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What Pro Computing Could Be

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Re: What Pro Computing Could Be

#61

Post by bosie »

mping wrote: post #40
kluck wrote: post #10

Here is an easy alternative to a MacBook Pro (easy for a professional anyway): Buy a standard Laptop with matte display. Install Arch Linux (learn one thing or another on the way). Use Gnome 3 (maybe install some software from Pantheon as well, like the file manager pantheon-files). Get work done.

Agreed. Everyone calls themselves pros, but nobody wants to get their hands dirty with Linux. Basically everyone's a pro-sumer. When I go to the mechanic he doesn't care if the tools get him dirty, he uses the best tools for the job, not for his clothes. I get that some people want to look at gorgeous UIs but nobody told me how that gets the work done. I want to use the best tool, and I try to define best as objectiv…

Can you list the software applications you are using?

I tried to switch but there is basically no professional software on linux for non-server related tasks. Just replacing something like Fantastical (calendar) or OmniFocus (gtd) is hard/impossible. Other pain points are replacements for DevonThink (reference manager), Evernote (note taking), papers (bibliography/search), lightroom (photo management and editing), keyboard maestro (macros). list just goes on and on.

Re: What Pro Computing Could Be

#62

Post by allenbrunson »

fzzzy wrote: post #51
allenbrunson wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I also agree that the pro market is ripe for disruption (again). I kind of hope so. I am not happy with Apple's latest moves with their Mac lineup. I have been using my current Macbook Pro for six years. I expected to buy one of the newly-announced Macs, but they really aren't speaking my language anymore. So I ordered a refurb Macbook Pro from 2015. It's still not what I would prefer, because the battery is glued…

Uhh, the 2015 retina has a haptic touchpad.

> Uhh, the 2015 retina has a haptic touchpad.

indeed it does! i had to convince myself that it is so by trying to press the touchpad on my new mac when it was turned off. it's just "dead" in that state.

i remember hearing a lot of people complain about the "force touch" thing when it was released. i am super super sensitive to any part of a computer i have to touch, so i figured if anybody had a problem with it, i would as well. when my new mac arrived and i didn't notice anything strange about the touch pad, i just assumed i had one of the old reliable physical-button ones that i have come to know and love. so in this case, apple's hardware advance is okay with me.

... but i can name another thing i forgot that i am annoyed by: apple doesn't sell macs with matte screens anymore. i really don't like seeing my own reflection in the dark areas of the display. but they've managed to tone it down a bit. it's not as bad as it used to be in the original glossy screens they released.

Re: What Pro Computing Could Be

#63

Post by inimino »

mping wrote: post #40
kluck wrote: post #10

Here is an easy alternative to a MacBook Pro (easy for a professional anyway): Buy a standard Laptop with matte display. Install Arch Linux (learn one thing or another on the way). Use Gnome 3 (maybe install some software from Pantheon as well, like the file manager pantheon-files). Get work done.

Agreed. Everyone calls themselves pros, but nobody wants to get their hands dirty with Linux. Basically everyone's a pro-sumer. When I go to the mechanic he doesn't care if the tools get him dirty, he uses the best tools for the job, not for his clothes. I get that some people want to look at gorgeous UIs but nobody told me how that gets the work done. I want to use the best tool, and I try to define best as objectiv…

It's all debatable. Your OS choice is subjective, but if you like Linux and have fun with it that's as good a reason as any.

Re: What Pro Computing Could Be

#64

Post by inimino »

mping wrote: post #40
kluck wrote: post #10

Here is an easy alternative to a MacBook Pro (easy for a professional anyway): Buy a standard Laptop with matte display. Install Arch Linux (learn one thing or another on the way). Use Gnome 3 (maybe install some software from Pantheon as well, like the file manager pantheon-files). Get work done.

Agreed. Everyone calls themselves pros, but nobody wants to get their hands dirty with Linux. Basically everyone's a pro-sumer. When I go to the mechanic he doesn't care if the tools get him dirty, he uses the best tools for the job, not for his clothes. I get that some people want to look at gorgeous UIs but nobody told me how that gets the work done. I want to use the best tool, and I try to define best as objectiv…

It's all debatable. Your OS choice is subjective, but if you like Linux and have fun with it that's as good a reason as any.

Re: What Pro Computing Could Be

#65

Post by mping »

bosie wrote: post #61
mping wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. Everyone calls themselves pros, but nobody wants to get their hands dirty with Linux. Basically everyone's a pro-sumer. When I go to the mechanic he doesn't care if the tools get him dirty, he uses the best tools for the job, not for his clothes. I get that some people want to look at gorgeous UIs but nobody told me how that gets the work done. I want to use the best tool, and I try to define best as objectiv…

Can you list the software applications you are using? I tried to switch but there is basically no professional software on linux for non-server related tasks. Just replacing something like Fantastical (calendar) or OmniFocus (gtd) is hard/impossible. Other pain points are replacements for DevonThink (reference manager), Evernote (note taking), papers (bibliography/search), lightroom (photo management and editing), ke…

If thats what you do professionaly then use it. I use mostly zsh, IntelliJ, Emacs and a browser. My work is 90% terminal/editor/browser.

Used to do audio back in the day, linux was crap, even windows today is crap (I have to use crazy drivers to be able to play guitar without lag, using asio4all. if I were a pro I wouldnt compile the kernel on linux to support preemption or whatever alsa requires these days, would go to macs).

Also know a few people who did a phd and do alot of research, they say papers is the best app ever. Wouldn't recommend anything other than a mac for them.

Re: What Pro Computing Could Be

#66

Post by mping »

matt4077 wrote: post #57
mping wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. Everyone calls themselves pros, but nobody wants to get their hands dirty with Linux. Basically everyone's a pro-sumer. When I go to the mechanic he doesn't care if the tools get him dirty, he uses the best tools for the job, not for his clothes. I get that some people want to look at gorgeous UIs but nobody told me how that gets the work done. I want to use the best tool, and I try to define best as objectiv…

That's quite a romanticized stereotype of a mechanic. It's also the wrong analogy. The computer, in that analogy, is his tool. It may be the "best for the job", but the mechanic isn't usually mucking around in its internals. When the hydraulic ramp is broken, he calls someone. There is absolutely no need for someone writing software to ever open up his computer, or to compile the kernel they're running natively (if y…

My point is that the fact that you need to recompile a kernel or do some pkg install to get (for example) a machine that supports 32gb is never an excuse NOT to get it. And people do open their laptops (ex: upgrade from HDD to SSD) or install new kernels (ex: docker support).

Don't take my post as a superior class claim. If I say I am a pro, and I say I need 32 gb I go and get it. Don't care if I have to spend a day installing arch because 32gb are worth it. Ofc theres all shades of gray and I understand people like to look to antialiased fonts instead of green-on-black, or don't like to learn a new package manager syntax but please that is absolutely not directly related to the delivery. The time you spend configuring a system is completely amortised over time, if the system is better.

Re: What Pro Computing Could Be

#67

Post by pavelludiq »

matt4077 wrote: post #57
mping wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. Everyone calls themselves pros, but nobody wants to get their hands dirty with Linux. Basically everyone's a pro-sumer. When I go to the mechanic he doesn't care if the tools get him dirty, he uses the best tools for the job, not for his clothes. I get that some people want to look at gorgeous UIs but nobody told me how that gets the work done. I want to use the best tool, and I try to define best as objectiv…

That's quite a romanticized stereotype of a mechanic. It's also the wrong analogy. The computer, in that analogy, is his tool. It may be the "best for the job", but the mechanic isn't usually mucking around in its internals. When the hydraulic ramp is broken, he calls someone. There is absolutely no need for someone writing software to ever open up his computer, or to compile the kernel they're running natively (if y…

True about the kernel, but I've recompiled many of my tools(for example linux repos sometimes provide outdated versions of packages and I need something newer). I often dig in source if I find bugs, or under-documented areas, sometimes I just want to know what is really happening. True, that doesn't make people who don't do that any less "pro", but it does make me sharper as a practitioner. I earn a deeper knowledge about my tools and my environment and occasionally pick up good ideas, or learn some horrible truth about a beloved tool. Programming is fairly unique in the sense that our tools and our products are made of essentially the same stuff. At the very least I consider this a form of exercise worth practicing on a regular basis. It's not strictly work, and not strictly a hobby.

Re: What Pro Computing Could Be

#68

Post by bosie »

mping wrote: post #65
bosie wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you list the software applications you are using? I tried to switch but there is basically no professional software on linux for non-server related tasks. Just replacing something like Fantastical (calendar) or OmniFocus (gtd) is hard/impossible. Other pain points are replacements for DevonThink (reference manager), Evernote (note taking), papers (bibliography/search), lightroom (photo management and editing), ke…

If thats what you do professionaly then use it. I use mostly zsh, IntelliJ, Emacs and a browser. My work is 90% terminal/editor/browser. Used to do audio back in the day, linux was crap, even windows today is crap (I have to use crazy drivers to be able to play guitar without lag, using asio4all. if I were a pro I wouldnt compile the kernel on linux to support preemption or whatever alsa requires these days, would go…

Well, i also use vim/zsh/intellij as well as all the apps i listed above. Intellij on its own isn't good enough if i can't manage my tasks/calendar/research/notes... Hence I am curious how you do that?

Re: What Pro Computing Could Be

#69

Post by fzzzy »

allenbrunson wrote: post #62
fzzzy wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uhh, the 2015 retina has a haptic touchpad.

> Uhh, the 2015 retina has a haptic touchpad. indeed it does! i had to convince myself that it is so by trying to press the touchpad on my new mac when it was turned off. it's just "dead" in that state. i remember hearing a lot of people complain about the "force touch" thing when it was released. i am super super sensitive to any part of a computer i have to touch, so i figured if anybody had a problem with it, i wo…

I agree about the matte screen thing. I had one of the last laptops they offered with the matte option, and I used it for 5 years until a month ago, when I bought the rMBP a few weeks before Apple released the crippled new model. (The rumors were extremely accurate coming up to the launch, so I knew I wouldn't be interested in the new model.)

I was skeptical about the haptic touchpad, but now after using it for a while (I got a Magic Trackpad 2 a few months ago) I'm extremely impressed and feel like it is better than a physical click in every way. I think it is better on my RSI as well.

Re: What Pro Computing Could Be

#70

Post by imtringued »

The next innovation is going to be non volatile RAM. Right now we can get away with putting a flash chip on a DIMM and using super capacitors to write out changes during power loss but it's a ugly and expensive solution. Maybe NVDIMMs with 3D XPoint will change this but it's far off and it will take a while until it reaches the consumer market.
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