Personally, while I understand why thinness might be great for some, I don't understand how they can sacrifice essential features(exchangeable components and ports(GigE)) for a few mms or grams on a laptop that is clearly marked "Pro". I'd think that exactly pros would be the ones that would make use of these features the most.
It's because Apple realizes that user replaceable components and ports aren't essential features that they make such great laptops. I'm a "pro" in the sense the I do work and coding on my laptop. I haven't used an Ethernet cable in maybe four years. I don't upgrade components, I just buy new machines every year (with the insane secondary market value of MacBooks this isn't even an expensive proposition). I don't want to compromise portability and battery life (remember, a lot of the design techniques to make the machine thinner open up more internal space for battery) for some features I'll rarely I'd ever use.
I appreciate the kind of perspective you have, but I own 3 MBP and I use the ethernet about once a year - normally when doing an initial Time Machine backup. Wireless is sufficient for all day to day tasks in my experience.
* Finally, if it really is a problem, buy the Thunderbolt to GigE adaptor.
Well for a pro laptop... my pro laptop (Thinkpad) is hooked into a docking station right now. My external monitor, some USB drives, and ethernet are plugged into the dock. When I undock, I'm going mobile so I don't need an external monitor, USB hard drives, and I can work on wifi. In my ~3000 person office, this is by far the norm. Access to some systems are locked down on an IP address basis, assuming you'll be plugged into the wall that gives a static address.
So the point is, it might be called the MacBook Pro, but is it really geared towards professional users? Not even AV professionals anymore, with no Firewire and no disc drive.
Finally, if it really is a problem, buy the Thunderbolt to GigE adaptor.
You shouldn't have to buy accessories on a $2200 laptop which come standard on even a $200 netbook.
Every netbook comes with ethernet. Generally not with a disc drive, not because the thickness is a concern but because a disc drive is bigger than a 7" computer.
Thickness is the culprit here for both ethernet and ROM, and this drive to thin machines makes no sense on a laptop marketed for professional users.
You just need to understand that you have become an edge case. The 1%.
People just aren't using Firewire, Optical Drives and Ethernet like they use to. And compromising the entire computer just to satisfy a minority isn't good business. And absolutely isn't Apple's style.
Most things are more expensive when you aren't buying the mainstream option. In your case having to buy the Superdrive, Firewire and GigE adapters.
You just need to understand that you have become an edge case.
It's called the Macbook Pro. Firewire is huge in cameras still. Optical drives are still big in AV work. Ethernet is still important in corporate networks. By default, professionals are not mainstream. This is a 100% consumer laptop. Calling it "Pro" is just disingenuous when there's not a single professional aspect about it.
And they can sell whatever machine they want to sell. The point of this entire thread is the name.
I'm not sure what you're referring to about statistics, as I never offered any statistics. I'd love to take a survey of audio and visual professionals and see how many of them have devices that either stream over Firewire (much more consistent bandwidth than USB2) or burn to disc (slightly less common). Brand new devices might use SD or Thunderbolt, but AV equipment is expensive and not always replaced every time Apple comes up with a new standard.
Carrying around adapters is a solution buts its not fun or elegant. Especially when you don't always need them in the same place.
I think the point is valid. One of the things "pros" need is ports. Ports that hardware assumes you have because its standard on most machines. This thing about ports is that you don't need them unless you do. Maybe you never use ethernet, but a lot of people do. Maybe you need to plug in to set up a router. Maybe a hotel room only has ethernet. Maybe your office environment requires ethernet.
I've been using a mac at work for years and ports have always been a pain. Need to plug into a projector? Connect to a TV? More than 2 USBs? As often as puling out adapters, the solution is use someone else's machine.
I think you need to quantify a lot, as in "a lot of pros need ethernet". I work in a university and I see a lot of laptops and I don't think I've ever seen anyone plug in the ethernet except for very specific situations like LAN parties or DC++ (since people are charged per GB for wireless data over a certain monthly cap). I also work in the entrepreneurial business environment and most people have MBA, netbooks, iPads and other similar devices. It would be interesting to have other technicians opinions on this though.
In the case of the hotel room, yes that is sometimes the case... then again, I guess that is what the adaptors are for. It is the same reason that laptops no longer have 56k modems built in - it simply isn't that common these days. Ethernet on laptops isn't that useful anymore. Wireless is the default.
The challenge in any technology is to balance the realities of the world with the vision for the future. This laptop is clearly designed with the future in mind.
You can always buy the standard macbook pro which does offer all that you wish for (regular ram, GigE, serviceable harddisk) at about the same price point but at an additional 400g weight.
I currently use a Macbook Air which does not offer a GigE port either and I'm doing just fine.
I'm not certain what constitutes a pro these days, but I do some pretty intensive tasks (building large scala projects, data aggregation, etc) and I think this MacBook is just what I need. With thunderbolt I'll be able to dock the laptop to disk arrays, an external monitor/keyboard/mouse, and Ethernet with a single connector. And being thinner and lighter, I won't think twice about taking it on the road.
Single connector, but not single adapter. Daisy chaining also seems error prone. If all the adapters you have to take with you weigh 400g, you haven't really gained anything. Also, having to reattach everything all the time seems like a hassle if you have a lot of external devices to connect(is there a Macbook dock?). This ad satire is about the Air, but i think it sums up me reservations perfectly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hnOCUkbix0
