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Ask HN: Is there a developer laptop that does not suck and is not a Mac in 2022?

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Re: Ask HN: Is there a developer laptop that does not suck and is not a Mac in 2022?

#351

Post by neogodless »

jmyeet wrote: post #319
zivkovicp wrote: post #137

Please excuse the long-winded answer... I have also given up on Apple, but mostly because I can't see the value in it anymore, otherwise my experience with them has been satisfactory (Intel CPU models). For the past few years I used a Microsoft Surface Pro because it seemed to have good build quality and high screen resolution, but despite this I have had to replace it as part of a recall due to a graphics hardware i…

The M1/M2 Macbooks are a total game-changer. You made your switch in the Intel era. I certainly get that because it was the dark days of the pointless Touch Bar and the awful butterfly keyboard. But now an M2 Macbook Air for $1500-2000 (depending on options) is hard to beat. The only complaint seems to be in heat distribution. Some people use a cheap heat spreader on their desk. Apple definitely chose a stylish packa…

The thread is about having terrible support from Apple, and the comment you replied to was about getting away from lock-in, but you reply that the more efficient Apple Silicon is a "game-changer." It doesn't change any of the above deal breakers, so your comment comes off as tone deaf.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a developer laptop that does not suck and is not a Mac in 2022?

#352

Post by mdp2021 »

akvadrako wrote: post #134
mdp2021 wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Since you know the product (frame.work) well: how does one get the specifications page?! Last time I checked, they (notebookcheck.net) said it used a glossy display instead of matte; I cannot find a specifications table in the frame.work website and the closest thing I got is in the "Marketplace Parts" section, e.g. at https://frame.work/products/display-kit - where the non-trivial, simply critical detail of glossy v…

Matte displays are just glossy displays with a coating that disperses light. You can achieve the same effect by adding a layer. Something like this: https://viascreens.com/screen-protectors/framework/ However turning a matte display into a glossy one isn't possible. FYI, https://community.frame.work/t/matte-screen-please/577/114 .

Unfortunately, proper placement of a matte film is far from trivial. Nor is procurement.

I used a firm that provided an excellent product and decent service, but two years ago they replaced the film they had used for many years and which was superb, with an appalling grater - you can see the pins with naked eye, and it even sounds when you pass a finger on it. I have stopped purchasing mobile devices because of lack of proper ways to finish the screen.

I was actually thinking of finding a "universal" solution to use at home.

For laptop displays, I think will insist that they are professional grade, for professional use, until () the "universal" solution is in place and () for ethical reasons: you have to guide the market to the best standards and counter the bad ones.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a developer laptop that does not suck and is not a Mac in 2022?

#354

Post by throw1234651234 »

NorwegianDude wrote: post #174

You don't say where you are located, but unless you are in one of the few places where Dell doesn't offer on-site next business day support then XPS 13 is a great laptop. Their support is amazing: "We're not sure what is causing it, but we'll send someone to replace the whole motherboard tomorrow." "OH, your currently halfway across the world on a island? No problem, we'll be there tomorrow" I really don't understand…

Had XPS 15 for 6 years for work. Screen started dying all the time in year 2. Magically fixed itself after being taken apart multiple times. Network card died. Replaced. Still disconnects sometimes. Added 16 gigs of RAM. Was super picky about what RAM it took. Battery did swell a bit, but then stopped and didn't affect anything. I never replaced it. Overall, I am not too happy, but can't think of a better laptop.

Edit: Saw another comment on overheating - I only run mine on a coolpad, period. I think it fries the RAM otherwise.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a developer laptop that does not suck and is not a Mac in 2022?

#355

Post by PaulWaldman »

NorwegianDude wrote: post #174

You don't say where you are located, but unless you are in one of the few places where Dell doesn't offer on-site next business day support then XPS 13 is a great laptop. Their support is amazing: "We're not sure what is causing it, but we'll send someone to replace the whole motherboard tomorrow." "OH, your currently halfway across the world on a island? No problem, we'll be there tomorrow" I really don't understand…

>"OH, your currently halfway across the world on a island? No problem, we'll be there tomorrow"

Is this real? I travel quite a bit and have a ThinkPad with the highest level of support. When international, it takes at least 10 days to get replacement parts. The ticket is forwarded to the closest support. When I was in Cape Town, this happened to be the UK. It's easy to see how it takes that long to get replacement parts when they are shipped such great distances. The support reps, although friendly, weren't very responsive.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a developer laptop that does not suck and is not a Mac in 2022?

#356

Post by ModernMech »

jmyeet wrote: post #319
zivkovicp wrote: post #137

Please excuse the long-winded answer... I have also given up on Apple, but mostly because I can't see the value in it anymore, otherwise my experience with them has been satisfactory (Intel CPU models). For the past few years I used a Microsoft Surface Pro because it seemed to have good build quality and high screen resolution, but despite this I have had to replace it as part of a recall due to a graphics hardware i…

The M1/M2 Macbooks are a total game-changer. You made your switch in the Intel era. I certainly get that because it was the dark days of the pointless Touch Bar and the awful butterfly keyboard. But now an M2 Macbook Air for $1500-2000 (depending on options) is hard to beat. The only complaint seems to be in heat distribution. Some people use a cheap heat spreader on their desk. Apple definitely chose a stylish packa…

I think the downvotes are coming from calling it a “game changer”. How has the game actually has changed? What does the new AS MacBook enable that the other ones don’t, or other laptops don’t for that matter?

We live in an age of fast performance and great battery life on most any laptop. Having faster performance and better battery life isn’t changing the game —- that’s how the game has been played as long as laptops have been a consumer product category. If Apple’s support is the same, then the OP’s problem isn’t fixed. Their problem wasn’t performance and battery life.

P.S. I’m speaking as someone who owns both a MacBook Pro and a surface laptop, so I’m not exactly biased against MacBooks.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a developer laptop that does not suck and is not a Mac in 2022?

#357

Post by wyldfire »

weberer wrote: post #262
lerela wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Latest models have suspend issues with Linux though, so keep that in mind if you do not plan to use Windows.

The same issues exist in Windows as well. They actually exist BECAUSE Windows no longer supports real sleep mode. Microsoft does this to push "modern standby" so they can phone home 24/7.

> Microsoft does this to push "modern standby" so they can phone home 24/7.

This seems like a less likely incentive than the expectation created by phones and tablets that the device become ready "instantly".

Qualcomm has moved into the laptop space and brands their products as "always-on, always-connected" such that your programs are not halted while the screen is inactive/lid is closed. Microsoft may feel like some of their laptops compete with iOS/Android devices that respond quicker. Maybe they want x86_64 Windows to work just as well as ARM Windows in this regard.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a developer laptop that does not suck and is not a Mac in 2022?

#358

Post by folkrav »

eastbound wrote: post #349
NorwegianDude wrote: post #174

You don't say where you are located, but unless you are in one of the few places where Dell doesn't offer on-site next business day support then XPS 13 is a great laptop. Their support is amazing: "We're not sure what is causing it, but we'll send someone to replace the whole motherboard tomorrow." "OH, your currently halfway across the world on a island? No problem, we'll be there tomorrow" I really don't understand…

> then XPS 13 is a great laptop. No, clearly not. Apart from the overheating the first experience you’ll have is opening it: You pull the screen upwards, but the hinge is too strong, so the bottom comes with the screen, and then since the handle is slippery you lose the screen and the whole block slams on the desk. That’s on paar with the DELL experience. Pretty much everything is wrong about it.

> No, clearly not. Apart from the overheating the first experience you’ll have is opening it: You pull the screen upwards, but the hinge is too strong, so the bottom comes with the screen, and then since the handle is slippery you lose the screen and the whole block slams on the desk.

I've just always opened my laptops with two hands (I'm gonna type my password anyway?), so a hinge not being able to be opened with one hand always screamed "first world problem" type of issue to me. Maybe I'm just too used to crappy laptop hinges and using a nice one would be a revelation. I don't know.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a developer laptop that does not suck and is not a Mac in 2022?

#359

Post by hu3 »

ss108 wrote: post #344
digitalsushi wrote: post #333

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In May 2020, my wife's Dell laptop blipped out during her morning coffee from an over-weekend break, and by noon there was a Dell technician sitting at a card table in our garage, 32F/0C degrees, socially isolating from any germs we could have, and he swapped motherboards inside of an hour. Incredible.

Where are you located where it's 32F in May, lol

Could be a lot of places

https://climate.copernicus.eu/surface-air-temperature-may-20...

Re: Ask HN: Is there a developer laptop that does not suck and is not a Mac in 2022?

#360

Post by kwanbix »

ktpsns wrote: post #318

Thinkpad X1 (Yoga/Carbon) do great for heavy use developer laptops. I use them since the first generation, with Linux as operating system. Never had serious issues with drivers, even wacom, digitizer and auto display rotation are working nowadays, not to speak of USB-3, fingerprint sensors, etc. The whole device is a no-brainer and just works.

Yeah, after many, many problems with Dell's and HP's (I worked at IBM and we absorved thouthands of such machines on outsourcing deals), I recommend ThinkPads, Series X, T, P.
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