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New MacBook Air

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Re: New MacBook Air

#421

Post by vetinari »

tarasmatsyk wrote: post #270
ziftface wrote: post #263

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm actually thinking of doing the same thing. Why didn't it work for you the first time around?

Meh, the camera was on the left bottom side of the screen. On every online meeting, I was looking like a parent talking to kids from the corner :D Also, I had a windows edition which works pretty bad with linux. A friend of mine got a new Linux edition with fixed camera and I think perfect XPS is 15" 32Gb for linux. That's my alternative #1

Aren't all XPS 15 models nvidia-only? That would an extra roadblock on the way to just-works linux experence.

Re: New MacBook Air

#422

Post by FpUser »

api wrote: post #293
FpUser wrote: post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am curious where do you people see ads. I do not have any on my windows computers. All hold latest official updates.

Last fresh Windows install I did came pre-loaded with a bunch of loot box style gaming crap, Candy Crush, Xbox stuff, Netflix, Amazon Prime, loads of other foistware that should not exist on a fresh install. A new Windows install requires at least an hour of de-cluttering and shit removal, while for a new Mac full setup to my liking takes about 5-10 minutes and I generally don't have to uninstall much of anything. Th…

I asked specifically about ads as I do not have those so curious why others do. I do not need generic Windows criticism as I am using it without any problem for like eternity, so do not really give a hoot if somebody else does not like it. I have whole bunch of Windows and Linux computers (laptops and desktops/servers) and am happy like a clam.

"Ceding high end of the market to Apple". I would not go into much details but for example my gaming grade laptop runs circles around Mac that costs twice as much. So sure I'd rather be a "low end" peon with the decent hardware.

Re: New MacBook Air

#423

Post by bdcravens »

baddox wrote: post #408
geerlingguy wrote: post #332

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You haven't been forced to deploy something that builds a local K8s cluster and builds and runs 10+ containers just to get a microservices app up and ready for development, I see... (only partially /s).

It doesn't even take that much. Docker Desktop on MacOS is widely known to be terrible and have extremely poor performance. Running webpack-dev-server with filewatching through Docker nearly grinds my 2017 Macbook Pro to a halt. Obviously most node/webpack/JS stuff can run natively on Mac but it's not uncommon to see dev stacks that dockerize everything because that's how the production stack works.

You can improve this substantially on MacOS using docker-sync (the issues with Docker performance on Mac are primarily related to the file system)

I wrote a little about this; it's for Rails but the same ideas apply:

https://medium.com/@bdcravens/fixing-docker-for-mac-and-rail...

Re: New MacBook Air

#424

Post by dr_zoidberg »

lliamander wrote: post #388
dr_zoidberg wrote: post #370

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm on a 7200u (i5, 15W) and I could really use the extra oomph (rounding things, it'd be 40% extra performance assuming a cubed increase in power consumption vs performance improvement -- which is pretty close to what I've seen in practice) of it being 45W. Been looking at the newer gaming notebooks, and I'm waiting the "real world confrontation" of 10th generation i7s (specially those that have AVX512) vs Renoir (l…

You might be interested in the ThinkPad P1 (Gen 2). It has the option of not including a dedicated GPU, which will save a considerable amount on battery power, while still packing in a 6-core i7 H-series processor. But I am also interested in the upcoming processor generations.

Thanks for the suggestion. I was willing to wait a bit more to see that standoff: What will get me more bang out of the processor, the "super" architecture of Zen 2, or the coveted AVX512?

The P1 comes with a 9th gen i7, I assume they'd eventually get a gen 3 with 10th gen i7 and then I'll be able to compare.

Re: New MacBook Air

#425

Post by sequoia »

climb_stealth wrote: post #182

After using the latest Macbook Pro 13" for over a year I have recently had my 2015 Macbook Pro 13" repaired. Both are max specs. It was a $600 bill, but it has been so worth it. The keyboard just works, it doesn't run hot and the fan doesn't blast under the slightest load, the performance is much better, the battery lasts longer and the external screen + keyboard and mouse are detected every single time without havin…

So happy to hear this! I just dropped CAD~800 to have the logic board on my late-2014 MBP replaced. I figured "it still works, why spend 3k on a new one?" Plus the new ones with those stupid bar things (I have one for work I never open because I always use workstation).

Re: New MacBook Air

#426

Post by pfranz »

terramex wrote: post #305
ZeroCool2u wrote: post #228

> 720p FaceTime HD camera > 8GB 3733MHz LPDDR4X memory I know cost usually isn't the top priority for people buying Apple products, but both of these starting specs seem pretty disappointing considering the price and for 2020. Perhaps someone realized keeping the cam resolution down is an effective method of capping FaceTime call costs. I will say, I am happy to see the transition to LPDDR4.

When Macbook Pro 16 premiered last year (using 720p camera too), I've read comment here on HN, saying that nobody produces higher resolution sensors that can fit into such a slim form factor (as notebook cover is slimmer than even thinnest smartphones). Their competition like Dell XPS 13 2020 also seems to still use 720p camera.

> nobody produces higher resolution sensors that can fit into such a slim form factor

That seems like a very flimsy excuse. These seem to be the exact same cameras they've been shipping since 2011 and nobody would excuse them for using 2011 era cameras in their phones (I remember being disappointed in the quality back in 2011). Apple has added bigger and multiple camera bumps to their phones to accommodate space. That seems like it would work even better in a laptop since it doesn't have to lay flat on a table.

> Dell XPS 13 2020 also seems to still use 720p camera

It's not the resolution, the quality and low-light performance hasn't changed in Mac laptops at all. I don't think the XPS is a great comparison since they've had the camera below the screen for years (I think they moved it in 2020). Having the camera positioned so low you literally see fingers on the keyboard and get a very unflattering angle. So in my search it was eliminated very early.

I'm guessing it's just not a high priority for most purchasers even as remote working increases. The Dell XPS 13 reviews barely mention the camera and I couldn't easily find a sample from the camera. I've been working remotely, so it has been a huge priority for me. I've also been FaceTiming and find using a laptop is easier than holding a phone.

Re: New MacBook Air

#427

Post by RandallBrown »

72deluxe wrote: post #276
mFixman wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I honestly never understood the hate for the touchbar. It allows me to be much more granular with volume and brightness, and I never really used F-keys anyway.

As a developer, how would I step into, step over, step out in Xcode without function keys?? (Continue being ctrl-cmd-Y is the worst shortcut ever). It truly hampers my development because I have to look at the touchbar to see where on earth those keys are (F6, F7) or step in/continue in Chrome (F10, F11). Also, where on earth is the escape key??

The escape key is back on the new 16 inch, but even on older Touch Bar Macs you can tap anywhere on the left side of the Touch Bar (doesn't have to just be the escape button area) and it will still work.

Different strokes for different folks, but I've never liked using the function keys for debugging. I just click the buttons on the screen. I'm a little surprised they don't have a way to set the Touch Bar buttons up to do that in Xcode though.

Re: New MacBook Air

#428

Post by baddox »

bdcravens wrote: post #423
baddox wrote: post #408

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn't even take that much. Docker Desktop on MacOS is widely known to be terrible and have extremely poor performance. Running webpack-dev-server with filewatching through Docker nearly grinds my 2017 Macbook Pro to a halt. Obviously most node/webpack/JS stuff can run natively on Mac but it's not uncommon to see dev stacks that dockerize everything because that's how the production stack works.

You can improve this substantially on MacOS using docker-sync (the issues with Docker performance on Mac are primarily related to the file system) I wrote a little about this; it's for Rails but the same ideas apply: https://medium.com/@bdcravens/fixing-docker-for-mac-and-rail...

docker-sync helps a little bit, and so does limiting Docker to 1 CPU core, but I still routinely get spurts 100% CPU from Docker that despite supposedly being on 1 core still grind my machine to a halt.

Re: New MacBook Air

#429

Post by tasuki »

chrisseaton wrote: post #400
foldr wrote: post #396

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> isn't a desktop more suitable

> isn't a desktop more suitable No it isn't any more suitable, because you can put your laptop on a stand and plug it in to achieve the same thing.

It's not the same thing by far: Laptops have much worse heat dissipation than desktops, they overheat, and your high-powered CPU gets throttled down.

Re: New MacBook Air

#430

Post by Moto7451 »

luxuryballs wrote: post #357
pyrophane wrote: post #266

Keep in mind that probably the most important spec when considering a new laptop is one that is often not directly stated: the processor series. I'm not talking about i3/i5/i7, but rather U/Y/H. This letter determines the TDP (thermal design power/point) them machine is designed to run at. The TDP will govern the setting for the base clock speed, and, just as importantly, the throttling behabior under load. Processor…

I picked up the new 2018 Air right after the redesign, 16gb and 512 ssd model. I have had no problems with xcode doing iOS dev (even using simulator on occasion), vscode and nodejs/redis/mysql working fine, also no problems running windows in parallels desktop, it’s super fast and quiet! Great machine, only wish I had waited for the true tone and keyboard redesign but those are minor, have grown to love the keyboard.

Same here. No problems doing development. The Achilles' heel? Work conferencing with Google Meet. Kills the poor machine.
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