3 ms·

I noticed that everyone here is using a MacBook Pro 15" laptop. Why is that?

c1sc0 16y ago
Because it's a fairly sturdy machine that makes a great portable workstation? For me it's because I'm invested in the platform: whenever I start a new big project I get myself a new one. (Bonus if I can convince someone else to get me one.) I like how there is absolutely zero friction in the purchase decision: I already know what I'll get & I don't have to go through the agonizing process of configuring the machine. (both hardware & software) It's an expendable high-quality tool that gets the job done.
kngspook 16y ago
Can't speak for everyone else, but personally: The 2" of extra screen real-estate doesn't give me a huge benefit usually (not enough to put two windows side-by-side); but it does widen the laptop enough to make it harder to use in tight spaces (ie. airplanes), and it does make the laptop heavier. On the other hand, at the time I bought my MBP, the 13" MacBook Pro was not a Pro. I'm honestly not sure what I would get these days. I might go for the 13", and get a bunch of external stuff (display, mouse, keyboard, but mostly the display).
- rdl 16y ago
  I have a "seriously tore up" 15" MBP from spring 2008 which I carry with me for really mobile use, and a 17" 2010 MBP which sits in my "base" location for weeks at a time. I went that route, vs. the 15" HD, because I can't easily have an external monitor while being mobile -- otherwise, the 15" HD seems to be the best, coupled with an external 24, 27, or 30. I am considering getting a 13" MBP or maybe an x301 or panasonic s9 whenever they next get bumped. I don't care for netbooks (too weak), but a long battery life small laptop would be a nice tool. The lack of a keyboard on the ipad cripples me; often, the blackberry is more useful.
- philwelch 16y ago
  I have a 13" aluminum MacBook with external display, keyboard, and mouse, and highly recommend that setup. I downsized from a 15" PowerBook to 13" MacBooks long ago, and with the aluminum ones ("Pro" or not) they are fantastic machines.
chunkbot 16y ago
I mean, why Macs in general? I thought most people here were using some form of Linux, but I guess not?
- rdl 16y ago
  Apple makes better hardware than most of the PC manufacturers. The only mon-Mac laptops I like as hardware are the Lenovo T, W, and X series. I have some IBM/lenovo laptops too. Some of the Panasonic business-rugged laptops (W, T, S series) are also nice, but driver support is often weak. Linux itself on laptops sucks more than on any other platform -- driver support, ACPI/APM support, etc. all suffer vs. Mac. OSX is a pretty decent Unix OS (although since I use ubuntu for most of my servers, the slight syntax variation vs. linux gets annoying). I also really like having Keynote, Pages, and Numbers available -- OpenOffice just doesn't do it for me. And, I use Adobe CS4 (mainly Illustrator and Photoshop). And for a gui text editor, TextMate is nice. And OmniGraffle. Basically, Mac commercial software is a big plus, but fundamentally it's about having a great working Unix laptop which requires minimal tweaking out of the box.
- lukeqsee 16y ago
  Linux is for computer specific hackers. Mac is for hackers in general. Besides, I'll get a MBP (you can't beat the hardware quality) and put Linux on it. So who's to say they don't have Linux on it?

c1sc0 16y ago

Because it's a fairly sturdy machine that makes a great portable workstation? For me it's because I'm invested in the platform: whenever I start a new big project I get myself a new one. (Bonus if I can convince someone else to get me one.) I like how there is absolutely zero friction in the purchase decision: I already know what I'll get & I don't have to go through the agonizing process of configuring the machine. (both hardware & software) It's an expendable high-quality tool that gets the job done.

kngspook 16y ago

Can't speak for everyone else, but personally: The 2" of extra screen real-estate doesn't give me a huge benefit usually (not enough to put two windows side-by-side); but it does widen the laptop enough to make it harder to use in tight spaces (ie. airplanes), and it does make the laptop heavier. On the other hand, at the time I bought my MBP, the 13" MacBook Pro was not a Pro. I'm honestly not sure what I would get these days. I might go for the 13", and get a bunch of external stuff (display, mouse, keyboard, but mostly the display).

rdl 16y ago
I have a "seriously tore up" 15" MBP from spring 2008 which I carry with me for really mobile use, and a 17" 2010 MBP which sits in my "base" location for weeks at a time. I went that route, vs. the 15" HD, because I can't easily have an external monitor while being mobile -- otherwise, the 15" HD seems to be the best, coupled with an external 24, 27, or 30. I am considering getting a 13" MBP or maybe an x301 or panasonic s9 whenever they next get bumped. I don't care for netbooks (too weak), but a long battery life small laptop would be a nice tool. The lack of a keyboard on the ipad cripples me; often, the blackberry is more useful.
philwelch 16y ago
I have a 13" aluminum MacBook with external display, keyboard, and mouse, and highly recommend that setup. I downsized from a 15" PowerBook to 13" MacBooks long ago, and with the aluminum ones ("Pro" or not) they are fantastic machines.

chunkbot 16y ago

I mean, why Macs in general? I thought most people here were using some form of Linux, but I guess not?

rdl 16y ago
Apple makes better hardware than most of the PC manufacturers. The only mon-Mac laptops I like as hardware are the Lenovo T, W, and X series. I have some IBM/lenovo laptops too. Some of the Panasonic business-rugged laptops (W, T, S series) are also nice, but driver support is often weak. Linux itself on laptops sucks more than on any other platform -- driver support, ACPI/APM support, etc. all suffer vs. Mac. OSX is a pretty decent Unix OS (although since I use ubuntu for most of my servers, the slight syntax variation vs. linux gets annoying). I also really like having Keynote, Pages, and Numbers available -- OpenOffice just doesn't do it for me. And, I use Adobe CS4 (mainly Illustrator and Photoshop). And for a gui text editor, TextMate is nice. And OmniGraffle. Basically, Mac commercial software is a big plus, but fundamentally it's about having a great working Unix laptop which requires minimal tweaking out of the box.
lukeqsee 16y ago
Linux is for computer specific hackers. Mac is for hackers in general. Besides, I'll get a MBP (you can't beat the hardware quality) and put Linux on it. So who's to say they don't have Linux on it?