Is There A Reason To Rejoice Among Macbook Pro Users, Or Not?

Apple users are a loyal bunch. They stick together and have likely started with an Apple computer as their first computer. Even though the company has not released a new computer line for a while now or even issue regular updates to existing ones, MacBook Pro users continue to use their Apple computer as they wait for the next big thing that Apple has to offer.

There is a buzz in the tech world about a possible MacBook Pro release early this year but since it is almost the end of the first quarter, people are geared up for a possible release in April.

We've had a long wait for the new Mac Pro. The current Mac Pro model was announced at WWDC in June 2013, shipping that December, and, for a top-of-the range system, the Mac Pro is looking pretty long in the tooth. In addition, many of the Mac Pro's traditional creative professional audience (videographers, designers, photographers) have hung onto their ancient Mac Pro towers that predate the 2013 redesign because their old Mac Pros, which could be customised, offered more flexibility and power, at least at the time Apple launched the new-look 'trashcan-style' Mac Pro.

So we're long overdue an update to the Mac Pro before creative Mac professionals turn towards Windows and Linux for their workstation needs... those that haven't already turned their back on Apple, at least.

Here is what we know as of date:

Updated, 21 March 2017, with the disappointing news that Apple's "something special" update didn't include any new Macs (although we're still optimistic about an April launch event); and on 1 Mar, to report that Tim Cook has been talking about the importance of the professional and creative markets in the biggest hint yet that a new Mac Pro could be on the way.

(Via: http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/mac/new-mac-pro-latest-rumours-uk-release-date-price-features-specifications-april-3536364/)

Certain Apple product lines actually got a hardware update recently but there is no talk about a MacBook Pro release just yet, much to the disappointment of the waiting Mac users.

Earlier today Apple revealed updated hardware across a number of product lines. The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are now available under the Product (Red) branding in 128GB and 256GB sizes, and the storage on the iPhone SE models have moved up to 32GB and 128GB; the Apple Watch picks up its six-monthly update of additional straps; and a new iPad with the A9 processor and 32GB of storage.

There’s a lot of love from Cupertino to the products that it thinks are cool. And sitting in the ‘rejected’ corner of the dance hall are the MacBooks and MacBook Pros of the world.

(Via: https://www.forbes.com/sites/ewanspence/2017/03/21/apple-macbook-pro-news-update-denied/#7952bfe25108)

MacBooks users can’t hide their disappointment and discontent as to why Apple seem to just brush off their need for a new computer upgrade but perhaps users should find comfort knowing that Apple officials have issued a statement regarding the much-coveted new MacBook Pro. Let’s just wait and see then.

Pros have been dissatisfied with Apple of late, and it’s not hard to see why. The so-long-in-the-tooth-it-qualifies-as-a-fang Mac Pro hasn’t been updated in more than three years, but still commands a hefty price tag. And last fall’s new MacBook Pro added the splashy new Touch Bar while seeming to skimp on practicalities like RAM and processor power.

But all may not be lost! During the recent Apple shareholder meeting, CEO Tim Cook had this cryptic answer to a question about the pro market: “Don’t think something we’ve done or something that we’re doing that isn’t visible yet is a signal that our priorities are elsewhere.” (Or, if I may paraphrase: “Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.”)

In case that wasn’t clear, he also answered more directly, saying, “You will see us do more in the pro area. The pro area is very important to us. The creative area is very important to us in particular.” But that doesn’t mean Apple is necessarily about to drop a new Mac Pro. Cook’s definition of “pro” is open to interpretation.

(Via: http://www.macworld.com/article/3179356/macs/why-the-new-mac-pro-might-never-come.html)

The MacBook Pro line has its fair share of flaws and issues through the years, from software to hardware problems, which is why many users are anticipating a newer model to be released that addresses these issues for good. Not seeing anything new coming from Apple in recent years can drive customers away and even push them to make the transition from Apple to Windows, which does not make any sense at all business-wise.

Is There A Reason To Rejoice Among Macbook Pro Users, Or Not? is republished from The Mac Zealots Blog

source https://maczealots.com/is-there-a-reason-to-rejoice-among-macbook-pro-users-or-not/

What’s In Store In San Diego This Spring

The changing of the season affects our emotions. No wonder you feel blue last winter. Now that spring is almost here, people are happy once more and are looking forward to having fun in the outdoors, despite recent rain storms that have created a lot of local tree damage. And one of the best places to frequent now that the weather has improved is the beach.

San Diego is home to many beautiful beaches. Since we did not pay any attention to these beaches when it was still chilly outside, communities now work hand in hand to clean up San Diego’s Ocean Beach to make sure it is ready for Spring and Summer.

Ocean Beach will be cleaned and enhanced by more than 300 volunteers under the direction of I Love A Clean San Diego and funded by Councilmember Lorie Zapf from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, March 11. Volunteers should meet at Veterans Plaza at Newport Avenue and Abbott Street.

The volunteers will go above and beyond picking up litter and debris. They will paint bike racks, stencil storm drains reminding residents and visitors that the storm drains go straight to the ocean. They will also remove graffiti, clean litter receptacles and be armed with the City’s “Get It Done” app to report anything the city needs to fix, like pot holes.

(Via: http://www.sdnews.com/view/full_story/27378877/article-Volunteers-to-give-Ocean-Beach-a-spring-cleaning-on-March-11?instance=sdnews)

And like any coastal county and city, San Diego experiences its fair share of Nature’s wrath. Storms are common and the citizens have learned to brace for one once it hits the land. And weather reports are often accurate, so people can still plan their week in advance.

The first storm of the spring season is expected to roll into San Diego County late Tuesday night, bringing with it heavier rain and a chance of thunderstorms Wednesday.

NBC 7 meteorologist Jodi Kodesh said showers will begin to form over the county at around 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. Tuesday. More light rain will roll in overnight.

This, she said, will lead to scattered showers Wednesday morning. By 11 a.m. Wednesday, Kodesh forecasts more intense rain, which is expected to last into the evening hours, with a chance of thunderstorms.

“Overnight Wednesday into Thursday, we still have a chance of showers,” Jodesh added. “We should dry out by Thursday afternoon.”

(Via: http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/San-Diego-Braces-for-First-Storm-of-2017-Spring-416756823.html)

Despite the storm dampening the mood of everyone, it is just a passing weather phenomenon and things will pick up once it clears up. The citizens in San Diego and all of the country can go back and enjoy the new season with a little treat from a prominent business establishment we all love.

Not only is Monday the first day of spring, but it is also Dairy Queen’s annual Free Cone Day.

“On the first day of spring, get your first taste of summer. Visit #FreeConeDay on Monday, March 20 for one free small vanilla cone,” the restaurant posted on Facebook.

(Via: http://fox5sandiego.com/2017/03/19/dairy-queen-to-give-away-free-ice-cream-on-first-day-of-spring/)

But if you want something else, here’s one more treat only the locals can take advantage of on the first day of Spring.

If ice cream isn't your thing, Rita's Italian Ice is also kicking off the first day of spring with an Italian ice giveaway — a tradition that has been going on for over 20 years.

(Via: http://www.nbcsandiego.com/entertainment/the-scene/Dairy-Queen-Ritas-Give-Out-Free-Ice-Cream-to-Celebrate-Spring-416587743.html)

San Diego may be vulnerable to the elements but that does not mean that its citizens do not know how to have fun. And it seems that the people have adjusted to this way of life. The season changes and storms are just temporary. Compared to other states in the country, there is so much in store for you on the West Coast. Whether it is a life on the beach or a trip down the fair, nature and urban living has managed to create the perfect atmosphere for an ideal work-life balance. And it is all yours for the taking this Spring.

What’s In Store In San Diego This Spring is courtesy of maczealots.com

source https://maczealots.com/whats-in-store-in-san-diego-this-spring/

Leaving Your Lover: This MacBook Says Goodbye

As a long time Mac-enthusiast website, we have seen a lot of trends come and go. Certainly, as Macs tend to be somewhat "viral" in terms of their use, while, at least in my opinion, an "Opinion Leader"-platform, there are always fresh things to talk about. While Macs are certainly solid, they are prone to issues, and are about as far from flawless as you can get. So having seen a ton of Mac news since the dawn of time, there's something about PC World's "How To Switch From A Mac To A PC" that actually gets the interest a rollin' But why would one switch from the classic Mac to Windows? The PCWorld writer has some interesting thoughts:

My beef with Apple is the lack of polish I’ve been seeing in the software over the past few years (don’t get me started on the state of iTunes), and the amount of trouble I’ve had personally with the hardware since investing $2,700 for my current laptop. My workflow has been plagued by graphical glitches, slowdowns, and occasional refusal on the part of my ports to recognize external storage media. At times, my MacBook Pro has outright refused to boot. Heck, I couldn’t get it to format an SD card if my life depended on it. Reinstalling MacOS has done nothing to sort out these issues, nor has restoring my system from a Time Machine backup.

Via: http://www.pcworld.com/article/3168719/computers/how-to-switch-from-mac-to-pc-part-1-whats-driving-me-to-do-it.html

So, sounds like classic user issues. We've all been there. But this is starting to look like a systemic issue for Apple, which I suppose is not surprising. The margins on the Pro and the classic desktops are probably pretty grim when compared to the IPhone. The result is that some of the original intentions of the brand's boxes are starting to get blurred, and the key audience isolated:

Apple once catered to creatives—hardcore power users in film and music production, desktop publishing, and other artistic endeavors. They valued the company’s hardware for its performance and ease of use. But the last update to the company’s iconic Mac Pro desktop was years ago. The company’s MacBook Pro laptop line saw years of underwhelming incremental updates before being given a serious overhaul a few months ago.

This is also not idle talk. The MacBook has been kind of a redheaded stepchild for Apple, despite the fact that along with the original iPod and iPhone, it was supposed to be the result of the "gateway" that was their portable devices. Certainly, we've addressed some of the main problems with the company's virtual abandonment of the MacBook Pro before, but it's interesting to see this article.

What is not particularly interesting is that Seamus Bellamy, the writer of the article who calls himself a "20 year Mac veteran", has not actually got into the guts of moving systems. Published February 14 of 2017, the article currently only has a part 1. Naturally, as it seems the opposite of a billion articles that talk about switching from Windows to Mac, we are very intrigued.

Needless to say, we will be watching to see what PCWorld, and Bellamy do over the next months. This should provide rare insight on a machine that has developed more than a couple of difficulties:

If the feedback from professional reviewers and everyday users like you are to be believed, however, the release of Apple’s latest laptops have done more to aggravate consumers than excite them in the way the company was once known for. Having done away with all ports save one for headphones and a few holes for Thunderbolt 3/Displayport 1.2 and USB-C connections, owners of Apple’s latest have been forced to invest in a forest of dongles so they can continue to use their trusty peripherals.

Do dongles suck? Why yes they do. Do Beats Headphones also suck pretty bad considering their insane price? Yes. They do. So this series bears watching. Although it's unlikely to convince a "Zealot" to move on from the platform, it will be a nice guide for pretty much everyone.

The post Leaving Your Lover: This MacBook Says Goodbye See more on: https://maczealots.com

source https://maczealots.com/leaving-your-lover-this-macbook-says-goodbye/

MacBook Pro: On The Outs With Apple?

What would your take be on a computer that had not been updated or upgrade in 1100 days? Would it be one of sadness, knowing that the writing is on the wall, knowing that sometime soon the machine would be lost to the ages? Or would it be a "wait and see"-approach for a machine that just hasn't been out of the dark for almost 3 years?

The choice is certainly yours, but it's not like CEO Tim Cook is passionate about the machines. How does this sound?

As usual, it was followed by a Q&A session during which Cook addressed questions from attendees who were interested in Apple’s plans for the future. One talking point was Apple’s apparent neglect of creative and professional users, who are worried the company is giving up on them.

Cook reassured investors this wasn’t the case. “You will see us do more in the pro area,” he said. “The pro area is very important to us. The creative area is very important to us in particular. You can expect to see us do more and more that people will view iPad as a laptop replacement, but not a Mac replacement. The Mac does so much more.”

Via: https://www.technobuffalo.com/2017/03/01/tim-cook-insists-apple-isnt-giving-up-on-pro-computers/

Certainly this can't be because of recent reports of new viruses for Mac coming on strong, right? And the problem here with using the word "pro" is certainly that now, unfortunately, there is a iPad Pro, which while neat and sporting a monster screen, is not exactly a computer for designers, now is it?

But, the likelihood that the product line is dead is fairly unlikely: Macworld's latest issue's article on battery life for the MacBook Pro suggests that the platform is still living, and still looking pretty good in terms of longevity.

But, that's not to say that the MacBook Pro hasn't had its fair share of issues.  The 2016 model, as an example, appears to have a keyboard problem:

One of the most significant issues appears to be keys that make different higher-pitched sounds than other keys in some cases, a problem that was caught on video by MacRumors user monstermac77. As is demonstrated, when the caps lock key is pressed, it makes a sound that's much different than the other keys on the keyboard...

It's not clear what's causing the issue with the keys that suddenly become non-functional, but the butterfly mechanism is sensitive and can be interrupted by something as simple as a bit of dust. In our case, with the machine we had that was experiencing issues with a specific key, the problem cleared up on its own, but other MacBook owners have not been so lucky.

One other minor keyboard complaint is an inconsistent feel across keys, with some keys that feel spongier than others or that don't press down consistently. This seems to be related to a problem with the butterfly mechanism which some users report having fixed with a needle or other thin tool, but most people should not try that sort of repair at home.

From: https://www.macrumors.com/2017/02/21/2016-macbook-pro-keyboard-issues/

Now certainly these are not issues that affect everyone. And certainly, it's not as if we're dealing with specific hard drive issues that cause people to lose data, which would certainly be far more catastrophic to say the least. We also are not dealing with a Samsung-like scenario where these machines are actually burning up, which is good.

The Way Forward

Fortunately, it appears that there are at least rumors that MacBook Pro will release some new models in 2017. Now, the likelihood is that there is simply no way that these computers are complete redesigns, but at least the guts should be solid. And as long as you don't find yourself with data problems like these, well then it's about time.

But if the new versions don't come, what then? iPad Air Pro with add-on keyboard? We hope not.

The article MacBook Pro: On The Outs With Apple? Read more on: MacZealots.com

source https://maczealots.com/macbook-pro-on-the-outs-with-apple/