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I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

solar.lowtechmagazine.com

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Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

#311

Post by viraptor »

tmtvl wrote: post #262
Casteil wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Err, mobility? M1 / M2 Pro MBPs pack a serious punch... and they don't have to sacrifice battery life to do so - they smoke virtually all other laptops in terms of battery life.

Mobility is such an antifeature. Taking your work home with you is something you really shouldn't have to do. Worse even, taking your computer which potentially holds sensitive data with you could result in it getting stolen, at which point you've got a big problem on your hands. Laptops for work make no sense unless you're a field researcher.

Mobility is not about taking work home. Disk encryption is almost standard these days. (Windows home edition is the last holdout) People travel for / with work, do on-calls, work at customer sites, work from home and don't want to be stuck in one room, etc. Laptop may not make sense for you, but it seems you're a bit out of your element here.

Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

#312

Post by viraptor »

bodge5000 wrote: post #59

I can't say I stick to this 100%, but I actually like using underpowered laptops. Optimisation is an important step in the development process but its often rushed through even by those who consider it most important (myself included). However, if you NEED to optimise your code just to get the thing to work on your computer, a lot more attention is put into it. If I'm optimising for a lower spec machine than my users…

You can easily underpower your better laptop on demand for a specific task. And also you can do it in more controlled ways: what happens if the process gets less memory, fewer cores, lower cpu speed, worse network, etc. Getting an underpowered laptop to do both development and testing is not the only, or even best way to do this.

Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

#313

Post by viraptor »

cache_hit wrote: post #128
rozenmd wrote: post #7

ThinkPads are absolutely magic. Here's one I built for travelling: https://maxrozen.com/replacing-my-macbook-m1-with-thinkpad-t...

They really are. For example, I have a P53s (basically a renamed T590) that will randomly clock the i7 CPU it came with down to 400MHz under active use for extended periods of time, and I can't run anything that actually uses the cores on the i7 for more than a minute without hitting the 95 degree PROCHOT. The dedicated GPU also will clock itself down to 100MHz and shift the termal throttling range from 75 degrees to…

What did the support say about it? Did you get a replacement / refund?

Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

#314

Post by dangus »

bitwize wrote: post #143

I knew a guy who would buy a laptop, use it for like 3 months, then flip it on eBay and buy another. He said this is how you get good value for money -- flip it before it loses much of its resale value and buy new with the proceeds. I'm not sure why people would do this. I use computer equipment to the point of exhaustion. I still have laptops from the 90s that work fine; while they will never be a main they are fun…

These days you’d have to keep extensive tax records to do that scheme because eBay is going to report earnings over $600 to the IRS.

And you’ll get eaten alive by eBay fees.

Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

#315

Post by dangus »

EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK wrote: post #254

Well, I'm retired, so I don't do much emails or zoom anymore. I do serious stuff now, like Cyberpunk, MFS and Hogwarts. So I need serious hardware, updated often. And I'm constantly on the move too, so serious hardware needs to fit into my backpack. Sorry, snowflake millennial applebooks not up for the task.

Believe it or not, Apple laptops are now quite capable of gaming, and Apple’s recent release of a game development porting toolkit shows that they’re getting serious about the space:

https://youtu.be/bIPl71ZeOYk

40fps in Cyberpunk 2077 on a Mac laptop including a translation layer.

Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

#316

Post by barbariangrunge »

BowBun wrote: post #51
ido wrote: post #5

Nice. Now try to do the same as (some types of) programmer or 3d modeller or video editor. The newest MacBook with an M2 chip compiles and runs my projects drastically faster than the 2015 Dell XPS Skylake-i7 laptop I used to have and the GPU on the M2 is so ridiculously more powerful it's like going from 3dfx voodoo to a modern GPU.

Did you read the article? The author is, well, an author. They don't program or 3d model. Computation sped wasn't even mentioned in the point they were making. I guess I don't see the reason to read an article about a specific use-case/point of view, only to follow up and say, "yeah well it wouldn't work for this completely different thing you weren't talking about". It's not the 'gotcha' you think it is.

I’m an author, sometimes. My 2015 MacBook Air has slowed down so much, due to software bloat, it’s painful to use. You need to constantly buy new hardware to run peoples literally exponentially less efficient software

Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

#317

Post by barbariangrunge »

jrib wrote: post #73
soulbadguy wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it also (inflation / time adjusted) the most expensive ?

Base m1 macbook air sells for 800 bucks routinely. It's a great value in my opinion. I agree it's the best machine I have ever owned.

If you don’t mind wearing out your ssd with the insane swap use. You really need 16+ gb of ram on macs, otherwise you’re damaging your hardware

Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

#318

Post by nicbou »

BowBun wrote: post #51
ido wrote: post #5

Nice. Now try to do the same as (some types of) programmer or 3d modeller or video editor. The newest MacBook with an M2 chip compiles and runs my projects drastically faster than the 2015 Dell XPS Skylake-i7 laptop I used to have and the GPU on the M2 is so ridiculously more powerful it's like going from 3dfx voodoo to a modern GPU.

Did you read the article? The author is, well, an author. They don't program or 3d model. Computation sped wasn't even mentioned in the point they were making. I guess I don't see the reason to read an article about a specific use-case/point of view, only to follow up and say, "yeah well it wouldn't work for this completely different thing you weren't talking about". It's not the 'gotcha' you think it is.

I use my laptop (Macbook 12") to write too. It's fantastic for that... until you start playing YouTube Music in the background or try to use Google Maps. It's getting to a point where the delays on many tasks become noticeable and affect my workflow.

That's unfortunate because I love that little laptop.

Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

#319

Post by chadash »

akmittal wrote: post #179
jwcooper wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is what Framework set out to do (and is pulling it off so far...I'm typing this out on my 12th gen framework). They have an entire marketplace of replacement parts you can buy, including screens. They've even got battery upgrades (increased capacity), better speakers, new screen type (matte) that you can retrofit into your existing Framework. They support upgrading from their first gen laptop (admittedly they ar…

I just upgraded RAM(4 -> 12 GB) and HDD to SSD of a 8 years old laptop and it became a lot more responsive. Laptops now a days are not upgradable and companies claim they are doing so to build lighter laptops but framework is proving all of them wrong

> and companies claim they are doing so to build lighter laptops

A framework 13" is 15.9mm thick and weighs 2.9 lbs. A macbook air M1 is 16.1mm thick and weights 2.8 lbs. So it's pretty darn close.

I'm sure that thinner and lighter laptops exist, but yeah, the framework is pretty thin. And at a certain point, it stops mattering. Being thinner wouldn't really provide much utility at this point.

The fact is that repairability is just not profitable for companies like Apple or Dell. They would rather you replace your entire computer when your screen cracks. But I very much hope that enough people do care about repairability to keep Framework afloat (and profitable). As an owner, I was astonished how easy it is to take this thing apart and replace things; I would guess that most of my non-technical friends can probably replace a monitor or a touchpad on one of these laptops with very little difficulty.

Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

#320

Post by nicbou »

tmtvl wrote: post #262
Casteil wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Err, mobility? M1 / M2 Pro MBPs pack a serious punch... and they don't have to sacrifice battery life to do so - they smoke virtually all other laptops in terms of battery life.

Mobility is such an antifeature. Taking your work home with you is something you really shouldn't have to do. Worse even, taking your computer which potentially holds sensitive data with you could result in it getting stolen, at which point you've got a big problem on your hands. Laptops for work make no sense unless you're a field researcher.

Mobility lets me work on the balcony and in parks
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