Laughing out loud at this thread.
Laughing out loud at this thread.
I for one like the option of upgrading so if this is the trend for future MacBooks I don't think i'll be happy owning a mac, if ram goes bust, SSD trashed... you're stuck.
What Would Good Guy Lucifer Do?
I hear you, it would suck if that happened to your expensive MBP. Well you can replace the SSD, there are 3rd party SSDs for the MacBook range. Well RAM failing, has never happened to me, it would be the same if the CPU or motherboard broke, which very rarely happens. It's like the iPad, which actually happens to be very reliable because there are no moving parts.
Hey heyOriginally Posted by Synaesthesia
From what I can gather, the SSD on this range of MacBook Pros have a totally new proprietary SATA connector on the motherboard, unique to Apple and the new MBPs. There are no 3Rd party SSD options for this at the moment.
There is no other drive available that can be used on these MBPs... apart from those that only Apple can supply.
No other drive can interface with the mainboard.
Taking a number of cues from the MacBook Air, the new MacBook Pro uses RAM soldered directly onto the logic board, as well as custom solid-state drives that include a new connector incompatible with existing third-party drives on the market.At first glance, the 128 GB SSD is almost exactly the same as last year's.
But upon closer inspection, the connector for this model's flash memory module is slightly different than last year!
The SSD looks to be a completely new design. The new unit appears to be based on a SandForce controller chip, but stamped with Toshiba markings.
Last edited by kilobits; 14-06-2012 at 11:05 PM.
I had a brief hehehe giggle when I saw this on the Apple website...
Apple, announcing flash support
3rd party ssds are coming in the same way they came for the airs. OWC has announced they are working on a part.
All-flash nogalsI had a brief hehehe giggle when I saw this on the Apple website...
Apple, announcing flash support
You were watching until a stone was cut out without hands
Here... another opinion on the new direction Apple have taken the MBP in...
LinkyThis week, Apple delivered the highly anticipated MacBook Pro with Retina Display — and the tech world is buzzing. I took one apart yesterday because I run iFixit, a team responsible for high-resolution teardowns of new products and DIY repair guides. We disassemble and analyze new electronic gizmos so you don’t have to — kind of like an internet version of Consumer Reports.
Kyle Wiens
The Retina MacBook is the least repairable laptop we’ve ever taken apart: Unlike the previous model, the display is fused to the glass, which means replacing the LCD requires buying an expensive display assembly. The RAM is now soldered to the logic board — making future memory upgrades impossible. And the battery is glued to the case, requiring customers to mail their laptop to Apple every so often for a $200 replacement. The design may well be comprised of “highly recyclable aluminum and glass” — but my friends in the electronics recycling industry tell me they have no way of recycling aluminum that has glass glued to it like Apple did with both this machine and the recent iPad.
The design pattern has serious consequences not only for consumers and the environment, but also for the tech industry as a whole.
The Retina MacBook is the least repairable laptop we’ve ever taken apart.
Four years ago, Apple performed a market experiment. They released the super thin, but non-upgradeable, MacBook Air in addition to their two existing, easily upgradeable notebooks: the MacBook and the MacBook Pro. Apple’s laptops had evolved over two decades of experience into impressively robust, rugged, and long-lasting computers. Apple learned a lot from the failings of the past: the exploding batteries of the PowerBook 5300, the flaky hinges of the PowerBook G4 Titanium, the difficult-to-access hard drive in the iBook.
Apple’s portable lineup was a triumph — for consumers and for Apple itself. IT professionals the world over love working on the MacBook. I’ve disassembled a few of them myself, and I can attest that they are almost as easy to repair as they are to use.
The 2008 Air went in a new direction entirely: It sacrificed performance and upgradeability in exchange for a thinner design. Its RAM is soldered to the logic board (as in the Retina MacBook Pro), so upgrading it means replacing the entire expensive logic board. And like all laptops, the Air has a built-in consumable. The MacBook Air’s battery was rated to last just 300 charges when it was introduced. But unlike laptops before it, replacing the Air’s battery required specialized tools and removing some 19 screws.
When Apple dropped the MacBook Air to $999 in 2010 to match the price point of the MacBook, they gave users a clear choice: the thin, light, and un-upgradeable MacBook Air or the heavier, longer lasting, more rugged, and more powerful MacBook. Same price, two very different products. At the time, I wasn’t very happy with the non-upgradeable RAM on the MacBook Air, but I respected that Apple had given their users a choice. It was up to us: Did we want a machine that would be stuck with 2GB of RAM forever? Would we support laptops that required replacement every year or two as applications required more memory and batteries atrophied?
Apple has presented the market with a choice. They have two professional laptops: one that is serviceable and upgradeable, and one that is not.
Consumers overwhelmingly voted yes, and the Air grew to take 40 percent of Apple’s notebook sales by the end of 2010.
The success of the non-upgradeable Air empowered Apple to release the even-less-serviceable iPad two years later: The battery was glued into the case. And again, we voted with our wallets and purchased the device despite its built-in death clock. In the next iteration of the iPad, the glass was fused to the frame.
Once again, with another product announcement, Apple has presented the market with a choice. They have two professional laptops: one that is serviceable and upgradeable, and one that is not. They’re not exactly equivalent products — one is less expensive and supports expandable storage, and the other has a cutting-edge display, fixed storage capacity, and a premium price tag — but they don’t have the same name just to cause confusion. Rather, Apple is asking users to define the future of the MacBook Pro.
Apple isn’t fundamentally against upgradeability and accessibility. The current Mac Mini has compelling finger slots that practically beg people to open it. When Steve Jobs released the “open-minded” Power Mac G3 with a door that opened from the side, the audience oohed and aahed. Apple products have historically retained their value quite well, in part due to third-party repair manuals, but also due to a number of very modular, very upgradeable designs.
Even the MacBook Pro was originally touted as an accessible, repairable machine — at Macworld in 2009, Steve Jobs said, “Our pro customers want accessibility: [...] to add memory, to add cards, to add drives.” That’s part of what I love about my MacBook Pro. I’ve upgraded my RAM, and I even replaced my optical drive with an 80GB SSD.
We have consistently voted for hardware that’s thinner rather than upgradeable. But we have to draw a line in the sand somewhere.
On the other hand, Apple has consistently introduced thinner, lighter products. They learn from experience. They react to their customers. They’re very adept at presenting us with what we want. And they give us options from time to time and allow product sales to determine their future designs.
We have consistently voted for hardware that’s thinner rather than upgradeable. But we have to draw a line in the sand somewhere. Our purchasing decisions are telling Apple that we’re happy to buy computers and watch them die on schedule. When we choose a short-lived laptop over a more robust model that’s a quarter of an inch thicker, what does that say about our values?
Every time we buy a locked down product containing a non-replaceable battery with a finite cycle count, we’re voicing our opinion on how long our things should last. But is it an informed decision? When you buy something, how often do you really step back and ask how long it should last? If we want long-lasting products that retain their value, we have to support products that do so.
Today, we choose. If we choose the Retina display over the existing MacBook Pro, the next generation of Mac laptops will likely be less repairable still. When that happens, we won’t be able to blame Apple. We’ll have to blame ourselves.
I guess that is happening. Lots of complaining on the interwebs, but a 2-4 week expected delivery time within 24 hours of the announcement ...
A very fair assessment, btw.
TBH Apple has some chops to make a completely non-upgradeable and non-repairable device and call it the 'Pro' model.
You were watching until a stone was cut out without hands
Like iFixit said, the iPad is basically unrepairable. But it sells like hotcakes. Same with the MBA.
Apple has always been about the computer as a consumer item.
I think so long the amount of repairing that customers actually need to do is minimised, they're happy enough to buy something that is hermetically locked. My PC at home is ripped open like a cadaver in a science lab. But then again I'm a chaos muppet.
You were watching until a stone was cut out without hands
I have a relative who has a late 2009 MacBook... he uses it daily. A couple of months ago it just went into super white-screen mode and would not boot. He took it into Incredible (where he purchased it from) they booked it in and sent it to "Apple" for a repair quote.
He waited 3 weeks, the quote was for a total of R13000. It needed a new logic board, RAM, hard drive and battery. Apparently it overheated killing all these components.
Apple advised that it would not really be advisable to repair, and recommended replacing it with the current new model.
K'ching. Apple's consumer approach right there. You just replace it. New equipment every cycle of component redundancy. A simple repair now means replace.
Solder everything to the mainboard and glue everything down, even the case, and ... voila. Not economically viable to repair. Replace it for new model.
Aaaanyway; the relative finally received it back from Incredible, sans power adapter, it went missing... sorry, not their problem. No paperwork from Apple... just a quote for replacement items. Gave it to family to fiddle with, and they did... and discovered faulty hard drive only. Faulty Seagate. Off the shelf SATA laptop drive replacement.
Laptop now functional for R800... and a new power adapter... also in the R800 region. Battery another issue with supply and cost... but he is again using it as he did daily. When it does die, he will not be replacing it with another Apple again...
I wish people would understand that Core ≠ Apple. Personally the only time I would trust them to repair one of my machines would be if it was still under warranty and even then. . . Right now I've got a crack mysteriously developing down the centre of the screen on my 8 month old MBP and, since I'm off to the UK in a few weeks anyway, I'm going to get Apple - the real Apple - to have a look at it in London.
I've also got a iPad2 with a cracked screen (my kid dropped it) and see what they're willing to do about it. The Apple store guys have an incredible amount of latitude with stuff like that and it's not unheard of for them to just swap it out gratis.
"Le mieux est l'ennemi du bien." FM Arouet
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Edmund Burke
"Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience" Unknown
I should make bambi eyes at you and twist your arm to take a couple of 2010 magsafe power bricks that have freyed at the connectors to have them swapped out under the extended warranty overseas for family. Hint hint.I wish people would understand that Core ≠ Apple. Personally the only time I would trust them to repair one of my machines would be if it was still under warranty and even then. . . Right now I've got a crack mysteriously developing down the centre of the screen on my 8 month old MBP and, since I'm off to the UK in a few weeks anyway, I'm going to get Apple - the real Apple - to have a look at it in London.
I've also got a iPad2 with a cracked screen (my kid dropped it
Here there is no budging the powers that be to do anything about them except purchase replacements... even with the well documented Apple page print outs.
/practices big fluttering bambi eyes
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks