Change My View

I wrote back in 2016 that I’d come to terms with the fact that the then-new MacBook Pro models marked the end of the line for upgradable MacBooks.

I wrote then that I understood why Apple had done it. But I still hear complaints today from professionals who value upgradability and battery-life over sleekness, and seeing someone yesterday using a 17-inch MacBook Pro – like the one I used for many years – did make me feel nostalgic for it. And it occurred to me that there is a way for Apple to keep everyone happy …

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An op-ed piece entitled On The Sad State of Macintosh Hardware is getting some attention. Quentin Carnicelli, of audio software developer Rogue Amoeba, says the situation is so bad that they buy older used Macs rather than ‘compromise heavily’ on current models.

The Mac mini hasn’t seen an update of any kind in almost 4 years (nor, for that matter, a price drop). The once-solid Mac Pro was replaced by the dead-end cylindrical version all the way back in 2013, which was then left to stagnate. I don’t even want to get started on the MacBook Pro’s questionable keyboard, or the MacBook’s sole port (USB-C which must also be used to provide power) […]

Customers are still forced to choose between purchasing new computers that are actually years old or holding out in the faint hope that hardware updates are still to come.

Carnicelli thinks he knows what Apple should do …

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Speculation about the convergence of Macs and iPads has been around for a great many years, and got a new lease of life when we first heard reports of Apple working on some kind of cross-platform initiative.

When Apple this week confirmed plans to bring iOS apps to the Mac, it answered the question about whether it would merge iOS and macOS with a huge ‘No’ on the screen. Some have responded by suggesting that may be true now, but this is just the first step.

There may be some truth to that – but I do think Macs and iPads will remain separate product lines for many years to come …

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Apple was the first company to bring a voice-driven intelligent assistant to the masses. Since then, however, it’s been overtaken in capabilities by both Google and Amazon.

As I’ve written before, that’s not coincidence. Google collects and analyzes huge volumes of personal data to help make its intelligent assistant as powerful as possible. Amazon lets anyone create a ‘recipe’ which any Echo owner can use. Apple, in contrast, chooses to limit the amount of personal data it collects and uses, and tightly controls access to Siri by third-party companies.

That approach has arguably become a strong selling-point at a time when the privacy of user data has become headline news in the mainstream press. All the same, many Siri users do find it frustrating that Apple’s AI – the one that once led the market – is now the dumbest kid on the block …

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There’s been some amusement as a certain well-known ‘adult entertainment’ site announced the launch of its own VPN service.

Smutty jokes aside, there’s never been a more important time to use a VPN. Less than $100 will now buy a bad guy the equipment they need to carry out a man-in-the-middle attack – where they spoof a public WiFi hotspot and intercept the traffic. Some of these devices are even small enough to be disguised as a power plug, meaning they could be left in a coffee shop happily collecting data to be later used at leisure.

And the loss of net neutrality raises the prospect of ISPs offering a two-speed Internet, or even blocking sites altogether. Most are adamant that they’d never do so, but then they were equally vocal about wanting to end net neutrality, which makes no sense unless they planned to take advantage of the change …

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If you’re not familiar with our new opinion format, Change My View, please check out our guidelines before commenting – thanks!

Previous pieces have addressed the MacBook Pro keyboard controversy, whether it’s time for iOS devices to switch to USB-C ports and whether Apple should lose the patent trial. This time I’m looking at an issue I suspect will be no less controversial.

My argument is that Apple should neither solicit nor accept tax incentives when seeking a new location for a campus …

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Update: I was wrong – Apple won.

If you’re new to Change My View pieces, please check out our guide. What we’re looking for in the comments are respectful rational arguments either for or against the motion.

The Apple versus Samsung patent trial that began in 2011 returned to court last week. Closing arguments were made on Friday, and it’s now up to a jury to decide whether the damages awarded to Apple will be increased, decreased or remain unchanged.

My expectation is that Apple will lose the case – and I’ll define ‘lose’ in a moment – and that, actually, that would be the right result …

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If you’re not familiar with the idea behind our new Change My View opinion format, please check out our guide. The tl;dr version is that we invite you to take an active interest in opposing views, and to discuss in a respectful way.

Last time you succeeded in changing my view that MacBook Pro keyboard issues were overblown, and this time I’m going to tackle an issue where I suspect you’ll have even more to say.

My argument is it’s time for Apple to migrate iPhones and iPads from Lightning ports to USB-C ones …

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Change My View is a new take on opinion pieces, borrowed from the subreddit of the same name because we like the philosophy.

CMV is a subreddit dedicated to civil discourse, and is built around the idea that in order to resolve our differences, we must first understand them. We believe that productive conversation requires respect and openness, and that certitude is the enemy of understanding.

That’s why CMV is the perfect place to post an opinion you’re open to changing. We’re not looking to host aggressive debates, or encourage judgement, but help each other understand different perspectives.

One of the things I love about writing opinion pieces is that they often provoke interesting debates in the comments. But while the majority of readers engage in civilised discussion, we also get some trolls out to snipe at each other and more interested in scoring points than engaging in any kind of meaningful exploration of the issue.

With this format, we ask you not to engage the trolls – or at least, not to respond in kind – but to seek to understand opposing views and explore the issue in a constructive way …

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