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ExtraBITS for 31 October 2016

In ExtraBITS this week, Chuq Von Rospach responds to complaints about Apple’s MacBook Pro event, long-time Apple advisor Ken Segall expresses his distaste for the Siri Remote, and Apple’s AirPods have been delayed.

Chuq Von Rospach on the MacBook Pro Special Event Controversy — Many people are angry about Apple’s special event last week, mainly due to Apple ignoring desktop Macs, but also because of the new MacBook Pros lacking a dedicated Esc key, having only Thunderbolt 3 ports, and being limited to 16 GB of RAM. But Apple veteran Chuq Von Rospach has penned a reasoned response to all those critiques, suggesting that Apple could have avoided much of the controversy simply by acknowledging desktop Macs and hinting at future updates. But he says the bottom line is that the Mac is
increasingly becoming a niche product again, and many of Apple’s design decisions reflect that.

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Ken Segall Dislikes the Siri Remote — Ken Segall, a long-time adviser to Apple, has some harsh words for the Siri Remote bundled with the fourth-generation Apple TV. He likens it to the infamous “hockey puck” mouse included with the original iMac since both are overly symmetrical, pointing out that it’s difficult to know which way you’re holding the Siri Remote, especially in a dim room. He also criticizes its touchpad for being both too easy to engage accidentally and not as accurate as traditional directional buttons. However, Segall hopes that, as with the iMac mouse, Apple
eventually sees the error of its ways and redesigns the Siri Remote.

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Apple Delays Launch of AirPods — If you were champing at the bit to buy a pair of AirPods — Apple’s upcoming wireless earbuds — you’ll have to wait a bit longer. Apple initially promised them for late October 2016, but now the company says it needs “a little more time” to get them right. “We don’t believe in shipping a product before it’s ready, and we need a little more time before AirPods are ready for our customers,” Apple said in a statement to TechCrunch. The company did not provide a date when the AirPods would go on sale.

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