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Ask HN: Feasible Alternative to the MacBook Pro?

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Re: Ask HN: Feasible Alternative to the MacBook Pro?

#341

Post by Freaken »

I might be an outlier in the dev community, but I’m on my second Alienware 15" laptop running Ubuntu + Xfce and I really love it. It’s fast (my current laptop has an i9 in it), reliable, offers multiple possibilities for extensions and the new M form factor does pretty good when it comes to bulkiness.

Of course they are bigger than an XPS 13, but if you are like me and mostly work from office and home, it’s not really an issue.

Ho and it’s gaming-ready too (got a gtx2080 in my current laptop).

My previous laptop before that was the first gen of retina MBP (2012) and the only thing I miss from it is the almost double battery life I had over the Alienware.

Re: Ask HN: Feasible Alternative to the MacBook Pro?

#342

Post by bufferoverflow »

spectramax wrote: post #328
gherkinnn wrote: post #322

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have been working on Windows machines (C# ftw) for a while now. I hate it. Everything. Kafkaesque configuration UIs, horrible window management, mouse acceleration is off, font rendering is atrocious, the updates make me unreasonably angry, mixed design systems leave me confused, File Explorer isn’t even trying, many apps are downright insulting, and the entire thing just reeks of PMs in ill-fitting suits prodding th…

Don’t forget the ads. Ads, even in the powershell. Telemetry of everything. Automatic installs of OneDrive, Microsoft Teams, etc. Fuck Windows. It sucks.

What ads??? I've been on Windows for decades, never saw a single ad by the OS.

Re: Ask HN: Feasible Alternative to the MacBook Pro?

#343

Post by dkarbayev »

computerex wrote: post #244
hombre_fatal wrote: post #236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> His whole business is about repairing Apple laptops so he has all the reasons and incentives to defend Apple and downplay their issues. How does this follow? He has developed a following around posting these types of videos which seems like a pretty sweet incentive for making them. Not to say he's being dishonest or something, it just seems like a stretch to say that some random repair guy somehow has more to gain…

He has developed a following because of his repair videos. He is an advocate for repairing your own stuff, has put out hundreds of videos teaching people board repair and has even put out an extensive guide for beginners: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1PkeO_lC5WTPScSV3ZzEE... And he is internationally renowned for Macbook board repair and literally receives and fixes laptops from all over the world. He activ…

Now imagine how many more videos and complaints would he have if he was repairing laptops from any other brand.

Re: Ask HN: Feasible Alternative to the MacBook Pro?

#344

Post by IshKebab »

mattlondon wrote: post #336

I have a Dell Precision 5520 running linux that I got when I rejected the 2018 MBP touchbar that I returned to our tech team in disgust (keyboard sucks) Some observations of the 5520: - con: really really stupid web cam position: it is at the bottom left of the screen so in any video calls it is basically looking up your nose and if you are typing there are GIANT fingers on screen obscuring your face. - pro&con: feel…

> It has a little button on the side you can press which shows the rough battery charge level

Not sure if you're aware, but this great feature was copied directly from Apple, who then dropped it for no good reason.

Re: Ask HN: Feasible Alternative to the MacBook Pro?

#345

Post by Topgamer7 »

Freaken wrote: post #341

I might be an outlier in the dev community, but I’m on my second Alienware 15" laptop running Ubuntu + Xfce and I really love it. It’s fast (my current laptop has an i9 in it), reliable, offers multiple possibilities for extensions and the new M form factor does pretty good when it comes to bulkiness. Of course they are bigger than an XPS 13, but if you are like me and mostly work from office and home, it’s not reall…

Nope, you aren't alone. I run an Alienware 15r3. Manjaro + i3. I even went so far as to patch the Linux kernel to get the headset mic to work. Although I've been wanting an ultra ultra thin laptop lately.

Re: Ask HN: Feasible Alternative to the MacBook Pro?

#346

Post by cdata »

Similar story to OP. The MBP I acquired in 2017 has been undergoing rapid disintegration while the 2013 model it replaced is still working just fine.

After stressing over the problem that nothing seemed comparable spec-wise, System 76 released their Adder WS and after reading some testimonials from users online I made the leap back to Linux.

So far, I am very pleased with the choice. Here is what I love about it:

- Amazing 4K OLED display configured with pixel scaling a la Retina out of the box

- Suspend / resume "just works" every time (very different from my past Linux user experiences years ago)

- Connecting an external display "just works" like my MBP

- Pop OS is a well-designed, pretty Ubuntu variant that doesn't get in the way

- I'm really productive on it (I haven't wasted any time trying to get things to work)

- Very high-end hardware all around

Things I don't love about it:

- Battery life is atrocious

- The keyboard has a numpad so home row is offset to the left

- It is rather big (though not gigantic)

- It is rather ugly (though not hideous)

- Huge power brick with a short cable

I can't speak for long-term durability. I guess I will get back to you in a few years.

Re: Ask HN: Feasible Alternative to the MacBook Pro?

#347

Post by IshKebab »

bufferoverflow wrote: post #342
spectramax wrote: post #328

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don’t forget the ads. Ads, even in the powershell. Telemetry of everything. Automatic installs of OneDrive, Microsoft Teams, etc. Fuck Windows. It sucks.

What ads??? I've been on Windows for decades, never saw a single ad by the OS.

I think it depends on your region. But I'm pretty sure every region gets a link to Candy Crush, Minecraft and other such nonsense in the start menu by default.

Enterprise versions are probably safe still.

Re: Ask HN: Feasible Alternative to the MacBook Pro?

#348

Post by [deleted] »

swozey wrote: post #277
alexandercrohde wrote: post #258

Aside from all the bitterness about ports, touch-bars, lock-in, blah-blah, I have a sincere question. Does anybody know a comparably DURABLE competitor? I have 99% confidence I could knock my macbook air off my bed (while on) 100 times in a row with 0 consequences. I've never had a key come off, had the screen flicker, had a battery problem, had an overheat. I'd be curious if anybody thinks there's any other laptop c…

I'm not sure about this anymore, my 2016 MBP has gotten some gnarly body dents all over it and it lives in my backpack and on my work desk. I've never actually dropped it. The 2016+'s seem incredibly soft. You're likely talking about the internals which on mine seem ok. Except my right speaker makes crackle sounds 100% of the time. It's so distracting that the few times I've brought it on trips and used it to watch m…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Feasible Alternative to the MacBook Pro?

#350

Post by [deleted] »

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…

[deleted]
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