Jump to content

New MacBook. No fans.


Recommended Posts

It's definitely interesting. I would think recording 8 tracks of audio would be fine. Even with the theoretical USB-C bottleneck, it's probably still fine. You figure people were rolling that much audio on much older machines, though the FireWire interface probably helped offload a lot of that work. 

The bits of info I picked up were that the processor isn't a big boost in computing power, but are significantly more power efficient (and therefore run cooler). That's why they use a case without a fan now.... which implies they can't bring a fan back into the mix. 

I need to replace the computer I use on site for backups and data transfers (when there's no media manager), and I am leaning towards the MacBook Air. It's still really small, and I don't use a computer close to set while we are rolling. Heck, it's rare I even need one these days.... but that's my specific work situation. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 What bottleneck is that?

 

from an architectural standpoint, USB communication goes across the motherboard. Firewire can be overseen by the controller. Like transferring the contents of a drive/card to another drive. With USB it all goes across the motherboard. Firewire can keep an eye on it without it bogging down the system.

Also, and probably more important to a Metacorder setup, many MacBooks had multiple USB ports that were actually on different chips. Specific MacBook Pros and MacBooks there may be 2 USB ports on one side, but one was known to be faster because of the internals, so that was the port you would plug in an external camera or breakout box. Now everything is one port. 

Again, it's probably negligible because this computer is a good bit faster. Any possible bottlenecks to us are eliminated by the overall speed bumps. 

In that way we (sound) are lucky compared to cameras. We're still doing 48/24. Yeah, our track counts go up, but computer speed increases are outpacing our increased needs. Camera data wranglers constantly have to ingest more and more data. knowing those things can really add up over the course of a show. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There's a media breakout adapter available to give you HDMI, USB3, and charging port input.  Seems like an odd decision to me, though, to reinvent the power connector again, and not have at least a couple on-board ports and no thunderbolt support at all.

 

post-1336-0-69438900-1426450083_thumb.jp

post-1336-0-69438900-1426450083_thumb.jp

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you listen carefully to Tim Cook when he talks about the thinking behind having just the one port (and a headphone jack incidentally) I feel that it is a totally appropriate design for that particular laptop. The new MacBook is only ONE model. The new MacBook is NOT the laptop that any of us would probably choose to perform any of the professional tasks we might use a laptop for at work. Now, if Tim Cook had said that ALL the laptops were going to go this route, I would be very worried. I will probably get the new MacBook but I won't be giving up my MacBook Pro which has all the ports I'll ever need and a minimum of adapters needed. I look at the new MacBook more like it is a 12" iPad that runs full MacOS, a full size keyboard and no touchscreen. This will be a very welcomed addition for many of my personal uses of a laptop.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jack: the theory is that you get "all day runtime" and don't need to leave it plugged in. I also would miss MagSafe.

USB-C is an open standard, which is different for Apple. In theory you will be able to buy 3rd party chargers as well as breakout boxes/squids. It'll be interesting as USB-C becomes more common with other manufacturers.

I definitely agree with Jeff that this isn't going to translate to the MacBook Pro line, let alone the desktops. This is for people that rarely use external devices, if ever. I know a lot of people like that. I think it's a weird case of leapfrogging and this is basically the new Air, and the current Air is more the MacBook. The Air name will probably be retired when this MacBook can sell a model for $999 or less.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, I think that the ubiquity and flexibility of USB-C will really help device manufacturers both in cost and in meeting performance requirements. Aside from the 10Gbps bandwidth, which really should be enough for anything except for straight bulk data transfer (in which case faster is always better), USB-C has intelligent power negotiation with much higher power modes, and it has intelligent client/server negotiation. I think it's only a matter of time before all-in-one USB controllers are mass produced and every device manufacturer has a cheap solution to all of our performance needs.

AND It has a symmetrical plug: frustration eliminated

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...