Apple’s new MacBook Pro kills off most of the ports you probably need • Hacker News Board

Re: Apple’s new MacBook Pro kills off most of the ports you probably need

#61

Post by azinman2 » Fri, Oct 28, 2016, 1:08 AM UTC

eridius wrote: post #46

kabdib wrote: post #24

It's pretty bad. We use YubiKeys a lot, and there are no ports for them. So sad. Also: Magsafe is great (it's saved my bacon a few times). Gone. ESC key, gone. Don't know about the keyboard yet, but everything I've read doesn't point to it being decent. Probably not buying this generation of MacBooks. Might just bite the bullet and finally go to Linux on some decent hardware. So, what's a decent laptop for running Li…

I really don't understand why everybody seems to think the Escape key is so important. I almost never hit mine, and since the Touch Bar has a virtual escape key, I don't really see the problem. The best I can figure is everybody complaining is a Vim user, but if you're a Vim user I don't know why you haven't already replaced the cumbersome Escape key with something easier, like binding `jk`, or binding Caps Lock to C…

Not sure why you're downvoted. I am a vim user and the first thing I do is bind escape to caps lick on any new keyboard. Reaching for the escape key would be terrible for my RSI.

Re: Apple’s new MacBook Pro kills off most of the ports you probably need

#62

Post by kabdib » Fri, Oct 28, 2016, 1:08 AM UTC

eridius wrote: post #46

kabdib wrote: post #24

It's pretty bad. We use YubiKeys a lot, and there are no ports for them. So sad. Also: Magsafe is great (it's saved my bacon a few times). Gone. ESC key, gone. Don't know about the keyboard yet, but everything I've read doesn't point to it being decent. Probably not buying this generation of MacBooks. Might just bite the bullet and finally go to Linux on some decent hardware. So, what's a decent laptop for running Li…

I really don't understand why everybody seems to think the Escape key is so important. I almost never hit mine, and since the Touch Bar has a virtual escape key, I don't really see the problem. The best I can figure is everybody complaining is a Vim user, but if you're a Vim user I don't know why you haven't already replaced the cumbersome Escape key with something easier, like binding `jk`, or binding Caps Lock to C…

Muscle memory. Nearly 40 years of Emacs muscle memory.

Sure, you can rebind it. But this starts to interrupt flow when you switch keyboards.

ESC wasn't broken. They broke it. I'm done.

Re: Apple’s new MacBook Pro kills off most of the ports you probably need

#63

Post by criddell » Fri, Oct 28, 2016, 1:08 AM UTC

hhsnopek wrote: post #17

eibrahim wrote: post #3

So disappointed. I had my wallet ready to order but this is no different than my current MBP. A half baked touch screen!!! Not worth the $3500 I was going to drop on a new MBP. I can't imagine going back to windows because I enjoy the terminal and vim but seriously considering it specially that now I can run bash on windows

I find it annoying that people switch OS's and compare them based on feel and "features"... If anything at least say OSX is architecturally better than windows... or get a Chromebook and Croton. This way you can use the terminal and vim, and still get amazing features thru ChromeOS

> I find it annoying that people switch OS's and compare them based on feel and "features"

I think it's interesting. It implies that the important software packages are now available everywhere. If there were key applications you needed, you probably wouldn't switch.

Re: Apple’s new MacBook Pro kills off most of the ports you probably need

#64

Post by eridius » Fri, Oct 28, 2016, 1:09 AM UTC

Yodoshi wrote: post #16

Even worse is that there is no real option if you're developing for IOS. Imac is a no go due to not wanting desktop and other macbooks don't seem the right type for heavy multitasking, compiling etc. It's MBP or bust.

I have a hard time believing that you're an iOS developer, given that you don't know it's called "iOS" and not "IOS", or that you think the desktop is called an "Imac".

In any case, as an iOS developer, the new MBP actually looks really great. The only issue is the need to buy a $25 cable to plug my iOS device into the computer, but if I can afford to buy a brand new computer to work with my pretty new iPhone 7, I can afford to buy a cable (or more accurately, my employer can afford to buy one). Besides that, the only other issue I can see someone raising is the 16GB RAM limit, but I don't see how that's a problem for iOS development. My current MBP has 16GB of RAM and that's never been a limiting factor.

Edit: I actually don't need to buy a new cable, since my external display has USB, as does my keyboard, but I do need a Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 3 adaptor for my display (since I probably can't convince my employer that I need a 5k display).

Re: Apple’s new MacBook Pro kills off most of the ports you probably need

#65

Post by mikeash » Fri, Oct 28, 2016, 1:09 AM UTC

schwede wrote: post #54

eridius wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really don't understand why everybody seems to think the Escape key is so important. I almost never hit mine, and since the Touch Bar has a virtual escape key, I don't really see the problem. The best I can figure is everybody complaining is a Vim user, but if you're a Vim user I don't know why you haven't already replaced the cumbersome Escape key with something easier, like binding `jk`, or binding Caps Lock to C…

What about leaving fullscreen mode while playing video?

The key is still there, on the touch bar. The only problem is that it may be difficult to hit it without looking. That's not a big deal for exiting fullscreen mode.

Re: Apple’s new MacBook Pro kills off most of the ports you probably need

#66

Post by anuragsoni » Fri, Oct 28, 2016, 1:09 AM UTC

chongli wrote: post #49

anuragsoni wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll add my reply from another thread( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12807826 ): I have been using the Dell Developer Edition (Precision 5510) since April. There were a few hiccups because of some driver issues related to their USB-C dock (Correct me if i'm wrong, but I guess this problem was not limited to just their linux laptop?) Ever since upgrading to Ubuntu 16.04 things have been pretty smooth. I believe…

Have they fixed the coil whine[0] issues with them? From what I've seen, a lot of Dell laptops have this issue. I have really sensitive hearing and high-pitched sounds like this drive me crazy. [0] https://www.reddit.com/r/Dell/comments/3zau8b/coil_whine_pro...

I read a lot of posts about the coil while, but I haven't noticed any coil whine in mine.

Re: Apple’s new MacBook Pro kills off most of the ports you probably need

#67

Post by envy2 » Fri, Oct 28, 2016, 1:09 AM UTC

schwede wrote: post #54

eridius wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really don't understand why everybody seems to think the Escape key is so important. I almost never hit mine, and since the Touch Bar has a virtual escape key, I don't really see the problem. The best I can figure is everybody complaining is a Vim user, but if you're a Vim user I don't know why you haven't already replaced the cumbersome Escape key with something easier, like binding `jk`, or binding Caps Lock to C…

What about leaving fullscreen mode while playing video?

Pretty sure Cmd+F or similar usually works for that.

Re: Apple’s new MacBook Pro kills off most of the ports you probably need

#68

Post by matthewaveryusa » Fri, Oct 28, 2016, 1:09 AM UTC

kabdib wrote: post #24

It's pretty bad. We use YubiKeys a lot, and there are no ports for them. So sad. Also: Magsafe is great (it's saved my bacon a few times). Gone. ESC key, gone. Don't know about the keyboard yet, but everything I've read doesn't point to it being decent. Probably not buying this generation of MacBooks. Might just bite the bullet and finally go to Linux on some decent hardware. So, what's a decent laptop for running Li…

Going linux on decent hardware isn't biting the bullet one bit. Thinkpads are seriously nice and the days where you couldn't get your audio and wifi working on linux have been over for ~5 years. Give it a shot, and you just might like it.

Re: Apple’s new MacBook Pro kills off most of the ports you probably need

#69

Post by huac » Fri, Oct 28, 2016, 1:09 AM UTC

sandipc wrote: post #29

unclenoriega wrote: post #12

MagSafe was one of my favorite things about Apple laptops. I'm sorry to see that go.

Here's an alternative... surprised Apple didn't introduce something similar today https://griffintechnology.com/us/breaksafe-magnetic-usb-c-po...

Has anybody used these?

Re: Apple’s new MacBook Pro kills off most of the ports you probably need

#70

Post by dahdum » Fri, Oct 28, 2016, 1:09 AM UTC

usaphp wrote: post #27

Yodoshi wrote: post #16

Even worse is that there is no real option if you're developing for IOS. Imac is a no go due to not wanting desktop and other macbooks don't seem the right type for heavy multitasking, compiling etc. It's MBP or bust.

Can you tell me you usage scenario if you are a developer for iOS, what exactly is prohibiting you from using this new generation of MacBook pros? I have not used my USB or hdmi ports on my 15" retina for years, the only port I am using is the thunderbolt to connect 4K display, but the only time I am using it is when I am at my desk, attaching a dongle to the desk monitor is quite easy and solves the only possibly is…

For me, 16GB ram and missing ESC key are big limitations. I think a lot of frustration here is if your time is money (aka a professional) and you have a big budget, you are still stuck with general consumer level hardware. There aren't any other options from Apple right now, and likely not for at least another year.

I love my Apple watch, iPad, and iPhone...but those are all "best of breed" imho. I was waiting to purchase the Macbook Pro, but it's pretty mediocre by my measure.