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The MacBook Neo

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Re: The MacBook Neo

#541

Post by ImPostingOnHN »

laffOr wrote: post #463
cannolicannon wrote: post #254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The big players are just awful at marketing; too many SKUs and models - it takes a paragraph to figure out how 2 Dell laptops from the same release year differ. Just hired a new colleague who prefers Windows. Dell seemed like a reasonable option for a good laptop. Here is Dell's current lineup: - Dell Laptop (with 14, 15, 16 inch variants) - Dell Plus (with 14, 15, and 16 inch variants) - Dell XPS (with 13, 14, and 1…

I never understood why they didn't use the Apple "UI". Where Apple presents fewer models (say N models), and when you select one, each is configurable for screen size/RAM/CPU/whatever (say K picks), yielding N*K possibilities, many Windows laptop sellers present a list of N*K SKUs where you need to triple check what the difference between SKU A and B.

They do. That's just the different base models. You can customize each one.

Re: The MacBook Neo

#542

Post by bartread »

KingMachiavelli wrote: post #31

IMO the consumer PC industry is near an existential crisis. The big players are just awful at marketing; too many SKUs and models - it takes a paragraph to figure out how 2 Dell laptops from the same release year differ. The exact same specs will be in two different chassis designs. Additionally, you can’t count on the basic being correct. It takes a hour of research to know if the trackpad is not-awful, keyboard doe…

> taking up 99% of a single core while being riddled with security holes.

And don't forget significantly shortening the usable battery life.

Windows 11 and the crapware it typically ships with are all very hard on battery life, and sleep support is unreliable so you can often find significant battery drain even when the machine is supposed to be sleeping.

For me it means that if I'm having to use a Windows laptop (and quite literally thank god that hasn't been true for 2 years now) then I've got to have the power supply and cables with me at all times, and I've got to be somewhere I have a realistic chance of plugging in just in case the worst has happened.

Re: The MacBook Neo

#543

Post by andai »

KingMachiavelli wrote: post #31

IMO the consumer PC industry is near an existential crisis. The big players are just awful at marketing; too many SKUs and models - it takes a paragraph to figure out how 2 Dell laptops from the same release year differ. The exact same specs will be in two different chassis designs. Additionally, you can’t count on the basic being correct. It takes a hour of research to know if the trackpad is not-awful, keyboard doe…

I bought a $50 ThinkPad last year and put Linux on it.

I'm obviously not the target market, but this seems to me like the "correct" way to use a PC laptop, and solves all the problems you mentioned.

(I don't game though, which seems like the only reason most people get a PC in the first place.)

Re: The MacBook Neo

#544

Post by ErneX »

ksec wrote: post #484

This is going to be against a lot of the comments and opinion posted on HN here. The best selling Macbook in history, as percentage of total MacBook sold is the 11" $899 MacBook Air. That was when Apple learned people are willing to give up on performance and features just to get a Mac, or just to use OSX. And despite the declining state of macOS, as Gruber said it is still zillions times better than Windows. Apple M…

Here’s a teardown:

https://youtu.be/5k7Lv7f-5CQ

Re: The MacBook Neo

#545

Post by bartread »

cannolicannon wrote: post #254
KingMachiavelli wrote: post #31

IMO the consumer PC industry is near an existential crisis. The big players are just awful at marketing; too many SKUs and models - it takes a paragraph to figure out how 2 Dell laptops from the same release year differ. The exact same specs will be in two different chassis designs. Additionally, you can’t count on the basic being correct. It takes a hour of research to know if the trackpad is not-awful, keyboard doe…

The big players are just awful at marketing; too many SKUs and models - it takes a paragraph to figure out how 2 Dell laptops from the same release year differ. Just hired a new colleague who prefers Windows. Dell seemed like a reasonable option for a good laptop. Here is Dell's current lineup: - Dell Laptop (with 14, 15, 16 inch variants) - Dell Plus (with 14, 15, and 16 inch variants) - Dell XPS (with 13, 14, and 1…

I had a series of two XPS laptops in my last corporate job, finishing two years ago. My uncle has also had one of them that passed on to me when he died.

I can't speak for the other series you mention, but the XPS series is complete garbage and should be avoided at all costs. Three for three laptops, all in theory well specced, that were all horribly flawed in various ways (WiFi flakiness, constant driver issues, crappy trackpads, mediocre keyboards), does not speak well of that model line.

Re: The MacBook Neo

#546

Post by sib »

ryandvm wrote: post #233
drcongo wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If they're your friend, why didn't you just tell them to get a Mac?

Cute, and while I will agree that Apple hardware is generally superior or at least an excellent value, and OS X is miles beyond Windows in usability, I can't in good conscience recommend a Mac on principle. They impose obsessive control over their walled garden, constant pressure to use Apple ecosystem products, and they are staunchly opposed to interoperability regardless of it being an obviously anti-consumer tacti…

>> voting for a bad person because you like their policies

Is it better to

(1) vote for a bad person whose policies you believe are correct

or

(2) vote for a good person whose policies you believe are wrong?

I'd pick (1) every time. (Sure, I'd love a good person whose policies are right...)

Re: The MacBook Neo

#547

Post by ImPostingOnHN »

gib444 wrote: post #376
cannolicannon wrote: post #254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The big players are just awful at marketing; too many SKUs and models - it takes a paragraph to figure out how 2 Dell laptops from the same release year differ. Just hired a new colleague who prefers Windows. Dell seemed like a reasonable option for a good laptop. Here is Dell's current lineup: - Dell Laptop (with 14, 15, 16 inch variants) - Dell Plus (with 14, 15, and 16 inch variants) - Dell XPS (with 13, 14, and 1…

> Dell Pro Max Premium > Dell Pro Essential At least they have a sense of humour Pro... Essential?! If the sold hotel rooms they'd offer a Deluxe Economy ??

Pro Essential is what the people in the cubes get. Pro Max Premium is what the people in the bigger cubes get.

It looks like a rebrand and further segmentation of the Latitude/Precision segmentation.

Re: The MacBook Neo

#548

Post by NetMageSCW »

grvdrm wrote: post #379
KingMachiavelli wrote: post #31

IMO the consumer PC industry is near an existential crisis. The big players are just awful at marketing; too many SKUs and models - it takes a paragraph to figure out how 2 Dell laptops from the same release year differ. The exact same specs will be in two different chassis designs. Additionally, you can’t count on the basic being correct. It takes a hour of research to know if the trackpad is not-awful, keyboard doe…

Not just PC industry! Feels that way in auto too. I go to Tesla, Lucid websites. Breath of fresh air. Clear choices. Porsche website: WTF. (just one example, there are many)

Porsche is about BTO and customization. If you want a Porsche, go to a dealer and have them walk you through building the one you want. Or become knowledgeable in all the options and find a used one with 85% of what you want.

Re: The MacBook Neo

#549

Post by andai »

sonofhans wrote: post #364
dangus wrote: post #330

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's dumb. You can hardly even buy a machine with 4GB of memory on sale, at any price. If you are making products that depend on people spending money on them, you generally don't have to care about broke people with 15 year old computers.

I must say, the irony of this comment in a thread about Apple moving down-market without losing quality is … well, it burns. Along with the arrogance: “Anyone who can’t afford 8GB isn’t worthy of being my customer,” is literally the opposite of what Steve Jobs always said. I was stuck once in a cabin in the woods with an old Android phone. I’m glad it still worked, and that people curating software experiences for it…

What did Steve Jobs say?

Re: The MacBook Neo

#550

Post by railgunmerlin »

drnick1 wrote: post #485
spiderice wrote: post #452

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry but if "Switch to Linux" is a valid suggestion, then you most likely aren't talking to someone the Neo is marketed to. As good as Linux is, non technical people still should not switch to it. It needs to be MacOS or Windows.

Why? Like many people I don't do serious work on my laptop. It is used for Web browsing, email, and to SSH into other machines. A simple, affordable, but well built machine like the Neo would be ideal for this, on the condition that I can run Linux on it. I currently use an aging XPS in that capacity and the Neo would be quite compelling as a substitute.

your average neo buyer doesn't know what ssh is and would probably like media apps ranging from capcut to lightroom.
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