I've done much the same with my 2009 MBP. I love that laptop.
However, something to keep in mind here is that the upgrades we have performed are built in to the retina MBP (SSD/Ram anyway).
The drive will be upgradable by third parties before too long, just like the Air. Ram is an issue... no real answer there except to max it out to start.
Well call me a dick too then. I can totally sympathize with the parents and how they feel when something like this happens to your family but to be honest, if PRC has a rightfull claim to a patent infringement it's their right to protect their intellectual property, and it's not that there aren't any other apps that might facilitate maya to express herself. Maybe not in the exact same way as SfY does but there are other excellent options, even on iOS. Even pen and paper would do if they were taught. I've even seen kids run about with a bunch of indexcards to communicate in a similar way.
I personally feel like they are more afraid of change (which is a legitimate fear) than they are fearing for their daughter to become unable to express herself, which isn't legitimate in my opinion. There is a thick layer of drama over it that some of us fail to see through.
Did you read the article? The part that expressly points out they've tried a number of other options, including PRC's, and it didn't work well for her? They part about how using this app has significantly increased her communications abilities where other solutions failed?
PRC might have a rightful claim and a right to protect it, but that's not what the issue is about here.
The issue is that the way they are going about it is having a substantial negative effect on innocent third parties, and that Apple is complicit in that by unilaterally deciding to remove the app without waiting for an injunction or for the case to be decided.
Never mind the broken patent system. It's possible to be in the right and still act like total assholes.
PRC might have a rightful claim and a right to protect it, but that's not what the issue is about here.
Actually, that is exactly the issue here, like it or not. Yes, the article explains how the app has been of great benefit to them. That is a good thing. The issue, however, is PRC's right to protect what they feel is theirs--even though I personally detest it and they (and Apple) are the assholes here.
It's possible to be in the right and still act like total assholes.
Of course it is. And that is clearly what is happening here on the human scale. I don't think anyone disputes the asshole behavior of PRC or Apple's reaching too far by removing the app.
I both read the article and a bunch of others on the author's blog. The thing pointed out in my comment, and your parent's, is that the author steps too far in the direction of taking the personal aspect to the point of hyperbole, where it is clear that the app has added a greater amount of convenience to two-way communication, not allowed communication that did not otherwise exist or cannot exist through another medium, with more effort. The author is reacting to a threat to that convenience, and the changes it will bring in communication they've enjoyed with their daughter, which is an awesome thing in and of itself.
Neither I nor your parent comment were saying the author is wrong in being upset by this. I'd be completely upset if I enjoyed enhanced communication with one of my children and suddenly felt like that was threatened. But I wouldn't help my case by making hyperbolic statements about how losing this app means I can't communicate with my child at all anymore. That's what was pointed out here.
It's amazing that conversation on HN is in such a state lately that a well-reasoned comment pointing out a different dimension of the issue is downvoted, while a two-liner calling someone "a dick and an imbecile" isn't downvoted to oblivion.
I read the entire article (and its comments). Twice. And then I read through nearly a dozen other pages on the blog to learn more about Maya, her condition, and everything the parents have tried in communicating with their daughter--because the author's statements stood out to me and I wanted to see if they'd tried other things, or if there was something about her condition that made ASL or other methods non-starters.
Look at the picture? Cos that means exactly what? Nothing. The child's physical appearance has no bearing on either the content and meaning of the article or my comments.
Read up on the heroku architecture. These are the terms used.
The manual garbage collection wasn't the problem. An unexpected data structure created by garbage collection wasn't handled in a fault tolerant manner.
They come in a lot cheaper than those new MBPs, too
That is simply not true.
Configured approximately the same as the cheaper Retina MBP, the verix cost $200 more than the retina macbook pros.
I say approximately because the mbp has 1600MHz ram vs 1333 in the verix, but I had to choose a 300GB SSD in the verix vs 256 in the mbp. As well, the verix option was for a 2.2GHz vs 2.3GHz of the MBP.
That was the cheaper MBP. Configuring the verix to match the costlier Retina MBP puts the Verix at $500 more.
I neglected to consider the flash storage costs in my initial glances. If you avoid a large flash drive (I usually run something like a 40GB ssd and a 256GB 7200RPM paired), the pricing leans towards the Verix, but not by much - and you aren't getting the same flash storage.
Yeah, flash is still super pricey. I run a pair as well in my mbp. The ability to configure lesser options to make it cheaper counts for something as well.
With Apple you are stuck with very few yet pricey base configurations to start from.
I realize this is anecdotal, but my 2009 macbook pro 13 is in great shape. Screen, battery, and keyboard are all great. I've watched the new macbook pros come out for 3 years now, and I have felt no serious desire to upgrade.
The only thing the newer macbooks would beat mine on would be games, and I just don't play very many. When I do its usually casual like Plants vs Zombies or whatever.
It's lasted longer and fared better than any other laptop I've owned (14" vostro, 13" inch vaio, 17" HP). It has simply been the best laptop I've every owned.
I have done upgrades, the best of which being an SSD. Without that, I'm sure I'd be feeling the pain of old hardware. I pulled the optical drive out and moved my mechanical drive to that bay for extra storage.
The casing has a few very minor nicks, and I did take it in to the apple store to get new rubber "feet" a few months back (under warranty).
I love my macbook pro. Someday I'll upgrade again, if the logic board gives out or something. Probably to a new macbook pro. Perhaps not though, the other manufacturers are catching up with their ultrabooks.
This laptop has been the first computer I've owned where I haven't felt like I was "fighting" with it to get work done.
The "retina" display is the first thing they've done that has me actually wanting to buy new hardware.
I've never used a Thinkpad, though, so I can't say whether it would have fared better or not.
The t60 was the last model built when IBM still owned the laptop division. Spun off, Lenovo commoditized and did not keep up the QA. In my org, t60's were widely coveted, hand updated (ssd's, memory) and kept over newer offerings.
The latest T's and X's are better, but your average 60p has a better monitor than nearly all of the current tpad line.
T60ps were built by Lenovo and some outright carried the Lenovo badge. You could claim the design has gone downhill, but the build quality is Lenovo's.
Looking at the IPS-equipped X220 for my next laptop :)
Until realize that even though the filters in this post have been applied to videos. It will be just as easy to apply the filters to audio, surely again resulting in a revealed heartbeat :)
No, because the cases are sealed with unobtanium screws. I'm sure the layout is very clever, but the fact of the matter is that they use the same hardware as everyone else. There's not much value they can add there.
However, something to keep in mind here is that the upgrades we have performed are built in to the retina MBP (SSD/Ram anyway).
The drive will be upgradable by third parties before too long, just like the Air. Ram is an issue... no real answer there except to max it out to start.