“I want anyone to know who is thinking of buying a MacBook Pro with the Retina display, that something’s missing,” Scott Kelby reports for Photoshop Insider.
“It doesn’t have a Security Slot, and for some people (like me) that’s a real problem (and one I’m now going to have to deal with somehow),” Kelby reports. “So, that’s it. A heads up, and here’s hoping that Apple adds them back in future models, and that someone comes up with as elegant a security option as Kensington did (who obviously teamed up with Apple on that slot). Hey, we can always dream.”
Kelby writes, “This isn’t just a problem for sports photographers — it’s for schools that have MacBook’s in their labs, and at work, and anywhere we need to have our laptops secured (Starbucks) and now we have to find some other solution (and I’m looking at a few), but I would dearly LOVE to hear why Apple decided NOT to include this tiny slot. While they’re at it, I’d love to know why in Mountain Lion Apple decided to do away with the menubar Display menu, which is another thing that makes me shake my head, but don’t get me started.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Something’s missing alright. So is somebody.
Well, maybe Apple now wants portable Mac users to buy something like this?
Regardless, such a solution seems quite a bit less elegant than a simple security slot.
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Yes. The slot is missing. Highly inconvenient.
And in other news, my Grand Prix car has no stereo, air conditioning, GPS or power windows…in fact its got no windows. It is also extremely tight to get in and its very hard to get spare parts for some basic DIY servicing at home. It’s also very hard to upgrade…….I mean, what if I wanted to replace the engine…..
But I bet it has locks.
And Steve Jobs is missing at Apple.
Tim Cook is no Steve Jobs! Very apparent now. Very disappointing. You would hope he would try twice as hard to promote Steve’s Apple vision that made Apple so great!
Pathetic.
Hyperbole. As if it wasn’t apparently that Tim Cook was the CEO before seeing how the whole world watch the change of hand happen in international news.
He’s dropping the ball.
Umm the Air already didn’t have it. Maybe it’s the price of thinness?
Kesington locks were never that safe, certainly not for a $2K machine. A computer in my lab was still stolen with one. I’d suggest a lockable case with a bike lock.
Good point. I’m not sure why MDN is so quick to jump on Tim. In his public appearances he has been stellar. The last keynote and the allthingsd discussion were terrific. I think we can give him the benefit of the doubt for a while longer.
And while we’re talking about gripes. I really wish apple would be more proactive of the PR front. It’s incredibly lame that apple got beat up for it’s factory conditions when, objectively, they should’ve been given a medal for leading the industry in worker-improvement reform (regular audits, transparency, home page attention, employee education programs.. etc., all came before the firestorm kicked off by the a holes at the new york times). And I think apple’s lack of proactive PR has more to do with Steve than Tim if we must blame someone.
Something’s missing alright. So is somebody.
Turns out he was actually doing something with all that time he spent at Apple! How could others even begin to know where to begin in picking up the slack?
And it’s missing the floppy disk drive too!
So what, a flimsy Kensington lock is not going to stop a thief.
Actually, they do.
Not a true, determined thief – no.
I’m a part-time photographer for a newspaper, and in the press working areas there are always laptops sitting on work tables while the photographers are out shooting. You seldom see one without a Kensington lock cable; and if you do the guy’s asking for it. Security in those areas is highly variable; it’s not unusual for the press areas to be “protected” by a security guard who really doesn’t know who is and who is not allowed in there.
Unsecured equipment walks away far too often – often enough that our paper’s insurance reserves the right to deny coverage for unsecured laptops.
Agreed, love my retina mbp, but this is an important omission.
Was a useless item. Thanks Cook for flushing down another useless thing on our laptops. Keep em simple.
I’ve worked at several companies that have required all laptops locked at their desk due to government regulations (FISMA, DoD, NIST) so they’d be required in that case. Looks like the MBP Retina is out unless you get some weird shell case for it. Seems like a very easy thing to put in and not compromise space.
I guess the MacBook Air has been out there as well…
Solution is superglue. Done.
Knock em dread
Good article.
No matter what your opinion of the security slot, Kelby provides a nice bit of insight into the workings of the pro sports photographer.
They are always away from their computer getting the free food at the buffet table.
I have never witnessed a lock in use for a personal laptop ever. Mac Minis or Mac Pros in public often have them but why pay Kensington a royalty for something we never use.
If Apple would have put a skate lace tightener in every Mac sold and then stopped including them, there would be a cry from some clueless person that they ‘needed’ it.
you’ve not visited an Apple store before? Amazing!
Just visited one yesterday. Not a Kensington lock in sight and guess what? They even had MacBook Pros with Retina displays.
By the way, these notebooks were not in the hands of users but were on display.
First world problem…
About time someone writes about that…..I noticed that first thing. The Mac Mini too.
Another thing that I never understood is when they do include the slot its in the front of all the ports on the right side. If it was me I would want the lock port near the back and hang the cable behind the table. If you do that now with the current models you have a cable going back past all your IO on the right side.
How are display units secured in the Apple Store?
They have an alarm attached to it.
You can also buy something like that, plug it into the USB and it sounds a loud alarm if you try to unplug or move it.
Bout now MDN need to get back on Prozac
The slot is no longer needed or rather, in a few more quarters when we all have one, then we’ll have no need/desire to steal other’s. Except Kelby, who probably has a souped up special edition model. 😉
If not that, they’re thin enough now you don’t need to leave them behind. Take it with you.
A security slot on the air or the new MBP would be pointless. The material’s just too thin.
-jcr
I think I found the issue, according to the Kensington slot specs they require a clearance diameter of 19.1mm around the slot.
Problem is the whole MBP Pro height including the display is 18mm! The lock is too big. The extra bit of the lock would hit the desk and tilt the notebook. It’s just no good.
Click to access Kensington_slot_specs.pdf
How dare you disrupt everyone’s hysteria about Apple’s sudden inability to do anything right with verifiable facts?Shame on you.
Yeah what’s wrong with you gkmac? You’re going to ruin “lockgate” for everyone! Stop thinking, and flip out like everyone else.
Oh come on, since when have facts got in the way of a good bashing. 😉
Get creative! Sure there’s another angle out there.
Since the US has more firearms than people we all know the crime problem is solved- right? That’s what the NRA and Republican Party has been pimping for decades- an armed country is a happy one.
No need for locks- the mothership has spoken.
MDN sure has been grumpy lately. Every product we’ve seen or are about to see was developed under Steve Jobs. We have yet to enter the Tim Cook era of Apple. Do you really think, MDN, that Steve Jobs and Tim Cook was like, “Okay Team, let’s get to work designing a MacBook Pro with Retina Display!”
Conservatives don’t like Tim- guess why.
Well. To e honest, I did not know what the heck he was talking about until I saw the image pointing it out. While it is something I have never used (heck, I’ve never even heard of it until just now), it is a real shame it is not included.
I do wish there was an alternative though.
As usual, we have folks with the “I don’t use it so it does not matter” attitude. And well, that’s normal I guess.
“As usual, we have folks with the “I don’t use it so it does not matter” attitude. And well, that’s normal I guess.”
That’s because those people are idiots and will most likely be candidates for Darwin Awards sometime in the future.
GKMac,
You are not quite right stating “require a clearance diameter of 19.1mm around the slot”. They require a clearance of 9.5mm around the slot.
The diameter of the lock is 19mm, which means they only need a clearance of 9.55mm off the desk. It would not necessarily jack up the MBP off a desk, but it may not be possible to put it 10mm up on the chassis of the MBP frame. Also look at the thickness required- does the MBP have chassis walls thick enough to support the lock?
Thanks!
What I meant is the lock requires a total clearance diameter of 19.1mm, sorry maybe the “around the lock” misled you.
As to your suggestion I’ve measured the CPU side of the Retina MBP at 11mm (the display accounts for the other 7mm)
Even if you placed the slot off-centre to compensate, ignoring the bad aestetic that would cause, the slot spec dictates an internal clearance of 3.5mm all around, so the absolute maximum height (ignoring even the required tolerances) you could place the slot would be at 7.5mm.
This means the lock would overshoot the unit and jack up the computer by 2mm. If you add up the tolerances it’s 3.
I agree with the thickness also, though Apple could add internal reinforcements (but losing internal space). All these things just combine to make it unsuitable.
I think some folks are missing the point and utility of the Kensington lock slot. Having a Kensington or Tagus cable lock is not going to prevent the hardcore thief walking around with wire cutters. What it will do and does is act as a deterrent to those lesser thieves from picking up an unsecured notebook just sitting there. In fact, at my kids colleges the security people say that the number 1 theft is theft of opportunity of valuables just sitting somewhere unsecured and unattended. Now you aren’t going to leave your new MBP unattended somewhere all night. But it would be nice not to have to take it with you every time you go to the restroom at Starbucks or someplace public. Oh and by the way, I use my cable lock on my other MBP all the time at work. I don’t have to worry that if I step out (but will be back soon) that something will happen. So it is an unfortunate omission. I think it’s a mistake.
Plural of MacBooks does not get an apostrophe. You’re welcome.
Has Apple lost their mind?!?!?
There is no way I can justify to an employer to purchase one of these.
Retina displays do me no good if it is in someone else’s hands!
Someone’s missing alright. Steve Jack. Or else he has sold out; paid to use his pro Mac forum to subtly undermine Apple sentiments. The abruptness and tone of this change is very fishy to say the least.