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Apple introduces 8-core MacBook Pro

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Re: Apple introduces 8-core MacBook Pro

#381

Post by simion314 »

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

You can buy hardware that comes with Linux support including drivers. Changing your workflow is always a pain though, so Linux with a decent DE like KDE could be a suitable alternative for you but because of the big change you could get frustrated and hate the experience.

I am also at that period in life where I don't get pleasure from tinkering with compiling custom kernels, making the PC boot 10% faster, use the latest and greatest... so for me Kubuntu LTS fits perfectly it may be a good option for you too.

Re: Apple introduces 8-core MacBook Pro

#384

Post by jonaf »

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…

Thanks, this makes me feel better about my decision a couple months ago to switch to Lenovo's ThinkPad P1 Mobile Workstation. I don't have any regrets switching from Apple hardware, and frankly Linux is so much more superior (especially when using i3[0]), I'm quite pleased with it.

(The only complaint I have with the ThinkPad is the fan is super aggressive and very loud. It usually doesn't run for long, but it spins up with a whirring noise pretty often for 1-5 seconds before slowing down.)

[0]: https://i3wm.org/

Re: Apple introduces 8-core MacBook Pro

#385

Post by unphased »

freehunter wrote: post #262
jandrese wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Still doesn't seem right. with an SSD it's only as fast as Windows 7 on a rotating HDD?

Re: Apple introduces 8-core MacBook Pro

#386

Post by kevin_b_er »

TimTheTinker wrote: post #94

Apple designers need a new mantra, the age-old adage: "Form follows function." As it is, they're choosing a form ahead of time and compromising on function. The vast majority of users choose Macs because of the great OS and the hardware specs. The "thinness" or "sleekness" is only a nice-to-have, and only if it doesn't require compromise elsewhere.

Apple's mantra is "form over function".

Re: Apple introduces 8-core MacBook Pro

#387

Post by hartator »

X-Istence wrote: post #243
cletus wrote: post #125

What a clusterF is modern Mac hardware: - Keyboards with much worse action that are more prone to failure (from dust no less) and require replacing the motherboard to fix... all for a Touchbar no one wants and 0.5mm cut in thickness. - Loss (over the years) of the ability to upgrade the CPU, SSD or memory; - Display failures due to broken ribbon cables; - The USB-C clusterF; and - Loss of MagSafe (this one still hurt…

> - Keyboards with much worse action that are more prone to failure (from dust no less) and require replacing the motherboard to fix... all for a Touchbar no one wants and 0.5mm cut in thickness. The keyboard replacement replaces the top-case, your motherboard and everything else is transplanted over to the new top-case.

The motherboard is not replaced. “Only” the battery, top case, touch-bar, and keyboard.

Re: Apple introduces 8-core MacBook Pro

#388

Post by caconym_ »

everyone wrote: post #156
TimTheTinker wrote: post #94

Apple designers need a new mantra, the age-old adage: "Form follows function." As it is, they're choosing a form ahead of time and compromising on function. The vast majority of users choose Macs because of the great OS and the hardware specs. The "thinness" or "sleekness" is only a nice-to-have, and only if it doesn't require compromise elsewhere.

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".

For me it's less about what's "so great" and more about what's not awful.

I need a Unix-like command line environment and Windows is inferior there. Otherwise it's fine (I use it on my gaming machine), but if you look closely you can see it's a huge mess (e.g. the insane state of the control panel(s)) in ways Mac OS just isn't.

Linux is too much work. I say this as someone who has used it for years, still uses it every day, I've compiled my own kernels, etc., but it's just too much work to get everything working perfectly on my personal machine, especially on a laptop.

Mac OS doesn't have many of these problems. I am old, I have too much real work to do, and I need a machine that works and gets the fuck out of my way. I am past the point where I consider fiddling with the guts of my OS a badge of honor and think having a bunch of code up on my screen makes me look super cool like Neo from The Matrix. For people like me who don't need things it doesn't have and like what it does have, it's a good choice.

Now if only Apple would stop making so many dumb hardware choices...

Re: Apple introduces 8-core MacBook Pro

#389

Post by 3JPLW »

lukifer wrote: post #252
klodolph wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you sure you wouldn't rather have the 2008-2012 body? It's a bit easier to upgrade or repair. (At work I have a 15" MBP with the 2013 body. I'm eligible for upgrading it, but what would I replace it with that could possibly be better? Literally the only downside that I care about is the fact that most conference rooms at work no longer have magsafes lying around.)

There's a lot to love in the 2013-2015 line, but the 2008-2012 series will always have my heart. I've never had a laptop so easy to work on, and being able to put two drives in a portable is icing on the cake.

Yup, I'm on an old top-of-the-line 2011 that I swapped out the DVD for an extra SSD. It's spoiled me — such that to replace it I want 16-32GB of RAM and 1TB SSD.

Re: Apple introduces 8-core MacBook Pro

#390

Post by Symbiote »

microtonal wrote: post #181
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 am still using a MacBook Pro 2018 as my laptop, but do my primary work on an Intel NUC8i5BEH with Linux. I work remotely from my home, so I rarely need the laptop anymore. The NUC has the same quad core Intel i5-8259U, with double the RAM and double the SSD size at approximately a quarter of the price of MacBook Pro. If you don't have an existing screen, you can buy a good Dell HiDPI screen for ~500 Euros. The Linu…

I have the previous generation NUC, a NUC7i5BNH, as my home computer. I put it in a Akasa fanless case, and it's wonderful — it's completely silent.

I use Kubuntu, since I've been using KDE for 15 years. I use 5% of the configuration options — just by looking, you'd think it was a default install — but I really miss that 5% if I'm on a Mac or Windows.

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