5 ms·

It feels to me like you are putting this backwards. I've been using the MBP as my main software development platform for eight years now. My current machine i

by colomon 10y ago

It feels to me like you are putting this backwards. I've been using the MBP as my main software development platform for eight years now. My current machine is a maxed out mid 2014 15" MBPr. What does the new MBP offer me over that? 1) Very slightly faster. (2.9 vs 2.8) 2) 2 TB SSD instead of 1 TB. 3) Ability to charge and drive monitor over single cable. But what is the price? 1) $4,199 -- nearly $1000 more expensive than the last one. 2) Complete inability to plug in any peripheral I already own without a dongle. 3) No physical ESC key. It's only $150 more if I stick with a 1TB SSD. But if I do that, literally the only significant benefit I get from the new machine is the ability to drive monitor and charge over a single cable -- and of course, I've got to replace my existing (expensive, beautiful) monitor to do that. Plus as an added bonus, they're discontinuing the Time Capsule, which has been my main local backup solution for years.

Ensorceled 10y ago
I plan to map caps lock to ESC (currently it's mapped to the command key)
- e40 10y ago
  For people with ESC in muscle memory, that's a non starter.
  - neolefty 10y ago
    It will take you a couple of days to adapt, and it's good for your brain plasticity.
    - e40 10y ago
      You must be young. I've been using the same Emacs bindings for 35 years. I've changed my muscle memory before, and it took far longer than "a couple of days to adapt."
rz2k 10y ago
For $150 the ssd is twice as fast at the least. The options for external monitors are also much, much better.
- colomon 10y ago
  Twice as fast as the previous generation's SSD?
  - rz2k 10y ago
    Yes! MBP Model Read Write Jul 2014 15" 1.1 GBps 1.0 GBps May 2015 15" 2.0 GBps 1.5 GBps Oct 2016 15" 2.9 GBps 2.2 GBps These numbers come from different posts found on BareFeats[1]. Official claims, and other sources of benchmarks show approximately the same numbers for large sequential data throughput. It is moving from PCIe 2.0 to PCIe 3.0, and an increase in the number of data lanes that have allowed these rapid improvements. SATA III of older models is limited to about 0.5 GBps up and down. [1] http://barefeats.com/ http://barefeats.com/
    - colomon 10y ago
      Wow!
developer2 10y ago
You nailed my two reasons for refusing to upgrade. I was planning to purchase the fully decked out MacBook Pro on release date. Then the keynote happened, and the hardware was put up for sale. 1. The removal of the physical escape key. I flat out reject having to remap the caps lock. The touch bar soft key is not an acceptable replacement. A physical escape key is unequivocally non-negotiable. 2. The price. I'm not going to pay $1,000 more for the same level of upgrades I got in 2013. With taxes, I had to dole out $3,200 CAD for a personal laptop, which was right against the fence of what I was willing to pay. I refuse to spend over $4,000 on a laptop. These two issues, along with the removal of the headphone jack[1] on the latest iPhone puts me in the uncomfortable situation where for the first time in a decade I am researching alternative hardware outside the Apple ecosystem. [1] My IEM headphones cost $1,500. I'm not going to carry an adapter to plug them in, and lose the ability to listen while charging.

by colomon 10y ago

Ensorceled 10y ago

I plan to map caps lock to ESC (currently it's mapped to the command key)

e40 10y ago
For people with ESC in muscle memory, that's a non starter.
- neolefty 10y ago
  It will take you a couple of days to adapt, and it's good for your brain plasticity.
  - e40 10y ago
    You must be young. I've been using the same Emacs bindings for 35 years. I've changed my muscle memory before, and it took far longer than "a couple of days to adapt."

rz2k 10y ago

For $150 the ssd is twice as fast at the least. The options for external monitors are also much, much better.

colomon 10y ago
Twice as fast as the previous generation's SSD?
- rz2k 10y ago
  Yes! MBP Model Read Write Jul 2014 15" 1.1 GBps 1.0 GBps May 2015 15" 2.0 GBps 1.5 GBps Oct 2016 15" 2.9 GBps 2.2 GBps These numbers come from different posts found on BareFeats[1]. Official claims, and other sources of benchmarks show approximately the same numbers for large sequential data throughput. It is moving from PCIe 2.0 to PCIe 3.0, and an increase in the number of data lanes that have allowed these rapid improvements. SATA III of older models is limited to about 0.5 GBps up and down. [1] http://barefeats.com/ http://barefeats.com/
  - colomon 10y ago
    Wow!

developer2 10y ago

You nailed my two reasons for refusing to upgrade. I was planning to purchase the fully decked out MacBook Pro on release date. Then the keynote happened, and the hardware was put up for sale. 1. The removal of the physical escape key. I flat out reject having to remap the caps lock. The touch bar soft key is not an acceptable replacement. A physical escape key is unequivocally non-negotiable. 2. The price. I'm not going to pay $1,000 more for the same level of upgrades I got in 2013. With taxes, I had to dole out $3,200 CAD for a personal laptop, which was right against the fence of what I was willing to pay. I refuse to spend over $4,000 on a laptop. These two issues, along with the removal of the headphone jack[1] on the latest iPhone puts me in the uncomfortable situation where for the first time in a decade I am researching alternative hardware outside the Apple ecosystem. [1] My IEM headphones cost $1,500. I'm not going to carry an adapter to plug them in, and lose the ability to listen while charging.