12 MARCH2020|COMPUTER SHOPPER|ISSUE
WHENAPPLELAUNCHEDthe iPad Pro afew years ago,it
championed the idea that it was atablet for getting stuff done
without the need foralaptop, even its own MacBook. The folksat
Cupertino cooked up an advert that had ateenager using an iPad
Pro ask “What’s acomputer?”,suggesting that the iPad Pro was so
capable that you wouldn’t need aPC.
But while the latest iPad Pro models are very impressive,they
simply don’t have the functionality of alaptop or adesktop.And I’m
saying this while writing on an iPad Mini.
Apple seems to have realised this, releasing two major computers
in 2019.The first, the MacBook Pro 16in (see page 26), is a16in
laptop with alovely display, fantastic speakers and ascissor
keyboard mechanism that replaces the oft-maligned Butterfly
Monthlysubscriptioncharges forsoftware, music, filmsandTVare rippingusalloff,
butatleast Appleisgoing back to basics withitslatestcomputers
RANTSS&&RAVESS
mechanism in the older MacBook Pro models. Apple
basically made alaptop people have been asking for,
seemingly listening tofeedback rather than forging its
own path.
Then the firm released the Mac Pro,amachine
that looks like an oversized cheese grater,but is in
fact amassively powerful PC designed for
professionals. Its topspec costs over £50,000.
The Mac Pro features arather slick modular design and
some clever component packaging, showing that Apple can not
just build good PCs but also add innovation. This helps set a
standard forothers to follow,thusbringing even more innovation to
the PC world.
While Apple looked like it was turning its back on PCs, last year
showed the firmisstill acomputer maker,and apretty good one at
that. That’s agoodthing, as Apple seems to be playing catch-up in
the smartphone arena, releasing iterative iPhone models rather than
something properly exciting.
So seeing Apple use its famed ‘Think different’ creativity in the
computer world is very much welcome.Ifthe firm could just make a
new MacBook Pro 13 with slim bezels and the new scissor keyboard,
I’d be really happy.
REMEMBERTHEDAYSwhen you’d buy something an
it, it was yours until it broke? Today, it’s all about subscription
charges. We used to have subscriptions forgeneral services, such
as mobile phones and premium TV,but companies have realised
that getting solid amounts of monthly moneyisbetter than a
one-offpayment, and are increasingly moving to this model.
Fancy the latest version of Lightroom? You’re outofluck if you
want to payfor it and use it forafew years, as you now have to
subscribe to the service.Likewise, if youwantOffice365, it’s time to
stump up forthe monthly fee, as there’s no option to buyitoutright.
Companies saythis move is good forconsumers as you get the
latest version automatically; customers are quitehappy running a
version forafew years, getting our money’s worth out of it.
Then there are home security cameras. Rather than saving footage
locally to aNAS,which you can hide out of the way, cameras now
save recordings to the cloud. The advantage is that there’s no local
orage tosteal, so criminals can’t steal the evidence;
he downside is that you have to paymonthly and, as
soon as you stop,your recordings go forever.
Then we’ve got the likes of entertainment services.
Paying just under atenner doesn’t seem like much for
potify,given how many tracks you get, but would you
y£10 of musicamonth normally? And as soon as
toppaying forSpotify,‘your’music is no longer yours
That’s not really atrue subscription, is it? Imagine if
you decided to cancel yourComputerShoppersubscription (not that
you’d want to)and Ipopped round to collect your old magazines
and told youthat you couldn’t have them any more.
Yetmorecompanies are starting to pile in. If you like TV,then
getready forthings to get really expensive.You’re going to need to
subscribe to Now TV,Netflix, Amazon Prime Video,Apple TV and
Disney+ to watch everything. And then there’s the insulting BritBox,
which takes all the content you’ve already paid forusing your
licence fee, and then charges you monthly to watch it again.
With all subscription services, the idea is that you can cancel and
resume on awhim, so you need only payfor what you’re using, but
who does that? The net result is that subscriptions maylook cheap
to startwith, but theysoonadd up and become significant monthly
outgoings, leaving you with nothing when you do cancel. Something
has to change,and paid-for options need to come back.
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David L
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David L
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