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Ask HN: MacBooks seems to be the only viable option these days

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Re: Ask HN: MacBooks seems to be the only viable option these days

#401

Post by Tabular-Iceberg »

postingposts wrote: post #309
triceratops wrote: post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Fuck them indeed, but I can’t wait for a competitor to come out with something that checks all six boxes without the drawbacks of Apple, I need a computer that can do those things now.

Re: Ask HN: MacBooks seems to be the only viable option these days

#402

Post by postingposts »

Tabular-Iceberg wrote: post #401
postingposts wrote: post #309

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Fuck them indeed, but I can’t wait for a competitor to come out with something that checks all six boxes without the drawbacks of Apple, I need a computer that can do those things now.

I’m giving up on laptops and sticking to desktops. The desktop I built myself has never given me any problems and it can be repaired, upgraded, and serviced on my own. I really think laptops are just trash and people are delusional about their usefulness. That’s my opinion, damn it!!!

Re: Ask HN: MacBooks seems to be the only viable option these days

#403

Post by llampx »

vetinari wrote: post #349
pdimitar wrote: post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a very good point, thank you. Conversely, nowadays that is less and true though. Currently, getting a latest Ryzen 5000 APU laptop can very easily last you 10 years or more -- until something physically breaks inside. The machines themselves are very energy-efficient and fast enough for everything except special work niches. So I suspect we're witnessing a culture shock: what used to be the best strategy no lo…

> Currently, getting a latest Ryzen 5000 APU laptop can very easily last you 10 years or more You never know. I have an AMD TR 1900X CPU (launched in August 2017) in a box, since Windows 11 doesn't run on it.

This sounds so wrong tbh, first that you would get a 1900X which was the smallest Threadripper, and that you would then use it in an application which doesn't use all of its PCIe lanes, which is what differentiated it from the 8-core Ryzens.

May I ask, why you need to run Windows 11?

Re: Ask HN: MacBooks seems to be the only viable option these days

#404

Post by fetus8 »

speed_spread wrote: post #54
fetus8 wrote: post #5

I recently was in the market for a laptop for personal use, and wanted to spend around $1200-1400 USD for a Windows based machine. All I wanted was a decently powerful CPU, higher resolution screen, and a thin and light body. I simply couldn't get past the fact that most laptops in that price range are gaming focused, and have non-user replaceable components. They also tend to have plastic bodies and most I saw were…

Something doesn't add up in your story. You ended buying a machine that was 350$ over your stated max budget. I am also not sure what you include in "user replaceable components" but Macbooks are, from experience, generally harder to service than PCs. Maybe you just wanted a Mac and were looking for reasons to indulge yourself?

Sometimes you go over budget.

I decided that if I was stuck with a machine that wasn't going to have user replaceable components, I'd rather have a Macbook that I know will last longer than most PC based laptops. Pretty simple logic.

Re: Ask HN: MacBooks seems to be the only viable option these days

#405

Post by nradov »

giraffe_lady wrote: post #400
nradov wrote: post #399

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because computers are disposable. In a few years it's going to be obsolete or broken so I'll have to buy a new one. I'm not wealthy so it's hard to justify spending extra on style for something that won't last.

This is also true of several of the categories they named. Cars, bikes, kitchen appliances, notebooks: none of those are heirlooms, most won't last more than a few years of regular use. But all of those domains value aesthetics a lot more than computer hardware. Another explanation is necessary.

I usually keep my cars, bikes, and kitchen appliances significantly longer than my laptops. Nothing lasts forever, but computers are a lot closer to the disposable end of the spectrum.

Re: Ask HN: MacBooks seems to be the only viable option these days

#406

Post by dezzadk »

You're right, nothing is made to last.

But Macbooks aren't any better.. You'll be paying for a new logic board exactly 1-2 years later out of warranty.

Lenovo has firmware issues which makes an extreme amount of laptops go black screen on resume suspend.

Dell XPS has had coilwhine for ages.

All laptops suck nowadays.

Re: Ask HN: MacBooks seems to be the only viable option these days

#407

Post by fellellor »

vetinari wrote: post #349
pdimitar wrote: post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a very good point, thank you. Conversely, nowadays that is less and true though. Currently, getting a latest Ryzen 5000 APU laptop can very easily last you 10 years or more -- until something physically breaks inside. The machines themselves are very energy-efficient and fast enough for everything except special work niches. So I suspect we're witnessing a culture shock: what used to be the best strategy no lo…

> Currently, getting a latest Ryzen 5000 APU laptop can very easily last you 10 years or more You never know. I have an AMD TR 1900X CPU (launched in August 2017) in a box, since Windows 11 doesn't run on it.

Now is your chance to “I run arch btw”.

Re: Ask HN: MacBooks seems to be the only viable option these days

#408

Post by [deleted] »

Braini wrote: post #352
dbevv wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I dislike using touchpads very much. I go to great lengths to control everything with the keyboard, and fall back to a traditional mouse when I have to (I tried trackballs but I couldn't adapt). Whenever I'm forced to use a touchpad because I'm on the go or I don't have room to bring a mouse with me, I groan. That said, the implementation of the touchpad in a Macbook vs a regular touchpad in even a high end laptop is…

This so much, the Mac touchpad is almost perfect, still no other manufacturer can compete, its really night and day. With all other systems I immediately switch to a mouse if possible. It was actually perfect in my 2015 MBP, now its a tad too bad and its hard to find good resting positions for the fingers and palms.

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: MacBooks seems to be the only viable option these days

#409

Post by Braini »

Braini wrote: post #352
dbevv wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I dislike using touchpads very much. I go to great lengths to control everything with the keyboard, and fall back to a traditional mouse when I have to (I tried trackballs but I couldn't adapt). Whenever I'm forced to use a touchpad because I'm on the go or I don't have room to bring a mouse with me, I groan. That said, the implementation of the touchpad in a Macbook vs a regular touchpad in even a high end laptop is…

This so much, the Mac touchpad is almost perfect, still no other manufacturer can compete, its really night and day. With all other systems I immediately switch to a mouse if possible. It was actually perfect in my 2015 MBP, now its a tad too bad and its hard to find good resting positions for the fingers and palms.

too bad -> too big, typo

Re: Ask HN: MacBooks seems to be the only viable option these days

#410

Post by jrm4 »

Tabular-Iceberg wrote: post #357
jrm4 wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean, it's not unreasonable for a painter to not really give s** what her brushes look like, as long as they work?

No, on the contrary. In my experience, the professional artists and craftsmen that I know are rather choosy about their tools. A bit of creakiness and flakiness is tolerable when you’re a home gamer and only have to deal with it for a couple of hours at a time during the weekend, but when it’s a full time job it gets old fast.

On the contrary of the contrary :)

That's why I said "look like." Sometimes good tools look good, and sometimes they don't.

For computers these days, especially true. It may have been true that the aesthetics of a Mac strongly correlated with quality, but that's far from certain now.

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