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Thoughts on the Late 2016 MacBook Pro

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Re: Thoughts on the Late 2016 MacBook Pro

#111

Post by dan_m2k »

kristiandupont wrote: post #98
hmigneron wrote: post #42

I'm always surprised when developers don't talk about the F keys in their reviews of the new MBP. I mostly agree with the author regarding the escape key, the touch bar isn't really a problem in that regard, it still works and I got used to "pressing" it on the touchbar really quickly. I really really miss physical F keys though. I spend a lot of time debugging (either in the Chrome debugger or in IDEs) where pressin…

This bothers me as well. I also have issues with the esc key though. Apparently, I tend to rest my finger on it without noticing (I had no idea). So my subconscious experience with this new laptop is that it seems quite neurotic, constantly closing windows in front of me for no apparent reason, until I discover my finger on the touchbar.

Yep. I'm right there with you. I thought the new mac had an issue loading webpages. Turns out I was involuntarily cancelling navigation with ESC all the bloody time.

Re: Thoughts on the Late 2016 MacBook Pro

#112

Post by theodorton »

yokohummer7 wrote: post #100
hmigneron wrote: post #42

I'm always surprised when developers don't talk about the F keys in their reviews of the new MBP. I mostly agree with the author regarding the escape key, the touch bar isn't really a problem in that regard, it still works and I got used to "pressing" it on the touchbar really quickly. I really really miss physical F keys though. I spend a lot of time debugging (either in the Chrome debugger or in IDEs) where pressin…

Well, my experience is the opposite: while using the new MacBook I realized how infrequent I was using the function keys. The only times that I noticed the "missing" function keys were when I tried to open up the web developer console (F12), or rename a file (F2). I did see Apple's rationale here: ordinary users won't miss them, given I, being a developer, didn't miss them either. But unlike you and the OP, pressing…

You can re-map the Escape key to Caps Lock. I bought the new MBP and got used to this. Although I returned it later and went back to my previous machine, I still use Caps Lock as Escape.

I'm using Karabiner Elements on Sierra.

    brew cask install karabiner-elements
Edit: I also believe it causes less strain on my fingers.

Re: Thoughts on the Late 2016 MacBook Pro

#113

Post by vacri »

masklinn wrote: post #95
symmitchry wrote: post #8

He says dongles and cables are "a non-issue" and buys over 7 new dongles, 2 new custom cables, plus a new card reader?

I guess the author has some perspective. They bought a >2.5k machine, the dongles aren't exactly going to break bank.

Until they get borrowed or even "borrowed". Every other day in my office has a mac user wandering around looking for some sort of video adapter dongle or similar, asking if anyone knows who borrowed theirs. Person A isn't in the office, so person B borrows their adaptor 'just for now' and then absent-mindedly takes it home, leaving person A scratching their head the next day.

The problem with dongles is more than just price-point.

Re: Thoughts on the Late 2016 MacBook Pro

#114

Post by Buetol »

jonaswi wrote: post #99
brentis wrote: post #58

I saw the new MacBooks in person 2 days ago and kept asking, "why would I buy one of these?" Cheap feeling keyboard, useless difference in thickness, and only 16gb. Not going back under 32 with Photoshop ever. I'll stick with my 2013 and look at a Lenovo 2-1 next. Pretty tired of OS X too.

I was in the exact same situation. I was so tired of being forced to buy overpriced hardware from apple that I'm not even happy with just because I work with OS X. I then bought a new Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition and was really surprised that a) the scaling doe snot even work with dells own "tweaked" Ubuntu (even the installer looked horrible) and b) "coil whine" is a thing at this price point. I was so unhappy with…

I did the same, bought an XPS 13 become it seemed everybody would recommend it but got many problems (battery died, wifi range is very low, suspend on disk not working, no hdmi, ...)

I then discovered Clevo, they sell very customizable laptop where you can have crazy specs (two HDD, 64gb ram, latest i7) for very reasonable prices (compared to apple). I'm waiting for mine but it seems like the perfect solution.

Also, that's what System76 and many "custom linux laptops" shops sells but under other names.

Re: Thoughts on the Late 2016 MacBook Pro

#115

Post by chadcmulligan »

I don't hear much about the display on the MBP, it's as near to perfect as any display I've ever seen, using text is beautiful, the colour depth is extraordinary - and its a laptop.

I plugged in a new external 1080p monitor and thought at first there was something wrong with it, but no it's just the difference in crispness. Not only that you can run 2 external 5K monitors! from a laptop!

The SSD's are so fast, it's also so quiet - you never hear the fan. The only negative is it gets warm when charging on my lap.

I too don't see the point of the touchbar though, it's a cute gadget to play with. The sound is remarkable, though the whole laptop vibrates when the sound is turned up (edit: though there's no audible distortion or vibration noises which is pretty unique for a laptop too).

It is without a doubt the most perfect laptop I have ever owned, like everyone I would have liked to pay less for it. I'll use it for the next three years then give it too my daughter and she'll use it for another three years like my last one. I'm very happy with my purchase.

Re: Thoughts on the Late 2016 MacBook Pro

#116

Post by mcjiggerlog »

mactunes wrote: post #65

I've also been a Mac user for 20 years and can totally relate to the conclusion he made: I felt betrayed by Apple's pricing on this machine. I decided to not get a Mac for the first time since 1996 and so far haven't regretted the move.

What did you get, out of interest?

Re: Thoughts on the Late 2016 MacBook Pro

#117

Post by meddlepal »

notalaser wrote: post #93
routelastresort wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The good thing that can come of this would be the resurgence of the Linux desktop. Apple just crossed the line for me (<32GB, no SSD upgrade, messing with the keyboard). I'll miss the almost perfect trackpad, but there's no way I'll support these choices.

Historically, the side effect this tends to have is that a lot of programmers flock to a new platform but bring the way they use and write programs with them. Fifteen years ago we ended up with CORBA- and Window Registry-like components bolted on top of Linux desktops. On the other hand, seeing how nowadays the Linux "community" is mostly a bunch of big cloud, automotive and IoT/vaporware companies, this could be the…

I wasn't aware the Linux desktop needed salvation. Maybe it needs salvation for non-technical end users but it's good to excellent for end-users whose primary use involve actually using Linux for what it's good at which is basically being a fully open OS and IDE for software and other engineers.

Re: Thoughts on the Late 2016 MacBook Pro

#118

Post by rbanffy »

dajohnson89 wrote: post #86
routelastresort wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The good thing that can come of this would be the resurgence of the Linux desktop. Apple just crossed the line for me (<32GB, no SSD upgrade, messing with the keyboard). I'll miss the almost perfect trackpad, but there's no way I'll support these choices.

Resurgence? When was it ever popular? Iirc, market share right now is under 5%. I say this as pretty much a lifelong Linux desktop user. I've been waiting and hoping for it to take off, but.....

Macs took over some of the developer space that Linux laptops used to be in. As a usable Unix environment with excellent hardware, it's a solid investment.

Re: Thoughts on the Late 2016 MacBook Pro

#119

Post by zimbatm »

hmigneron wrote: post #42

I'm always surprised when developers don't talk about the F keys in their reviews of the new MBP. I mostly agree with the author regarding the escape key, the touch bar isn't really a problem in that regard, it still works and I got used to "pressing" it on the touchbar really quickly. I really really miss physical F keys though. I spend a lot of time debugging (either in the Chrome debugger or in IDEs) where pressin…

As a workaround it's possible to show them on the strip:

System Preferences -> Keyboard -> Press Fn Key to: Show F1, F2, etc Keys

Re: Thoughts on the Late 2016 MacBook Pro

#120

Post by jbverschoor »

hpaavola wrote: post #73
r00fus wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If Apple keeps it, they will improve on it to the point where it doesn't suck.

I don't believe that the fundamental issue can be fixed. Ironically "Touch Bar" is something you can't feel when you touch it. Real physical buttons guide your finger to the correct location if you miss them slightly. "Touch" buttons don't. To fix that, one would need to rework the whole OS and applications in such way that they don't use F-keys at all, but rather something else. So, fixing Touch Bar means rethinking…

Just wait until the force-touchbar and then the 3d-touchbar.

I agree with the feedback, but I'm certain they will add this.

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