
MacBooks are outdated, underpowered and overpriced - vincent_s
http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/is-apple-giving-up-on-the-mac/
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joshstrange
I don't need a ton more "innovation" (touchscreen on a laptop is a gimmick
IMHO) in my macbook and it's plenty fast for what I do (run 2 external +
laptop screen, 1-2 IDEs, chat, email, chrome, firefox, sequel pro, etc) but I
think I'll go to the 15" next for the real graphics card and the ability to
run 3 external monitors. All that said it pains me that Apple has not made any
real improvements in quite some time. I was thinking about this the other day,
I normally update every 2 years and I passed that mark 4 months ago but I
really don't feel like I'm being held back in any way... Also they cap the RAM
to 16GB (which I have) and since I can't add/replace it I don't really want to
buy again unless the RAM can go up to 24/32.

~~~
restalis
From my prospective pretty much all their promoted "strengths" were gimmicks.
Of all things, only MacBook Air's weight can be undoubtedly counted as
something valuable considering that it's a portable device.

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kup0
As an Apple fan (but not a loyalist), I tend to agree. Over time, the lust for
their products is starting to wane...

The lack of GPU power for the price is ludicrous. I love the OS and the design
of the hardware, but it's such a trade off for graphics power. The CPUs don't
seem to be all that bad, but probably could be better as well for the price.

They are _too_ focused on thinness/lightness. I'd rather have a slightly
thicker iMac or Macbook and higher-end parts.

Integrated GPUs (while much better than they used to be) have really overtaken
Apple's lineup and it's disappointing, not to mention the inability to easily
upgrade anything (not just an Apple problem, though)

~~~
gherkin0
> They are too focused on thinness/lightness. I'd rather have a slightly
> thicker iMac or Macbook and higher-end parts.

And more USB ports. I would like more than two, especially in the 15".

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coldtea
> _Apple’s computers need to go on a diet_

Yeah, not really. They are still among the thinnest/lightest on the market
(and doubly so if one counts thinness AND durability, due to the unibody
construction).

Of course Apple WILL make them thinner/lighter in future revisions, but I for
one, and many others, wish they didn't -- and instead just used the space for
moar battery and such.

> _But six years is a very long time. The current Air is behind its
> competitors in every category. It’s more expensive than an entry-level Asus
> Zenbook UX305CA or Dell XPS 13, yet behind in looks, size, weight, keyboard
> quality, and display resolution._

And then it lists the MAIN category that counts in a notebook: battery life as
a pro for the Air. Not to mention that it being behind in "looks" and
"keyboard quality" is BS. For display resolution it's true -- it should have
been Retinized or dropped by now.

> _The Pro is almost as disappointing. It has a competitive display, and the
> massive battery Apple stuffs inside both the 13-inch and 15-inch models
> gives the Pro an edge in battery life. But both systems are larger and
> heavier than competitors. The 13-inch Pro feels like a brick next to a Dell
> XPS 13._

The XPS weight less and is smaller (less bevel), but quite bulkier in height.
Moreover, worse touchpad (no multi-touch/pressure either), no magsafe,
plasticky and cheap looking (complete with "intel inside" sticker, as if we
care), no thunderbolt (for video/audio/graphics pros or quick storage and
other expansions), etc.

But most importantly, one was released just last month, the other is an older
model, and all signs say that the MacBook/Pro line is pending update (it's
slightly past the usual update cycle, the inventory is low in retail channels,
which usually signals an update, and Intel is having new processors out).

~~~
erroneousfunk
Agree with you about the construction. A little over two years ago, I bought a
Sony Vaio laptop for about $800. It was powerful enough, but I used it for
about 5 months and had to go out and buy something else. It was heavy, the
hinges started getting loose and creaking/showing wear. You had to really bang
on the keyboard while typing, the entire thing was HEAVY, the trackpad would
randomly freak out, and it was basically unusable without a mouse.

I went out and bought a $900 11" Macbook Air a few months later, and it was an
absolute pleasure to use in comparison.

Now, I rarely use the Sony laptop -- the keys have started falling off (I gave
up reattaching the 'z' key), the screen is "floppy," and I dread trying to
right-click on things with the trackpad, but it's now a dedicated dev
environment for my job, on days that I work from home. In comparison, my
Macbook Air has gotten far more abuse. I toss it around, carry it in my purse,
I've lost it under couch cushions -- it has a dent on the bottom from who-
knows-where, but it still feels as nice to use as it did on Day 1.

The only time I've run into performance problems is when I'm running Eclipse +
Tomcat + heavy MySQL load + some random Python scripts chugging away + ten
billion tabs in Chrome. The baseline model 11" air is a little sluggish then
:-p But really, I'd rather upgrade to a more expensive model, or pause
execution on some things, or clean up my processes, and/or just offload
processing to an EC2 instance than ever have to buy another crappy-feeling
plastic laptop. It just makes an unbelievable amount of difference in day-to-
day use that I don't think people give enough consideration to.

------
akeck
My 2004 Corolla is outdated, underpowered, and was "overpriced". It has
250,000 miles, and we use it every day without worrying about breakdowns.
Likewise, I use my 2009 MacBook Pro every day without worrying about
breakdowns [1]. Quality comes with a steep up-front price that pays you back
with a long tail of value.

[1] The native Apple hardware has failed exactly once in the MacBook's
lifetime (SATA cable)

~~~
restalis
They may happen to be reliable because you just take better care of pricey
things (but that's not to say that it isn't their merit to turn you into a
careful person).

~~~
akeck
True, except I've dropped the MacBook about ten times over its lifetime. I've
been more careful with it lately. ;-)

------
konart
>underpowered

I still don't get this. Underpowered compared to what? The lastest CPU model?
Well, that's to be expected every 6 mounths or so. But from a user's point of
view? No so much to be honest.

I can see how latest CPU might give some advantages to those who are dependent
on computations, but other than this... no. RAM is the the only thing I've
updated in the last 2 year (need all these VMs, IDEs, browser etc). Never saw
CPU usage going >80%

~~~
brudgers
In terms of raw computational power, e.g. MFLOPS, there is a plausible case
regarding GPU's. The article mentions this in passing as more of a "shiny new"
gripe than a "GPU's are the future of computing".

Since more people are more motivated by "shiny new" than are limited by the
GPU throughput, I'm not surprised at the author's approach or convinced that
from a business standpoint GPU performance is critical for Mac marketing. My
only point is that there _tends_ to be a technical difference in regard to GPU
computational power at similar price points. I'm not saying that this is
necessarily important.

------
endemic
I tend to dismiss these sorts of overtly negative articles out of hand. While
it's true that Apple could probably follow Intel's roadmap more closely, it's
been years since they have promoted their platform using "speeds and feeds."
Windows OEMs have no choice but to differentiate that way.

As a user, I care less about having the most recent hardware (which will be
outdated in 6 months anyway); my focus is on purchasing something reliable,
and as many others have mentioned, these days most laptops are "fast enough."

~~~
matt_wulfeck
Indeed I think specs are one of the most poor ways to differentiate yourself
right now in the laptop space.

The way to differentiate yourself is to get your users to stop thinking about
their laptops at all. Make it work the right way. Make using it intuitive and
easy. Make it reliable and secure.

The less people notice it the happier they will be.

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dctoedt
For more than three years I've been using my mid-2012 Macbook Air 11" (8GB
RAM, 512GB SSD upgrade, my first Mac ever, with external monitor) as my only
machine. Never had a problem. The size is perfect for an airline seat-back
tray. The keyboard and trackpad Just Work. I very much prefer the Mac OS after
decades of Windows experience. These days I grumble when I have to do tech
support for my wife on her Windows 10 state-of-the-art ultrabook.

~~~
jaytaylor
I have a similar MBA I've been using for years and I love it. They are also
quite easy to repair- I've broken the keyboard and damaged the power board but
replaced both myself relatively easily!

The retina macbook pros on the other hand are literally glued together and
aren't user serviceable.

------
andronikea
I can totally agree on this.

About a month ago, I was buying a new ultrabook, and MacBook Air was an
obvious choice. Obvious, until I saw it's price. It's way too overpriced for
what it offers. The battery life is fine, but other than that, nothing. I
mean, c'mon, 4gb of RAM and an Intel Core i5 processor is sufficient for a
modern day laptop? MacBook Pro is not better in any aspect, as well.

Finally, I ended up with a Dell Latitude (E7250) with 16gb of RAM and a lot
better i7 processor, for about twice less money. And guess what, the battery
also holds roughly 9 hours, but RAM processing power difference is huge,
especially in my line of work. I could even install a Hackintosh on my machine
and get all of the OSX goodness for half the price.

~~~
endemic
Half as much for the Latitude? I checked the Apple/Dell stores, and while the
MBA i7 upgrade has a slower clock speed and is limited to 8GB RAM, it's also
less expensive ($1750 vs. ~$2000;
[http://imgur.com/a/ELQm6](http://imgur.com/a/ELQm6)).

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Doctor_Fegg
It seems a little pointless posting this just two months before WWDC, the
event Apple used for its major laptop launches in 2012 and 2013.

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64bitbrain
I have a 16Gig 512 SSD Macbook pro and its faster than ever, since I have
upgraded. As far as touchscreen on laptops is concerned; Steve Jobs mentioned
that its not ergonomically correct. And I agree, I don't know how much long I
can lift my fingers and touch the screen everytime I have to navigate. Apple
has added lot of gestures on its track pad which is awesome.

~~~
sccxy
I would say using laptops for long period of time is also pain in the ass.

That's why many people use external monitor, keyboard and mouse.

My wife uses her touchscreen laptop for web browsing at the couch. Using
laptop at your lap is quite bad, but touch screen makes it a lot of better.

~~~
joshguthrie
I've been using laptops exclusively for the last six years, I move around too
much to go back to a Desktop computer.

------
Recurecur
This article came out a couple of months before WWDC - which is widely
expected to include the announcement of new Macbooks, and likely also a Mac
Pro update.

The 5K iMac is recent, a good value, and includes cutting-edge hardware from
the time it was introduced. I expect Apple will continue to invest in new Mac
development, as Macs are both profitable and important halo products.

------
Finnucane
This isn't new. Apple's Mac update cycle has been slow for some years now. I'm
a long-time Apple user, but when I went laptop shopping a couple of years ago
I ended up ordering something else instead, because I could get a lot more for
less money.

------
ommunist
Still best in resale value and, believe it or not, they just work. And to sell
outdated hardware for extra price is very good for Apple's business, isn't it?
APPL stock to sell, anyone?

------
sccxy
Also 2000 EUR iMacs are shipping with 5400rpm HDD.

I use 2013 MacBook Air and want to upgrade to MacBook Pro, but at the moment I
can't justify buying new Mac. All new Macs are outdated at the moment.

------
TheAndruu
No touchscreen is a sign of age.

~~~
coldtea
Touchscreens are a BS feature for laptops. Our hands where not made to be used
a pointers held at those angles. Nobody uses their Wintel laptops that way
either, even when they have the feature.

Now if you're talking about detachable screens, that could be the case. But
there are tablets for that, that are even more convenient and specialized to
long term use in that way.

~~~
joshstrange
Agreed, I watch these stupid MS commercials where they are using the
touchscreen on the laptop and it's SOOO gimmicky. No one really does that. I
completely agree on the detachable screen though, of course at that point get
an iPad Pro (for certain workloads)....

~~~
TheAndruu
I have a touchscreen Toshiba Radius and by far use the touchscreen more than I
ever expected to. In fact, it's rare that I use the trackpad any more.

I'm writing this comment on my 8-month-old MacBookPro11,5 with 16 gigs of ram
and 1TB SSD drive. I've had 3 brand new MacBook Pros from 2011, 2013, and
2015. The lack of continued innovation on this platform is really starting to
show its age.

~~~
joshstrange
Interesting, I really don't see myself reaching up 6-8 inches to touch the
screen when I can do it faster (and with less finger smudges) from the
trackpad but maybe I'm wrong, I love my iPad but I still just don't feel like
I would like it on a laptop.

~~~
fernandosoteras
I am a developer, I use the touchscreen sparcely. I use mainly for zooming in
and out pdf documents. IMHO tochscreen are a valuable adition to the set of
interfaces , to be used for determined gestures in some apps. Also , if you
are into mobile dev , you can test the touch functionality on the device
emulator.

~~~
coldtea
> _I am a developer, I use the touchscreen sparcely. I use mainly for zooming
> in and out pdf documents._

Yeah, but on a Mac laptop you can do it more conveniently, from the multi-
touch trackpad too.

