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New MacBook Pro Is Not a Laptop for Developers Anymore

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Re: New MacBook Pro Is Not a Laptop for Developers Anymore

#281
I am sticking with MBP for the combination of UNIX, MS Office and support for software like Turbotax etc. Ubuntu is not an option for me yet, since LibreOffice has lot of kinks. My only gripe is that processor and memory did not get an upgrade. Touch bar is a nice touch, we have to wait and see how it plays out.

Oh, I like Apple commitment privacy compared to MS.

Re: New MacBook Pro Is Not a Laptop for Developers Anymore

#283

I dislike this post intensely. The opinion comes across as uncharitable, as the author probably has not used this Macbook Pro yet. How can you (alexeysemeney) be so sure? I consider myself a developer, and I almost never use the Fn and ESC keys on my Mac. Everybody uses the computer differently, but I'm pretty sure this is not a deal-breaker for most. One could also argue that the touch bar might lead to innovative d…

> I consider myself a developer, and I almost never use the Fn and ESC keys on my Mac. ESC usage just off the top of my head: cancelling any dropdown (e.g. IDE autocomplete, browser autocomplete, Spotlight, quick file search in Atom/Sublime), cancelling any OK/cancel dialog (e.g. save as), the ESC + '.' sequence in Bash to get the last word of the last command. I could map ESC to the caps lock key I suppose.

I actually use the caps lock key sometimes, e.g. FORTRAN 77.

Re: New MacBook Pro Is Not a Laptop for Developers Anymore

#284

I dislike this post intensely. The opinion comes across as uncharitable, as the author probably has not used this Macbook Pro yet. How can you (alexeysemeney) be so sure? I consider myself a developer, and I almost never use the Fn and ESC keys on my Mac. Everybody uses the computer differently, but I'm pretty sure this is not a deal-breaker for most. One could also argue that the touch bar might lead to innovative d…

As a vim user, esc is pretty important.

I would say the author clearly knows very little computer specs:

"The MacBook Pro had options with 2.4 gigahertz dual-core processors back in 2010. Anything new in 2016? Not really, well… nope."

Because a 2010 2.4ghz dual core is identical to a 2016 2.4 ghz dual core.... I thought we got over comparing processors purely by their clock speed a long time ago. (I will agree that theyve been going with lower and lower power to allow for better battery life, this is a terrible way to make the comparison. Id much rather see a processor comparison graph here).

Personally I think this is a terrible decision, but then again, I think using a laptop keyboard for programming is a terrible decision too. I need multiple monitors and an external keyboard to get anything done, so I typically use a desktop, and then use a lightweight laptop (basically a chromebook) to remote into the desktop if I absolutely need to be mobile.

Also, "What other people are saying" and then listing 4 anecdotal quotes seems pretty uncompelling.

I imagine this is not a great developer's laptop. But apple fanboys will keep buying it and either stop using vim just so they can keep using apple or buy an external keyboard. And Im really not sure what else you could really want out of a laptop then.

Re: New MacBook Pro Is Not a Laptop for Developers Anymore

#285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good luck with HiDPI. It is very application dependent, so I would check what you typically use. From what I have tried and read, macOS handles HiDPI and multi-monitors much better than any other OS out there right now. I'm so used to HiDPI just working on my MBP that I never even realized it was an issue on the other OSes until I started thinking about switching.

> multi-monitors much better than any other OS out there right now. No it doesn't. OSX in fact has a completely innane behaviour when a MBPr is connected to an external monitor. Meaning you have to mirror or put it in clamshell mode. You can't extend the monitor ontot he laptop screen. Works perfectly well in Linux for me.

How do you mean? I'm connected from my Macbook Pro to two (non-Apple) external monitors (one on thunderbolt, other on HDMI) and they extend just fine - no mirroring or clamshell mode.

If anything, clamshell mode is the buggy one - it has a tendency to go into or come out of sleep mode when I don't want it to.

Re: New MacBook Pro Is Not a Laptop for Developers Anymore

#286

I dislike this post intensely. The opinion comes across as uncharitable, as the author probably has not used this Macbook Pro yet. How can you (alexeysemeney) be so sure? I consider myself a developer, and I almost never use the Fn and ESC keys on my Mac. Everybody uses the computer differently, but I'm pretty sure this is not a deal-breaker for most. One could also argue that the touch bar might lead to innovative d…

I was configuring a server while walking through the airport the other day (long story and I won't bore you with details) on my ipad. There is no control key on the ipad keyboard meaning that I could not save any files from the ssh terminal. It was not the greatest experience and I can definitely see these kinds of things happening on laptop now due to apples "courage". They seem to be gung-ho on breaking things that…

Which ssh client doesn't give you a ctrl key?

Re: New MacBook Pro Is Not a Laptop for Developers Anymore

#287
post #40

While the RAM complaints are valid, I don't know anyone who actually uses their laptop keyboard for serious development. Almost all of these laptops spend 90% of their time docked somewhere with a real keyboard hooked up.

So the touch bar is useless in 90% of the time.

And so is the entire keyboard on the MBP I currently work on. That doesn't mean I don't appreciate it 10% of the time.

Re: New MacBook Pro Is Not a Laptop for Developers Anymore

#288
post #36

I was waiting for the new Macbook Pros as I need to buy a new laptop, and was going to give my old Macbook Pro (2014 model) to my wife. But given that they have nothing of value (I don't care about gimmicks like the new touch bar), I've decided to abandon Mac and go back to Linux. I'm just a typical web developer, running a bunch of virtual machines, and an IDE. Any recommendations? I saw the Dell XPS 15 for around £…

The XPS machines (both the 13 and the 15) are excellent. I haven't found anything else that compares across the board.

+1 The XPS is a fantastic line

Re: New MacBook Pro Is Not a Laptop for Developers Anymore

#289
post #98

I'm always confused by the interface outrage from hard core devs around new laptops. As a dev, I spend the absolute minimum time possible developing by interfacing with my MacBook itself. 98% of the time I'm plugged into a mechanical keyboard, giant monitors, and a real sound system. My MacBook sits to the side and only gets touched when I'm on an airplane or a meeting.

I was thinking the same, and I realized the answer is simple: it is not "hard core devs".

Who cares so much about 6+ hours of battery life, if most of the time you are just at your workplace - whether at the office or at home? People whose workplace is at neither of those, and instead they work in some damn coffee shop.

Re: New MacBook Pro Is Not a Laptop for Developers Anymore

#290
post #8

Bah, these entitled kids. I guess being old enough to remember keyboards before they had escape keys helps, but ␛ is just keyboard syntactic sugar for control left square bracket . Read your ASCII table! C-[ is even a quicker type avoiding RSIs from all those long pinky reaches. (More seriously, as much as it bothers me to retrain my pinky, most uses of the escape key would be many times better if the lefthand side o…

I use ␛ as the Meta key in Emacs. I just tried using C-[ instead. It works, but you have to press down both CTRL and [ at the same time; you can't flam CTRL and then [.

I am reminded also of one time trying to write C code on an IBM AS/400, only to find that the keyboard did not have square bracket keys at all...

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