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2018 MacBook Pro Review

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Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#361

Post by entee »

keyle wrote: post #146
stupidcar wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's almost as if Apple aren't even basing their hardware strategy on what developers are complaining about on Hacker News.

I haven't met anyone saying nice things about the missing ESC key... And the touchbar is too fiddly and situational to be useful, even to power users.

I have one of these in front of me now (been working on it for a little over a week, should have waited, d'oh!) and the virtual escape doesn't seem that big a deal. Even if my finger isn't quite on virtual key pretty much at all, but is in the middle of where the real escape key would be, it triggers "ESC".

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#363

Post by imron »

godzillabrennus wrote: post #155
ambulancechaser wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

you're extolling the benefits of USB-C not the lack of USB-A. The presence of a USB-A would not affect your listed benefits in the least.

It would increase the thickness of the laptop. Apple is design driven. I also hate the new keyboard but couldn’t care less about using dongles if I get a thinner laptop.

I on the other hand wouldn't mind if they made the laptop a little bit thicker in exchange for better battery life.

When the discrete graphics chip is being used, plus a retina display, and or several dongles plugged in for ethernet, usb-a or whatever, battery life on my 2017 MBP while doing development work is maybe 3-4 hours.

It was quite a shock to go to that from the 8-9 hours I used to get from my older MacBook air. Whereas previously I would leave certain apps (notably image editing apps or VMs) open while developing, I now find myself opening them, doing a task and then closing them so as not to activate the discrete graphics chip and drain the battery.

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#365

Post by jimmywanger »

robto wrote: post #236
derefr wrote: post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's even more funny, because the MBP's touch-bar is essentially the same type of device as the YubiKey—an isolated offboard CPU with its own TPM that can be unlocked with a fingerprint and then asked to encrypt secrets for the host/parent PC. The touch-bar just has more screen. I'm surprised nobody's hacked the YubiKey app into making use of the touch-bar as the YubiKey "device."

Doesn't that kind of defeat the point of the Yubikey? I would think you would want to separate the key and the computer when you yourself are separated from your computer.

You can also use the fingerprint sensor as a replacement for the ubikey. Which works arguably as well - at least it satisfies the criteria that you separate the key and the computer when you yourself are separated from the computer.

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#366

Post by chrismorgan »

MarkusAllen wrote: post #222
derefr wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You can't even plug a USB stick into it. You mean a USB-A stick. There are USB-C sticks!

We can get a 256 GB USB-C stick for about $70 here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XC1WGQR/ref=twister_B01IKC9ZW8?... That is a heck of a lot less than purchasing for storage space when buying this laptop.

I recall a review in APC magazine in mid-2003 of Lindows, a live CD Linux distribution, mentioning that you could pair it with a “cheap-as-chips 128MB USB drive for $70” for persistent storage. The phrase stuck with me due to its absurdity—you can get a lot of chips for $70! Now, fifteen years later, you can almost get 2000× the storage for the same price. (I say “almost” as APC spoke of 70 AUD which is somewhat less than 70 USD.)

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#367

Post by garmaine »

TomVDB wrote: post #280
manigandham wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You didn't answer the question. It doesn't need to be so dysfunctionally thin and light to travel between work and home sometimes. Nobody is going to suffer from an extra pound of weight.

> Nobody is going to suffer from an extra pound of weight. For many things in life, it’s not about whether or not you suffer, it’s about what’s more or less pleasant. And for many, that even trumps an occasional inconvenience.

Having 64GB of RAM and an ability to plug in a thumb drive would be more pleasant.

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#368

Post by garmaine »

derefr wrote: post #218
EpicEng wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I see this so often it's becoming ridiculous. "pfft, it works fine as long as you use it less like a desktop!" We'll I can build a much more capable desktop for one third the price, so no thanks. If the intention is to use it as a desktop then why keep sacrificing function for fractions of a mm?

The intention isn't to use it as a desktop. The intention is to not plug anything into the computer (other than the charging cable, sometime) except when using it as a desktop. Everything is wireless these days. Input devices, audio devices, networking. You basically only need a cable to charge the thing (with your USB-C charger), for mass storage (where most new mass-storage devices are USB-C devices as well, and if…

Portable console via USB-A KVM switch. I often do find myself balancing a laptop next to a rack of servers.

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#369

Post by jdblair »

blhack wrote: post #91

It's become comedy at this point. Many, many developers: "We hate this keyboard. It is atrocious! Give us back the old one please!" Apple: "We have listened to your needs. The keyboard is now 8% quieter, and the touchbar is mandatory!"

I think the keyboard hate is severely exaggerated.

I actually like the new MacBook keyboard, except for the noise. I type, umm, vigorously, and sometimes I'm actually asked to be quieter when taking notes in meetings. So, 8% quieter is great.

Regarding the crumb problem: compressed air fixes this for me. I always have had to blow out my keyboards when the keys get shit in them. It's true the new one needs the air treatment more often. I'm ok with that.

The touchbar I could do without, but I have trained myself to use the virtual escape key. I think Apple should get rid of it, but I expect inertia means the touchbar is here to stay. If I were a vi user maybe this would be a deal breaker.

The biggest issue with the 13" MacBook has been the anemic CPU and I'm looking forward to trying out one of the new models with a quad core i7.

Edit: here come the downvotes!

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#370

Post by andromeduck »

doctorwho wrote: post #299
manigandham wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You didn't answer the question. It doesn't need to be so dysfunctionally thin and light to travel between work and home sometimes. Nobody is going to suffer from an extra pound of weight.

An external HD or removable SSD drive would be a much better system for moving between home and work. It doesn't matter how heavy the base system is if you're just moving a tiny disk, but there's no money in that for Apple.

What is thunderbolt?
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