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The Surface Book 2 is everything the MacBook Pro should be

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Re: The Surface Book 2 is everything the MacBook Pro should be

#221

Post by Implicated »

Rebelgecko wrote: post #200
coldtea wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I have literally this same list of problems on MacOS. Connecting to external screens is apparently hard. Never had any problem connecting 3 different MacBook Pro's (across the years) to 3-4 different external monitors (Dell, LG, Samsung, etc) and to several projectors (including through a VGA adaptor and HDMI ones). > MacOS also ignores commands to lock the screen until it’s done changing screens. So for all of 2 s…

Have you used multiple external monitors at the same time? My MBP often gets confused about which one belongs on which side

I ended up labeling the cables and making sure to use them in the same configuration this has mostly been solved. Still get's confused at times.

Re: The Surface Book 2 is everything the MacBook Pro should be

#222

Post by dchest »

makecheck wrote: post #103

It’s 2018 and I still see people walking around with Windows laptop lids open because they presumably have no confidence in Windows’ ability to sensibly preserve state after closing the lid. Software matters, and how it integrates with hardware. And I keep waiting for them to fix just the basics in Windows 10. Not utterly losing both the sizes and positions of all windows just because the laptop was undocked. Not fai…

That reminded me that I once had Windows XP and Vista RC1 installed as dual-boot. I was finishing slides in XP and closed the lid. When I opened it a few minutes later to give my presentation, it was running Vista.

Re: The Surface Book 2 is everything the MacBook Pro should be

#223

Post by underwater »

cncrnd wrote: post #175
partiallypro wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've had 5 Surface devices and have never had any major issues. The biggest issue I ever had with one was dropping it and shattering its screen. I didn't have coverage on it, but Microsoft replaced it all for about $300.

Good for you. However, consumer reports gave a two-year breakage rate of 25% for Surface products. Given a 75% everything-is-ok rate, that gives you around a reasonable 25% chance (.75^5) that everything is ok with 5 devices, illustrating why anecdotes are not helpful in decision making.

“Surface products“ is not a homogenous category. Some devices have been problematic, while others are very stable devices. It’s not like Microsoft products have poor build quality across the board.

Re: The Surface Book 2 is everything the MacBook Pro should be

#224

Post by BerislavLopac »

sinatra wrote: post #10

Such articles always give too much importance to the hardware (which is somewhat important, no doubt) and not enough importance to the software. Many people are looking for quality alternatives to Macbooks, Mac Mini, etc (myself included). Mac Mini hasn’t been updated for 4-5 years. So, I started setting up a Windows desktop as a Mac Mini replacement. But when it came to finding all the alternatives to the OS X softw…

> If only Ubuntu could have native MS Office

I'm using Google Docs and it works perfectly

Re: The Surface Book 2 is everything the MacBook Pro should be

#227

Post by chipotle_coyote »

gm-conspiracy wrote: post #189
ghaff wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Macs seem to be pretty good in my experience. It was something I really noticed about them when I first started using about 8 years ago. The only real monitor problem I've had was with an iMac that decided it didn't want to initialize the dual displays properly if the 2nd was plugged in when it was booted. Took me about a day to figure I needed to unplug the 2nd display. Eventually some OS update fixed it. Linux is a…

My G4 iBook was amazing at suspend/resume, but each revision, it has gotten progressively worse. I am afraid of my brand new MBP w/ touchbar. I use it with the lid shut as a powerful Mac Mini. It is too fragile to move frequently.

People in my office (including me) move around with their MBPs pretty frequently. I know saying "other than the keyboard, they seem to be pretty well built" is the tech equivalent of "other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the show," but I've never had any issue with waking up from sleep, or display issues when I disconnect the external monitor, whether or not the laptop lid is closed at the time. (I generally run with the lid closed when I'm at my desk.)

Re: The Surface Book 2 is everything the MacBook Pro should be

#228

Post by dpkonofa »

SeanLuke wrote: post #218

> The Surface Book 2 is everything the MacBook Pro should be ... does this mean it runs OS X? Because for me that's all that matters. Otherwise it's nothing the MacBook Pro should be.

Same. Windows is such a steaming pile of shit for me that I sometimes forget it's not normal for people to reformat and reinstall their OS every 6 months pre-emptively.

I do a ton of development on new hardware and, most recently, various VR platforms and the number of driver conflicts and issues I have on Windows is staggering. For the brief fart of time that MacOS was supported, I never had issues. Now, I can't update my Oculus software without it causing the Vive to stop working completely. Why one piece of software can completely eff a separate piece of hardware is beyond me but it's not only possible but also frequent with Windows.

Re: The Surface Book 2 is everything the MacBook Pro should be

#229

Post by james_in_the_uk »

coldtea wrote: post #161
Casseres wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The first thing I always do on a new laptop (or install) is go into Power Settings and change the Closing Lid action from putting the computer to sleep to just turning off the screen. It's surprising how many people never change the settings on their computers. Whenever I saw someone with the taskbar icons combined, I always asked them if they liked it that way, and they would say "No." So I always offered and they a…

> The first thing I always do on a new laptop (or install) is go into Power Settings and change the Closing Lid action from putting the computer to sleep to just turning off the screen. Or you can get a Mac laptop, where getting the computer to sleep when you close the lid and start again fast when you open it just works. Why would you let the laptop keep running, waste battery, risk overheating and endanger any spin…

Or change sleep to hibernate. Noticably slower on my surface pro than sleep on my macbook, but not slow enough to actually cause a problem. We are talking difference between 'instant' (macbook) to a second or so (surface pro).

Re: The Surface Book 2 is everything the MacBook Pro should be

#230

Post by erikpukinskis »

mamcx wrote: post #94
sinatra wrote: post #10

Such articles always give too much importance to the hardware (which is somewhat important, no doubt) and not enough importance to the software. Many people are looking for quality alternatives to Macbooks, Mac Mini, etc (myself included). Mac Mini hasn’t been updated for 4-5 years. So, I started setting up a Windows desktop as a Mac Mini replacement. But when it came to finding all the alternatives to the OS X softw…

Is ironic how all, Apple, MS & Google sabotage theirs efforts with the PRO crowd. Everyone agree we are a small niche. So anything below will have a minimal impact in the so important shareholders pockets, and win a enough love for us, IMHO: - Apple hate to give better, more powerfull hardware with enough flexibility (change SSD, Memory, so not more glue. End). Make a limited true mac pro, heck, make it semi-ugly, no…

I spent a minute trying to figure out what PRO stands for.
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