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Ask HN: Is the new MacBook Pro worth its value for a developer?

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Re: Ask HN: Is the new MacBook Pro worth its value for a developer?

#121

Post by rhinoceraptor »

Boulth wrote: post #96
indymike wrote: post #23

I just bought a Dell XPS after eight years of Mac use. Zero productivity loss, now I can test pen and touch GUI on the laptop. Can run Linux, can run windows. Honestly, the 4k display is even better than my last Macbook's retina display. Oh, and the Dell's keyboard is much better. The big win: function keys.

Which version did you buy? I bought 9350 (Skylake) when that came out and this really scared me away from XPSes (multiple issues, motherboards replaced, the worst thing being Thunderbolt integration with the TB16 dock). I generally like quick and nice Dell support service but would rather not have to use it.

I have the 9560, and I love it. I got it as an open box unit from Microcenter right when the 9570s were coming out, so it was a great deal. I use it for side projects and as a personal laptop, I would love to use it instead of my T470 work laptop.

It took a lot of fiddling to get Linux running on it, but it all works now. I have it set up with 18.04 with the root on ZFS.

Re: Ask HN: Is the new MacBook Pro worth its value for a developer?

#122

Post by Boulth »

rhinoceraptor wrote: post #121
Boulth wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which version did you buy? I bought 9350 (Skylake) when that came out and this really scared me away from XPSes (multiple issues, motherboards replaced, the worst thing being Thunderbolt integration with the TB16 dock). I generally like quick and nice Dell support service but would rather not have to use it.

I have the 9560, and I love it. I got it as an open box unit from Microcenter right when the 9570s were coming out, so it was a great deal. I use it for side projects and as a personal laptop, I would love to use it instead of my T470 work laptop. It took a lot of fiddling to get Linux running on it, but it all works now. I have it set up with 18.04 with the root on ZFS.

Glad to hear it works well for you!

> I have it set up with 18.04 with the root on ZFS.

I was thinking about using ZFS too. Unfortunately it's not so easy to setup correctly (full disk encryption etc.) on Arch as it is on Ubuntu...

Re: Ask HN: Is the new MacBook Pro worth its value for a developer?

#123

Post by mr-ron »

Macha wrote: post #118
mr-ron wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Couldn't agree with you more. The new MacBooks are lemons. The giant trackpad is a huge complaint of mine I don't hear a lot. Why on Earth would apple make it so big??

People who like trackpads seem to enjoy it bigger. Personally I'm not in the camp, and bring a USB mouse with me anywhere I'm using my work Mac to avoid it. We definitely seem to be in the minority though, I've heard more complaints that the XPS 15 trackpad is too small than complaints that the Mac trackpad is too large.

I like trackpads, I use the native trackpad and keyboard exclusively in the mac and almost never external.

Re: Ask HN: Is the new MacBook Pro worth its value for a developer?

#124

Post by kentt »

santoriv wrote: post #32
unstablevacuum wrote: post #15

The attraction of programmers to macOS née OS X has always been its UNIX foundations. Programmers love UNIX. Programmers made UNIX for programmers. Unfortunately, from the epoch until very recently, UNIX has had GUIs ranging in quality from absolute shit to mediocre. That's finally changing with Free Desktop (Wayland + GNOME/KDE, and support libraries). OS X gave programmers a UNIX core with a beautiful user interfac…

Regarding the user interface. On my Macbook Pro I have become accustomed to using i3 UI on Linux and now I feel handicapped anytime I switch over to Mac OS or Windows. The only time I boot Mac OS is if I'm going to be using a browser for a while and can't plug in my laptop. The battery life on Mac OS is much much better.

Just want to echo that i3 is everything I ever wanted on a UI. Everything else feels extremely awkward and slow.

Re: Ask HN: Is the new MacBook Pro worth its value for a developer?

#125

Post by lern_too_spel »

cheeze wrote: post #120
modells wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lenovo Thinkpad T series laptops are built like tanks, have proper keyboards, some have water-resistance, most have easily-removable batteries. The T480 has a 30 hour runtime with dual batteries, and starts at about $800 USD. I'd try to turn that into a hackintosh or find an A1278 because it has 2x drives (optical turns into second drive bay), works with 16 GiB of RAM and the battery isn't glued in. On the latter, I'…

But the Lenovo is coming from a company who has repeatedly shown that it doesn't give a shit about user privacy. Remember superfish? Or Lenovo Service Engine?

That doesn't happen on business machines like Thinkpads.

Re: Ask HN: Is the new MacBook Pro worth its value for a developer?

#126

Post by iDemonix »

I use a MacBook Pro Retina 13" Early 2015, and it's amazing. I hope it lasts forever.

I've tried a friends new MBP and I can't stand the keyboard, or the dongles. When I sit at my work desk, I have 2x DisplayPorts to my monitors, a USB 3.0 hub, and often a USB thumb drive. Swapping to USB-C would be a pain.

My biggest gripe with Apple's current MBP line up is the insulting specs you get for the price. I can buy a 128GB SSD delivered for £24, I imagine at bulk wholesale Apple is barely paying £10 - yet that's what they put in their 'entry level' £1,250 13" MBP. Absolute madness.

Re: Ask HN: Is the new MacBook Pro worth its value for a developer?

#127

Post by oliwarner »

DennisAleynikov wrote: post #48
aikah wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The Apple Store guy tried to accuse me of getting water on the keyboard, They pulled the exact same bullshit with the first iPhone I ever bought (3s at the time) and refused to fix it for free even though it was under warranty as the screen stoped working, asking the equivalent of more than $200 for something I paid like $300 new, claiming water caused damages. I ended up buying a spare screen $10 online and change…

amen to that its always easier to fix it yourself when the part is the only problem. apple is a full service shop that will quote you a price and then get it done. they wont ask any questions and just let it all happen.

It's just a shame —with all brands— that original parts aren't the more readily available.

I don't want a knock-off batteries or screens. They're cheap because they're not top-flight materials and invariably break much quicker than what they're replacing. And those that claim to be genuine are often even shittier.

Re: Ask HN: Is the new MacBook Pro worth its value for a developer?

#128

Post by jsjohnst »

ianwalter wrote: post #45
tomcam wrote: post #7

No. I bought the $3,500 version on the advice of my partner and feel cruelly ripped off. The keyboard, which I dislike, has already been replaced. The Apple Store guy tried to accuse me of getting water on the keyboard, but that is incorrect. My partner’s identical machine also needed the keyboard and motherboard replaced. He got a loaner (I didn’t) and they tried to accuse him of the same thing. I would much rather…

So I guess the new membrane they put into the 2018 MacBook Pros didn’t solve the problem? I had keyboard issues on my 2015 MacBook which I think is the first time they introduced the butterfly switches. I got a 2016 MacBook Pro 15 and the keyboard has worked flawlessly. I’ve gotten 2 2017 MacBook Pro 15s for work. The first one had keyboard issues and the second hasn’t but I’ve only had it for like 4 months. I’ve bee…

> So I guess the new membrane they put into the 2018 MacBook Pros didn’t solve the problem?

My money is that OP’s laptop isn’t the new edition.

Re: Ask HN: Is the new MacBook Pro worth its value for a developer?

#129

Post by jsjohnst »

iDemonix wrote: post #126

I use a MacBook Pro Retina 13" Early 2015, and it's amazing. I hope it lasts forever. I've tried a friends new MBP and I can't stand the keyboard, or the dongles. When I sit at my work desk, I have 2x DisplayPorts to my monitors, a USB 3.0 hub, and often a USB thumb drive. Swapping to USB-C would be a pain. My biggest gripe with Apple's current MBP line up is the insulting specs you get for the price. I can buy a 128…

> When I sit at my work desk, I have 2x DisplayPorts to my monitors, a USB 3.0 hub, and often a USB thumb drive. Swapping to USB-C would be a pain.

So with your setup that’s four cables to reconnect each time I need to get up for a meeting, where as I have a single cable (that single cable provides power, USB, a 5K and a 4K display, and Ethernet in my setup). Yep, sounds less painful to me too!

Re: Ask HN: Is the new MacBook Pro worth its value for a developer?

#130

Post by jsjohnst »

arteez wrote: post #70
rfeague wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Got one with high hopes, but can't stand the way the loud fan spins up seemingly at random. My 4+ year old MacBook is almost never audible.

You should look into MacBook thermals. The fact that fans are not running does not mean hardware is not getting too hot for comfort or longevity. Fans kicking up only when temps go over 90C (IIRC in some Linus video) is very very not good for long term use.

On MBPs, the fans “idle” at about 2,000rpm, they are just designed to be quiet at that speed, but are definitely running. 90°C is fairly close to the thermal limit of the MBP (as in, system will auto power off), so no, that’s definitely not the temp the fans turn on, but might be when they go to max RPM.
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