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Ask HN: Are there any reasonable alternatives to MacBook Pro for developer?

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Re: Ask HN: Are there any reasonable alternatives to MacBook Pro for developer?

#91

Post by storrgie »

owenwil wrote: post #78
storrgie wrote: post #68

I wrote a bit about this [0] in terms of exploring Dell and Lenovo as options with a focus on Linux. I also quite like using LTE with my development machine, I'm doing so with the T470s and Fi [1]. I feel like for Linux the primary advantage that Lenovo has is the historical RedHat/IBM partnership where many RedHat developers are issued/choose Thinkpad as their primary machines to hack on. This typically leads to the…

This is awesome, thanks! The biggest problem I had with even considering Linux on any of these machines is that the High DPI support is... non-existent, which just kills it for me :(

One of the things I feel is important is matching your external displays with the internal one, the 1440p in the T470s matches up with all of my displays at every desk I work at. This makes it pretty easy to move around and feel comfortable.

Re: Ask HN: Are there any reasonable alternatives to MacBook Pro for developer?

#93

Post by anotheryou »

A warning about Dell XPS (13") screens: if you take the matte display and like coding with dark color schemes it's horrible (but there might be a fix).

It does loose all contrast on dark images. Saving battery they brighten the displayed image and lower the back light. This lowers 100% white to maybe a 80% white and makes for horrible contrast.

For those affected:

- you can test if you have this issue here: http://tylerwatt12.com/dc/

- for a fix you can go through the comments here: https://github.com/advancingu/XPS13Linux/issues/2

But be warned, the leaked firmware someone posted does not always work right (but fixed it for me).

If I read the latest comment right there might be an official patch now (after years of this issue). (at least it doesn't say QHD in the file name) (this is what the last comment links to: http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/19/drivers/driversdet... )

Want another dell display goodie? Their "display manager" for external displays downloads updates via http, through your browser, from a domain other than dell.com, as an exe, signed by their contractor.

Re: Ask HN: Are there any reasonable alternatives to MacBook Pro for developer?

#94

Post by contingencies »

anotheryou wrote: post #93

A warning about Dell XPS (13") screens: if you take the matte display and like coding with dark color schemes it's horrible (but there might be a fix). It does loose all contrast on dark images. Saving battery they brighten the displayed image and lower the back light. This lowers 100% white to maybe a 80% white and makes for horrible contrast. For those affected: - you can test if you have this issue here: http://ty…

Dunno which era that one is, my XPS15 9560 never dims at all, it's always bright, maybe that's because I'm missing some sort of userland or kernel driver, but frankly I like it this way.

Re: Ask HN: Are there any reasonable alternatives to MacBook Pro for developer?

#95

Post by ratsimihah »

I use both an MBP 2015 and an old Lenovo x220 running Arch Linux with i3. Both are equally outstanding to do front-end and back-end.

But I can do native iOS on the MBP, play some games, and make music more easily than I could with the Linux Box.

To each our own, but I moved away from Windows over a decade ago and never looked back.

Re: Ask HN: Are there any reasonable alternatives to MacBook Pro for developer?

#96

Post by owenwil »

storrgie wrote: post #91
owenwil wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is awesome, thanks! The biggest problem I had with even considering Linux on any of these machines is that the High DPI support is... non-existent, which just kills it for me :(

One of the things I feel is important is matching your external displays with the internal one, the 1440p in the T470s matches up with all of my displays at every desk I work at. This makes it pretty easy to move around and feel comfortable.

So 1440p is fine, but once you end up in 4K territory it's nigh unusable. They've barely started on fractional scaling, so your choices are big or even bigger.

Re: Ask HN: Are there any reasonable alternatives to MacBook Pro for developer?

#97

Post by owenwil »

chongli wrote: post #61
Giako wrote: post #11

I suggest looking into the Dell XPS line (both 13 or 15 models, depending on your screen size tastes). I own a 2015 Dell XPS 13 and Linux support is amazing (long battery life, the laptop does not overheat and everything works out of the box on Ubuntu). The only weak spot is the webcam location in the lower part of the screen. Another good alternative could be the Thinkpad Carbon X line, but I don't have any direct e…

Did they fix the coil whine on the Dell machines?

Yes.

Re: Ask HN: Are there any reasonable alternatives to MacBook Pro for developer?

#99

Post by PerfectElement »

nottorp wrote: post #44

How about the touch pad? Is there any non Apple laptop where the touch pad works as well in Linux as the mbpro's in OS X? I'm spoiled and use my mbpro without a mouse ... because I can. I'd like to switch away from Apple when I need a new laptop because of the emoji keyboard. But I'd also like to keep using the laptop without a mouse. Is that possible these days?

The Surface Book 2 track pad is pretty decent and customizable.

Re: Ask HN: Are there any reasonable alternatives to MacBook Pro for developer?

#100

Post by blinkingled »

shazow wrote: post #89

I switched from a 2014 13" Retina MBP to a 2018 Thinkpad X1 Carbon (6th gen) and I'm extremely happy with it. https://www.notebookcheck.net/Lenovo-ThinkPad-X1-Carbon-2018... is the most objective/detailed review I've seen. One of my biggest anxieties was the fear of "upgrading" to an inferior device after a decade of being on Apple devices. Thankfully, that has not been the case. - The 14" WQHD HDR screen is remarkab…

I just got the 16GB/i7/512 with 2 year warranty from Costco for $1599. And I agree totally that it's an amazing machine! I have left it running W10 for now because I don't want to have to modify the DSDT for S3. Modern standby on Windows is magical - instant desktop after lid opening with the fingerprint reader!

I wish it had better speakers though and I still feel like the low power CPU in a thin package might get bogged down when thermally throttled compared to full wattage one in a bigger config. But so far no such problem.

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