Apple's March 9th Event

Originally Posted by kyteflyer

Well, we were all wrong. It was the watch, and updated macbooks and HBO for appleTV and a lot of talking.

With the way our Aussie dollar has taken a dive against the greenback, all things Apple (well, new stuff) is now out of my price range. They even bumped the prices of refurb stuff thats been in the warehouse. REALLY unimpressed.

I was very interested in the rumoured 12" notebook, it looks gorgeous and sexy and all that... but ONE port for everything? and NO SD card reader? and $1500AU and more to have it? No thanks. I wanted a new laptop, and today I pulled the trigger on a 5 year old ex-lease Macbook. It will be fine, the new stuff presented at the event will not.

As for the watch... and this is coming from someone who loves Apple stuff... WTF????.

I agree, I'm mostly unimpressed. And I was surprised that they introduced the 12" Macbook then rather than waiting until summer. I really hate the one port concept. I looked at the Macbook Airs recently when shopping for a new Mac, but ultimately decided to go with the Macbook Pro 15.4" Retina with 16 GB RAM. More ports and wickedly fast. I wanted a desktop replacement though, so the Macbook Air really wasn't much of a choice. And as far the Watch, totally uninterested in any smartwatch period! Even if they worked standalone, and I don't think any of the current ones do, I just don't have a need for a huge watch that needs daily charging. I would rather spend $400 on a good Casio G-Shock that is very useful to me than by a smartwatch that is little more than eye candy.

[Dylrob]

Originally Posted by kyteflyer

Well, we were all wrong. It was the watch, and updated macbooks and HBO for appleTV and a lot of talking.

With the way our Aussie dollar has taken a dive against the greenback, all things Apple (well, new stuff) is now out of my price range. They even bumped the prices of refurb stuff thats been in the warehouse. REALLY unimpressed.

I was very interested in the rumoured 12" notebook, it looks gorgeous and sexy and all that... but ONE port for everything? and NO SD card reader? and $1500AU and more to have it? No thanks. I wanted a new laptop, and today I pulled the trigger on a 5 year old ex-lease Macbook. It will be fine, the new stuff presented at the event will not.

As for the watch... and this is coming from someone who loves Apple stuff... WTF????.

Don't forget about the crappy processor they put in to eliminate the fan. (Which is already virtually silent on my MacBook Air)

[Penforhire]

I'm not impressed with the first generation of the 12" but I recall feeling similarly about the first MBA. Yet I am very happy with my mid-2013 MBA. I expect the second or third generation of this new laptop could call my name. On the other hand, the next MS Surface Pro could get my money first.

Originally Posted by Dylrob

Don't forget about the crappy processor they put in to eliminate the fan. (Which is already virtually silent on my MacBook Air)

My Macbook Pro is virtually silent, and it has a heck of a lot better processor than the Airs. Apple has started putting some really lackluster processors in various Macs over the past year or two. I guess they are trying to save costs and keep the prices close to what they were for the previous year. I know they really ruined the new Mac Minis last year by putting in lackluster processors and soldering in the RAM. The 2014 models are a downgrade in my opinion from the 2012 models.

[kyteflyer]

Originally Posted by jswinden

...I guess they are trying to save costs and keep the prices close to what they were for the previous year. I know they really ruined the new Mac Minis last year by putting in lackluster processors and soldering in the RAM. The 2014 models are a downgrade in my opinion from the 2012 models.

Indeed!!! I'm very glad I went with a 2012 model at the time, instead if waiting... I did not have to pay the stupid high cost of 16GB from Apple (especially since they dont even use a "premium" RAM) and instead, got Kensington for half the price, and did it myself. I will be getting the local Mac store (not Apple) to put a new SSD in for me though, doing that is well beyond my capacity.

[FlorenceArt]

I had a SSD installed in my 2010 MBP and thanks to that, it runs Yosemite with no problem. But I am starting to think seriously about switching to Windows. I have been using Apple computers since the first Macintosh.

Originally Posted by FlorenceArt

I had a SSD installed in my 2010 MBP and thanks to that, it runs Yosemite with no problem. But I am starting to think seriously about switching to Windows. I have been using Apple computers since the first Macintosh.

I use both, though I started out with Mac and went with them at home until Apple let the OS and systems nearly die in the mid-1990s. Once Intel passed up AMD in processor speed, AMD just got suckier and the RISC processors Apple switched to just never did well IMO. But since they switched back to Intel and released the OS X I've returned. I always used Windows at work because I had no choice, and I have a Windows 8.1 Lenovo Yoga 2 11 for apps that are difficult to find in Mac OS X. But I hate Windows 8.1 with a passion. It is the worst thing since Windows ME I think. Gawd awful, and constantly needing updates and constantly effing up drivers. Windows 7 was good, but I would wait for Windows 10 rather get Windows 8.1. 8.1 is just one big headache!!

After Apple announced all their new lineup last year I was disappointed with the soldered RAM and high prices. I too thought about jumping back to Windows for my main workhorse computer, but in the end stuck with Apple. One obvious reason was Windows 8.1 being so sucky. But to get the RAM and processor and graphics I wanted for astrophotography, I found that the Windows computers really cost just as much as the Macs. True you can get stripped down crap like my Lenovo Yoga 2 11, but the powerful computers were just as expensive. It made my decision to stick with Mac a lot easier.

[kyteflyer]

Originally Posted by FlorenceArt

I had a SSD installed in my 2010 MBP and thanks to that, it runs Yosemite with no problem. But I am starting to think seriously about switching to Windows. I have been using Apple computers since the first Macintosh.

I've just bought the 2010/2011 model (last of the polycarbonate shells) ex-lease. I plan to upgrade RAM and put an SSD in (ifixit.com has the instructions, much easier than in a Mini).

I also contemplated Windows (for me, it would be a return) but I just don't like Windows 8/8.1. I've played with the beta of 10 and it seems like an improvement. However... I always want to go back to OSX (I was never so dedicated to the various system OSes) so I just think for me it would be silly to jump back again. I'd be constantly wanting to Linux or Hackint0sh it, which is what I used to do with my netbook until I sold it. No way of getting round being an OSX fan