What was she actually against in the new MBP? (New MBP user myself, don't like the touch bar, but otherwise a fine machine.)
* No SD reader: not ubiquitous in the age of smartphones, but I take pics with my DSLR on vacations and not having an internal card reader makes me unhappy. I could add a card reader, which leads me to my next point
* USB-C only: USB C is the future. However, that future hasn't fully arrived yet and migrating would be pricey all in one go. My external drive, external card reader, and thumb drive are all USB A. Sure I could buy the adapter but with MacBook > Adapter > External Card Reader > SD card, I lose the portability I have with my current MacBook. Same goes for my always inserted 64 GB tiny thumb drive full of movies.
* MagSafe: I'm clumsy, and MagSafe is a big deal for me. I understand the appeal of USB C and being able to replace a single cable versus the whole charger, but I'd rather have the clumsy-proof nature of MagSafe
* Keyboard: highly subjective and personal opinion, but I prefer more travel on my keyboard. I've used the new butterfly on the new MBP, but I still like my old keyboard.
* Price: on top of the aforementioned adapters and new accessories, the MBP itself has a higher base model price.
Obviously my thoughts are personal and not universal, but my reasons for not wanting the new MBP for non developer reasons.
Honestly as a developer the only thing that would bug me with software development specifically would be the lack of FN keys.
Newish MBP user chiming in. Peripheral access and costs.
- no DVD/CD player
- no Ethernet
- no SD card slot
- no RCA out
What I see is good new machines with the above peripheral access removed. The advantages are no mechanical moving parts, technically better KB, access to faster SDD, software upgradable for quite a while. The hidden advantage is the new Macs are less polluting and fewer moving parts. Is this worth the added cost, lower power supply and loss of peripheral and access though? Out of the box, I had/have zero problems in my current work use/flow as a ^glorified^ VT-100 terminal.
RCA out hasn't ever been in a MacBook to my knowledge.
The only port that made absolutely no sense to remove was the SD card slot (even if I personally never use mine).
You're right, got confused with 3.5mm jack. Removed the 3.5mm jack. What about the current USB confusion? ...and yes mid 2012. Since when is a thiner laptop ever really been a TOP priority for programmers? I would have though it would be power: processor, battery life, HD, then weight, etc.
For manufacturers shaving off millimetres/grams off each machine translates to savings. For users thiner may be lighter, a trade off with being tactile. Wonder what Braun would tackle this?
I also get that this is absolutely a subjective thing. Some people probably just wouldn't like the lack of travel.
Still, I consider myself a pretty discerning keyboard user, and I think the current MBP keyboard is my favorite among the laptop keyboards I have used, with the possible exception of the old Thinkpad keyboard.