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I can't read this. The retina display is what forced me to buy the 3rd gen iPad......and I just bought a Macbook Air 8 months ago.

I really don't need a new Macbook Pro. really. I don't.

Seriously.

Right?

Guy?

Right?


oh crap....

Its not a major upgrade as from 2008 macbook pro to late 2008 aluminum pros. I think people who have the 2011 pros will mainly stay with their models and given for the price for the retina display models its just too steep. 2 years from now all the macbook models will be getting retina display thats a given and more importantly at a cheaper price. I can understand retina display is a new technology on a laptop but eventually i don't think its worth an upgrade now.

My house is filled with every conceivable product made by Apple. I've converted many friends and colleagues to Apple over the years. But, for the first time, I'm no longer excited by this company. I'm tired of the arrogant disdain that's developed for the way customers actually use their computers and other devices. Apple wants a future where you buy everything digital from Apple and depend on their servers for access to it. I'm sure Apple eventually plans to charge us monthly or annual rent to access our own data. The MacBook Pro is a crippled machine without an optical drive. It's a step backward except for the nice display. And this is not like getting rid of floppy disks. Apple is continually curtailing what we can do with our computers now. I have two Apple TV's (one upstairs and one downstairs) to stream from iTunes. But I also have a PS3 that lets me play blue-ray discs and download movies and TV shows from the PlayStation Store. I want all of these options. I do not want Apple's tightly constricted vision of the future. The company is really becoming the Big Brother it rallied against in that seminal Apple commercial.

truthjustice, on 15 June 2012 - 04:28 AM, said:

You really need to get with the movement forward. Who uses optical drives now anyway? For what purpose? Did you stand behind the VHS too? Personally, for me I couldn't WAIT to get that bulky Superdrive out of my machine. Just watch...a few more years and you won't be able to buy any computer with a superdrive in it...they aren't needed anymore; Apple had the foresight to start people off in the right direction (again).

truthjustice, on 15 June 2012 - 04:28 AM, said:

I don't care about optical drives in the slightest--though I DO have an external one for my Air in the RARE cases I need to use it. If you have a house full of macs (like I do) then you don't need another. I'm pretty sure that the majority, including "pro's" (of which I'm one), don't care about optical anymore either.

What gives me the most SERIOUS pause, is the last of ANY serviceability--meaning I can't access the RAM nor can I change the SSD.

I have a unibody MBP, AND I have an Air. For some reason it doesn't bother me on the AIr, and I was ready and willing for the compromise.

But the idea of replacing my MBP with a model that gives me access to neither primary storage nor RAM, makes me a little queasy. I may have to wait for an update...not because I think a revision with accessibility to those items will appear, but to grow comfortable with the idea.

truthjustice, on 15 June 2012 - 04:28 AM, said:

A lot of professionals were already modding their MBPs by replacing the SuperDrive with an SSD. For many professionals the optical drive is simply not something they use enough for it to need to be built-in. Many non-professional users are actually the same way. You can't call it a "crippled machine" simply because it doesn't do what you want. It does exactly what a lot of people want.

skazzyskills, on 15 June 2012 - 04:55 AM, said:

I agree, I've used my drive maybe 2-4 times this past year...I have an external regardless so getting rid of it is not an issue. And everytime I've needed the drive, it's been at home to copy pictures for friends.

skazzyskills, on 15 June 2012 - 04:55 AM, said:

>>Who uses optical drives now anyway?<<
Well as a matter of fact I do, despite being at the "leading/bleedin' edge of IT for 44 years.
Have just burnt 20 DVDs of a FotoMagico Slideshow & movies of UK Aircraft Museums.
These will be posted to friends. All of whom have DVD players & will continue to have them for years to come.

Apple's lack of commitment to its "customers' investment is legendary".
They just couldn't care less. Never have. Never will.
Of course, few journalists (excluding The Register) have the guts to question Apple Execs on:
withdrawal of Servers, Web Gallery, Web Hosting, rapid obsolesence of hardware & software products etc.
They would be persona non grata at the next Apple announcement, hence career suicide.

I had to upgrade a MacBook Pro to Lion just to use iBooks Author (Lion is inadequate).
Kept an iMac at Snow Leopard so that iWeb works, plus iDVD etc.
Moved web hosting to BT. Moved Web Galleries to SmugMug.
Won't use or need iCloud after MobileMe fiasco.
In addition to the Macs, I've got iPads, iPhones, iPods, Androids & have a dozen Windows PCs.
Still run some '83 DOS software when needed.
I'll use whatever is best for te job in hand but don't want my choices restricted.
Want an Apple TV with 500GB, not streaming.

As a former IBMer ('76-'91) I fully understand corporate arrogance.

Apple make some fine products but they sure don't make things easy for customers.
Little wonder that their enterprise penetration has lacked consistent success.

As for Tim Cook's final remarks at Monday's Keynote; it was vomit inducing !
Did he learn nothing at IBM & Compaq ?
And what a bunch of scruffs....

Mike Campbell
Brighton Marina, UK

I have to say I'm disappointed. My laptop stays closed most of the time - so having a retina display is not that big of a deal to me. What I *do* want is the smaller form factor. Plus, if it didn't have the retina display, it could have either a smaller (lighter) battery, OR a lot more battery life when I do use it on the go... I really hope Apple eventually gives us a 15" MBP in this form factor, but with the old screen.

anderkh, on 15 June 2012 - 05:49 AM, said:

That's not going to happen. By the end of 2013, all Macs will be Retina.

One thing your benchmarks rarely show is, how does this hardware compare to top-end iMacs and current Mac Pros? In general I'd like to see those comparisons each time there's a new review. That context is helpful.

Loss of Superdrive doesn't bother me, nor does the SSD-only storage option, but soldered RAM does. I understand it in my Air, since space is at an absolute premium. Not so much for a "Pro" machine where room could be made. Every Apple machine I bought has received a RAM upgrade over time as needed, especially considering Apple's hideous RAM upgrade pricing.

truthjustice, on 15 June 2012 - 04:28 AM, said:

I'm tired too -- of hearing at least one person rail maniacally against Apple's latest wares every single time that Apple makes an announcement. For some reason, there are always one or two people who are utterly incensed by the changes Apple makes... and yet, somehow Apple continues to grow and prosper. You, good sir, are the stereotypical "vocal minority."

truthjustice, on 15 June 2012 - 04:28 AM, said:

I would suggest that it is exactly like getting rid of floppy disks -- in fact, even the solution is exactly the same: buy an external USB drive, or buy a different computer.

truthjustice, on 15 June 2012 - 04:28 AM, said:

In those commercials from early on, Apple was referring to the strength of IBM's position in the world of computers, at the time. IBM wasn't the only source of computers -- but they were one of the biggest, and they were frequently the only source that most business customers considered; as such, they held a considerable amount of influence over the directions taken by the rest of the computing industry. In subsequent years, people attributed the Big Brother role to Microsoft, but Steve Jobs himself said that the 1984 commercial was meant to represent IBM.

So let's look at Apple today, and see if they resemble that "Big Brother" image: Is Apple one of the biggest computer vendors? Not really -- but some would argue that it depends on what kind of numbers you evaluate. Do business customers eschew all other comers, in favor of Apple? Certainly not... in fact, quite the opposite, in most cases. Does Apple hold considerable influence over the direction taken by the rest of the industry? Well... actually yes. Now here's the catch: Is that influence in any way linked to a form of "Big Brother" control over the industry... or does it exist only because most people know a good thing when they see it? Personally, I would say it's the latter. Perhaps you hold a differing opinion, and you are entitled to that... but consider this: is it a well thought out opinion?