Maybe it's difficult to charge for the bits and pieces they've just added to Ubuntu.
But I agree, do we really need yet-another-linux-based OS? Is there really any value to the user by using any of the dozens of different distros specifically?
Are you really going to keep up with security patches on the same level as the Ubuntu or Debian security teams?
This is actually just Ubuntu with some tweaks and changes so most updates will come for free by virtue of the codebase being almost entirely Ubuntu anyway.
lol, one of the major reasons I want to use Linux is because it ISN'T Windows 10. The UI is far worse than Windows 7, for desktop PCs.
What exactly is it you do with your computer that the difference in UI has that much of an effect? The start menu is very similar to 7 and frankly if you just hit the start button and type the program you want, or use the taskbar or desktop to launch programs then it's no different at all. And once you're actually using your programs is it any different at all?
Nah, this is just the 'Embrace' phase of EEE that Microsoft is so well known for.
The 'Embrace' phase is pretty much the only one they are known for, people said it about Java, they said it about HTML standards, they said it about Linux kernel contributions, they said it about Open Source and now of course they're saying it about the Linux foundation so by all accounts "EEE" means "will become hugely successful".
Phase of what? The only thing "Embrace, Extend, Extinguish" has ever been tied to is Java and HTML web standards, so if that is anything to go buy then attributing EEE to something is the precursor to that thing becoming hugely popular and widely used and adopted.
People here said the same thing about Microsoft's contributions to the Linux kernel and hey what do you know, those people were wrong again. Though it shouldn't be surprising given so many in the community broadly dismissed products like the iPad and iPhone, prophesized about the popularity of open source consoles like Ouya, constantly predict the death of Microsoft and the Year of the Linux desktop. Frankly if you want to know what the trend in technology is just look at the prevailing opinion on slashdot and know that it's the opposite of that.
Because, there are no Pascal GPU's with a TDP of 35W. If you put a 85W GTX 1060 into a Macbook Pro it'd probably burst into flames. Also, mobile Polaris chips are significantly thinner.
Right but that just highlights Apple's shift in their target market. They used to offer highend, high performance systems targeted at pro users with a flexible, professional operating system. The relative performance of their most high end "professional" laptops has dropped significantly in favor of being fashionably thin and while the introduction of Gatekeeper with it's defaults where you had to manually select that you wanted programs other than those from the app store was annoying, Sierra's removal of that option completely shows that this was the slippery slope so many people were saying.
Now you can't do a blanket authorization of non-approved apps, you can't buy a Macbook with a competitive GPU and if you want support for prevalent interfaces like USB-A, Thunderbolt 2, HDMI, etc... you need an array of dongles. They used to be about seamless interoperability, now it's just clumsy.
Want to install that copy of $Game from $DeadPublisher, you have the license but the download server for the "installer" is offline and the publisher's new owner doesn't want you to play the old game, buy the new one this year instead? Tough!
And you have had your head in the sand and haven't noticed the prevalence of activation servers, 0-day patches and DLCs? That disc you have is next to worthless.
So if software licensing is invalid then the GPL for example, is an unenforceable license too. In any case the move away from desktop software to cloud based software and registration and DLCs for gaming is the way of enforcing it, it's happening more and more and you're just blind or incredibly naive if you don't see that.
No, no no. That is the paradigm that they want you to believe. I have never believed it for an instant.
Oh well because you never believed it I guess it mustn't be true then.
If I give you money to use something, *I* get to choose how I use it.
This "licensing" bullshit is just that, bullshit.
Well it just isn't, regardless of what you say. Whether it is proprietary software or free software it isn't sold to you, it is licensed to you. I don't know why you fail to understand that, the concept isn't that difficult.
Does that mean that I break software that tries to enforce some sort of licensing scheme? Certainly.
And of course now they are just locking things down and making software "cloud based" so that you no longer even have the software. If you want to go and buy the software (and own it) then go right ahead, but I doubt you could afford it.
To be clear I'm not saying I agree with the paradigm, but I'm not going to pretend I don't understand it just because I don't agree with it and certainly this "cloud" paradigm is one way companies are moving to enforce it.
If you paid for a PC game, and *DON'T* have a disc in your hand as a result, then you are just a plain old sucker.
Just because you have a disc doesn't mean you own anything, in fact you license the software and that's the way it has worked for decades. So if you think there's a difference between having the game on a physical disc or downloaded to your hard drive then you haven't been paying attention.
The app store model only works for smartphones, but PC owners DEMAND more.
No they don't, the runaway success of platforms like Steam PROVES that.
Adapters are required because the USB-C connector is too new, not because it is proprietary.
Apple's whole strategy around ports is an inconsistent mess at the moment, the fanboys defend it as Apple being "ahead of the curve" but that is untrue, this is just Apple going against their traditional strategy of minimalist design with products that seamlessly work together. Travelling on the plane I couldn't use bluetooth headphones so I took wired ones, I couldn't take the lightning earpods that came with my iPhone7 because the Macbook Pro inexplicably still doesn't include a lightning port so I had to take ones with a 3.5mm jack and take an adapter just so I could plug it into the iPhone. If I were to upgrade to the new MBP I need an adapter to go from the iPhone USB cable (and thumbdrives, USB mouse) to USB-C, HDMI adapter, thunderbolt 2 converter so I can plug in my thunderbolt hard drive and either another thunderbolt converter (for my ethernet thunderbolt adapter because of OSX's wifi connectivity issues - software, because no issues when using Windows with bootcamp) or an ethernet to thunderbolt 3 converter and I've got to take the 3.5mm to Lightning adapter for my phone so my headphones work on both devices.
Having a quiet machine matters if you're using it to record music for instance.
And that's one of the biggest problems with Apple's "thinner" methodology, not only do we end up with underpowered hardware but the heat dissipation suffers too so doing nothing more than updating XCode starts thrashing the fans on my MBP, much less doing things like video or audio recording.
Nope. Linux has had multi-touch and gesture support at least as long as Windows and perhaps longer.
Yeah but how do you do the things he listed on Linux? Getting the hardware to work is one thing but that isn't useful to a user. I know if you use a Linux distro that uses KDE Plasma some of them work but they work different to KDE's kirigami applications, which work differently to what you get on Gnome which work differently to what you have with Unity and whether you're using Wayland (libinput) makes a difference because it reserves some gestures. Then if you have a distro that ships with a toolkit like touchegg it's different again.
Referring to something like this in terms of "Linux" makes no sense because nobody runs just "Linux", they run distros combined of other software that may or may not actually implement this functionality and how it is implemented is not consistent across Linux.
And of course, your needs and wants are everyone's needs and wants, right?
Why are you getting so immediately defensive when he didn't say or imply that at all? So quick to attempt to quash any negative opinion of Apple by pretending he was suggesting he was speaking for everybody. Come on, I like and use Apple products too but nobody responds like that without an agenda.
They kind of are like Mercedes, but the really poor value midrange ones. They used to offer a highend E63, something well built and powerful but now even the best and most highend Apple laptop is worse performing than what you could get from even midrange laptops well over a year ago.
Yes they look nice but they aren't as well built as they used to be (so far 2x2015 MBPs, one with a rattling GPU fan and broken USB port and the other with a thunderbolt port that just stopped working, 2012 MBA with a creaky chassis that needed the baseplate replaced) and they are far from being powerful enough now. I'm sure the fanboys will tell me it's my fault my Macbook didn't work or that it's my fault that I need more than 16GB of RAM or it's my fault that I need a more powerful GPU but with this release it does indeed show that Apple laptops are no longer for professional usage, they are underpowered and overpriced...but yes, at least they look nice.
This is purely a case of form over function, for a "Pro" machine in 2016 to max out with 16GB, have a GPU that is far below the performance of the current top end (nVidia's mobile Pascal offerings) all while not improving the thermal performance or battery life. That would be fine if it weren't the highest spec OSX laptop you can buy, but it's the best Apple can offer and that is pathetic.
That means that unless you're a power user (or video game or VR enthusiast)
Yes, the sort of person who would choose the "Pro" model over the standard or low end models. What exactly is the Pro model supposed to be for if not exactly these people?
Serious video editing while camping, or on a bus, or somewhere else where no wall power is available, is a niche requirement. It is not something normal people do.
What do you mean "serious" video editing? I'm talking about even the HD videos you can take on your iphone and airdrop to your mac. What exactly do you think the use-cases for a laptop on battery power are limited to? And plugged in or not the terrible thermal performance remains.
How about keeping it the same thickness and increasing the battery life?
Because that is not what most people want. It has 10 hours of battery life.
That completely depends on what you're doing. If I do any kind of graphics of video editing - you know, the sorts of things a Pro machine is for - it is a massive drain on the battery but even more importantly the constant thickness reductions result in VERY poor thermal performance so whenever I do anything mildly strenuous on the hardware the fans kick in ridiculously loud.
Slashdot Mirror
Maybe it's difficult to charge for the bits and pieces they've just added to Ubuntu.
But I agree, do we really need yet-another-linux-based OS? Is there really any value to the user by using any of the dozens of different distros specifically?
Are you really going to keep up with security patches on the same level as the Ubuntu or Debian security teams?
This is actually just Ubuntu with some tweaks and changes so most updates will come for free by virtue of the codebase being almost entirely Ubuntu anyway.
lol, one of the major reasons I want to use Linux is because it ISN'T Windows 10. The UI is far worse than Windows 7, for desktop PCs.
What exactly is it you do with your computer that the difference in UI has that much of an effect? The start menu is very similar to 7 and frankly if you just hit the start button and type the program you want, or use the taskbar or desktop to launch programs then it's no different at all. And once you're actually using your programs is it any different at all?
People did not say that about html.
Really? That proprietary extensions to HTML weren't an example of what people believed EEE was?
Nah, this is just the 'Embrace' phase of EEE that Microsoft is so well known for.
The 'Embrace' phase is pretty much the only one they are known for, people said it about Java, they said it about HTML standards, they said it about Linux kernel contributions, they said it about Open Source and now of course they're saying it about the Linux foundation so by all accounts "EEE" means "will become hugely successful".
This is the Embrace phase...
Phase of what? The only thing "Embrace, Extend, Extinguish" has ever been tied to is Java and HTML web standards, so if that is anything to go buy then attributing EEE to something is the precursor to that thing becoming hugely popular and widely used and adopted.
People here said the same thing about Microsoft's contributions to the Linux kernel and hey what do you know, those people were wrong again. Though it shouldn't be surprising given so many in the community broadly dismissed products like the iPad and iPhone, prophesized about the popularity of open source consoles like Ouya, constantly predict the death of Microsoft and the Year of the Linux desktop. Frankly if you want to know what the trend in technology is just look at the prevailing opinion on slashdot and know that it's the opposite of that.
Because, there are no Pascal GPU's with a TDP of 35W. If you put a 85W GTX 1060 into a Macbook Pro it'd probably burst into flames. Also, mobile Polaris chips are significantly thinner.
Right but that just highlights Apple's shift in their target market. They used to offer highend, high performance systems targeted at pro users with a flexible, professional operating system. The relative performance of their most high end "professional" laptops has dropped significantly in favor of being fashionably thin and while the introduction of Gatekeeper with it's defaults where you had to manually select that you wanted programs other than those from the app store was annoying, Sierra's removal of that option completely shows that this was the slippery slope so many people were saying.
Now you can't do a blanket authorization of non-approved apps, you can't buy a Macbook with a competitive GPU and if you want support for prevalent interfaces like USB-A, Thunderbolt 2, HDMI, etc... you need an array of dongles. They used to be about seamless interoperability, now it's just clumsy.
And many people will still buy it. smh...
Pfft...I'm waiting for next year's Apple Book S, it will be thinner and lighter and will have some of it's pages courageously removed.
Want to install that copy of $Game from $DeadPublisher, you have the license but the download server for the "installer" is offline and the publisher's new owner doesn't want you to play the old game, buy the new one this year instead? Tough!
And you have had your head in the sand and haven't noticed the prevalence of activation servers, 0-day patches and DLCs? That disc you have is next to worthless.
So if software licensing is invalid then the GPL for example, is an unenforceable license too. In any case the move away from desktop software to cloud based software and registration and DLCs for gaming is the way of enforcing it, it's happening more and more and you're just blind or incredibly naive if you don't see that.
No, no no. That is the paradigm that they want you to believe. I have never believed it for an instant.
Oh well because you never believed it I guess it mustn't be true then. If I give you money to use something, *I* get to choose how I use it.
This "licensing" bullshit is just that, bullshit.
Well it just isn't, regardless of what you say. Whether it is proprietary software or free software it isn't sold to you, it is licensed to you. I don't know why you fail to understand that, the concept isn't that difficult.
Does that mean that I break software that tries to enforce some sort of licensing scheme? Certainly.
And of course now they are just locking things down and making software "cloud based" so that you no longer even have the software. If you want to go and buy the software (and own it) then go right ahead, but I doubt you could afford it.
To be clear I'm not saying I agree with the paradigm, but I'm not going to pretend I don't understand it just because I don't agree with it and certainly this "cloud" paradigm is one way companies are moving to enforce it.
If you paid for a PC game, and *DON'T* have a disc in your hand as a result, then you are just a plain old sucker.
Just because you have a disc doesn't mean you own anything, in fact you license the software and that's the way it has worked for decades. So if you think there's a difference between having the game on a physical disc or downloaded to your hard drive then you haven't been paying attention.
The app store model only works for smartphones, but PC owners DEMAND more.
No they don't, the runaway success of platforms like Steam PROVES that.
Adapters are required because the USB-C connector is too new, not because it is proprietary.
Apple's whole strategy around ports is an inconsistent mess at the moment, the fanboys defend it as Apple being "ahead of the curve" but that is untrue, this is just Apple going against their traditional strategy of minimalist design with products that seamlessly work together. Travelling on the plane I couldn't use bluetooth headphones so I took wired ones, I couldn't take the lightning earpods that came with my iPhone7 because the Macbook Pro inexplicably still doesn't include a lightning port so I had to take ones with a 3.5mm jack and take an adapter just so I could plug it into the iPhone. If I were to upgrade to the new MBP I need an adapter to go from the iPhone USB cable (and thumbdrives, USB mouse) to USB-C, HDMI adapter, thunderbolt 2 converter so I can plug in my thunderbolt hard drive and either another thunderbolt converter (for my ethernet thunderbolt adapter because of OSX's wifi connectivity issues - software, because no issues when using Windows with bootcamp) or an ethernet to thunderbolt 3 converter and I've got to take the 3.5mm to Lightning adapter for my phone so my headphones work on both devices.
So I need:
1x HDMI adapter to support my external display.
2x Thunderbolt 2 -> Thunderbolt 3 adapter to support my existing thunderbolt 2 devices.
1x USB -> USB-C adapter to support plugging in my iPhone or thumbdrives or USB mouse. Or a USB hub.
1x 3.5mm to Lightning so I can use the same headphones on my iPhone and Mac.
It's a mess.
I'm ticked not only about the lack of USB-A ports, but that they're moving away from MagSafe power supplies.
I'm sure there'll soon be a dongle for that.
Having a quiet machine matters if you're using it to record music for instance.
And that's one of the biggest problems with Apple's "thinner" methodology, not only do we end up with underpowered hardware but the heat dissipation suffers too so doing nothing more than updating XCode starts thrashing the fans on my MBP, much less doing things like video or audio recording.
Some of us like to run an OS that doesn't suck ass and doesn't require constant care and feeding like Linux or Windows.
Yes and it's annoying that we're now stuck with crappy hardware. The GPUs are underperforming and we are limited to 16GB of RAM.
Nope. Linux has had multi-touch and gesture support at least as long as Windows and perhaps longer.
Yeah but how do you do the things he listed on Linux? Getting the hardware to work is one thing but that isn't useful to a user. I know if you use a Linux distro that uses KDE Plasma some of them work but they work different to KDE's kirigami applications, which work differently to what you get on Gnome which work differently to what you have with Unity and whether you're using Wayland (libinput) makes a difference because it reserves some gestures. Then if you have a distro that ships with a toolkit like touchegg it's different again.
Referring to something like this in terms of "Linux" makes no sense because nobody runs just "Linux", they run distros combined of other software that may or may not actually implement this functionality and how it is implemented is not consistent across Linux.
And of course, your needs and wants are everyone's needs and wants, right?
Why are you getting so immediately defensive when he didn't say or imply that at all? So quick to attempt to quash any negative opinion of Apple by pretending he was suggesting he was speaking for everybody. Come on, I like and use Apple products too but nobody responds like that without an agenda.
They kind of are like Mercedes, but the really poor value midrange ones. They used to offer a highend E63, something well built and powerful but now even the best and most highend Apple laptop is worse performing than what you could get from even midrange laptops well over a year ago.
Yes they look nice but they aren't as well built as they used to be (so far 2x2015 MBPs, one with a rattling GPU fan and broken USB port and the other with a thunderbolt port that just stopped working, 2012 MBA with a creaky chassis that needed the baseplate replaced) and they are far from being powerful enough now. I'm sure the fanboys will tell me it's my fault my Macbook didn't work or that it's my fault that I need more than 16GB of RAM or it's my fault that I need a more powerful GPU but with this release it does indeed show that Apple laptops are no longer for professional usage, they are underpowered and overpriced...but yes, at least they look nice.
Doesn't matter too much - EA licensees will still have access, but no one who isn't paying $$$$$($!) to Microsoft will.
OEMs are exactly the ones that pay $$$$$ to Microsoft and they're the ones that they will no longer sell them to.
Sorry for the re-reply but I'm just updating XCode on a 2015 MBP and the fans are thrashing just doing that! It's absolutely woeful.
This is purely a case of form over function, for a "Pro" machine in 2016 to max out with 16GB, have a GPU that is far below the performance of the current top end (nVidia's mobile Pascal offerings) all while not improving the thermal performance or battery life. That would be fine if it weren't the highest spec OSX laptop you can buy, but it's the best Apple can offer and that is pathetic.
That means that unless you're a power user (or video game or VR enthusiast)
Yes, the sort of person who would choose the "Pro" model over the standard or low end models. What exactly is the Pro model supposed to be for if not exactly these people?
Serious video editing while camping, or on a bus, or somewhere else where no wall power is available, is a niche requirement. It is not something normal people do.
What do you mean "serious" video editing? I'm talking about even the HD videos you can take on your iphone and airdrop to your mac. What exactly do you think the use-cases for a laptop on battery power are limited to? And plugged in or not the terrible thermal performance remains.
They've almost certainly locked the bootloader, and no, you can't have the keys thank you very much!
You can install Linux just fine on all the other surface products so what do you think is so special about this one?
How about keeping it the same thickness and increasing the battery life?
Because that is not what most people want. It has 10 hours of battery life.
That completely depends on what you're doing. If I do any kind of graphics of video editing - you know, the sorts of things a Pro machine is for - it is a massive drain on the battery but even more importantly the constant thickness reductions result in VERY poor thermal performance so whenever I do anything mildly strenuous on the hardware the fans kick in ridiculously loud.