Ask HN: Feasible Alternative to the MacBook Pro?

Post by stephenr » Sun, Oct 20, 2019, 12:00 PM UTC

Jemm wrote: post #154

cranium wrote: post #71

It saddens me that Apple used to make (almost) perfect laptops – price aside – and it's no longer the case, leaving a bunch of geeks looking for a replacement. In 2017 after searching the market, filtering on required specs and reading reviews, I came to the conclusion that there are no perfect laptop: every time there's a compromise to be made. For me, I had requirements that were previously met in the MBP: good bat…

Let’s be fair with our memory of Apple hardware. Apple had huge issues with thermal management that resulted in GPUs failing which of course Apple blamed on the user until they could strong arm a supplier to pay for a recall.

Post by tasuki » Sun, Oct 20, 2019, 12:03 PM UTC

ratiolat wrote: post #140

tasuki wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

+1 for ThinkPads, they just work. The XPS has super annoying fans which change their speed randomly all the time (though it's possible to override: https://github.com/TomFreudenberg/dell-bios-fan-control ). Btw, Xfce is a desktop environment while Ubuntu is a distribution. Perhaps you meant to write you're on Xfce instead of Gnome?

Thinkpads come in different flavours, and the have very different quality. Either get a T-series, or X-series (X series is basically smaller version of T). Or if it's a used one, the later A-series are good as well (A series means AMD instead of Intel). The old A - series were crap. Nowadays T and X series have AMD also (if model ends with 5, it's AMD). T and X series have MIL certification. For example there's also…

Post by hardwaresofton » Sun, Oct 20, 2019, 12:06 PM UTC

SmirkingRevenge wrote: post #128

hardwaresofton wrote: post #85

System76[0] makes some nice laptops (I have an Oryx Pro and i like it a lot), and there's the Lenovo X1 Extreme[1]. [0]: https://system76.com/laptops [1]: https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpad-x/X1-...

How is the keyboard on your system76? I've been leaning towards System76 for my next laptop, but its hard to pull the trigger without testing the keyboard. I really need cushier and longer travel keys these days or I get really bad muscle fatigue in my arms and wrists, while working on a laptop keyboard. My 2014 MBP causes me issues only after an hour or two. And their newer keyboards... well, I'm just not even going…

Post by [deleted] » Sun, Oct 20, 2019, 12:09 PM UTC

emilsedgh wrote: post #8

X1 Carbon is a really nice device. Its pretty reliable, Linux friendly and has no spyware installed like some other Lenovo lines. But no matter what laptop you pick, its gonna take you a couple of weeks until you are comfortable with it. But it will happen eventually. Laptops have the same interface after all. Switching the entire software stack from Mac to any other OS is probably the main struggle. Try a couple of…

Post by sam_lowry_ » Sun, Oct 20, 2019, 12:10 PM UTC

etatoby wrote: post #123

mherrmann wrote: post #48

I switched from MBP to a Dell XPS 13 with Ubuntu. I compare the experience to living in a hotel vs. living at home [1]. In a hotel (=on Mac), everything is stylish and cared for, but you have very little freedom to change things. At home (=on Linux), you need to do the dishes yourself but there's no external agenda. It's simply yours. I'm very happy with the switch. Though I'm on (Debian+) Xfce now instead of Ubuntu…

I second a ThinkPad with XFCE (such as Xubuntu) as the best combination. A few things which, although obvious in retrospect, I had to learn the hard way: • Get a ThinkPad with physical buttons under the touchpad, if you like to track with your index finger and click with the thumb. I made the mistake of getting the kind where you push the entire touchpad, and it's very hard to use. Apple's was at least useable, this…