Dear developer of Apps which offer open (a webpage) in safari in their built in browser,
please close the page in your built in browser after I did so.

Dear Thunderbird users,
please put your answer above the mail you’re answering to.

Dear Mozilla guys,
please make that the default.

Dear human beings around me,
door handles may have more uses than you think.

Dear RIM,
please go out of business already.

Dear Bose guys,
bass doesn’t equal sound quality.

Dear Skype guys (at Microsoft),
please update that ringtone.

Dear Balzac and Starbucks Coffee guys,
I think the smallest cup of coffee you offer is actually not that small. (Yeah, it’s ‘tall’. That’s too much coffee, man!)

Best,
Timm

The new Retina MacBook Pro’s display is gorgeous, sure. But it is, compared to the Air, a ‘big machine’. And heavy, 2,02 KG vs. the Air’s 1,35 KG. A couple of years ago, one had to go ‘Pro’ to avoid the plastic white MacBook or an Air that wasn’t quite there yet. But the new Pro reminds reminds me that it is part of a ‘Pro’ brand. The ‘Pro’ stands for ‘professional’, and who really needs professional computing power today? Photographers, programmers and (mobile) gamers (or, in the case of the new Retina Pro, Geeks who can’t stand not to have the latest technology on their lap). Today, our smartphones have dual- or quadcore processors. Since last year’s model, the Air does it all. And it doesn’t sit heavy on your lap while it does that. The new Retina Pro does sit heavier on your lap, but is a whole workstation.
So, why didn’t Apple discontinue the ‘old’ 13- and 15-inch Pros like they did with the 17-inch? (MG Siegler wonders)

The answer lies with Apple’s supply constraints, I think. The Macs don’t sell in the same quantities the iOS devices do, sure. But the new Retina Pro shipping has already climbed up to 3-4 weeks. That’s exactly what happened to the new iPad. So, in order to get ‘Macs’ (in general) out there, Apple keeps some last-generation models around - and updates their internals. Maybe that ‘getting Macs out there’ is the real iOS-ification of the Mac.

I think it is important to take a step back here and take a look at what is happening. A next-generation piece of technology is announced, ‘shipping today’. And all the geeks seem to be disappointed that this kind of technology isn’t in their hands yet or available in the specific form factor one craves. ‘Why do you keep shipping this outdated crap?’ is the reaction. Not realizing that the technology just announced is - again - for professionals. Hence expensive and available only in small quantities. There are plenty people out there who are very lucky without a retina display on their laptop.

With iOS devices, Apple made us get used to the idea that new technology is announced and, two months later, in the hands of every other guy on the subway. With (latest generation) Macs, is has to be different. Take a look at Horace Dediu’s graph from February on Mac vs iOS sales.

Everything coming down to: The new ‘MacBook Pro with Retina Display’ (bad name, not just for a flagship product) is one hell of a machine, and of course it shows where laptops, notebooks and technology in general is going. But bleeding edge technology is never the sweet spot for most consumers. Again: Since last year’s revision, the MacBook Air is that sweet spot, so much the more since the recent update.

Update: Oh, Andy Ihnatko makes the same point in his review:

But is it this the best MacBook for everybody? Oh, dear, no. Apple clearly and consistently refers to the Retina MacBook as a next-generation, future-forward product. It doesn’t replace the conventional 15-inch MacBook Pro in Apple’s product line.

Update 2: Similar thoughts over on MacWorld, via 512pixels.net

Update 3: Anandtech thinks were at a crossroad. I agree.

The personal computer is getting thinner, lighter, more integrated and more appliance-like. The movement is no longer confined to just Apple either. The traditional PC OEMs are following suit. Even Microsoft has finally entered the PC hardware business, something it threatened to do for years but hadn’t until now. Distribution models will change, the lines between different form factors will continue to blur. What was once a mature industry is going through a significant transformation. It’s exciting but at the same time it makes me uneasy. When I first got into this industry everyone had stories of companies with great ideas that just didn’t make it. As we go through this revolution in computing I’m beginning to see, first hand, the very same.

Test. <- Commited with the GitHub App for Mac OS X. n_n.

This would be awesome. I remember being pretty impressed by the 2011 MacBook Air’s display (128 pixels per inch), though by no means revolutionary nack then and compared to other laptop screens. But this? Oh boy.
I think Apple will reduce the PPI of the Macs’ displays compared to iPhone (326 PPI) and iPad (264 PPI) and use the common distance from eye to screen to explain to us why it’s still ‘retina’ (like they did with the iPad). Well, let them do their marketing thing. A Mac display that sports probably more than 220 PPI would be pretty neat. Tim Cook sure wasn’t kidding at the iPad event when he proclaimed that 2012 is gonna be a great year for Apple. Can’t wait for the WWDC keynote.

List of displays by pixel density

So, from early September on I’m gonna be studying in Dublin at Trinity College for the whole academic year, thanks to the Erasmus Programme. I think that’s pretty awesome (actually, I still can’t believe it).

Yes, that's right. Campus of Trinity College. | Picture: infomatique, CC-By-SA

I heard that the isolation among Erasmus Students is one of the typical drawbacks of the Erasmus Programme. So I thought I could use the magic of the Internet to work around that issue and get in touch with locals. You’re reading the fruit of this thought.

I have two main concernes right now:

• A room. I don’t know yet where I’m gonna live, but I’m counting on getting a room at Trinity Hall because it’s close to the campus and the easiest way to get in touch with other students. I don’t like the Harry Potter novels very much, but living in Hogwarts has something to it. Rooms are only available for ‘a limited number of students’ though, so probably I’ll have to look elsewhere.
• Mobile data. Even in my current city, Hamburg, I’d sometimes get lost without Google Maps and an app that helps me through the subway system. For that purpose (and for Twitter) I ‘need’ a mobile data plan (I’m very aware of how decadent that might sound to some people, but I’m also counting on the Digital Natives who understand me). Is Three’s prepay-plan with a ton of data volume the way to go? You guys over there have a weird ‘monthly top-up’-system I don’t understand. Is meteor better? I’ll need to call and text people more than I do here I think, because smartphones may not be that widespread among fellow students.

I’d be very thankful for any advise regarding these two (for now) topics! You can contact me via tweets to @tschoof, facebook or email. Thanks a lot!

BUT, and this is the most important paragraph of this text: I’d also be glad if you have no advise at all and would like to meet up nonetheless to have a Guinness (I guess?) when I’m in Dublin.
Or maybe you’re somehow connected to the Trinity College, know somebody in Dublin who has a room for rent, or a restaurant owner who wants to help out students from abroad (Just guessing here!). You have friends, cousins, parents, sisters, grandparents over there? Please tell them about this handsome fellow who’s gonna be in town! My hair has a tinge of red, so I should blend in just fine.

You can check out my other blogposts and see if you’re interested in some of the topics I write about, or check out my about page. Films, tech, coffee, food, whisky, that’s what I’m into. It might not seem so, but I also get along well with people who aren’t into tech stuff at all.
Weird? A guy on the Internet, randomly asking to contact him? Well, one might think that but my experiences with Twitter and the Internet in general in that regard were solely positive, so I’m optimistic.

Please consider sharing this article on the social networks of your liking. Thanks a lot.