Apple introduces 8-core MacBook Pro • Hacker News Board

Re: Apple introduces 8-core MacBook Pro

#261

Post by golfer » Tue, May 21, 2019, 6:31 PM UTC

docker_up wrote: post #176

endymi0n wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can only come to the same conclusion. Typing this on a 2018 MacBook 15 inch, and it's a disaster. I still keep accidentally hitting the Touchbar ten times per day while typing (it's not a press-bar, duh), I need a dongle for _everything and their mother_, battery lifetime isn't good, the keyboard is prone to mistyping and double clicks, the screen doesn't get bright enough sometimes, I can't get any higher spec har…

I recently was forced to upgrade by 2015 laptop at work because the battery life was finally short enough that I couldn't stand it. I hate dongles. The 2015 Macbook will stand as their last best laptop. Nothing about the 2018 laptop is better, it's only worse. I don't understand why they don't see this. There should really be a huge multi-billion dollar class action lawsuit for their keyboards and fixability to wake…

100% agree. I'm typing this on a 2015 Macbook Pro, and holding on for dear life, even as it has started alerting me about servicing the battery. It's a great machine. I tried using the touchbar on my son's newer MBP. It's awful, and not meant for serious use. His laptop has been replaced once already due to keyboard issue, and starting to show defects again.

Re: Apple introduces 8-core MacBook Pro

#262

Post by freehunter » Tue, May 21, 2019, 6:31 PM UTC

jandrese wrote: post #217

ValentineC wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Now I'm stuck with a $1500 Asus laptop that barely plays Netflix a year and a half later. despite an 7th gen i7 and 16gb of DDR4. Any idea what's wrong with it?

Maybe he has a spinning disk in it? I see lots of laptops in that price range that go for the 1TB HDD instead of the 256GB SSD. Windows 10 on a 5400RPM HDD is pretty miserable these days, the OS just can't stop touching the disk and it's forever IO bound.

I've had the same problem. I had a i7 T420 with 16GB of RAM that was lightning quick when I got it and over a few years became completely unusable even for basic tasks. When I hit the Windows key to open the start menu, I could turn and take a sip of coffee before it opened. Reformatting and reinstalling from scratch did nothing to improve the speed.

I switched to a Macbook soon after and it is just as fast today as it was when I got it four years ago. I recently fired up that old T420 and popped an older, unused SSD into it. Instant game-changer. It is unbelievable how much faster it is with an SSD, the same speed it was with Windows 7 when I first got it.

Seriously, get an SSD.

Re: Apple introduces 8-core MacBook Pro

#263

Post by deaddodo » Tue, May 21, 2019, 6:31 PM UTC

endymi0n wrote: post #111

gilbetron wrote: post #74

After 8 years of macbooks, after using the 2018 model, I switched to a Dell Precision 5530 running Ubuntu 18.04 and it is awesome. The hardware is great, and having Unix under it all was the only real reason I liked Macs (used to be hardware, too). Granted, I don't need Adobe stuff, or anything else that doesn't run or have an alternative on Ubuntu (although it is dual-booted with Win10, but I've never used it, just…

I can only come to the same conclusion. Typing this on a 2018 MacBook 15 inch, and it's a disaster. I still keep accidentally hitting the Touchbar ten times per day while typing (it's not a press-bar, duh), I need a dongle for _everything and their mother_, battery lifetime isn't good, the keyboard is prone to mistyping and double clicks, the screen doesn't get bright enough sometimes, I can't get any higher spec har…

> I feel too old to compile my own kernel for a glitchy wifi driver, and Windows? Nah, get away...

Linux hasn't had issues with the major wifi chipsets in ages. It's as plug and play as Mac and Windows are. There are plenty of reasons people might choose to avoid Linux, but drivers (outside of specialty, niche or obscure hardware) aren't really a reason anymore.

Re: Apple introduces 8-core MacBook Pro

#264

Post by jandrese » Tue, May 21, 2019, 6:31 PM UTC

gnicholas wrote: post #224

bluedino wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$3600 isn't all that much. Bought a G3 PowerBook for that much with 256GB of RAM and 80GB HD.

256GB of RAM, eh?

Back in 1999 that would have been the deal of the decade.

Re: Apple introduces 8-core MacBook Pro

#265

Post by FunnyLookinHat » Tue, May 21, 2019, 6:31 PM UTC

ericabiz wrote: post #51

We repair these as part of our business, and to be clear, both the keyboards and the screens are failing on these at an alarming rate. iFixit detailed the issues with the screens, which (in Apple's unending quest for "thinness") use a thinner flex cable to connect the display to the rest of the laptop. This thinner cable is prone to breakage, and we are already seeing 2016-2017 MacBook Pros in our shop regularly for…

Yeah the upgrade policy at my work kicked in and they tried to give me one of these... instead I got a Thinkpad X1 Extreme and put Linux on it. No regrets.

Re: Apple introduces 8-core MacBook Pro

#266

Post by akamel » Tue, May 21, 2019, 6:32 PM UTC

pzo wrote: post #231

askafriend wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The SSDs they use really do cost that much though. Even if you got them from another manufacturer they'd be about that expensive. Apple don't use cheap SSDs...they use blazing fast, top of the line units not found on many other laptops. If you have criticism, price isn't a valid one. But you can definitely argue that they should have cheaper/slower options so that consumers who don't need blazing fast SSDs can still…

You can buy SSD with the same specs 3.2GB Read and 2.2GB Write for much cheaper. Samsung sells 970 EVO 1 TB m.2 for $300 [1] but you can even buy cheaper on amazon for less than $235. Keep i mind those +$400 was price for upgrade from 500GB to 1TB not the price of 1TB which is much much more. For example Apple charges upgrading macbook pro 13 from 128GB (silly they even offer pro machine with such small SSD) to 1TB f…

As I posted elsewhere in this thread; Lenovo charges 450$ retail and 250$ on special for a similar upgrade.

https://imgur.com/a/ug87MaI

Re: Apple introduces 8-core MacBook Pro

#267

Post by kabdib » Tue, May 21, 2019, 6:32 PM UTC

Until they fix the keyboard for real I'm not going there. I might hold out for a USB type A port, too -- other companies make perfectly good laptops with these.

How dependent is Apple on the "nerd factor" with its laptops? They definitely got a boost from capturing designers and "hip engineers" a while back; if these folks got disgusted and left, would it matter now?

Re: Apple introduces 8-core MacBook Pro

#268

Post by everyone » Tue, May 21, 2019, 6:33 PM UTC

TimTheTinker wrote: post #180

everyone wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lots of people on HN call the Mac OS 'great' ... But why? What is so great about it that is not similar on Linux or Windows? When ye say "great", I think ye mean "the one I am familiar with".

Since the introduction of Mac OS X, I've always thought of macOS in terms of a Venn diagram of two partially overlapping circles: (A) Operating systems that major desktop apps support (B) Developer-friendly operating systems (Unix/Linux at the core, default shell is bash or similar, etc.) Windows is in (A). Linux is in (B). But macOS is in the overlapping area between (A) and (B). It's the best of both worlds.

(B) Web developer friendly. I am a game dev. I have no need for Unix.

Re: Apple introduces 8-core MacBook Pro

#269

Post by tlrobinson » Tue, May 21, 2019, 6:33 PM UTC

gilbetron wrote: post #74

After 8 years of macbooks, after using the 2018 model, I switched to a Dell Precision 5530 running Ubuntu 18.04 and it is awesome. The hardware is great, and having Unix under it all was the only real reason I liked Macs (used to be hardware, too). Granted, I don't need Adobe stuff, or anything else that doesn't run or have an alternative on Ubuntu (although it is dual-booted with Win10, but I've never used it, just…

What have the biggest annoyances been when switching?

I occasionally try switching but always get frustrated with the amount of time I have to spend fussing with graphics drivers, multitouch drivers, keyboard shortcuts, etc, but it's possible that's because I've only really attempted it on Apple hardware.

Re: Apple introduces 8-core MacBook Pro

#270

Post by rayiner » Tue, May 21, 2019, 6:33 PM UTC

skierguy wrote: post #40

swozey wrote: post #14

These used to excite me because I've desperately needed 32gb and faster procs and used to upgrade every 2-3 years but now I just yawn at MBP releases. I'm so unexcited by everything about this form factor other than the fact that it has OSX. I'm guessing I'll be on my 2016 until I finally bite the bullet and quit using OSX if they don't make a more compelling package to spend my $3k on in the next few years. I don't…

I thought the same thing. Now I'm stuck with a $1500 Asus laptop that barely plays Netflix a year and a half later. despite an 7th gen i7 and 16gb of DDR4. Now I'm saving up for a Macbook Pro again, despite my hatred for the keyboard and touchbar.

Same here. Replaced my MacBook Pro with an X1 Carbon last summer. Short circuiting my usual 2-year upgrade cycle and buying whatever Apple releases this fall.