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Ask HN: Are there any reasonable alternatives to MacBook Pro for developer?

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Re: Ask HN: Are there any reasonable alternatives to MacBook Pro for developer?

#241

Post by cmonfeat »

147 wrote: post #209
tootie wrote: post #87

Not a hardware req, but I've recently become quite enamored with Win 10 + WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) after years of using a Mac. WSL lets you run a lightweight Linux shell (Ubuntu, SUSE, Kali are supported atm) without a VM. It's purely for command-line purposes, no X, but that's fine for me. Windows for UI, then I can run all my bash in the Ubuntu shell almost seamlessly. You can run the shell directly from s…

I couldn’t find a terminal I liked on windows. Got any suggestions?

Same boat, I've tried alternatives but can't find anything I like as much as the plain old gnome terminal on my Linux box. The solution I keep coming back to simply installing an x server like vcxsrv on Windows and gnome terminal on WSL.

A few hoops to jump through, but it allows me to have an experience that's very close to native Linux. One less context switch my mind has to adapt to when switchibg between OSes.

Re: Ask HN: Are there any reasonable alternatives to MacBook Pro for developer?

#242

Post by paride5745 »

CoffeeOnWrite wrote: post #194

I’m on my 4th Thinkpad T-series - T520, T530, T450s, T460s - each one was a a winner. I ditched the T5XX series when they borked the keyboard layout by adding a numpad. Used to run Ubuntu, now I run Debian, stable or testing depending on point in release cycle at install time. I plan to take another look at Ubuntu now that they gave up on Unity. A coworker is happily on the T470s (first USB-C in the series). I always…

This.

I'm on a ThinkPad t470s, amazing little machine, I love it more than my old MacBook Pro 2015.

Re: Ask HN: Are there any reasonable alternatives to MacBook Pro for developer?

#244

Post by jhoechtl »

aviraldg wrote: post #223
CoffeeOnWrite wrote: post #194

I’m on my 4th Thinkpad T-series - T520, T530, T450s, T460s - each one was a a winner. I ditched the T5XX series when they borked the keyboard layout by adding a numpad. Used to run Ubuntu, now I run Debian, stable or testing depending on point in release cycle at install time. I plan to take another look at Ubuntu now that they gave up on Unity. A coworker is happily on the T470s (first USB-C in the series). I always…

Do your co-workers not have issues with HiDPI support on Linux? I've heard it's not the best experience and can require quite some fiddling to get working correctly.

HiDPI on Linux is pretty much non existent. I am telling from experience. I have booth a decent 4K external monitor and a HiDPI IPS internal display. The only setup which is ok in the sense of least horrible is Gnome mutter Wayland with experimental per monitor fractional scaling enabled. And this one is only ok if you can restrict yourself to the few ported pure GTK3 Gnome apps. Which means not that much. No Firefox. No Chrome. No Thunderbird.

And the speed of fixing HiDPI on Linux has actually slowed down.

Frnakly, and I am a hard core Linux OSS fan - come back in two years and check again.

The Linux desktop IS dead.

Re: Ask HN: Are there any reasonable alternatives to MacBook Pro for developer?

#245

Post by noir_lord »

chrischen wrote: post #180
noir_lord wrote: post #38

I went through this last year. I looked at Macbook Pro, Dell XPS15 and Thinkpad T470P. In the end I went for the T470P (i7-7700HQ (4 core/8 thread) w/ 2560x1440 screen, 16GB of RAM (upgraded myself to 32GB)) and the bigger battery (pretty much no optional with a 35W TDP processor). I tried the XPS15 but the keyboard was bad and the fit and finish wasn't awesome. I've had zero issues with linux support or the machine…

> I ruled out the Macbook Pro on price and the fact I couldn't put 32GB of RAM into it. Just curious, how has 32 GB ram on it affected battery life?

No appreciable different at all, with a 35W processor RAM power consumption just isn't an issue.

Re: Ask HN: Are there any reasonable alternatives to MacBook Pro for developer?

#246

Post by Cakez0r »

Boulth wrote: post #213
sametmax wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I own a dell xps 15. Same, i don't recommand it. Autonomy is abysmal, usbc support very poor, the bios took a year to be stable and the sound died after some months. Not worth the price tag. Mind you, the xps 13 doesn't seem to have the same problems. I still love my old samsung 9 serie and wish the brand would have worked out the quirks and made a new one. My next try will be a thinkpad carbon since every owner arou…

> Mind you, the xps 13 doesn't seem to have the same problems. Maybe not the same but I've also had bad time with 13. Coil whine, 10 seconds to dell logo after pressing power button (sic!) and u had one firmware update that bricked the laptop. Fortunately it was still under warranty. And don't get me even started on accessories (TB15 was a disaster that should've been recalled).

I have an XPS 13 and also cannot recommend it. Same deal with the coil whine (it's a very annoying buzz sound). After a while, my battery began to swell too, which has broken the touchpad and visibly elevated the keyboard.

Re: Ask HN: Are there any reasonable alternatives to MacBook Pro for developer?

#247

Post by dawnerd »

147 wrote: post #209
tootie wrote: post #87

Not a hardware req, but I've recently become quite enamored with Win 10 + WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) after years of using a Mac. WSL lets you run a lightweight Linux shell (Ubuntu, SUSE, Kali are supported atm) without a VM. It's purely for command-line purposes, no X, but that's fine for me. Windows for UI, then I can run all my bash in the Ubuntu shell almost seamlessly. You can run the shell directly from s…

I couldn’t find a terminal I liked on windows. Got any suggestions?

Hyper is nice too but its electron based if you're against that sorta thing.

Re: Ask HN: Are there any reasonable alternatives to MacBook Pro for developer?

#248

Post by _sven_ »

chillydawg wrote: post #190
michaelangerman wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What version of Linux are you running where you have had zero issues, Thank you...

I'd also be interested in this. I've never once run linux on a laptop flawlessly - and I've been trying for a decade.

This depends more on the hardware these days. Most drives, CPUs, etc work just fine without configuration. Wifi drivers are pretty good these days. Maybe you'll hit a snag with those if you're really unlucky.

The bad part is still GPUs. Even then, they're usually much better than 10 years ago. AMD GPUs have better drivers than Nvidia, in general. Older GPUs are better supported in general.

Personally, I'm happily using Intel integrated for everything I do. But even then, even as much as I think Linux is the best choice of my available options, there are flaws as with any other OS. Regarding the Iris Pro, the mesa driver stack had a bug (related to srgb) introduced in August of last year which was only fixed this month and caused several OpenGL applications to fail to run.

I think the Linux experience is still the best for development, and I've used the other two major OSs both extensively.

As for practical advice, Manjaro is a great match between rolling release and well-tested packages.

Re: Ask HN: Are there any reasonable alternatives to MacBook Pro for developer?

#249

Post by shazow »

sxg wrote: post #135
shazow wrote: post #89

I switched from a 2014 13" Retina MBP to a 2018 Thinkpad X1 Carbon (6th gen) and I'm extremely happy with it. https://www.notebookcheck.net/Lenovo-ThinkPad-X1-Carbon-2018... is the most objective/detailed review I've seen. One of my biggest anxieties was the fear of "upgrading" to an inferior device after a decade of being on Apple devices. Thankfully, that has not been the case. - The 14" WQHD HDR screen is remarkab…

What's your opinion on the trackpad? The thing I love most about MBPs is the trackpad—the size, responsiveness, gestures, and being clickable everywhere make it feel great to use. My girlfriend has a Lenovo T460, and I've been a little disappointed with the trackpad on that laptop.

I like it. I feel it's about the right size and the texture/precision is good. It's a bit smaller than my 2014 rMBP which I thought was fine too.

On the other hand, the new MBPs have these comically massive trackpads which also scared me away. Less room to rest your palm, lots of accidental clicks, etc.

Overall, I don't think about it which probably means it's good. There's also the optional trackpoint/nub. I use it occasionally for fun, but I'm not a fanatic about it yet. Nice to know it's there, I guess? Might be handy for some kinds of games on the go.

Re: Ask HN: Are there any reasonable alternatives to MacBook Pro for developer?

#250

Post by jhoechtl »

jnwatson wrote: post #136
Majestic121 wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think your information about High DPI support with Linux is outdated. I've been using a 4k screen with Ubuntu for more than a year now without any particular issue.

The latest Gnome/Ubuntu does not support dual monitor where only 1 monitor is hidpi.

Under Wayland with fractional scaling enabled you get per monitor DPI scaling. It works, but has issues when you detach the external monitor / undock.
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