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What's the point of tossing this up on HN? We've dogpiled the macbook pro to death. What new things could we possibly talk about? This blog post says nothing re
by komali2 7y ago
What's the point of tossing this up on HN? We've dogpiled the macbook pro to death. What new things could we possibly talk about? This blog post says nothing really new: the keyboards suck and they break a lot. Also, add productivity apps to ipad.
"What alternative is there to the mac???"
I mean.... literally any other laptop. Google Search: site:news.ycombinator.com "alternatives to macbook pro" or something.
I don't like being so brash but it's taking a spot on the front page that could be something more interesting...
- asdkhadsj 7y agoI appreciate the alternative discussion. Though, unfortunately I don't hear great things about alternatives. I plan on moving to Linux, but I'm unsure what to do about laptops. Nothing seems quality, even counting Macbook Pro's recent downtrend. Best I've heard of is the various Thinkpad lines, but even those are a mixed bag. I see some people defend them, and others trash them.. tough market out there for people who simply want quality unix laptops.
- lawfulcactus 7y agoI've had a great experience with my 6th gen Thinkpad X1 Carbon. All its hardware is fairly standard and well-supported-- I haven't found anything it doesn't work with yet (I ran OpenBSD on it for a while). Keyboard is great, too, despite the thinness.
- chaostheory 7y agoJust do Windows. Windows 10 has really tight integration with Linux as a development enviroment now https://devblogs.microsoft.com/commandline/announcing-wsl-2/ https://devblogs.microsoft.com/commandline/announcing-wsl-2/
- asdkhadsj 7y agoTo be clear I'm talking about hardware quality, not compatibility with Linux. Though I still disqualify any laptop that can only run windows.
- chaostheory 7y agoThat's why I mentioned it. It's easier to find quality hardware for Windows vs something that is fully compatible with Linux. I wouldn't have mentioned it if Linux wasn't as closely integrated into Windows as it is now. Also, Microsoft's Surface Pro line is the closest in quality to the Macbook Pros, even more so than the ThinkPad line. Even though I use Ubuntu regularly, its GUI still isn't on par with Mac or Windows, which is another reason that I mentioned it. This said, I'm still mainly using Apple for now.
- connorcodes 7y agoPurism has two lines of computers that has Linux on them. https://puri.sm https://puri.sm Purism's laptops are pretty premium, coming at an apple tier price.
- asdkhadsj 7y agoAppreciate the reply, I had not seen these before. Can anyone compare these to the higher end Thinkpad lines? Have to admit my gut is to trust the Thinkpads more simply due to the number of units they ship. Librem seems super niche, despite me loving their goals/etc.
- komali2 7y agoThinkpad is lighter/smaller, nobody has the x1 carbon beat for that. If you're looking at other Thinkpads, the Librem machines may be worth investigating. I'm not sure how well they run operating systems that run non-free software (this includes Ubuntu, note), they have some OS of their own? If you want dumb-proof, tested Ubuntu-tops, then yea, Thinkpad.
- robertAngst 7y agoI bought an $800 gaming laptop 6 years ago, formatted everything and installed windows. Handles 100% of my dev work inc emulators and media editing. If I could recommend something, it would be to look for similar. A SSD + Name Brand Video Card in any laptop will be fine.
- jimmaswell 7y agoUseful note for today is that reinstalling Win10 on a device that already has a license is usually very easy - it automatically detects the motherboard serial or whatever and doesn't even ask for anything.
- jimmaswell 7y agoAny run of the mill decent Win10 laptop should be fine. Here's the one I've been using since late 2017 that's been serving me very well. https://www.walmart.com/ip/HP-Omen-15-ax250wm-15-6-Full-HD-IPS-Display-Core-i7-7700HQ-QC-Processor-NVIDIA-GTX-1050Ti-4GB-Graphics-Card-12GB-Memory-1TB-Hard-Drive/630174927#read-more https://www.walmart.com/ip/HP-Omen-15-ax250wm-15-6-Full-HD-I...
- cameldrv 7y agoJust get a 2015 macbook pro.
- asdkhadsj 7y agoI have one.
- robertlf 7y agoAs I write this, I'm using a ThinkPad T480s while I get the leaking battery on my 2015 MacBook Pro replaced. The ThinkPad is a nice machine with a great keyboard. A lot cheaper than the MBPs too with comparable specs. I loaded the Windows Subsystem for Linux onto it this morning and then downloaded Debian Stretch from the Microsoft Store. This all took one command line command to enable WSL and then two clicks to download and install Debian (other distros are also available). So far it seems pretty nice. Not the same as running iTerm and Tmux on my MBP but this will do in a pinch. As I was dropping my laptop off at an authorized repair shop, I went and typed on last year's MacBook they had on display and was reminded why I may never buy another MBP -- the butterfly keyboard. There's hardly any keyboard travel at all so it was like typing on concrete. If I wasn't looking at the screen, I'd never be sure if my key presses registered or not. If Apple doesn't bring back the scissors keyboard I may never buy another Mac. Ever. Between the butterfly keyboard, that stupid touchbar, and the lack of a physical escape key, Apple has ruined the MBP line for (non-Apple) web developers like myself.
- komali2 7y agoWell, latest gen thinkpad x1 carbon. Beware that all machines in the world right now are struggling with the fact that windows invented a new sleep method (s3 or some shit, I can't keep track) which ubuntu/the linux kernel / something beyond my understanding doesn't support. LONG story short, some laptops running ubuntu can't sleep when the lid closes. X1 carbon does now, but for example the HP Spectre does not (which is a shame because it's a great platform). Good keyboard. Every port you probably need. Fantastic screen. Nub mouse thing. Runs ubuntu great. If you're worried about transferring from OSX to some flavor of linux that's fair. For me I couldn't get window management like I wanted in OSX so Ubuntu + Gnome is actually a more comfortable environment for me than OSX. I say that as not some old linux fart - I just tried them all and naturally gravitated to the things old linux farts like. I agree, it is a tough market. I say give a shot to non-aluminum chassis. The Thinkpad may not "look" as tough, but it reeeeally is, I've abused the absolute piss out of mine.
- asdkhadsj 7y agoAppreciate the reply. X1 is my likely go-to, though that probably won't be for a year or two, depending on how long my 2015 Macbook lasts for.
- iamaelephant 7y agoIf anyone today is buying a Macbook Pro instead of an XPS or X1 Carbon then they deserve their broken keyboard.
- colordrops 7y agoMy XPS 15 keyboard is fine but there are other quality issues. The power connector slips out all the time, and the battery swole up and pushed the trackpad up so that it's unusable.
- boardwaalk 7y agoHow many Dells have this problem? My Dell work laptop has had this happen multiple times already. Never had a problem on my Macbooks or another Windows laptop. Besides that the coil whine drives me up a wall.
- gavia1 7y agoThe coil whine drives me nuts too! I have an XPS 13
- glitchcrab 7y agoI have two XPS 15s, one 2017 model and one from 2019 - I've never had the power cable slip out and I use them both heavily in a variety of locations.
- dktp 7y agoBattery swelling on my XPS 15 is so bad that it completely detached the touchpad and made the keys at the center of the keyboard very hard to press Getting customer support is damn near impossible for 2 reasons. 1. The serial number of my XPS comes up as Precision Tower in their systems 2. I moved continents since purchase and I'd have to transfer the ownership to myself here in NA, except turns out the owner, in Dell's database, is still the Amazon reseller I bought it from 3years ago Terrible terrible experience with Dell. Switched to a Pixelbook which I love and handles my Sublime-based environment well enough
- 7y ago
- fitzroy 7y agoThis article is taking up valuable space that could go "Why I left Facebook" or "Our incredible journey".
- acqq 7y ago> "What alternative is there to the mac???" Doesn't he have the v1 of the butterfly keyboard? There's a much newer, updated 2019 version (if I count correctly, already v5): https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/macbook-pro/ https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/macbook-pro/ "Apple says this updated keyboard will significantly cut down on key failures that have been prominent in prior MacBook Pro models." Like always, the answer is "a new Mac." And there even rumors about even newer keyboards: https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/4/20682079/apple-butterfly-switch-scissor-switch-2019-macbook-air-2020-macbook-pro https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/4/20682079/apple-butterfly-s...
- 8ytecoder 7y agoHN could really benefit from a single flag if not a few categories. I don’t want to follow political discussions or gadget discussions. I get drawn to these, of course, but don’t benefit from it. I now use the hide button to move it out if view but it’d be nice if there’s flag.
- voodootrucker 7y agoI think it's being up-voted because it does add something to the discussion: continued prevalence. I think it is highlighting market dysfunction: the 2015 MacBook was superior, and currently there is no market alternative, purely because someone in a sufficiently powerful position was able to make a decision against the interests of their customers, and then stick to it. I have no doubt that the market will eventually correct itself (Ubuntu on a Razer Blade might well be my personal answer), but I think posts like this have a place in highlighting that we are still waiting for a solution and a major amount of pain and frustration is the result.