The problem with the touchbar is that you cannot build muscle memory with it. You have to look down to do anything with it. That goes against the entire UX of a keyboard. How Apple hasn’t understood that basic fact yet is beyond me. This new MacBook is nothing special. A Ryzen 4000HS surface is more attractive now. The cheaper CPU Ryzen has 8 cores and is faster than the current 16” 6 core i7. Time to get rid of Intel and it’s over heating 14nm CPU’s.
New 13-inch MacBook Pro
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Re: New 13-inch MacBook Pro
#832So the question becomes now: who is buying this instead of a thinkpad/Linux equivalent laptop? Who is coming back to OSX now that the keyboards are better?
Re: New 13-inch MacBook Pro
#833Earlier quoted context omitted.
I had a dell latitude at work - horrific. Replaced with an xps-13 - much better, but wouldn't recommend. At home replaced my mbp with a surface laptop, deleted windows installed linux - bliss.
Are latest Surface models working okay with Ubuntu?
Couldn't say; using arch, on non-touchscreen, all good.
Re: New 13-inch MacBook Pro
#834Earlier quoted context omitted.
Useful figures, so thanks for providing those. It's been a few months since I last looked into the latest prices. I agree with you that it's still worth it. However, I feel that without comparing the OS and tight OS integration, this doesn't represent one of the most important aspects of a comparison between the two, when considering a purchase. I go through this same loop every time I buy a new machine... yes, usual…
I came to Macs as a longtime Windows/Linux user for software developmemt. There's no way I would ever go back. My 2015 Air is rock solid, never any problems despite being used 8-12 hours per day and you get Unix underneath. Just bought a new Air so I can have a backup machine.
Could not agree more with this. I'd sooner buy an "ancient" secondhand MacBook Air than use Windows or attempt to use Linux on a laptop.
I find the the touch bar obviously annoying, but that annoyance is so minor compared with the annoyances of Windows or running Linux on a laptop. Honestly it seems like a lot of people have quite the double standard when it comes to Apple products.
This is also coming from someone who was forced to use Windows professionally for several years (worked on CAD software).
Re: New 13-inch MacBook Pro
#835Bringing back the escape key is such a admission of their original screw up. I'm glad they admitted it and reversed the design decision. But I'm still on a 2012 15" MacBook that's running strong. I normally would have updated but using my work 15" has been horrific between the dongles, the keyboard randomly dropping keys (last week "G" would not work, now it's back. The most infuriating thing about the touch bar, out…
Everyone keeps talking about vi/emacs stuff. While that was annoying, the more annoying aspect was when macOS softlocked and I was unable to hit the chord (cmd+opt+esc) to get the kill task window because the touchbar froze as well. Having a virtual ESC key in software that can be frozen, where part of your keyboard chord to kill apps includes the ESC key is really, really, stupid and caused me lots of wasted time th…
This happened to me last week.
I did not notice at first, but I could not reduce the volume, since its control was gone.
Then I tried to restart finder, but the escape key was ‘gone’.
I have an even better story about the one that replaced this (same model).
Re: New 13-inch MacBook Pro
#836Earlier quoted context omitted.
Something that I've found useful is https://pock.dev/ . It lets the touchbar replace the on-screen dock
I think this might deserve its own submission.
It was submitted here [0]. Let the MBP bikeshedding continue... ;)
Re: New 13-inch MacBook Pro
#837The Apple Tax is becoming so ridiculous even the hardcore fans are getting pissed.. The price/specs don't make any sense even when compared to Apple a couple years ago.
The price/specs don't make any sense even when compared to Apple a couple years ago.
Two years ago the prices were $1299, $1499, $1799 and $1999 for the off the shelf models. Currently the prices are $1299, $1499, $1799 and $1999.
https://web.archive.org/web/20180503185423/https://www.apple...
Re: New 13-inch MacBook Pro
#838$2k for an i5? No thanks. I can max out a HP Spectre x360 with an i7, 16GB, 4K OLED touchscreen, and 2TB NVMe and come in under $1900. Plus its lighter, has better battery life, better cameras, and a better keyboard. Get it with just the 256GB NVMe, and I can pare that down to $1570. https://store.hp.com/us/en/mdp/spectre-x360-211501--1
But can it run MacOS? :)
If I want to use an operating system based on Unix O/S with a fancy window system, I'll use Elementary OS and pocket the $600+ bucks, thanks. There is not a single Mac-only app that can't be replaced by a better app at free or equal cost.
Re: New 13-inch MacBook Pro
#839The problem with the touchbar is that you cannot build muscle memory with it. You have to look down to do anything with it. That goes against the entire UX of a keyboard. How Apple hasn’t understood that basic fact yet is beyond me. This new MacBook is nothing special. A Ryzen 4000HS surface is more attractive now. The cheaper CPU Ryzen has 8 cores and is faster than the current 16” 6 core i7. Time to get rid of Inte…
Not only that, my fingers also occasionally hover over touchbar and create accidental touches constantly creating chaos. I actually got cold feet of using my Mac because of that and sticking to my PC most of the time.
Re: New 13-inch MacBook Pro
#840I recently got an 11" ipad pro with the new keyboard/touchpad. After using it for some time, I don't think I'll have a need for a personal mpb anymore. I have a tower with windows/linux and a 1080ti for heavy lifting when needed. There's just a freeing feeling to getting a device with a small form factor that can be just a screen if needed.
I'm in a similar boat, really enjoy using my older iPad pro. I'm more interested in a desktop for a daily driver that I can also remote into from the iPad. Still need Apple hardware because of my work. The 5K retina iMacs are awfully tempting.