4 ms·

People complain that Apple uses proprietary ports. They ditched MagSafe for USB-C and people still complained.

by EduardoBautista 10y ago

yulaow 10y ago
I think the magsafe was at the bottom of the list of "bad choice of proprietary ports by Apple"
- brink 10y ago
  I can now charge my Macbook with the same cable I use to charge my phone. I can now charge my laptop from both sides. I can trickle charge my laptop in my car now. It's making my cable life so much simpler. Yes, I have other devices that have yet to catch up to the C spec, but with the leading laptop manufacturer pushing so hard for the C port; I don't think it'll be that long.
- rayiner 10y ago
  MagSafe is the only proprietary port on my pre-touchbar MBP.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
pmelendez 10y ago
That would be a valid argument except that it implied one port less since you have to use one of the already scarce ports to charge. People like me were waiting for an extra port and got one less
h1d 10y ago
Apple could keep usb-c and MagSafe, but they didn't.
kartickv 10y ago
Good point, and it's because of the status quo bias. When an alternative is proposed, people look at what they lose, and since we don't like loss, we say, "No, I don't want that". Thought experiment: say Macs had USB-C for 10 years, and the latest Macbooks switched to MagSafe. There'd be a lot of complaints about Apple locking us in to their walled garden, and how we have to buy a proprietary overpriced charger now, which can't charge other devices, moreover. One technique I try to follow is an anti-knee-jerk reaction: if everyone has a knee-jerk reaction about something, I remind myself of the advantages of the alternative. Ultimately, the only true test is time. Wait 2 years and let the emotions cool, and you'll know if the outcry was justified.
- Dylan16807 10y ago
  > Thought experiment: say Macs had USB-C for 10 years, and the latest Macbooks switched to MagSafe. Then you would presumably still be able to use the remaining USB-C ports to charge it, with the MagSafe merely an option. That would not get many complaints. If they violated that they would deserve the complaints.
  - kartickv 10y ago
    No, in this thought experiment, when they have MagSafe, they charge only via MagSafe. The thought experiment is intended to be the same as reality, just in the opposite direction.
    - Dylan16807 10y ago
      That's what my last sentence is for. If they go pure-magsafe and get rid of all USB-C charging ability then they deserve the complaints. But if they add magsafe while also having USB-C charging then it's much better than either option on its own. And keeping USB-C charging does not require extra ports, because you need the USB-C ports anyway to do USB stuff.
      - kartickv 10y ago
        The question isn't whether they deserve the complaints, or about the minutae of charging, but whether people think that going from X -> Y is bad and going from Y -> X is also bad. If so, they're just being change-averse: ignore them.
        Dylan16807 10y ago
        In general it's a good thing to think about. But you were using it to make an argument that the complaints were invalid. So I'm going to reply to that specific argument, by pointing out that when Apple changes the IO ports to USB-C and enables USB charging, it does not require them to remove the magsafe port. In other words, apple went X -> Y. But adding Y reused IO ports and could have coexisted with X. Even though Y might be better than X, it was a false dichotomy in the first place.

People complain that Apple uses proprietary ports. They ditched MagSafe for USB-C and people still complained.

yulaow 10y ago

I think the magsafe was at the bottom of the list of "bad choice of proprietary ports by Apple"

brink 10y ago
I can now charge my Macbook with the same cable I use to charge my phone. I can now charge my laptop from both sides. I can trickle charge my laptop in my car now. It's making my cable life so much simpler. Yes, I have other devices that have yet to catch up to the C spec, but with the leading laptop manufacturer pushing so hard for the C port; I don't think it'll be that long.
rayiner 10y ago
MagSafe is the only proprietary port on my pre-touchbar MBP.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

pmelendez 10y ago

That would be a valid argument except that it implied one port less since you have to use one of the already scarce ports to charge. People like me were waiting for an extra port and got one less

h1d 10y ago

Apple could keep usb-c and MagSafe, but they didn't.

kartickv 10y ago

Good point, and it's because of the status quo bias. When an alternative is proposed, people look at what they lose, and since we don't like loss, we say, "No, I don't want that". Thought experiment: say Macs had USB-C for 10 years, and the latest Macbooks switched to MagSafe. There'd be a lot of complaints about Apple locking us in to their walled garden, and how we have to buy a proprietary overpriced charger now, which can't charge other devices, moreover. One technique I try to follow is an anti-knee-jerk reaction: if everyone has a knee-jerk reaction about something, I remind myself of the advantages of the alternative. Ultimately, the only true test is time. Wait 2 years and let the emotions cool, and you'll know if the outcry was justified.

Dylan16807 10y ago
> Thought experiment: say Macs had USB-C for 10 years, and the latest Macbooks switched to MagSafe. Then you would presumably still be able to use the remaining USB-C ports to charge it, with the MagSafe merely an option. That would not get many complaints. If they violated that they would deserve the complaints.
- kartickv 10y ago
  No, in this thought experiment, when they have MagSafe, they charge only via MagSafe. The thought experiment is intended to be the same as reality, just in the opposite direction.
  - Dylan16807 10y ago
    That's what my last sentence is for. If they go pure-magsafe and get rid of all USB-C charging ability then they deserve the complaints. But if they add magsafe while also having USB-C charging then it's much better than either option on its own. And keeping USB-C charging does not require extra ports, because you need the USB-C ports anyway to do USB stuff.
    - kartickv 10y ago
      The question isn't whether they deserve the complaints, or about the minutae of charging, but whether people think that going from X -> Y is bad and going from Y -> X is also bad. If so, they're just being change-averse: ignore them.
      - Dylan16807 10y ago
        In general it's a good thing to think about. But you were using it to make an argument that the complaints were invalid. So I'm going to reply to that specific argument, by pointing out that when Apple changes the IO ports to USB-C and enables USB charging, it does not require them to remove the magsafe port. In other words, apple went X -> Y. But adding Y reused IO ports and could have coexisted with X. Even though Y might be better than X, it was a false dichotomy in the first place.