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Ask HN: What laptop to choose now?

• stephenr 10y ago
  PSA: if you're going to post a "Wah Apple has jumped the shark, what laptop should I buy now" at least have the common decency to highlight the specific issues that make you want to look elsewhere.
  • hartator 10y ago
    I think my main grief if that the Touch Bar is just ridiculous. Watch the Keynote demo about people trying to use it for DJ or Photoshop. It just doesn't make sense. If it's where Apple is heading, I am not sure I want to be part of this. It's like they are forcing me to not buy it. But, I might be wrong and, in person, it might be awesome.
    • stephenr 10y ago
      some of the demos seemed a little weird, sure, but most software demos do to me, because they over explain things. That doesn't make the thing not amazing IMO. The most use I get from my f-keys right now is media/display brightness/volume. I cant use it for eg debug step though or refactor symbol in my IDE without holding down function. Hopefully with the new hardware Jetbrains apps will show the context appropriate buttons automatically. Do you use the f-keys a lot, without looking at them? (Ie find them by touch alone)
      • hartator 10y ago
        It's not really about the fn keys, we can get rid of them completely. I will just miss the esc. It's more about the Touch Bar itself. I would rather see engineering time spent elsewhere. They just added a huge burden for developer to morph their application is a smart way while not adding anything that it's not just a shortcut. Apple is not even able to commit completely to it with one the new MacBook 13" that doesn't feature it. It's a gimmick and will probably more an annoyance than anything. My main thoughts about it is "I hope it won't be too distracting.".
        • stephenr 10y ago
          Apps don't have to support the ToucbBar, and if they do, they're not meant to come up with brand new functionality for it, they simply make functionality available through an additional method (multitouch). So while that may take some dev time away from other things, it's not like all developers must spend 50% of their time dedicated to developing awesome touch-bar only functionality. Apple specifically tells them NOT to do that.
• gjvc 10y ago
  well, this question is rather "how long is a piece of string", but if you've got the cash, this looks nifty http://www.razerzone.com/gb-en/gaming-systems/razer-blade http://www.razerzone.com/gb-en/gaming-systems/razer-blade or, at the other end of the spectrum, you could always get a ThinkPad T60 from eBay with 1600x1200 display -- at least that one has a TrackPoint.
  • dredmorbius 10y ago
    To quote Linus: "Nvidia: Fuck you."
• rmason 10y ago
  I am just beginning to look. Two machines that I've been impressed with are the Acer Predator 17 and the Asus Republic of Gamers GL702VM. Sadly no one offers desktop replacement machines anymore. If you want to get a high end machine, especially one with a high resolution 17 inch screen, you must look at machines built for gamers which means you have to deal with garish color combinations. When will it dawn on PC makers that there is a profitable niche in catering to programmers with tasteful high performance laptops?
• dredmorbius 10y ago
  Laptops are tools. What you want depends on what you do. I'm also unhappy with modern offerings, though I come from the Linux side. Whilst I use Macs, I've never been a fan of either the hardware (keyboard and touchpad aren't my thing). I've been exceptionally disappointed by Lenovo's products and behaviour of the past few years. My druthers would be a lightweight, portalble, Linux-friendly system with a trackpoint-type pointer control. I've been using an Android 9" tablet which is mostly good hardware, and an absolute obscenity in terms of the OS, vendor (Samsung) lockdown, and apps. This with a folio-type self-supporting laptopable keyboard case is close to the perfect form-factor system, most especially for reading printed material (many many many ebooks and articles, most in PDF form). But nothing about this system is built for privacy, creation, complex interaction, or organising and managing large quantities of content. As a Linux box it might work. Laptops fail to offer the flexibility of keyboardless operation (and bending keyboards back ... tends to break them), and stink for reading online content generally. I've also noticed that large-format tablets (9" - 10") don't seem to be offered by anyone. A decent userland, rootable / ROMable system (Samsung's BDSM lockdown basically means I'm fucked in terms of Rowhammer), and sane hardware (the Logitech keyboard's also been sheer failure mostly due to the company's failure to honour its warranty in any meaningful fashion, and the tightly-coupled HW binding of tablet and keyboard). I've about had it with hardware, period.
  • dubhrosa 10y ago
    A trackpoint is an absolutely non-negotiable requirement for me, so I bought several lenovo bluetooth keyboards, set them up for all the desktops I use, and kept a few spare in case they are discontinued.
    • sytelus 10y ago
      What do you use trackpoint for? I' always had trackpoint but never found any need for it when you already have nice touchpad.
      • unhammer 10y ago
        For me: Moving the mouse without your fingers leaving home row.
• holografix 10y ago
  I use a Surface Book at home mainly because I was seduced by the dGPU and a real keyboard. However if I was in the market right now for a laptop I can't see how I'd pass on a Surface Pro 4. Much cheaper than the book and pretty much as good, type cover is not too bad at all.
• aflaisler 10y ago
  Hi there, I have been back and forth Apple for the past 10years (mainly because of Excel). I felt in love with the Thinkpad x200 back in the days, same story with the x240. I'm now working on a Thinkpad t440 (8gb, i5 2.26ghz, ssd) and I must admit it never let me down. It is super strong and extremely fast. Also the after sale for Thinkpad is amazing. The Gpu is crap though. If I had to buy a new one I'd not hesitate but probably use Linux. Hope it helps.