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by signgrap on Sat Nov 05, 2016 2:16 pm
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Apple cuts prices of dongles. In case you are wondering what a dongle is, read this from DP Review:
https://www.dpreview.com/news/9930037514/apple-cuts-adapter-and-card-reader-prices-to-appease-new-macbook-pro-buyers
Dick Ludwig
 

by E.J. Peiker on Sat Nov 05, 2016 10:39 pm
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I just had an weird random thought - you can't currently connect an iPhone to a MacBook Pro without a dongle....
 

by E.J. Peiker on Sat Nov 05, 2016 10:43 pm
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To follow-up on the previous post - here's a guide for the bag of dongles you will need to get and keep track of to fully use a MOBILE COMPUTER!!!
http://www.macworld.com/article/3136583 ... -more.html
 

by Mike in O on Sun Nov 06, 2016 11:27 am
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E.J. Peiker wrote:To follow-up on the previous post - here's a guide for the bag of dongles you will need to get and keep track of to fully use a MOBILE COMPUTER!!!
http://www.macworld.com/article/3136583/macbook-accessories/macbook-pro-thunderbolt-3-adapter-guide-how-to-connect-an-iphone-display-hard-drive-and-more.html
Will the bag for carrying dongles be padded and compartmentalized?
 

by Jens Peermann on Sun Nov 06, 2016 1:40 pm
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Mike in O wrote:
E.J. Peiker wrote:To follow-up on the previous post - here's a guide for the bag of dongles you will need to get and keep track of to fully use a MOBILE COMPUTER!!!
http://www.macworld.com/article/3136583/macbook-accessories/macbook-pro-thunderbolt-3-adapter-guide-how-to-connect-an-iphone-display-hard-drive-and-more.html
Will the bag for carrying dongles be padded and compartmentalized?
No, but they come with a coupon for free piercing so you can wear them as ear rings to identify you as a loyal mac-head. :)
A great photograph is absorbed by the eyes and stored in the heart.
 

by Blck-shouldered Kite on Sun Nov 06, 2016 10:17 pm
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Went to the local Apple store yesterday, looking for a USB to Thunderbolt cord.  Had no idea the new MBP was out.  Took a look at it and was shocked.  My thoughts were exactly the same as Mr. Dykinga's (in E.J.'s post):

Jack Dykinga:

"After years of being an Apple fanboy, it's time to ask, "where's the love?" The new Mac Book Pro is out, minus the very ports that professional photographers need and use regularly. Sure you can use a hub to regain what was once standard...but why? Gone are the USB-3, the HDMI and the handy SD card reader ports. Apple is imposing their will while neglecting standard professional photographer's desires. I have no problem with adding the new USB-C ports, but to trash all legacy ports to make a thinner model named: "Pro" is a deal breaker for this photographer. Time to consider alternatives...."

I have a March 2011 MBP and was looking forward to upgrading to a 13" refurb.  I love those ports.    I was excited about upgrading to USB3 from 2 and Thunderbolt 2 from Thunderbolt and two Thunderbolt 2 ports at that!  But the new MBP is super thin, like an Air.  I do not like it this thin.  So I asked the salesman about the USB ports and the Thunderbolt ports.   Where were they?  He gave me an answer that I was already prepared to reject.   I turned away and told him what I thought of the whole move by Apple.  I will never buy that machine....never.  Are you listening Apple....NEVER!

What the hell Apple!  Who do you think you are anyway?

PREDICTION:  I predicted that Nikon would eventually come out with the D400 and they did (as the D500).  Apple will regret they ever came out with this excuse for a MacBook Pro, though they will never admit it.  This thing is a bad joke. Further, 


they will find a way to go back and correct the huge mistake with a machine that DOES satisfy the pros and those like me who listen to the pros......

or they will lose that sector of the market.  And they will not permanently lose that market.  It is that simple.  But they will never admit to the mistake they made.  What corporation does? 

Here is what I like about Apple:

1.  Tough machines.  
2.  What I have found to be excellent customer care.  I really like Apple Care.  They earned my respect.  

What I do not like about Apple:

Oddly, I am different from those who like the Apple OS.  I like the Windows OS but do not like the junk hardware (typically but not always) and what I see as atrocious customer care.  

IMHO windows laptops are mostly throwaway junk...sorry. LOL.   If someone can show me proof of a windows laptop that is tough, I will listen.  but that still leave the customer service problem. 

And Ok E.J. so this Razor is a very fast computer. And I am sure that if you are excited about it, that it is a great computer. ...seriously.   But I am not one to care if my laptop is super fast.  I want something that is fast enough and does not bog down with a bunch of stuff on the top.  I guess that is why I had the local shop convert my MBP from 4GB to 16GB ram.  Was I right?  I don't really know.  And am I wrong to want customer service when I want it?   

So, I believe I will still get a refurb or used MBP soon. 

Robert :)
 

by E.J. Peiker on Sun Nov 06, 2016 10:34 pm
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BTW, when I called Razer with an issue, a real person answered and the person was technically knowledgable and solved my problem, a complex one that would never get by Apple support in about 5 minutes.
 

by Blck-shouldered Kite on Sun Nov 06, 2016 10:35 pm
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E.J. Peiker wrote:BTW, when I called Razer with an issue, a real person answered and the person was technically knowledgable and solved my problem, a complex one that would never get by Apple support in about 5 minutes.
I want to know more about the Razer.  :)   Which model do you have?  I believe this was talked about on another thread months ago.  but which one was it you have please?

Robert
 

by E.J. Peiker on Sun Nov 06, 2016 11:23 pm
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14" RazerBlade - talked about recently in another thread but the gist is that it is faster than anything Apple makes but the battery life is poor in comparison.  It has a much higher resolution screen that can be used as a touchscreen as well.  To get the most out of it you have to tell it which software to use the nVidia graphics and which to use the Intel graphics, by default everything uses the Intel graphics - that's not as fast but gives you better battery life.  I have mine set for C1 and PS to use nVidia, everything else uses Intel graphics.  The only other negative is that the power brick is big and heavy compared to Apple.  But build quality is equivalent.  It has USB and HDMI ports but no SD card reader built in.  There is now a newer model than mine.
 

by Blck-shouldered Kite on Mon Nov 07, 2016 4:38 am
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thank you
 

by E.J. Peiker on Sat Nov 26, 2016 8:07 pm
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The tethered studio shooters are freaking out because the dongle solution does not work for their tethered cameras... It's happening both with HDMI tethering and USB tethering...  Even external drives connected through a dongle are not stable and that can be disastrous for the data on the drive.  Stay away from these new MacBook Pros for now - there are way too many connectivity problems and unstable connections through the dongles.
 

by Primus on Fri Dec 09, 2016 10:47 am
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I just bought the new Mabook Pro 15" w RD, had no choice (well, perhaps I did) as my 2012 version's display started disappearing suddenly for no reason, long story short, seemed to be a hardware problem with the video card.

I looked at the 'refurbished' option and it costs more than my original model and then only a few hundred less than a new one, so had to go for the newer version.

I took the new laptop on a vacation last week, spent a lot of time with it running Painter, LR, PS, browsing, watching movies through VLC etc.

The positives:

Much lighter and slimmer
Love the fingerprint reader - allows quick log-on plus works when installing any new software
Much improved battery life. Was able to watch 3 movies in full screen mode on the plane ride- would say it is at least over 5 hrs. If just browsing, battery lasts over 8 hrs,which is incredible.
Much bigger touchpad which can also be a problem when simply typing in some situations, but it actually works more precisely for other actions and gives you a larger surface area for graphic work.
To me it is much faster too, the big 500G SSD is super fast, transfer rates over 400MB/sec

The Possible Negatives:

I don't like the touch screen much, takes two or three inputs to turn down the brightness or volume, although if I were to use it for certain apps where it is integrated it may be very useful. For example, while watching a movie you can move the slider to go forward or backwards etc. I am sure there will be uses for it that I may discover in time.

The ports. Initially I was bummed off, but as I've used them over the past two weeks, I actually like them.The adapters are very cheap and you don't have to worry about getting the orientation right on the typical USB, and can plug the power in anywhere.

The price. Well, what's new.

The power brick. Does not come with a long cord from outlet to the brick, had to cannibalize my older one. Minor annoyance if you don't have an old one.

Win vs OSX:

I used to build my own desktops starting from absolute scratch, bought my own case, MB, Chips, HDs etc. Gave it up when I moved to the Mac. Will never go back. Too many problems with memory leaks, constant updating, security concerns, driver issues etc. Somehow every windows machine I ever used became a 'dog' after a year or two.

FWIW, I am forced to use a Win10 laptop for work and it is a top end IBM model. I often take my Mac laptop and work side by side with the windows machine, using the latter only for work software (sadly not avail for Mac) and using my Mac for personal stuff and email.

I can tell you the Win is still a pain in the behind to use and very non-intuitive, keeps giving connection errors on a wired internet system. The Mac is a breeze.

YMMV of course, just my own personal opinion.

Pradeep
 

by ahazeghi on Fri Dec 09, 2016 11:35 am
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Hi Pradeep,

Thanks for sharing your actual experience,

I am thinking about ordering one as well since my laptop is now getting old. I also have and had many high-end Windows laptops at my work  and everyone of them is and was junk and a headache to use even when managed by corporate IT so for me it's a Mac or nothing. A 4lb 15" laptop is excellent for me as  I mainly use my laptop when traveling. It looks like the new ones have a smaller battery though, my concern is that under heavy load when the CPU clock is boosted, it will be much worse than the older one which you can still buy new. How long does the battery last when you do heavy RAW processing? Also one major gripe with the Macs is that they use the inferior AMD/ATI GPU's that simply suck. Have you tried connecting your laptop to a large 4K screen to see if it has the horsepower to drive it? The old ones struggle really bad when connected to a 4K/5K screen. 

Did you get a chance to calibrate the screen, e.g. with spyder to see how does the color gammut compare to Adobe RGB space? 

Thanks
 

by Primus on Fri Dec 09, 2016 12:45 pm
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ahazeghi wrote:Hi Pradeep,

Thanks for sharing your actual experience,

I am thinking about ordering one as well since my laptop is now getting old. I also have and had many high-end Windows laptops at my work  and everyone of them is and was junk and a headache to use even when managed by corporate IT so for me it's a Mac or nothing. A 4lb 15" laptop is excellent for me as  I mainly use my laptop when traveling. It looks like the new ones have a smaller battery though, my concern is that under heavy load when the CPU clock is boosted, it will be much worse than the older one which you can still buy new. How long does the battery last when you do heavy RAW processing? Also one major gripe with the Macs is that they use the inferior AMD/ATI GPU's that simply suck. Have you tried connecting your laptop to a large 4K screen to see if it has the horsepower to drive it? The old ones struggle really bad when connected to a 4K/5K screen. 

Did you get a chance to calibrate the screen, e.g. with spyder to see how does the color gammut compare to Adobe RGB space? 

Thanks
Hi Ari:

I've had it for a short time, just under two weeks. Still trying to see how it compares. I actually do most of my image processing on my 2013 Mac Pro. The laptop is mainly for use in the field and for travel, use in office as personal laptop, browsing while in another room and so on. It does see heavy use though. 

I do have a 4K NEC monitor (32 ") so I will try to hook it up as soon as I can figure out the connections (no display port on the new laptop). I can check how the processing goes with the new battery. As I said, simply going by the web browsing and playing an MP4 movie at full screen with 70% brightness, the battery does last almost twice as much as the old one. Will do some formal testing in a few days, this weekend is all booked up with family :-)

Overall, I am pleased as I had no choice but to replace my broken 2012 machine. I don't know if it is worth it to upgrade simply for the upgrade.

Finally, I have the NEC Spectraview software for my main monitor, so calibration of this one will be tricky. Will give it a try as I do have an older colorimeter. 

Pradeep
 

by ahazeghi on Fri Dec 09, 2016 3:10 pm
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Good to know Pradeep, I also have the 32" 4K NEC attached to my 2013 mac pro but I hope I can attach the laptop to the same monitor without it slowing down to a crawl. I don't think the NEC specraView III will work on a non-NEC monitor, I use Spyder5 for my laptop. please update us with your findings..

BTW do you have the 2.8GHz or the 2.9GHz i7?

best
 

by E.J. Peiker on Thu Dec 22, 2016 8:16 pm
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Hilarious holiday reading featuring the new MacBook Pro:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuUKcAaQt58
 

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