Has Apple ever backpedaled on feature removal?

[Phrasikleia]

Firewire is gone from the MacBook because:
- The chipset doesn't support it (apparently)
- It's mainly of use to creative professionals, who'll be better off with the MBP anyway

Matte screens are gone because the whole design of the MacBook/Pro would need to be changed. You ever seen clear, matte glass?

Apple wanted to iPhone-ify the entire product line, so they designed the new laptops around that goal. They could have come up with some unibody design that allowed for a different kind of bezel and matte screens, but then the aesthetic would not match the iPhone.

I'd like to think that glass could be subtly laser-etched to diffract light and reduce reflections. If not, Apple needs to go back to the drawing board. And they will. This glassy look is a fad that will pass. After enough people get eye strain and grow tired of constantly dodging reflections, they'll welcome the "new" and "improved" non-reflective screens that will inevitably supersede these mirrors that are being forced on us now.

 

[maclover001]

When the iLamp G4 came out, I think people were a bit cheesed that there was no longer a slot-loading CD drive, but that came back in the G5.

 

[zap2]

- It's mainly of use to creative professionals, who'll be better off with the MBP anyway

Tell that to my target disk mode and my FW external HDs

 

[BornAgainMac]

When iMacs went from DVD drives to CD Burners there was some complaints so eventually the DVD / CD Burner combo drive was available. FW800 will probably find it's way to the consumer Macbook someday. I think FW400 is gone forever like USB 1.1.

 

[Blue Velvet]

FW800 will probably find it's way to the consumer Macbook someday.

I dunno. I'm not sure where they're going with it and I don't know what their licensing arrangements are, but it's not seeing much broad adoption from what I see.

Walk into your average PC chain store here in the UK and you can't buy any FW800 peripherals or even cables. Even online, the lack of enclosures and so forth make it a niche market at best. Apple don't seem that interested in eSATA either. I don't get them sometimes and I hope that they don't push Firewire3200 solely at the expense of USB 3.

 

[flyinmac]

If a woman gets married & changes her surname is she a totally different person?

Many, many, many, thousands of men would argue that the answer to that question is a definite "YES"

 

[LethalWolfe]

Firewire is gone from the MacBook because:
- The chipset doesn't support it (apparently)
- It's mainly of use to creative professionals, who'll be better off with the MBP anyway

FW400 was established in part to work w/the *consumer* video format known as DV. *Consumer* Apple computers have had FW400 since 1999. The idea that FW400 is a professional interface is completely inaccurate. FW and DV made in roads into the lower end of the pro market because they were cheap and 'good enough.'

IMO, the MB got hamstrung for the same reason the 12" PB got killed off. They both were a solid balance of price, portability, and features that ate too far into the sales of higher end laptops so Apple took action to protect it's more expensive laptops.


Lethal

 

[MowingDevil]

Firewire is gone from the MacBook because:
- The chipset doesn't support it (apparently)

I would beg to differ on that one. How could it work w/ the MBP when its running the lower GPU? FireWire is gone because Apple wanted to cripple the low end notebook so it didn't compete as much w/ the high end models.

Many, many, many, thousands of men would argue that the answer to that question is a definite "YES"

Touche

 

[Killyp]

Dual Layer DVD drives on the MacBook Pro was another one, although that was more because they apparently couldn't fit in a dual layer drive whilst the new (at the time) wider trackpad was above the optical drive.

I'm sure there were other reasons too though (rushing the product to market).

 

[illegalprelude]

Firewire is gone from the MacBook because:
- The chipset doesn't support it (apparently)
- It's mainly of use to creative professionals, who'll be better off with the MBP anyway

Matte screens are gone because the whole design of the MacBook/Pro would need to be changed. You ever seen clear, matte glass?

but think of all those target disk modes I would do at work! and frack...I WORK for the Man

I went me Firewire back Apple

Dual Layer DVD drives on the MacBook Pro was another one, although that was more because they apparently couldn't fit in a dual layer drive whilst the new (at the time) wider trackpad was above the optical drive.

I'm sure there were other reasons too though (rushing the product to market).

wait...the MBP dosent do Dual Layer DVD's?