It looks like you just have been unlucky. I have seen failing brand new Macs for colleagues. I personally never had a serious hardware problem with new computers.
Ask HN: MacBooks seems to be the only viable option these days
301–310 of 449 posts
Re: Ask HN: MacBooks seems to be the only viable option these days
#302Earlier quoted context omitted.
Windows has a MUCH superior cli these days because of WSL.
No it has a decent CLI half baked in with a number of weird ass exceptions that punch you in the face regularly. Better to scrap it and run a proper Debian box inside a hyper-v VM I found. Or do what I did and drop kick the steaming Dell turd out of a window and buy a mac.
> it has a decent CLI half baked in with a number of weird ass exceptions that punch you in the face regularly.
Tell me you haven't used WSL without telling me you haven't used WSL.
Re: Ask HN: MacBooks seems to be the only viable option these days
#303I may be an outlier, but for me, the problem with non-mac machines is that they seem just careless. Steve jobs famously said "The only problem with Microsoft is they just have no taste.", and this seems true to me for almost all hardware manufacturers, and to a larger degree still for software. Why does nobody care about creaking plastic? About sticky-feeling texture? About uneven weight distribution? About the sound…
I can't stand Mac OS infantile looks and intentionally slow UI just so it would look smooth.
Where do you find laptops with creaking plastic or weird textures like that? I get that there are more options to choose from in non-mac world but that doesn't mean you have to choose bad options. I go with Lenovo and never had any problems you are talking about. Macs, on the other hand, they have buggy UI and are extremely annoying if you want to use them in any other way than the "Mac way". Over the years they also had their share of hardware faults.
Feels good to vent. :)
Re: Ask HN: MacBooks seems to be the only viable option these days
#304Earlier quoted context omitted.
As an equally useless anecdote, I've probably owned ~10 mac laptops in my life and I've never had an issue. I literally have never used a laptop sleeve or anything I just throw it in a bag and go. Literally one of the most indestructible things I've ever owned.
How come you have owned 10, do you replace them regularly when they aren’t broken?
Not the person you responded to, but it's not actually that odd - I've owned ~6 just due to career changes and company machines. There's totally valid reasons in our industry to change gear like that.
Re: Ask HN: MacBooks seems to be the only viable option these days
#305I think it is the factors in the world today that has drastically reduced quality of all system, including macs, I'll grand to a far less degree, but I use to be able to buy apple hardware and I just didn't worry about returns or manufacturing faults.
But in the last 3 years, we've seen endless failings, across all brands, Dells and their shit batteries and docks, Lenovo and their cheap build quality, faulty keyboards, screens with ghosting and dead pixels, cases cracking, Apples big issues we've seen is motherboards, and power circuitry.
It is just so frustrating to have to go through the read tape, and headaches only to be told that a new unit won't be available for a weeks.
I wish, there was a reliable vendor, but like so much else it just seems that quality is the lowest concern.
I miss the pre-2016 macs
Re: Ask HN: MacBooks seems to be the only viable option these days
#306You are unlucky - Macbooks are fine options, but the only viable laptop based on anecdotal experience? The M1s even have serious issues and limitations with external displays that are well-documented.
Re: Ask HN: MacBooks seems to be the only viable option these days
#307Why not buy a System76 machine?
Re: Ask HN: MacBooks seems to be the only viable option these days
#308Earlier quoted context omitted.
> In fact, it impressed Jobs so much he literally just offered them an OSX license (which they didn't bite on). I just googled this and it's based on an unsubstantiated boast by Sony's president in 2014, I'd be skeptical: https://www.appleworld.today/2021/01/06/from-the-vault-did-s... Although this article seems to think it holds water: https://9to5mac.com/2014/02/05/sony-turned-down-offer-from-s...
I have no idea if the story is true but FWIW in the 80s and 90s Steve Jobs used to speak admiringly about Sony quite a bit. Not sure if that survived his return to Apple.
I remember the Apple Store using Bravia screens to demo Apple TV when they first made a section for it
Re: Ask HN: MacBooks seems to be the only viable option these days
#309Earlier quoted context omitted.
Jewellery is a great analogy imo. Apple is a jewellery company imo. They sell expensive, shiny, conspicuous consumption items without practical use. I was shocked when I found out that macs are popular among people who actually work with computers and even make software. It will never cease to shock me. The only explanation I can think of is that this is a USA social class thing. In the USA the upper classes have App…
MBPs are amazing machines for people who work in technology. The advantages: 1. Unix-based OS 2. Outstanding battery life 3. Sturdy and long-lasting; a well-maintained Macbook will outlive any Windows laptop of equal price 4. No pre-loaded crapware 5. Best trackpad in existence 6. Secure, with patches and updates for years This more than outweighs all the other minuses, such as the overly-obsessive focus on thinness,…
Lmao I have had 2 MBPs die on me and the cost to fix them is like $800 and I can’t do it myself.
Fuck them.
Re: Ask HN: MacBooks seems to be the only viable option these days
#310Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Just replace the motherboard" and lose all of your data on it. Yes, backups are important, but there's a loss of time when you have to restore from backup or provision a new machine/motherboard with your environment. Not to mention that "just replace the motherboard" can often mean costing half, if not more, the original price of the machine. What happens if my SSD wears out? I just have to replace the entire logic…
I’m not going to argue against repairability, but a replaceable failed SSD has exactly the same problem RE data loss.
Right, but the chances of a failed soldered SSD is the chance of any important component on the motherboard or the SSD, not just the SSD. Which doesn't mean you can forgo backups, but it does mean the chances of you needing them may be slimmer (and the cost of the repair smaller).
Then again "ship your entire Mac back to repair the webcam" was always a meme, so maybe Apple gonna Apple.