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This issue (and to be fair, the removal of the escape key (I'm a vim user)) have absolutely kept me from upgrading. I have a 2018 macbook (from work). I love h

This issue (and to be fair, the removal of the escape key (I'm a vim user)) have absolutely kept me from upgrading. I have a 2018 macbook (from work). I love how fast it is, and the touchID built in. Almost everything else is a regression: - No USB ports - No magsafe connector - Useless touchbar (for me anyway). Actually worse than useless as it disrupts my previous workflows. - Terrible keyboard even when working to spec. It's a shame. I still have my 2009 MBP and mid-2013 rMBP and had already budgeted ~$3000 every 4-5 years for a brand new machine. As my 2013 is starting to show it's age I really have no idea what I'd get, but there's no fucking way I give Apple $3000 for a computer I know I don't like. Wish Lenovo could match up with form factor and screen quality.

samdixon 8y ago
A vim user who doesn't use caps lock To be real though I don't like the touch bar either.
- maxaf 8y ago
  I'm a Vim user whose caps lock key is mapped to ctrl.
- djtriptych 8y ago
  I map caps lock to control OS-wide. And I'm trying to train myself to use jj instead of ESC. But still. I miss my ESC / hardware volume / hardware brightness buttons etc.
  - apazzolini 8y ago
    Give Karabiner a shot - it can map caps lock to ESC on press and CTRL on hold.
    - dguo 8y ago
      I do this on every machine I use. I wrote a blog post with detailed instructions: https://www.dannyguo.com/blog/remap-caps-lock-to-escape-and-control/ https://www.dannyguo.com/blog/remap-caps-lock-to-escape-and-...
  - tasuki 8y ago
    I never understood why people would want to press the same key twice to get to normal mode. Here's what I use: " j + k = normal mode inoremap jk <esc> inoremap kj <esc> And yes, it does happen that I want to enter jk or kj and it exits the insert mode. Usually when pasting something and not more often than about once a month. `:set paste!` to the rescue.
    - degrews 8y ago
      I also recommend jk or kj over jj. Much faster and less strenuous. And it has the added benefit that, if you type it when already in normal mode, it's effectively a no-op (as opposed to jj, which will move the cursor two lines down).
  - AlexandrB 8y ago
    Try Ctrl+[ With caps lock remapped to Ctrl its easy to reach from the home keys and requires no Vim configuration.
  - aquamo 8y ago
    On my 2016 MBP, I also map CapsLock -> Control and Left_Control to ESC. It's goofy having ESC down there but I need a physical key as I do not look at the keyboard while typing in vim - there is no haptic feedback from the glass surface. I am 50/50 VIM / EMacs so the it's important for my control key to be on the home row. I'm not sure why keyboards even have caps lock. It's rude in chat right :-) I started with Sun keyboards where control was on the home row. I guess if one spends hours typing long capitalized acronyms daily, then it makes sense. It's personal preference in the end. I certainly wont buy another MBP - my 2016 has had 4 trips to the Apple store since I bought it for key replacements.
    - AdieuToLogic 8y ago
      As I mentioned in another comment, you can use Control-[ to produce ESC in programs which respect ASCII control character values. So this will work with vim and emacs, but likely would not work to simulate depressing a cancel button in a GUI. Personally, I prefer the Control-[ combo as it allows me to slide my left pinky slightly from the home row and right pinky 45 degrees up and right to produces an ESC. Over the years it has made having to hunt for a physical ESC key quite irritating for the few programs which require it :-). HTH
  - qubitcoder 8y ago
    I also map caps lock to control OS-wide on both macOS (Preferences > Keyboard > Modifier Keys) and on Linux (using gnome-tweak-tool). Instead of using jj or escape in Vim/Spacemacs, I just use control+[. With caps lock mapped as control, it's a single fast motion--left pinky to caps lock, and right pinky to [. I've been using this setup for years. It's one of the first things I setup on a new computer/OS. Mapping caps lock to control also has other benefits. You can quickly zip around the terminal using control+a/e/k/y/d/r etc. As an added bonus, the same keyboard shortcuts work equally well on both macOS and Linux [1]. [1] https://www.ostechnix.com/list-useful-bash-keyboard-shortcuts/ https://www.ostechnix.com/list-useful-bash-keyboard-shortcut...
noer 8y ago
I had similar thoughts about the touchbar, but then i discovered you can change the touchbar to always show the old function bar buttons (brightness, volume, etc) or to show F keys instead of allowing whatever program you're using to control the touchbar.
- Karzyn 8y ago
  I did that when I was using a MacBook at my old job and it helped but the problem was that it was too easy to accidentally push the buttons on the touchbar by mistake.
  - asark 8y ago
    I've had to all but disable mine on any newer MacBook I use, too. It's become part of my first-day setup routine. Otherwise getting a finger near one of the "buttons" on the touchbar triggers it. So, away go any "buttons" near where my fingers might ever go, and away goes the per-app settings which override it, leaving me with [esc] [scrn light down] [scrn light up] on the left side, biiiiig gap, then three volume control buttons way on the right. My personal machine's still a 2014. Keyboard's much better (almost as good as the design that came before it), I don't miss the larger touchpad at all when I'm on mine with its smaller one, and I do not want to pay extra money for a touchbar that I basically have to disable first thing to have a usable machine. Oh and I have to disable force-touch because otherwise I can't reliably click-n-drag files. So all the new fancy stuff I turn off because I can't use the machine with them on. Getting rid of the long cable for the charging brick while raising prices is a slap in the face, too. Oh and all my stuff's still USB-A. Friggin' Apple. I hate that they can mess up so badly and still be far enough ahead of the competition that it's hard to switch.
  - overdrivetg 8y ago
    Yeah, annoyingly I used to lightly rest my fingers on the brightness/escape function keys, so now every once in a while I won't pay attention and the screen is now either full blast or off >:-[
- throw1234567890 8y ago
hoorayimhelping 8y ago
I think I understand why they got rid of old magsafe (it was very thick and was probably a limiting factor in how slim the computers are) but I can't believe they didn't create a new one. That was one of the greatest usability features of any piece of hardware, ever.
- deathanatos 8y ago
  To me, MBPs long ago reached the point where additional thinness provided no utility, or at least, was greatly outweighed by the utility of having more or better ports.
  - enraged_camel 8y ago
    Yes. I continue to hope they make a slightly thicker Macbook with a battery that lasts twice as much (~20-24 hours). I'd buy it in an instant, since it would mean I don't have to carry the charger with me everywhere I go.
    - Cthulhu_ 8y ago
      I still hope they'll put the pro back into Macbook Pro - larger form factor, bigger battery, bigger screen, more key travel for heavy typing, etc.
    - frosted-flakes 8y ago
      Isn't the limiting factor the max battery size that is allowed to be brought on an airplane? Nobody wants a laptop that can't come on the plane with them.
      - TheSpiceIsLife 8y ago
        100 watt-hour limit on batteries, you must ask for permission to fly with anything larger and if it isn't installed in a device / it's a spare it must be in checked baggage. The 13" MBP has a 54Whr battery, the 15" an 83Whr battery. https://www.casa.gov.au/standard-page/travelling-safely-batteries https://www.casa.gov.au/standard-page/travelling-safely-batt... https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ash/ash_programs/hazmat/passenger_info/media/Airline_passengers_and_batteries.pdf https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/as... https://www.apple.com/au/macbook-pro/specs/ https://www.apple.com/au/macbook-pro/specs/
velcrovan 8y ago
Same, still using my early 2015 rMBP, and to be fair it is working great. As long as I use it I will never have to worry about the keyboard flaking out, plus it has magsafe. Prior to this laptop I would upgrade every two years.
- stanislavb 8y ago
  Same story. Yet, should I buy a new laptop, it’d be a very difficult decision... considering a Linux machine too.
  - firepoet 8y ago
    I went with a System76 laptop for precisely this reason.
    - velcrovan 8y ago
      How do you like it? Been looking at those.
- davb 8y ago
  I have the same, but the proprietary SSD interface and soldered RAM mean I can no longer upgrade so have to move on. I'm looking at either the Lenovo E490 or T490 (learning towards the E). For half the price (in the UK) of a current-gen MBP with an i5, 512GB SSD and 8 GB DDR3, I can get a base model Lenovo E490 with i7 and upgrade to 1TB SSD and 24GB DDR4. There's just no competition.
  - alain94040 8y ago
    How fast is the SSD on that machine?
    - davb 8y ago
      The Mac or the Lenovo? I'm not sure about the Macbook's bundled SSD. For the Lenovo, I'm incorporating the cost of upgrading to a 1TB Samsung 970 Evo Plus NVMe SSD (which has a stated sequential read/write speed of 3500/3300 MB/s). And because the Lenovo is not using a proprietary connector (as my current Macbook is) and does not have soldered RAM (as my current Macbook does), I can upgrade both of those components down the line too.
craz8 8y ago
It might just be me, but my USB-C ports were also physically failing. And since this is also the power port, charging up was becoming trickier Apple replaced them during my update too I’ve not heard about anyone else having this problem with loose USB-C sockets
- etimberg 8y ago
  Not sure if it's loose USB-C ports, but it seems like the adapters are very flaky. Some work well with one machine, but others take 10+ reconnects to make it detect a monitor plugged into the HDMI port
  - craz8 8y ago
    98% of the things I plug in are the power cable and my thunderbolt dock. The power cable was the wobbliest, but is now quite firm again
  - djhalon 8y ago
    I have seen a progressive failure with my USB-C and the Plugable TBT3 doc. I never had a problem with it for the first year but now I am having to reboot the laptop regularly because it no longer talks to the display port and plugging/unplugging stops working after a while. Also, what is up with macbookpro's Bluetooth? Everyone at my office has the 13" and no one can use Bluetooth consistantly. Lost connections, no connections, etc.
- blhack 8y ago
  Mine are physically failing right now as well. Soon I imagine I'll have to tape the cables in place to keep them from wiggling out.
- bluedino 8y ago
  I had the same thing with my 2016. The USB-C sockets lose their 'grip' over time.
- bloopernova 8y ago
  I used a pair of pliers to squeeze the usb-c male plug a little to keep it from falling out. -> (===) <- squeeze the rounded ends in just a tiny bit. (Edited to add: the goal is to bow outwards the straight sides of the plug just enough to provide grip without preventing it from being inserted into the socket)
skohan 8y ago
I rolled my eyes when I saw the new airs released with a tactile keyboard with touch ID. Like this is the keyboard I want. Why are you preventing your pro consumers from owning the best keyboard you produce? Also it seems like an admission of defeat on the touchbar. I don't see how adoption would ever happen if the only people with access to this hardware spent 2K+ on their device.
- geerlingguy 8y ago
  Yeah, it's sad to me that the MacBook Air is basically the pro laptop I would want... but with too slow a processor and not enough thermal capacity (compared to the Pro). I have lived with the non-TB 2016 13" Pro for a few years now, but I would upgrade to a newer Pro in a heartbeat if they just dropped the TouchBar. Bonus points if they keep Touch ID, which was awesome the week I tried it out.
  - Sottilde 8y ago
    I just picked one up a little while ago. The keyboard is easily the best in the 2016+ range, but the 10W thermal capacity is really a disappointment. It's barely faster than the "MacBook" and often dips down into the 3-4W range on CPU when loaded. I see DRAM often taking up 3W on its own. Too bad it's so anemic.
    - skohan 8y ago
      Yeah it's a shame they watered down the Air's capabilities. I got a 2012 13" air as a second laptop to travel with, and it quickly replaced my pro as a daily driver since it was powerful enough, and so comfortable to use. I wonder how the Air would compare to an iPad pro in benchmarks.
lukifer 8y ago
Still a classic: https://blog.pinboard.in/2016/10/benjamin_button_reviews_the_new_macbook_pro/ https://blog.pinboard.in/2016/10/benjamin_button_reviews_the...
- switch007 8y ago
  > Despite the many improvements, Apple is actually dropping the price on its flagship 15" MacBook Pro by $400 I choked on my beer
mgolawala 8y ago
In the same boat over here. I have ~$3K budgeted and ready for a new laptop but I am holding on to my 2013 MBP because of the current generation's keyboard. I have my fingers crossed that they will redesign the MBP and fix the keyboard before my 2013 dies. Hope springs eternal.
- jonplackett 8y ago
  In exactly the same position. What a computer the 2013 is. Way ahead of its time and I think only cost me £1500. Best laptop in existence right now, hope it lives that little bit longer.
bluedino 8y ago
>> Wish Lenovo could match up with form factor and screen quality. The Carbon X1 has a nice 2560x1440 HDR screen and similar form factor. Then they also have the X1 Extreme and P1 if you want 64GB of memory or a 15" version. And the T480S which hyou can still upgrade yourself, but isn't quite as slim.
- bluejekyll 8y ago
  One of the selling points of macs is the fact that they run macOS. Comparing other computer models purely on hardware specs doesn’t account for this.
  - eropple 8y ago
    I used to agree with you on this, but frankly at this point unless you specifically need to write iOS software or run some particular audio/video stuff (I've got a Mac in my audio stack for Logic Pro still, but I use DaVinci Resolve for video editing and don't have much call for Photoshop anymore) a modern desktop Linux can do pretty much everything that a developer's likely to deeply care about. I went from MacOS to Fedora and haven't really looked back. I have old Macs as boxes for Logic Pro, for iOS builds, and for the occasional Photoshop work, but I don't find myself needing to carry them with me anymore. For me, and I suspect for a lot of folks, desktop Linux is probably good enough (and, for me, enjoyable in a way that MacOS used to be but isn't anymore) to be very productive and Lenovo's hardware is fantastic.
    - borski 8y ago
      I used to agree with you on this, and was a Mac OS hater for years. But even now, desktop Linux is constantly broken. I just recently spent an hour getting wifi drivers to work again, and switched back because I remembered just how frustrating it is to have everything feel like it’s “third world” computing.
      - Goronmon 8y ago
        I was playing around with different versions and at one point uninstalled 2 and 3 in an attempt to fix something funky I was seeing. Apparently that was a bad idea, as removing Python also removed the Ubuntu desktop, so when I rebooted I was greeted with the command line and had to reinstall the Ubuntu desktop to get things back up and running. Maybe to some people that makes sense, but to me that's the equivalent of uninstalling a version of .NET in Windows and then being greeted with a command line version of Windows on your next reboot.
legohead 8y ago
I have a required MBPro for work. I actually like the keyboard, although mine isn't broken yet. I don't like the change to the arrow keys though, I keep fumbling with them. The touchbar is dumb and should just go. No physical escape key is such a braindead move it makes me lose respect for Apple. Magsafe I'm kind of mixed on. Magsafe was awesome, but it also got super hot -- so hot that I'd have to change how I was sitting on the bed or couch. Haven't had that problem with the USB one. The lack of ports is dumb too. My previous macbook was plenty light -- I don't need a thinner/lighter laptop. But thank god they left in the audio jack. The ginormous trackpad is another braindead move. Do all Apple designers have tiny hands?
- criddell 8y ago
  The touchbar as a pro feature always seemed a little odd to me. Aren't pro users the ones that are going to learn all of the keyboard commands? If anybody is going to make heavy use of function keys, it's pro users, right? It feels like consumers are the users that would like to look down from the screen to see a small second touchscreen.
- scriptkiddy 8y ago
  > I don't like the change to the arrow keys though, I keep fumbling with them. They should fire whoever designed the arrow key layout. The up and down keys(the ones used most often) are super tiny. I regularly find myself wanting to hit up and accidentally hitting down or left.
notme77 8y ago
That's a lot of parens you've got there. You should try emacs. :)
- djtriptych 8y ago
  LOL. I do like my lisps.
chrisseaton 8y ago
> No USB ports What MacBook doesn't have any standard USB ports?
- eropple 8y ago
  C'mon, dude. You know what is meant by "USB"--that it is, effectively, "not USB-C".
  - chrisseaton 8y ago
    USB C is just as much standard USB as USB A is.
    - scott_s 8y ago
      Most people call USB-A "USB." So if someone says "there's no USB port here," they mean "there's no USB-A port here."
    - zyberzero 8y ago
      I would tend to disagree, in a way. On a USB-C port there is USB, there might be display port and there might be thunderbolt. But only if I have the correct cable (sure, then it is a TB3 cable, not a USB-C cable). But explain that to the average Joe? Everything I connect to a USB-A port kind of works, if I add the driver. Not everything I connect to a USB-C port works.
    - mcphage 8y ago
      > USB C is just as much standard USB as USB A is. Not in the sense of "if you buy a device, this is probably the connector it has". The fact that it's defined by USB-IF or whoever doesn't mean that USB-C devices are common or inexpensive.
AdieuToLogic 8y ago
the removal of the escape key (I'm a vim user) To overcome this keyboard limitation in vim, Control-[ maps to ESC for programs which respect ASCII codes (Terminal and MacVim are two examples). In combination with swapping Caps Lock and Control (via System Preferences), I have found the need for an explicit ESC key greatly mitigated. HTH
- 0binbrain 8y ago
  Vim worked out of the box for me on my macbook. I guess someone fixed it?
  - AdieuToLogic 8y ago
    The built-in vim (/usr/bin/vim) as well as all ones which I've custom built all respect/use the ASCII control character values instead of requiring platform-specific keyboard scan codes. Of course, YMMV and all that ;-).
usaphp 8y ago
I agree with everything except for a missing MagSafe. I don’t miss it at all, I prefer to have extra type c port to connect extra screens and if you accidentally pull type c cable from a MacBook it pretty much does the same as MagSafe, it disconnects without moving the laptop (I tripped on my cable multiple times and it got disconnected every time).
jniedrauer 8y ago
> Wish Lenovo could match up with form factor and screen quality. I'd encourage you to check out the Dell XPS series. My XPS 15 with a 4k display seems higher quality than the macbook display. It looks really good. It also has USB A and USB C ports, and even comes with an escape key! And Linux support is top notch.
- rootbear 8y ago
  I love my XPS 13 "Sputnik" laptop. I might go for the 15" version when my mid-2014 Macbook finally dies. It would be nice to have official Linux support on the 15" model but as a practical matter, I've never heard of any serious issues running Linux on that model. I have no interest in the current Macbook line, too many regressions, and I'm very sad about that.
  - jniedrauer 8y ago
    I would also prefer to buy an "official" Linux version, just to vote with my wallet. But the only issue I ever saw with my XPS 15 on Fedora was related to udev and external displays with the Dell USB C dock. Every time I connected and disconnected, the display IDs would iterate higher, which threw off my sway config. Relatively minor issue, and recent updates seem to have fixed it.
maxsilver 8y ago
> Wish Lenovo could match up with form factor and screen quality. Lenovo X1 Carbon? That's what I bought instead of a MacBook Pro 13, and I absolutely love it. No Magsafe connector, but two Thunderbolt 3 ports, USB-C charging (even via low-end chargers, like a Nintendo Switch adapter), two full-size USB ports, HDMI out, the best laptop keyboard I've ever used, a 4K HDR screen, etc. Yes, it's slightly thicker than a MacBook. But it uses that space to be such a better computer.
- jsmit 8y ago
  How is the trackpad? Been eyeballing the Extreme but I'm wary of the performance of the trackpad in comparison to the MBP.
  - grosswait 8y ago
    This would be my question as well. The track pad is the killer macos/mbp feature imo.
  - maximilianburke 8y ago
    My X1 Carbon (6th gen) touchpad isn’t as good as my (former) 2017 MBP. But I am so much happier with everything else that I am willing to put up with it. The main difference is that some of the pad click actions I found frustrating and unintuitive, but I now use the buttons which work fine.
  - bproven 8y ago
    TP Carbon X1 has the best non-Mac trackpad I have used. But honestly I don't think any trackpad is as good as the mac. It is however better than most PC trackpads
scott_s 8y ago
I used the removal of a real escape key to finally remap caps lock to escape, which I really should have done over a decade ago.
- fmajid 8y ago
  Caps Lock should be remapped to Control, as the Sun God intended.
dehrmann 8y ago
You left out serviceable hard drive. If some component on the MB fails and the laptop won't boot, data recovery is almost impossible.
- djtriptych 8y ago
  True, but not a regression as my 2013 is also not serviceable.
  - nikisweeting 8y ago
    What do you mean? The 2013 MBP SSD is user serviceable, I just pulled one out yesterday. You can even upgrade it to a 3rd-party nvme ssd, there are kits all over Ebay.
  - bdcravens 8y ago
    That generation does have a proprietary removable drive. You can get a replacement from OWC (and an external enclosure to put your original drive in). I recently replaced a failed drive in a 2013 MBPr.
rorykoehler 8y ago
>I still have my 2009 MBP and mid-2013 rMBP and had already budgeted ~$3000 every 4-5 years for a brand new machine Hey me too. I wonder how many of us there are?
humbleMouse 8y ago
When I first started using touchbar macbooks for dev work I literally was accedently hitting the escape "key" on the touchbar all the time. It was super annoying and I had to re-train my pinky not to hover over the touchbar. The macbook touchbar is a disgrace and I have NEVER seen anybody use it to improve on their workflow.
- peteradio 8y ago
  I've accidentally clicked siri approaching 1000 times
- qubitcoder 8y ago
  I initially found the touch bar to be a bit gimmicky on the 2016 MacBook Pro. It was a little buggy and worked inconsistently. But fast forward several years later to the 2018 model, and I've come to really appreciate it. Even as a heavy user of keyboard shortcuts, I rarely, if ever, use function keys. The only regular usage that comes to mind is editing markup in the Chrome dev tools (F2 shortcut). And I rarely used the Escape key. After remapping caps lock to control, and then using control+[ for escape, you're free to use Vim, Emacs, etc. without getting carpal tunnel. I cannot fathom people actually hitting escape on a regular basis when using Vim; that seems like ergonomic egregiousness :-). In some ways, I find the touch bar to be _more_ efficient than dedicated function keys. Changing the brightness and volume, for example, require only a single motion--tap and move the slider to the desired setting (no need to tap first, and then slide). So instead of repeatedly tapping a dedicated key, you can immediately dial-in the desired setting. Also, I've found when watching videos or music, having a large slider on the touch bar to adjust the video position is pretty nice. Very easy to jump around. And context-sensitive shortcuts are generally well-designed. Some things I've found useful on the touch bar include screenshots--a visual representation of the various options are shown on the screen (current window/full-screen/or region), along with options for where to save the screenshot. Other useful features include tab-preview and switching in Safari, word suggestions as you're typing, and type to Siri (e.g. once enabled, you can tap the Siri icon and say "remind me to do X in Y hours"). Not to mention other useful tidbits like emojis when using iMessage. I can see how people might dismiss the touch bar without having explored its capabilities--but there's no denying the innovation behind context-sensitive dynamic keys. Overall, I'm a big fan. On Linux (specifically gnome), the situation is a bit different as function keys tend to be more prevalent.
ungzd 8y ago
Can "backtick" key be configured to act as "esc" by default, with acting as backtick with "fn"? Most "60%" keyboards don't have separate keys for esc and backtick/tilde either, and "F" keys are not too important (except for some games).
szggzs27 8y ago
Had a 2015 MBP. Loved it. But had to part ways with it half a year ago. I bought a 2018 15' MBP last week. I wanted the 2018 model for the 6 core CPU, so did not have a choice regarding the TouchBar. Here are some of the issues I've experienced since the purchase: 1. I keep on hitting escape multiple times because I don't know if I've touched it or not. More often than not, I will press it one time too many or not trigger it at all. I don't look down at the keyboard when I type. 2. I switched the TouchBar to show function keys (f1, f2, etc) by default. I plugged in an external monitor and was prompted if I want to extend the screen or mirror it. After selecting one of the options, there is NO WAY to change your external display settings using any keyboard shortcuts. 3. Every time I want to change volume or brightness, I have to look down at the TouchBar. It gets annoying, it is unnecessary, and again I have to look at the damn TouchBar to be sure how much I've lowered/increased the volume/brightness. 4. I use vim. It is a nuance. I bought this to do development work, mainly because I highly value the trackpad and OSX user experience. But to be honest, I am contemplating returning it within the 14 day window because how fucking annoying the TouchBar is. Knowing that without this gimmick, the device would have more battery, more space to accommodate a proper keyboard mechanism, just makes me wonder how much out of touch with the users must the designer or product manager at Apple be? Not to mention that without it, MBP would probably cost around $150-$200 less. The TouchBar is utter garbage. Why slap it on a $2,000+ "pro" machine? It makes the MBP line up an expensive gimmick toy for rich kids. Total cashgrab and disdain towards their customer segment who rely on these machines for actual work. I won't go into details about the butterfly keyboard and magsafe. While those decisions are unpopular, they aren't as debilitating as the TouchBar. I remember Steve Jobs talking about the downfall of Xerox being caused by marketing people taking over control of sales and product development. Now Apple is following the same footsteps. They're abandoning good and sound designs which got them to where they are now. Sorry, but I had to rant. The TouchBar is utter garbage.
- meestaahjoshee 8y ago
  Get a used or refurb'd mbp without touchbar - what do you really need 6 cores for also fyi you can map caps lock to esc so that resolves your esc issue at the least I'm holding onto my 2015 for dear life but it's still going very strong, i imagine i can keep using it a few more years at least
SaltyBackendGuy 8y ago
> the removal of the escape key (I'm a vim user)) As am I. It finally made me move ESC to Caps Lock and it's actually way better IMO. Agree with all of your other points though.
- EmersonL 8y ago
  100% agree here, moving the ESC key to Caps Lock saved my marriage and made me a better father.
_bxg1 8y ago
Dell XPS with Ubuntu has been getting stellar reviews
mFixman 8y ago
I don't mind any of those problems and I map my escape to caps lock. I moved from Linux to a Mac for work a while ago, and I can't stand how terrible the dock and window system is. * Alt-tab is useless. It has no way to choose a particular window without raising all the windows of the same application in the current workplace. * What's worse, it will move workflows if there's no window open in this one. * There's no way to say "open this application" to the dock without right clicking. Clicking an icon is a bet on whether it will open a new window, raise all the windows of the application over whatever you are doing, or move workspaces for no particular reason. The whole system seems to be done for a one-window-per-application workflow which doesn't exist in 2019. My usual workspace has a Vim window, a terminal, and several Firefox windows open; it's impossible to move comfortably between windows without using Mission Control each time. Windows 95 had better window navigation than MacOS Mojave.
- hv42 8y ago
  > Windows 95 had better window navigation than MacOS Mojave. it is crazy how bad windows management is on Mac. Every Mac users that I know have installed some softwares (like spectacle) to help with this. Some people must make a lot of money selling software that solve these issues. What's crazy is that it is still not built in. Snapping windows on the sides is something that have existed for a really long time on other systems.
  - travv0 8y ago
    > Snapping windows on the sides is something that have existed for a really long time on other systems. You can do a side-by-side split of two windows by long-pressing the full-screen button, but it would be nice to have something with a little more versatility out of the box. I used to use a program that let me snap windows to the sides Windows-style, but it got in the way of other gestures and I almost always just want two windows side-by-side anyway so I just use the built-in functionality now.
- mhermher 8y ago
  Largely agree, window management on OSX is odd to me. However, you are looking for alt-~ (tilde), which will switch windows of the same application. That was a game changer. Still honestly don't see a reason to have those separated.
zeveb 8y ago
> Wish Lenovo could match up with form factor and screen quality. Come on over to the Linux side of the house! Between system76, ZaReason, Purism & Dell, there are some great options for a developer laptop. And you get to customise a system which works for you, which I consider a plus.
IloveHN84 8y ago
Buy a Dell XPS
loftyal 8y ago
They should just make touch bar be a touchable dock and be done with it. At least the thing will be somewhat useful by recovering some screen space.
bproven 8y ago
Thinkpad Carbon X1 6th gen or (7th?) - this is the mac replacement (great hardware) that runs Linux perfectly.
urmish 8y ago
imap jj <ESC>
_dps 8y ago
I have almost the same feelings about my 2018 MBP. I have been very happy with a 2018 Dell XPS 15. The build quality is absolutely in line with Apple standards (though obviously a different style). In particular I am a stickler for the mac touchpad quality and, while Dell doesn't quite match it, it's well within the tolerable range for me. The 4K screen and touch sensitivity are nice bonuses — I didn't think I'd ever use the touch but I have come to using it a lot in casual interactions, e.g. during meetings.

samdixon 8y ago

A vim user who doesn't use caps lock To be real though I don't like the touch bar either.

maxaf 8y ago
I'm a Vim user whose caps lock key is mapped to ctrl.
djtriptych 8y ago
I map caps lock to control OS-wide. And I'm trying to train myself to use jj instead of ESC. But still. I miss my ESC / hardware volume / hardware brightness buttons etc.
- apazzolini 8y ago
  Give Karabiner a shot - it can map caps lock to ESC on press and CTRL on hold.
  - dguo 8y ago
    I do this on every machine I use. I wrote a blog post with detailed instructions: https://www.dannyguo.com/blog/remap-caps-lock-to-escape-and-control/ https://www.dannyguo.com/blog/remap-caps-lock-to-escape-and-...
- tasuki 8y ago
  I never understood why people would want to press the same key twice to get to normal mode. Here's what I use: " j + k = normal mode inoremap jk <esc> inoremap kj <esc> And yes, it does happen that I want to enter jk or kj and it exits the insert mode. Usually when pasting something and not more often than about once a month. `:set paste!` to the rescue.
  - degrews 8y ago
    I also recommend jk or kj over jj. Much faster and less strenuous. And it has the added benefit that, if you type it when already in normal mode, it's effectively a no-op (as opposed to jj, which will move the cursor two lines down).
- AlexandrB 8y ago
  Try Ctrl+[ With caps lock remapped to Ctrl its easy to reach from the home keys and requires no Vim configuration.
- aquamo 8y ago
  On my 2016 MBP, I also map CapsLock -> Control and Left_Control to ESC. It's goofy having ESC down there but I need a physical key as I do not look at the keyboard while typing in vim - there is no haptic feedback from the glass surface. I am 50/50 VIM / EMacs so the it's important for my control key to be on the home row. I'm not sure why keyboards even have caps lock. It's rude in chat right :-) I started with Sun keyboards where control was on the home row. I guess if one spends hours typing long capitalized acronyms daily, then it makes sense. It's personal preference in the end. I certainly wont buy another MBP - my 2016 has had 4 trips to the Apple store since I bought it for key replacements.
  - AdieuToLogic 8y ago
    As I mentioned in another comment, you can use Control-[ to produce ESC in programs which respect ASCII control character values. So this will work with vim and emacs, but likely would not work to simulate depressing a cancel button in a GUI. Personally, I prefer the Control-[ combo as it allows me to slide my left pinky slightly from the home row and right pinky 45 degrees up and right to produces an ESC. Over the years it has made having to hunt for a physical ESC key quite irritating for the few programs which require it :-). HTH
- qubitcoder 8y ago
  I also map caps lock to control OS-wide on both macOS (Preferences > Keyboard > Modifier Keys) and on Linux (using gnome-tweak-tool). Instead of using jj or escape in Vim/Spacemacs, I just use control+[. With caps lock mapped as control, it's a single fast motion--left pinky to caps lock, and right pinky to [. I've been using this setup for years. It's one of the first things I setup on a new computer/OS. Mapping caps lock to control also has other benefits. You can quickly zip around the terminal using control+a/e/k/y/d/r etc. As an added bonus, the same keyboard shortcuts work equally well on both macOS and Linux [1]. [1] https://www.ostechnix.com/list-useful-bash-keyboard-shortcuts/ https://www.ostechnix.com/list-useful-bash-keyboard-shortcut...

noer 8y ago

I had similar thoughts about the touchbar, but then i discovered you can change the touchbar to always show the old function bar buttons (brightness, volume, etc) or to show F keys instead of allowing whatever program you're using to control the touchbar.

Karzyn 8y ago
I did that when I was using a MacBook at my old job and it helped but the problem was that it was too easy to accidentally push the buttons on the touchbar by mistake.
- asark 8y ago
  I've had to all but disable mine on any newer MacBook I use, too. It's become part of my first-day setup routine. Otherwise getting a finger near one of the "buttons" on the touchbar triggers it. So, away go any "buttons" near where my fingers might ever go, and away goes the per-app settings which override it, leaving me with [esc] [scrn light down] [scrn light up] on the left side, biiiiig gap, then three volume control buttons way on the right. My personal machine's still a 2014. Keyboard's much better (almost as good as the design that came before it), I don't miss the larger touchpad at all when I'm on mine with its smaller one, and I do not want to pay extra money for a touchbar that I basically have to disable first thing to have a usable machine. Oh and I have to disable force-touch because otherwise I can't reliably click-n-drag files. So all the new fancy stuff I turn off because I can't use the machine with them on. Getting rid of the long cable for the charging brick while raising prices is a slap in the face, too. Oh and all my stuff's still USB-A. Friggin' Apple. I hate that they can mess up so badly and still be far enough ahead of the competition that it's hard to switch.
- overdrivetg 8y ago
  Yeah, annoyingly I used to lightly rest my fingers on the brightness/escape function keys, so now every once in a while I won't pay attention and the screen is now either full blast or off >:-[
throw1234567890 8y ago

hoorayimhelping 8y ago

I think I understand why they got rid of old magsafe (it was very thick and was probably a limiting factor in how slim the computers are) but I can't believe they didn't create a new one. That was one of the greatest usability features of any piece of hardware, ever.

deathanatos 8y ago
To me, MBPs long ago reached the point where additional thinness provided no utility, or at least, was greatly outweighed by the utility of having more or better ports.
- enraged_camel 8y ago
  Yes. I continue to hope they make a slightly thicker Macbook with a battery that lasts twice as much (~20-24 hours). I'd buy it in an instant, since it would mean I don't have to carry the charger with me everywhere I go.
  - Cthulhu_ 8y ago
    I still hope they'll put the pro back into Macbook Pro - larger form factor, bigger battery, bigger screen, more key travel for heavy typing, etc.
  - frosted-flakes 8y ago
    Isn't the limiting factor the max battery size that is allowed to be brought on an airplane? Nobody wants a laptop that can't come on the plane with them.
    - TheSpiceIsLife 8y ago
      100 watt-hour limit on batteries, you must ask for permission to fly with anything larger and if it isn't installed in a device / it's a spare it must be in checked baggage. The 13" MBP has a 54Whr battery, the 15" an 83Whr battery. https://www.casa.gov.au/standard-page/travelling-safely-batteries https://www.casa.gov.au/standard-page/travelling-safely-batt... https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ash/ash_programs/hazmat/passenger_info/media/Airline_passengers_and_batteries.pdf https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/as... https://www.apple.com/au/macbook-pro/specs/ https://www.apple.com/au/macbook-pro/specs/

velcrovan 8y ago

Same, still using my early 2015 rMBP, and to be fair it is working great. As long as I use it I will never have to worry about the keyboard flaking out, plus it has magsafe. Prior to this laptop I would upgrade every two years.

stanislavb 8y ago
Same story. Yet, should I buy a new laptop, it’d be a very difficult decision... considering a Linux machine too.
- firepoet 8y ago
  I went with a System76 laptop for precisely this reason.
  - velcrovan 8y ago
    How do you like it? Been looking at those.
davb 8y ago
I have the same, but the proprietary SSD interface and soldered RAM mean I can no longer upgrade so have to move on. I'm looking at either the Lenovo E490 or T490 (learning towards the E). For half the price (in the UK) of a current-gen MBP with an i5, 512GB SSD and 8 GB DDR3, I can get a base model Lenovo E490 with i7 and upgrade to 1TB SSD and 24GB DDR4. There's just no competition.
- alain94040 8y ago
  How fast is the SSD on that machine?
  - davb 8y ago
    The Mac or the Lenovo? I'm not sure about the Macbook's bundled SSD. For the Lenovo, I'm incorporating the cost of upgrading to a 1TB Samsung 970 Evo Plus NVMe SSD (which has a stated sequential read/write speed of 3500/3300 MB/s). And because the Lenovo is not using a proprietary connector (as my current Macbook is) and does not have soldered RAM (as my current Macbook does), I can upgrade both of those components down the line too.

craz8 8y ago

It might just be me, but my USB-C ports were also physically failing. And since this is also the power port, charging up was becoming trickier Apple replaced them during my update too I’ve not heard about anyone else having this problem with loose USB-C sockets

etimberg 8y ago
Not sure if it's loose USB-C ports, but it seems like the adapters are very flaky. Some work well with one machine, but others take 10+ reconnects to make it detect a monitor plugged into the HDMI port
- craz8 8y ago
  98% of the things I plug in are the power cable and my thunderbolt dock. The power cable was the wobbliest, but is now quite firm again
- djhalon 8y ago
  I have seen a progressive failure with my USB-C and the Plugable TBT3 doc. I never had a problem with it for the first year but now I am having to reboot the laptop regularly because it no longer talks to the display port and plugging/unplugging stops working after a while. Also, what is up with macbookpro's Bluetooth? Everyone at my office has the 13" and no one can use Bluetooth consistantly. Lost connections, no connections, etc.
blhack 8y ago
Mine are physically failing right now as well. Soon I imagine I'll have to tape the cables in place to keep them from wiggling out.
bluedino 8y ago
I had the same thing with my 2016. The USB-C sockets lose their 'grip' over time.
bloopernova 8y ago
I used a pair of pliers to squeeze the usb-c male plug a little to keep it from falling out. -> (===) <- squeeze the rounded ends in just a tiny bit. (Edited to add: the goal is to bow outwards the straight sides of the plug just enough to provide grip without preventing it from being inserted into the socket)

skohan 8y ago

I rolled my eyes when I saw the new airs released with a tactile keyboard with touch ID. Like this is the keyboard I want. Why are you preventing your pro consumers from owning the best keyboard you produce? Also it seems like an admission of defeat on the touchbar. I don't see how adoption would ever happen if the only people with access to this hardware spent 2K+ on their device.

geerlingguy 8y ago
Yeah, it's sad to me that the MacBook Air is basically the pro laptop I would want... but with too slow a processor and not enough thermal capacity (compared to the Pro). I have lived with the non-TB 2016 13" Pro for a few years now, but I would upgrade to a newer Pro in a heartbeat if they just dropped the TouchBar. Bonus points if they keep Touch ID, which was awesome the week I tried it out.
- Sottilde 8y ago
  I just picked one up a little while ago. The keyboard is easily the best in the 2016+ range, but the 10W thermal capacity is really a disappointment. It's barely faster than the "MacBook" and often dips down into the 3-4W range on CPU when loaded. I see DRAM often taking up 3W on its own. Too bad it's so anemic.
  - skohan 8y ago
    Yeah it's a shame they watered down the Air's capabilities. I got a 2012 13" air as a second laptop to travel with, and it quickly replaced my pro as a daily driver since it was powerful enough, and so comfortable to use. I wonder how the Air would compare to an iPad pro in benchmarks.

lukifer 8y ago

Still a classic: https://blog.pinboard.in/2016/10/benjamin_button_reviews_the_new_macbook_pro/ https://blog.pinboard.in/2016/10/benjamin_button_reviews_the...

switch007 8y ago
> Despite the many improvements, Apple is actually dropping the price on its flagship 15" MacBook Pro by $400 I choked on my beer

mgolawala 8y ago

In the same boat over here. I have ~$3K budgeted and ready for a new laptop but I am holding on to my 2013 MBP because of the current generation's keyboard. I have my fingers crossed that they will redesign the MBP and fix the keyboard before my 2013 dies. Hope springs eternal.

jonplackett 8y ago
In exactly the same position. What a computer the 2013 is. Way ahead of its time and I think only cost me £1500. Best laptop in existence right now, hope it lives that little bit longer.

bluedino 8y ago

>> Wish Lenovo could match up with form factor and screen quality. The Carbon X1 has a nice 2560x1440 HDR screen and similar form factor. Then they also have the X1 Extreme and P1 if you want 64GB of memory or a 15" version. And the T480S which hyou can still upgrade yourself, but isn't quite as slim.

bluejekyll 8y ago
One of the selling points of macs is the fact that they run macOS. Comparing other computer models purely on hardware specs doesn’t account for this.
- eropple 8y ago
  I used to agree with you on this, but frankly at this point unless you specifically need to write iOS software or run some particular audio/video stuff (I've got a Mac in my audio stack for Logic Pro still, but I use DaVinci Resolve for video editing and don't have much call for Photoshop anymore) a modern desktop Linux can do pretty much everything that a developer's likely to deeply care about. I went from MacOS to Fedora and haven't really looked back. I have old Macs as boxes for Logic Pro, for iOS builds, and for the occasional Photoshop work, but I don't find myself needing to carry them with me anymore. For me, and I suspect for a lot of folks, desktop Linux is probably good enough (and, for me, enjoyable in a way that MacOS used to be but isn't anymore) to be very productive and Lenovo's hardware is fantastic.
  - borski 8y ago
    I used to agree with you on this, and was a Mac OS hater for years. But even now, desktop Linux is constantly broken. I just recently spent an hour getting wifi drivers to work again, and switched back because I remembered just how frustrating it is to have everything feel like it’s “third world” computing.
    - Goronmon 8y ago
      I was playing around with different versions and at one point uninstalled 2 and 3 in an attempt to fix something funky I was seeing. Apparently that was a bad idea, as removing Python also removed the Ubuntu desktop, so when I rebooted I was greeted with the command line and had to reinstall the Ubuntu desktop to get things back up and running. Maybe to some people that makes sense, but to me that's the equivalent of uninstalling a version of .NET in Windows and then being greeted with a command line version of Windows on your next reboot.

legohead 8y ago

I have a required MBPro for work. I actually like the keyboard, although mine isn't broken yet. I don't like the change to the arrow keys though, I keep fumbling with them. The touchbar is dumb and should just go. No physical escape key is such a braindead move it makes me lose respect for Apple. Magsafe I'm kind of mixed on. Magsafe was awesome, but it also got super hot -- so hot that I'd have to change how I was sitting on the bed or couch. Haven't had that problem with the USB one. The lack of ports is dumb too. My previous macbook was plenty light -- I don't need a thinner/lighter laptop. But thank god they left in the audio jack. The ginormous trackpad is another braindead move. Do all Apple designers have tiny hands?

criddell 8y ago
The touchbar as a pro feature always seemed a little odd to me. Aren't pro users the ones that are going to learn all of the keyboard commands? If anybody is going to make heavy use of function keys, it's pro users, right? It feels like consumers are the users that would like to look down from the screen to see a small second touchscreen.
scriptkiddy 8y ago
> I don't like the change to the arrow keys though, I keep fumbling with them. They should fire whoever designed the arrow key layout. The up and down keys(the ones used most often) are super tiny. I regularly find myself wanting to hit up and accidentally hitting down or left.

notme77 8y ago

That's a lot of parens you've got there. You should try emacs. :)

djtriptych 8y ago
LOL. I do like my lisps.

chrisseaton 8y ago

> No USB ports What MacBook doesn't have any standard USB ports?

eropple 8y ago
C'mon, dude. You know what is meant by "USB"--that it is, effectively, "not USB-C".
- chrisseaton 8y ago
  USB C is just as much standard USB as USB A is.
  - scott_s 8y ago
    Most people call USB-A "USB." So if someone says "there's no USB port here," they mean "there's no USB-A port here."
  - zyberzero 8y ago
    I would tend to disagree, in a way. On a USB-C port there is USB, there might be display port and there might be thunderbolt. But only if I have the correct cable (sure, then it is a TB3 cable, not a USB-C cable). But explain that to the average Joe? Everything I connect to a USB-A port kind of works, if I add the driver. Not everything I connect to a USB-C port works.
  - mcphage 8y ago
    > USB C is just as much standard USB as USB A is. Not in the sense of "if you buy a device, this is probably the connector it has". The fact that it's defined by USB-IF or whoever doesn't mean that USB-C devices are common or inexpensive.

AdieuToLogic 8y ago

the removal of the escape key (I'm a vim user) To overcome this keyboard limitation in vim, Control-[ maps to ESC for programs which respect ASCII codes (Terminal and MacVim are two examples). In combination with swapping Caps Lock and Control (via System Preferences), I have found the need for an explicit ESC key greatly mitigated. HTH

0binbrain 8y ago
Vim worked out of the box for me on my macbook. I guess someone fixed it?
- AdieuToLogic 8y ago
  The built-in vim (/usr/bin/vim) as well as all ones which I've custom built all respect/use the ASCII control character values instead of requiring platform-specific keyboard scan codes. Of course, YMMV and all that ;-).

usaphp 8y ago

I agree with everything except for a missing MagSafe. I don’t miss it at all, I prefer to have extra type c port to connect extra screens and if you accidentally pull type c cable from a MacBook it pretty much does the same as MagSafe, it disconnects without moving the laptop (I tripped on my cable multiple times and it got disconnected every time).

jniedrauer 8y ago

> Wish Lenovo could match up with form factor and screen quality. I'd encourage you to check out the Dell XPS series. My XPS 15 with a 4k display seems higher quality than the macbook display. It looks really good. It also has USB A and USB C ports, and even comes with an escape key! And Linux support is top notch.

rootbear 8y ago
I love my XPS 13 "Sputnik" laptop. I might go for the 15" version when my mid-2014 Macbook finally dies. It would be nice to have official Linux support on the 15" model but as a practical matter, I've never heard of any serious issues running Linux on that model. I have no interest in the current Macbook line, too many regressions, and I'm very sad about that.
- jniedrauer 8y ago
  I would also prefer to buy an "official" Linux version, just to vote with my wallet. But the only issue I ever saw with my XPS 15 on Fedora was related to udev and external displays with the Dell USB C dock. Every time I connected and disconnected, the display IDs would iterate higher, which threw off my sway config. Relatively minor issue, and recent updates seem to have fixed it.

maxsilver 8y ago

> Wish Lenovo could match up with form factor and screen quality. Lenovo X1 Carbon? That's what I bought instead of a MacBook Pro 13, and I absolutely love it. No Magsafe connector, but two Thunderbolt 3 ports, USB-C charging (even via low-end chargers, like a Nintendo Switch adapter), two full-size USB ports, HDMI out, the best laptop keyboard I've ever used, a 4K HDR screen, etc. Yes, it's slightly thicker than a MacBook. But it uses that space to be such a better computer.

jsmit 8y ago
How is the trackpad? Been eyeballing the Extreme but I'm wary of the performance of the trackpad in comparison to the MBP.
- grosswait 8y ago
  This would be my question as well. The track pad is the killer macos/mbp feature imo.
- maximilianburke 8y ago
  My X1 Carbon (6th gen) touchpad isn’t as good as my (former) 2017 MBP. But I am so much happier with everything else that I am willing to put up with it. The main difference is that some of the pad click actions I found frustrating and unintuitive, but I now use the buttons which work fine.
- bproven 8y ago
  TP Carbon X1 has the best non-Mac trackpad I have used. But honestly I don't think any trackpad is as good as the mac. It is however better than most PC trackpads

scott_s 8y ago

I used the removal of a real escape key to finally remap caps lock to escape, which I really should have done over a decade ago.

fmajid 8y ago
Caps Lock should be remapped to Control, as the Sun God intended.

dehrmann 8y ago

You left out serviceable hard drive. If some component on the MB fails and the laptop won't boot, data recovery is almost impossible.

djtriptych 8y ago
True, but not a regression as my 2013 is also not serviceable.
- nikisweeting 8y ago
  What do you mean? The 2013 MBP SSD is user serviceable, I just pulled one out yesterday. You can even upgrade it to a 3rd-party nvme ssd, there are kits all over Ebay.
- bdcravens 8y ago
  That generation does have a proprietary removable drive. You can get a replacement from OWC (and an external enclosure to put your original drive in). I recently replaced a failed drive in a 2013 MBPr.

rorykoehler 8y ago

>I still have my 2009 MBP and mid-2013 rMBP and had already budgeted ~$3000 every 4-5 years for a brand new machine Hey me too. I wonder how many of us there are?

humbleMouse 8y ago

When I first started using touchbar macbooks for dev work I literally was accedently hitting the escape "key" on the touchbar all the time. It was super annoying and I had to re-train my pinky not to hover over the touchbar. The macbook touchbar is a disgrace and I have NEVER seen anybody use it to improve on their workflow.

peteradio 8y ago
I've accidentally clicked siri approaching 1000 times
qubitcoder 8y ago
I initially found the touch bar to be a bit gimmicky on the 2016 MacBook Pro. It was a little buggy and worked inconsistently. But fast forward several years later to the 2018 model, and I've come to really appreciate it. Even as a heavy user of keyboard shortcuts, I rarely, if ever, use function keys. The only regular usage that comes to mind is editing markup in the Chrome dev tools (F2 shortcut). And I rarely used the Escape key. After remapping caps lock to control, and then using control+[ for escape, you're free to use Vim, Emacs, etc. without getting carpal tunnel. I cannot fathom people actually hitting escape on a regular basis when using Vim; that seems like ergonomic egregiousness :-). In some ways, I find the touch bar to be _more_ efficient than dedicated function keys. Changing the brightness and volume, for example, require only a single motion--tap and move the slider to the desired setting (no need to tap first, and then slide). So instead of repeatedly tapping a dedicated key, you can immediately dial-in the desired setting. Also, I've found when watching videos or music, having a large slider on the touch bar to adjust the video position is pretty nice. Very easy to jump around. And context-sensitive shortcuts are generally well-designed. Some things I've found useful on the touch bar include screenshots--a visual representation of the various options are shown on the screen (current window/full-screen/or region), along with options for where to save the screenshot. Other useful features include tab-preview and switching in Safari, word suggestions as you're typing, and type to Siri (e.g. once enabled, you can tap the Siri icon and say "remind me to do X in Y hours"). Not to mention other useful tidbits like emojis when using iMessage. I can see how people might dismiss the touch bar without having explored its capabilities--but there's no denying the innovation behind context-sensitive dynamic keys. Overall, I'm a big fan. On Linux (specifically gnome), the situation is a bit different as function keys tend to be more prevalent.

ungzd 8y ago

Can "backtick" key be configured to act as "esc" by default, with acting as backtick with "fn"? Most "60%" keyboards don't have separate keys for esc and backtick/tilde either, and "F" keys are not too important (except for some games).

szggzs27 8y ago

Had a 2015 MBP. Loved it. But had to part ways with it half a year ago. I bought a 2018 15' MBP last week. I wanted the 2018 model for the 6 core CPU, so did not have a choice regarding the TouchBar. Here are some of the issues I've experienced since the purchase: 1. I keep on hitting escape multiple times because I don't know if I've touched it or not. More often than not, I will press it one time too many or not trigger it at all. I don't look down at the keyboard when I type. 2. I switched the TouchBar to show function keys (f1, f2, etc) by default. I plugged in an external monitor and was prompted if I want to extend the screen or mirror it. After selecting one of the options, there is NO WAY to change your external display settings using any keyboard shortcuts. 3. Every time I want to change volume or brightness, I have to look down at the TouchBar. It gets annoying, it is unnecessary, and again I have to look at the damn TouchBar to be sure how much I've lowered/increased the volume/brightness. 4. I use vim. It is a nuance. I bought this to do development work, mainly because I highly value the trackpad and OSX user experience. But to be honest, I am contemplating returning it within the 14 day window because how fucking annoying the TouchBar is. Knowing that without this gimmick, the device would have more battery, more space to accommodate a proper keyboard mechanism, just makes me wonder how much out of touch with the users must the designer or product manager at Apple be? Not to mention that without it, MBP would probably cost around $150-$200 less. The TouchBar is utter garbage. Why slap it on a $2,000+ "pro" machine? It makes the MBP line up an expensive gimmick toy for rich kids. Total cashgrab and disdain towards their customer segment who rely on these machines for actual work. I won't go into details about the butterfly keyboard and magsafe. While those decisions are unpopular, they aren't as debilitating as the TouchBar. I remember Steve Jobs talking about the downfall of Xerox being caused by marketing people taking over control of sales and product development. Now Apple is following the same footsteps. They're abandoning good and sound designs which got them to where they are now. Sorry, but I had to rant. The TouchBar is utter garbage.

meestaahjoshee 8y ago
Get a used or refurb'd mbp without touchbar - what do you really need 6 cores for also fyi you can map caps lock to esc so that resolves your esc issue at the least I'm holding onto my 2015 for dear life but it's still going very strong, i imagine i can keep using it a few more years at least

SaltyBackendGuy 8y ago

> the removal of the escape key (I'm a vim user)) As am I. It finally made me move ESC to Caps Lock and it's actually way better IMO. Agree with all of your other points though.

EmersonL 8y ago
100% agree here, moving the ESC key to Caps Lock saved my marriage and made me a better father.

_bxg1 8y ago

Dell XPS with Ubuntu has been getting stellar reviews

mFixman 8y ago

I don't mind any of those problems and I map my escape to caps lock. I moved from Linux to a Mac for work a while ago, and I can't stand how terrible the dock and window system is. * Alt-tab is useless. It has no way to choose a particular window without raising all the windows of the same application in the current workplace. * What's worse, it will move workflows if there's no window open in this one. * There's no way to say "open this application" to the dock without right clicking. Clicking an icon is a bet on whether it will open a new window, raise all the windows of the application over whatever you are doing, or move workspaces for no particular reason. The whole system seems to be done for a one-window-per-application workflow which doesn't exist in 2019. My usual workspace has a Vim window, a terminal, and several Firefox windows open; it's impossible to move comfortably between windows without using Mission Control each time. Windows 95 had better window navigation than MacOS Mojave.

hv42 8y ago
> Windows 95 had better window navigation than MacOS Mojave. it is crazy how bad windows management is on Mac. Every Mac users that I know have installed some softwares (like spectacle) to help with this. Some people must make a lot of money selling software that solve these issues. What's crazy is that it is still not built in. Snapping windows on the sides is something that have existed for a really long time on other systems.
- travv0 8y ago
  > Snapping windows on the sides is something that have existed for a really long time on other systems. You can do a side-by-side split of two windows by long-pressing the full-screen button, but it would be nice to have something with a little more versatility out of the box. I used to use a program that let me snap windows to the sides Windows-style, but it got in the way of other gestures and I almost always just want two windows side-by-side anyway so I just use the built-in functionality now.
mhermher 8y ago
Largely agree, window management on OSX is odd to me. However, you are looking for alt-~ (tilde), which will switch windows of the same application. That was a game changer. Still honestly don't see a reason to have those separated.

zeveb 8y ago

> Wish Lenovo could match up with form factor and screen quality. Come on over to the Linux side of the house! Between system76, ZaReason, Purism & Dell, there are some great options for a developer laptop. And you get to customise a system which works for you, which I consider a plus.

IloveHN84 8y ago

Buy a Dell XPS

loftyal 8y ago

They should just make touch bar be a touchable dock and be done with it. At least the thing will be somewhat useful by recovering some screen space.

bproven 8y ago

Thinkpad Carbon X1 6th gen or (7th?) - this is the mac replacement (great hardware) that runs Linux perfectly.

urmish 8y ago

imap jj <ESC>

_dps 8y ago

I have almost the same feelings about my 2018 MBP. I have been very happy with a 2018 Dell XPS 15. The build quality is absolutely in line with Apple standards (though obviously a different style). In particular I am a stickler for the mac touchpad quality and, while Dell doesn't quite match it, it's well within the tolerable range for me. The 4K screen and touch sensitivity are nice bonuses — I didn't think I'd ever use the touch but I have come to using it a lot in casual interactions, e.g. during meetings.