Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 116 posts

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

#31

Post by pmiller2 »

I don't own a MBP, but I use one for work, so this is mostly geared toward a work environment.

I was "that one jackass who uses Linux instead of OSX" at a previous company. At my current job, I use a MBP like everyone else.

I don't think the MBP sucks; for me, an external keyboard and Bluetooth mouse solve almost all the annoyances. I find that things work a little more smoothly when I'm using the same operating environment as everyone else. Getting help when things don't work is easier, too. I have confidence that things like screen sharing will work and not cause me grief. If there's an app that my company wants to use, I just download and run it without checking if there's a Linux version.

The bottom line is that it's a lot of little conveniences that add up, with little downside.

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

#32

Post by tzakrajs »

sontek wrote: post #26

I've been using macbooks full time for 3 years now and I hate them. They are bad hardware for a high price tag. As a developer they are the perfect middle ground. OSX runs everything I usually run in Linux and I have all the paid for software I'd run on windows (Photoshop, Lightroom, etc). Prior to switching to mac I just dual booted windows and linux depending on what I needed. Then sketch came out and it was only O…

Windows Insider Preview with Ubuntu for Windows is what you want now if you really don't care for macOS or Apple hardware.

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

#33

Post by Scooty »

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.

This is a big deal for me. I hated trackpads before I got this MBP. I was using a Thinkpad before and I thought it had a pretty nice touchpad compared to other laptops I had used. After a few months, I can't use the Thinkpad's touchpad because it's so much worse (movement and gestures).

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

#35

Post by dv_dt »

1) people end up with the MBP because they've been very good for a number of years (maybe latest keyboard excepted, I'm still running on older gens personally).

2) Though there are now more alternatives of comparable quality, it's a lot of work (and some risk) to dig up that model in the product line of XX supplier. And even if you find a good model, it often gets watered down with similarly named low-quality options so you have to get very specific about model, and you have to do that every time you have to re-buy outside of Apple.

That said, if you're doing Linux/unix work, I've been eyeing up the purism Librem laptops should I need a replacement.

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

#36

Post by hungerstrike »

treyreynolds wrote: post #25

I will continue to jump through hoops in order to get the integrated experience of macOS. There is a huge gap between developing on Windows and Mac.

Yes, there is a huge gap. Windows has way better development tools and the OS is leaps ahead of the Mac OS.

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

#37

Post by bsvalley »

What's the alternative? Linux? Windows? Take the top 10 most valuable Tech companies in the world. Their dev folks use Macs and probably MBP's. Do you really think you need something better than that? Again, it does not exist... doesn't stop us from making a lot of money shipping code.

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

#38

Post by sontek »

tzakrajs wrote: post #32
sontek wrote: post #26

I've been using macbooks full time for 3 years now and I hate them. They are bad hardware for a high price tag. As a developer they are the perfect middle ground. OSX runs everything I usually run in Linux and I have all the paid for software I'd run on windows (Photoshop, Lightroom, etc). Prior to switching to mac I just dual booted windows and linux depending on what I needed. Then sketch came out and it was only O…

Windows Insider Preview with Ubuntu for Windows is what you want now if you really don't care for macOS or Apple hardware.

Yeah, I need to try it out again. When it first came out I tried it and things like RethinkDB and Redis wouldn't start-up on it.

Its on my list to try again and see if they've made it better.

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

#39

Post by collyw »

vinhboy wrote: post #27

Because of Terminal. It means most software you would use on a web server will install easily with the help of HomeBrew etc... I've seen developers waste an entire week trying to get basic things like docker to run on Windows... I'm sure things have gotten better in Windows land, but now that I already have my Macbook, the impetus for change is just not there...

I have read a fair bit about Python being a mess on Macs recently, and a few years ago Java was apparently a mess. I don't use a mac so I wouldn't know, but is it really just a case of installing things easily on a Mac?

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

#40

Post by wglb »

The one I bought 6 years ago is finally beginning to fade, so I am replacing it with a new one that is the 2015 model with the non-touch-dealie keyboard.

Most of my friends who rail against macbook pro are about the keyboard issues. This model has the older style keyboard and none of the issues.

Post reply on HN