One Year with ThinkPad and Linux (From MacBook Pro) • Hacker News Board

Re: One Year with ThinkPad and Linux (From MacBook Pro)

#191

Post by JJMalina » Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 3:58 PM UTC

I didn't know about Darktable or Kdenlive, so I'll have to check those out. Peek is awesome for GIF recording.

I've been using a ThinkPad X1 Carbon running Xubuntu since 2016. Before that I was using a MacBook Pro.

The things I like about this machine/Linux are - It's light - The keyboard is great/better - The battery is really good coupled with the low resource usage of Xubuntu (except when I have Zoom, Docker, and lots of Firefox tabs) - Don't have any trouble with audio when using Bluetooth - I don't have to worry about MacOS breaking my dev environment - Setting up dev environment is a breeze

Things I dislike - CPU is not as powerful as a MacBook Pro - The most recent X/Ubuntu broke wake up from sleep - Some software doesn't have a Linux equivalent (Webex) - If you want to dual boot Linux and Windows, getting full disk encryption on X/Ubuntu is challenging - Plugging into a non-hidpi monitor is janky because it can't change dpi per screen - Speakers on this machine suck

For me doing strictly software development, the benefits of a stable and easy to use environment outweigh the warts of Linux.

If I were to get a new machine I'd consider Lenovo again. The new Dell XPS also looks great. I might also give Windows and WSL2 a try in my dual OS desktop. Windows feels a lot smoother compared to Linux (on a very powerful desktop though), but it's constantly notifying you about things which is a distraction.

Re: One Year with ThinkPad and Linux (From MacBook Pro)

#192

Post by chainwax » Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 4:00 PM UTC

x87678r wrote: post #71

I was looking at larger laptops to run Linux but they aren't cheap so MBP doesn't look such bad value. I want 15in screen with higher than 1080 resolution, 16GB memory, good battery life and there really isn't much less than $1500 from the main brands that will run Linux well. Any suggestions? Otherwise the MBP16 looks not such bad value as I know it'll be reliable.

I've been running a Thinkpad X1 Carbon with those specs for about two years. They're pretty cheap on the used (ebay) market.

Re: One Year with ThinkPad and Linux (From MacBook Pro)

#193

Post by als0 » Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 4:00 PM UTC

boogies wrote: post #152

hashedout wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is because the integration is not there in the linux ecosystem. Apple has this very tight integration because it controls both the hardware and the software. But there are some companies which have started doing the same thing: - System76 - Tuxedo These companies test their devices well on a distro and well, it reflects in their pricing too!

Dell also sells an XPS “Developer Edition” with Ubuntu pre-installed and officially supported, and Lenovo recently announced a range of workstations and Thinkpads being certified to support Ubuntu and Fedora. There’s also Purism that created a custom PureOS to closely fit their custom hardware, eg. a TPM designed for user security instead of vendor lock-in.

> fit their custom hardware, eg. a TPM designed for user security instead of vendor lock-in.

Just here to point out that they use a standard commercial off-the-shelf TPM manufactured by Infineon. It's not custom hardware. As with all TPMs, it is the firmware/OS that decides whether to use it for lock-in purposes or freedom.

Re: One Year with ThinkPad and Linux (From MacBook Pro)

#194

Post by unethical_ban » Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 4:01 PM UTC

The hardware on Mac is unparalleled. I can't hardly stand using my Thinkpad touchpad after having a Macbook work laptop. I know the keyboard on the recent macs have drawn criticism, but for me they work fine and I have fewer mistypes than when I am on the thinkpad. And battery life on macos is great, when not on Zoom. And Ubuntu 20.04 doesn't recognize my 2018 Thinkpad camera.

Re: One Year with ThinkPad and Linux (From MacBook Pro)

#195

Post by k__ » Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 4:01 PM UTC

benologist wrote: post #50

k__ wrote: post #45

Half-OT: I'm using a MBP13"(2013) for years now and really like it, but it's not upgradable and it's getting cumbersome to do some more intesive things with it. Would you recommend buying a new MBP or getting a laptop?

I find my dual-core 2013 to still be alright if I SSH into a six-core NUC to work. Visual Studio Code makes this super easy to do and almost exactly the same as working locally, it can be done without it too. I used a remote VM this way as well for about 9 months while wondering what to buy and on wired connection it was also pretty seamless. https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/remote/ssh

I use remote VMs too, but they aren't good for FinalCut Pro and Ableton Live.

Re: One Year with ThinkPad and Linux (From MacBook Pro)

#196

Post by Krasnol » Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 4:03 PM UTC

Galanwe wrote: post #68

danielbarla wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been a happy user of trackballs for many years, and can also happily recommend the Kensington variety. It is also quite configurable, both in the traditional software sense, and in the sense that you can use it in a variety of different physical ways (thumb, forefingers, at a variety of angles, etc). This variety kind of helps reduce the "repetitive" part of RSI.

I always fancied switching to track balls but never dared to jump. Can you be as fast as with a mouse with it? As precise?

I switched because I've been doing CAD too much lately.

It is more precise and once you're into it, you're faster too.

Re: One Year with ThinkPad and Linux (From MacBook Pro)

#197

Post by dullgiulio » Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 4:03 PM UTC

nr2x wrote: post #188

jononomo wrote: post #186

I simply cannot get over using non-Apple trackpads. The trackpad is such an important part of a laptop's user interface. Obviously I wouldn't drive a car with flat tires, so why would I use a laptop with a crappy trackpad?

Under appreciated is that macOS is largely a touch-based system now with the magic trackpads. If you configure three-finger drag in accessibility settings you never have to click. Granted it’s not a touch screen , but in my view it’s a touch- and gesture-based system. Using a non-Apple trackpad feels like going back in time and using touch screen devices with keyboards (eg Win 10 laptops) is incredibly annoying.

I have been using double tap to select (and simply drag) on Linux for years, never had to click. And my touchpad is far from magic...

Re: One Year with ThinkPad and Linux (From MacBook Pro)

#198

Post by krondor » Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 4:04 PM UTC

MaxBarraclough wrote: post #142

krondor wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually those Sony headphones are one of the reasons I am interested in Linux instead of OSX. LDAC support is not present on OSX, but it is for Linux. It makes a huge difference in audio quality over bluetooth in my experience. *edit: Just realized I posted the wrong link. https://eischmann.wordpress.com/2019/02/11/better-bluetooth-...

The XM3s support the AAC codec too, [0] as that's the codec iPhones use (iPhones don't support aptX or LDAC). Does macOS not support AAC? [0] https://helpguide.sony.net/mdr/wh1000xm3/v1/en/contents/TP00...

I have never been able to get it to negotiate AAC on OSX, though technically it does support it. iPhone works fine.

Even still LDAC seems superior from my comparison to my Android and iPhone audio.

See this thread for some discussion on it. https://www.reddit.com/r/MacOS/comments/bion53/force_macos_t...

Re: One Year with ThinkPad and Linux (From MacBook Pro)

#199

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 4:05 PM UTC

D13Fd wrote: post #97

greatgib wrote: post #88

Most of this blog post looks like to be a standard user personal experience report. Most items make sense in this context I think, but there is one point that surprised me: > Wtf! In my opinion, that it worths mentioning that, shows at what point Apple marketing brain fucked the Apple device users... You buy a 2k$ computer, with dozens of high speed CPUs, for what? Putting stupid smileys everywhere? And in addition,…

If you're on a Mac, you use emojis in iMessage texts.

[deleted]

Re: One Year with ThinkPad and Linux (From MacBook Pro)

#200

Post by tristor » Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 4:06 PM UTC

funkaster wrote: post #170

alexktz wrote: post #61

I recently purchased a 16” MBP despite significant personal concerns over the future of MacOS, being a strong open source advocate and Linux paying my mortgage. I did this ultimately for a few reasons. MacOS lets me run Adobe (Photoshop, Lightroom, etc), Fusion360, has a good terminal (iTerm and zsh unix like shell) and Logic. Mac hardware is still some of the best in the business, no other vendors seem to be able to…

how can you be an open source advocate and still work with adobe & friends? - no question on the quality/productivity of those, just on your argument. A more consistent argument would’ve been: “open source advocate, Gimp, Inkscape and others run even better on my mac than on linux” (would disagree on that, but at least it would be a more consistent argument)

You can be an open source advocate while not exclusively using open source software. I've been an open source advocate for most of my life, during the early days I predominantly used Windows, but I was aware of Linux and skilled with it and worked to ensure it was used where appropriate and possible on servers in my workplaces. It's a given that Linux dominates servers in 2020, but that wasn't always the case.

The way now is really not even on the desktop, Linux lost there and now the world has moved on. The war is on mobile, and Android isn't truly open in the way that Linux upstream is due to binary blobs and baseband. Hopefully someday we'll see a truly open mobile platform rise to supremacy, but right now we have two separate walled gardens on mobile and not much else.

Within those walled gardens, advocacy can be to use apps which are open source vs proprietary options (e.g. to use andOTP instead of Authy, or Bitwarden instead of LastPass, as a simple example).

Existing inside the walled garden we're all forced to exist in is not hypocrisy, it's pragmatism. Using the best tool for the job and acknowledging the deficiency of open options is just being realistic, not an example of a fall from purity. Not everyone is Richard Stallman.