I recently migrated from a mid-2013 MBP, primarily because I was increasingly disgusted with the lack of control over my own system. I knew (more or less) what

I recently migrated from a mid-2013 MBP, primarily because I was increasingly disgusted with the lack of control over my own system. I knew (more or less) what I was getting into when I bought it, but that choice grated as it needed work. The battery had pretty much gone, and not only wasn't something I could fix, but the Apple stores I visited didn't carry the part. Turns out it's not just the glued-in battery, but they replace the entire top deck - keyboard, trackpad and all. I don't live near one of their stores, so it was going to be a multi-day commitment either way. Local authorized service place was able to get it done, except that the new battery caused the charging circuin (on the main board) to die. I had a choice to make. I went with a Thinkpad P50 - not the thin, flat laptop at all, but a "mobile workstation." Great keyboard, display is good too (matte), and upgradeability in spades. One SIMM slot is a 16GB module, but there are still three others. Multiple drive bays, only one used. A battery I can replace without tools or delay, when that day comes. I went with Linux Mint (Ubuntu-based), and it's been great. There's still a small Windows partition I left for a couple tools, but rarely use that part.