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One Year with ThinkPad and Linux (From MacBook Pro)

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241–250 of 372 posts

Re: One Year with ThinkPad and Linux (From MacBook Pro)

#241
post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"It just works with external displays" - ಠ_ಠ

Lol yeah. That is literally the worst thing about MacBooks. It's hard enough getting it to work properly in a dual monitor setup, but I can reproducibly generate forced power cycles by plugging into a dock when the lid is closed due to a kernel panic bug that still hasn't been solved despite numerous reports from users suffering the same fate on Catalina. I also just had to reboot my MBP 16 because every so often whe…

>I can reproducibly generate forced power cycles by plugging into a dock when the lid is closed due to a kernel panic bug

Crazy as it is, I've found this to be less common after upgrading the firmware on my monitors.

Re: One Year with ThinkPad and Linux (From MacBook Pro)

#242

> Touchpad is not close to Mac I'm using l390 and the touchpad feels good for me. Never use mac, does mac's touchpad is considerably better? EDIT: formatting

Macs vibrate the touchpad when you click. There's no hinge. It's the best solution I've used so far, and it's unique to apple as long as it remains patented (US 8,633,916).

Re: One Year with ThinkPad and Linux (From MacBook Pro)

#243
post #61

I recently purchased a 16” MBP despite significant personal concerns over the future of MacOS, being a strong open source advocate and Linux paying my mortgage. I did this ultimately for a few reasons. MacOS lets me run Adobe (Photoshop, Lightroom, etc), Fusion360, has a good terminal (iTerm and zsh unix like shell) and Logic. Mac hardware is still some of the best in the business, no other vendors seem to be able to…

I have a 2013 MacBook Air that I still love. Works fine for 90% of everything I want. Only recently started to feel sluggish for Camtasia & Premier Pro video editing.

I love Linux, have used it from the very beginning, want to use it on the desktop more, may buy a small NUC to host it and some containers for development -- but I'm not sure I want to spend any time thinking about hardware compatibility and living with it 100% on the desktop.

That said, all the recent reports of Mac hardware concern me. I'm really hoping their next product line is a return to the early 2000s form. We bought a lot of those at the company I was at, and it was a no-brainer.

I could flip it -- convert to a Linux laptop and keep a Mac mini on the desk for media projects.

A Lenovo Legion I bought recently for my kid is nice... but I don't see the hardware lasting as long as the MacBook Air has. I'll see if it even lasts 3-4 years. If it's like the Dells I've owned, it'll "work" but won't feel solid.

Re: One Year with ThinkPad and Linux (From MacBook Pro)

#244

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The XM3s support the AAC codec too, [0] as that's the codec iPhones use (iPhones don't support aptX or LDAC). Does macOS not support AAC? [0] https://helpguide.sony.net/mdr/wh1000xm3/v1/en/contents/TP00...

I have never been able to get it to negotiate AAC on OSX, though technically it does support it. iPhone works fine. Even still LDAC seems superior from my comparison to my Android and iPhone audio. See this thread for some discussion on it. https://www.reddit.com/r/MacOS/comments/bion53/force_macos_t...

I've successfully configured my Mac to use AptX with my Sony headphones.

Follow this guide: https://9to5mac.com/2018/08/31/mac-how-to-force-aptx-aac-on-...

Re: One Year with ThinkPad and Linux (From MacBook Pro)

#245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

how can you be an open source advocate and still work with adobe & friends? - no question on the quality/productivity of those, just on your argument. A more consistent argument would’ve been: “open source advocate, Gimp, Inkscape and others run even better on my mac than on linux” (would disagree on that, but at least it would be a more consistent argument)

Because you need to actually get your work done and need to interoperate with files from others? Being dogmatic and pure about the license of every piece of software you use might win internet points but it’s not going to actually get the job done.

>Being dogmatic and pure about the license of every piece of software you use might win internet points but it’s not going to actually get the job done.

Sure. But I wouldn't go around calling myself an "open source advocate" while supporting some of the worst.

Re: One Year with ThinkPad and Linux (From MacBook Pro)

#246
I made that decision in 2011 or so; still use the same thinkpad hardware, and it's still faster and better than the 2017 mbp I was issued by work.

Even if it was a shittier experience (kubuntu is vastly better than osx in every pertinent way), I'd continue using the thinkpad for the trackpoint and keyboard.

Re: One Year with ThinkPad and Linux (From MacBook Pro)

#247
post #61

I recently purchased a 16” MBP despite significant personal concerns over the future of MacOS, being a strong open source advocate and Linux paying my mortgage. I did this ultimately for a few reasons. MacOS lets me run Adobe (Photoshop, Lightroom, etc), Fusion360, has a good terminal (iTerm and zsh unix like shell) and Logic. Mac hardware is still some of the best in the business, no other vendors seem to be able to…

I've certainly been keeping my eyes open for a MacBook Pro alternative. On my last time looking, I thought I'd try to find something with:

- retina-like resolution 15" screen - 32GB RAM - slim and light without a flimsy plastic case - good battery life - good trackpad - keyboard home row centred

I could not find anything. I couldn't even find something with the first three items.

I'm starting to think it might make sense to go with a cheaper MacBook and a little pocket server like this: https://liliputing.com/2020/08/first-look-gmk-nucbox-2-4-inc...

Re: One Year with ThinkPad and Linux (From MacBook Pro)

#248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> - Sluggish UI -> I've never experienced this in the last three years of using my 2017 MBP. Not the author, but perhaps they meant that the UI was sluggish to use ? I find OSX great if you have one browser window open, but start to multitask at all and I personally find it a real pig to work with. Open windows are hidden behind a tiny white dot on the task bar, lots of wasted space around the task bar, no snapping o…

I use bettertouchtool to get window snapping. And you can turn off the animation when switching desktops in settings.

> I use bettertouchtool to get window snapping.

This is not a good point at all. Having to rely on third party applications (without any good way to discover them) to provide something that is taken for granted everywhere else is a horrible user experience!

It's the same if you want to use an external, non-Apple, completely normal HDMI monitor - use a third party application to make it use the default (for the monitor) refresh rate (60 Hz) and resolution (1920x1080).

It's the same if you want to use a completely normal USB computer mouse with a scroll wheel - install a third party application in order to make scroll wheel work like you expect.

And pretty much all those third party tools that are required to turn a Mac into a system that is actually working and allowing the user to be productive costs money as well.

Re: One Year with ThinkPad and Linux (From MacBook Pro)

#249

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It must be quite common, or companies wouldn't sell dedicated rack mounts for these: https://www.sonnettech.com/product/rackmacmini.html

Minis are also common in homelabs. Small, cheap when used (even cheaper if it's your own old machine), and natively runs a Unix-like environment for each management and can easily boot into Linux instead. I suspect the switch to Apple silicon is going to change that, however.

I could see that switching to Intel Nuc and Intel Clear Linux instead.

Re: One Year with ThinkPad and Linux (From MacBook Pro)

#250
post #61

I recently purchased a 16” MBP despite significant personal concerns over the future of MacOS, being a strong open source advocate and Linux paying my mortgage. I did this ultimately for a few reasons. MacOS lets me run Adobe (Photoshop, Lightroom, etc), Fusion360, has a good terminal (iTerm and zsh unix like shell) and Logic. Mac hardware is still some of the best in the business, no other vendors seem to be able to…

I've certainly been keeping my eyes open for a MacBook Pro alternative. On my last time looking, I thought I'd try to find something with: - retina-like resolution 15" screen - 32GB RAM - slim and light without a flimsy plastic case - good battery life - good trackpad - keyboard home row centred I could not find anything. I couldn't even find something with the first three items. I'm starting to think it might make s…

Where does the XPS15 fall short?
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