boltjames

I guess I look at it this way:

While on paper 10 milliseconds is 2x as fast as 20 milliseconds, no one can feel a millisecond so it doesn't make any difference.

BJ

Dunbar

Actually, many of the reviews of the retina Macbook mention that it can feel underpowered in certain situations. It's more a question of how likely it is to happen given your particular usage habits. I'd hate to spend that much on a new notebook, and not get flawless performance ,which is why I'm waiting for the CPU upgrade before I consider buying one.

WIRunner

If you've ever seen the movie "Office Space" you can understand how quickly those milliseconds can add up.

compubit

Just spent 11 days in Europe - and it all depends on which airport, who's working, etc.

I have Global Entry, so get Pre-Check in the US - with Pre-Check, haven't had to remove anything (even the 1 quart bags); without it, have to pull things out, shoes off, etc.

In Europe, I initiated 5 separate flight (6 times through security - took advantage of an oversold flight from BRU to IAD...).

LGW/IOM - Removed nothing (didn't have a 1 quart bag for this flight) - laptop/iPad in backpack; belt stayed on.

IOM/LGW - Remove everything; belt off

LGW/EDI - Remove everything; belt on (mentioned to TSA-equivalent and he stated that the previous person was wrong...)

EDI/LCY - Remove everything; belt off; shoes off; sunglasses on head

BRU/IAD (first time) - Remove everything; belt off

BRU/IAD (second time) - Remove everything; belt on (triggered, removed belt - no trigger).

For me, as long as I just have to remove the laptop/iPad (and not all of the associated cables and accessories), I'm fine.

The only thing that triggered within the bags was at Gatwick, I had 2 baggies of change (Pounds/Pence in one and Euros/Cents in the other) - and all of the metal triggered the X-Ray...

Jim

boltjames

LOL, yes, my 20 millisecond 12" Retina MacBook being 2x as slow as my 10 millisecond 13" MacBook Air has already cost me at least 1.1 million milliseconds or 1,000 seconds or 16 minutes or 1 minute per month or 0.5 seconds per day.

On my deathbed, I will regret all the things I could have done with that extra half a second per day. The tragedy of it all.

BJ

boltjames

The "certain situation" are things one would never buy a 12" Retina MacBook for and/or a typical user would never put them through.

No one who is a game developer or a videographer should purchase this notebook for their profession. Anyone who isn't one of those two things should.

The RMB is a secondary notebook for the traveling executive. And what is it we do on the road? Email, browsing, Powerpoint, Excel, Skype, movies, Slingbox. If you had the fastest notebook in the world sitting next to the RMB, you wouldn't feel a difference in app launching speed, performance, etc.

BJ

nkedel

Quite a lot of other people should not for other sorts of professional use; that class of CPU no more useful for serious Java development than it is for game development, nor for scientific computing, nor for heavy number-crunching, nor review of very large scanned documents, etc etc.

Plenty of reasons professionals need a serious CPU, and may want to work on the road.

Nor should anyone who is a non-casual gamer

Nor for the generally impatient.

...assuming you want the inconvenience of having two notebooks, sure. I don't mind it, but then again, I have a huge gadgets budget and spend relatively little time on the road. If I had to actually work while traveling, it wouldn't be an option -- running IntelliJ or maven or gradle on such a CPU is a comic idea.

Also, only true even for the examples given for some values of "Excel" -- absolutely huge spreadsheets can and do bring a processor of that class to its knees.

Perhaps you don't; having used a fairly high end PC notebook with a faster but somewhat comparable CPU and a decent SSD in it, the speed difference is noticeable to me even in general use, and especially when pressed with things like many browser tabs open, or trying to do casual work while also streaming video.

If running the RMB with its native OS, some of that may be better because of the MacOS, but when running Windows the RMB is no more than the sum of its parts, and the parts are essentially comparable to any of a number of low-powered PCs laptops.

It's a wonderful little machine for people who (A) want a MacOS machine, and either (B) are using it as a second machine or (alternate B) are willing to sacrifice even a normal level of performance for the lightest weight possible.

Using Windows on it is a daffy waste of money twice over; paying for a more expensive notebook whose premium price is primarily in the OS and integration to it, and then in paying for a Windows license for a machine not designed for Windows.

boltjames

As stated, no one should be getting a RMB for these massive processing jobs. It's not what it's purpose is. The RMB is a weekend convertible. You're describing a pickup truck.

Most executives have a notebook provided by their employers that is powerful but very heavy, has an average screen, and has lousy battery life. These notebooks are designed for a docking station under a desk, not travel.

I have always had a lightweight travel notebook that I pay for myself to compliment the workstation-class notebook I was given at work. Inconvenience is a thing of the past with Dropbox. I use Dropbox as my base file structure, so anything I am working on my office notebook is easly in sync and available on my travel notebook.

That's just ignorant. I have never used a Mac prior to this May yet I have owned the lightest/thinnest Windows-native notebooks since 1998 be they from the likes of Acer or Sony and none has been as fast and dependable as my new Retina MacBook running Windows 10. Boot Camp provides all that is necessary, there isn't a driver I lack or a peripheral that won't work or a troublesome desktop application that it has an issue with. I've never used OSX and don't want to; I want the thinnest/lightest Windows machine and right now it's from Apple. The RMB is the best Windows travel notebook alive.

BJ

nkedel

The car analogy would be more like a V8 grand touring car, vs. a Scion IQ or Smart Car. Yes, it's small, yes, it's fuel efficient, but its merits pretty much end there.

As for "massive processing jobs," why not just get an iPad or Android tablet with a keyboard case? Even lighter, thinner, cheaper, and better battery life. Some of them are even faster.

Heavy is relative, and most actual executives I know vs. lower-level line of business folks already have a top-of-the-line ultrabook, either a Macbook Air or something like the Lenovo T450s or X1 Carbon. The Macs, of course, aren't dockable, but the Lenovos are and while not as extremely small as the RMB or other 12" class ultrabooks, they also tend to be a good bit more powerful and good bit better equipped with pots.

If 0.9lbs is a big enough difference to give up the capabilities, or have to swap between two machines, more power to you.

I've yet to see an actual executive

I've yet to see an actual "executive" get an actual workstation-class notebook; for that matter, it's pretty rare to see regular line-of-business employees get them -- given the cost, they tend to be reserved for technical/engineering employees who really need them. They've also gotten a lot lighter in the past couple of generations; where the lightest ones started at about 6.5lbs a couple of years ago, they're down to a little over 4, and the Macbook Pro 15" is comparable to the lower-end ones on the Mac side.

Perhaps you mean "desktop replacement," but even then, the mainstream models have come down in weight quite a bit over the past few years (and they are quite a bit less expensive than even the RMB.)

Good deal if the security policy where you work allows it, and your working files are small enough to be manageable in Dropbox (or a similar service), and if you have no other applications or settings to keep in sync that have to be managed in a non-automated way.

If you're optimizing for the single variable of size, perhaps it is the best. OTOH, it's still an expensive, under-powered machine, with an netbook-sized screen and keyboard... and the choice to run Windows on it instead of its native OS is giving up one of the main selling points for it.

Any reasonable Core M ultrabook of this generation will be equally "fast." There are some very good options less than 2/3lb heavier, or less in the case of dockables, that also work as tablets. And cost a good bit less.

Any i5-4xxxU or i5-5xxxU ultrabook with an SSD will be a good bit faster, even for general use. And there are good options under 3 lbs, so you're giving up less than a pound for a vastly more capable machine.

As for dependable, if you've been buying Acer (known primarily for low-cost) and Sony (mainly for aesthetics, and being overpriced... and having exited the PC market) it's not surprising that the Apple compares well.

I don't think everyone would agree to your choice of single-variable optimizations.

For that matter, it's still not as small or light as the Vaio P was. Not that I'd recommend that machine to my worst enemy; it was a uselessly slow machine even when new 5-6 years ago.

richard

I'm using Dragon Dictate a lot, and it seems CPU intensive. I would doubt that the RMB would handle it all that well.

DYKWIA

Can anybody recommend a USB-C extender for the Macbook?

I want one that :-

- Charges
- Has minimum 2 USB 3.0
- Maybe has Ethernet (although this is not mandatory)
- Available in the UK

I could buy the Apple version, but they seem pretty expensive for what they are.

Thanks

boltjames

This one is highly regarded, one of the few that allows for pass-thru charging:

http://gizmodo.com/a-pass-through-ch...pan-1749980639

Does not have Ethernet, but a simple adapter solves that and fits into one of the USB ports:

http://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=11195

BJ

piper28

I've got to admit, I'm thinking along the lines of what the last comment on that page was - how likely is that big huge thing to twist around and destroy at least the male usb-c plug on the dock if not also damage the female socket on the macbook? It *looks* nice, but that would definitely be a worry for me.

boltjames

I embrace the Retina MacBook and the port-less lifestyle so I don't own one of these but I believe its primary purpose is to sit forever stationary and flat on a desk for easy docking and un-docking, I don't think its designed to be put in harms way on a lap or on the move.

BJ

DYKWIA

I can't seem to find that available in the UK. Only the Satechi models without the charging are available.

I'll probably just live without one for now. I'll probably never need it anyway - it would have just been handy if occasionally I needed to plug in a USB device of some sort.

Thanks