem. Any costs associated with forgotten dongles or lack of ports are yours to bear alone. But if you do stuff which might ever externalize that cost, you need to factor that into your decision of functionality vs. aesthetics. (For our part, we're going to have to buy a Mac video dongle for the projector to make sure this doesn't happen again. We're paying for the Mac users' aesthetic tastes. But at least it's damn cheaper than making 150 people wait.)

  28. Re:ethernet dongles (likely at added cost on $2k+) by Dynedain · · Score: 2

    The physical parts may cost less to put the NIC on the motherboard, but in something as space-tight as the MacBook Pro, the space savings probably outweigh it.

    --
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  29. Re:ethernet dongles (likely at added cost on $2k+) by Korin43 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Thinner => Lighter / Smaller => More portable

    Seems like a reasonable thing to want in a laptop. If I wanted a machine that did everything at any cost.. I'd get a desktop.

  30. Re:ethernet dongles (likely at added cost on $2k+) by 0100010001010011 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It'll force all the PC companies to quit bundling shitty displays with their laptops because they're "HD". I'm working on a Dell right now that has a 1366x768 display. It's 15.4". Before the "HD" craze my 17" Dell came with a 1900x1200 display. Now the 17" displays are all 1080p. Hell you can get a cheap 24" display that's only 1080p. Why the hell would I want a 24" display if it's only 1080p?

    Just like as soon as Apple came out with the integrated webcam and back lit keyboards they magically started to appear on Dells and other PC laptops I bet within a few months Dell loudly starts rolling out their "SUPER MEGA PIXEL HD" Displays on their laptops.

  31. Re:ethernet dongles (likely at added cost on $2k+) by Sancho · · Score: 3, Informative

    I have a Macbook Air and I bought the USB-to-Ethernet dongle. I never used it. I can see it being essential for some people, but certainly not for everyone. Apple can't be everything to everyone.

  32. Re:No Classic or Rosetta by Dynedain · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Apple dropped Classic 3-4 years ago? And Rosetta 2+ years ago? And everyone knew that this day was coming since OSX first shipped over 10 years ago?

    If you're just now worrying about legacy transition plans, I suggest you prepare your resume because you're about to get fired. You should have been doing this work incrementally. Now you're screwed because you won't be able to legally acquire the intermediary software and hardware.

    And I speak from experience, I forced the issue and managed a project to finally get a $250,000 transition plan through a year ago for a primarily Mac office. It only cost so much because the previous admin thought the way you do and let us get into such a state of arrears. If it had been done incrementally over time, it would have been a lot less expensive, AND we would had all the productivity gains over the past 5 years that new hardware and software would have given. That lost opportunity is an enormous cost if you actually sit down to calculate it.

    --
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  33. Re:ethernet dongles (likely at added cost on $2k+) by Bertie · · Score: 2

    I've been dying for one for years. No screen has had enough pixel height since CRTs went the way of the dinosaur, Now with one of these I can finally get all the toolbars and panels I need on the screen at the same time and still have room for the thing I'm actually working on.

  34. Re:ethernet dongles (likely at added cost on $2k+) by Sancho · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Ethernet is ubiquitous!

    What? That's patently absurd. It may be available at the office or at home, but anywhere else you're at least as likely to have wireless, and in many, many places, it's your only option.

    The hotel I stayed at last week only had wireless.

    The restaurants I ate at had only wireless.

    My local coffee shop only has wireless.

    Remember, the common image of the Apple user is of the screenplay writer sitting at Starbucks. Ethernet does no good in that scenario.

  35. Re:ethernet dongles (likely at added cost on $2k+) by starless · · Score: 2

    The minority of people that are still ufing ethernet for laptops need to carry an ethernet cable with them anyway. It's no hardship to them to take a cable with a dongle in instead..

    It's a problem, speaking as a macbook air owner since the machine was first released, if you only use ethernet occasionally, and forget to take your adapter with you when traveling to a wi-fi poor region like Japan...

  36. Re:ethernet dongles (likely at added cost on $2k+) by LordLimecat · · Score: 2

    Are you saying that Laptop should be held up thickness wise, at the point where the body can accomodate an RJ45?

    Oh come on, this isnt a difficult engineering problem. You have a springloaded pop-out RJ45 jack that is a rigid frame with 8 electrical connector pins. Ive seen it done on older laptops. It doesnt need to be terribly thick (just thick enough for rigidity), and doesnt require a dongle.

  37. Re:ethernet dongles (likely at added cost on $2k+) by SethJohnson · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Except that floppy disk isnt rarely used. I get the impression that every one of my friends with a laptop has used floppy disk at sometime or another (if not on a regular basis) because its more reliable than cdrom, and it just works even if you know nothing about removable media.

    Your post reminded me of some stuff people were saying when the iMac came out and was missing features people claimed were essential at the time.

    seth

  38. Re:ethernet dongles (likely at added cost on $2k+) by SilverJets · · Score: 2

    Count me as someone that never gets that "Apple is overpriced you can get a cheaper laptop...blah...blah...blah" argument.

    Hey, Lexus is over priced. And honestly...it really is just a Toyota. So why not just buy a Toyota and save that money?

  39. Re:no 17" laptop??? by Anubis+IV · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I doubt that it'll be back next year. By all accounts, it was a poor seller. All of the non-retina models, with the exception of the 17", just got updates and will be continuing to be sold alongside the new retina model. The 17", meanwhile, is nowhere to be found. That's a good indication that it's a dead product and won't be making a return. Demand for an Apple laptop that large simply isn't strong enough.

  40. Re:So what? by Dunbal · · Score: 2

    If the whole of civilization collapses (thanks to the Great Apple Riots of 2034 when the iPhone 61 was released for the low low price of 2 billion dollars each), I rather think that no one will be at home sitting on the internet browsing old tech sites while their granfathers work off that flab by pedalling for electric power.

    --
    Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
  41. When will the imacs, mini and mac pro get usb 3.0 by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 2

    When will the imacs, mini and mac pro get usb 3.0?? and newer video cards?

    Why just update the laptops and not the desktops?

  42. Snow Leopard compatibility? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Can anyone confirm that these new Mac platforms are capable of loading and running Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6)? We never released Lion to our environment at my company thanks to its issues with Active Directory. Thanks.

  43. Re:No Classic or Rosetta by Americano · · Score: 2

    Problem is, he did his resume in MacPaint. He can't even update that resume because it's locked into a proprietary format by Apple's greed!

  44. Re:ethernet dongles (likely at added cost on $2k+) by BasilBrush · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The thing is, other than the screen, the Macs tend to be worse spec-wise than that half-priced PC.

    Bullshit.

    They also tend on average to last 3 years, with the Macs lasting (if the propaganda being believed) 3-5. This means after 5 years, I have a much newer laptop with far superior specs at the same price as that one Mac

    Pardon? You're trying to paint the longer useful life of Macs as a negative?

    They also keep their value better, so whereas you'll be junking that 3 year old Wintel, you'll be getting a decent price on eBay for a 3 year old Mac.

    not to mention not carrying around a gigantic thief-magnet.

    Yeah. Were back to the Kia vs BMW again. Your recommendation seems to be buy something that's undesirable, so that no one will steal it. How can I say this. No. Things that are desirable are desirable for a reason. You can keep the crap.

  45. Re:ethernet dongles (likely at added cost on $2k+) by Nerdfest · · Score: 2

    They damn well better start rolling them out. I've been waiting for a decent resolution like this at a decent price for ages, and I've almost lowered my values enough to buy a Mac. If I don't see other manufacturers coming out with them in the next year, it could happen.

  46. Re:ethernet dongles (likely at added cost on $2k+) by CannonballHead · · Score: 2

    Er, what? Your color blind friend can't see color (in nature?) but can see it on an iPad 3?

  47. Or never back up. by Kupfernigk · · Score: 2

    New graduates never seem to worry about network speed because they have presumably never had to back up virtual machines or database images. I had one tell me with utter confidence only two months ago that only people stuck in the 1990s worried about network speeds. Well, for baby one page PHP applications with a few hundred records he was right.

    --
    From scarped cliff or quarried stone she cries "A thousand types are gone, I care for nothing, no not one."
  48. Re:Can we say vendor lock-in? by Kergan · · Score: 2

    So, the SSDs in these things are a proprietary Apple part? I fail to see how that is more 'elegant' and 'efficient'.

    You must have been living under a rock in recent months. Apple bought Anobit last December.

  49. You have to admit: Apple nailed it once again. by Qbertino · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Them weaving the golden cage more and more tightly every day creeps me out just as much as the next geek, but you have to admit, these guys are fucking amazing.

    Remember how shitty smartphones were before the iPhone?
    SJ said: No Flash and no carrier software on the iPhone.
    And thus endeth the era of Flash and crappy carrier scamware on phones.
    Btw., as a Flashdev I'm actually reorienting myself because of exact same incident.

    Remember how abysmally sad and sorry tablet computers were before the iPad?
    Along came Apple and sold 14 million of them tablets in the first 3 quarters. 14 fucking million!
    Thus endeth the era of Bill Gates half-assed vision of bizarly overpriced and unwieldy tablet computers.

    And now this.
    Notice how these days every geek worth his salt is bickerin about stagnation and retreat in laptop display resolution? We had a story on this here just a week ago or so.
    BAM! New MB Pro. Ahead of the pack at least 1,5 generations, hitting every other vendor on the planet on the back of their head with a Louisville Slugger Class cluestick in terms of laptop screen paradigms and a few other things.
    Just plain awesome, I have to say. ... Just wait for the MB Pro rippoffs poping up in about a year or so, just like the Ultrabook stuff.

    Apple is burning more and more Karma with me each day, but they sure to make quite a bit of it up in spades at times. Today is such a time I'd say. Cudos to them, and respect.

    My 2 cents.

    --
    We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
  50. Re:ethernet dongles (likely at added cost on $2k+) by clampolo · · Score: 5, Funny

    Er, what? Your color blind friend can't see color (in nature?) but can see it on an iPad 3?

    They are a magical thing. I used to have herpes before I saw the iPad 3 display

  51. Re:So what? by littlebigbot · · Score: 2

    That is the best worst thing I've seen in a long time. I'm surprised they didn't sample Balmer yelling "Developers!"

  52. Re:ethernet dongles (likely at added cost on $2k+) by vux984 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    That's hardly going to break the budget for a top of the line $2,199 laptop buyer.

    It has never really been about the price of the dongle. It is about the availability of functionality when I need it.

    If I walk into an office that doesn't have wifi, they'll invariably point me to a wall jack and hand me an ethernet cable. They won't have a dongle. If I didn't bring mine, or forgot it, or lost it. Then I'm pretty much fucked.

    A $2200 laptop where I have to carry around a separate bag of "parts" to restore the functionality that every other laptop has built in is a joke. The display adapters situation was bad enough.

  53. Re:No Classic or Rosetta by slimjim8094 · · Score: 3, Informative

    after the technology no longer serves a majority of their users.

    Like an ethernet port?

    Actually, probably yes. I make more use of Ethernet than most people I know, and I still only use it once or twice a month.

    Seriously, you think all that non-replaceable-battery thing was because they decided that replacing batteries no longer served the majority of their users?

    No, the "non-replaceable battery thing" was because they could nearly double the battery life of the computer without sacrificing power. Considering that I just replaced the (removable) battery in my 2008 MBP, not because it was running low but because it was defective and bulging (they gave me a new one free), I don't think most people run the life out of their batteries. Even if you lost half the capacity, you'd still be better off than a new removable battery.

    --
    I have developed a truly marvelous proof of this comment, which this signature is too narrow to contain.
  54. Re:72 DPI graphics by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 2

    It will not affect the websites (nor existing apps, for that matter). Just like iPhone 4 or iPad 3 didn't affect them, even though both had doubled their resolution compared to previous versions.

  55. Re:ethernet dongles (likely at added cost on $2k+) by iluvcapra · · Score: 2

    Hey, Lexus is over priced. And honestly...it really is just a Toyota. So why not just buy a Toyota and save that money?

    Seriously, you need to go out and do some test drives... Audi A4, Mercedes C250, BMW 328i (the new F30s are SWEEEEET even if they're everywhere), Lexus, Infiniti G25. Don't knock it until you've tried it.

    --
    Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
  56. Re:Just $200 for 16GB RAM by ravenspear · · Score: 2

    And thus, you confirm the OP's statement about Apple always charging unreasonable prices for RAM.

  57. Re:So what? by tknd · · Score: 3, Interesting

    If you work in programming or anything related to graphical design or the visual arts (video included) I would say yes.

    For everyone else, maybe they can get by. The problem with our current displays is text is rendered like crap. The low resolution displays are the entire reason why sans-serif fonts (Arial, helvetica, etc) became popular. In print serifed fonts (Times New Roman) used to be popular because they had more DPI to work with. That meant fine details necessary for the font were actually printed nicely. On a low DPI (less than 100) serifs look like absolute junk. Yet a serif font in print is actually easier to read than a sans-serif font.

    So if you read anything on an electronic device, you should want a high DPI display because it will actually be easier on your eyes. Furthermore things will start to scale naturally where as right now they just turn out to be this blurry mess because we need to apply antialiasing magic to make it look right at the expensive of being blurry.

  58. Holy crap! by fa2k · · Score: 2

    That laptop has more pixels than my dual monitor setup!

  59. Re:ethernet dongles (likely at added cost on $2k+) by vux984 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    "Separate bag"?

    Yes.

    Your laptop bag doesn't have a pocket for extras such as a PSU?

    It does. But I often don't take my laptop bag everywhere. Its 20lbs of cables, adapters, and tools.

    Often, if I just need my laptop I just take my laptop. It even has a battery in it.

    Apple has launched the word's most advanced laptop today. Retina display, SSD, 7hours battery life, and so very thin.

    If I have to carry a 20lb laptop bag wherever I go for the laptop to connect to anything I'm likely to need, then why should I be excited that its super thin?

    Hey, They could have shaved another 1/2mm off if they left out the keyboard too...

    Thinking about it further... they already redid the magsafe adapter for the new laptop...they should have integrated the ethernet connection there, and then had the ethernet jack in the power brick. If you need a wired connection, having the psu plugged in isn't the end of the world.

    I've often thought it would be handy if the power brick doubled as a usb hub as well, given the dearth of ports.

  60. Re:ethernet dongles (likely at added cost on $2k+) by Guy+Harris · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Yeah, saving that few grams and the 0.1mm savings in profile height

    Retina MBP: 2.02kg, 1.8cm. Non-Retina 15: MBP: 2.56kg, 2.41cm. Perhaps 540g is "a few" to you, but 2410-1800 != 0.1.

    Apple fanbois: lack of a feature is a feature!

    Rational people: lack of a feature that some particular person doesn't use much, in exchange for something they deem an improvement in other matters, is a net feature - e.g., the lighter weight might, for some people, reduce annoyance enough to more than compensate for what annoyance comes from the lack of an Ethernet port.

    Now, some other person might use the Ethernet port all the time, and not care as much about the weight. They should, err, umm, buy the other model of MBP.

    (But, hey, "some people might quite rationally find A better than B, and others might quite rationally find B better than A" isn't nearly as much fun as hotly and loudly arguing the total rulitude of {A, B} and the total suckitude of {B, A}....)

  61. asymmetrical fan blade by itchybrain · · Score: 2

    The new retina display macbook pro also has an asymmetrical fan blade to cut down on noise. You can check out the video for yourself if you wish at the Apple website. Thought I would highlight this to the community.

  62. Re:10,000 feet? by voidptr · · Score: 4, Informative

    The cabin pressure of a typical commercial flight is 8,000 ft or below, even though you're at 35,000. So it'll work just fine.

    10,000 just seems to be the standard everyone who isn't making ruggedized parts bothers to test to. I doubt it'd fail catastrophically at 10,001 or even 15,000.

    --
    This .sig for unofficial government use only. Official use subject to $500 fine.
  63. Re:So what? by pushing-robot · · Score: 4, Funny

    low resolution displays are the entire reason...helvetica...became popular.

    I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt here and assume you simply experience the flow of time differently than corporeal beings.

    --
    How can I believe you when you tell me what I don't want to hear?
  64. Re:72 DPI graphics by R3d+M3rcury · · Score: 2

    They will probably appear to be more blurry, as they will most likely need to be scaled.

  65. Re:ethernet dongles (likely at added cost on $2k+) by cthulhu11 · · Score: 2

    They won't have a dongle

    It's $29. Buy them one and expense it.

    If I didn't bring mine, or forgot it, or lost it. Then I'm pretty much fucked.

    Same holds true for your laptop, no? If you didn't bring it to $office, or forgot it, or lost it, you're fucked. Chances are that this applies to your clothing too.

    But I often don't take my laptop bag everywhere. Its 20lbs of cables, adapters, and tools.

    And those cables, adapters, and tools are permanently attached to your "laptop bag", which I suspect is in fact more like a backpack or piece of luggage? Is there a gun to your head preventing you from having -- *gasp* -- a small/light case or sleeve that you carry your laptop around in when you don't need the kitchen sink? Like this one? http://shop.millscanvas.com/LaptopCarryall.html Or would that be too much like being a grownup?

    Often, if I just need my laptop I just take my laptop. It even has a battery in it.

    Lucky you.

    Apple has launched the word's most advanced laptop today. Retina display, SSD, 7hours battery life, and so very thin. If I have to carry a 20lb laptop bag wherever I go for the laptop to connect to anything I'm likely to need, then why should I be excited that its super thin?

    Unless you are compelled by some exotic religion to carry a bag made out of iridium, I highly doubt that a bag and Apple's adapter will add up to 20 lbs.

    Hey, They could have shaved another 1/2mm off if they left out the keyboard too...

    That is available for people whose needs it meets. It's called an iPad. People don't buy it then complain that it doesn't have a physical keyboard or a dozen 3.5" SAS disk bays.

    Thinking about it further... they already redid the magsafe adapter for the new laptop...they should have integrated the ethernet connection there, and then had the ethernet jack in the power brick

    Totally, because there have *never* been issues with running data millimeters away from power and transformers.

    If you need a wired connection, having the psu plugged in isn't the end of the world.

    I've often thought it would be handy if the power brick doubled as a usb hub as well, given the dearth of ports.

    Most USB devices have downstream ports, and the need for multiple ports conflicts with your obsession with not plugging anything into the laptop.