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Reactions to the New MacBook and Apple Watch

As the dust settles from Apple's press conference yesterday, there have been a broad variety of reactions around the web. Robinson Meyer at The Atlantic says Apple's $10,000 watch demonstrates the company has lost its soul. "The prices grate. And they grate not because they’re so expensive, but because they’re gratuitously expensive. ... To many commentators, this is unsurprising. It’s good business sense, really. Apple has made its world-devouring profits by ratcheting up profit margins on iPhones. There is no better target for these massive margins than the super-rich. But high margins do not a luxury brand make." Others suspect the high-end watches are targeted more at rich people in China.

As for the less expensive watches, perhaps they're around not so much to become a new major sales category for Apple, but rather to drive more iPhone sales. Meanwhile, the redesigned MacBook may signify a bigger change for the laptop industry than people realize: "We don’t need all those other ports, Apple says. We are living in a wireless world now, where we can connect most of our peripherals without cords." The new MacBook has also fueled speculation that Apple could be working on a more powerful tablet, something that could compete with Microsoft's Surface Pro line.

69 of 450 comments (clear)

  1. wait, what? by roc97007 · · Score: 5, Funny

    > Apple could be working on a more powerful tablet, something that could compete with Microsoft's Surface Pro line.

    What, really? Apple is designing a table that is only ever seen on Hawaii Five-0?

    --
    Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
    1. Re:wait, what? by mjwx · · Score: 5, Interesting

      > Apple could be working on a more powerful tablet, something that could compete with Microsoft's Surface Pro line.

      What, really? Apple is designing a table that is only ever seen on Hawaii Five-0?

      The strange and sad thing is, Surface Pro's are becoming more common in corporate environments because they're basically just Windows machines sans KB. So they're actually replacing laptops instead of pretending to replace laptops like Android and Apple Tablets.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
  2. No more ports! by TJ_Phazerhacki · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Imagine, a technology that would allow you to connect peripherals wirelessly. You know, like Bluetooth, which has been around since 1994. Look at how it dominates the peripheral industry! /sarcasm

    Look, my inherent dislike of AAPL (and the people who love it) died some time ago. The problem I have with them now is not the fault of the Company - it's the idiots who keep buying this stuff. Seriously, gold colored iPhones, solid gold tchotckes that are designed to be obsolete within 2 years - madness.

    --
    Physics is nothing like religion. If it was, we'd have an easier time trying to raise money!
    1. Re:No more ports! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The problem with wireless is density.

      I can't use wireless mice, keyboards, speakers/headphones, wifi bridges, or anything else around here (there's more APs here than I can be bothered count, easily over 200) - the inteference is ridiculous, you literally can't even type of a wireless keyboard around here (CBD area).

      If that's the future Apple wants us to have, goodbye.

    2. Re:No more ports! by drinkypoo · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Finally, and this should be obvious to slashdot, helping rich people part with their money is generally good for 99% of all other people.

      Nope. The money is being shuffled from moderately rich people to filthy rich people, and the workers are all being paid slave wages while the Apple corporation dodges taxes so they're not paying for wear and tear on our infrastructure. So actually, the world would be better off if Apple died in a fire.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    3. Re:No more ports! by Plumpaquatsch · · Score: 2

      If it were a real watch (moving parts style), at $10000 they would wear it the rest of their lives and pass it on to an heir.

      Why would somebody buy such a cheap watch let alone bequeath it to a loved one? $10k is peanuts for a mechanical watch, let alone a gold one, you wouldn't give one to your gardener.

      --
      Of course news about a fake are Fake News.
  3. hey, what time is it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny
  4. Re:Enlighten me please by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    If you need more ports you can buy the USB-C port adapter for only $79 duh

  5. Re:Enlighten me please by Guspaz · · Score: 2

    More ports is not universally better. If you tried to sell me a laptop that had a full-sized parallel port, for example, I'd say, that's dumb, it's making the laptop way bigger than it needs to be, and I'll never use it.

    Apple may have gone too far in that direction (personally I think two USB-C ports and a headphone jack would have been the optimal place), but less ports *can* be better than more ports, depending on the circumstances.

  6. Re:The moan of sour grapes by mlts · · Score: 3, Insightful

    To me, if Apple wants to price a watch at $10,000 because it is gold colored while there is an offering with the same exact functionality for a few C-notes, that's just fine. Let people who want to spend that much for a watch help finance Apple's R&D so "the rest of us" can get new and cool things. Same if Apple decided to buy Vertu and make diamond-encrusted iPhone 7s. If people want them, so much the better.

    iPhones are not that expensive either relatively. I still remember when one of HTC's phones ran $1200, and that was with a two year contract.

  7. Re:Enlighten me please by vux984 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    More ports is not universally better.

    Nobody is making THAT claim.

    But the ability to plug in a mouse and keyboard, an external display, and a wired network, and still having at least one USB port for an external hard drive or a flash drive or to charge your phone or whatever IS universally better than not being able to do that.

    This is why nearly all laptops from all other companies have 2-4 USB ports, a display out, a network jack, and a headphone jack.

    Apple may have gone too far in that direction

    Apple's always had its head up its ass. From the day it released the original imac and single handedly created a market for usb floppy drives and adb to usb adapters. PCs may have kept PS/2 and floppy drives around longer than anyone needed them, but at not needing a port and having it is far less annoying than needing it an not having it.

    I can forgive it somewhat on the macbook air line; that's all about cutting off everything to make it small and light and that's fine. ... but taking away the ethernet port on the pro was idiotic. Sure I can buy an over priced thunderbolt adapter and carry it around everywhere... but I shouldn't have to. A pro laptop should be able to connect to a wired network out of the box. If that makes the unit 1mm thicker so be it... fill the space with battery and/or improve ventilation so it stays cool.

  8. They lost their soul in 2014 by Ichijo · · Score: 3, Interesting

    ...when they made the memory in the new Mac Minis impossible to upgrade and reduced their performance. The late 2012 quad-core model is still the fastest, best one they ever made.

    --
    Any sufficiently unpopular but cohesive argument is indistinguishable from trolling.
    1. Re:They lost their soul in 2014 by UnknownSoldier · · Score: 2

      Yeah that was a complete step backwards.

      It is almost as if they DON'T want the Mac Mini to succeed !

    2. Re:They lost their soul in 2014 by tlhIngan · · Score: 2

      ...when they made the memory in the new Mac Minis impossible to upgrade and reduced their performance. The late 2012 quad-core model is still the fastest, best one they ever made.

      I agree about the RAM - that is stupid, however, the reason for the dual core is simple - Intel doesn't make the i7 in the required socket formfactor. The i5s and i7s used in the Mac Mini are the same socket, so it's a single design.

      So if Apple wanted to offer the i5 and i7, they had to either design two Mac Mini motherboards, one for each, or use the slower i7 because that's all Intel has.

      It's not the ONLY time Apple's been hampered by Intel's lineup.

      And the Mac Mini isn't exactly Apple's top seller. It joins the Mac Pro in the worst sellers in the lineup. So no, the dual motherboard idea is not flying.

      But the soldered RAM on the Mini doesn't make sense - there's no compelling reason for it - there's no space limits (the current Mac Mini is the same volume as the old one) like there is in the portable lineup, and there's nothing in the new mini that takes up so much space that the RAM couldn't be accomodated.

    3. Re:They lost their soul in 2014 by ArcadeMan · · Score: 2

      The soldered RAM makes sense because they're using LPDDR3 memory (I think because of the Intel CPU models they're using) and AFAIK there's no LPDDR3 SODIMMs.

      But it still pisses me off to have to pay Apple's prices for RAM.

      If they at least made the Mac mini smaller, but nope. And when they do make it smaller, I'm pretty sure it will lose a lot of ports too, which means it's Hackintosh or nothing for my next computer.

  9. Re:Enlighten me please by MAXOMENOS · · Score: 2

    And that will then give me one USB-C power adapter, one HDMI, and one USB. Hub and SD card reader sold (and powered) separately. Brilliant!

  10. Re:Enlighten me please by Gr8Apes · · Score: 2

    Biggest issue - the USB-C only supports 1080P out at least with the current adapters. If it doesn't support my 2K display, I don't need it as a full laptop (desktop) replacement, although the 2# weight sure does sound appealing. If they came out with a quad or hex core mini, perhaps this and a mini would work.

    --
    The cesspool just got a check and balance.
  11. Re:The moan of sour grapes by nomel · · Score: 2, Insightful

    What's the point of a Rolex? They're absolutely obsolete, unless you're going for some strange fashion statement involving sporadic announcements of "it's a Rolex". If you are rich, then it'll be impressive as a pair of blue jeans for the rest of us. But, if you want a modern smart watch that you can dress up with, where the Rolex used to go, then you're choices are limited to exactly one. There's an absolute gaping void in the market that they're putting *something* into. What's the problem with that? Why does that involve a "soul"?

  12. Apple - the ultimate iHipster by UnknownSoldier · · Score: 4, Funny

    Back in the day Apple was about bringing computers to the masses, and simplifying them to make them accessible.

    Selling a $10K watch just proves Apple only cares about profits now.

    Apple has become the ultimate iHipster.

    1. Re:Apple - the ultimate iHipster by Kjella · · Score: 2

      Back in the day Apple was about bringing computers to the masses, and simplifying them to make them accessible. Selling a $10K watch just proves Apple only cares about profits now. Apple has become the ultimate iHipster.

      What age was that? As far back as I can remember Macs were aiming for graphics artists, designers, sound artists, movie workstations, every kind of hip, creative industry. The "boring" segment bought PCs. There were nerdier and in many cases better audio players before the iPod, but the white earphones quickly became the telltale sign of a hipster. They've never ever released a cheap product trying to undercut others on price. They did have a runaway success with the iPhone but I think you're giving Jobs more credit than he deserves if you think breaking out of the "hipster" segment and becoming mainstream was part of the plan.

      They launched a $599 phone in 2007 and after seeing it sell well beyond expectations they lowered it to $399 just a few months later realizing they could make up for it on volume and it boomed. I don't think that was planned at all, they just saw the opportunity and ran with it. Hell, they even got people so pissed by lowering the price so much they gave store credit so they could buy accessories that cost Apple almost nothing to produce, but I digress. And with the app store, they were sitting on a gold mine of more users -> more apps, more apps -> more users as well as the FairPlay near-monopoly. But they're still hipsters at heart, you can just look at their iMacs and the "trash can" Mac Pro.

      If anything, I think this is an attempt to make a more exclusive Apple product again, because an iPhone just isn't very hip if your mom has one too. If they can't create a new "must-have" item that's cool I think they'll stagnate. Like I broke my iPhone and decided to give a cheap Android phone a spin, mainly because I'm missing an iPhone 6 Mini. It's not impressive in any way but it does most of what my old iPhone did at a much lower cost. They need to keep pushing new and better, because I don't think they can stay and compete on price. They need to justify a $500+ sticker price.

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
    2. Re:Apple - the ultimate iHipster by Plumpaquatsch · · Score: 2

      Back in the day Apple was about bringing computers to the masses, and simplifying them to make them accessible.

      Back in the old days, Apple din't sell remotely as many computers as they do today. And that's only counting Macs, not iPads or iPhones.

      --
      Of course news about a fake are Fake News.
  13. Re:Jewellery Obsolescence by nomel · · Score: 2

    If you think a $10k piece of Jewelry is an investment, unless you plan on melting down the gold when prices are high or it's a collectors, then you are most likely not the type of person that could afford one. The friendly man behind the counter at the pawn shop can help explain the intricacies of jewelry pricing to you, and laugh when you claim "but I paid xxx!!!".

  14. Re:Enlighten me please by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Meanwhile, to be portable for meetings, you need to bundle in your bag additional adapters (eg. plugging into a projector). A slightly thicker laptop with no dongles will actually be more portable.

  15. Re:Profit Margins on the Apple Watch Edition by tgeller · · Score: 5, Informative

    "the 18k gold used costs over $8,000"

    Whatever you're smoking, I want some. Gold spot price is currently a bit below $1,200. Are you suggesting there's nearly 7 ounces of gold in these watches???

    Oh, and spot price is for 24-karat gold, each ounce of which makes 1-1/3rd an ounce of 18-karat gold. So... does one of these watches weigh 10 ounces?

    --
    Tom Geller
  16. Re:The moan of sour grapes by rogoshen1 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Thanks Captain Autism. Is you're ability to completely and udderly ignore the point in loo of some miner mispelling or grammer misstake a learned skill, or something you were bourne with?

    You must be a real hit at parties.

  17. Re:The moan of sour grapes by rogoshen1 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Not sure, I'd never spend 10k for any jewelry. (Even supposing I had the money in the first place.) But at least a Rolex will hold it's value consistently, versus any kind of gadget (minus a few very rare collector type bits.)

  18. Re:Enlighten me please by Guspaz · · Score: 4, Informative

    USB-C is electrically doing DisplayPort for video (a USB-C to HDMI adapter is sending out DisplayPort and converting it to HDMI). The 1080p limitation comes from the adapter using HDMI 1.x, not any limitation in the notebook or connector itself. Technically USB-C is capable of carrying anything DisplayPort 1.3 supports, which is something like two 4K monitors at 60Hz or even an 8K monitor at 30Hz.

    That said, there is probably some maximum resolution supported by the laptop, but I've no idea what it would be. Probably not 1080p.

  19. Re:Profit Margins on the Apple Watch Edition by Holi · · Score: 2

    55 grams of 18kt gold, you might want to do you math again.

    http://www.businessinsider.com...

    --
    Sorry, teleporters just kill you and then make a copy. A perfect, soul-less copy.
  20. Not a smart watch, a wearable computer by quintessentialk · · Score: 2

    I don't know who said this, but I heard one commentator claim that the apple watch was not a smart watch, but a wearable computer. I thought this was apt because when I think of the apple watch as a 'watch' it isn't particularly compelling to me (and this is from someone who still wears a watch, and uses it to tell time). However, when I open up my vision to 'sky is the limit', yet-to-be-invented applications of a wearable computer, I'm more interested to see where this will go. As with the iPhone, the 'included with the first edition' features aren't as interesting as the 'invented by third parties and forced upon a reluctant Apple' (remember, native apps sold through an app store was not in Apple's original vision).

  21. Re:The moan of sour grapes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Rolex, Piaget, Cartier, Breitling, Panerai, Hublot, Armand Nicolet, Audemars, Tag Heuer, Zenith, IWC, Jaeger LeCoultre, Ulysse Nardin, Salvatore Ferragamo, Corum, Patek Phillipe, Omega, Blancpain, Gerard Perregaux, and Montblanc all sell watches that cost more than $20,000 according to Amazon -- the most expensive one is over $75,000 -- no that is not a typo.

    Clearly, plenty of people spend a LOT of money on high-end watches. However, that does not mean they are a mass-market item: they are status symbols for the rich, and that is where Apple is aiming with this device. And you can be sure that there are more than a few celebrities and other status-conscious people who will buy one just because they're new.

    For most people who want a watch, the $350-750 range is where they'll buy. And I expect Apple will probably sell a fair number in that range. What the "ultra-expensive" version is for is the people who have stupid amounts of money to spend and who aren't afraid to spend stupid amounts of money on a status symbol.

    The people cunting on about the price are missing the point, because they think EVERYTHING Apple sells is intended to be a "status symbol" of sorts. THIS WATCH is a status symbol. The slightly pricier but much thinner/lighter/etc. laptops they sell? Those are just high-end computers... and the only people who ascribe "status" to a laptop are neckbeards who are most certainly not in Apple's target demographic.

  22. Re:Enlighten me please by TFlan91 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Until the medium of any available wired connection produces a slower and less reliable connection than a wireless one, I will always want a wired connection.

  23. Re:Too Soft by Rockoon · · Score: 5, Funny

    A solid gold casing would be too soft to be practical.

    ..yes, but its much easier to round out the corners.

    --
    "His name was James Damore."
  24. Re:Profit Margins on the Apple Watch Edition by TubeSteak · · Score: 5, Informative

    Oh, and spot price is for 24-karat gold, each ounce of which makes 1-1/3rd an ounce of 18-karat gold. So... does one of these watches weigh 10 ounces?

    Even better, the speculation is that Apple's gold watch is only technically 18-karat.
    Why technically? Because the definition for 18-karat is that gold must make up 75% of the alloy's mass.

    Apple patented a... not-alloy... that uses ceramic instead of metal. (PDF)
    Since ceramic is significantly lighter by volume, Apple can use less gold and still meet the 75% gold-by-mass standard.

    TLDR: Not all gold is created equal.

    --
    [Fuck Beta]
    o0t!
  25. Re:What, yet another thread on this? by quintessentialk · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Given the millions of other blogged words on this topic in the past 48hours, Slashdot now needs clickbait too?

    (Sigh.) This is cliche, but I can't help myself. If your objection to the 'click bait' was to not only click the link to the content but to interact with it by logging in and posting a comment... you're doing it wrong.

  26. Re:Enlighten me please by SuricouRaven · · Score: 4, Informative

    The typical .11g wireless, the sort found in the vast majority of offices can, under ideal circumstances and at close range, without interference and with only one device connected, just about reach half the capacity of a 100mbit ethernet connection. Or about 5% that of gig-eth.

  27. Re:The moan of sour grapes by DeathElk · · Score: 5, Funny

    "you're" "udderly" "loo" "miner" "grammer" "misstake" "bourne" Fuck me, I think I'm about to have an aneurism...

  28. Re:Enlighten me please by TheGratefulNet · · Score: 5, Informative

    for hd video, wifi is NO SUBSTITUTE for wired enet.

    try an mkv file; oftentimes it takes 2 or even 3 minutes before vlc (on win7 ultimate) begins to play, and that is with the very latest media bridge of ac to ac wireless (2 asus routers). this is as good as wireless gets for consumers and yet I have a several minute wait time.

    why? I think the protocol sucks and there is a lot of seeking or indexing on some mkv's and with wifi latency, small packets take forever (when there are lots of them needed). plug into wired enet and the video plays almost instantly.

    do a backup over the net? not likely! yes, I can. but its painful.

    wireless also is quite insecure. a lot of people think its ok. many of us don't trust it.

    so, anyone saying 'wired is dead for end stations' knows nothing about the vast number of use-cases where wifi falls flat on its arse.

    (and try running nfs over wifi. good luck with that!)

    --

    --
    "It is now safe to switch off your computer."
  29. A smart watch? by Trogre · · Score: 2

    What a visionary innovation for Apple. A wrist watch that talks to your smartphone. It's amazing that no one has thought of it before.

    --
    "Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
  30. This makes me angry by JBMcB · · Score: 5, Funny

    Because I don't think anyone should own something that expensive. And for some reason that sparks outrage.

    You see, I am the arbiter of utility. I decide what other people should and shouldn't buy, and what they should pay for it.

    Because I know more than them. I understand their needs and wants better than they do.

    If I can't afford something, nobody else should be able to buy it.

    --
    My Other Computer Is A Data General Nova III.
  31. Re:Enlighten me please by sexconker · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Meanwhile, to be portable for meetings, you need to bundle in your bag additional adapters (eg. plugging into a projector). A slightly thicker laptop with no dongles will actually be more portable.

    Yup.
    It amazes me how people splooge themselves over how thin and light their laptop is, yet end up carrying it, the power brick, a mouse, a USB to ethernet adapter, a mini dsplayport to something sane adapter, etc. in an overstuffed travel bag. Whereas a larger, cheaper laptop gets you a bigger screen, a larger trackpad (fuck all trackpads, though), a real ethernet port, real video outputs, and a larger battery, meaning you don't need anything but the laptop for a presentation, or the laptop and the charger for a full day of work.

  32. Re:Enlighten me please by PopeRatzo · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I know plenty of business travelers...

    Remember when Apple made "Computers For The Rest Of Us" instead of luxury products for the wealthy?

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
  33. Re:The moan of sour grapes by sr180 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The Swiss watch will still perform its function in 10 years time. It will still perform its function in 100 years time.

    Can you say that about the Apple Watch?

    --
    In Soviet Russia the insensitive clod is YOU!
  34. Re:Enlighten me please by threephaseboy · · Score: 4, Informative

    Bigger issue: You can't drive an external display and charge at the same time. Eventually you'll run out of power and have to unplug your monitor to recharge.

    Why not? Apple's HDMI adapter has another USB-C jack that lets you charge the laptop.
    This adapter should have been in the box instead of as an $80 addon, IMO.

    --
    .
  35. Re:The moan of sour grapes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What's the point of a Rolex? They're absolutely obsolete, unless you're going for some strange fashion statement involving sporadic announcements of "it's a Rolex". If you are rich, then it'll be impressive as a pair of blue jeans for the rest of us. But, if you want a modern smart watch that you can dress up with, where the Rolex used to go, then you're choices are limited to exactly one. There's an absolute gaping void in the market that they're putting *something* into. What's the problem with that? Why does that involve a "soul"?

    Since the Swiss watch industry abandoned quartz technology they have convinced the world over the last 3 decades that the apex of watch technology is mechanical. Which is bullshit 'cause mechanical watches even those in the several thousand dollar category let alone those that cost tens, hundreds of thousands of dollars are less precise in timekeeping than a thermo-compensated quartz watch (like those made by Seiko or Citizen) and lets' not even go into those watches that synchronize with an atomic watch. People buying Swiss watches are not buying them for the fact they're watches, they buy them because it's a status symbol completely disconnected from its primary function. That's why you hear people talking about mechanical souls, 'cause it's the only "rational" way in which you can friggin' jutsify spending thousands of dollars on a non-gold watch that keeps time in a mediocre fashion and less precise than middle of the road watches from the seventies and eighties. Power of marketing. Apple is not the first with its Reality Distortion Field. The Swiss watching industry got there decades before the Cupertino Corp.

    Improvement in watch technology comes from 3 sources : Seiko and Citizen in their high end watches (not the 200-300 dollar variety). They innovate in electronics and mechanics. The only other brand (Swiss) that has innovated is Omega with an new escapement mechanism in over 300 years. That tells you just how retarded the Swiss watch industry really is.

    The Apple watch has 3 demerits :
    - one it requires a friggin apple smartphone to function.
    - mediocre battery life.
    - the gold variant is for all intents and purposes a disposable jewelry item. Not the message that Apple should be communicating to the eventual buyers.

    Fix the first 2 and you have a contender to the middle range swiss watches. The precision battle is already won, unless the swiss want to go back to XXst century technology instead of 3 century old mechanical gears and swiss escapement mechanisms.

  36. Re:Enlighten me please by Guspaz · · Score: 3, Informative

    USB-C to DisplayPort adapters will be very cheap, because they're almost entirely passive. USB-C supports video by just giving a variable number of pins over to electrical displayport. The only active electronics is for the sideband channels.

    Expect Monoprice to be selling one on the cheap soon.

  37. Re:Enlighten me please by vux984 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    My 3 year old MBP has one. Never been used. All it does is catch dust.

    Ok. That's you.

    WiFi is not the bottleneck, so why would I tie myself to a wire?

    Wifi isn't always available. I typically configure wifi access points and other network gear using wired connections; because wired is working long before wireless is even turned on and configured.

    I've been in hotel rooms that don't have wifi, but have wired as recently as last year.

    I've been in client sites that don't have wifi but have wired as recently as this year.

    Other times its absolutely the bottleneck:

    I've needed to transfer 10s of GB of data between client and server in both home and office environments and waiting 20x as long for wifi to do it would be ridiculous.

    I've used my laptop on occasion as an impromptu ISO storage to get citrix xen virtual machines installed ... glad i had gigabit for that too.

    WiFi is not the bottleneck, so why would I tie myself to a wire?

    If its available, and not a bottleneck, you wouldn't. But if you find you do need it... what then? You've got it. It added a nickel to the price of your laptop.

    How can you be for Apple to make another nickel of profit (because its not like they pass that savings on to you)? What do you get in return for that? You get to carry an adapter around with you everywhere just in case. You get to shell out an absurd amount of money for said adapter. And murphy's law dictates that you probably won't have it with you when you need it anyway... wasting your time and money to source another one.

  38. Re:Enlighten me please by Just+Some+Guy · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This is why nearly all laptops from all other companies have 2-4 USB ports, a display out, a network jack, and a headphone jack.

    Ugh. I hate those legacy laptops with a hundred different connectors you have to manage every time you sit down to your desk or leave it, with one invariably falling behind the desk so that you have to go fishing. My favorite work environment was with a MacBook Air and a Thunderbolt Display. The display has one cable with two split ends that you plug into the laptop: one for power, and one for combined video / USB / Ethernet / audio. All of the permanent wiring like USB drives, Ethernet, etc. plugs into the monitor which acts like a hub for everything else.

    I'd stake money that the next iteration will combine all of that into a single USB C cable. Get to work, unpack my laptop, plug in a single reversible jack, and sit down to all my wired accessories? Yes please.

    --
    Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
  39. Re:Out of touch by armanox · · Score: 2

    Oddly enough, it took me about a year to realize I hadn't hooked up the DVD drive in my desktop, and I don't remember the last time I used one in a laptop (with the exception of some really old ones I toy with sometimes, like my Thinkpad 600e since it doesn't support USB boot).

    --
    I'm starting to think GNU is the problem with "GNU/Linux" these days.
  40. Re:The moan of sour grapes by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 4, Funny

    In ten years and in 100 years, Apple Watch will still tell time, exactly like the Rolex, except with much greater accuracy. The other functions, the ones Rolex could never even imagine, are the ones that will be obsolete.

    But by ten years or twenty years from now, the Apple Watch will have a ridiculously high collector value when sold to a museum.

  41. You wish, Apple. by SeaFox · · Score: 2

    "We don’t need all those other ports, Apple says. We are living in a wireless world now, where we can connect most of our peripherals without cords."

    Try calling your ISP about your poor Internet speeds with your wireless-only laptop and see how far you get.

  42. Re:The moan of sour grapes by R3d+M3rcury · · Score: 5, Insightful

    In ten years and in 100 years, Apple Watch will still tell time, exactly like the Rolex, except with much greater accuracy.

    Assuming it's battery lasts that long.

  43. Re:The moan of sour grapes by jedidiah · · Score: 5, Insightful

    In 10 years time, the Apple Watch will be a non-functioning piece of trash. You will be lucky if an Apple Watch outlasts a Timex. Never mind a Rolex.

    --
    A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
  44. Re:The moan of sour grapes by GuB-42 · · Score: 2

    In ten+ years the Rolex will still run as well as when you bought it where the Apple Watch battery will be dead with no replacement part available. If they don't make the software unusable beforehand.

  45. Re:The moan of sour grapes by jbolden · · Score: 2

    The cost to service a Rolex every 5 years, and yes they need oil, is about the same as the as the price of an Apple Watch.

  46. Economics - not logic by seoras · · Score: 2

    The value of anything isn't dictated by a formula e.g. (cost to build) + (reasonable margin) + (shipping/sales/etc)
    Value, or price, is what someone is prepared to pay for it.
    Apple obviously believes, guided by the likes of Angela Ahrendts, that $10k is a good starting price for a limited "edition" watch.

    This is Slashdot -"News for nerds" right?
    They aren't selling that watch to us, so quit the sniping and moaning.
    You could probably make your own 24ct gold watch out of the guts of a $349 entry level for less than an extra $1000.
    I'm certain there's foundries firing up right now rubbing heir hands at the prospect of scalping.

    As for the laptop.
    It's not for us either who are probably more advance IT users than the fashion followers who will love that gold 12" in their handbag or execs wanting the latest desktop bling.
    Horses for courses.

    I think I was a bit shocked at the optic drive being dropped from the original air but to be fair it was the right move in hindsight.
    This is history repeating itself so it shouldn't be as much of a shock.

    My only concern with that laptop is the loss of the mag-safe.
    Who remembers the broken MB's before mag-safe from folks tripping over them?
    We're more or less at the convergence point of laptop & tablet as of yesterday.
    Same number of ports and not much in screen size difference.
    How fast technology does change...

  47. Re:Enlighten me please by mjwx · · Score: 2

    for hd video, wifi is NO SUBSTITUTE for wired enet.

    This.

    And it's not necessarily the speed (bit rate) but the inherent instability and susceptibility to interference that really makes it unstable. If my wireless connection drops momentarily whilst I'm browsing /. I'm not going to notice, if it drops whilst streaming a HD video, chances are I'll notice (even buffering the video wont help too much).

    If you want to send video over a network you use wires. If you're really serious or going long distances, you go straight to fibre.

    --
    Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
  48. Re:Enlighten me please by mjwx · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Ugh. I hate those legacy laptops with a hundred different connectors you have to manage every time you sit down to your desk

    Yeah, its so much better having to rummage around in a bag for 2 minutes so I can plug in some headphones with a bog standard 3.5mm jack is soooooo much better... And woe betide you if you forget that adapter.

    I do expect a minimum number of connectors in a laptop. At least 3 USB (keyboard, mouse and storage device), network (Ethernet), display out (HDMI is standard these days) and audio out (3.5 mm) are that minimum. So 7 connectors, none of which are legacy or even uncommon.

    My idea of laptop hell is having to get an additional US$80 adapter just to plug in a device that plugs in fine to every other laptop in existence.

    --
    Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
  49. Re: The moan of sour grapes by russotto · · Score: 2

    The point of a Rolex is to advertise to the world that you are made of money. Personally I wouldn't want anything on my wrist that is worth more than my hand

    I don't know about you, but if I had to pay $10,000 to save my hand, I would. Or $40,000 for that matter.

  50. If it's function is to indicate to others... by publiclurker · · Score: 2

    that the wearer is a pretentious douche, then yes.

  51. Re:Too Soft by Capsaicin · · Score: 3, Funny

    18-karat gold is not solid gold. A watch made out of 18-karat gold is not solid gold.

    Well a it's solid 18 carat gold watch (at least the casing is). And reportedly it's more 'solid' than 24 carat (or even finer) gold.

    --
    Better to be despised for too anxious apprehensions, than ruined by too confident a security. --Edmund Burke
  52. 20th anniversary Mac by Headw1nd · · Score: 2, Insightful

    So unlike Apple? Has everyone forgotten the 20th anniversary Mac? Underpowered at its release, three times the price of a comparable Mac? C'mon people, I'm an unrepentant Apple user and I remember this - Apple making a really expensive version of something they have and selling to the rich is old hat.

    What might be interesting with these is the opportunity to use them as trendsetters - Jay-Z wears one for a month, a thousand lesser celebs wear them for the next couple years, then the $500 version hits the streets - with two years of data to improve the user experience and make it more integrated and useful.

  53. Re: The moan of sour grapes by Albanach · · Score: 2

    You really think no one wants or uses hundred year old Rolex watches?

    here's just one example.

  54. Re:Enlighten me please by DigiShaman · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Packet loss. SNR level of the 2.4Ghz band is real shitty in major US cities. Even Comcast modems and el-cheapo printers are pumping out WiFi; thus flooding the spectrum. Trying to establish a terminal session (RDP, Citrix, etc) gets spotty, and certain databases can become corrupted (fuck you Quickbooks) upon a dropped connection.

    At home, I use 5Ghz for several reasons, lack of range is more than made up for a lower SNR level. This is a huge win for streaming Netflix via AppleTV device as my home isn't wired for ethernet (most aren't).

    Back at work, I will always use an ethernet connection when available. I will even seek out cubical space, vacant office or conference room that's wired when staying at a client office for several hours. WiFi is for phones and tablets, not everyday computing that involves slinging data over the network rather than general web browsing and e-mail checking.

    --
    Life is not for the lazy.
  55. The cheapest Apple Watch will do everything by SuperKendall · · Score: 2

    I don't see why people are getting in such a lather about this.

    The simple fact is the cheapest Apple Watch is every bit as functional as the most expensive one.

    If Apple had given greater function to a watch priced unreachably high to most everyone, I'd be right up there complaining. But I see nothing wrong with making limited versions of anything that is far cooler and costs more... geeks do this all the time with stuff like limited edition boxed sets of movies, special Star Wars figures, etc. A really expensive Apple Watch lives in that same realm of reason - it may not be for you, but if it makes someone happy what is the harm?

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  56. FFS by fyngyrz · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The new laptop:

    They tossed a port they really needed to keep: ethernet. To get (a slower, less capable, CPU-eating version of) it back, you must re-dongle the USB port (and you'd better hope you have some kind of mega-wire-spider so you can feed it power at the same time... and connect your USB stuff... and connect an external HDMI monitor...)

    Then they failed to make wireless the thing they really needed to make wireless: charging. And why is this so needful? Because they REMOVED one of the best features of macbooks, the magsafe power cord, so now, instead of your macbook reliably staying on the table when you or your kid or your dog trips over the power cord, it's now considerably more likely to hit the floor instead. Also, of course, wireless charging is awesome, and wired charging is... not.

    Apparently, this thing was designed by the same clever folks who made the new Mac Pro into a rats-nest generator, took away the expandable memory option for the mini, and broke both the hosts file LAN functionality. Bravo. Braaaaaavo. They are doing an excellent job of keeping me looking out for earlier model used Mac Pros. It appears that they feel they have enough money.

    I agree that Apple has successfully identified something I clearly don't need: the new macbook.

    --
    I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
  57. iWatch fails at being Jewellery by DMJC · · Score: 2

    I worked as a network admin inside a Jewellery store last year. I can tell you the iWatch is going to fail as a jewellery piece. Jewellery is about exclusivity, crazy engineering, and status. The iWatch fails too many of these points to matter. Another problem is it's a square faced watch. It falls under the traditional Women's timepiece category. They might sell a few, but it's not going to be the giant smash they are assuming it's going to be. Most jewellery store staff I showed it to thought the moto 360 looked much more like a men's watch. However even then they thought that their core client base would choose the traditional watches over the electronic ones. At the end of the day, Apple just isn't trying to compete with a hand cut $20,000 Grand Seiko watch. They are going to be laser cutting these things on a fabrication line. Works great for cheap electronics, not so much for exclusive high end luxury items.

  58. Re:Profit Margins on the Apple Watch Edition by fluffernutter · · Score: 2

    So? Macs are only technically computers. Apple sells them just fine.

    --
    Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
  59. Lower life forms by ArcadeMan · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.

    Orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninety-two million miles is an utterly insignificant little blue green planet whose ape-descended life forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea.

  60. Re:Enlighten me please by Cederic · · Score: 2

    Why not require an P-52 Mustang engine on it too

    Mainly because there was no P-52 Mustang.

    Mind, a Rolls Royce Merlin equipped laptop would sound glorious. I'd buy one, if I could carry it.