LSherratt

iTrader: (1)

Apple have announced new MacBooks and a few other updates...

Jack, you know I'm on your side when it comes to Apple but those prices are obsurde. £2400 for a 15" MBP which now doesn't come with a card slot or USB?

I've had mine since 2011 and at those prices I'm pretty sure I'll be giving Win10 a go.

JackClark

Pretty pricey, but then my 2010 MacBook Pro was £2500 so given the Brexit induced price increase, I'd say they're a bargain

It's still running like a champ though 6 years later, total cost of ownership is real.

neil-h

You can get the 15" version from £1900.

Though tha being said I've never had any problems with my 13" mbp.

JackClark

Card slot and USB I couldn't have lived without 2 years ago, but neither have been used -now I'm lying as I'm out working and charging my iPad I forgot to charge last night - on this machine for a good while... it has a CD drive too, not tears for that going either.

On-the-bog

£2400 for a 15" laptop and you think its a bargin? lmao. Some people are deluded

JackClark

Worth noting that the Surface Book Pro from Microsoft costs more.

JackClark

Buy cheap buy twice

On-the-bog

or pay through your **** for nothing special. I'm guessing your the resident apple worshiper then?

JackClark

Not really, I'm someone who makes a living using Apple products and they've always served me well, yes the initial investment is greater than most PC's but just like IBM I understand that in the long run I'm saving money.

JackClark

Are you our new Apple hater? That would be cool as the last one just quit.

On-the-bog

Ah so thats a yes then lmao.

Do i hate apple? not sure tbh, thats a pretty strong word.

Do i think they over price items for what they are? Yes

Do i think you can buy more capable equipment for less money? yes

Gone are the days when apple was totaly rock solid tech, plug and play and no worries about virus's.

So back to the question, no i don't think i do hate apple, i just think they exploit their customer base.

Beef

Was waiting for the new models for my Mum, who's looking to switch over from an ancient Dell.

However the significantly higher price, no SD card slot (she uses it), no USB type-A ports (uses them) and no HDMI socket (yup, uses that too) were bad enough, but at that level of price increase?

I'll recommend she picks up an outgoing model quick before stocks disappear.

JackClark

That's your opinion and I respect that. Here's hoping you can respect mine.

JackClark

The MacBooks are very, very nice. Does she need a Pro?

On-the-bog

If she is currently using an ancient one she wont need anything mega spec (obviously not using anything too demanding). Low to mid rang windows laptop will be 1/10th the price and can just upgrade it ever 2 years, have a regular nice shiny new one and save a fortune in the long run.

An0n0m0us

Disappointed there was no imac refresh as I was hoping for a drop in price in the refurb store. But the price increase in the macbook's is crazy and the refurb store will be popular with people snapping up the current models at much lower prices.

On-the-bog

I can respect an opinion, but doesn't mean people should blindly follow it.

Like all purchases you need to look at cost vs benefit, and after looking at dozens of purchase specifications for different departments, including home use systems, I'm yet to come across any time in the past 5 years where apple would be the one to go for. Doing the same before that did yield different recommendations (mainly reliability and security where cost is a lower score on the required specification), but that edge has long since gone.

Beef

I borrowed a mid-2014 MBP from work for her to trial using one; she's a fan of the retina screen, which ruled out the Air, and the lack of ports disqualified the 'normal' Macbook. What she wants is to plug her laptop into her TV for various reasons, hence the HDMI,, and to transfer pics from her camera easily, hence the SD card slot. She also wants to connect up her existing keyboard/mouse and USB disk.

If it had simply been the elimination of those, it might have still been surmountable by accepting the faff of adapters - she's not a fan of having to worry about extra cables and associated faff - but the magnitude of the price bump is just putting the boot in.

I can pick up an outgoing model on Amazon for less than a grand: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00UY2U93W, so I'll recommend she does that.

To my mind, the total elimination of USB A ports was a mistake - a mix of USB-A would have allowed a more graceful transition for users - but it's clear the intent is you buy a dock for extra ports and charging, which is making the already lumpy increase even worse.

JackClark

I'm working in a TV studio right now, we were all hoping for iMacs as they and I need a refresh. No doubt it'll be along soon enough.

JackClark

IBM don't agree with you, but that's just their and my opinion, your experience may be different.

http://www.computerworld.com/article...t-thought.html

On-the-bog

First off its US based figures and its based on a single company needs. What they used as a specification for purchases wont become public so you will never know.

Other thing that hasn't been mentioned is the ability to upgrade machines. Its alot easier with a pc than a mac. We tend to end up buying machines with specific motherboards but basic other components to give us the flexibility we need. By the time you play with discounts and number if units purchased via agreements works out alot cheaper that way.

We also use custom written software and involved in development of others, macs fall down big time when it comes to that.

But that's all kinda going off topic from the original point.

An0n0m0us

Won't be this year though as I can't see them calling another conference straight after this one, they would have just lumped them in together so unlikely it will be before March now which will also tie in with the intel road map. This is the first year they haven't refreshed the imacs in October from what I can remember.

An0n0m0us

That Amazon link is not a UK model as when they state it comes with UK plug it's a give away it's an import otherwise why need to mention it. The UK model can be had on the refurb store same spec for £1059 and i'd rather pay the extra for UK keyboard and not have a foreign model.

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

I'm on my 3rd windows laptop in over a ten year period and I'm due another one soon. I'm not buying new because I have to but because I want something newer. Even if I buy another new laptop I won't be anywhere near £2500, I bet probably a grand less and I have bought some good laptops.

JackClark

Don't forget the time it took you to transfer everything to these new laptops, the time it took to find and order them, it all counts, plus think of the environment.

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

Laptops are for browsing the web, I have nothing I'm bothered about loosing on it plus I transfer important stuff straight to a separate drive so if things go down I still have it

If its wasn't for how expensive cloud storage etc would be for my photos I would have no bother using them but I have over 30gig of pictures so they are on quite a few separate drives. Same as all my mp3's are on a few drives.

An0n0m0us

You get 50gb free with Mega and it's encrypted but it's more a case of if you trust the service provider.

I have all my stuff on OneDrive as i've got 45gb free on there through various promotions over the years and use Microsoft's 2 step verification with an app on my phone so if any access is attempted I am notified with an option to allow or deny.

JackClark

Good article on pricing

http://www.theverge.com/2016/10/28/1...sive-exclusive

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

Until the $ auto corrects MacBooks are going to be very expensive .

JackClark

Auto corrects? Do you mean if Donald gets voted in and the US has a Brexit moment?