The new MacBook

Posted on March 17, 2015 by Mark Urbin

I’ve been reading the specs on the recently announced Macbook.

It certainly is a very slick bit of technology.  Apple poured a lot of research into creating this ultra thin notebook.  Keyboard, display, batteries, motherboard, and the port list, all redesigned nearly from scratch.  About the only thing they didn’t redesign was the headphone jack.

 All this new technology didn’t come cheap either.  The low end one runs $1299.  Compare this to a 13″ Macbook Air with a comparable configuration .  The biggest difference is the MacBook’s Retina display, but the Air wins on battery life, processor, and ports (two USB 3, one Thunderbolt 2, power, SD, and a headphone jack).  Oh, and the Air weighs about a pound more.

 Apple does have a solution for their “all in one” USB-C port, in the way of a $80 dongle that provides a trio of ports (HDMI/USB 3/USB-C).  So now you can charge your macBook (via USB-C),  and attach a USB memory device at the same time.

 Personally I love the idea of USB-C, but I also like doing things in parallel.  This also brings Apple’s commitment to the Thunderbolt port into question.  A lot of third party manufacturers have sunk a lot of capital into Thunderbolt based devices, especially for secondary storage.

 My goto laptop is my 13″ MacBook Air, which I’m not planning on replacing anytime soon.  Ya, the batteries are on the downside of the curve, but Apple can replace those for approximately $150.  That is a lot cheaper than purchasing a new laptop I don’t need (I do the heavy computing and storage tasks on my home build Windows system).

 Of course the serious Apple fan nerds are going to buy a Macbook as soon as they are out.  My plan is to wait for the next rev.  I would like to see a next gen MacBook Pro with Macbook technology.  High end CPU, and a Thunderbolt and SD slot go with the USB-C and headphone jack.

 Disclaimer: I’m talking about serious Apple fan nerds, at least bigger ones than me.  I just have an iPhone 6 Plus, an iPad Air, and two MacBooks.

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