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MacBook Pro? No

shahidkamal.com

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Re: MacBook Pro? No

#161

Post by codecamper »

Apple hates developers.

Yes, I agree. This keyboard is terrible. J key keeps getting stuck. Pressing a non-existent ESC key is such a distracting feeling. Lucky I mostly use my Mac on a Roost with an external (MS) keyboard.

The hoops you used to have to jump through to run an app on device & their weak / crashing / prone to getting stuck in bad states of early XCodes was just horrendous.

I don't know about you.. but I'm getting tired of the fake Unix under the hood. Used to be happy we had unix there... but this version puts files in various other places. And when something breaks... who knows what it is. I spent all day yesterday trying to get Safari working. I don't care about Safari, but it was XCode not letting me test an app on device. (says my device is untrusted even if I trust it). I noticed Safari also was not loading, so I figured it must be related. Nope. I'm not sure if Linux has the same problems?

I'm starting to think the actual best way to run MacOS when you need it for iOS dev is via Linux in a VM. Would this be possible & easy? Are there good VMs created that'll allow for this??

I'm jealous of my crypto coin cousins that can work on pure code & not worry about freaking device signing IDs and UI that must work on 37 different devices.

Another biggie: the App Store's complete lack of regulation over fake reviews. fakespot.com does a good job at picking up on fake reviews. Apple simply cannot manage this. Seems like it would be a good way to get started in the AI era... Apple if you are reading this, buy Fakespot & their talent! I had the experience of writing an app that worked better & looked better than a competitor. He took all the downloads because strangely he had several 5 star reviews every day. I guarantee they were fake. Fakespot.com agrees & yet.... it is 2018 & it goes on to this day.

And one more thing... Auto Layout. Are you freaking kidding me!! Massively overcomplicated.

One more... App Store Review process!

Re: MacBook Pro? No

#162

Post by bjpbakker »

jen729w wrote: post #35
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.

God yes. I—personally, just an opinion obviously— detest Windows. I viscerally hate it.

> God yes. I—personally, just an opinion obviously—detest Windows

There's a lot more choice than just macOS and Windows.. :)

Re: MacBook Pro? No

#163

Post by dovdovdov »

so33 wrote: post #51
dovdovdov wrote: post #19

Apple clearly aimed the new macbook pros at creative professionals (and wannabe end-consumers), hence the touchbar and the enormous trackpad. They got rid of the glowing logo to make the screen thinner. Anyways, Apple could afford to offer the dopest machine for software developers, without all the shenanigans, but with all the usability and performance.

From what I recall, the creative professional market has always been their intended "Pro" market. It's unfortunate that they are unwilling to offer a MacBook Pro Developer Edition, but it's not surprising given Apple's history.

Hah, this is actually really true.

My Xcode using half is constantly angry with Apple, but my Logic Pro using half is still in love. :)

Re: MacBook Pro? No

#164

Post by microtonal »

pentae wrote: post #55
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…

See how much you love that keyboard a year from now once it's built up enough dust under there.

My wife uses my previous MacBook 12" 2015. It's now over two years old and I used it day in and day out. The keyboard still works fine.

(The MacBook 12" also uses the butterfly mechanism, though the 2015 version uses the first iteration.)

Re: MacBook Pro? No

#165

Post by manmal »

microtonal wrote: post #156
manmal wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

We will reportedly have an Apple store in Vienna, I‘m looking forward to it :)

Re: MacBook Pro? No

#166

Post by microtonal »

ido wrote: post #114
jacobolus wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

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.

I cycle to work every day. I found switching from a MacBook 12" (2015) to a MacBook Pro (2016) a huge downgrade in this respect (the 12" is 0.45 kg lighter).

If Apple releases a MacBook 12" with at least two USB-C ports and good 4k@60Hz support, I will probably switch back to the MacBook 12" on the next upgrade.

Re: MacBook Pro? No

#167

Post by tannhaeuser »

bartread wrote: post #160
tannhaeuser wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 ar…

A friend of mine holds on to an even older MBP. Due to Apple's generous replacement policy, he's recently got all parts save for the chassis replaced for free or for relatively little money, so sits in front of a brand-new 2012 MBP.

But surely it would be appreciated if Apple could get over their design fixation. For me, there's nothing "Pro" with the MBP. "Pro" doesn't mean "bad-ass", but having (display, keyboard) options for me, a characteristic the MBP lost years ago when the current MBP line was introduced, with the design/aesthetics of the unibody chassis only working with a glare screen. The Touch Bar thingy, and it's mandatory-ness on higher end MBPs is as non-Pro as it gets. It can't be in Apple's interest that real pro users long for the days of old MacBooks/PowerBooks/Snow Leopard, can it?

The 16gb limitation is something the MBPs suffer from as well, and is dictated by Intel chipsets, isn't it?

Re: MacBook Pro? No

#168

Post by alt_f4 »

I completely agree. The post-2015 Macbook Pros are a disaster.

- The touchbar is a useless gimmick that is outright harmful to developers like me that use the function keys a lot. I hate that there isn't a 15" Macbook without a touchbar.

- The keyboard typing experience is poor and the key mechanism is extremely fragile, making it super expensive to own and repair

- Missing useful ports. I like USB-C, but I also like to be able to stick in a SD card or a USB flash drive without having to buy a dongle. Which, for a Pro machine that costs as much as this one, I definitely should be able to do.

- Only 16GB RAM. Ok, I get it, this is Intel's fault due to LPDDR. But is it Intel's fault that you keep making this PRO machine thinner and the battery smaller?

- I'd love to see an OLED display on the Macbook, but I understand that may not be feasible in the mid-term. So that one is not actually a big issue.

For the rest, that's entirely Apple's poor design. Until that gets fixed, I'm sticking with my 2012 MBP. And when that breaks, I'll buy a ThinkPad.

Re: MacBook Pro? No

#169

Post by frik »

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…

And the Intel low power "U" CPU only supports only two Cores (Skylake CPUs from 2016). An Intel i7 U CPU has only two cores and supports only 16GB DDR3. Plus the whole meltdown end game. What a fail. Screw Intel.

I cannot wait to buy a AMD Ryzen notebook with Hackintosh and Linux dual-boot.

And Apple get rid of this Jonathan Ive, I want my skeuomorphic iOS 6 UI back, all these nicely textured apps gone: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeuomorph#Virtual_skeuomorphs Steve Jobs is rotating is his grave, he loved skeuomorphic UI.

Re: MacBook Pro? No

#170

Post by latch »

bildung wrote: post #155
latch wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

"Again"? I'm missing a reference to something?

Genuine question, why does the distinction matter?

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