4 ms·

From 2007 to 2016 I was all-in on OS X / MacBook Pros / iMacs for work (software dev.) Since then I've gone back to a Dell XPS 15 and a custom-built AMD Thread

From 2007 to 2016 I was all-in on OS X / MacBook Pros / iMacs for work (software dev.) Since then I've gone back to a Dell XPS 15 and a custom-built AMD Threadripper machine. As much as I like the Mac hardware, I could no longer justify the cost. The XPS is a nice machine and (no touchbar - it's a feature) and my custom-PC is a monster. Windows 10 with all its warts is plenty serviceable especially now with it's Linux Subsystem (primarily because I prefer to use bash as my shell.) I guess I'm no longer part of their target market for their computer systems.

asciimo 9y ago
> Linux Subsystem Wat.I just went googling after reading this comment and at first glance, it looks like this is an officially supported method to run GNU apps in a Windows terminal? Can you boot directly into Ubuntu desktop without messing with BIOS and UEFI?
- cthalupa 9y ago
  >Wat.I just went googling after reading this comment and at first glance, it looks like this is an officially supported method to run GNU apps in a Windows terminal? It's hardly limited to GNU apps. Most of your Linux applications should work fine on it. I've had no problem with all sorts of non-GNU releases when I use it on my desktop. >Can you boot directly into Ubuntu desktop without messing with BIOS and UEFI? No, it is a Linux userland on top of the NT kernel with an emulation layer written to handle all of the syscalls. It works well. The only really glaring issue is ConEmu and related Windows terminal ecosystem is still hot garbage compared to any Linux or OSX terminal.
  - wyoung2 9y ago
    > The only really glaring issue is ConEmu and related Windows terminal ecosystem is still hot garbage compared to any Linux or OSX terminal. ...and that bites you in a surprising number of ways. I recently tried porting some software that runs just fine under Ubuntu-on-x86 to Ubuntu-on-WSL, and I found three different failure modes in the console/pty mechanism before I gave up. I then tried running it under Cygwin and it ran correctly out of the box. Perhaps the easiest way to see this is to try to run a program like GNU screen under WSL, but the core problem isn’t any specific application. Any program that does anything even moderately tricky with ptys is likely to fail under WSL.
  - liquidify 9y ago
    There are many tools like valgrind that are necessary for development that are broken in the subsystem. I would call it a step in the right direction, but it is somewhat half baked.
  - jonhendry18 9y ago
    "It works well. The only really glaring issue is ConEmu and related Windows terminal ecosystem is still hot garbage compared to any Linux or OSX terminal." Does that mean Ctrl-C is still "copy" on Windows even in a bash shell?
- GiorgioG 9y ago
  Here's a link on how to get Linux GUI going: (edit - better link) http://blog.sqlyog.com/how-to-add-a-gui-to-the-new-bash-console-in-windows-10/ http://blog.sqlyog.com/how-to-add-a-gui-to-the-new-bash-cons...
always_good 9y ago
I could justify the cost that whole time until the 2017 Macbook Pro. Or was it the 2016 that moved to the tiny-action keyboard switches? My 2017 MBP is less than 6 months old and two keys don't attach to the switch anymore. They literally come off with my finger as I type. They aren't broken, the C-clamps are still intact. They have just widened enough with wear such that they don't clamp anymore. It's so bad that I use my 2014 Macbook Air when I need to do a lot of typing. Most of the people I know IRL are having the same issues with their newer model Macbooks, especially my developer friends since we of course tend to be harder on our keyboards. So you aren't missing anything.
- GiorgioG 9y ago
  My daughter's 2016 12" Macbook's space bar only works on a hard key press. I have AppleCare on it, but taking it to either Apple Store in our area is a ridiculous hassle. Drive 30+ minutes, service will take a minimum of 2-3 hours (at least that's been my experience with our phones.) I feel that Apple used to have a competitive advantage in that I could bring my devices in, have them serviced in a reasonable amount of time while I wait (an hour?) My dad had is IPhone 6+ battery replaced under the $29 plan. 6+ week wait for the battery. They call, the battery is in, dad shows up at 11:30am on a weekday, it'll be ready by 3pm. He shows up at 3, and it takes until nearly 4 o'clock to get someone to get the device back out to him. I'm reaching the point where I may as well go with Dell/Samsung because shipping a device in is guaranteed to be less of a hassle than the "Apple Store Genius Bar" experience.
  - wwweston 9y ago
    It's almost what you might expect from an executive team whose vision/talent is focused on manufacturing efficiencies and the aesthetic side of industrial design...
wwweston 9y ago
> I guess I'm no longer part of their target market for their computer systems. I've seen the phrase "not part of their target market" deployed at developers and particular users with increasing frequency for years. Seems inevitable that eventually people will go somewhere else.
prolikewhoa 9y ago
Dell XPS laptops are very high quality and a definite suitable replacement for a Macbook Pro if you can justify getting rid of OSX. XPS laptops are also fully Linux supported out of the box.

asciimo 9y ago

> Linux Subsystem Wat.I just went googling after reading this comment and at first glance, it looks like this is an officially supported method to run GNU apps in a Windows terminal? Can you boot directly into Ubuntu desktop without messing with BIOS and UEFI?

cthalupa 9y ago
>Wat.I just went googling after reading this comment and at first glance, it looks like this is an officially supported method to run GNU apps in a Windows terminal? It's hardly limited to GNU apps. Most of your Linux applications should work fine on it. I've had no problem with all sorts of non-GNU releases when I use it on my desktop. >Can you boot directly into Ubuntu desktop without messing with BIOS and UEFI? No, it is a Linux userland on top of the NT kernel with an emulation layer written to handle all of the syscalls. It works well. The only really glaring issue is ConEmu and related Windows terminal ecosystem is still hot garbage compared to any Linux or OSX terminal.
- wyoung2 9y ago
  > The only really glaring issue is ConEmu and related Windows terminal ecosystem is still hot garbage compared to any Linux or OSX terminal. ...and that bites you in a surprising number of ways. I recently tried porting some software that runs just fine under Ubuntu-on-x86 to Ubuntu-on-WSL, and I found three different failure modes in the console/pty mechanism before I gave up. I then tried running it under Cygwin and it ran correctly out of the box. Perhaps the easiest way to see this is to try to run a program like GNU screen under WSL, but the core problem isn’t any specific application. Any program that does anything even moderately tricky with ptys is likely to fail under WSL.
- liquidify 9y ago
  There are many tools like valgrind that are necessary for development that are broken in the subsystem. I would call it a step in the right direction, but it is somewhat half baked.
- jonhendry18 9y ago
  "It works well. The only really glaring issue is ConEmu and related Windows terminal ecosystem is still hot garbage compared to any Linux or OSX terminal." Does that mean Ctrl-C is still "copy" on Windows even in a bash shell?
GiorgioG 9y ago
Here's a link on how to get Linux GUI going: (edit - better link) http://blog.sqlyog.com/how-to-add-a-gui-to-the-new-bash-console-in-windows-10/ http://blog.sqlyog.com/how-to-add-a-gui-to-the-new-bash-cons...

always_good 9y ago

I could justify the cost that whole time until the 2017 Macbook Pro. Or was it the 2016 that moved to the tiny-action keyboard switches? My 2017 MBP is less than 6 months old and two keys don't attach to the switch anymore. They literally come off with my finger as I type. They aren't broken, the C-clamps are still intact. They have just widened enough with wear such that they don't clamp anymore. It's so bad that I use my 2014 Macbook Air when I need to do a lot of typing. Most of the people I know IRL are having the same issues with their newer model Macbooks, especially my developer friends since we of course tend to be harder on our keyboards. So you aren't missing anything.

GiorgioG 9y ago
My daughter's 2016 12" Macbook's space bar only works on a hard key press. I have AppleCare on it, but taking it to either Apple Store in our area is a ridiculous hassle. Drive 30+ minutes, service will take a minimum of 2-3 hours (at least that's been my experience with our phones.) I feel that Apple used to have a competitive advantage in that I could bring my devices in, have them serviced in a reasonable amount of time while I wait (an hour?) My dad had is IPhone 6+ battery replaced under the $29 plan. 6+ week wait for the battery. They call, the battery is in, dad shows up at 11:30am on a weekday, it'll be ready by 3pm. He shows up at 3, and it takes until nearly 4 o'clock to get someone to get the device back out to him. I'm reaching the point where I may as well go with Dell/Samsung because shipping a device in is guaranteed to be less of a hassle than the "Apple Store Genius Bar" experience.
- wwweston 9y ago
  It's almost what you might expect from an executive team whose vision/talent is focused on manufacturing efficiencies and the aesthetic side of industrial design...

wwweston 9y ago

> I guess I'm no longer part of their target market for their computer systems. I've seen the phrase "not part of their target market" deployed at developers and particular users with increasing frequency for years. Seems inevitable that eventually people will go somewhere else.

prolikewhoa 9y ago

Dell XPS laptops are very high quality and a definite suitable replacement for a Macbook Pro if you can justify getting rid of OSX. XPS laptops are also fully Linux supported out of the box.