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Dell XPS 13 Review from a lifelong Mac user

jeffgeerling.com

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Re: Dell XPS 13 Review from a lifelong Mac user

#101

Post by tamatsyk »

ender341341 wrote: post #88
tamatsyk wrote: post #55

Good summary, I share most of the points provided in the post. Also, I think a few more things worth to mention. Pros: - XPS has a decent hardware (I got 16GB, i8Gen, 500GB SSD and forgot about having a few docker containers running on the background which was an issue with my MacBook Pro 15 (8GB, 2.5Gh) - It is really 1k$ cheaper than the same config MacBook model. Apple's Retina and Touchbar are really cool, howeve…

They do 16gb 13" macbook pros (I'm typing this on an early 2015 that came with 16gb). They don't have 32GB laptops which would be useful for some of my work though.

Oh, you are right, not sure why I was almost sure it does not exist. Good catch!

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review from a lifelong Mac user

#103

Post by modzu »

skrebbel wrote: post #5

I like this writeup but I sort of expected it to contain a "Windows 10 Review from a lifelong macos user" embedded in it. I was surprised that this was just about the hardware. As a happy lifelong Windows user, surrounded by programmers who call me insane (or an idiot, even) for liking it, I was curious to learn more about what a developer who's used to Mac thinks about the Windows 10 dev experience. (notably for a m…

win aint bad on a desktop. its the laptops that mac does beautifully (here i am working on a couch)

tho win 10's default privacy settings leave a lot to be desired :(

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review from a lifelong Mac user

#104

Post by 2xlbuds »

tamatsyk wrote: post #55

Good summary, I share most of the points provided in the post. Also, I think a few more things worth to mention. Pros: - XPS has a decent hardware (I got 16GB, i8Gen, 500GB SSD and forgot about having a few docker containers running on the background which was an issue with my MacBook Pro 15 (8GB, 2.5Gh) - It is really 1k$ cheaper than the same config MacBook model. Apple's Retina and Touchbar are really cool, howeve…

I also used an XPS 15 for personal and work before switching to a Macbook, and it was also much thicker than a retina MBP. I didn't have a touchscreen model, but the touchpad was probably the best touchpad I have used on a windows machine (it even had good gesture support, like 4 finger swipe to switch programs). It did have some weird quirks like the optical drive would make a loud mechanical noise whenever you turned it on, and the screen would often get dust stuck behind it which was basically impossible to clean.

By the way, all Macbook pro models still have the 3.5mm audio jack.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review from a lifelong Mac user

#105

Post by filleduchaos »

tamatsyk wrote: post #55

Good summary, I share most of the points provided in the post. Also, I think a few more things worth to mention. Pros: - XPS has a decent hardware (I got 16GB, i8Gen, 500GB SSD and forgot about having a few docker containers running on the background which was an issue with my MacBook Pro 15 (8GB, 2.5Gh) - It is really 1k$ cheaper than the same config MacBook model. Apple's Retina and Touchbar are really cool, howeve…

> and forgot about having a few docker containers running on the background which was an issue with my MacBook Pro 15 (8GB, 2.5Gh)

It's almost as if Docker has to start and run in a VM on non-Linux systems.

> however, they still do not have 16GB 13' mac which is a deal breaker.

What are you talking about? You've been able to upgrade the memory in a 13 inch MBP to 16GB on purchase since like 2015 at least

> Touchscreen

I've had two traditional laptops with touchscreens. Both times they got in my way and I stop using the touchscreen after like three months max.

On a 2-in-1 like the Surface Book where touch is a first-class input it's a completely different story, but on traditional laptops a touchscreen is far from an ideal user input device. It's like the N64 controller - you're left wondering if the manufacturer thinks you have a third arm coming out of your chest or something. To use it you have to take your hand completely off one of your two much better input devices (keyboard and trackpad/mouse) and hold your arm in an awkward, quickly painful position if your laptop is in a normal position (on a fairly flat surface with the screen straight or maybe tilted back a little, a couple of feet away from you max). The touch bar isn't the greatest design decision but moving a finger up to tap e.g. the bookmark app control in Chrome is a far more natural movement than lifting my hand to the screen to attempt to poke at the bookmark star which is rendered at like half the size of my fingertip.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review from a lifelong Mac user

#106

Post by abrookins »

yulaow wrote: post #28
skrebbel wrote: post #5

I like this writeup but I sort of expected it to contain a "Windows 10 Review from a lifelong macos user" embedded in it. I was surprised that this was just about the hardware. As a happy lifelong Windows user, surrounded by programmers who call me insane (or an idiot, even) for liking it, I was curious to learn more about what a developer who's used to Mac thinks about the Windows 10 dev experience. (notably for a m…

I always had very little sympathy for those who express very strong opinion _against_ other OSes and their users, professionals or not. In 2018 every one of the main OSes can be used efficiently for programming purposes, windows10 too especially now that it has the WLS

I've been hearing this about WSL for a while now. However, I just spent a ton of time (like weeks) actually trying Windows 10 and the Windows Subsystem for Linux (for those who don't know what WSL is), coming from a Mac, and I gotta say, WSL isn't there yet for the code I work with. Specifically, it worked fine for some Python stuff, it built some Go code decently, I figured something out for Docker, but then it blew up on the Rails apps I use (a missing syscall implementation breaks unicorn).

Aside from the potential to run into show-stopping problems like that, you may run into "big company" problems if you work for one, like I do. That is, VPN support within WSL only half-works, and because it's Windows you may be forced to follow domain policies that require Windows Defender to run, which slows down WSL, and blocks you from Insider builds that could fix WSL problems.

You can run a Linux VM on Windows instead of WSL. Which has its own set of problems and is overall a worse experience than developing on macOS, in my opinion.

So currently while, as a Mac user, I actually prefer the Windows 10 UI, the hardware competition, the keyboards, etc., I can't use WSL. Side-projects that you can adapt to WSL's limitations are one thing, but making it work as your development environment for a wide-range of professional projects is another. I saw all this with some actual sadness because I'm tired of investing in Apple when they've basically abandoned macOS and are making so many hardware choices I disagree with, that affect me (keyboard, touch bar).

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review from a lifelong Mac user

#107

Post by jordache »

reacharavindh wrote: post #9

I have a Dell XPS 13 as my personal machine. It runs Linux. Everything works. But, I still find myself using my MacBook Pro (provided by work) for almost everything even at home. Two things that keep me in the Mac land. 1. Retina Display and the 16:10 aspect ratio. 2. Smooth, and usable touchpad. XPS13's display is too rectangle and I'm not watching movies in it. It feels too cramped for looking at code. GNOME out of…

How hard is it for device makers to prefect the touchpad? It should be a no brainer like mouse devices by now huh?

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review from a lifelong Mac user

#108

Post by rz2k »

tamatsyk wrote: post #55

Good summary, I share most of the points provided in the post. Also, I think a few more things worth to mention. Pros: - XPS has a decent hardware (I got 16GB, i8Gen, 500GB SSD and forgot about having a few docker containers running on the background which was an issue with my MacBook Pro 15 (8GB, 2.5Gh) - It is really 1k$ cheaper than the same config MacBook model. Apple's Retina and Touchbar are really cool, howeve…

Removing the 3.5mm jack from phones was an exasperating way to push air pods, but they didn’t do the same thing to their laptops. You can plug headphones into the latest MacBook Pros without any sort of adapter.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review from a lifelong Mac user

#109

Post by TACIXAT »

I was just looking at XPSs for a new laptop. My SO has the XPS 15. I ended up getting a 13" System 76 instead. My main reasons were that I didn't need a touch screen and the webcam is only good if you're a hand model. I just had an MBP for work and while they are really well polished I struggle with Apple's restrictions and ecosystem. That laptop and my previous System 76 were pretty decked out, and besides running VMs, I didn't really utilize the hardware. I'm trying something more standard (8GB of ram and an i5) on my new laptop. I think it will be a good development machine.
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