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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?

#591

Post by tekknik »

gherkinnn wrote: post #431
vips7L wrote: post #365

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> mouse acceleration Maybe it's the gamer in me, but who uses this? It's just going to make your mouse movements way less accurate. If you haven't tried it yet pwsh integration with C# is amazing, I wish there was something like it for the JVM.

Maybe “mouse acceleration” is the wrong term? Turning it on means there’s no 1:1 relationship between mouse and cursor movement. Quickly moving it across the entire screen? 2cm might equal 1000px. Slowly nudging a Rider toolbar to the correct position? 2cm now becomes 1px. I can see how it doesn’t work with gaming but for OS use it’s great. And it works slightly better on macOS. It’s subtle, but it’s there.

that’s more DPI. unless my terms are conflated mouse acceleration increases the speed of the cursor during sustained movements. I’m not defending windows here, as I wish it would die in a fire, but do this in hardware by increasing mouse DPI if you can.

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

#592

Post by sbuk »

dotancohen wrote: post #495
sbuk wrote: post #477

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nope. It’s about objectification.

Hi, I'm the OP of this "controversal" opinion. There is nothing objectifying anybody here. I really do not see how anyone is getting at that. In what way have I made anybody an "object"? With all the respect in the world, I understand what you are crusading for. But you are on a witch hunt, and actively making people your enemies who would otherwise support your cause.

What are you wittering on about? I was merely pointing out that the criticism for your, frankly crass comments has nothing to do with gender or orientation. Don’t shoot the messenger...

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

#593

Post by SPBS »

SPBS wrote: post #388
okennedy wrote: post #330

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Once upon a time this was true. User-facing documentation was scarce (usually requiring internet searches). However, between unofficial package managers like homebrew, the excellent efforts of a few devs (LaunchBar/Quicksilver, PathFinder, Little Snitch, etc...), `osascript`, and the internet providing defaults documentation for obscure apple apps, I always felt like I could get the system to behave the way I needed…

What cmd-key shortcuts are you thinking of? FWIW every apple filepicker window I come across I can utilise the following shortcuts consistently, which is very nice: Cmd-Shift-A: Open Applications folder Cmd-Shift-H: Open Home folder Cmd-Shift-D: Open Desktop folder Cmd-Shift-O: Open Documents folder Cmd-Option-L: Open Downloads folder Cmd-Shift-L: Open Library folder Cmd-Shift-.: Toggle Hidden Files Cmd-[: Back Cmd-]…

If anyone is interested, here's a full list that I got it from that blew my mind https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201236

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

#594

Post by pm7 »

tekknik wrote: post #589
pm7 wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They'll send a technician to your location (typically within the week) and replace whatever parts needed for free. My Dell Latitude had included "next business day" 3 years warranty. I used it twice (to get motherboard and display replaced) and they sent technician next working day. There were a bit more failures then I would expect, but warranty was great and I happily bought 2 more years (5 years total) for equiv…

This is interesting, if an Apple laptop failed that often then passive aggressive posts would be made on HN explaining how it’s needed repair too much and the owner would like to switch to something else and would like recommendations on what to buy.

The second "failure" was about small flaws on display (mostly visible on white background). I didn't actually expect them to replace it, but they did.

I've also heard from friends that E7*70 had a bit higher failure rate than usual. It still seems (subjectively) to be much lower than Apple's issue with keyboard. Most importantly, they fixed it almost immediately.

Today, I don't expect things to not break. I'm still annoyed when they do, but more important is what happens after failure, how long (and how much effort) does it take to get things working again.

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

#595

Post by faizshah »

disposedtrolley wrote: post #581
mdtusz wrote: post #297

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Learn to love the trackpoint and when you go back to a MacBook you'll be sad it's not there.

The trackpoint is kinda crappy on newer ThinkPads. I'm not sure what they've changed, but movement is always jittery under Linux for me. My X230 is buttery smooth. The X1 Extreme and T490 I've tried, not so much.

That's been my experience with my new t480. I wonder if there's some other drivers that could make it smoother?

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

#596

Post by JDiculous »

least wrote: post #568
JDiculous wrote: post #41

It depends on what your priorities are, but I recently bought a LG Gram 17" and absolutely love it. It has a massive 17" 2560-1600 screen, yet is as light as a Macbook Air, and practically as thin too. 13 hour battery life, and super comfortable keyboard. Even the charger is smaller and lighter than any other I've seen. Honestly I've never seen anything like this in my life, and only $1,448 ( https://amzn.to/2P2txdv…

If you open the chassis of a macbook pro, you'll see it packed with components, fitting together just barely, like a puzzle. The lack of flex anywhere on the chassis and machined aluminum make it look and feel premium. The LG gram 17 is a machine of pure compromise in pursuit of lightness. The material is carbon magnesium and pressing down on any part of the machine results in a disconcerting flex. The inside of the…

Any flex on the chassis is too subtle for me to be noticeable, certainly something one gets used to very quickly.

It would be nice to have a larger battery, but I'm content with my 10-13 hours of battery life.

The keyboard is the best laptop keyboard I've used in recent memory. Way better than the Dell XPS 15 or the current Macbook lineup with their butterfly keys. I'd say it's comparable to the 2015 Macbook Pro keys.

Yes the speakers suck being on the bottom of the laptop, and the trackpad doesn't compete with Apple's (though neither does any other non-Apple machine).

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

#597

Post by admay »

I'm not going to say much about OS's. I will say Elementary OS looks a bit like Mac OS. It's Ubuntu based, so you can get support all over the place. Not my cup of tea but I did start with it. It was nice looking and easy to use.

As for hardware. I always suggest Lenovo X, T, or P series laptops. I use a P52s. You can find one with just about whatever hardware specs you're looking for. Range from about $500 (USD) to $3000 on the high end, they are friendly to most budgets. I've never had a hardware issue myself, however, that is anecdotal. I've had an X220 for 6 years now that I use as an old game system emulator. It's never had an issue.

Plus the keyboards are dope

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

#598

Post by olex »

mobilemidget wrote: post #137
olex wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Our company offers Dell XPS 13 and Precision 5530 (based on the XPS 15 chassis) as Macbook alternatives for all employees. I've had my Precision for a couple years now and couldn't be happier, it's an awesome device and imho as close as it gets to the overall hardware quality and usability of Macbooks with Windows-/Linux-based devices.

An alternative or a replacement, could you still opt for a MacBook (pro)?

An alternative. We can have both 13" and 15" MBPs as well (and I assume the upcoming 16" will be an option, too).

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

#599

Post by llampx »

hdbsbv_shdbfb wrote: post #26
propercoil wrote: post #16

Macbook Air > Macbook Pro just because of the keyboard

I have MBP ‘18 and an Air ‘19 and I was surprised how much better the keyboard is. I didn’t buy it for that reason — I just like to have a second, more portable laptop for backup and convenience. It is much nicer to type on and feels more rugged. I agree with the general consensus here however — Apple needs to get its shit together and stop pursuing meaningless marketing metrics and start making great computers again…

Is there really that much of a portability difference between an Air and a Pro?

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

#600

Post by randomsearch »

ttz wrote: post #444
randomsearch wrote: post #437

If you use email a lot and don’t want to use gmail etc in the browser, your only choice is Windows. I’ve tried all the GUI mail clients on Linux, and they are all either buggy as hell, don’t support most standards, or hellish UX. Given Windows is much much worse than OS X for tech stuff, there isn’t really an alternative. Macs have gotten worse, less reliable, design is tanking, software becoming buggy, but it’s stil…

Check out Mailspring.

Yes, I did, thanks. I agree it was one of the more appealing clients, but IIRC it was demanding on my old laptop and slow, as well as being a bit buggy.
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