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2018 MacBook Pro Review

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Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#401

Post by ionwake »

joakleaf wrote: post #343
batiudrami wrote: post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In 2008 the iPhone was a $500 subsidised device (at a time when other phones were "free" or up to $200) which really didn't do anything. It didn't do MMS, third party apps didn't exist, google maps didn't have turn-by-turn. I'm sure the user experience of a reasonable sized capacitive touch screen was great compared to the alternatives - but I never even saw one in real life and on paper it was very expensive and did…

I think, that you didn’t see it in person was the reason you didn’t expect it to be a success. The 3G had 3G, but otherwise same hardware specs as the original. What sold me was that Apple got the UI right (“smooth as butter”), the webbrowser and email actually worked, and jailbroken it was almost Unix in your pocket! It really felt like a phone with so much potential and a far ahead of anything I had seen. The thing…

Yeah to me it was clear after seeing a smooth UI in an internet ad. I got the 1st gen - what surprised me was the empty shop without a queue. Maybe it was luck but to me it was an obvious game changer without even touching it.

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#402

Post by cerberusss »

JohnBooty wrote: post #388
imron wrote: post #363

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

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. Sounds like what's really needed here is a way to tell MacOS not to use the discrete graphics chip when on battery power. Is there no way to do that? It's been a while since I used a MBP with discrete graphics. There used to be a menubar app for that, but I always felt it should h…

No. The 15" MBP uses Intel chips without integrated graphics.

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#404

Post by egypturnash »

ballooney wrote: post #384
comex wrote: post #352

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But a pound saved from the MacBook is an additional pound of other stuff you can carry with it.

Such as all the adaptors and dongles you need to turn it back into a functional laptop.

What do you need adapters and dongles for if your goal is to go out to a cafe or a park and work with the computer? Do you, like, need a 7tb media drive with you at all times or something? Are you constantly plugging it into different monitors? Not like you wouldn’t need adaptors for that unless you exclusively live around DisplayPort screens anyway. Do you carry around a wallet full of DVDs and an external drive for those?

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#405

Post by danShumway »

stupidcar wrote: post #96
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!"

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

I don't understand this. They're very, very clearly marketing the Macbook Pro to developers. Read their press release, they have a section devoted to Unity performance for goodness sake.

Look at the older 2012-2015 models - arguably the entry point for many modern developers, the devices that were so good and so reliable it cemented their love for the brand.

There's a difference between pivoting your target demographic, and just making a bad device and hoping professionals won't notice.

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#406

Post by stickfigure »

batiudrami wrote: post #232
sophistication wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who doubted Apple would be successful in ~2008? The iPhone and the MacBook Air were phenomenal products.

In 2008 the iPhone was a $500 subsidised device (at a time when other phones were "free" or up to $200) which really didn't do anything. It didn't do MMS, third party apps didn't exist, google maps didn't have turn-by-turn. I'm sure the user experience of a reasonable sized capacitive touch screen was great compared to the alternatives - but I never even saw one in real life and on paper it was very expensive and did…

This is absolutely silly.

I am not an apple fanboy, but I had a couple generations of Danger products (by far the most modern at the time) prior to the release of the iPhone and owned a few generations of iPhone from the start. The 1st generation iPhone was revolutionary and deserves every last bit of credit it gets. The 3G was a yawner, like adding leather seats to a flying car. Yeah 3G is nice... but seriously, the car is freaking flying how did you not notice that??

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#407

Post by imron »

JohnBooty wrote: post #388
imron wrote: post #363

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

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. Sounds like what's really needed here is a way to tell MacOS not to use the discrete graphics chip when on battery power. Is there no way to do that? It's been a while since I used a MBP with discrete graphics. There used to be a menubar app for that, but I always felt it should h…

> Is there no way to do that?

There is an app for that (https://gfx.io/), but it doesn't switch automatically when battery is in use so you have to enable it manually (and you have to close any apps that are using the discrete chip first).

Mostly though I just use that app to know when the discrete chip is enabled, and then quit whatever program enabled it when I've finished with it.

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#408

Post by dewey »

gonational wrote: post #372
jiveturkey wrote: post #312

Earlier quoted context omitted.

and yet the complainers are still buying them

Not me :( I want a new one so bad, but I will not buy a TouchBar ever. Also, the reason for thumbprint readers on phones is that passcodes are difficult to quickly type on phones. On a notebook keyboard it’s easy. I don’t want a thumbprint reader on my notebook.

If you use a password manager and have to type in your master password every time you open it I could imagine it to be convenient.

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#409

Post by chrisvalleybay »

kristianp wrote: post #364

By removing the Esc key, Apple declared its side on the emacs vs vi wars.

Using the Esc-key for vi(m) is crazy nevertheless. It's a really long reach.

Personally I have rebound Left Ctrl to Esc, and Caps Lock to Ctrl, but an option would be to rebind Caps Lock to Esc. 'jj' is also fine, but since rebinding Esc to a closer key, I started using it a lot more often, where I would have used the mouse.

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#410

Post by chrisvalleybay »

notadoc wrote: post #22

Touch Bar kills it. I am a touch typer. I use the escape key constantly. I use the function keys frequently. Like every other touch typer I know, none of us want to look at our fingers to type anything, let alone to look down and navigate around a microscopic touch screen menu that requires you to not only look at your fingers but to move your hands away from the micro-screen to see what you're trying to tap on. I ha…

Rebind escape to Caps Lock, you're fine.
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