Apple and planned obsolescence

[cube]

It started with the Lisa, it got worse with the iPod, and even worse later.

 

[gnasher729]

At this point in time, Apples have VERY underpowered hardware, that can't be repaired in the case of the new MBP, or upgraded for that matter. So you can't upgrade it, and you can't repair it yourself in the event of a failure. What a rip. OSX 10.7 is a unstable mess.

What an utter nonsense. Go to the Dell website, look for laptops, and check if you can find any quad core laptops. You'll have to look at their "Alienware" laptops, and to match the cheaper MBPR with CPU, RAM, and SSD drive, you pay about £250 more, with lower screen resolution, and Dell will _not_ tell you how long the battery lasts.

And maybe iFixit can't repair Apple laptops, but Apple can, and so can any Apple-certified repair shop. And what do you think can you repair yourself on any laptop? The SSD drive looks like it is replaced easily, once someone takes advantage of the market opportunity.

 

[G51989]

Umm, only the new Retina MBP is the only Pro that has the soldered in RAM. OWC is already developing SSDs for it. It uses a similar blade design like the AIR. The standard Pros still have the upgradeable HDD and RAM, and the main reason for the in shop battery swap is mostly do to environmental reasons.

Eh, screw it. I won't let truth and logic get in the way with your rant.

Carry on.

Doesn't matter, I would be willing to bet money that in a couple of years, the " non retina " pros will be gone, so will any type of user accessibility.

OWC is making an SSD? Great. I'm sure it'll be assrape cost wise. No choices? Wooo!

The Standard Pros will be gone, trust me on that.

Environmental reasons? What the hell are you smoking? You have to deposit batteries either way to a place that actually recycles them ( yes, I am aware some people don't do it. But a good deal do ).

Here's my problem with the New MBP.

BTW: I am aware its the best mobile screen on the market, it looks incredible.

1: I can't upgrade my own RAM. What the hell is this? Its pointless.

2: I either A: Can't upgrade my hard drive with any drive I want, I have to rely on OWC. Which will probably price rape me.

3: I can't even change my own battery? For no other reason than to get me into the Apple store.

Sorry, I would never waste my money on a RMBP.

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What an utter nonsense. Go to the Dell website, look for laptops, and check if you can find any quad core laptops. You'll have to look at their "Alienware" laptops, and to match the cheaper MBPR with CPU, RAM, and SSD drive, you pay about £250 more, with lower screen resolution, and Dell will _not_ tell you how long the battery lasts.

And maybe iFixit can't repair Apple laptops, but Apple can, and so can any Apple-certified repair shop. And what do you think can you repair yourself on any laptop? The SSD drive looks like it is replaced easily, once someone takes advantage of the market opportunity.

Can I get 32gb of Ram on an Apple Laptop? Or a really good mobile GPU? Nope.

Alienware Laptops are overpriced for what they are, but as far as hardware goes? They blow the Apple Lineup out of the water if your looking for performance. So do Sagers.

And at least with Dell I can swap out my battery in about 5 seconds

I don't trust those morons at Apple stores. Not for one second, some of them who you know have worked for Apple for a long time, sure. But most of them are people who are Best Buy Geek Squad Material at best.

I had a fan fail in my new iMac, which is understandable. I know it happens. Takes them 2 weeks to " diagnose and repair " 2 weeks for a fan? Yeah. Great service.

The SSD can be replaced, but as of now. Only one company is making an SSD drive ( OWC ).


What can I repair/replace? I actually have a new Alienware that I could easily replace the RAM/Video Card ( its not soldered in, it pops right out ), Blu Ray Drive, hard drive, and even the keyboard is easily replaceable if the need be. And as far as the battery goes, I can swap it out in about 5 seconds.

BY THE WAY:

I'm not saying the RMBP is a bad laptop for everyone, its a good machine. I just think its crap for what I expect for a laptop, so my money won't be going to Apple on that one.

 

[SuperCompu2]

Planned obsolescence has been around forever, but mostly manifests in new technological advancements rather than limiting current technologies. Breakthroughs in battery life, form factor or processing power generally render the previous models obsolete without much malicious intent from the manufacturer.

That being said, soldered RAM, amongst other things, is a pretty poor decision in modern computers. In 2006 the MacBook still came with 512MB RAM, and look where we are today. The memory required to accomplish tasks will continue to increase, and not being able to augment your setup is a bad future-proofing move.


I have never purchased a Macintosh new, but have been a user since 2005. I just retired a 400MHz Titanium PowerBook from everyday service days ago, and replaced it with a 17" 1.67GHz PowerBook. The fact of the matter is, used computers will continue to excel at the tasks they've always been good at. The TiBook was fantastic at web browsing, and still is! I use a 2007 MacBook and edited HD video with it not even 2 months ago.

Speed is in the eyes of the beholder. If you're used to having a brand new computer every month, then it will seem necessary to upgrade feverishly. Myself, I have always had slower, used machines. I used PowerPC computers almost exclusively through college (just graduated), entering school with a 1.33GHz PowerBook G4. My MacBook feels like a supercomputer compared to my old PPC machines, yet aside from the newest games, I am able to do anything a newer computer can. Its also worth noting I run 10.4-10.6 on all my machines, as 10.7 is garbage in my opinion...

I do believe Apple is headed down a dark path towards disposable hardware if they fail to offer support for previously released hardware. Think of 2006 when a Mac Pro could run the same OS as a B&W G3 Tower, and think of today when a computer a mere 1 year older cannot run the same OS.

Sad.

 

[Dameatball]

With the introduction of the air a few years back and now the rmbp, is apple moving toward a business model of planned obsolescence? Does this model go against the company touting itself as a eco-friendly/green corporation that encourages the waste of capable products by artificially limiting their usefulness?

How long do you think that osx features will only be able to be piecemeal updates (no longer full) for older computers much like those of the iPhone? With the hope of getting people to toss their 1-2year old machine for the newest?

What do you think? I feel they are increasingly heading that direction.

Ha, I just ran across this. You were very astute.