Posted on 03/13/2015 1:00:55 AM PDT by Swordmaker
New_macbookTech journalists who lined up at Apple's special event to get their hands on Apple Watch walked away stunned by Apple's all-new MacBook. It is widely being hailed – or harped on – as Apple's new one-port wonder. The fact it has only one physical data port is apparently quite jarring to many tech journalists. Those stunned by Apple's move may also drive a Honda Prelude, think sushi is all the rage, and are still trading Pokemon cards. The verdict is in: This is not a computer for those still living in the '90s.
Giving benefit of the doubt, perhaps the media is simply not doing their job. Rather than talk to what one physical port represents; which is that a single USB port is fine for 95% of everyone's workflow, because we live in a wireless world. Instead, they've taken the easy road, simply mirroring thoughts they think the masses might make. It's a safe, lazy position, one that identifies with the reader in stead of talking to the bold realities of where technology is today.
It wasn't until recently that a majority of consumers realized they could actually live, and no longer needed, an optical drive. Consumers are often slow to catch on. But for tech journalists to blast away at the most amazing laptop to hit the market since the original MacBook Air, it was quite revealing. Their one-port worry commentators are showing everyone just how stuck they are in the past. The new MacBook was their wake up call, but apparently many slept right through it.
Ports are no longer physical things, they are mostly wireless technologies. 4G LTE, WiFi, Bluetooth, deploying Airdrop, Handoff, iCloud and Airplay are all ports and types of communications that flow within them. A port and it's data is not about the physical, it's about every type of connection technology available, and Apple's new MacBook comes equipped with state-of-the-art port aplomb.
Evidently journalists, which roughly 95%+ of them use MacBook laptops, still communicate with USB thumb drives, hunt down the nearest Ethernet port, or look to deliver their latest column to their editor via a burned CD. For those still connecting with these methods, this is why Apple still has the legacy 13" MacBook with optical drive in the lineup. For those living in 2015, there is the all-new MacBook. Many of Apple's customers live and work in the now, so why did they leave the legacy MacBook Pro and MacBook Air in the lineup?
Apple CEO Tim Cook is a wicked smart guy. He's not merely a supply chain genius and operational guru, he understands how to maximize sales in a way his predecessor Steve Jobs just wasn't all that interested in. Jobs would have likely killed the MacBook Air, replacing it with only the new MacBook. Consumers would eventually catch onto the port thing and buy it, and most importantly the lineup would have stayed simplified.
Cook is more in touch with that fact that people are slow to catch onto new ideas, and he's left the multi-port MacBook Air's in place, providing a variety of price points and choice. As a result, Apple now plays the consumer bell curve to maximum effect. Early adopters will swarm the new MacBook, taking full advantage of the latest tech. The early majority will start to buy into the new MacBook in a year or so, and the laggards will get onboard this nearly launched MacBook once another all-new leap forward MacBook hits the shelves. Apple has more choices of laptops to choose from than at any point in its history, which will give rival PC makers fits while Apple maximizes MacBook sales.
The new MacBook may have only one physical port, but would it be too much in asking journalists to take the effort in mentioning that 95% (or more) of all our communications, file transfers and entertainment consumption are done via other ports, the wireless type, without need of physical connections? Is that too much to ask or expect? Evidently so. May they continue to enjoy their USB thumb drives and optical ports, because Apple – and more people than they think – are ready to move forward with the new MacBook. After all, it is 2015.
You are looking at the MacBook Pro, not the new MacBook.
No that’s funny.
That's about what they last on Apple's meeses. We have a couple dozen at my office. . . and they give the system plenty of warning to replace them. The re-chargeables a little less. Same with the keyboards. No cables is great. No clutter.
Yeah, I wish mine would die so I could buy a new one. Not only does it refuse to die but it easily upgraded to Yosemite and now runs seamlessly with my many other homosexual Apple products.
This MacBook is not intended for people who use their computer for that kind of work.This is more of a portable traveler's computer. . . and most people are not going to be ripping DVD's on the road. However, it does have a USB port which is doubled as the power port, and if you need to do that you can take a drive with you along with the USB adaptor which allows the power pass through. Problem solved. . . but a bit awkwardly. It's not the solution I would select. There is no Mac made today with an optical drive included.
At first I thought the one port deal was a mistake on Apple’s part.
Then I went through how I use my laptop. I cannot think of the last time I used the USB port. I transfer files either by AirDrop or email or over the web some other way. While my customers sometimes bring in a USB drive with artwork, more and more often they are emailing it or using Dropbox.
I never hook it up to a monitor via a cable. I do use my Apple TV to display my screen on my living room TV now and then.
Lastly, on those rare occasions that I might need to plug in a legacy USB drive, there is always the $19 adapter. Probably would end up like the USB adapter I bought for my iPad and never use.
Yeah, I think this is shape of the future. Actually, I would be willing to bet on a no port laptop within a year or two that uses induction charging. Heck, in 10 years we will probably be laughing at plugging in any of our portable devices into anything, ever.
I agree. These naysayers are not thinking about the actual use of a notebook computer. They are thinking of it as a desktop substitute. One user above talks about having seven ports, all connected. That's not the way a notebook/laptop computer is intended to be used. The ports are there for occasional use, not continual permanent use. A notebook is a portable computer and Apple has designed what may be intended to be the ultimate, lightweight portable computer. . . one that doesn't need to have a plethora of peripherals connected, but can handle one or two if needed.
Addition by subtraction.
I couldn’t resist.
Which is where the "home server" comes in mentioned in the post. The former Mac Pro with dual optical drives fit the bill nicely and are bulletproof machines. But whether "on the road" or at home it's nice to not need multiple machines. I'd always opt for the MacBook Pro with an optical drive if possible. Oh, and Handbrake is not a ripper, it's a transcoder. ;^)
True, true, and true.
It's not a new policy - Apple has basically been this way for nearly two decades now.
"You do not know what you need... Cupertino knows what you need."
More seriously, Apple tries to design not to where people are in terms of wants and needs, but where Apple thinks they will be. Now to a point, it's a self-fulfilling view of the future, because they provide (or as in this case, don't provide) the devices. But if they're that wrong, people won't buy them.
They were right on the floppy drive and some older ports. They are right on optical media, on the whole it's a dying format, and only a small percentage of users need it for more than occasionally, and they can get externals for that.
They've made some errors, too - Firewire and Thunderbolt appear to have not quite taken off, and they're switching gears to USB-C now, it seems. But on the whole, they have a pretty decent vision of where things are headed.
Agreed. I think too many people are dismissing the single-port Macbook without considering what it offers. It's USB-C, offering much greater speed than older types of connections, with power to spare. A lot of power and speed. Think about the difference between USB 1 and USB 2 and USB 3.0. Now Apple is the first to offer USB-C which smokes all the other connection types. Make sure whatever USB hub you attach can handle all the devices you connect, because the Macbook can deliver all the power you will probably want for multiple devices (although battery life will be diminished from the available 9 hours or so).
I guess I am missing something. What I am concerned about, besides having to buy a bunch of new, proprietary cables and connectors, is the port being used not as a charging hub for attached devices but as a power input for the computer.
IOW it’s sending power IN to the computer but OUT to the devices.
I can see how it could work but it still seems risky to me.
And I’m still looking for weather archiving/reporting software for Apple OS. Cumulus doesn’t make it AFAIK and the same with Android.
Yes, two-way power on the USB-C port. I don't know the specifics either. Supposedly, the USB-C specs can handle up to 100W, although that is throttled down on the Macbook. (Up to 5 amps and 20 volts, equivalent to 100 watts). Since it is an industry-wide standard, you're going to see this on many manufacturer's products, not just Apple, Apple being the first. So any concerns about the Macbook would equally apply to other maker's computers.
Excellent clarification, I didn’t know that. Thanks.
You might want to plug in a USB powered external hard drive
PLUS
plug in a USB powered battery charger to charge some batteries
Will this Apple laptops one USB port be able to handle this load? Using a USB hub of course
BTW no USB-C devices yet on Amazon ..or USB 3.1. Not there yet as far as I can tell.
wireless ports are needed for industrial and government snooping...
No, they're not. You know why? Because they're drunks, and because they give Rednecks a bad name. And like all drunks, they rape the true Christian, hard working, moral foundation of what people call Rednecks, into a foul-mouthed, idiotic, unhinged idiocy of knuckledragging jackasses. Redneck drunks give the liberal media so much ammunition they don't know what do do with it all. Redneck drunks shame the South, and for that they disgrace themselves.
That's my God given American right.
You wouldn't know a God-given right if it hit you in the ass. You reduce sacred principles generations of men have fought and died to protect to representing your jackassery and attacks against one of the last places in America still leading the world on innovation, business and what used to be called the American dream. You should live in a barn - its where what passes for your mind already lives anyway.
I’m not sure why you are reading coercion into my post. The article is very enthusiastic about what I would consider a limitation on the machine. The article reads like marketing spin to try and convince people that the manufacturer knows better.
I, obviously, disagree with this point of view.
Your mileage may vary...
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