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I'm like you in that I try not to go down the rabbit hole too far with anyone. That said, over the years I went from using zero Apple products (first computer w

I'm like you in that I try not to go down the rabbit hole too far with anyone. That said, over the years I went from using zero Apple products (first computer was a Commodore, never had an Apple), to really appreciating the things I find so polished and good about them. If I did go too far, it would be with Apple because I feel they actually work hard for my business. Most IMO, clearly do not. Everyone else is selling devices, they want us happy with our i-devices because they sell music and services that are device-locked. Google is more willing to bring their services crossplatform and that has led to a lack of TLC for Android and how sloppy it is in many ways. You mentioned you use a Macbook. I've never owned a Macbook, but frequently wonder if I'm as wrong about them as I was about the iPhone. I ran Cyanogenmod on my Androids and honestly I would not go back from iOS. My opinions always change with new information and experiences but right now these are my products of choice for various categories. I own or use all of these currently, other than the laptops. Currently using work-provided laptops. Phone- Apple iPhone Console- Nintendo Wii U Music match/service- Google Play Music (if I had Amazon Prime I'd probably move to Amazon Music but we shop more locally and are Costco members) Browser- Mozilla Firefox HTPC- Amazon FireTV (replaced a jailbroken AppleTV2) Laptop- Lenovo Thinkpad Cheap laptop- Acer Aspire One Cloudbook, 14-Inch Desktop OS- Windows10 (gaming) & Linux Mint (dev) Email- Google Gmail Search- DuckDuckGo (bangs sold me on it, it's the new Google) Programming language implementation- PyPy4 (Python 2.7) Media- OTA antenna, Netflix and HBO Now As you can see, I only use 1 Apple product currently and very diversified. Hardly an Apple diehard, but I'm learning and definitely don't carry that grudge against them that many long-term Android users do.

bad_user 11y ago
I ended up with a MacBook Pro because at work we're interacting with a corporate environment for which Linux is not supported and everybody is on Windows. At some point I gave up the fight of configuring a VPN connection to our deeply broken L2TP/IPsec server and asked for a MacBook. My VPN now works, albeit with interruptions. But my next laptop is going to be a Thinkpad, because these slick MacBooks can't be easily repaired and can't be upgraded. They look and feel good, but that's of no consequence when you suddenly need 16 GB of RAM, or when the battery has worn off, or when the keyboard started to peel. I hate this trend of slim laptops you can't tinker with. OS X is nice, but I prefer Ubuntu's software repositories, though having access to popular applications not available for Linux feels good. And the Retina display on this thing will make all alternatives look inferior.
- BuckRogers 11y ago
  I also have a Windows corporate environment at work. In your situation I would get a Thinkpad with Windows on it, then run your distro of choice on that with VMWare. That's what I do on my home machine, because I have 2 mice, 3 monitors and generally with a setup like that, I've found X falls down on its face pretty easily if you start to ask more of it than a basic laptop configuration presents. Running in a VM I don't have to dual boot (I hate that more than anything) and gain the stuff you may struggle with, such as that VPN connection, with a silky smooth, problem free Linux environment while retaining full support from your company. I think most of the things you described could be serviced same-day at an Apple store. I haven't been keeping up on them too closely, but I think even the Macbook Pros have soldered RAM and SSD now which is a bummer. A T450 is a pretty good option that's why I've always leaned towards one of those for my next laptop. I'm a gamer as well so I'm waiting to see how VR pans out before I upgrade again. May stick with upgrading the hardware in my Lian Li tower, or ditching the desktop and moving to a laptop for personal use.
- BuckRogers 11y ago
  Even better quick fix, install Windows on the Macbook. Then run your distro in a VM on that. :P Not sure why I didn't suggest that. No more VPN issues. When the time comes for a new work laptop, get the Thinkpad and do the same.

bad_user 11y ago

I ended up with a MacBook Pro because at work we're interacting with a corporate environment for which Linux is not supported and everybody is on Windows. At some point I gave up the fight of configuring a VPN connection to our deeply broken L2TP/IPsec server and asked for a MacBook. My VPN now works, albeit with interruptions. But my next laptop is going to be a Thinkpad, because these slick MacBooks can't be easily repaired and can't be upgraded. They look and feel good, but that's of no consequence when you suddenly need 16 GB of RAM, or when the battery has worn off, or when the keyboard started to peel. I hate this trend of slim laptops you can't tinker with. OS X is nice, but I prefer Ubuntu's software repositories, though having access to popular applications not available for Linux feels good. And the Retina display on this thing will make all alternatives look inferior.

BuckRogers 11y ago
I also have a Windows corporate environment at work. In your situation I would get a Thinkpad with Windows on it, then run your distro of choice on that with VMWare. That's what I do on my home machine, because I have 2 mice, 3 monitors and generally with a setup like that, I've found X falls down on its face pretty easily if you start to ask more of it than a basic laptop configuration presents. Running in a VM I don't have to dual boot (I hate that more than anything) and gain the stuff you may struggle with, such as that VPN connection, with a silky smooth, problem free Linux environment while retaining full support from your company. I think most of the things you described could be serviced same-day at an Apple store. I haven't been keeping up on them too closely, but I think even the Macbook Pros have soldered RAM and SSD now which is a bummer. A T450 is a pretty good option that's why I've always leaned towards one of those for my next laptop. I'm a gamer as well so I'm waiting to see how VR pans out before I upgrade again. May stick with upgrading the hardware in my Lian Li tower, or ditching the desktop and moving to a laptop for personal use.
BuckRogers 11y ago
Even better quick fix, install Windows on the Macbook. Then run your distro in a VM on that. :P Not sure why I didn't suggest that. No more VPN issues. When the time comes for a new work laptop, get the Thinkpad and do the same.