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From M1 MacBook to Arch Linux: A month-long experiment that became permanenent

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Re: From M1 MacBook to Arch Linux: A month-long experiment that became permanenent

#341

Post by zozbot234 »

reactordev wrote: post #331
zozbot234 wrote: post #286

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can see pixels up close on a 1080p screen if you have good eyesight, but that's not the way you're supposed to work with a screen as a matter of ergonomics. Even on a laptop, you're always looking at the screen as a whole, not just seeing a tiny portion of it in your field of view.

I can see pixels at rest when sitting at my desk and a 1080p monitor 27” or more is on it. Thanks for letting me know how my eyes work.

That's exactly what I meant by "up close". A 27'' monitor should be 3 or 4 ft. away in order to comfortably look at the whole screen. Any other choice is terrible ergonomics.

Re: From M1 MacBook to Arch Linux: A month-long experiment that became permanenent

#342

Post by winrid »

pjerem wrote: post #80
cycomanic wrote: post #76

> But the quality of MacBooks is just another level. I had 3 or 4 so far since 2010, and each of them held at least 5 years. Crazy good. When I read things like this it really sounds like there is some reality distortion field in the mac world. How is that anywhere special? I'm running a thinkpad X1 as my 2 main laptops (it was my only work machine until 2 years ago) and I never felt the need to replace it. It gave m…

I’d say it’s barely 3 things : - The trackpad (but other manufacturers now have tolerable alternatives and anyway you can work without it) - The screen : at an equivalent price point (and even more), nothing comes close to Apple screens. The cheapest MacBook have a better screen than most high end PCs. - The audio : Apple truly did some sorcery to get such an awesome sound from machines that are flat as sheet. It’s s…

Apple screens are terrible. They use PWM at all brightness levels just to save a couple bucks and burn my eyes.

Re: From M1 MacBook to Arch Linux: A month-long experiment that became permanenent

#343

Post by blep-arsh »

pxc wrote: post #287
breakfastduck wrote: post #234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it does actually sound good

If you bought even a small bluetooth speaker that sounded the same as an MBP, you'd think "this thing kinda sucks... no bass, but at least it's small; what do you expect". Either that or you aren't someone who cares about sound (which is fine)

I have a stereo system with a DSP which I've spent quite a bit of time adjusting with tools like REW. I do care. I'm obviously adjusting my expectations because the laptop is indeed small but it really does sound great and I prefer it to typically boomy resonating bass-heavy tuning of small speakers. It's also very good at stereo separation, can even do behind-the-listener flyby from a Dolby Atmos test file.

Re: From M1 MacBook to Arch Linux: A month-long experiment that became permanenent

#344

Post by [deleted] »

baq wrote: post #340
rjzzleep wrote: post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not really Linux' fault. Most It's Microsoft that forced this, and most vendors don't know how to deal with this and work proper firmware. I think Framework and Valve fixed theirs. I have a GPD and just found out that the reason I kept getting it wake from sleep was some MS related option triggering an ACPI IRQ 9 sleep wake. On another note, I actually think that the most important things that work better on the…

As a user I don't care whose fault is it. I want my laptop to go to sleep when I close the lid; I want it to stay asleep while the lid is closed; I want it to wake when I open the lid. Only macs seem to be able to do that consistently; I'd be glad to be proven wrong, but over the past decade I haven't found a counterexample yet.

[deleted]

Re: From M1 MacBook to Arch Linux: A month-long experiment that became permanenent

#345

Post by foldr »

WillAdams wrote: post #293
foldr wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This has a WXUGA display, i.e. 1920x1200. It’s not comparable to the high DPI display on the MacBook Pro.

One quite nice display is the 2880 x 1800 16" OLED on the Samsung Galaxy Book series --- I kind of miss it when using my MacBook Pro.

Sure, Apple doesn’t have a monopoly on nice displays, but they’ll sell you a laptop with a high DPI display for $1000. It’s hard to get a laptop with a comparable display for much less. And if you save any money you’ll pay for it in performance and build quality.

Re: From M1 MacBook to Arch Linux: A month-long experiment that became permanenent

#346

Post by [deleted] »

pjerem wrote: post #80
cycomanic wrote: post #76

> But the quality of MacBooks is just another level. I had 3 or 4 so far since 2010, and each of them held at least 5 years. Crazy good. When I read things like this it really sounds like there is some reality distortion field in the mac world. How is that anywhere special? I'm running a thinkpad X1 as my 2 main laptops (it was my only work machine until 2 years ago) and I never felt the need to replace it. It gave m…

I’d say it’s barely 3 things : - The trackpad (but other manufacturers now have tolerable alternatives and anyway you can work without it) - The screen : at an equivalent price point (and even more), nothing comes close to Apple screens. The cheapest MacBook have a better screen than most high end PCs. - The audio : Apple truly did some sorcery to get such an awesome sound from machines that are flat as sheet. It’s s…

[deleted]

Re: From M1 MacBook to Arch Linux: A month-long experiment that became permanenent

#347

Post by reactordev »

zozbot234 wrote: post #341
reactordev wrote: post #331

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can see pixels at rest when sitting at my desk and a 1080p monitor 27” or more is on it. Thanks for letting me know how my eyes work.

That's exactly what I meant by "up close". A 27'' monitor should be 3 or 4 ft. away in order to comfortably look at the whole screen. Any other choice is terrible ergonomics.

Ugh, it is 3-4 feet away when it’s on my desk. Jesus. Want to keep going? Keep telling me I’m looking at it wrong.

Re: From M1 MacBook to Arch Linux: A month-long experiment that became permanenent

#348

Post by simonh »

ksec wrote: post #206
simonh wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So we shouldn’t be impressed by Apple silicon because it also runs in phones? And yes, there are ARM laptops ASUs just brought out a laptop running on the Snapdragon X Plus. Geekbench Single Core 2231 versus the M4 at 3678. I mean, I’m sure it’s fine for a lot of people, but fine for a lot of people isn’t all that impressive in 2025. The other ARM chips are still a long, long way off from getting close to base M seri…

>So we shouldn’t be impressed by Apple silicon because it also runs in phones? My point is HN was not impressed in any shape or form, even when presented with figures, when Apple silicon was used in iPhone, but is impressed with it when it was running inside a MacBook. And you just basically reiterated my point. People are comparing devices, not CPU. ARM has Core design IP that could rival Apple's M3 design today. i.…

So you don't understand how individual people can have an opinion contrary to what 'Hacker News' thought in the past?

I participated in those conversations back then, it was a hotly contested issue, even aside from the weird criticism of individual opinions for not conforming to some imagined collective you don't seem to agree with anyway.

Re: From M1 MacBook to Arch Linux: A month-long experiment that became permanenent

#349

Post by jaredklewis »

cycomanic wrote: post #76

> But the quality of MacBooks is just another level. I had 3 or 4 so far since 2010, and each of them held at least 5 years. Crazy good. When I read things like this it really sounds like there is some reality distortion field in the mac world. How is that anywhere special? I'm running a thinkpad X1 as my 2 main laptops (it was my only work machine until 2 years ago) and I never felt the need to replace it. It gave m…

IME I tend to get a new MacBook every five years or so just because I like new hardware, but none of my old MacBooks were anywhere near end of life after 5 years. One I gave to a relative was in use for around 13 years until it failed (but it was really abused so I actually think it was a good run).

My wife’s MacBook Air is 12 years old and my wife doesn’t want a new one (though it would drive me crazy). No issues yet, though obviously battery is not what it once was.

Anyway, I think MacBooks last much longer than 5 years if you can control your new hardware envy.

Re: From M1 MacBook to Arch Linux: A month-long experiment that became permanenent

#350

Post by TiredOfLife »

mark_l_watson wrote: post #273

I would like to make the switch but I inherited a 7K Apple Studio monitor when my Dad died two years ago and I fear that I will never get full use of the monitor moving away from macOS. BTW, my favorite Linux machine is an about ten year old MacBook Air running Ubuntu. That slim little laptop is still amazing.

That is the monitor DHH uses with Framework laptop and Beelink miniPC.
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