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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?

#231

> Performance of the computer is quite important for me. I'm an Android developer, compilation of a big project I'm working on takes enormous amount of RAM and CPU nowadays Do you have important mobility concerns which makes you really need a laptop ? If RAM & CPU are your main concern, and you want a powerful machine with a reasonable budget, going for a desktop would make sense.

+1

or potentially look at a CI cluster if compilations/whatever is most taxing the laptop

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

#232
post #209
post #87

Not a hardware req, but I've recently become quite enamored with Win 10 + WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) after years of using a Mac. WSL lets you run a lightweight Linux shell (Ubuntu, SUSE, Kali are supported atm) without a VM. It's purely for command-line purposes, no X, but that's fine for me. Windows for UI, then I can run all my bash in the Ubuntu shell almost seamlessly. You can run the shell directly from s…

I couldn’t find a terminal I liked on windows. Got any suggestions?

Cmder - http://cmder.net/

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

#233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do your co-workers not have issues with HiDPI support on Linux? I've heard it's not the best experience and can require quite some fiddling to get working correctly.

I have no problems on KDE for home use, I think the problems are mixing multiple screens with different pixel densities.

Works great with Mate.

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

#236
I run an ACER chromebook with GalliumOS. I don't really run anything on the chromebook itself except a text editor (and sometimes even that is X-forwarded from a build server); I store code and do builds on virtual servers via remote commands I've enapsulated in Makefiles. It cost about $150, and if it ever breaks I'll just go buy another one.

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

#237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you want something practical and productive right out of the box then just go with Ubuntu for any hardware. Thinkpads are popular in the Arch community (and vice versa), so there's discussion and documentation available if that's your cup of tea.

Do you have link for the Arch community where I can read more about what you are referring to., I am not familiar with that... Thank you !

Start with the Arch wiki, and go through an installation in a VM. Get your feet wet with what Arch is.

https://wiki.archlinux.org/

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

#238

I’m on my 4th Thinkpad T-series - T520, T530, T450s, T460s - each one was a a winner. I ditched the T5XX series when they borked the keyboard layout by adding a numpad. Used to run Ubuntu, now I run Debian, stable or testing depending on point in release cycle at install time. I plan to take another look at Ubuntu now that they gave up on Unity. A coworker is happily on the T470s (first USB-C in the series). I always…

Do your co-workers not have issues with HiDPI support on Linux? I've heard it's not the best experience and can require quite some fiddling to get working correctly.

2560x1440 doesn't even require HiDPI support really. Just increasing the font sizes is enough. The Ubuntu Unity desktop has abstracted away that in a single slider for a long time. Apparently the next GNOME version is going to go all the way and do non-integer scaling of controls as well but in my experience that's just a small benefit, just tweaking up the font sizes is more than enough.

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

#239

I’m on my 4th Thinkpad T-series - T520, T530, T450s, T460s - each one was a a winner. I ditched the T5XX series when they borked the keyboard layout by adding a numpad. Used to run Ubuntu, now I run Debian, stable or testing depending on point in release cycle at install time. I plan to take another look at Ubuntu now that they gave up on Unity. A coworker is happily on the T470s (first USB-C in the series). I always…

Do your co-workers not have issues with HiDPI support on Linux? I've heard it's not the best experience and can require quite some fiddling to get working correctly.

Surprisingly, both engineers on the 2560x1440 are happy! They run Ubuntu with a second screen at their desks (27” 2560x1440 external monitors). I’m actually the one that’s unhappy because their font size is too small for me to see when pairing ;)

BTW I think 2560x1440 may not be high enough to technically be considered HiDPI?

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

#240
I've got an early 2015 MBP and had it for a few years now.

Usually I buy a new laptop every 3-4 years and save money each month to put torwards it, but I can't help but think that as the next upgrade looms, do I really want to spend £1000+ again on one of these things? Especially now that the latest line of MBPs seems to be pivoting further and further away from what you would normally expect from the 'Pro' line of products.

My biggest bugbear right now is memory, and maybe this is just my own failing of not being judicious enough about what things I have open or how may tabs Firefox is running, but I feel even 16GB just isn't cutting it anymore.

It feels like laptops have been on a ceiling of 16GB of RAM as an upgradable option for years and I'm not really sure why, is it just the power consumption/battery life that's a concern?

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