7 ms·

I'm currently using the last, best 2015 macbook, and having tried a newer model as a work computer for a short while previously, am dreading the day I need to t

I'm currently using the last, best 2015 macbook, and having tried a newer model as a work computer for a short while previously, am dreading the day I need to think about replacing it. How about this apple. "macbook util". The pro line can keep the thin delicate stuff. Give me the 2015 case, screen, keyboard, and magsafe, with some new internals and a usb-c. I'd happily hand over my money.

popularrecluse 7y ago
Yes, a developer's edition. I'll take a heavier, larger device with more and varied ports and extended battery life please. An all-hardware keyboard with a useful arrow-key configuration that doesn't make me press the wrong key all the time. An actual 'esc' key so I have my caps lock key back. </dreamsequence>
- endymi0n 7y ago
  Is there a petition I can sign? Will pay 20% on top.
  - popularrecluse 7y ago
    While I'm dreaming, I want a smaller touch pad too. That's right where your hands rest. I'm constantly having issues with moving the pointer because of unwanted touches being recognized. I've been using this machine for 6 months now, and as an iOS dev I'm locked in. But I don't love it, even if they thought I was gonna.
    - gumby 7y ago
      FWIW, not resting your hand/wrist but keeping your hand parallel to the floor will reduce your chance of inflaming your carpal tunnel. Consider the large touch pad a gift from Apple in this regard :-)...
      - popularrecluse 7y ago
        Ok i will try.
        gumby 7y ago
        My piano teacher had me play scales with a coin on the back of my hand, if that helps. If you look at the anatomy of the wrist you’ll see the problem. It’s worse for woman who have been pregnant (the lining sells for some reason and stays that way)
- robbyking 7y ago
  This is a bit of a side note, but I remapped my caps lock key to escape and it makes things a lot easier.
  - tunesmith 7y ago
    I've done that too. It's an improvement, but it's made things a little more difficult in other ways - like for some reason it's very easy for me to confuse Tab and Escape/capslock now. In some typing scenarios, I just can't seem to keep them straight.
- firethief 7y ago
  That sounds like a regular laptop
jonplackett 7y ago
YES YES YES YES! Sign me up. Take my money!
hamburglar 7y ago
Yes, I wrote pretty much exactly this in another reply in this thread. The main problem is that "thinner" costs a lot in terms of other features and functionality, and yet there is a whole class of users for whom "thinner" has no value whatsoever. That's me. Stop trying to make it thinner and pleasing us becomes easy.
- andrekandre 7y ago
  i think it’s high time apple decouple screen size, core-count and thinness with “pro-ness” there is no technical reason (that i know of) stopping apple from selling a 15 inch laptop as thin as the macbook air (and still even get a low-clocked 4 core cpu in there)... i for one would buy that up in a heartbeat for those that really need power, they can have a much thicker 6 or 8 or higher core cpu + discrete gpu and it would be fine (for that target) i would imagine... but maybe apples marketing dept knows more than i do (not being sarcastic)
rarecoil 7y ago
Wasn't that kind of the point of the "Pro" line? I mean, if you just wanted a kinda cool laptop, you'd buy a MacBook or MacBook Air. It's now the MacBook Prosumer, and there is no pro option. Hacker News has been whinging about this Apple dilemma for years. I'm sorry to say that I just don't think there will ever be the golden age of MacBooks again. The "Pro" ideas coming from Cupertino are gimmicky at best for developers, and we will be stuck working on various Linux machines and leave the MBP problems to designers. The hacker-type software engineer is not Apple's target market for the MBP, and I think even before it was likely coincidence. If you look at the pro target even in this post, the majority of Mac "pro" use cases being displayed here are creative in nature. Devs generally aren't spending their days editing video or sitting in Maya and they are targeting those markets - people who need power but don't wrench into their OS internals or open a debugger when something goes wrong. Those customers are also a lot less flighty as long as their creative tools work. As for me, I stopped complaining and wishing for a pony, accepted that the MacBook is dead, and moved to a ThinkPad for daily use. My 2015 MBP will stick around when I need macOS, but it's best to start converting my workflow to a different platform where I see a future for development work.
- bluedino 7y ago
  I love Thinkpads but the trackpads, screen, and build quality leave a lot to be desired. Every Mac is the same level of assembly/quality but ThinkPads vary too much from one to another. The prices for the high-performance models are almost as high as Apple and the power bricks are actually bricks.
  - dzonga 7y ago
    I have a t490 with 500 nit display. 100% ARGB / SRGB. I haven't seen any macbook display that's sharp. Btw I have a personal 2012 Retina Macbook pro & a 2018 Macbook pro that I use for work for frontend.
    - q-base 7y ago
      How is the keyboard on the T490? I have a T460s at home where I like the keyboard a lot. I have a T470s at work, where the keyboard is a little less to my liking and I tried a colleagues T480s where it felt awesome again - so how about the T490? Can't really decide between T480s, T490, T490s or 6th gen X1 carbon.
drag0s 7y ago
And no touch bar please
pier25 7y ago
The could call it the "Macbook Classic"
psyclobe 7y ago
I would pay top dollar for a 2011 era 17 inch macbook chassis, with 2019 era internals.

popularrecluse 7y ago

Yes, a developer's edition. I'll take a heavier, larger device with more and varied ports and extended battery life please. An all-hardware keyboard with a useful arrow-key configuration that doesn't make me press the wrong key all the time. An actual 'esc' key so I have my caps lock key back. </dreamsequence>

endymi0n 7y ago
Is there a petition I can sign? Will pay 20% on top.
- popularrecluse 7y ago
  While I'm dreaming, I want a smaller touch pad too. That's right where your hands rest. I'm constantly having issues with moving the pointer because of unwanted touches being recognized. I've been using this machine for 6 months now, and as an iOS dev I'm locked in. But I don't love it, even if they thought I was gonna.
  - gumby 7y ago
    FWIW, not resting your hand/wrist but keeping your hand parallel to the floor will reduce your chance of inflaming your carpal tunnel. Consider the large touch pad a gift from Apple in this regard :-)...
    - popularrecluse 7y ago
      Ok i will try.
      - gumby 7y ago
        My piano teacher had me play scales with a coin on the back of my hand, if that helps. If you look at the anatomy of the wrist you’ll see the problem. It’s worse for woman who have been pregnant (the lining sells for some reason and stays that way)
robbyking 7y ago
This is a bit of a side note, but I remapped my caps lock key to escape and it makes things a lot easier.
- tunesmith 7y ago
  I've done that too. It's an improvement, but it's made things a little more difficult in other ways - like for some reason it's very easy for me to confuse Tab and Escape/capslock now. In some typing scenarios, I just can't seem to keep them straight.
firethief 7y ago
That sounds like a regular laptop

jonplackett 7y ago

YES YES YES YES! Sign me up. Take my money!

hamburglar 7y ago

Yes, I wrote pretty much exactly this in another reply in this thread. The main problem is that "thinner" costs a lot in terms of other features and functionality, and yet there is a whole class of users for whom "thinner" has no value whatsoever. That's me. Stop trying to make it thinner and pleasing us becomes easy.

andrekandre 7y ago
i think it’s high time apple decouple screen size, core-count and thinness with “pro-ness” there is no technical reason (that i know of) stopping apple from selling a 15 inch laptop as thin as the macbook air (and still even get a low-clocked 4 core cpu in there)... i for one would buy that up in a heartbeat for those that really need power, they can have a much thicker 6 or 8 or higher core cpu + discrete gpu and it would be fine (for that target) i would imagine... but maybe apples marketing dept knows more than i do (not being sarcastic)

rarecoil 7y ago

Wasn't that kind of the point of the "Pro" line? I mean, if you just wanted a kinda cool laptop, you'd buy a MacBook or MacBook Air. It's now the MacBook Prosumer, and there is no pro option. Hacker News has been whinging about this Apple dilemma for years. I'm sorry to say that I just don't think there will ever be the golden age of MacBooks again. The "Pro" ideas coming from Cupertino are gimmicky at best for developers, and we will be stuck working on various Linux machines and leave the MBP problems to designers. The hacker-type software engineer is not Apple's target market for the MBP, and I think even before it was likely coincidence. If you look at the pro target even in this post, the majority of Mac "pro" use cases being displayed here are creative in nature. Devs generally aren't spending their days editing video or sitting in Maya and they are targeting those markets - people who need power but don't wrench into their OS internals or open a debugger when something goes wrong. Those customers are also a lot less flighty as long as their creative tools work. As for me, I stopped complaining and wishing for a pony, accepted that the MacBook is dead, and moved to a ThinkPad for daily use. My 2015 MBP will stick around when I need macOS, but it's best to start converting my workflow to a different platform where I see a future for development work.

bluedino 7y ago
I love Thinkpads but the trackpads, screen, and build quality leave a lot to be desired. Every Mac is the same level of assembly/quality but ThinkPads vary too much from one to another. The prices for the high-performance models are almost as high as Apple and the power bricks are actually bricks.
- dzonga 7y ago
  I have a t490 with 500 nit display. 100% ARGB / SRGB. I haven't seen any macbook display that's sharp. Btw I have a personal 2012 Retina Macbook pro & a 2018 Macbook pro that I use for work for frontend.
  - q-base 7y ago
    How is the keyboard on the T490? I have a T460s at home where I like the keyboard a lot. I have a T470s at work, where the keyboard is a little less to my liking and I tried a colleagues T480s where it felt awesome again - so how about the T490? Can't really decide between T480s, T490, T490s or 6th gen X1 carbon.

drag0s 7y ago

And no touch bar please

pier25 7y ago

The could call it the "Macbook Classic"

psyclobe 7y ago

I would pay top dollar for a 2011 era 17 inch macbook chassis, with 2019 era internals.