I have been a long time Apple fan. I don\u2019t think of myself as a Fan Boy, but a fan.\u00a0 My first Mac was a Performa 6200. \u00a0I have been anxiously awaiting the refresh of the MacBook pro.\u00a0 I am using a 15\u201d Macbook pro from 2008.\u00a0 It has been upgraded with an SSD and more ram, but is starting to see some age.<\/p>\n
From a stockholder perspective, I see several fails from Apple.\u00a0 The first, and most egregious of these is the removal of the 3.5mm jack from the iPhone.\u00a0 Two years ago Apple bought Beats by Dre for 3 Billion dollars.\u00a0 Guess What? Most of the product line uses 3.5mm plugs. Apple just killed a huge upsell to their user base by killing the 3.5mm plug.\u00a0 Sure, you can get wireless Beats, but those are very high end and not everyone wants wireless.\u00a0 So why did Apple spend 3 billion dollars on a highly popular brand, which now does not work with their product line? It\u2019s a major let down of shareholders because it is more missed opportunities.<\/p>\n
Now, let\u2019s move on to what started this rant.\u00a0 The new Macbook pros. \u00a0My current setup is my previously mentioned 2008 model. It has dual monitors, 2 usb hubs, and a hardwired Ethernet connection routinely plugged in. At the very least I need dongles. The new USB-C ports on the new MacBook Pro models means I can no longer plug my iPhone directly into my laptop for charging or syncing.\u00a0 Syncing is no big deal as wifi syncing is kind of working.\u00a0 I am not a big cloud user so I have definite benefits to a cable sync.\u00a0 However, the charging aspect of it is very handy.\u00a0 I spend a fair amount of time in the field.\u00a0 I routinely visit data centers, remote network locations, and backrooms where network equipment is shoe-horned into.\u00a0 Most of the time power outlets are few and far in-between.\u00a0 I am lucky to have a power outlet to keep my MacBook going. This means I tend to plug my phone into the laptop to charge. I can no longer do this. #fail<\/p>\n
Another major issue is the removal of the escape key.\u00a0 This is more symbolic of how Apple has abandoned the power user than function. \u00a0Anyone who has worked in Linux probably uses the VI text editor. Using the escape key is an essential key to this software.\u00a0\u00a0 I also routinely log-in to network routers.\u00a0 One of the first things you are presented with many of them is \u201cpress escape to get started\u201d.\u00a0 I am already having to use an old terminal program and a USB to serial adaptor in most cases.\u00a0 I worry about how adding and escape key to the touch bar is going to work on an older setup like this.<\/p>\n
At this point in my thinking process I have decided I\u00a0needed to plan out what all I need to make a new MacBook Pro work with my current setup.\u00a0 I figure I need to come up with several dongles.\u00a0 I need one for each of my external monitors, one for Ethernet, and something to replace the connections to my 2 8 port USB hubs.\u00a0 These hubs have hard drives, a usb headset, usb mic, accept flash drives, and a card reader. I am fully expecting I need a home dock and some dongles to take on the road with me.\u00a0 I routinely use Ethernet in my day to day job activities.\u00a0 So off to the Apple store I go.\u00a0 This is where I run into the next fail. \u00a0I pick out the MacBook I wish to purchase and there are no \u201cSuggested accessories\u201d like with previous models.\u00a0 You used to be able to add on dongles and such right from the same screen. You can no longer do this.\u00a0 Again, this is a major fail on the part of upselling the customer.\u00a0 Here I am, wanting to purchase additional dongles and I have to go hunting for them. After many frustrating minutes of digging I found a SB-C to VGA adaptor, but not a DVI adaptor.\u00a0 The whole experience was frustrating.\u00a0 Now, I have to treck into a dreaded Apple store and hope one of the folks in there understand what I am talking about. This is the second stockholder fail I see.\u00a0 Lost revenue from a lack of upselling options.<\/p>\n
I realize the trend tends to be leaning toward mobile and phone.\u00a0\u00a0 There is still a huge segment of the business population which gets work done on desktop and laptops.\u00a0 Abandoning them is a sure fire way to drive away further sales.\u00a0 If the I.T. decision makers at companies are not using your product, that loses direct revenue.\u00a0 This reaches much further, though.\u00a0 More and more folks are looking for integrated solutions.\u00a0 If they see work is buying a certain brand of computers, you tend to buy that brand.\u00a0 Then you tend to buy that brand for your children and integrate it into your homes.\u00a0 Brand awareness plays into this as well. Beats are a popular brand and if they have to have dongles to work it creates a shoddy looking product. Why buy a dongle when I can plug it directly into my new google phone? Why would work buy products they have to stock an Apple version of and an everyone else version.<\/p>\n
Not only has Apple abandoned the power user, but they are failing the shareholders as well.\u00a0 Their job is to maximize the value of the company for us shareholders.\u00a0 \u00a0Apple needs to innovate, but taking stuff away is not the way to do it. \u00a0I remember the days when you had to have a special \u201cApple microphone\u201d to plug into a mac.\u00a0 The plug was slightly longer.\u00a0 This caused issues and much confusion.\u00a0 I know people who did not buy mac products because of this attitude.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t about the microphone. It was the fact everything was proprietary. Apple is an innovator, but forcing people into their way of thinking can backfire.\u00a0 I can pay off big on the flip side.\u00a0 In this case I think this will be the day the Macbook died. \u00a0Unless Apple changes things the Macbook will have a place in education, like they always have. Once folks get out into the business world, the value of a portless, escape-key-less laptop will hamper them. I hope I am wrong.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I have been a long time Apple fan. I don\u2019t think of myself as a Fan Boy, but a fan.\u00a0 My first Mac was a Performa 6200. \u00a0I have been anxiously awaiting the refresh of the MacBook pro.\u00a0 I am using a 15\u201d Macbook pro from 2008.\u00a0 It has been upgraded with an SSD and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1],"tags":[374,381,380,377,378,379,375,376],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6VLMf-n0","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1840,"url":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/save-bandwidth-on-apple-updates\/","url_meta":{"origin":1426,"position":0},"title":"Save bandwidth on Apple updates","author":"j2sw","date":"October 5, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Like many networks, you have users using Apple devices. iPhones, Ipads, computers, and other Apple devices are constantly updating apps, downloading updates, and other content.\u00a0 MTIN can install an OSX Caching server on your network. This low powered server caches software updates, allowing faster downloads, especially for new iPhone IOS\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "WISP"","block_context":{"text":"WISP","link":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/category\/wisp\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2869,"url":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/flash-briefing-feb-201-2019-broadband-divide-news-apple-tv-service\/","url_meta":{"origin":1426,"position":1},"title":"Flash Briefing Feb. 201 2019: Broadband divide news, Apple TV service","author":"j2sw","date":"February 20, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Show links https:\/\/www.multichannel.com\/news\/fcc-digital-divide-has-substantially-narrowed Apple to launch TV Service Cambium Enterprise Switching Webinar","rel":"","context":"In "FlashBriefing"","block_context":{"text":"FlashBriefing","link":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/category\/flashbriefing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/session-clipart-CLIPART_OF_18552_SM_2.jpg?fit=640%2C480&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2065,"url":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/apple-usb-to-serial\/","url_meta":{"origin":1426,"position":2},"title":"Apple USB to Serial","author":"j2sw","date":"February 12, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Several weeks ago I had to replace my USB-to-Serial adaptor.\u00a0 After much research, Facebook posting\/discussion I bought a Ugreen USB adaptor from Amazon.\u00a0 After a few times, I started having issues.\u00a0 I figured, like most network engineers it was software.\u00a0 Long story short it was a hardware failure and a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Apple"","block_context":{"text":"Apple","link":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/category\/apple\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2584,"url":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/tech-tip-determining-mtu-via-macosx-ping-oh-yeah-and-windows\/","url_meta":{"origin":1426,"position":3},"title":"Tech Tip: Determining MTU via MacOSX Ping oh yeah and Windows","author":"j2sw","date":"November 9, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The command: ping -D -s\u00a01472 What the command does ping = Obvious -D = Don't fragment -s