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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

#331

Post by ScottBurson »

dingo_bat wrote: post #326
wtallis wrote: post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the clicking thing is much slower than tapping That has nothing to do with Macs vs PCs. Everything with a touchpad gives you a tap to click option, and if you didn't spend enough time with a Mac to realize this then you can't really make a fair assessment of the platform in any way other than hostile first impressions.

Defaults are very important in any UI. An OS that prides itself on usability should have the best default.

A lot of us think it is the best. I've never liked tap-to-click; I tried it again a year or so ago when my trackpad button went out, and decided it was indeed unusable — too many unintended clicks. (I replaced the trackpad.)

Anyway, "the clicking thing is much slower than tapping" is just not true if you're used to clicking.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review from a lifelong Mac user

#332

Post by dingo_bat »

wtallis wrote: post #330
dingo_bat wrote: post #326

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Defaults are very important in any UI. An OS that prides itself on usability should have the best default.

Yes, but you can't assume that having tap to click enabled by default is the best default for the general public. It's way too easy for that to lead to a ton of stray clicks for anyone with impaired sensation or dexterity in their fingers. Apple very often likes to err on the side of making things simpler and more accessible by default while keeping the more powerful features hidden where power users can find them an…

Agreed, but at least one person came off with a bad experience. That anecdote is worth only that much. But it does indicate a problem.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review from a lifelong Mac user

#333

Post by megablast »

kuon wrote: post #29

About the part "Windows 10 spends about 5 minutes (literally!) identifying a bunch of new devices and adding them to the system", to be fair, Windows can run on a gazillion different configuration, while macOS runs only on a few. I've been ranting against Windows for years, but it actually works well now, even if it takes a bit of time for the new device setup.

What? I can plug a 1000 different mice into my mac and they work in seconds. I can plug a 100 different external HDDs, and the same. I can plug in a 1000 different keyboard, and they work the same.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review from a lifelong Mac user

#334

Post by wtallis »

dingo_bat wrote: post #332
wtallis wrote: post #330

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, but you can't assume that having tap to click enabled by default is the best default for the general public. It's way too easy for that to lead to a ton of stray clicks for anyone with impaired sensation or dexterity in their fingers. Apple very often likes to err on the side of making things simpler and more accessible by default while keeping the more powerful features hidden where power users can find them an…

Agreed, but at least one person came off with a bad experience. That anecdote is worth only that much. But it does indicate a problem.

You can't please everyone, and the people who are looking for things to complain about are pretty low on the list of who you should be trying to please.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review from a lifelong Mac user

#335

Post by psyclobe »

Been running the xps as my daily since november, best laptop I've ever owned. Totally got alienated from mac due to the terrible keyboard.

That said, macos is still a pretty amazing thing, especially coming back to it after running linux on a laptop for so long.

But hey, windows on this thing is also pretty awesome, I mean with bash and wsl running I can test my cross platform apps all on the same machine, while also having access to the worlds finest debugger, visual studio 2017.

Now if only I could include macos in that mix once in a while...

The only solution is to simply have multiple laptops, depending on your mood, grab one haah.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review from a lifelong Mac user

#336

Post by habosa »

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 think these days we spend 50% of our time in web apps which are OS independent. And a lot of the rest (for developers) is in cross-platform editors with customizable keybindings.

I use both macOS and Ubuntu every day and have no issues switching.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review from a lifelong Mac user

#337

Post by psyclobe »

procinct wrote: post #185

I have a 2015 MBP and a Dell XPS 13 (I forget the year) and the thing that blew me away the most with Dell is the support. One day I went to turn my XPS on and it wouldn’t start. After some research it seemed like a dead motherboard. I was concerned I was going to have to send my laptop away for months to have it fixed but surprisingly because the XPS is an enterprise grade machine it qualifies for their pro support.…

Recently had to contact dell due to the 'floppy screen' issue on the xps 13's, really good service, got the laptop back in 3 days. And you know what, Microsoft is also kicking ass in the service department. Had an issue with a license and in the middle of the night I was able to contact someone and they gave me a new pro key for the trouble.

Compare that to all the terrible customer service news from apple, and I think apple is really the one that needs to change more the the other guys at this point.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review from a lifelong Mac user

#338

Post by true_tuna »

vesrah wrote: post #41
true_tuna wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What you don’t like exchanging all your ports for dongles? And the crappy keyboard? Or my favorite “Remind me again later” Because who would ever want the ability to say “no”

Better than your machine rebooting to update on its own.

Not defending windows, but do you remember when Mac OS allowed you to decline updates you didn’t need? Or better yet, a Linux variant where you can choose.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review from a lifelong Mac user

#339

Post by true_tuna »

redial wrote: post #151
true_tuna wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What you don’t like exchanging all your ports for dongles? And the crappy keyboard? Or my favorite “Remind me again later” Because who would ever want the ability to say “no”

> Or my favorite “Remind me again later” Because who would ever want the ability to say “no” Can't you just change your settings on preferences?

Can you? News to me. I ended up switching to Linux.

Re: Dell XPS 13 Review from a lifelong Mac user

#340

Post by dingo_bat »

wtallis wrote: post #334
dingo_bat wrote: post #332

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed, but at least one person came off with a bad experience. That anecdote is worth only that much. But it does indicate a problem.

You can't please everyone, and the people who are looking for things to complain about are pretty low on the list of who you should be trying to please.

I am not looking for things to complain about. And I doubt the parent was too. It's a genuine issue. As far as not being able to please everyone, how many old people are using macbook pros? Is that number more than the number of regular users who prefer a better touchpad?
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