By: Nick Gambino
The new MacBook Pro sports some major changes as announced last week in a special keynote at Apple’s headquarters. But now we’re hearing of another major change that might upset the more nostalgic Mac users.
The startup chime when you first boot up your Mac is being retired, as discovered by Pingie.com. This is the same friendly chime that’s been emitting from Macs since 1998. But as is apparent from all the new features in the MacBook Pro and iPhone 7, Apple is all about the “out with old and in with the new” way of thinking.
You would assume if they’re firing the resident chime that they would replace it with a new one – maybe a death metal chime or a fresh hip-hop beat. Sadly, no. They are replacing it with total silence but not without good reason.
On earlier MacBooks you would hear this tone when you turn it on with the power button. But with the brand-new MacBook, it automatically turns on when you simply lift the lid, getting rid of the need to take the extra step of pressing the power button.
This silent boot-up process makes it far less annoying if you’re opening up your laptop in a public area or around other people. Waking up your computer from sleep mode and turning it on are now essentially the same, silent process.
Now if you must hear this sound whenever you start up your MacBook or your day just won’t feel right, there is a workaround. You’ll have to open Terminal and follow the steps on this site. It’s a fairly easy process. You don’t need to be a computer genius to execute it.
Other than this bit of sad news, there are plenty of new goodies to explore and be excited about with the new MacBook. The Touch Bar introduces a whole new way to use your laptop and looks to be the way of the future. It’s available to order now at Apple.com.
Are you going to miss the iconic Mac startup chime? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nick Gambino is a regular script writer and tech beat reporter for NewsWatch. He lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and daughter.
