Comment by coldtea | Hacker News Reader

Comment by coldtea | Hacker News Reader

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For a counter opinion, I could not care less about Magsafe (I thought I would, but I don't miss it). I really do appreciate that I can now hook the MBP into power from any side and port.

I also like the USB-C: bought a few $80 total cables for everything (USB-C HDMI, USB-C to hard disk, USB-C to printer etc) and I no longer need any dongles either (just the respective USB-C to X cable, as I would have used a USB-A to X cable before). $80 is not much when one is talking of a $2000 / $3000 laptop. And increasingly new peripherals will come with direct USB-C support anyway.

The display and brightness and colors is also killer.

And I appreciate the Touch ID very much (1Password, lock screen, payments).

That said: new trackpad is a problem for me, because I tend to touch it as I type (since it's bigger).

And the touch strip I don't care about. I would prefer if it was individual strip of actual buttons (physical) that would light up with images and be customizable (like the Optimus Prime keyboard).

USB-C is a wholly terrible idea.

So a USB-C port and cable is capable of one or more of the following:

- Providing power (at different wattages)

- Data transfer of varying speeds

- Display transport

So cables are visibly the same and have a different set of capabilities. For example, Apple's USB-C cables that come with the new Macbooks aren't capable of high speed data transfer. Some cables are capable of charging at 87W. Others much less.

How is this better?

I remember reading one description of this that went something like this: prior to USB-C nothing fit but everything worked. Now everything fits but nothing works.

But consider a practical matter: if each port needs to be capable of power, data transfer and display, it's either going to be more expensive to produce or some ports, like the cables, will have different capabilities with no indication as to why.

Honestly it's just a horrible idea.

EDIT: example of this insanity:

http://appleinsider.com/articles/17/08/15/psa-thunderbolt-3-...

This is what we've wanted since USB first existed: a universal port—it's literally in the name. It's been 20 years in the making and now we finally have it.

The power issue is a minor temporary inconvenience. I did the same as OP and just got a bunch of cables from Cable Matters that cover basically everything. And the USB-C to USB 3.1 Type B on my hub means I don't have to change any desktop accessories. I just changed a single cable and it was compatible with my home setup.

The ability to "upgrade" an accessory just by switching from a 5Gbps cable to a 40Gbps cable is incredible.

Other manufacturers are already following. A year from now the fact that this was ever an issue will seem silly.

I just wish they would scrap Lightning and the 3.5mm and just go 100% USB-C.

>So cables are visibly the same and have a different set of capabilities. For example, Apple's USB-C cables that come with the new Macbooks aren't capable of high speed data transfer. Some cables are capable of charging at 87W. Others much less. How is this better?

Just buy the high speed/high charge capable ones and you're set. That's how it's better.

>I remember reading one description of this that went something like this: prior to USB-C nothing fit but everything worked. Now everything fits but nothing works.

Yeah, I read the same. That's why I stopped reading such things. Now everything works, with USB-C, and I don't have to worry about some writer's hysteria to drum up views.

> Just buy the high speed/high charge capable ones and you're set.

That would seem to be true except for connecting a Thunderbolt 3 monitor. From the parent's linked article:

> Thunderbolt 3 runs longer than 18-inches can be passive or active. The passive ones have lower speed, with the max data rate hitting about 20Gbit/second at two meters of cable length. However, active cables contain transceivers to regulate the data transfer through the cable. At the same two meters, speed is still at the maximum of 40Gbit/second. Passive cables maintain USB 3.1 type-C compatibility. Active ones do not. [emphasis added]

That seems like a valid issue to me, not "hysteria".

From the 5+ different ports we used to have now have (or go towards) only one, with maybe needing to buy a different cable for connecting a thunderbolt 3 monitor.

Still sounds better that what it was to me.

Not to mention that if there's a cable that's stationary and stays at home/office it's the monitor desktop. Unless one regularly takes their 24/27" monitor with them, they can just buy ONCE, the appropriate cable, and live it connected for ever.

It's not like people will mess their monitor cables up while on the road.

I never tripped over a cable in my life, so for me MagSafe's utility has never been safety, but ease of use — it's just so incredibly easy to plug and unplug. It's also wonderfully easy to share a plug; sitting around a table with a bunch of people, you can see who's fully charged (the green LED, which is gone from the USB-C charger), yank the cable out without them noticing/caring, and plop it into your own MacBook.

With USB-C, you can't see if someone's fully charged, and you can't yank it out without disturbing the other person. The USB-C connector is actually super sticky, and you have to use both hands to get it out.

To be fair, the difference can be measured in seconds, but it's still a step backwards in convenience.

Adding to this: The USB-C cable that Apple ships with is very thick and inflexible, which is also less convenient. I don't know if other power-capable USB-C cables are like that.

Yes, I'm actually very happy that magsafe is disappearing, never liked it. It tends to fall down when using the laptop on my lap and the only time I've tripped on my cord, my mbp went with it because it managed to somehow pull the cord straight.

I haven't bought a new mbp yet because I'm still waiting for 32 gb (I want VMs and it's just faster working locally than using aws to work)

My biggest problem with Apple is macOS, it went from a good stable OS back in Snow Leopard to a buggy mess that crashes rather often with broken features (mission control takes more than 20s whenever I use it whereas expose was always fast and responsive).

I suspect it's something wrong on your end, I have no lag at all with mission control on a 2015 MBP. I do think however that Apple hasn't been innovating much on macOS for years. All the resources seem to go to iOS.

To be fair I'm using a mbp 2013 and I tend to have a lot of windows opened (usually 50-60). It worked perfectly with expose not with mission control.

>I do think however that Apple hasn't been innovating much on macOS for years.

They have literally done tons of work. They just haven't disturbed the facade.

Heck, in last 3-4 releases there has been a whole new FS, memory compression, transparent internet storage for user files (optimized storage), handoff, system integrity protection and widespread sandboxing, a whole new 3D graphics API (now in its second version, Metal 2), night shift, gatekeeper and path randomization, wide gamut color support, timer coalescing (to save battery), Notification Center, Airplay, Power Nap, etc.

I just got a cat and magsafe has saved my 2015 MBP more times than I can count

Did it though, or it just unplugged your laptop?

Because I have a hard time imagining a cat would push enough to bring down a 2kg laptop on a desk.

Except if a dog was hunting it...

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