21–30 of 35 posts
If I could run commercial software on linux, I'd be on Linux full-stop.
Yes, they are expensive but they seem to last a little longer than the Thinkpads. I think the Thinkpads used to be a professional class machine but I think they are coasting on their old reputation now. We had several fail (screens mostly) in a 3 person shop where I worked.
At some point, the cost of the hardware pales in comparison to the downtime you would experience if your machine failed. I haven't had any problems with my (less than 2 years old) MBP Retina but I had a few things fail over the 7 years I had the previous MBP. I had a video board fail and I took it down to the Apple store and got it fixed in a day or two. I replaced the hard drives and fans myself as it got older.
Another thing in favor of the MBP in customer facing situations is the screen. For demonstrating GUI's and graphics the MBP screen just looks good - though it was a lot better when they had 17" screens.
Sounds like you really like the new ThinkPads. Linux will run on either machine. One thing to consider (countering my point elsewhere in the thread) while I don't believe Apple products are more expensive when all the features are considered, Apple sure does overcharge for one thing, and that is memory. So, depending on how much memory you want to get, that could make your decision. Linux runs fine in VMs for me on t…
http://www.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comments/2w1tiv/uleadorg_hi...
If you are a developer compare the screens - my T420 is pain for the eyes and the screen ratio sucks for coding. My next PC is going to be MBP or MS Surface Pro. No more crappy screens.
Screen, keyboard and touchpad are super important. It's what you use most in a laptop after all. Lenovo offers different screens for the same models. Be careful to pick the better one.
While the touchpad on MBPs is nice, I found clicking a button which isn't a button quite stressful on the hands. Also, moving my hand to the touchpad and then back up to the ASDF-JKL; typing position is uncomfortable having gotten used to just moving one finger to the trackpoint.
The trackpoint does have one major flaw though - drift. Sometimes, it seems to move itself and you have to correct it. Apparently there is some kind of calibration going on, but it's quite annoying and I wish/hope there is some kind of fix.
Thinkpad every day of the week, MPBs are horrible to do hardware maintenance on. You can also get static electric shocks from the chassi and they don't have a DVI/HDMI connection
The 2012+ versions of MBPs have an HDMI connection on the right side
(Source: using HDMI without an adapter now - also using dvi with an adapter)
Thinkpads are a large range, from the inexpensive business line to their workstation line, each often having multiple display options. I've only ever had the first Intel Macbook Pro, which really had heat and noise problems and I didn't like a few other Mac things about it. Other than that I've been running Linux on Thinkpads and not had any problems. Battery life is good these days and I'm a Trackpoint fan, once you…
What's funny is that this L range can have 16 GB ram whereas the much nicer X range can't because it has to comply with Intel's requirements (I believe of 8GB max) in order to be labelled an Ultrabook.
I'd consider a macbook more seriously if I lived anywhere near an Apple store. Fortunately I'm quite happy on a Thinkpad (T430s currently).
Thinkpads are a large range, from the inexpensive business line to their workstation line, each often having multiple display options. I've only ever had the first Intel Macbook Pro, which really had heat and noise problems and I didn't like a few other Mac things about it. Other than that I've been running Linux on Thinkpads and not had any problems. Battery life is good these days and I'm a Trackpoint fan, once you…
I think there are too many models. I just came across the L range, which is basically the same as the T range but cheaper and slightly bigger, but not by much. What's funny is that this L range can have 16 GB ram whereas the much nicer X range can't because it has to comply with Intel's requirements (I believe of 8GB max) in order to be labelled an Ultrabook.
Unfortunately, this means that people like me who prefer powerful laptops in a smaller form factor are pretty much limited to the retina MBPs now.