So I love my MacBook Pro. I use it for web design and programming which I do a lot more of now than when I bought it 3 years ago. As such, I'm having to replace it entirely because I bought the lowest-ram version and they soldered in the ram in this version and all future versions (unless I'm mistaken). The new pro retina's also lost the onboard cd drive (now an $80 external add on). My question is for my fellow tech heads, how do you feel about the direction Apple is headed with making end-user upgrades and repair nearly impossible.? Are the software advantages available on osx going to continue be worth the trade off? Just interested in hearing other perspectives, I don't plan on switching back to windows any time soon.
I understand the concern about the RAM, but if you look at the ifixit teardowns, the RAM is soldered to save space. Ultimately that's what Apple is trying to maximize (along with greater battery life), which also explains the lack of a CD drive. Personally, I haven't used my CD drive more than a handful of times (only to install some big software like Adobe CS or MS Office), and my Macbook Pro will be turning five this summer. So, I think the loss of the CD drive is good in the long run.
All I've done with the optical drive on my desktop is occasionally burn OS install discs. And I've got 3 laptops that don't have internal optical drives, I only plugged one in to install their current linux distros. (and to repair the windows install on the one that does use windows)
Another possible reason against the optical drive (other than space and power usage) is that it's easier to steer users towards getting their music/movies/shows from iTunes if they can't pop a CD/DVD in the computer ;p Not sure about durability of the new ones but I know people with MBPs that are now 5-6 years old and still working fine (other than being too slow for some of the newer software/OS upgrades - the replaceable battery did help make them last longer, but means a bulkier machine).
Good points especially about iTunes. Like I said, not planning on deviating from mac anytime soon, just wanted to understand the thought process a little better
I understand the reasoning behind non-replaceable parts, but I don't agree with it, at least for battery and RAM. A few cubic millimeters of difference between soldering and providing plastic brackets do not make it right to prevent the upgrade of the one component that can do wonders for any aging computer. RAM should be upgradable and that's that. As for the optical drive, well, in a year that I've had this last laptop, my almost only experience with its ODD is the annoyance when I accidentally open the tray and have to close it and wait for the laptop to realize I didn't put anything in (I should just disable it). Really, with a USB 3.0 and 32/64GB memory sticks, who needs ODD? The OS itself is to me not a good enough reason to buy something. OS is a passing thing for any hardware and especially when it comes to programming, I don't see how it should be relevant. My Eclipse is free and works on all major OSes and that's all I need (ok, that and a good text editor for simpler tasks, but that is available anywhere).
