Commentary

The New MacBook Pro Should Have Been From the Start... by Adrian Galli

Image courtesy of Apple, Inc.

Image courtesy of Apple, Inc.

I have worked for Apple for fourteen years. In my time I have seen the release of more products than I can count. My experience has taken me to not only share and present these new products to the public but also learn and experience them for myself. By every legal definition, I am an expert witnesss when it comes to Apple, training, and our products.

Over these many years, I also have come to understand not only what and how Apple functions but why we do what we do. And to be totally transparent, I can not share almost any of my deep knowledge. Most of what I can share may sound like a Apple-rumor-junkie's five course meal but there is and infinite amount of information I can not share.

But to be perfectly clear, I'm not writing on behalf of Apple. I am not reviewing either positively or negatively Apple products. And I not being paid to write this. This is not an official press release from Apple, Inc. This is an article about accuracy, history, research, and Apple's MacBook Pro is just a fine example for the purposes of my writing.

Anyone who knows me will testify that I am a rational and logical person; some might argue excessively logical. I also care very much for justice, science, history, and the context surrounding events for this give one that rational when it comes to why thing are the way they are. And part of why these thing are so valuable and virtuous become apparently when discussing and formulating one's opinions or arguement for said discussions. Further, those who know me also know I don't for opinions thing I know little or nothing about but ask questions in such a conversation. 

When the 2016 model of the MacBook Pro was released, Apple received a lot of heat because it had no "legacy" ports but only new USB-C (Thunderbolt 3) ports. As a colleague of mine has mentioned to many people, "it is the first port to do everything." It serves power, video output, I/O, high speeds, reversible port, small, and overall highly functions. What used to be five, six, seven ports, is not a single port with many functions. So a couple of dongles while we wait for all other devices to follow suit is not a big deal. Incidentally, people have needed adapters over the years for all sorts of things: DVI to VGA, Thunderbolt to FireWire, etc.

On the other hand, another one of the biggest criticisms of the 2016 MacBookPro was the use of the Skylake processor (Intel's 6th generation Core processor.) "This isn't a pro machine," they said. "Why did they put such old technology in these laptops," they cried.

At WWDC (Worldwide Developer Conference), a new generation MacBook Pro was announced using the 7th generation Intel Core processor known as Kaby Lake. A colleague a few days later asked, "Why didn't they just do that from the beginning?"

While I'm not about to spew the "fake news!" one-liner vitriol of current politics, I do heavily criticize tech blogs and rumor sites of the internet because they are full of mistakes, bias, lack of cited sources, and in some cases, just amateur tech-nobodies with little knowledge or understanding.  

But here is my one-liner: When the MacBook Pro 2016 was designed, produced, and shipped, there was no mobile, quad-core configuration of the Kaby Lake processor.

That's it. But you didn't hear that from the tech blogs. You didn't hear that from the "Apple is failing" or the "No innovation at Apple" crowd. You hear it here, from Adrian Galli, who took three minutes to ask, "Yeah, why did Apple not use Kaby Lake? Let's find out," and visited Intel's website to find out more.

Accuracy Matter.™ 

Hong Kong Through the Eyes of a Teenager Circa 1950 by Adrian Galli

Where does talent come from? Is it something learned? Genetic? A gift by sheer coincidence or something innate to certain human beings? 

I stumbled on this article through Photography Flipboard magazine a follow. Historical photography being one of my fascinations, as these are things that I could never see with my own eyes, this collection was not only fascinating but full of amazing talent.

Shot by a teenager in the 1950's, Hong Kong, I encourage you to view these astonishing images. 

 http://designyoutrust.com/2016/02/hong-kong-in-the-1950s-captured-by-a-teenager/

Find a Companion in Your Camera by Adrian Galli

Gear, specs, lenses, sharpness, depth of field, image quality, megapixels... But all that doesn't matter. Overall, they are distractions from the real issue. Ansel Adams did not have nearly the technology we have today but is no doubt he is one of the finest photographers to have lived.

Let me tell you a story of how I came to own my camera, my Nikon D700.  

I was in the market for a DSLR. I wanted more than my rugged Olympus and, while my iPhone was great, it was a time when iPhone photography was in its infancy and still had a ways to go. I started my search with the usual: Canon or Nikon? The Nikon D90 was one of the best cameras at the time. Canon was making inroads into 35mm sensors. Friends were polarized and passionate about which to buy.

I then looked at a Canon 50D, and then the Nikon D300, and then the Canon 5D Mark II... I decided I was just going to go all out and get a 35mm digital camera.  And then (!) I looked at the Nikon D700.

I walked into Ritz (at the time) and wanted to check out the two finalists: Canon 5D Mark II and Nikon D700. A friendly associate, Brandon, help me get a feel for them. Picking them both up, I didn't notice in the moment but while talking to Brandon, I continued to go back to the Nikon. The feel and the handling felt just right, it looked nice, fantastic in low light, and was destined to be mine. 

"I'm just not sure which one to choose," I said.  

"I think you have chosen," he replied, "You can't keep your hands off the Nikon."

He was right. The Canon felt chunky, and looked the part too, and while the megapixel count was higher, it didn't perfect as well in low light. The Nikon was the right camera for me and to this day, despite there being newer and more powerful cameras available, it is still my favorite. 

From PetaPixel 

Recently one of my cousins messaged me asking for some camera advice. He was looking for help choosing a new camera and wondered if I had any suggestions. Without wasting any time I started writing back a sort of stream of consciousness response.

I started with the differences and history behind DSLRs and mirrorless cameras. I wrote about size and shape and weather sealing. I covered lenses and the suggested uses for various systems. I reflected on megapixels and sensor sizes and dynamic range and ISO performance. I covered Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fuji, etc… I wrote about zoom lenses vs. prime lenses and the dangers of too much choice. I went on and on.

And then I surprised myself as I wrote that none of that mattered. That all the technical details, all the performance specs and features, all the history and lenses, all of it was completely secondary to the most important feature of a camera: how it makes you feel.
— Spencer Bailey

This true statement is why I have my Nikon D700 and love shooting with it, why I have my Olympus E-M5 and love shooting with it, and speaks to how one should always choose a camera. While I do tout that I'll shoot with any camera, any time, and get great results, the companion nature of one's camera must be respected.

1. Find a camera that you’re passionate about.
2. Treat it like underwear. You wouldn’t leave home without it.
— Spencer Bailey of Peta Pixel

One's camera is an extension of eye and mind; connect with it and make it part of one's self.