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The best laptop ever made

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171–180 of 238 posts

Re: The best laptop ever made

#171
A fixed but fast declining battery is what I mostly remember from the hardware side, and how fucking hot it got under normal load. The dated gui and always broking developer workflows from the software side.

It wasn't a bad Laptop but I would place pretty much any Thinkpad Tsomething above it in usefullness every day.

Edit:// forgot the horribly glossy screen. I really like sun, not like hiding from it to see my work.

Re: The best laptop ever made

#172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But you have backups right? Betting on data recovery is a really poor strategy, you might drop your laptop under a truck.

Yeah sure. But sometimes you are traveling, without access to your backup. Or something did not yet make it to the backup. Or whatever, 100 other situations. Making SSD soldered on as opposed to putting a $3 connector just adds to fragility. On $3k laptop. No thanks.

And the only reason that decision was made was to stop you from DIY upgrading the SSD and getting a few more years out of your $3k laptop

Re: The best laptop ever made

#173
post #54

It's odd that this was posted as I was thinking along these lines the other day. I have a 2012 Retina 15". The first generation. I spec'd it out at the time hoping for it to last me at least a few years. From 2015 I've been eyeing off every new release of Macbook Pro thinking "yeah this time I'll upgrade" but then I realise there is actually nothing wrong with my current one. Like, nothing at all. I realise the batte…

After 1000 cycles or after 4 years, just have the battery replaced by Apple for $199 + taxes, then you will have a good macbook pro, as apple will replace the keyboard and trackpad, along with the battery for $199.

Eventually they'll stop replacing that model of battery though

Re: The best laptop ever made

#174
post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the USB-A port thing, what reason does anyone have for plugging their phone into their computer anymore, though? Everything about iOS and macOS now supports wireless sync and file transfer. I can't think of a single thing that I'd even need that for...

>On the USB-A port thing, what reason does anyone have for plugging their phone into their computer anymore, though? I'm a mobile dev. Also to charge it.

You can charge any modern smartphone (except iPhone) with the USB-C cable coming from your laptop charger

Re: The best laptop ever made

#175
post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I feel like the odd one out. You're not. I have the late 2016 model. It replaced my ~2013-2014 model and I consider it an improvement. The Touch Bar / touch-id is a (mostly irrelevant) improvement over a row of keys that I never used. I think my computer would be worse if it dedicated space to a SD card slot reader. I've never used it. I wouldn't mind a USB-A port. But I have only wanted to plug something in twice…

I agree, but the keyboard is what gets me the most. I can get used to the feel, but it is simply too unreliable for a $2k computer. A spec of dust can bring it down for crying out loud.

Yes. It's ridiculous.

Re: The best laptop ever made

#176
I totally agree! Though I bought my 13" non-retina MacBook Pro (mid-2012) on the day it was launched in 2012 (5 years ago!) and upgraded it with faster RAM and replaced the 750 HDD with 500GB SSD, and this machine is a beast in performance!

I have used and compared it to the other latest Macs, and though I can notice the performance increase, I find it a little minimal compared to the 5-year old machine I have! The Non-Macs are not even close, not even on the list, and no, I am not saying this just because of the MacOS, I find the overall experience to be shitty. I cannot imagine using HP/Dell laptops, with that OS!

Re: The best laptop ever made

#177
post #111

I feel like the odd one out. I buy a new MBP every 12-18 months (have owned all Intel generations), use my MBP for hours every day, and think the latest is by far the best. Being able to charge on either side is a big deal for me as I move around a lot, plus being able to use 30W USB-C power packs and third party chargers (e.g. Anker) without fear of fire.. a massive boon for me, especially as my phone and Nintendo S…

> I feel like the odd one out. You're not. I have the late 2016 model. It replaced my ~2013-2014 model and I consider it an improvement. The Touch Bar / touch-id is a (mostly irrelevant) improvement over a row of keys that I never used. I think my computer would be worse if it dedicated space to a SD card slot reader. I've never used it. I wouldn't mind a USB-A port. But I have only wanted to plug something in twice…

I totally agree, though a MacBook Pro (note the Pro) with all these ports is a legitimate option. It's a similar situation as with the old Mac Pro and the new Mac Pro. Luckily they realized the problem. Honestly, Apple has the funds to offer both options: An ultra lightweight laptop series called 'MacBook' and a 'MacBook Pro' series with all these ports like USB-A, USB-C, SD-Card and HDMI that the pros need.

Re: The best laptop ever made

#178
post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you find constraining with 16:9? It's got more wasted space than 4:3 when you're working with a single window I guess, but who seriously works with just one open window? Maybe I'm having trouble envisioning a modern 4:3 screen, since the only ones I have for reference are a couple old 19" ones I've got lying around but I can't imagine I would comfortably be able to have 3 vertically split files open on a scre…

The main advantage (at least for me) is the physical height of the display. If I sit in front of a laptop I don't want to look _down_, I want to look forward as much as possible. The taller the screen, the more comfortable I can sit. And the T61 with a 4:3 ratio has a higher display than all modern laptops while keeping the size down. I could get a 17" gaming laptop for a similar height but those machines are massive…

As a longtime and current Thinkpad user, the best 4:3 solution on the market today is Apple’s iPad Pro 12” Retina TrueTone + Logitech Create keyboard + Pencil.

There is no technical or supply chain barrier to 4:3 displays, panels are available in quantity on alibaba.

Re: The best laptop ever made

#179

I feel like the odd one out. I buy a new MBP every 12-18 months (have owned all Intel generations), use my MBP for hours every day, and think the latest is by far the best. Being able to charge on either side is a big deal for me as I move around a lot, plus being able to use 30W USB-C power packs and third party chargers (e.g. Anker) without fear of fire.. a massive boon for me, especially as my phone and Nintendo S…

To me, the only downside is trackpad - it's too large and palm rejection ain't working perfectly. Keyboard is better, screen is better, ports and touchbar - neutral.

I wouldn't say it's the only downside, but it's my #1 complaint about the new MBP as well - the trackpad is bigger, which is not useful at all, and I constantly have problems with it.

Especially when trying to use things like 3-finger drag, or 2-finger scroll, it feels like half the time it's not working properly. It completely removes the spontaneity / "no thinking about it" quality of what was once the literally best part of Apple's laptops - the fact that the trackpad is an amazing input device for laptops.

Re: The best laptop ever made

#180

As someone who just inherited one of these at work and who had never played with a MacBook before, my first thought when seeing the headline was “If it’s not a MacBook Pro 2015, I don’t know what it is”. This thing is pure functional art. The first time my screen just magically unlocked itself because I happened to be wearing a particular watch was the moment nerd-like turned into nerd-love.

The only thing I can think of regarding this story is how it's now an infosec hazard for you to take off your watch while showering.
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