Apple Refuses to fix a T2 failure - no evidence of water damage...

The Mac Mini 2018 with a i7, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB boot drive isn't too bad for $1299. You can upgrade RAM to 32GB / 64GB relatively easily and attach an external storage drive for data. Ironically I think the Dan Case A4 SFX would look nicer than the Mac Mini with an eGPU and external storage on a desk but the Mini is a lot less hassle if you do not want to deal with hackintosh update issues.

 

That's more reasonable but then there's the soldered SSD which is a none starter for me. Adding an external drive to compensate for the lack of storage specs just piles on. This could have been such a much better machine if Apple had designed the "new" Mac Mini with the customer in mind but they chose not too.

If I were to configure a Lenovo ThinkCentre Tiny Desktop today, with those specs it would cost $750. And the ThinkCentre has all proprietary parts, so I could easily upgrade the M2 Storage card, upgrade the RAM or add a standard laptop HDD all within 5 minutes.

I purchased a ThinkCentre Tiny with almost identical specs to the base 2018 Mac mini except I added a 256GB M2 Storage card for $398 vs the 2018 Mac Mini $999. MacOS is nice but it's no longer that nice with the two other competing OS's out there.

Yeah I prefer not to deal with Hackintosh issues and just use a Mac. But the big question is if Apple down the road will block users from booting from an external drive. I wouldn't put it past them. I'm still surprised Microsoft has not changed it's policy on this as well given that Windows is essentially a free product now.

 

If 2080 worked my laptop would be portable as a Mac and I wouldn't need Radeon VII.

I have a feeling we won't be getting updated GPU drivers at all for nVidia GPUs.

It's a shame the current lineup is trash. My 2013 Retina MBP is a beast for its time, has HDMI, SD card slot, etc etc.

 

Apple has now added a confidence destroying error message to the iphone Xr / Xs / Xs Max such that after it notices a battery change it will say "battery needs service" even if it is replaced with a brand new battery out of another iphone Xr / Xs / Xs Max, perhaps there is service software available only to Apple that allows that message to be turned off when the battery is replaced?

Apple's NEXT move in the war on repair.
Louis Rossmann
Published on Aug 7, 2019
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nGnA...
https://www.ifixit.com/News/apple-is-locking-batteries-to-iphones-now


Apple Is Locking iPhone Batteries to Discourage Repair
Craig Lloyd, @craiglloyd, August 7, 2019
https://www.ifixit.com/News/apple-is-locking-batteries-to-iphones-now

The "SERVICE" issue in XR XS & XS Max Batteries | is APPLE taking part lock down TOO FAR?
TheArtofRepair
Published on Aug 6, 2019
On this Episode of the Art of Repair, Justin goes over a potentially HUGE Right to Repair issue concerning APPLE BATTERIES. Could this issue be more widespread and locked down in the next iPhone?

 

And the crApple apologists over at Mac Rumors are saying good for Apple not allowing repairs because they have a standard to meet. So then why is this guy making money showing how crAppy Apple is at doing it's own repairs?

Unsurprisingly many of the Mac Rumors crApple apologists who thinks this guy is a weasel for speaking truth about crApple.

Have fun reading thru all the apologist posts in these two threads:

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...ill-be-repaired-safely-and-correctly.2192819/

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...age-third-party-replacements-updated.2192943/

 

What I see on the horizon is Apple treating MacOS updates like how they do it with iOS. I can envision the T2 chip locking out any future downgrades like Apple does with iOS after a certain period of time. So once you upgrade the OS and after Apple quits signing that version of MacOS, your Mac is locked out from any future downgrades and the T2 chip will make sure of it. That's just a guess on what I see in the future.

The update system has slowly taken on a similar delivery system in MacOS Mojave to how it's currently done in iOS. That's why I think that's where this could be all headed to, so less control for the user and more control for Apple. And once Apple decides your Mac will no longer get any future support it stays stuck on that last OS and I can even see the T2 chip making it difficult if not impossible to install Linux.

Or as that famous line in a Seinfeld episode: "No soup for you !"

 

Or so says Rossman. He gets a lot of mileage out of talking smack. I have no desire to defend Apple or their practices. Nor do I agree completely with Rossman's rhetoric either.

I just retired a Late 2013 MBP 15, that's literally been around the world with me. It still works, never been apart. 6 years is a lot to get out of a notebook. I've worn the letters off many keys, that's how much I've used it.

Can't be all bad.

 

The 2012-2015 MBPs were much better keyboard and repairability wise than the 2016+ models. I hated giving up my 2015 for the 2016+ models, but I had to go with what was assigned.

 

Still using my late 2013 macbook pro. Waiting for a day apple releases a true successor

 

So is my IBM ThinkPad T60 which was purchased in 2006 and is still going strong in 2019. It runs anything I can throw at it with 3GB of RAM. It shipped with Windows XP and it runs every Windows version with ease. It even runs any Linux distro I throw at it. It's never been apart and the keyboard has no worn letters. ThinkPad's still have some of the best keyboards in the industry.

Louis Rossman, IMO is just stating the facts and I don't feel he's talking smack, rather I see someone who is highly knowledgeable about board level repair and equipment design and someone who takes a lot of pride in what he does. He just gives the impression that he expects more from Apple. When people pay top dollar for their gear, they expect a certain level of reliability, competence and honesty from the company who designs and sells it. That's what I see Rossman pointing out. If I still lived in NY he would be my go to shop for my Mac repairs. He seems both competent and honest.