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2018 MacBook Pro Review

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Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#281

Post by slavik81 »

briandear wrote: post #274
slavik81 wrote: post #270

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Nobody asked for USB ports when they had serial/parallel ports, or for the floppy drive to disappear, or to lose the VGA connector. I don't recall being annoyed by those changes. In particular, the VGA->DVI transition was handled really well. Just about everything was DVI-I and would accept a VGA signal over a DVI cable, so you just bought a VGA->DVI cable and continued using VGA.

So basically a “dongle?”

No dongle at all. Just a different cable. The adapter cables are fine. It's the devices that aren't attached via cables that are awkward.

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#282

Post by slavik81 »

reificator wrote: post #278
slavik81 wrote: post #270

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Nobody asked for USB ports when they had serial/parallel ports, or for the floppy drive to disappear, or to lose the VGA connector. I don't recall being annoyed by those changes. In particular, the VGA->DVI transition was handled really well. Just about everything was DVI-I and would accept a VGA signal over a DVI cable, so you just bought a VGA->DVI cable and continued using VGA.

> I don't recall being annoyed by those changes. In particular, the VGA->DVI transition was handled really well. Just about everything was DVI-I and would accept a VGA signal over a DVI cable, so you just bought a VGA->DVI cable and continued using VGA. Just about everything was USB-C and would accept a USB-A signal over a USB-C cable, so you just bought a USB-C->USB-A cable and continued using USB-A. I don't see a d…

There are a lot of USB devices that do not attach via a cable. You can't just use a different cable in that case, because you were not using one to begin with.

VGA devices always connected via a cable, so you weren't adding bulk. Even adapters for devices with integrated cables (grrr...) were pretty minor compared to the sheer heft of the VGA cable itself.

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#283

Post by scarface74 »

tom_ wrote: post #138
scarface74 wrote: post #80

For the life of me I don’t understand why most developers who work for a company - and get a company supplied laptop - buy a MacBook or any other laptop for personal use. I don’t do any personal development currently. But when I start back on my personal projects, a 27 inch 5K iMac is much more appealing. You get more for your money, a nicer, bigger display, more ports, faster processors (at least for single core tas…

Interesting. If you play games, I can see the point - otherwise, I'm not sure why you'd buy a desktop for personal use! You're then stuck with it wherever it is, your desk in your spare room or study or whatever. A laptop, on the other hand, you can use wherever you like - and you can still get a reasonable facsimile of a desktop PC by plugging it in to a full-size keyboard/mouse/external monitor(s). (I've got 2 x 27…

Interesting. If you play games, I can see the point - otherwise, I'm not sure why you'd buy a desktop for personal use! You're then stuck with it wherever it is, your desk in your spare room or study or whatever.

The only thing I use an actual computer for is development. Anything else, I either use my iPhone or iPad.

A laptop, on the other hand, you can use wherever you like - and you can still get a reasonable facsimile of a desktop PC by plugging it in to a full-size keyboard/mouse/external monitor(s).

I posted earlier. But while a suitable MacBook Pro and iMac are around the same price, a separate 5K monitor is $1300.

(I've got 2 x 27" monitors plugged into my 13" Macbook Pro. They're 2560x1440, it's true, rather than 5K, but I'm old enough, and sit far away enough, that I don't mind. Hi-DPI is very worthwhile when I'm using my laptop as a laptop, but from a distance of 1m it's much less of a draw.)

I’m not too concerned about the hiDPI. More about the usable real estate when you push it passed the pixel doubled resolution.

Performance isn't as good, but I've always found this an OK tradeoff. I like the portability and the option of using my PC in the front room.

My first job when I got married a few years ago was remote and since then I’ve had jobs with a liberal work from home policy. I’m very careful to separate my work life (including side projects) from my home life so my (step)kids know not to disturb me when I am working. I work in my office.

As far as performance goes, any development I do for myself, for whatever reasons, tends to be less demanding than stuff I do for money;

The most demanding thing I will be doing is running Android emulators and Windows VMs.

and for the non-development stuff, mainly (e.g., now) me staring at the internet via Firefox, it's just not an issue.

That’s what my iPad is for..

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#284

Post by bla2 »

spike021 wrote: post #276
bla2 wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Consistent UI, simple and fast built-in apps for common tasks, good unix subsystem, fast file system, pretty text rendering, system libraries that make it fairly easy to write good native apps, etc. macOS has all this, but it had all this for a while. There are so many good things in it. Preview.app is great -- it even lets you do simple PDF editing, while being fast, reliable, and easy to use. CoreGraphics does beau…

>Consistent UI I feel like UI is one of the things that shouldn't really be complained so much about. If you're talking about apps, then it's sort of hard to have a consistent UI when everybody's doing Electron apps or using other frameworks like it.

Sure, electron apps get this very wrong. App makers are free to write software that prioritizes something else than being a good Mac app. But Apple's own apps should be good Mac apps.

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#285

Post by scarface74 »

cncrnd wrote: post #136
scarface74 wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel way too constrained doing a lot of work without at least two external monitors. Preferably three. But the real estate of the 5K monitor kind of obviates the need for a second monitor.

Your eyes can only look at one screen at once. I find that a laptop + some key commands to switch between applications and windows of the same application is roughly equivalent to multiple monitors and just leaving everything open.

When I’m doing web development, I usually have both the web page up and the IDE with back end API. When the API end point is hit, it breaks in the IDE. That doesn’t even include database clients, looking at things in the AWS console etc.

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#286

Post by slow_donkey »

manigandham wrote: post #227
georgebarnett wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He did answer the question, only with reasons that you don't seem to agree with. I also mostly use my MBP plugged in and yet still want my laptop to be as light and thin as possible for when I'm carrying it around during the day/commuting. An extra pound of weight makes a huge difference to me walking home.

> An extra pound of weight makes a huge difference to me walking home. That's hard to believe. Are you walking 50 miles? How would you notice an extra pound? What about the rest of the stuff you carry, your clothes, your shoes? Is everything else already optimized? Why does the (likely) most expensive full-size computing device need to lose weight vs everything else, especially when it's infringing on the actual user…

Is it really that hard to believe that some people prefer to have a lighter laptop. My daily driver is thinkpad but I really appreciate my mbp when traveling or for conferences because it's much more portable and I can carry it with ease

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#287

Post by scarface74 »

arvinsim wrote: post #223
not_kurt_godel wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed, development on a single monitor is grossly inefficient for me if I'm doing any sort of serious work. It drives me nuts when I have to pair program with someone who doesn't use multiple monitors, or doesn't utilize multiple monitors effectively. Every time you switch a screen from one app to the other adds friction to your workflow in the form of keypresses and mentally keeping track of context. The more of yo…

I used to love multiple monitors. But I discovered I got work done better on a single, big monitor. A big screen real estate is really what I need.

I agree. Thus the desire for a 27 inch 5K iMac with the effective resolution cranked up.

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#288

Post by thatswrong0 »

kaishiro wrote: post #105
scarface74 wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel way too constrained doing a lot of work without at least two external monitors. Preferably three. But the real estate of the 5K monitor kind of obviates the need for a second monitor.

Interestingly enough, I get this same feeling of being constrained while being tethered to a desk. I love the ability to move to the kitchen, or the couch, or outside. I've tried using external monitors before and I'm so used to virtual desktops that I often forget they're even there. To each their own, I guess.

Yep this is me. I need to be able to roam around my office and even just sit in different postures (standing, couch, leaning back in office char, on high top stool) to keep me from getting restless.

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#289

Post by scarface74 »

stock_toaster wrote: post #204
bluedino wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I haven't owned a desktop computer in almost 10 years.

I'm going the other way. I'm getting a desktop /instead/ of a laptop for the first time in probably 10 or 12 years. The reason? I want the feeling of a "workplace" again. With a laptop, I often felt like anywhere I was, I could work (sometimes even felt like I had to). There wasn't a sense of /place/ attached with work, and I think this has made work a bit less enjoyable and a bit less distinct from non-work. I think…

Exactly. My home office is my work area where no one disturbed me. I have my keybosrd, monitors, and my wired connection to the Internet.

When I’m out of the office, I’m available for my family. When I am in my office I am “at work”. It’s especuslly important during the summer when both my wife (she works on the school schedule) and son are home.

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