[jwr]

> Pros don’t quit because their tools are suboptimal. That’s practically the definition of “professional” – a pro gets the damn thing done. A pro user might gripe about the new MacBook Pro, but the next time she needs a new machine, she’s going to buy one anyway because that’s the path of least resistance and she needs to get back to work.

This sums up perfectly my thoughts about Apple hardware right now. I am annoyed by the fact that I won't be able to connect any of my devices to the new MacBook Pro, but I'll buy one anyway, because I need to get things done to earn money.

I also agree that the pro market is ripe for disruption (again). Interestingly enough, Apple began its rise to stardom from the pro segment, which it is now abandoning. Foolishly, I think, because it's a relatively easy disruption path for the next company.

[dingaling]

"Pros don’t quit because their tools are suboptimal."

Indeed they don't quit. Quite the opposite, pros dump sub-optimal tools ASAP and buy something decent to finish the job. The productivity of a tool that meets requirements hugely outweighs any additional cost.

In the UK Draper brand hand-tools were well regarded until the 2000s, when they started applying their brand to cheaply-manufactured tools from China. Word of insufficient quality and durability spread amongst 'pro' users who quickly stopped buying them.

Draper later tried to reintroduce a 'Draper Pro' line with higher quality but the brand was irrepariably tainted. Now they're mainly found in the hands of occasional DIYers who remember the brand name.

[smacktoward]

The same thing happened in the US to Craftsman tools, the line sold by (now rapidly vanishing) retailer Sears. For decades the Craftsman name was synonymous with high quality, reliable tools -- a reputation also shared by other Sears house brands, like Kenmore appliances and DieHard automotive batteries. Then Sears got a new CEO, production got shipped to China and the quality of all those brands dropped through the proverbial floor. And all the cost-cutting didn't even help turn the company around; if anything, Sears went under faster afterwards than it had been doing before.

Nearly a century of brand value destroyed in a few years, to no positive purpose whatsoever. What a waste.

[seanp2k2]

Speaking of hand tools, is there anything between something like Xuron / Xcelite / CHP and Erem? $100 for a pair of diagonal cutters is too much but the rivet on my CHP PN2007 sheared when using it for some heavier-but-not-IMO-abusive work. I don't mind paying $20-40 for a good set.

[lebski88]

Knippex might fit the bill.

[allenbrunson]

> I also agree that the pro market is ripe for disruption (again).

I kind of hope so.

I am not happy with Apple's latest moves with their Mac lineup. I have been using my current Macbook Pro for six years. I expected to buy one of the newly-announced Macs, but they really aren't speaking my language anymore. So I ordered a refurb Macbook Pro from 2015. It's still not what I would prefer, because the battery is glued in, the RAM can't be upgraded, not the latest processor, etc. But at least it still has USB-A ports, magsafe, and a physical touch pad. I guess now I've bought myself another six years' worth of time to see if Apple comes up with something that is more to my liking.

If someone were to introduce an entirely new and exciting platform, with ways to make money in its ecosystem for a programmer like me, I would strongly consider it. I've done it before. Way back in 1999, I abandoned Windows and switched to BeOS. I worked for Be, Inc. for almost a year, before they went out of business.

Even though it didn't go so well last time, I would make the jump to a new platform, a second time, in a heartbeat.

[linguae]

I concur. Before the announcement I wanted to buy a new MacBook Pro to replace my three year-old MacBook Air, but I was disappointed in what was announced (MacBook keyboard with very little key travel, being limited to 16GB RAM, and the other upgrades being rather incremental). I plan to stick to my MacBook Air for a while longer since it's in perfectly working condition.

My ideal situation would be to migrate to PC hardware, but the problem is I'm dissatisfied with the OS situation there. Windows is still annoying to use after all of these years, the Linux desktop experience seems to always be perpetually behind OS X and even Windows, and making a Hackintosh is an EULA violation (which matters to me since I use my computers in public, professional environments). I agonized about this over three years ago before eventually succumbing and buying a MacBook Air despite my dissatisfaction with Apple's trend toward non-upgradeable computers. I don't want to buy another non-upgradeable computer, but I don't like Windows and the Linux desktop, either.

I would be very interested in some sort of alternative OS, and I think the time is ripe for the development of one.

[woah]

Lack of USB A, MagSafe, and physical touch pad is what you're mad about? The first is a understandable, but a matter of obsolescence, the second also (plus you can fix it with a $20 USB c cable with magnetic breakaway). Being mad about the haptic touch pad is a real head scratcher, since it is strictly an improvement.

[donatj]

The haptic touch pad is probably the worst part in my honest opinion. It just feels wrong, even after a year of using it.

[fzzzy]

Seriously? The haptic touch pad is the best thing to ever happen to pointing devices! It is absolutely amazing.

[fzzzy]

Uhh, the 2015 retina has a haptic touchpad.

[allenbrunson]

> Uhh, the 2015 retina has a haptic touchpad.

indeed it does! i had to convince myself that it is so by trying to press the touchpad on my new mac when it was turned off. it's just "dead" in that state.

i remember hearing a lot of people complain about the "force touch" thing when it was released. i am super super sensitive to any part of a computer i have to touch, so i figured if anybody had a problem with it, i would as well. when my new mac arrived and i didn't notice anything strange about the touch pad, i just assumed i had one of the old reliable physical-button ones that i have come to know and love. so in this case, apple's hardware advance is okay with me.

... but i can name another thing i forgot that i am annoyed by: apple doesn't sell macs with matte screens anymore. i really don't like seeing my own reflection in the dark areas of the display. but they've managed to tone it down a bit. it's not as bad as it used to be in the original glossy screens they released.

[fzzzy]

I agree about the matte screen thing. I had one of the last laptops they offered with the matte option, and I used it for 5 years until a month ago, when I bought the rMBP a few weeks before Apple released the crippled new model. (The rumors were extremely accurate coming up to the launch, so I knew I wouldn't be interested in the new model.)

I was skeptical about the haptic touchpad, but now after using it for a while (I got a Magic Trackpad 2 a few months ago) I'm extremely impressed and feel like it is better than a physical click in every way. I think it is better on my RSI as well.

[moftz]

There are plenty of MacBook Pro alternatives that have identical hardware but have a wider range of ports:

Microsoft Surface Book

Razor Stealth

Dell XPS 13

Unless you are sticking with the macOS ecosystem for old time's sake, it's trivial to switch to a Windows workflow.

[pantalaimon]

> Unless you are sticking with the macOS ecosystem for old time's sake, it's trivial to switch to a Windows workflow.

Or Linux for that matter.

[jwr]

If only it were true. I have to write a blog post about this. As someone who regularly uses all three major operating systems: Mac OS sucks the least, by a wide margin. It's not even close.

[rbanffy]

And, with the Windows workflow, you'll have extra breaks whenever the computer decides it has to reboot because Microsoft wants to install something.

[zanecodes]

https://superuser.com/questions/973009/conclusively-stop-wak...

I can confirm that this works on Windows 10 Home edition.

[Corrado]

I'm in the beta program for macOS Sierra and the last 2 updates have tried rebooting my computer without any warning whatsoever. The only thing that "saved" me was having iTerm up and running and it won't close with active terminals open. In the past, OS X was really good about asking for permission to update. Now it just assumes that I'm ready whenever it is. Maybe there is a setting to turn that behaviour off, if so I don't know what it is and it's really starting to make me doubt Apple's commitment to professional tools in a whole other fashion.

[equalarrow]

This is true of macOS as well now. You can defer it, but you're nagged pretty consistently. There was a time I remember when installing updates on OS X didn't require a reboot unless it an os update. Now, so many things are tied together.

This doesn't require a system reboot, but if you're updating Xcode, you can't if iTunes is open. I understand shared libs and things, but I don't really see that much difference anymore between rebooting for Windows updates and macOS updates. YMMV I guess.

[endemic]

IIRC if you pay for the "Pro" version of Windows, you can defer updates.

[woah]

Or if you need to use Mac software, or don't like the buggy and unpolished windows ecosystem

[drivingmenuts]

I guess I'm lucky - both of my MBPs are new enough to not need immediate upgrades (other than a new SSD, maybe). Hopefully, by the time I do need an upgrade, if there is a real upgrade, Apple will have sorted out the whole keyboard thing.

[anexprogrammer]

Or you're on Windows at the moment and wish to go back to macOS, but the new MB 12 style shit travel-free keyboards and the other hardware/ports choices now stop you.