Switching from macOS: The Basics • Hacker News Board

Re: Switching from macOS: The Basics

#491

Post by amirmansour » Wed, Nov 02, 2016, 6:40 PM UTC

tomtheelder wrote: post #459

erikbye wrote: post #439

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What I find really laughable is when people say macOS Sierra or the new MBP2016 is underwhelming, and then they start talking about something as inferior as Elementary OS and laptops that doesn’t even have a useable touchpad.

You can get laptops with extremely good hardware at a better price than the MBP. For example, Dell's XPS series is the best example. Fantastic screen, fantastic trackpad, good build quality, and equivalent specs despite being a model year behind. In terms of hardware, the MBP is pretty bad value. The OSes are miles behind though.

I feel the need to respond here because in every thread about MBPs people mention the Dell XPS line as an alternative, and after buying one I can NOT recommend it as a good buy.

The Dell XPS laptops have got one thing going for them: relatively good build quality. They don't feel or look cheap, which already puts it ahead of most PCs in the market. Just walk into your local Best Buy and see the junk they are selling to people.

From my experience the most recent Dell XPS 15" has several issues, but I'll mention the two object and non-anecdotal issues:

- They suffer from "coil whine," which is when internal components resonate and cause an audible high frequency noise. It is super annoying, and a huge disappointment for a ~$2k purchase. Even the new Dell XPS 13" which just got refreshed with the new Intel Kaby Lake processors still suffers from this, which shows Dell didn't care to fix a widely documented issue that has been known for a long time. Just Google "dell xps coil whine."

- The 4K screen has way too much glare, and they quickly strained my eyes. The low resolution version don't suffer from this, but I imagine most people are getting the 4K touch display.

I won't get into the Mac vs Windows vs Linux debate, because you won't be enjoying the XPS with buzzing noises and glares in your eyes with any OS.

Ater wasting time with the Dell XPS, I went and happily paid the Apple "premium" for the 2016 MBP. And don't get me started on Thinkpads, they are simply not what they used to be.

> MPB is a pretty bad value

You show me laptop with the level of hardware/software integration as a MBP, and a no-BS *nix desktop experience, and I promise you I'll be the first one in line to buy one.

Re: Switching from macOS: The Basics

#492

Post by quicklyfrozen » Wed, Nov 02, 2016, 6:41 PM UTC

coldtea wrote: post #119

Void_ wrote: post #39

I'm really hoping this is just a phase. Hoping that Apple will reduce prices of new laptops and we'll be back to normal. Right now everybody is using Macs. Walk into the Bay Area coffee shop, you see Macs everywhere. I love that. I build desktop software for Macs (focuslist.co). My apps are prettier than any others. They are easier and faster to use. This is the reason why people pay me $5 while they can get the job…

> I'm really hoping this is just a phase. Hoping that Apple will reduce prices of new laptops and we'll be back to normal. Because there's some price spike? If anything things are as cheap or expensive as ever.

Prices have climbed quite a bit. Seems like they jumped $200-300 when Retina was introduced, and now a similar increase for the Touch Bar.

Re: Switching from macOS: The Basics

#493

Post by vamur » Wed, Nov 02, 2016, 6:42 PM UTC

erikbye wrote: post #453

keeganjw wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can use programs like Wine to run Windows applications. That makes switching a bit less painful, at least.

If you actually check Wine compatibility charts and user ratings you will see that there is a lof of garbage (the worst rating) ratings for the most popular Windows/Mac software. So it is not a viable option for the biggest applications like Photoshop, Premiere, After Effects, Pro Tools, Ableton Live, etc. And certainly no option for a business, but rarely for your average Joe, either. It is often hit and miss. Like…

Photoshop CC 2015 has gold rating and should be stable with Crossover or a fixed Wine version - not too hard to setup with Playonlinux. Of course, a native version from Adobe is preferrable but that is unlikely to happen until market share is 5%.

Re: Switching from macOS: The Basics

#494

Post by benologist » Wed, Nov 02, 2016, 6:42 PM UTC

snowwrestler wrote: post #231

nicolas_t wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally, USB-C is the least of my problem. I care about having a fast, powerful laptop with 32 or 64GB ram (I run a lot of VMs for my work, I could offload it to the cloud but then it's more of a hassle). I complain because Apple decided to make the macbook pro 15 inch lighter and thinner resulting in 25% less battery (going from 99.5 watt-hour to 76.0-watt-hour), this means that they have to make more compromises…

> Since, apple is unlikely to decide to go back to the previous form factor, they are unlikely to ever sell a laptop with decent performances compared to their competitors. Once the next generation of Intel processors land, I bet we'll see Macbook Pros with faster processors and 32GB or more of RAM. At that point they will catch up to their competitors. But it's important to remember who Apple considers their competi…

I think once Apple detaches iOS development from macOS all bets are off.

Re: Switching from macOS: The Basics

#495

Post by jsz0 » Wed, Nov 02, 2016, 6:44 PM UTC

veidr wrote: post #357

My own burning hatred towards Apple runs a little hotter than most, and I have been seriously googling (and trying) alternatives since 2012. That was when my $9000 Mac Pro — which had been a great machine, and still was, except for the little detail about not having been updated since 2009 and thus being stuck with USB 2 (!!!) to say nothing of Thunderbolt and any kind of modern accoutrements — started to feel like a…

> being stuck with USB 2

FYI there are macOS compatible PCI-E USB 3 cards available. Apparently some of the newest USB-C PCI-E cards work too though I haven't tried it myself.

Re: Switching from macOS: The Basics

#496

Post by phaus » Wed, Nov 02, 2016, 6:44 PM UTC

veidr wrote: post #357

My own burning hatred towards Apple runs a little hotter than most, and I have been seriously googling (and trying) alternatives since 2012. That was when my $9000 Mac Pro — which had been a great machine, and still was, except for the little detail about not having been updated since 2009 and thus being stuck with USB 2 (!!!) to say nothing of Thunderbolt and any kind of modern accoutrements — started to feel like a…

As a security analyst I make use of Linux, MacOS, and a few different versions of Windows on a daily basis. They all have issues that I find incredibly frustrating and they all have aspects that I really enjoy.

You apparently have a strong preference for MacOS. Lots of people do, but many people dislike it. IMO, there isn't a clear winner.

Re: Switching from macOS: The Basics

#497

Post by jmcqk6 » Wed, Nov 02, 2016, 6:47 PM UTC

simula67 wrote: post #467

veidr wrote: post #357

My own burning hatred towards Apple runs a little hotter than most, and I have been seriously googling (and trying) alternatives since 2012. That was when my $9000 Mac Pro — which had been a great machine, and still was, except for the little detail about not having been updated since 2009 and thus being stuck with USB 2 (!!!) to say nothing of Thunderbolt and any kind of modern accoutrements — started to feel like a…

I have been a Linux user for a long time ( ArchLinux with Xfce ). Recently, I switched jobs and my employer issued me with a Mac. I am having the same problem : the fucking OS . Why do I need to press multiple buttons to see how many applications I have open ? Why does command + tab cycle through every open application ? Why does it not limit itself to the applications in the current space ? What are spaces for anywa…

>Also why do I have to press Command + whatever when there is a perfectly functional control key on the keyboard ? If I am remoted into a Windows machine now I have to remember to press Control + whatever and revert back to Command + Whatever when I am back on my Mac

It's worth pointing out that Apple is the odd one out when it comes to modifier keys. Switching between Linux and Windows, alot of the keyboard shortcuts remain exactly the same. Going from Windows to OS X is a really frustrating from that aspect.

Re: Switching from macOS: The Basics

#498

Post by vamur » Wed, Nov 02, 2016, 6:51 PM UTC

Void_ wrote: post #39

I'm really hoping this is just a phase. Hoping that Apple will reduce prices of new laptops and we'll be back to normal. Right now everybody is using Macs. Walk into the Bay Area coffee shop, you see Macs everywhere. I love that. I build desktop software for Macs (focuslist.co). My apps are prettier than any others. They are easier and faster to use. This is the reason why people pay me $5 while they can get the job…

Cofeeshop people will still buy Macs, as well as those looking for status symbols. So there is no danger of Macs going away from demand side.

The issue is that Apple is alienating early adopters by removing ports, charging double for obsolete hardware and introducing gimmicks instead of real innovation. And there is a decrease in OS quality from Apple.

Re: Switching from macOS: The Basics

#499

Post by blacksmith_tb » Wed, Nov 02, 2016, 6:51 PM UTC

jsz0 wrote: post #495

veidr wrote: post #357

My own burning hatred towards Apple runs a little hotter than most, and I have been seriously googling (and trying) alternatives since 2012. That was when my $9000 Mac Pro — which had been a great machine, and still was, except for the little detail about not having been updated since 2009 and thus being stuck with USB 2 (!!!) to say nothing of Thunderbolt and any kind of modern accoutrements — started to feel like a…

> being stuck with USB 2 FYI there are macOS compatible PCI-E USB 3 cards available. Apparently some of the newest USB-C PCI-E cards work too though I haven't tried it myself.

Yes, I have 2009 Mac Pro (which cost me all of $300 on craigslist, and now also has 32GB of ram, raided SSDs, and GTX 750Ti ) with a usb3 card in it that works just fine. That said, I have Gnome 3 on my laptops and I find it be pretty practical, too.

Re: Switching from macOS: The Basics

#500

Post by AgentME » Wed, Nov 02, 2016, 6:55 PM UTC

tomtheelder wrote: post #457

AsyncAwait wrote: post #454

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Nothing works right, on any of them. Copy/paste, batteries, wireless networking, drag and drop, high-res displays, multilingual input, even like fucking word processing and email and image editors and terminal programs... Can you be more specific? i.e. - copy paste with a highlight+middle mouse button is frankly awesome in GNOME. - Batteries - yeah, Windows laptops usually don't have amazing battery life and it can…

> copy paste with a highlight+middle mouse button is frankly awesome in GNOME Oh my gosh, this is my least favorite thing about using gnome! I accidentally paste all the time and can't turn it off particularly easily. Very sad.

Why on earth is there not a way to turn this off? I could be a bit understanding if there was just no UI option for this and I had to make an edit to an X conf file, but it's baffling that there just doesn't seem to be a way at all to turn it off. Some applications like Firefox let you change middle-click to autoscroll but that doesn't help outside of Firefox. I'm so worried I'm going to highlight my password and then absent-mindedly middle click and paste it into a chat twenty minutes later!