Ask HN: MacBook Pro still preferred laptop for non-MS development? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: MacBook Pro still preferred laptop for non-MS development?

#41

Post by sharms » Sat, Apr 21, 2012, 3:29 PM UTC

I was looking for a new laptop also, and I found pretty good deals for a i5 based Acer TimelineX, which I was able to add 8GB of ram and a 256GB Samsung SSD for ~$1000 total. I also run Ubuntu 12.04 on it, and documented all of the non-intuitive things you might run into[1]. Battery life has been 8-9 hours (my normal windows include Chrome, Sublime Text Editor and a terminal). I also take advantage of the HDMI port and hook up a much larger screen when I get home.

The Samsung SSD performs great, and the system boots up in what feels like maybe 5 seconds, I haven't taken a stop watch to it yet.

1: http://www.sharms.org/blog/2012/04/finding-a-great-ubuntu-li...

Re: Ask HN: MacBook Pro still preferred laptop for non-MS development?

#42

Post by cliang » Sat, Apr 21, 2012, 3:54 PM UTC

I came from a 3 year old Thinkpad T400 to borrowing a new 15" MacBook Pro with matte screen and SSD for iPad app dev. After feeling the improvements with the new E420 thinkpads keyboards I think I'm going to wait for the new T430 Lenovos to arrive for my next upgrade.

For me, as a developer, nothing is more important than having a good keyboard. The macbook has really cheap thin keys that don't have the feedback I'd like. The wrist rest edge is sharp which leaves marks on my wrists. The indentation where you cram in a finger to open the screen has knife sharp points on both sides that just makes you wonder what were they thinking. It gets rather hot underneath as well.

So ergonomically, it hasn't been that great of a transition for me even though I wanted it to be. Maybe the macbook air or the 13" pro may be better. Plus I'm too used to using the thinkpad's Trackpoint to mouse around. If you're a vim user, it's awesome with mouse support enabled while keeping fingers near the home row.

Re: Ask HN: MacBook Pro still preferred laptop for non-MS development?

#43

Post by libria » Sat, Apr 21, 2012, 4:01 PM UTC

ergo14 wrote: post #30

Personally I would pick Thinkpad or Dell - you can check "compatibility" of specific model with drivers shipped in linux kernel - so you don't have to mess with drivers at all. At least that's what I always do - never had an issue with compatiblity with linux nowdays, just buy what you know will be supported best. I think it more depends what you want to develop, i've often heard that it's less hassle to play with py…

This would be even more attractive if vendors consistently refunded the $130 if you refuse the Windows TOS (and license). Anyone had any luck with that?

[1] http://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2008/08/lenovo-wont-...

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_refund

Re: Ask HN: MacBook Pro still preferred laptop for non-MS development?

#44

Post by warpspeed » Sat, Apr 21, 2012, 4:10 PM UTC

This hasn't really been mentioned yet, but to me a laptop is a big purchase, so I look at resale value as a factor. The cycle I keep is about 2 years on my Macs (and definitely buy AppleCare), then sell them off. Usually I can get about 50-60% of my original investment back, meaning I can keep the latest hardware for about $500/year (assuming a $2000 laptop). Then of course you can write off that depreciation if you use it for business.

I'm not as versed on non-apples but my impression is that they don't hold their value as well.

Re: Ask HN: MacBook Pro still preferred laptop for non-MS development?

#45

Post by revorad » Sat, Apr 21, 2012, 4:14 PM UTC

We're a startup based in the UK, soon going to start selling Thinkpads (X121e, possibly X220) with Linux pre-installed and fully tested (Ubuntu/Debian/Arch).

We'll ship to anywhere in Europe and are also looking at shipping to the USA and other places.

If you're interested, please sign up here - http://giniji.com/ubuntu_laptops.html.

I know most developers (at least on HN) now prefer Macbooks, but we want to push hardware in the direction of software and make it more open. Before laptops, I never remember buying a desktop PC off the shelf. I always assembled my own from parts (as most of you probably did too). I miss being close to the machine and want to bring it back.

Re: Ask HN: MacBook Pro still preferred laptop for non-MS development?

#46

Post by pestaa » Sat, Apr 21, 2012, 4:32 PM UTC

ergo14 wrote: post #30

Personally I would pick Thinkpad or Dell - you can check "compatibility" of specific model with drivers shipped in linux kernel - so you don't have to mess with drivers at all. At least that's what I always do - never had an issue with compatiblity with linux nowdays, just buy what you know will be supported best. I think it more depends what you want to develop, i've often heard that it's less hassle to play with py…

    > i've often heard that it's less hassle to 
    > play with python etc. on linux than on a bsd.

Why is that so? I've switched my server OS from Linux to FreeBSD, and I think I won't ever go back. Apart from the binary distribution channel, I haven't observed the slightest difference when it comes to programming stacks.

Re: Ask HN: MacBook Pro still preferred laptop for non-MS development?

#47

Post by jsolson » Sat, Apr 21, 2012, 5:24 PM UTC

kaolinite wrote: post #27

mxey wrote: post #9

I switched from Ubuntu on a ThinkPad to a MacBook Air 13" from mid 2011 and I love it.

I switched from an iMac to Ubuntu on a Thinkpad from mid 2011 and I love it ;-) I also have a desktop, mind. Don't know how anyone can do development solely on a laptop.

> Don't know how anyone can do development solely on a laptop.

Mmmm... I work exclusively on an 11" MacBook Air with no external display. My coworkers think I'm a crazy person, but the constraints work for me. I stay focussed on the one thing that's on screen.

Re: Ask HN: MacBook Pro still preferred laptop for non-MS development?

#48

Post by pmdan » Sat, Apr 21, 2012, 5:34 PM UTC

kenneth_reitz wrote: post #5

Stay away from Crucial SSDs. I've had one for almost two years now — I've had lots of trouble. I just ordered an Intel 520 to replace it. I've heard great things.

I think the key is to make sure the driver software is mature at the time of purchase (no room for optimism when it comes to your data). I've had a Crucial m225 for 2 years, perfect performance and reliability so far. The speed is not setting any records but just about maxes out my SATA II bus anyway.

Re: Ask HN: MacBook Pro still preferred laptop for non-MS development?

#49

Post by batista » Sat, Apr 21, 2012, 5:59 PM UTC

nirvdrum wrote: post #36

I've recently switched from a MBP to a System76 laptop, after about 5 years of running MacOS X, and I couldn't be much happier. The new MBPs are extremely harsh to type on between the sharp edge and the keyboard. I ultimately had to buy a Kinesis just to use it because the MBP destroyed my fingers. Most people don't have that problem, but it's nice to be able to actually use my laptop as a portable device again. I al…

>I also really don't like the direction Apple is taking MacOS. Lion chugs resources and does odd things like disable my second monitor when apps go into fullscreen mode.

So, you come to the bizarro conclusion that Apple's direction includes Lion "chugging resources" and having a fullscreen mode bug? Truth is, OS X always had bugs, as did every OS release ever, be it Linux/Gnome, to Windows, to whatever... Some get squashed, some new get introduced. Direction has nothing to do with this.

FTIW, I don't see Lion "chugging resources". Running it on a 2GB, 2007 MBP at the moment. What exactly chugs resources? You can check on Activity Monitor and report to us (or even better, to Apple).

>I don't really care much for the direction of the Mac app store, too.

You mean OS X finally having a software repository, like Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, etc had all along?

Re: Ask HN: MacBook Pro still preferred laptop for non-MS development?

#50

Post by batista » Sat, Apr 21, 2012, 6:01 PM UTC

ergo14 wrote: post #40

batista wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ever tried editing some multimedia? From editing some video to doing some MIDI/audio project? Nearly impossibru (sic) without much much fiddling and inferior to the Mac/Win situation. Certain kinds of development also demand those tasks frequently (from game to multimedia, to web, to mobile development).

You could be right here, but he will be developing code on his pc, so for majority of us who don't deal with audio/video this is a non-issue. Still, for simple non-professional video editing http://www.openshotvideo.com/ - should be more than enough. I have no idea about audio, but http://ardour.org/ looks good. Also when we are at professional tools, things like Autodesk Flare, Flame etc. all run EXCLUSIVELY on linu…

>Also when we are at professional tools, things like Autodesk Flare, Flame etc. all run EXCLUSIVELY on linux - so thats not true that you are only left with mac or windows for "real work". Although I admit that most cheap tools will not often have no native versions for linux.

That, and also Flare et co still leave a huge hole in the overall toolset and workflow --you can't get by with these alone.