Ask HN: Why does everyone use a MacBook Pro despite saying they suck? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Why does everyone use a MacBook Pro despite saying they suck?

#11

Post by news_to_me » Wed, May 02, 2018, 5:30 PM UTC

I think the people who don't like it are the loudest. It certainly has some drawbacks (like the keyboard, lack of ports), and for some that's a deal-breaker.

Personally, I love my MBP I got late last year — 13", no touchbar. I use the larger, touchbar version for work, and it doesn't really suit me.

The only things that really bother me are the keyboard and sometimes the lack of ports, but honestly the keyboard is still pretty good, and I don't find myself plugging things into my laptop that often.

Re: Ask HN: Why does everyone use a MacBook Pro despite saying they suck?

#12

Post by wayanon » Wed, May 02, 2018, 5:30 PM UTC

I bought a 2015 MacBook Pro from the Apple Refurb store - very happy with it: USB ports and good keyboard.

Re: Ask HN: Why does everyone use a MacBook Pro despite saying they suck?

#13

Post by dismal2 » Wed, May 02, 2018, 5:30 PM UTC

Because they don't suck?

I think people are mostly complaining about the direction the last update took, such as the touchbar which seems more targeted at less experienced computer users and lack of RAM options beyond 16gb, etc.

Re: Ask HN: Why does everyone use a MacBook Pro despite saying they suck?

#14

Post by OneFishTaco » Wed, May 02, 2018, 5:31 PM UTC

Because I got tired of the blue screens of death, and despite the MBP being way over priced it does one thing very well... it works 99% of the time. Plus it looks cool, if you care about that sort of thing.

Re: Ask HN: Why does everyone use a MacBook Pro despite saying they suck?

#15

Post by dbatten » Wed, May 02, 2018, 5:31 PM UTC

There are 8 billion people on this planet. The people that think MacBook Pros suck are likely very often not the same people that use them. And, when they do overlap, it's likely due to technology lock-in (they use Final Cut or whatever) or thinking the other options suck even worse.

I have to second the other person recommending a Lenovo X1 Carbon. I had one for awhile and it was just about the perfect laptop. Surface Pro looks nice too.

Re: Ask HN: Why does everyone use a MacBook Pro despite saying they suck?

#16

Post by ghotli » Wed, May 02, 2018, 5:31 PM UTC

Honestly the linux subsystem for windows 10 is good enough for me. I see less and less of a need for an osx box for development if you're just looking for a unix subsystem.

FWIW I use a Dell XPS 13 and a Surface Pro and both work perfectly well. Install Ubuntu from the app store, get Mobaxterm and run gnome-terminal. You're set at that point.

Re: Ask HN: Why does everyone use a MacBook Pro despite saying they suck?

#17

Post by crsv » Wed, May 02, 2018, 5:31 PM UTC

The Razer Blade is a surprisingly capable, beautiful alternative.

I will say that the primary driver is more being on MacOS, which is a nice middle ground for ease of use for our developer team that's primarily working in things like Ruby on Rails and React, and also really great for movie editing for our marketing folks.

We're all still holding hope that the next MBP fixes the keyboard issues. Personally I'm still jamming on a 2011 MBA that's probably the single most reliable, functional piece of hardware I've ever owned. It's the definitive workhorse. It's a shame the quality hasn't kept pace across the other lines and new models.

Re: Ask HN: Why does everyone use a MacBook Pro despite saying they suck?

#18

Post by danieljohnson » Wed, May 02, 2018, 5:31 PM UTC

With OSX, I get to be lazy when it comes to the OS. No wrangling, configuring like I see friends having to do. The environment is mindless and works. And they're pretty. Great screens and resolution. And everyone else had one when I started developing. And I was kind of excited to put a sticker on top of the apple.

Switching to linux is in the same category as Vim for me. Something I should do someday.

Re: Ask HN: Why does everyone use a MacBook Pro despite saying they suck?

#19

Post by vinay427 » Wed, May 02, 2018, 5:31 PM UTC

If you can get used a TrackPoint (the nub thing on ThinkPads) or similar on another brand it's probably a better alternative to a MBP. I did as of a few years ago and would never go back to the imprecise and slow navigation with a trackpad.

Re: Ask HN: Why does everyone use a MacBook Pro despite saying they suck?

#20

Post by amf12 » Wed, May 02, 2018, 5:32 PM UTC

billconan wrote: post #2

for me, it's because nothing matches MBPs trackpad. I never feel I need a mouse using a MBP, but on both Windows and Linux notebooks, I really need a mouse and sit down in front of a table to be productive.

I just recently started using Surface Book. The trackpad is as good as my old MBP.