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2018 MacBook Pro Review

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Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#491

Post by freehunter »

TheSpiceIsLife wrote: post #294
freehunter wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't have the new body style of Macbook, I have a 2015, but I can tell you that when I switched from a PC laptop to the 2015 Macbook, it was thin enough that I could now travel with my laptop and an iPad in my carry-on. Before I had to make the choice of carrying only my laptop or packing a roll-aboard to be able to fit everything I needed for a work trip. What does a thinner laptop enable you to do? What a questi…

I had a similar experience back in 2012 when I bought a 13" MacBook pro after carrying around a PC laptop. But, I wrote "at this point". Does 3mm, at about the same weight, really make much difference? I suppose incremental improvements(?) in "thinness" accumulate, and in 2028 we'll all be complaining that the new MacBook Pro at 2.8mm thick is easily bent and has no ports.

"At this point" does a marginally faster CPU make a big difference? Not to me, my "workhorse" laptop is a 2013. But if they stuck with a 2013 CPU in a 2018 Macbook, people would go ape shit even though for people like me, the faster processor doesn't change a single thing about how the machine works.

Way too often people on here see something and think "that doesn't help my use case, therefore it's a stupid decision" and never stop to think "hey maybe someone has a use case I don't have, and maybe this helps them". To you, 3mm doesn't sound like a lot. To me, a few hundred Mhz or another few GB of RAM doesn't sound like a lot. But you don't see me screaming in the comments thread "how dare Apple put a faster processor in their Macbooks instead of shaving off another few MM of thickness!" because that's just ridiculous. Someone out there is happy that the machine is faster, even if that person isn't me. I have the ability to put myself in someone else's shoes and be happy on their behalf.

Some people's laptops sit on a desk all day and that's fine. Mine doesn't, and every MM shaved off is another pair of socks I can pack into my luggage.

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#492

Post by manigandham »

slow_donkey wrote: post #286
manigandham wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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

The point being is that should be a choice, and they have Macbook line for it if that matters more to you. It shouldnt be the priority for the Pro line when it hurts the UX, that's the issue.

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#493

Post by dahauns »

mistersquid wrote: post #101
wildrhythms wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you describe what value the touchbar adds in your usual workflow?

I'm a developer and prosumer who types by touch. I have operational macros triggered by FN keys and somewhat miss the hard FN keys on my 2017 MacBook Pro. I've set the System Preferences so pressing the fn key causes the Touch Bar to show soft FN keys. I use the soft ESC key frequently and without problem; aiming for the left corner of the Touch Bar almost always works and very rarely transforms into something other…

> I somewhat miss the hard FN keys, but for me losing them is not a deal breaker because I can coerce the Touch Bar to display function keys by pressing the fn key.

And you can really use them without looking at them?

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#494

Post by Derbasti »

addicted wrote: post #484
kuon wrote: post #301

Apple lost me two years ago. While I was a big macOS fan and developer, I now work under linux. I was very surprised to see how far linux has gotten as a desktop workstation. Including very good apps (darktable, ardour, inkscape and even gimp which had an horrible interface at the time). I still think macOS had a superior UI (I say "had" because I haven't touched a mac since sierra) and that the hardware was beautifu…

My biggest issue with Linux apps when making it my desktop was basic PIM apps. Any suggestions for those? Even better, are there any sources and places to hang out where you get this information for Linux? One of the best things about the Apple ecosystem (which I cannot even find in Windows) are the number of Mac focused publications that discuss and critique the variety of apps available. This has been damaged latel…

Evolution may not be pretty, but it works pretty well for Email, Calendar, and Contacts (assuming that's what you mean by PIM).

Honestly though, email has lost a lot of utility for me in the last few years (privately; professional email is still strong), to the point where I am really fine with webmail these days.

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#495

Post by tlrobinson »

Kurtz79 wrote: post #458
fiblye wrote: post #455

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Macbook Air wasn't in any way intended for developers, though. All the people I knew buying Airs (even first gen) were the frequent travelers and types of people who do loads of work involving email, text documents, and slideshows. Nothing that required heavy processing, but work that involves being out of your desk and having to haul your work with you. A lightweight PC small enough to slip in a folder was what…

It wasn't a powerhouse, but it was (the second generation one) the first successful "thin" laptop that made reasonable compromises so that it could be used a development machine. In an era of remote servers and web scripting languages, not every developer needs a full-blown workstation. I agree it wasn't indended for developers, but it ended up being adopted by many of them.

> In an era of remote servers and web scripting languages, not every developer needs a full-blown workstation.

I haven't really found that to be the case, especially these days with "modern" frontend tooling, like Babel/Webpack/etc, static analyzers like ESLint/Flow/Typescript, and the various types of frontend testing. Every bit of performance helps.

You can debate whether all of that is necessary, but the reality is many companies use them.

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#496

Post by blhack »

indemnity wrote: post #379
bodas wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who occasionally writes apps for iPhone I have to use the USB port all the damn time.

Have you tried the WiFi running/debugging? Works pretty well for me.

This is seriously where we're supposed to be for a pro laptop?

It shouldn't work "pretty well" when you're using a $2000+ machine. It should work perfectly every single time. This is what built apple into the company it is. "pretty well" wasn't good enough.

This sounds like the type of concession I would have made in 2005 on my gentoo laptop. "Yeah, USB doesn't work, but there is a workaround that sends that data over wifi! It even usually works!"

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#497

Post by manigandham »

andromeduck wrote: post #354
manigandham wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

> 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? Not everyone is particularly fit. Some are old, some don't have time to exercise, some choose not to, some don't have the choice and some others are and just prefer the convenience. > Why does the (likely) most expensive fu…

There are multiple product lines. Those people who need extreme lightness should not choose the Macbook Pro line then, which should remain focused on functionality first.

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#498

Post by PascLeRasc »

llampx wrote: post #423
lclarkmichalek wrote: post #418

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I cycle, and if I'm cycling while carrying around a 15" piece of metal, I'd rather it was a thin and light 15" piece of metal :)

You can have light without being anorexic thin. The ThinkPad X1 Carbon has a 14" screen and weighs half a pound less than the MacBook Pro, and it has the missing ports.

If there was a Hackintosh guide for them I'd get one in an instant.

Re: 2018 MacBook Pro Review

#499

Post by hartator »

> 2880x1800 resolution

That's a bit of shame that they still haven't up since the introduction of the very first 15" Retina. Default scaling on the new 15" looks blurry as it's not 1:4 pixel matching.

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