7 ms·

Apple laptop hardware seems to be best in class in terms of performance, support and longevity. I have some complaints about the way that macOS (or OSX) has pr

by tlow 10y ago

Apple laptop hardware seems to be best in class in terms of performance, support and longevity. I have some complaints about the way that macOS (or OSX) has progressed. My computer feels more like a Windows 8 desktop running a tablet operating system than ever before. Core usability features that I love have morphed and changed (exposé, spaces). I have more but that's not the point. The point is, despite my personal feelings that macOS continues to decline in quality, I haven't found any hardware that is in any way comparable. I use a 13" Macbook Air base model and I've used the Dell XPS 13 clone. The Dell has a basically unusable trackpad while the air has the best trackpad on the market. Little things like this make a big difference. Longevity is another big one.

erokar 10y ago
How is the XPS a Macbook Air clone? Because it has aluminium on the outside? The XPS looks better than any of the Macbooks if you ask me.
- tlow 10y ago
  It does not work well. In particular, the Dell trackpad has either bad hardware or drivers or both, but it so bad that it significantly detracts from the product's usability.
- Nition 10y ago
  I don't know about the recent models, but the original Studio XPS 13 (2009) literally used exactly the same basic hardware as the 13" MacBook air at the time. I wouldn't be surprised if they've continued that trend to at least a lesser extent.
  - swozey 10y ago
    The XPS line is on Kaby Lake now so they're literally a generation ahead of the just announced MBPs.
alvarosevilla95 10y ago
I feel the same way. While I don't like the way macos has progressed recently, and I think the new MBP is almost a joke, I can't find any other brand that offers a good computer with a comparable trackpad, battery life and build quality. On top of this, Apple's support has spoiled me, and I can't imagine having to go through Dell's for example now. Lastly, while macos may have been lacking recently, as a developer having a unix OS of course is way better than Windows, while Linux has some issues when it comes to using it as a leisure computer. Right now I'm really happy my 2012 rMBP is still working amazingly, as for the first time I can't seem to find a single laptop I would want to buy.
- swozey 10y ago
  I have two MBPrs (work, home) and they feel like childrens toys next to my friends Razer Blade Stealth and XPS 13s. I haven't seen the new Asus Zenbook in person but it's reviews are incredible. Do yourself a favor and go to the MS store and try out the latest laptops, they're incredibly feature rich and the issues with track pads is almost gone now that pretty much everyone uses glass and Windows 10 native drivers as opposed to synaptic/ELAN drivers. I'm only using MBPrs for OSX at this point. If Apple licensed out the OS to other manufacturers there is not a slivers chance I would be using their hardware anymore, unfortunately I don't feel like dealing with a hackintop (can't run it on Kaby Lake yet, either). But I also don't keep a laptop for 4 years, I typically refresh yearly or bi-yearly (depending on the Intel release cycle). I was actually expecting this new MBPr to be Kaby Lake with a 32gb max and was going to upgrade from my 2015, but I guess I'll wait for the next update unless I move back to a windows PC with linux (I'm aware of the TDP limitations). Some great recent reviews with different options; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEwOCfv6Ucg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEwOCfv6Ucg
  - mercer 10y ago
    I've held off getting a new mac for about a year already, but this 'refresh' is the first time I'm seriously considering moving away from Apple. The most interesting options appear to be the XPS (13(s?)) and one of the Razer Blade laptops. What keeps me from the XPS is really bad experience with Dell and the fact that I can't seem to customize it on the Dutch Dell site. And, perhaps more importantly, I keep hearing that the trackpad sucks. What is your experience with it? The issue I have with the Razor is that it's apparently not so easy to get in Holland. Any thoughts on that? Or, for that matter, any other suggestions you can think of? I keep hearing good things about the ThinkPads, but they're too ugly for my taste...
Osmium 10y ago
> despite my personal feelings that macOS continues to decline in quality Not disagreeing with about the changes to exposé etc., but I find it interesting how often this 'decline' is talked about. I read somebody saying that Snow Leopard was the last solid release the other day...and I'm wondering, do some people have selective memory here? Are they remembering the same OS I remember? I've been using OS X since 10.3 Panther, and it's always been a 'work in progress' and rough around the edges. It's currently the best it's ever been in terms of security, for sure. There are some superficial areas that I don't like much (Mission Control, Launchpad), but they can be ignored. The OS itself is as solid as it's ever been...which is to say it does still have issues (the discoveryd debacle being a notable example), but it's also had a lot of improvements to its fundamentals too (Core Storage, APFS to pick two big examples). I also think it hasn't helped that the change to high-DPI screens certainly made the whole OS feel slower, and I think we've haven't quite recovered from that yet.
- drawnwren 10y ago
  My personal complaints with OSX are all UI related. I give up too much of my screen and time to animations and buttons that I don't want. The underlying OS is quite good. Much more stable than me endlessly fiddling with Linux. That said, seeing as I can't customize the UI or workflow to what I consider to be a reasonable level, I'll stick with a custom WM on Linux.
  - tlow 10y ago
    I agree with the sentiment of this comment. I think you're articulating what I perceive as feature decline particularly in the GUI interface. Advanced features seem to be disappearing and unless I'm using terminal, I feel like my machine is increasingly operating with settings and parameters I can't access, customize or eliminate (iOS analogy: non-deletable apps, obscure OSX example cmd-ctr-option-8 used to invert screen colors, this is now default off and only if you know its a feature you can enable can you use it). Huge UI bugs in OSX not previously present are update alerts that cannot be eliminated and will overlay full screen presentations and videos until closed, there's also no way to turn this off, same is true for time machine backup notices).
glenndebacker 10y ago
"...and longevity" I never had a laptop that I used as long as my MBP (2011) and it's still going strong. That being said the problem with the new Macbook Pro's is that in their quest of making things thinner a lot of possibilities regarding future upgrades disappeared. Through the years I have upgrade my RAM and replaced the HDD with a SSD. I spend in total (including the macbook pro itself) 1500 euro's max and that over a couple of years. I do work but I'm also disabled making that my income is not at the range that I honestly can afford the new Macbook Pro's or can cough the amount to get a configuration that will last me 5 years... The base model costs more than my current system (including the upgrades) and the price they ask for a simple 16Gb RAM makes the cost even more out of my reach. And unfortunately in this we aren't able to buy refurbs from the store as it only includes iPods and iPads. That being said there are more important things in life than a MBP and I'm also thinking about my post mac life that will happen when my current machine dies.

by tlow 10y ago

erokar 10y ago

How is the XPS a Macbook Air clone? Because it has aluminium on the outside? The XPS looks better than any of the Macbooks if you ask me.

tlow 10y ago
It does not work well. In particular, the Dell trackpad has either bad hardware or drivers or both, but it so bad that it significantly detracts from the product's usability.
Nition 10y ago
I don't know about the recent models, but the original Studio XPS 13 (2009) literally used exactly the same basic hardware as the 13" MacBook air at the time. I wouldn't be surprised if they've continued that trend to at least a lesser extent.
- swozey 10y ago
  The XPS line is on Kaby Lake now so they're literally a generation ahead of the just announced MBPs.

alvarosevilla95 10y ago

I feel the same way. While I don't like the way macos has progressed recently, and I think the new MBP is almost a joke, I can't find any other brand that offers a good computer with a comparable trackpad, battery life and build quality. On top of this, Apple's support has spoiled me, and I can't imagine having to go through Dell's for example now. Lastly, while macos may have been lacking recently, as a developer having a unix OS of course is way better than Windows, while Linux has some issues when it comes to using it as a leisure computer. Right now I'm really happy my 2012 rMBP is still working amazingly, as for the first time I can't seem to find a single laptop I would want to buy.

swozey 10y ago
I have two MBPrs (work, home) and they feel like childrens toys next to my friends Razer Blade Stealth and XPS 13s. I haven't seen the new Asus Zenbook in person but it's reviews are incredible. Do yourself a favor and go to the MS store and try out the latest laptops, they're incredibly feature rich and the issues with track pads is almost gone now that pretty much everyone uses glass and Windows 10 native drivers as opposed to synaptic/ELAN drivers. I'm only using MBPrs for OSX at this point. If Apple licensed out the OS to other manufacturers there is not a slivers chance I would be using their hardware anymore, unfortunately I don't feel like dealing with a hackintop (can't run it on Kaby Lake yet, either). But I also don't keep a laptop for 4 years, I typically refresh yearly or bi-yearly (depending on the Intel release cycle). I was actually expecting this new MBPr to be Kaby Lake with a 32gb max and was going to upgrade from my 2015, but I guess I'll wait for the next update unless I move back to a windows PC with linux (I'm aware of the TDP limitations). Some great recent reviews with different options; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEwOCfv6Ucg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEwOCfv6Ucg
- mercer 10y ago
  I've held off getting a new mac for about a year already, but this 'refresh' is the first time I'm seriously considering moving away from Apple. The most interesting options appear to be the XPS (13(s?)) and one of the Razer Blade laptops. What keeps me from the XPS is really bad experience with Dell and the fact that I can't seem to customize it on the Dutch Dell site. And, perhaps more importantly, I keep hearing that the trackpad sucks. What is your experience with it? The issue I have with the Razor is that it's apparently not so easy to get in Holland. Any thoughts on that? Or, for that matter, any other suggestions you can think of? I keep hearing good things about the ThinkPads, but they're too ugly for my taste...

Osmium 10y ago

> despite my personal feelings that macOS continues to decline in quality Not disagreeing with about the changes to exposé etc., but I find it interesting how often this 'decline' is talked about. I read somebody saying that Snow Leopard was the last solid release the other day...and I'm wondering, do some people have selective memory here? Are they remembering the same OS I remember? I've been using OS X since 10.3 Panther, and it's always been a 'work in progress' and rough around the edges. It's currently the best it's ever been in terms of security, for sure. There are some superficial areas that I don't like much (Mission Control, Launchpad), but they can be ignored. The OS itself is as solid as it's ever been...which is to say it does still have issues (the discoveryd debacle being a notable example), but it's also had a lot of improvements to its fundamentals too (Core Storage, APFS to pick two big examples). I also think it hasn't helped that the change to high-DPI screens certainly made the whole OS feel slower, and I think we've haven't quite recovered from that yet.

drawnwren 10y ago
My personal complaints with OSX are all UI related. I give up too much of my screen and time to animations and buttons that I don't want. The underlying OS is quite good. Much more stable than me endlessly fiddling with Linux. That said, seeing as I can't customize the UI or workflow to what I consider to be a reasonable level, I'll stick with a custom WM on Linux.
- tlow 10y ago
  I agree with the sentiment of this comment. I think you're articulating what I perceive as feature decline particularly in the GUI interface. Advanced features seem to be disappearing and unless I'm using terminal, I feel like my machine is increasingly operating with settings and parameters I can't access, customize or eliminate (iOS analogy: non-deletable apps, obscure OSX example cmd-ctr-option-8 used to invert screen colors, this is now default off and only if you know its a feature you can enable can you use it). Huge UI bugs in OSX not previously present are update alerts that cannot be eliminated and will overlay full screen presentations and videos until closed, there's also no way to turn this off, same is true for time machine backup notices).

glenndebacker 10y ago

"...and longevity" I never had a laptop that I used as long as my MBP (2011) and it's still going strong. That being said the problem with the new Macbook Pro's is that in their quest of making things thinner a lot of possibilities regarding future upgrades disappeared. Through the years I have upgrade my RAM and replaced the HDD with a SSD. I spend in total (including the macbook pro itself) 1500 euro's max and that over a couple of years. I do work but I'm also disabled making that my income is not at the range that I honestly can afford the new Macbook Pro's or can cough the amount to get a configuration that will last me 5 years... The base model costs more than my current system (including the upgrades) and the price they ask for a simple 16Gb RAM makes the cost even more out of my reach. And unfortunately in this we aren't able to buy refurbs from the store as it only includes iPods and iPads. That being said there are more important things in life than a MBP and I'm also thinking about my post mac life that will happen when my current machine dies.