Live data from Hacker News

The Surface Book 2 is everything the MacBook Pro should be

char.gd

331–340 of 467 posts

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

#331
post #247

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you not used a Windows computer in 10+ years? > defragmentation No longer an issue. I'm honestly not up to date on why not, but nobody ever mentions it anymore. > Windows registry issues What issues? I haven't gone into the registry for anything in a long time. > malware, adware Not an issue as long as you run a modern browser and avoid going to sketchy websites and installing random things from them. If you hav…

> No longer an issue. I'm honestly not up to date on why not, but nobody ever mentions it anymore. SSDs, primarily. Depending on who you ask, defragging an SSD ranges between only slightly beneficial, totally pointless, and actively harmful.

> Depending on who you ask, defragging an SSD ranges between only slightly beneficial, totally pointless, and actively harmful.

Fragmentation will slow down your SSD. For non-server workloads, the SSD is very likely still plenty fast. Running a hard drive defragging program on your SSD will only address one of the two forms of fragmentation that SSDs are subject to, and thus will not help performance much. It will also unnecessarily burn through some of the SSD's limited write endurance, but that is almost never worth worrying about.

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

#332

I don’t really understand the value of a touch screen on a laptop. Specially for a Software Developer. It is easier and quicker to move your hand (while typing) to the touch pad rather than to the display. I think TouchBar (which is underrated) makes sense because in that case you don’t need to move your hand up, it just is there along with the keyboard. Plus I really don’t like those huge touch-optimised buttons on…

It's fantastic for pretty much any kind of design work. Even you're a software developer building UIs and web interfaces and such. Also great for kids (who generally have less developed motor skills.)

What kind of design work? I don't understand how something laggier than a pencil/pen and less precise than a mouse can be useful. I actually hated doing design work because of the hours of incredibly precise mouse movements required.

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

#333

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…

Not utterly losing both the sizes and positions of all windows just because the laptop was undocked. Not failing to recognize the external display upon docking, despite the display working a few minutes earlier.

Both of my MacBook Pros (2015 and 2018, Sierra and High Sierra, respectively) exhibit this exact behavior.

I deliberately avoid letting my laptops go to sleep, and try not to unplug them from their monitors because I don't want to spend time re-positioning every single window and tool palette. It really defeats the purpose of having a laptop.

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

#334

I don’t really understand the value of a touch screen on a laptop. Specially for a Software Developer. It is easier and quicker to move your hand (while typing) to the touch pad rather than to the display. I think TouchBar (which is underrated) makes sense because in that case you don’t need to move your hand up, it just is there along with the keyboard. Plus I really don’t like those huge touch-optimised buttons on…

The only time I've actually like having a touch screen is when reading. I commonly hold my laptop near the hinge and being able to swipe on the screen to scroll is fun. Otherwise I don't think I've actually ever used a touch screen for any other kind of input.

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

#335

I don’t really understand the value of a touch screen on a laptop. Specially for a Software Developer. It is easier and quicker to move your hand (while typing) to the touch pad rather than to the display. I think TouchBar (which is underrated) makes sense because in that case you don’t need to move your hand up, it just is there along with the keyboard. Plus I really don’t like those huge touch-optimised buttons on…

When running Digital Audio Workstations like FL Studio, having a touch screen is invaluable. Being able to manipulate knobs, sliders, and buttons using natural movements is much more conducive to creativity.

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

#337
post #330
post #325

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This and other similar things are so often and easily ignored. I see people talking about Macs not supporting pro use. But hey, tell me, how am I going to power my 6 external displays on a Surface product of any kind? I get that people want some more variety and excitement, and maybe feel like the Thunderbolt port thing is problematic (despite absolutely enabling my most “pro” setup I’ve ever had on my ’17 13” TB MBP…

> I see people talking about Macs not supporting pro use. But hey, tell me, how am I going to power my 6 external displays on a Surface product of any kind? I have many friends, most of whom are professionals, but none of whom are software devs. A bunch of them do devops and SRE work, a bunch of them are creative professionals, and a bunch of them are in other professional services, like finance and law. Personally,…

I guess he is a stock dealer. That's why he needs 6 monitors.

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

#338
post #330
post #325

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This and other similar things are so often and easily ignored. I see people talking about Macs not supporting pro use. But hey, tell me, how am I going to power my 6 external displays on a Surface product of any kind? I get that people want some more variety and excitement, and maybe feel like the Thunderbolt port thing is problematic (despite absolutely enabling my most “pro” setup I’ve ever had on my ’17 13” TB MBP…

> I see people talking about Macs not supporting pro use. But hey, tell me, how am I going to power my 6 external displays on a Surface product of any kind? I have many friends, most of whom are professionals, but none of whom are software devs. A bunch of them do devops and SRE work, a bunch of them are creative professionals, and a bunch of them are in other professional services, like finance and law. Personally,…

Dxxvi beat me to it, but yeah, traders. Old friend of mine at Raymond James told me once he had ten. But I don’t think they were all one computer.

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

#339
post #157

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…

I have literally this same list of problems on MacOS. Connecting to external screens is apparently hard. MacOS also ignores commands to lock the screen until it’s done changing screens. :(

Problem I have is apps remembering their screen position even when the monitor is disconnected. It’s off to the side in phantom monitor space.

Not Windows fault, but annoying none the less.

I have sleep wake problems on my 2015 mbpr and a bunch of other complaints. But it’s still light years ahead of my work laptop.

I can’t say how much is windows fault and how much is corporate spyware.

Win10 on my mbpr is a vast improvement, but macOS is still the clear winner for me.

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

#340

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's funny because I'm pretty sure Windows has a setting that you can set it to NOT go to sleep at all when you shut the lid, but MacBooks DO NOT have this feature.
Post reply on HN