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MacBook Pro? No

shahidkamal.com

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Re: MacBook Pro? No

#111

Post by brandonmenc »

eecc wrote: post #83

I’m also stuck on an old MacBook Pro model. Can’t justify the price but after some research — namely trying to find an equivalent Lenovo or Hp or whatever — I reached the conclusion that it’s mostly Intel’s fault. Let me explain: Intel chipsets don’t support enough lanes to supply USB-c, GPU, SSD and anything else with no less than 4 of them. The extra “legacy port breakout” ruins the tally and that’s why Apple dropp…

> Apple’s only homemade blunders are the asinine keyboard and the silly half assed attempt at touch-but-not-screen.

The keyboard rules. Can confirm. Also some content creation apps I use (ex: Ableton) are starting to get useful treatment in the Touch Bar.

> Oh and the stupid obsession with thin

The thinner the laptop, the more stuff I can cram in my carry on. ymmv

Re: MacBook Pro? No

#113

Post by cfontes »

I join that pack, the touchpad is specially terrible for debugging and IDEs, loots of my shortcuts are in that part of the keyboard it's infuriating to use it.

Have been given that choice a month ago, get one a new MBP or a dell precision 5520 + 32Gb ram with Linux.

Linux was the choosen one, couldn't been happier! In fact all our backend developers are switching... That must been something right, it was all macs since since the begging for them.

Re: MacBook Pro? No

#114

Post by ido »

jacobolus wrote: post #46
lwansbrough wrote: post #10

Yeah I'm pretty sure this Macbook Pro I have from 2014 will be my first and last. I've loved it, I'd buy it again, if it was the same design with new specs. I'm not going to downgrade for the same or an increased price tag. And for what? Shaving 0.3lbs off? Worse battery life? Someone get those noodley Apple designers some weights to lift. And some brains.

Carrying around the two laptops, the newer one’s slightly smaller bezel, significantly thinner case, and weight reduction (overall, it fills 22% less volume and weighs 13% less) make a pretty big difference in portability, without the sacrifices that go into the Air laptops. If you leave it on a desk all day, then it doesn’t really matter, but if you’re constantly taking it on the go you’ll likely appreciate the chan…

Are you carrying two laptops at the same time? I found I've not had too much trouble carrying my laptop in a backpack since 2008 (when I replaced a beastly ~5kg 15" Acer with a thin 2.5kg 14" Dell Latitude).

That really made a huge difference (the Acer used to give me backaches, as it also had a much larger power brick) but all the laptops since didn't really bother me in terms of weight.

Re: MacBook Pro? No

#115

Post by unwind »

manmal wrote: post #75
atmosx wrote: post #6

I have the exact opposite experience so far. By all means, this is a professional laptop in my opinion. To expand a bit: - I love the keyboard, best I've seen on a laptop (I'm a 80+ WPM typist) - I don't have issues with the touchbar, getting used to quickly manage apps like spotify. - My default editor is vim and don't have issues with escape - Trackpad is the best I've seen on a laptop - The machine is fast - The s…

How long have you been using it? The keyboard keys getting stuck seems to be a fairly common problem. I think it stems from dirt getting stuck beneath the edges. I had the „k“ key not respond at all for a few days, then I furiously scratched along the edges with a finger nail, and after that it always registered two key strokes (better than none at all). After some weeks, functionality returned to normal. The escape…

So, uh, you just kkept using the computer even though a common kkey was brokken, for two weekks?!!

And then it healed itself so that's no biggie?

Makes me wonder about your workflow. I write code and would have been in a (silent, I'm from Sweden) rage in a day or less.

Holding out for so long with a major fault seems very forgiving.

Re: MacBook Pro? No

#116

Post by tannhaeuser »

noncoml wrote: post #12

My only complaint is the lack of Escape key, but maybe Apple didn’t have touch typists in mind.

Yeah this is what killed the MacBook/Pro as a touch typist and vi user for me. Plus, the extreme low travel of the keys. Went with an XPS 13 instead, which I can fully recommend. The keyboard, in particular, works really well for me.

Re: MacBook Pro? No

#117

Post by mthoms »

maaaats wrote: post #45
atmosx wrote: post #6

I have the exact opposite experience so far. By all means, this is a professional laptop in my opinion. To expand a bit: - I love the keyboard, best I've seen on a laptop (I'm a 80+ WPM typist) - I don't have issues with the touchbar, getting used to quickly manage apps like spotify. - My default editor is vim and don't have issues with escape - Trackpad is the best I've seen on a laptop - The machine is fast - The s…

So it's the best trackpad based on sample size of 1, or what? Lucky you have gotten a keyboard that works. My WPM suffers from having to go back and correct stuff all the time. Of course, now it's almost ingrained that in order to make a space, I have to press the spacebar, and then backspace to remove the extra space.

I had this same keyboard problem and Apple replaced it FYI. You might want to bring it in.

Re: MacBook Pro? No

#118

Post by SirZimzim »

CephalopodMD wrote: post #70
chrisper wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>but the main reason to buy is the OS Is that still true? I feel like that argument is vanishing more and more these days.

nah. I switch between windows, linux, and osx for work and personal use all the time. OSX is just fine. Windows is just fine. Linux is just fine. Everything is at about the same level of ability, the same level of suck, and the same level of "just works." Every modern OS is good looking, occasionally frustrating, and generally effective once you take a few days to figure them out.

I do the same, I have to install a few apps on Mac to help out with window management but otherwise I can't say any OS is a true game changer anymore.

Re: MacBook Pro? No

#119

Post by ak39 »

emptybits wrote: post #105

If Apple wants to cling to the now-inappropriate "Pro" brand for these MacBooks then may I suggest they add a new line: maybe, MacBook Ultimate or MacBook Power or MacBook Unlimited or MacBook Retrogrouch or something . Please make those units thicker for larger battery and replaceable RAM/SSD, with headphone and SD ports and MagSafe. Comments here suggest many of us would pay a premium for something like this.

Those product delineations exist currently.

Macbook Air has always been touted as " high end specs, flexibility all with great portability". The Pro was sold as the mobile beast. There's some range confusion it seems.

Re: MacBook Pro? No

#120

Post by mogoman »

shyang wrote: post #33
atmosx wrote: post #6

I have the exact opposite experience so far. By all means, this is a professional laptop in my opinion. To expand a bit: - I love the keyboard, best I've seen on a laptop (I'm a 80+ WPM typist) - I don't have issues with the touchbar, getting used to quickly manage apps like spotify. - My default editor is vim and don't have issues with escape - Trackpad is the best I've seen on a laptop - The machine is fast - The s…

>My default editor is vim and don't have issues with escape if you are using vim, it is more efficient to use ctrl+[ instead of the escape key. This way your hands are staying where they mostly are.

> if you are using vim, it is more efficient to use ctrl+[ instead of the escape key

I'm always amazed by how, after using vi(m) for so many years one can always learn something new. I opened a session and tried it out and then found my hand moving to the escape key automatically...

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