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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

#281

Post by arh68 »

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 think it's worse. I'm not going to say it's pretty bad, but it's not quite up to par with Macintosh.

- You get three clipboards in OS X. Windows gives you 1

- all of the UNIX utilities work (find, grep, xargs, they're all there), all the syscalls work. Because it really is UNIX

- readline shortcuts are available everywhere out of the box. Windows confines me to Cygwin and Emacs

- Cygwin is okay ($PATH versus %PATH% annoys me), but it's not even close to Homebrew

- Visual Studio is a disaster most of the time I use it. YMMV

- a lot of stuff does not run on Windows (most memorably, Swift) whereas almost everything runs on Debian and most things run on OS X

I have a Windows laptop and I've resorted to running Debian on VMware and ssh'ing in with Putty/Xming. I'm surrounded by programmers who openly mock OS X ("you can't develop on a mac!") and tend to stick to Microsoft Approved Software Component Framework -type stuff.

To be fair, I haven't tried WSL. I tried to install Docker, but I was told my top-o'-the-line PC needed another $140 to play that game. Crappy DLC is all it is to me.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review from a lifelong Mac user

#282

Post by tonyarkles »

deepspace wrote: post #232
morley wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned keyboard portability. I find it incredibly hard to switch from ctrl on Windows to cmd on Mac. In college I had to switch frequently between Windows and Mac, and it was a nightmare. Since then, I've committed to only use MacOS on a Macbook and Windows on a real keyboard. That seems to preserve my muscle memory the best. But things can be rough when I use a Windows laptop or a standal…

My solution is to map Ctrl to CapsLock on Windows and Cmd to CapsLock on MacOS. Not perfect by any means but seems to be an ok compromise muscle-memory wise.

Yup! Then I just get confused when I use someone else's computer, but all of mine are fine (Windows, Linux, Mac)

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review from a lifelong Mac user

#283

Post by Shorel »

jbob2000 wrote: post #249
karlmdavis wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I want my technology to work out the box, and Mac does that. Same here, but with a twist: out of the box, Linux makes it easier for me to install the things I need to do my job. The display, power management, etc. issues are all frustrating, true, but ultimately not as important. Different folks have different priorities.

What is your job? What kind of things do you install? Kind of curious, because no matter what machine I use, every time I start fresh, it takes about a day to get up and running. Linux is even worse because of drivers.

> Linux is even worse because of drivers.

In my hardware that's where Linux excels over Windows. YMMV.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review from a lifelong Mac user

#284

Post by blitmap »

bitL wrote: post #70
blitmap wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1) LOVE 16:10/8:5. Currently I have a 3240x2160 panel in my HP Spectre x360. I WISH it were 3240x2400. I WANT 2400p PANELS. 2) I'm far from an expert on this: I don't know why it's taken more than a decade to figure out trackpad motion.

> taken more than a decade to figure out trackpad motion. Patents?

But you don’t even see it in like an unofficial libinput patch done by someone who is hobby-passionate. I’ve never had a good trackpad experience outside of Apple and I refuse to believe it hasn’t been reversed.. It can’t be patents, can it?

I legit used to no-scope people in Halo Combat Evolves on my PowerBook G4 back in the day - with the trackpad.

I remember Microsoft put gpu makers through hell when they put out the driver framework thing a few years ago? I wish they took trackpads seriously (even for gaming) and forced that synaptics shit out. Maybe people laugh at the idea of gaming with a trackpad but I wish it were possible even if I’m a minority. I wish games could support trackpad gestures too.

Also I meant 3840x* above.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review from a lifelong Mac user

#285

Post by chewyland »

eknkc wrote: post #36

What I'm mostly curious about these posts is, how the heck do you guys switch operating systems that easily? I guess it would work if you are already using Linux or Windows on a Mac hardware but that's gotta be rare. I mean, hardware is nothing compared to the OS.. I can switch to any other Mac and it would take me a couple hours to be comfortable. That would be it. If I'm switching to a Dell XPS, I don't really care…

I nuked MacOS from my 2013 MacBook the day I bought it (installed Windows and formatted the SSD).

Best computer I've ever owned. Like a fine watch.

You don't need Bootcamp anymore and a USB Windows 10 install takes minutes.

MacOS is abandonware at this point, IMO.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review from a lifelong Mac user

#286

Post by ReverseCold »

morley wrote: post #86
eknkc wrote: post #36

What I'm mostly curious about these posts is, how the heck do you guys switch operating systems that easily? I guess it would work if you are already using Linux or Windows on a Mac hardware but that's gotta be rare. I mean, hardware is nothing compared to the OS.. I can switch to any other Mac and it would take me a couple hours to be comfortable. That would be it. If I'm switching to a Dell XPS, I don't really care…

I'm surprised no one has mentioned keyboard portability. I find it incredibly hard to switch from ctrl on Windows to cmd on Mac. In college I had to switch frequently between Windows and Mac, and it was a nightmare. Since then, I've committed to only use MacOS on a Macbook and Windows on a real keyboard. That seems to preserve my muscle memory the best. But things can be rough when I use a Windows laptop or a standal…

I use a windows desktop and a MacBook. Apart from some hiccups in the first day of using both, I never make mistakes confusing the two keys now.

I seem to be switching based on the type of keyboard I'm using. Whenever I open bootcamp I have to consciously remember to use ctrl not cmd.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review from a lifelong Mac user

#287

Post by fleebjuice »

polshaw wrote: post #266
fleebjuice wrote: post #133

I'd really like to buy an XPS, but I'm after a US keyboard layout, and I'm in the UK. You seemingly can't request a layout that is not your locale. This has been my experience with every laptop I've been interested. Damn shame; I have a Happy Hacking Keyboard Pro2, and it's the best keyboard I've ever used, I want as much of that experience as I can get on my laptop. Being a touch typist, its (not infuriating but sli…

If you just want to get the device get it from ebay. The global shipping program is really great for this IMO; you pre-pay any taxes due (just VAT for laptops IIRC) so you don't have to deal with extra waits or paying a ton for DHL/whoever to collect it from you. The seller ships the item to a distribution centre domestically, then ebay check it and handle the international leg. There's a good chance you'll end up sa…

I didn't know that was a thing. Thanks for the tip!

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review from a lifelong Mac user

#288

Post by azangru »

eknkc wrote: post #36

What I'm mostly curious about these posts is, how the heck do you guys switch operating systems that easily? I guess it would work if you are already using Linux or Windows on a Mac hardware but that's gotta be rare. I mean, hardware is nothing compared to the OS.. I can switch to any other Mac and it would take me a couple hours to be comfortable. That would be it. If I'm switching to a Dell XPS, I don't really care…

> how the heck do you guys switch operating systems that easily?

My answer to this is, use cross-platform software as much as possible and avoid anything platform-specific (especially if dealing with Windows or MacOS). I use a Mac at work and a Linux (with KDE) at home, and hardly even notice the switch between these two environments. A terminal is a terminal, and a browser is a browser...

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review from a lifelong Mac user

#289

Post by aetherspawn »

arh68 wrote: post #281
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 think it's worse. I'm not going to say it's pretty bad, but it's not quite up to par with Macintosh. - You get three clipboards in OS X. Windows gives you 1 - all of the UNIX utilities work (find, grep, xargs, they're all there), all the syscalls work. Because it really is UNIX - readline shortcuts are available everywhere out of the box. Windows confines me to Cygwin and Emacs - Cygwin is okay ($PATH versus %PATH%…

I run Visual Studio on my Mac and full proper VS Ultimate on Windows and both are fine. For C++ it works well.. IMO a lot better than XCode IDE, Code::Blocks, Eclipse or any other out-of-box that I’ve tried.

Interested to know why you say that VS is a disaster?

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review from a lifelong Mac user

#290

Post by jeromenerf »

Improvotter wrote: post #250
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…

The touchpad is the only reason keeping me on MacOS. If Linux had drivers for the trackpad that were on par with MacOS, I'd run Linux on my Macbook.

Using Linux on a Mac trackpad, I can tap with 3 fingers for a middle (button 2, the wheel button) and so open links in another tab, close tabs, execute selection ...

I find that feature more interesting than gestures. Ymmv.

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