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I'm not sure I understand the hate for this MacBook Pro on HN. To be fair I never quite understood the now defunct Apple love on HN either. I think this new Mac

by Xixi 10y ago

I'm not sure I understand the hate for this MacBook Pro on HN. To be fair I never quite understood the now defunct Apple love on HN either. I think this new MacBook Pro is actually a very decent laptop [1], if a tad expensive. I mean I actually carry my laptop a lot, and not in a car since I'm a mere pedestrian (and formerly cyclist, used to bike to work 30 minutes each way every day carrying my laptop in my backpack, now I just walk to work). I always dreamed of a MacBook Pro the size of a MacBook. I've never bought a MacBook Pro because previous models were too bulky, but this model is a pretty solid compromise. I'm waiting to try it before buying it, but it looks almost perfect. A tad too heavy still, and obviously expensive... [1] I really dislike the pro moniker: being a pro is not a function of what you do with your tools, but of whether you are paid (or aim at being paid) to do it. There are many non-pro that need very high end specs (e.g. for video editing, playing games, enjoying VR experiences, etc.), and plenty of pro that really just want to send an email, tweak an Excel spreadsheet, or write an Elixir app. Nothing that would require an overspec beast.

vaishaksuresh 10y ago
The pro moniker with most equipment means that somebody who makes money from using such equipment will likely use it. Cameras also use similar distinction. Everybody using a full-frame camera is not a professional, but most professionals use a full-frame camera.
- Xixi 10y ago
  But most professionals are not using "Pro" laptops. They use basic consumer laptops, because they don't have the need for anything else: it runs Outlook, Excel and IE fine. A professional photographer probably has higher computer requirements than most professionals, for that matter. And yet when they needed end of line MacPro/Power Mac a decade ago, the photographers that I know are very happy with oldish iMacs these days. My very own example: Tomotcha. An old MacBook Air from 2011 is way more than I need to research teas, buy some, write blog posts or answer to customers. It's also enough to work on the underlying Python 3 codebase (not that it's very long). That's just one usage of my computer, but it certainly qualifies as pro.
r00fus 10y ago
I think the price/performance ratio is mainly the grating point - the RAM ceiling specifically prevents customers from splurging to future-proof - ie, in 5 years 16GB will be enough? Personally I test-drove a 13" MBP (no TouchBar) at an Apple store - my thoughts: keyboard feels a bit foreign (spring back), but much better than the 12" MB which I also tried in the store. It's light. I only wish it supported the 4 ports as in the 15".
- nck4222 10y ago
  >I think the price/performance ratio is mainly the grating point Really? Apply products are pretty consistently "overpriced" if judged by this metric. It doesn't seem all that different to me in this case.
- stinos 10y ago
  future-proof I doubt Apples cares much at all about future-proof. Why should they? In the end they're just a company wanting to sell, more and more if possible. Their target audience isn't some industry where one expects 10+ years out of a machine, nor those who value long lifetimes of products. Instead Apple knows very well there's tons of people who'll happily by the next gen if the current one breaks down in much less than 5 years, or just because it's the next gen even though the current one still works ok.
  - r00fus 10y ago
    You can pay upwards of $4000 for this laptop, future-proofing directly impacts resale value, which impacts perceived utility. Sure, it's in Apple's (and every other equipment manufacturer) interest to have planned obsolescence, but utility is a key customer requirement / need. Apple is not (yet) a pure fashion outlet.
- throw_away 10y ago
  IIRC, the 13" model with TouchBar will have four ports.

by Xixi 10y ago

vaishaksuresh 10y ago

The pro moniker with most equipment means that somebody who makes money from using such equipment will likely use it. Cameras also use similar distinction. Everybody using a full-frame camera is not a professional, but most professionals use a full-frame camera.

Xixi 10y ago
But most professionals are not using "Pro" laptops. They use basic consumer laptops, because they don't have the need for anything else: it runs Outlook, Excel and IE fine. A professional photographer probably has higher computer requirements than most professionals, for that matter. And yet when they needed end of line MacPro/Power Mac a decade ago, the photographers that I know are very happy with oldish iMacs these days. My very own example: Tomotcha. An old MacBook Air from 2011 is way more than I need to research teas, buy some, write blog posts or answer to customers. It's also enough to work on the underlying Python 3 codebase (not that it's very long). That's just one usage of my computer, but it certainly qualifies as pro.

r00fus 10y ago

I think the price/performance ratio is mainly the grating point - the RAM ceiling specifically prevents customers from splurging to future-proof - ie, in 5 years 16GB will be enough? Personally I test-drove a 13" MBP (no TouchBar) at an Apple store - my thoughts: keyboard feels a bit foreign (spring back), but much better than the 12" MB which I also tried in the store. It's light. I only wish it supported the 4 ports as in the 15".

nck4222 10y ago
>I think the price/performance ratio is mainly the grating point Really? Apply products are pretty consistently "overpriced" if judged by this metric. It doesn't seem all that different to me in this case.
stinos 10y ago
future-proof I doubt Apples cares much at all about future-proof. Why should they? In the end they're just a company wanting to sell, more and more if possible. Their target audience isn't some industry where one expects 10+ years out of a machine, nor those who value long lifetimes of products. Instead Apple knows very well there's tons of people who'll happily by the next gen if the current one breaks down in much less than 5 years, or just because it's the next gen even though the current one still works ok.
- r00fus 10y ago
  You can pay upwards of $4000 for this laptop, future-proofing directly impacts resale value, which impacts perceived utility. Sure, it's in Apple's (and every other equipment manufacturer) interest to have planned obsolescence, but utility is a key customer requirement / need. Apple is not (yet) a pure fashion outlet.
throw_away 10y ago
IIRC, the 13" model with TouchBar will have four ports.