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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2021-01-20, 12:42

Here's another way to look at it: if Thunderbolt is to be the end-all/be-all (for now, anyway...I'm sure in a few years something else will come into play) of ports/connection, fine. If having 2-4 of those ports on Mac notebooks makes more sense than Ethernet, USB, HDMI, etc., I can buy that. If that simplifies manufacturing and design or presents a truly better, easily-managed peripheral situation, fine. Whatever. I don't think we're there yet, but those are the "going too far" moments Kickaha talks about, where people are dragged forward, sometimes unwillingly, to a brighter, better future.

Okay, that's part of progress.

Where I think Apple might've stumbled, and lost some goodwill, is not bridging that gap as well as they could have.

I recall, back in the day, Apple would include a few basic adapters in their Macs (this or that display connector, etc.). They stopped doing that some time ago and, for certain things, it makes sense.

But if they're going to, overnight, yank such ubiquitous ports as USB and others from their notebooks, why couldn't they have just tossed in a simple USB-C to USB adapter? I think that simple act would've gone a long way because I do think it's bad form to charge $1,799+ for something and then turn around and expect the customer - who may not be aware (although they should; that's on them to make more informed buying decisions, but that's another discussion) - to fork over another chunk, even if it's just $19, simply to connect things they most likely have...digital camera, thumb drive, external hard drive and, yes...an iPhone or iPad.

Mind you, I'm not some hippie constantly dropping the "c"-word and "g"-word and railing against "corporations" and "greed" 24/7, but sometimes even I think "okay, guys...you don't have to be that unhelpful and bare bones in your packaging of $999-$2,499 products...toss in a damn adapter that costs you next-to-nothing, and help people out a little. Because you used to do this."

You can be progressive (lower-case "p") and not be an unhelpful asshole about it.

This sort of thing all really came about, post-Steve. So I figure a lot of that is from Mr. Supply Chain and efficiency himself, Tim. I do know people, just regular users, who've bought a new Air or MacBook Pro in recent years and have called me to ask "where do I plug in my...". And when I tell them what's up, the words they use make me blush.

So I know, in the real world, such a thing would be appreciated and sidestep a lot of "f-you, Apple!" sentiments. Because I've heard 'em, firsthand.

I know I'm going to encounter this when my mom eventually replaces her 2013 MacBook Air (which she does connect her iPhone and a thumb drive to). On that day, I'm just going to go ahead and buy her that $19 adapter and give it to her so she doesn't even have to get surprised/upset. Because she's not going to understand, or care about, the reasons. All she'll see is "I just paid $1,199 and suddenly can't connect any my stuff as I've done for years?"

And I honestly couldn't blame her.

Multiply her times gazillions of others out there.

Not everyone's a spec-aware forum-monkey, so you know good and well normal, regular users out there have hit this wall in recent years (replacing an older Mac that did have USB ports, and now realizing their new one doesn't, and they're looking at getting in the car and schlepping out to the nearest Apple Store, Walmart or Best Buy to drop $20 on something they never had to before.

I don't care how you spin or present it, that's not building any sort of goodwill or warm feelings toward Apple from these folks.

You can have bold, daring progress...and still assist users along that path. Those kinds of products/devices are still in heavy use, and I think a lot of customers got a rude $19 smack upside the head these past few years. Apple could've - and should've - headed that off at the pass. Everyone here knows how it's human nature to remember/hang on to the negative or less-than experiences than otherwise. People typically don't go out of their way to praise a good, positive experience, but they can't wait to notify the planet about their latest screw-job or shitty experience. If you doubt me, just go to Yelp and cruise through the reviews...

Last edited by psmith2.0 : 2021-01-20 at 13:10.
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