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MacBook Pro? No

shahidkamal.com

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Re: MacBook Pro? No

#151

Post by AstralStorm »

Meekro wrote: post #97
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…

The 2015 Macbook Pro included an SSD, 2x Thunderbolt 2, 2x USB3, HDMI, and an SD card slot. It had 9 hours of battery life. Are you saying Intel chipsets actually regressed since then? If not, then it seems like Apple is the one who has regressed here.

Apple choose the low voltage CPU, weaker GPU and super slim case at the expense of ports and computational power. Also 9 instead of say 6 hour battery life.

The only thing "Pro" in MacBook Pro is the price. At the same price points you can get Lenovo, Dell or HP workstation class laptops.

Re: MacBook Pro? No

#152

Post by AstralStorm »

brandonmenc wrote: post #111
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

This means you're probably not using the laptop as a workstation. Say, graphics, CAD, CAM, video or audio authoring.

To do these you might want extra ports for say audio interface, specialized controller, digitizer... And a video output to present the results perhaps.

Instead you get to carry that and an interface box.

More disk space and RAM are major assets too.

Re: MacBook Pro? No

#153

Post by microtonal »

GordonS wrote: post #43
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…

Interesting. The 2017 Macbook Pro is the first Macbook I've ever had, and I find the keyboard terrible . I can't put my finger on it exactly, but I just struggle to type on it, often finding letters missing from the words I've typed, and the keys never being where my fingers expect them to be. The key travel just feels wrong too. By comparison, I also have a very cheap Asus netbook (13", I think) - it was about £100…

It is interesting how polarizing the butterfly mechanism is. I absolutely love it. I can type more accurately and faster on it (they keys feel more stable) and I dread when I have to use an external keyboard with the old scissor switches or a pre-butteryfly MacBook. My colleagues who have a new MacBook Pro also prefer the new keyboard. The only large downside seems to be that it breaks more quickly.

Of course, in the end it is a matter of taste. It would be nice if Apple could find some compromise between the new and the old design. But Apple being Apple, they will stick to it ;).

Re: MacBook Pro? No

#155

Post by bildung »

latch wrote: post #108
donjoe wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is Apple any better regarding security issues? No doubt they try regarding privacy - but security? Just to leave a reminder: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208315

A security vulnerability seems like a different ballgame than intentionally compromising security (aka, installing backdoors). Just one of the Lenovo incidents: https://thehackernews.com/2015/02/lenovo-superfish-malware.h...

Again, your link is about consumer devices, not the thinkpad line.

Re: MacBook Pro? No

#156

Post by microtonal »

manmal wrote: post #133
unwind wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

You bet I was in rage. I told everyone about it, and ranted on Twitter. I‘m a coder too, you know. But we have no Apple store in Austria, just certified partners, and they all were like „Uhm, we don’t dare try fix this.. we have to send it in. Or do you want a new keyboard? That would be €€€ and you have to leave your machine here with us for a couple days“. Since I have no portable backup machine, I decided to stick…

I am so happy that we live a 25 minute drive from an Apple store now. When I lived in the northern Netherlands, there was only an Apple dealer nearby. They were absolutely terrible. I once had a broken 'f' key, the laptop was still under warranty and they were blaming me that I broke the key by removing the key cap (which I didn't). They only repaired the laptop after a lot of arguing.

I had to use my warranty twice at an Apple Store and the experience was stellar. One time they repaired my phone within two hours. With a broken MacBook Pro, they just replaced it. No questions asked. I know that some people have bad experiences, but for me their support has been a lot better than that of Apple dealers and other vendors (looking at you Motorola/Lenovo).

Re: MacBook Pro? No

#157

Post by sumedh »

mosselman wrote: post #110

a. Why do people have a need to write blog posts about why they won't buy a macbook? What do we care? I won't buy most things I see offers for: certain soda drinks, instant coffee, etc, etc, etc, etc b. Why do these posts get so high on the HN main page? What is the value? Is it just nerdy conversation and, in this case, Apple shaming just like we do with celebrity gossip? Do we feel like giddy children telling stori…

> a Macbook is just a product you don't have to buy.

and you learn these things by reading blogs.

Re: MacBook Pro? No

#158

Post by microtonal »

macp wrote: post #76
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.

Some Linux distributions are very competitive nowadays, with many desktop environments to choose from. A key reason to own a Mac would be to build iOS apps and MacOS software.

A key reason to own a Mac would be to build iOS apps and MacOS software.

For me, the reason to own a Mac (besides hardware support and generally liking macOS) is the amount and quality of third-party software. There is a lot of software that I either need or want, and there are no good-enough competitors on Linux, e.g.: Microsoft Office (for work), 1Password, Affinity Designer, Pixelmator, Acorn, LaunchBar, Little Snitch, Tweetbot, Mic Snitch, DeckSet, Paprika (for recipes), Things, PDF Expert, Arq, Dash, Sonos, etc. In addition, a lot of these tools and macOS are very well integrated, e.g. I can directly search Dash or 1Password from Launchbar. I can make a phone call to a person directly from Launchbar, etc.

For some work there are better open source tools, e.g. Emacs as an editor, org-mode for notes/outlining, LaTeX for typesetting, Handbrake for video transcoding. But they all work fine on macOS.

Re: MacBook Pro? No

#159

Post by Miredly »

mosselman wrote: post #110

a. Why do people have a need to write blog posts about why they won't buy a macbook? What do we care? I won't buy most things I see offers for: certain soda drinks, instant coffee, etc, etc, etc, etc b. Why do these posts get so high on the HN main page? What is the value? Is it just nerdy conversation and, in this case, Apple shaming just like we do with celebrity gossip? Do we feel like giddy children telling stori…

This isn't a post about why the author won't buy one. The post is about why the author, a long time Apple die-hard, doesn't believe the current Macbook Pro is "Pro".

These posts get so high up on HN because they resonate with people on HN. I'm a new-media producer/developer, and my 2014 MBP is the best machine I've ever owned- but the state of the current MBP and the current Mac Pro have left me in an interesting situation: If this machine dies, there isn't anything in the Apple line up that I want. I refuse to pay $400 more for a touch bar that I don't want, and I refuse to get locked in to a configuration on a /desktop machine/, which rules out the current MBP and iMac Pro.

These blog posts are creative pros telling Apple to get their shit together, and they get upvoted on places like HN because a lot of other people feel the same way.

Re: MacBook Pro? No

#160

Post by bartread »

tannhaeuser wrote: post #144
a_c wrote: post #15

I'm on an early 2015 MBP. Probably my last MBP. What recommendations have we?

Dell XPS 13 or 15. Some will recommend ThinkPads, but in a side-by-side comparison two years ago, the XPS 13 won hands down against the Carbon X1 they had on display at the shop, for its much better display alone (and it's cheaper, too). ThinkPads keyboards are held in high esteem, but I found the XPS keyboard to work better for me. Didn't get a chance to play with the retro ThinkPads with old-school, non-chiclet key…

I have a similar problem to GP. Going to try to make my late 2015 MBP last another year, but not sure what to do next.

Problem with the Dell XPS is it still only supports 16GB of RAM, which is getting to be aggravating for me.

The reason I keep buying Macs though is OSX - I just like it. Linux would be a good fit in many ways, but you can't run Office 365 on it, which is unfortunately a deal breaker. (I know there are alternatives, but I don't really like them - the real killer for me is the loss of Excel.)

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