Anandtech's Retina MacBook Pro Review / "Apple Tax" explained

[jeffbax]

"Apparently Orbitz knows a cheapskate when they see one."

[PathMaster]

Originally Posted by jeffbax

I'm not the one calling people "suckers" because their demographic buys higher end hotel rooms. There's nothing sucker about that, it's a lifestyle choice.

Of course it is. And so is frugality. The idea that I can get something for less that is functionally the same, whether it be hotels or computers.

[Slack3r78]

Originally Posted by TheKeck

Also, I just tried it and backspace (delete) DOES go back in my web browser. What browser are you using?

Safari does not support backspace for back. Because it is an abomination of a shortcut and whoever thought it was a good idea to implement it in the first place should burn in the hottest, fiery pit of hell for all eternity. It's that god awful of a UI mechanism.

[TheKeck]

Originally Posted by Slack3r78

Safari does not support backspace for back. Because it is an abomination of a shortcut and whoever thought it was a good idea to implement it in the first place should burn in the hottest, fiery pit of hell for all eternity. It's that god awful of a UI mechanism.

I am not a fan of backspace for back in a web browser.

I am also not a fan of Safari.

[Slack3r78]

Originally Posted by TheKeck

I am not a fan of backspace for back in a web browser.

I am also not a fan of Safari.

I don't care for Safari, either, but not burdening it with the extra chromossome that is backspace for back is one of the smarter things Apple has done.

[TheKeck]

Originally Posted by Slack3r78

I don't care for Safari, either, but not burdening it with the extra chromossome that is backspace for back is one of the smarter things Apple has done.

I don't disagree. I guess the hotkey thing seemed more software specific and not OS specific (which it is) and assumed that Returner would be using the same browser now as he was before.

[muddi900]

Backspace for back also doesn't work under Ubuntu, on both Firefox and Chromium.

[digitalErich]

It's all about Mouse4

[TheKeck]

Originally Posted by digitalErich

It's all about Mouse4

This is true.

Except when I inadvertently hit mouse4.

[Inverarity]

I spent a little time playing around with the retina MacBook Pro at an Apple Store yesterday, and my initial impression of the screen is that it's outstanding in any mode.

I rotated through the different scaling modes, and was pleasantly surprised that the 'more space' mode (which maps 1920x1200 onto the display) looked perfectly smooth. I expected at least a little jagginess from the modes that weren't mapped with an even pixel multiplier, but they seem to have done their homework; it looks great.

The viewing angle is extremely good as well, giving the impression of a huge backlit transparency rather than a computer screen. It really jumps out at you in the same way that the new iPad does - very clear, with vivid and (to my eye, anyway) accurate colors.

I'd love to get something like this for my next work machine. Being able to drive two external monitors plus the built-in screen would be great. I'm 90% of the way to doing all my work inside VMs anyway, so the host OS doesn't make that much of a difference. I wonder if the VMWare environment for MacOS supports the automatic power-saving feature that powers down the dedicated graphics hardware...my only complaint about Boot Camp is that the drivers are set up to always use the high-speed graphics, which leads to more heat and power consumption than I'd otherwise have to worry about.

[Chaos Machine]

Originally Posted by jeffbax

Making computers that don't suck, in a market full of total garbage, is not pushing in the wrong direction. The sales responses are indicative of one thing: that people are happy to pay for quality..

I can tell you right now that for even $1,500 you are going to get a better laptop than the Apple one in all specs except for the display. Just wait till that display starts appearing on PC's, Apples advantage will vanish. The point I was trying to make was that when you are comparing apples to ehmm apples money wise you are always going to find the better deal in a PC.

Originally Posted by jeffbax

Regaring the LED panel, the one with the Apple logo has pretty much the best integrated speakers in a monitor, built in camera, dimming detection, AND AN ENTIRE THUNDERBOLT HUB INSIDE OF IT. These are not cheap, the 27" Cinema Display is essentially an iMac without a CPU and Hard Disk with all of the logic built in to support high end peripherals (which, to be fair, the only computers shipping Thunderbolt en masse right now are Macs - but that's the point, tight seamless integration across products) to make it convenient for bleeding edge laptops which are going thin and light while ditching ports.

Really? You are going to try to justify that insane mark-up with the additional thunderbolt hub and the integrated speakers? I dont even know how to respond to that. Regarding the bleeding edge laptops going thin and light and ditching ports... thats what tablets are for. I am all for thin and light laptops but not when it compromises functionality and more importantly, durability. I bet you are in for some sticker shock if you ever crack that display. From what I read the whole assembly needs to be replaced. Not a cheap date, and good luck getting Applecare to cover that.

I am not an apple hater, I am seriously considering one of the new Ipads as my tablet of choice, but that is going to be based on specs and cost of ownership, not the brand.

[jeffbax]

Originally Posted by Chaos Machine

I can tell you right now that for even $1,500 you are going to get a better laptop than the Apple one in all specs except for the display. Just wait till that display starts appearing on PC's, Apples advantage will vanish. The point I was trying to make was that when you are comparing apples to ehmm apples money wise you are always going to find the better deal in a PC.

I'll get better specs in everything except the things I interact with most? Being the display, keyboard, trackpad, weight, fan noise and operating system?

Putting up with what I find to be an inferior (significantly so in many usages) computing experience because of numbers on a bullet list spec sheet to save a few hundred bucks on a machine that I will use for 5+ years is not what I and many others consider a deal.

[Slack3r78]

Originally Posted by jeffbax

I'll get better specs in everything except the things I interact with most? Being the display, keyboard, trackpad, weight, fan noise and operating system?

Putting up with what I find to be an inferior (significantly so in many usages) computing experience because of numbers on a bullet list spec sheet to save a few hundred bucks on a machine that I will use for 5+ years is not what I and many others consider a deal.

The Retina is the only Apple laptop shipping with an IPS panel, chiclet keyboards are garbage, I'm indifferent on trackpads, the weight and fan noise are nothing special in today's market, and calling Lion completely underwhelming is being generous. OS X hasn't done anything particularly new or compelling since 10.5 and Apple seems intent on irritating me with shoehorning mobile paradigms into my desktop operating system.

And I'm somebody that has been a Mac guy in the past. Hell, I'm typing this on a Macbook Pro. But I have no desire to pay a price premium for a machine that doesn't do anything at all special for me.

I'm really to the point where I'd rather use Ubuntu than OS X most of the time anyway. OS X used to be the only way to get a sane UI sitting on top of UNIX underpinnings, but that's slowly been changing for a while and 12.04 was the stake in OS X's heart for me.

And all that doesn't even touch on how Apple has taken on a corporate persona that would've made Microsoft of the 90s blush with its shamelessly anticompetitive behavior. Given a lukewarm product, I'll take my money elsewhere.

[PathMaster]

Originally Posted by jeffbax

Putting up with what I find to be an inferior (significantly so in many usages) computing experience because of numbers on a bullet list spec sheet to save a few hundred bucks on a machine that I will use for 5+ years is not what I and many others consider a deal.

And what it seems you fail to realize, is that many others feel the Mac experience is inferior and not because of a spec sheet. And they enjoy saving the extra money over the price premium of a Mac. My computers last 5+ years and cost me less money, this works for me.

But in the end this is all a very subjective matter, but I am sure you know that.

[Slack3r78]

Things are bad when Jesus Diaz, who is about as rabid an Apple fan as you get outside of John Gruber or MG Siegler, thinks that 10.8 kind of sucks.

http://gizmodo.com/5928783/mountain-...ium=socialflow

[muddi900]

Gizmodo just hates skeumorphism. Every time someone links me there, they are harping on about skeumorphism.

[Slack3r78]

Originally Posted by muddi900

Gizmodo just hates skeumorphism. Every time someone links me there, they are harping on about skeumorphism.

Well, that's because skeumorphism is a plague that needs to be erradicated. And that was hardly his only complaint.

[biosc1]

I think the biggest issue is that people look towards Apple now as an OS innovator when they really aren't (and don't need to be) at this time.

[Serapth]

Its idiots like this that make reading Apple related press almost intolerable.


Look, Apple innovated a shittier version of DLNA 2 years later!

Man wired has been circling the toilet for a long time now.

[J Arcane]

Originally Posted by biosc1

I think the biggest issue is that people look towards Apple now as an OS innovator when they really aren't (and don't need to be) at this time.

Its because they used to be, or at least
Could be counted in to deliver very polished, well-designed oses.

Now they just seem to be throwing handfuls of bullshit at the wall hoping it sticks, and since they're gaining market all the while, they get away with it.

They've become Microsoft, basically.