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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?

#121

Post by lettergram »

I use (and have setup many a developer) a T450+ Lenovo off eBay. Wipe it and put Linux on it, install an m2 SSD, 20 Gb of RAM, and get the bigger battery pack. Total cost is around $900 to $1100. It works better, with longer battery life, and I like the 14 inch display personally

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

#122

Post by foodstances »

bhouston wrote: post #72
chongli wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did they fix the coil whine on the Dell machines?

As someone who has had one for a year, it never affected me. It always seemed like FUD to me, but maybe it affected someone.

Maybe your hearing is just shot.

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

#124

Post by winduptoy »

I develop on a Lenovo IdeaPad 120S ($249 in 2018). The plastic body is of higher build quality than my last $600 aluminum Acer. The trick is to live with less software altogether. If you scoff at 4GB RAM and 1.10GHz Celeron, remember that it only took 64kb and 0.043MHz to get to the moon. If you scoff at that statement, re-evaluate your life. "It's the Indian, not the arrow."

https://www.computerweekly.com/feature/Apollo-11-The-compute...

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

#125

Post by strooper »

I switched from MBP 2010 to Windows 10 after using it for 6 +years only because of disappointing MBP updates with higher price tags. I was so confused that it took me several months to decide. I got a good bargain for HP Envy x360 15.6" (i5 7200 with 8GB DDR4 and 256SSD). And I never looked back.

WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) for windows 10 is definitely one of the major reasons I haven't looked back at the crappy new MBP lineup. Although I miss the long battery life of MBP, I get a lot more in exchange (tablet mode, excellent touch screen etc.)

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

#126

Post by bluedino »

goodoldboys wrote: post #120

+1 for a ThinkPad. I'm running Ubuntu 16.04 on an x230 that I purchased for $200 and it works great for me for limited dev work. I'm thinking about purchasing a new one with maxed out specs and it seems like Ubuntu/Debian support is pretty solid on the new models, with some exceptions of course. The p51s looks like a good compromise between power and portability for me. edit: And the keyboard is amazing! you'll love…

We have been buying the P51 for our engineering and accounting staff. They are a great size, nice keyboard and screen and everything. We run Windows 10 on them, so I don't know how they fare with Linux. There have been issues with Lenovo pushing driver updates and goofy stuff like that, and the USB-C dock is next to useless (but I don't think that is specific to Lenovo)

We ended up just buying the regular docks (the previous model docks won't work)

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

#127

Post by mikojan »

fencepost wrote: post #92

I see a lot of discussion that includes used ThinkPads, there's one caution I'll give if you go that route: avoid the __40 models (T440, T540, etc). I've not used an X240 but the TouchPad on the larger models is unusably bad.

It's a thinkpad. Why not use the track point? I guess it's down to personal taste but that phrasing was weird.

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

#128

Post by alexdeloy »

I'm sticking to the XPS family for years now and a - for me very important - thing that rarely gets mentioned is the stunning support you can book with the machine. It's usually something around EUR 200-250 for 4-5 years and you'll get a worldwide coverage on the next business day, no matter what. I had issues with my current XPS in a beach house in Portugal earlier last year due to the sand being everywhere in the flat. A short call later I had a technician driving 3h from Lisbon to my place to fix the cooling system, no questions asked.

The XPS 1530 I had before that had some issues with the GPU, Nvidia had some problems with the 8xxx series back then. I had to call them twice to replace the GPU without any problems. Also if your charger has an issue they usually send you a new one with UPS over night.

Even though it might be declining a bit compared to what you could ask from them 5 years ago I think the support is still stellar and well woth considering if you're moving around once in a while.

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

#130

Post by bluedino »

fencepost wrote: post #92

I see a lot of discussion that includes used ThinkPads, there's one caution I'll give if you go that route: avoid the __40 models (T440, T540, etc). I've not used an X240 but the TouchPad on the larger models is unusably bad.

Thankfully, you can replace it with a _50 touchpad.
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