New MacBook, most ports eliminated

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If you have to worry about "wearing out" a hardware port, you're buying junk hardware.  I've got an old beater Toshiba laptop that I use for work, mainly because it's so darned rugged, that on average - I probably plug 20 different USB devices into it a day, and 95% of the time I always plug them into port 1, the same port over and over..  I've had the laptop for 6-7 years and the USB port shows no sign of "wearing out", and it's the more fragile and prone to wear 2.0 design vs. USB C.  You aren't going to wear a USB C connector out unless you're plugging something into in and swinging the device in the air by the cord, lol.  It's a very rugged design, USB C.

Simple fact is, much like the removal of optical drives in the Mac laptops, a vast amount of research has been done regarding what ports are actually USED.  Why have things if 4% of your customer base says "we use them occasionally" and the rest of your customers say they don't use them at all?

In the end, were I in the market for a new MacBook with the C connector, Apple offers any adapters I might ever need for USB C.

http://store.apple.com/us/mac/mac-accessories/cables

Me, I couldn't live without an Ethernet port built in, but the vast majority of people are just fine with wifi and bluetooth.

I'll wait til rev 2 of the USB C equipped MacBook - that M CPU is just too anemic for me.

Like it or not, this is another Apple trend that will absolutely stick.  Within a year, I expect virtually all mid range to high end laptops to be no different port wise than this MacBook - eg, 1 or 2 USB C connectors, and other connectors dropped outright.

Don't underestimate the value to people that simply don't NEED, or stronger yet - WANT - 10 different ports in stuff like this - having to pack around one single cable and a small power brick is a great attraction for people who live and travel with and on their laptops.  John and Susie Hipster sitting at a Starbucks writing The Great American Novel on their overpriced Apple laptops generally would be overjoyed that the removal of ports makes the machine lighter, cleaner, smaller, and more importantly - gives better battery life.  The less expansion logic/ports you have, the more room for battery cells you have, and Apple did some really neat things with battery on these machines too.

All this being said - I bet there are a lot of cranky high end users (Mac Pro, etc) that invested heavily in Thunderbolt add ons that are feeling awfully looked over right now.

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Gold one is already back order for two months.

Heh, I figured people would be on that like stink on a monkey.  I always found the gold apple products to be gaudy, personally.

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So you really believe removing some ports gives them more room for a larger battery ? Saving 3 grams on weight is really going to make a difference... but making 40 USD on an adapter sure is...

In fact, I do know that shaving a few ports off it saved weight, made it smaller and made room for more battery real estate.  That's pretty common sense to me:  remove x = free space for other things.  That, combined with the all in one mobo with the ram and SSD onboard, the mainboard on the new Mac's, well, they have never had more free space for more battery cells.  There's also a hell of a lot wrong with the new MacBook, even if a guy can live with 1 port, which I can't - even if I was an "Apple Guy".  It's an overpriced Netbook, imo.

But, read the paperwork on it, look at how it's laid out, look at the new stacked battery technology and you will see for yourself how removing ports from the shell has allowed for a larger battery in a smaller package with the new stacked design.  Some of that simply would not have been possible with ports strung all along the sidewall as in previous versions.  Quite frankly, the battery layout tech is the most impressive thing about this new machine, to me.  It's a repairmans worst nightmare, this new machine, but layout wise it's really impressive on the engineering end.  We're talking free space, no wires to and from the logic boards from the ports, which would also extend a half inch inside the case, mounts included.  Look at the rough schematics Apple has published for yourself.

If you need the ports that it doesn't have, it's a deal breaker, simply put.  If you're the type of user to have 4 USB sticks plugged into your laptop at all times, this isn't the machine for you, with or without the expansion cables that Apple is (overcharging) selling.  No one in their right mind in such a user case will pack around a USB C to 5 port USB Hub and have it laying across a table in a Starbucks with 4 USB sticks plugged into it.  The Air is a far better choice for 99% of the market, but no doubt Apple will be selling more than they can make on these.  I imagine I'll get a hands on with one of these new MacBook's this weekend, and I don't expect to be horribly impressed.  I've got enough experience with the M chip to think otherwise.

It's simply not even an option if you're the type of guy that plugs things into their laptop on a regular basis - and even then, if you aren't, rev.1 versions of apple products are usually not great.

Reviews haven't been kind to the new MacBook thus far performance wise, and that's why I wouldn't touch one.  Air's from 2 years ago get better benchmarks.  Until that M chip puts out more grunt, I have no interest in it, which is the same thing I felt about the Asus Zenbook's, which also uses the Intel M chip.  That M chip is just too weak to do anything other than the basics.

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I would stick with the Dell XPS 13. It's better reviewed, better spec, better battery life. More ports..... you can even get a better res on the Dell if you pay $300 USD more. Still cheaper than the Apple.
All for a reasonable price and a lot cheaper than the over priced Apple.

I'll second the XPS 13.  Used a buddies for a few days at a contract job recently and I can honestly say it impressed me more than any laptop has in many, many years.

I'm a pretty rabid fan of the Acer Aspire S7 line, but the XPS blows it out of the water, and the design is absolutely gorgeous.

On another note - to give you Apple gripers something/someone else to harp on about, the Dell XPS 13 does not come with an Ethernet port.

:lol:

(I got by just fine using a $15 USB to Gigabit RJ45 dongle in the few days I tested the XPS, however)