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The problems with the new macbook "pro" seem to keep on growing. I am really surprised that Apple did not find the connecting to external display issue in inter

by Bytes 10y ago

The problems with the new macbook "pro" seem to keep on growing. I am really surprised that Apple did not find the connecting to external display issue in internal testing.

dom0 10y ago
I'm somewhat surprised by the whole touch bar thing, other manufacturers (e.g. Lenovo on the X1) tried it before and use acceptance was miserable.
- Caballera 10y ago
  It's actually a nice to have feature, but at least not yet, not a must have. Just having Touch ID makes it worth it to me.
- nilkn 10y ago
  I picked up a new MBP and I have to say I do like the Touch Bar. It's certainly not a must-have, but Apple's implementation is pretty polished. My favorite use is music/volume control. I can control music from both iTunes and a buried YouTube Safari tab at the same time through the Touch Bar.
  - izacus 10y ago
    How is that different from pressing Fn + F keys before?
    - nilkn 10y ago
      I'm not sure which key combinations specifically you're referring to. How would I use the old function keys to switch music playing from iTunes to a paused YouTube tab in a Safari window on another desktop? And how would I use the function keys to scrub through a song to find a specific part all without giving focus to the music playing app? Maybe all this was possible before but I never knew about any of it. If that's the case that's another strength of the touch bar -- I had no issue discovering this functionality this time.
    - merb 10y ago
      Not sure why you were downvoted. Actually it works with Fn + F, too.
      - freehunter 10y ago
        Can you control two separate volume dials with the normal function keys?
        merb 10y ago
        same as touch bar, if you switch the window they have the functionality of the new window. (actually depends if the software supports it, else it will use the old window)
- wlesieutre 10y ago
  Other manufacturers launched it on a single product that accounts for what, 0.1% of the Windows laptop market? Wide usage with customized support from practically every Mac app is what will make it useful, and Lenovo wasn't in a position to make that happen with theirs. Lenovo did name it "Adaptive Keyboard" and obviously wanted it to change depending on context, but without 3rd party software support it's not going to offer much. You get layouts for F-keys, home, web browsing, and Skype: http://www.thinkwiki.org/w/images/4/47/LAdapKey-001.png http://www.thinkwiki.org/w/images/4/47/LAdapKey-001.png And as far as I can tell, it's just "buttons that move around," without any more flexible UIs like the sliders/scrubbers that Apple is pitching. You're making the "no tactile feedback" compromise that everyone hates, and not actually getting much for it. Use acceptance was miserable because it wasn't actually useful.
- st3v3r 10y ago
  Lenovo's attempt was pure crap, though. And other manufacturers had attempted things like fingerprint sensors on smartphones before that had flopped, but then worked well when Apple did it.
kfinley 10y ago
I suspect we will see the share desktop experience extend to other devices. In an post release interview Jony Ive implied that the touch bar was the first step in a new paradigm. Imagine the Photoshop toolbar being available on your iPad's touch screen, while you're editing a photo on your Mac. Or playing a video game while using your iPhone for controls.
- 0xffff2 10y ago
  I think good tactile feedback is fundamentally required as the first step. Touch, even with haptic feedback makes for a very poor experience compared to memorizing shortcuts that use real keys.
- Corrado 10y ago
  Then Apple should have waited until that type of integration was available. This is the first comment that has made me even the slightest bit excited for the touch bar interface paradigm. Controlling your system using your iPad/iPhone would be really cool and I think I would be on-board. As it is, this little touch bar thing on some MBP models is a big yawn.
rsync 10y ago
"The problems with the new macbook "pro" seem to keep on growing. I am really surprised that Apple did not find the connecting to external display issue in internal testing." It is as if they asked ipad users to design the macbook. I think that's a decent mental model for what we are seeing here. These macbooks make perfect sense if you look at them from the point of view of an ipad/iphone user. Apparently the "$3000 facebook machine" market is much bigger than the "finally, a unix workstation that doesn't suck" market.

by Bytes 10y ago

The problems with the new macbook "pro" seem to keep on growing. I am really surprised that Apple did not find the connecting to external display issue in internal testing.

dom0 10y ago

I'm somewhat surprised by the whole touch bar thing, other manufacturers (e.g. Lenovo on the X1) tried it before and use acceptance was miserable.

Caballera 10y ago
It's actually a nice to have feature, but at least not yet, not a must have. Just having Touch ID makes it worth it to me.
nilkn 10y ago
I picked up a new MBP and I have to say I do like the Touch Bar. It's certainly not a must-have, but Apple's implementation is pretty polished. My favorite use is music/volume control. I can control music from both iTunes and a buried YouTube Safari tab at the same time through the Touch Bar.
- izacus 10y ago
  How is that different from pressing Fn + F keys before?
  - nilkn 10y ago
    I'm not sure which key combinations specifically you're referring to. How would I use the old function keys to switch music playing from iTunes to a paused YouTube tab in a Safari window on another desktop? And how would I use the function keys to scrub through a song to find a specific part all without giving focus to the music playing app? Maybe all this was possible before but I never knew about any of it. If that's the case that's another strength of the touch bar -- I had no issue discovering this functionality this time.
  - merb 10y ago
    Not sure why you were downvoted. Actually it works with Fn + F, too.
    - freehunter 10y ago
      Can you control two separate volume dials with the normal function keys?
      - merb 10y ago
        same as touch bar, if you switch the window they have the functionality of the new window. (actually depends if the software supports it, else it will use the old window)
wlesieutre 10y ago
Other manufacturers launched it on a single product that accounts for what, 0.1% of the Windows laptop market? Wide usage with customized support from practically every Mac app is what will make it useful, and Lenovo wasn't in a position to make that happen with theirs. Lenovo did name it "Adaptive Keyboard" and obviously wanted it to change depending on context, but without 3rd party software support it's not going to offer much. You get layouts for F-keys, home, web browsing, and Skype: http://www.thinkwiki.org/w/images/4/47/LAdapKey-001.png http://www.thinkwiki.org/w/images/4/47/LAdapKey-001.png And as far as I can tell, it's just "buttons that move around," without any more flexible UIs like the sliders/scrubbers that Apple is pitching. You're making the "no tactile feedback" compromise that everyone hates, and not actually getting much for it. Use acceptance was miserable because it wasn't actually useful.
st3v3r 10y ago
Lenovo's attempt was pure crap, though. And other manufacturers had attempted things like fingerprint sensors on smartphones before that had flopped, but then worked well when Apple did it.

kfinley 10y ago

I suspect we will see the share desktop experience extend to other devices. In an post release interview Jony Ive implied that the touch bar was the first step in a new paradigm. Imagine the Photoshop toolbar being available on your iPad's touch screen, while you're editing a photo on your Mac. Or playing a video game while using your iPhone for controls.

0xffff2 10y ago
I think good tactile feedback is fundamentally required as the first step. Touch, even with haptic feedback makes for a very poor experience compared to memorizing shortcuts that use real keys.
Corrado 10y ago
Then Apple should have waited until that type of integration was available. This is the first comment that has made me even the slightest bit excited for the touch bar interface paradigm. Controlling your system using your iPad/iPhone would be really cool and I think I would be on-board. As it is, this little touch bar thing on some MBP models is a big yawn.

rsync 10y ago

"The problems with the new macbook "pro" seem to keep on growing. I am really surprised that Apple did not find the connecting to external display issue in internal testing." It is as if they asked ipad users to design the macbook. I think that's a decent mental model for what we are seeing here. These macbooks make perfect sense if you look at them from the point of view of an ipad/iphone user. Apparently the "$3000 facebook machine" market is much bigger than the "finally, a unix workstation that doesn't suck" market.