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The new MacBook Pro looks and feels so good it's unreal (with video at source)
The Verge ^ | October 27, 2016, 4:37PM | By Dieter Bahn

Posted on 10/27/2016 6:21:48 PM PDT by Swordmaker

The new MacBook Pro is here — literally available for preorder today — and I’ve just tried it. The best thing I can say about is simple: everything about it looks and feels so good I almost didn’t believe it.

We’ll start with the marquee feature, the Touch Bar. What you might not have gathered from the keynote is that it has a matte finish, which makes the buttons on it somehow feel a little more physical. It’s bright, but not so bright that it distracts — it seems to be about on par with the brightness of the backlit keyboard.

THE TOUCH BAR LOOKS REALLY GOOD, THE SCREEN LOOKS INCREDIBLE

I have questions about whether or not all these changing function buttons will be comprehensible, but in my brief time with them they all made sense to me. There’s no haptic feedback on them, unfortunately, but obviously they all worked perfectly. That included quickly applying filters in Photos and sorting emails in Mail.

I also rearranged buttons (you can find the option in a menu) and it worked, well, as advertised. What’s neat about dragging buttons down from the screen to the Touch Bar is that you can keep moving them with the mouse on the second screen.

(Excerpt) Read more at theverge.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Computers/Internet
KEYWORDS: apple; applepimp; applepinglist; handson; icult; macbookpro; macgasm; newmacbookpro; touchbar
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To: ctdonath2

Comparison: MacBook Pro vs. Surface Book vs. Razer Blade vs. Dell XPS 15
https://www.cnet.com/news/macbook-pro-vs-surface-book-vs-razer-blade-vs-dell-xps-15/

If I were rich I would try these. The Dell XPS looks to be the better deal.
I am using a old Gateway NV57H48u with a i5 2.4ghz cpu, bluray player cd drive, 7200rpm 500gb hard drive, 8gb ram. Screen resolution: 1366_x_768 15.6” screen.
Bought for about $700 about 5 years ago. Good enough for what I do with it. Now have Windows 10 on it.

I want 1920 resolution and throw in touch screen and a SSD drive. The biggest speed increase was when I went from the 5400rpm to 7200rpm.
I also added 4gb for a total of 8gb.
My desktop pc is much better. I have a big 27” screen. Switched back to Windows 7
Drawback for Windows users is Windows 10.


61 posted on 10/28/2016 8:20:13 AM PDT by minnesota_bound
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To: Swordmaker

I’ve been using Macs for DAW work in my recording studio since 2008. I love the stability in OS X. All of my tools just work.

That said, I am not dropping the kind of $$$ Apple wants for this new, very cool, upgraded version of the Mac Pro. It’s just too damn expensive for someone with a moderate income like me. I’ll stay way behind the new tech curve with my 2009 (upgrade to 2010 firmware) Mac Pro & keep my money.

Due to Apple pricing & their dealings with Saudi Arabia & other reasons, I only buy used, refurbished Macs from a very good 3rd party business here in Florida. Apple gets zero $$$ from us & I still get solid hardware that suits my needs.

Vote Trump 2016


62 posted on 10/28/2016 8:32:40 AM PDT by TheStickman (Trump will be the 1st Pro America president since Reagan)
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To: minnesota_bound

I had to use a Windows 7 notebook for a few weeks recently.
Staggeringly bad UI/UX.
Sure you can get used to it, but... Why?


63 posted on 10/28/2016 8:57:09 AM PDT by ctdonath2 ("If anyone will not listen to your words, shake the dust from your feet and leave them." - Jesus)
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To: ctdonath2

Try Windows 10 for “Staggeringly bad UI/UX”.


64 posted on 10/28/2016 10:14:49 AM PDT by minnesota_bound
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To: Swordmaker

How does one do a ctrl-alt-delete on a MacPro? That is the most useful function on my PC that I miss on Apple products.


65 posted on 10/28/2016 10:26:21 AM PDT by The Westerner ("Giving Away the Internet or Any Part of It Is Sheer Lunacy" Jim Robinson)
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To: The Westerner
How does one do a ctrl-alt-delete on a MacPro? That is the most useful function on my PC that I miss on Apple products.

There are several ways to get to the Force Quit Application menu. One is the by way of the Black Apple menu on the Menu bar on the top of the screen. One of the choices on that menu is "Force Quit...", and "Sleep", "Restart...", "Restart..." are all available, as well as "Log out [username]". Once that Force Quit requestor appears, it will show you a list of the running Apps, select the misbehaving App, and select "Force Quit." Holding down the shift key while clicking on the Black Apple menu will change allow Force Quit to the current focused App, such as "Force Quit Safari".

Under the Go Menu, you can find a listing for Utilities, that will bring up a directory listing which will include "Activity Monitor". From that App, you can see everything that is running and force quit anything you desire. . . including some system functions which is not advisable. Be sure you know what you are doing when you try using Activity Monitor. It is an interesting App because it will show what is going on behind the scenes in a Mac. You can start Activity Monitor from Spotlight Search (the magnifying glass always available on the Menu Bar at the top of the screen on the right) by merely typing ''Act" and hitting return.

Another is that every running App is on the Dock at the bottom of the screen (It may be hidden below the screen) and it will have a Force Quit option for that app if you click on the App's Icon while holding the Option Key and select "Force Quit...".

Occasionally, it is just a single tab in Safari that is locking Safari up by either having a problem with loading a script or a malicious advertising. Mac's force quit can sometimes allow you to force close a single tab without quitting Safari. If so, that tab will be listed.

Also, you can press Command + Option/Alt + Esc (on the new MacBook Pro the function keyboard will need to have been selected with the Function key) and then the Force Quit menu will come up.

And, finally, when all else fails, and you have a true complete lock up of the system, a very rare thing on a multi-user, multi-tasking Mac, hold the power button for ten seconds and force quit the hardware. That will work in every system except those where that option has been locked out by the UNIX system admin.

Some ultra secure Macs have had even that option locked out. Pull the plug on those and if it's a desk top plug it back in after 60 seconds and restart. If it's a laptop wait for the battery to run down, about 10 hours. Of course if it IS one of those ultra secure Macs, it is highly unlikely it will let you back in even then.

66 posted on 10/28/2016 12:00:25 PM PDT by Swordmaker (This tag line is a Microsoft insult free zone... but if the insults to Mac users continue...)
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To: minnesota_bound; ctdonath2
I want 1920 resolution and throw in touch screen and a SSD drive. The biggest speed increase was when I went from the 5400rpm to 7200rpm. I also added 4gb for a total of 8gb.

The MacBook Pros don't use mechanical spinning hard drives at all. They use high performance PCIe Solid State Drives that are far faster than any mechanical drive could ever be.

The Macs have a screen with 2560-by-1600 native resolution at 227 pixels per inch. The point of the Touch Bar is to make it so you don't need a touch screen to smear with finger prints, and develop Popeye arm, holding your arm at a non-ergonomic position.

What you say is the better choice has only a FOUR HOUR BATTERY LIFE compared to the MacBook Pro's TEN HOUR BATTERY LIFE. . . and to get that starting price it has only 8GB of RAM, a much slower processor, and it runs Windows 10 HOME edition! That's pathetic.

67 posted on 10/28/2016 12:24:55 PM PDT by Swordmaker (This tag line is a Microsoft insult free zone... but if the insults to Mac users continue...)
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To: Swordmaker

Apple Customers Revolt over New MacBook That iPhone Can’t Connect to Without Adapter
http://www.breitbart.com/tech/2016/10/28/apple-customers-revolt-over-new-macbook-that-iphone-cant-connect-to-without-adapter/


68 posted on 10/28/2016 2:47:22 PM PDT by minnesota_bound
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To: minnesota_bound
Apple Customers Revolt over New MacBook That iPhone Can’t Connect to Without Adapter

No body is revolting. The MacBook has been out with the USB-C connector, a SINGLE USB-C, connector for over a year and no one has bothered to complain. The iPhone will synch to the Mac over WIFI when ever the two devices are on the same WIFI LAN.

It doesn't require purchasing Apple's $25.00 USB-C to Lightning cable, which is what this article is citing.

Third party adaptors are available if you need one. Belkin makes one that has multiple outputs. All you really need is an inexpensive USB-C to USB adaptor which can be found anywhere. Amazon sells them for as low as $6.00.

Your Linked article is unadulterated FUD.

69 posted on 10/28/2016 3:28:32 PM PDT by Swordmaker (This tag line is a Microsoft insult free zone... but if the insults to Mac users continue...)
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To: bigdaddy45
And why is that? Why would you wish ill on one of the most successful American companies ever conceived?

Because his hate runs so deep for Apple that he can't see that every computer and OS maker in this country is seriously and tragically liberal -

Google - maker of Chrome OS, Chrome browser, and the infamous search engine that makes a fortune off of YOUR data - is several orders of magnitude more liberal than Apple.

Microsoft (and their founder Bill Gates who set them on the road) is one of the biggest corporate sponsors of the radical left in the tech industry - even more pro-gay than Apple.

And the list goes on - but whats the point? Those who have their abject and illogical rabid hate of all things Apple, are blinded by that hate. It is truly a sad state of being.

70 posted on 10/28/2016 6:57:22 PM PDT by TheBattman (A member over 15 years, yet my posts are "submitted for review" and no freepmail...)
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To: TheStickman

What Apple dealings with Saudi Arabia? I hadn’t heard anything ...


71 posted on 10/28/2016 7:08:32 PM PDT by TheBattman (A member over 15 years, yet my posts are "submitted for review" and no freepmail...)
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To: TheBattman

Apple has their stores there.


72 posted on 10/28/2016 7:21:16 PM PDT by TheStickman (Trump will be the 1st Pro America president since Reagan)
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To: TheStickman
Apple has their stores there.

Apple has their NO stores there. There, fixed it. Actually Apple has no Apple owned stores in Saudi Arabia. The closest Apple OWNED Store is in the United Arab Emirates. From Apple's Store Search page by country:


There are some privately owned stores that sell Apple products among others purchased out of Europe.


EMS headquartered in the UAE, operates PixelParc, the largest Apple stores in Saudi Arabia.

Nice try. No banana.

73 posted on 10/28/2016 10:16:51 PM PDT by Swordmaker (This tag line is a Microsoft insult free zone... but if the insults to Mac users continue...)
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To: Swordmaker

Wow! I shall print on my non-secure printer! Thank you, FRiend:-)


74 posted on 10/28/2016 11:55:59 PM PDT by The Westerner ("Giving Away the Internet or Any Part of It Is Sheer Lunacy" Jim Robinson)
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To: Swordmaker

You crack me up, Sword. I can understand being a fan of Apple. Like you I find their computers to be awesome. But you can’t assume every single time someone says something negative about Apple that it’s a “hate crime”.

That being said, I stand corrected regarding Apple stores in Saudi Arabia. I was trying to use my organic, non-ecc memory. After a quick Google search my memory was refreshed.

https://9to5mac.com/2014/05/21/apple-cleared-to-operate-and-market-products-in-saudi-arabia/

“Up until now, Apple has relied on third-party resellers across the region to market and maintain iPhones, iPads, Macs, and other Apple products. As still noted on Apple’s non-optimized website for Saudi Arabia, the Cupertino-based company currently operates in the region under its Cork, Ireland-based subsidiary named “Apple Distribution International.”

So Apple stores, no. Operating in Saudi Arabia? Yes. There “fixed it”.

Vote Trump 2016


75 posted on 10/29/2016 2:57:59 AM PDT by TheStickman (Trump will be the 1st Pro America president since Reagan)
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To: FrdmLvr

I love my iPad. I have an old HP that is worthless but cost a pretty penny, might as well be a door stopper. I think I’d like a Mac. Have to save some money but really, I can do almost everything on my iPad!


76 posted on 10/29/2016 6:17:10 AM PDT by snippy_about_it
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To: snippy_about_it

I love my MacBook Pro, but the iPad is so much more convenient. I’m in no hurry to buy another $80 charger.


77 posted on 10/29/2016 9:33:23 AM PDT by FrdmLvr (A is A)
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To: TheStickman
You crack me up, Sword. I can understand being a fan of Apple. Like you I find their computers to be awesome. But you can’t assume every single time someone says something negative about Apple that it’s a “hate crime”.

I did not assume it was a "hate crime," just that you had wrong information. I corrected your information. So sorry about the "Nice try." It's just that this is about the third time I've run into the same thing.

Yes, Apple is now cleared to do business in Saudi Arabia. Guess who did have permission to do business in Saudi Arabia before that? Microsoft and Dell and HP. Apple will build an Apple Store at some point in the future, just as they have built Apple Stores in Russia, China, etc. As your linked article does mention, the Apple iTunes Online Store was added as part of a 56 country expansion in 2012, but hardly as a distinct singling out of Saudi Arabia. That expansion included Russia, Turkey, Irsrael, and a whole host of other countries.

And Hell, YES, Vote Trump. . . and of course in 2016. Liberals can vote Hillary in 2017 all they want, after the election while she languishes in prison!

78 posted on 10/29/2016 11:19:05 AM PDT by Swordmaker (This tag line is a Microsoft insult free zone... but if the insults to Mac users continue...)
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To: arl295

Tell me, what company isn’t as bad as Apple? They are all run by liberals.


79 posted on 10/29/2016 11:21:28 AM PDT by dfwgator
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To: Swordmaker

The HP Spectre and Dell XPS series have Thunderbolt 3/USB-C ports, as do a lot of ginormous gaming laptops. I don’t know what the driver situation is, but there are already some interesting adapter and desktop docking solutions available, and I’d expect to see a lot more.


80 posted on 10/29/2016 12:19:19 PM PDT by ReignOfError
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