4 ms·

Dell XPS15 with Ubuntu has literally been my best developer environment ever. Unfortunately my current gig is all MBP and I feel completely handicapped, even a

by hunta2097 7y ago

Dell XPS15 with Ubuntu has literally been my best developer environment ever. Unfortunately my current gig is all MBP and I feel completely handicapped, even after many months - to the point I have resorted to a "proper" mechanical keyboard.

jammygit 7y ago
I find the XPS has a disappointing keyboard actually.
- _coveredInBees 7y ago
  Yup, I've had my XPS15 for over 3 years and the keyboard (and webcam) are the weakest elements. The keyboard still feels terrible...somehow it has the worst of both worlds, poor key travel and too large a spacing between keys. Typing has always felt very awkward. In comparison, I absolutely love the Surface Pro 4 keyboard which has wonderful key travel and spacing.
  - Kipters 7y ago
    I absolutely agree about the Surface Pro 4 keyboard: I've been using one as my personal laptop for the last 3,5 years and I absolutely love it. Although I must say the keyboard on my girlfriend's Surface Laptop feels slightly better though.
wyclif 7y ago
Another way around this for power users and devs that a lot of people seem to overlook is to get a 6-core Mac Mini and a mechanical keyboard. With a retina monitor, it's a great combination. As a touch typist and massive terminal keybindings user, I won't compromise on the keyboard. Apple needs to wake up and realise which slice of their market they are alienating. I'd say it's the most important one—the developers and creators. There's a sense that at Apple HQ right now, the "Pro" in "MacBook Pro" no longer means "professional" but rather "prosumer." That is wrong, so a major course correction is in order before creative types start fleeing the brand in earnest (judging by this thread and others, they may have already).
- gurkendoktor 7y ago
  > With a retina monitor, it's a great combination. Sadly, the Retina monitor segment is a complete failure. Several 5K screens came out in 2015, along with the 27" Retina iMac, ... and then the market died off. The UltraFine 5K is finally available again, but it's being sold at 2015 prices (1400€ here). At that point you might as well get an iMac with eight cores, a dedicated GPU, and a semi-replaceable hard drive instead of the Mini. In an ideal world, we'd have 8K ultrawide Retina displays by now. Sigh...
  - wyclif 7y ago
    In that scenario though, wouldn't it be better to wait a little while until 5k monitors price drop?
orpheline 7y ago
I use a MBP at work and an XPS 13 at home and much prefer the latter - Ubuntu with a Plasma desktop makes for a crazy configurable UI.
- haspok 7y ago
  Plasma (KDE) sucks at handling multiple displays. I had to learn this the hard way. It's OK if you only ever use the laptop screen.
  - mkl 7y ago
    On the other hand, it seems totally fine with multiple displays on a desktop, or a laptop used as if it's a desktop. Is it live plugging and unplugging that causes problems?

jammygit 7y ago

I find the XPS has a disappointing keyboard actually.

_coveredInBees 7y ago
Yup, I've had my XPS15 for over 3 years and the keyboard (and webcam) are the weakest elements. The keyboard still feels terrible...somehow it has the worst of both worlds, poor key travel and too large a spacing between keys. Typing has always felt very awkward. In comparison, I absolutely love the Surface Pro 4 keyboard which has wonderful key travel and spacing.
- Kipters 7y ago
  I absolutely agree about the Surface Pro 4 keyboard: I've been using one as my personal laptop for the last 3,5 years and I absolutely love it. Although I must say the keyboard on my girlfriend's Surface Laptop feels slightly better though.

wyclif 7y ago

Another way around this for power users and devs that a lot of people seem to overlook is to get a 6-core Mac Mini and a mechanical keyboard. With a retina monitor, it's a great combination. As a touch typist and massive terminal keybindings user, I won't compromise on the keyboard. Apple needs to wake up and realise which slice of their market they are alienating. I'd say it's the most important one—the developers and creators. There's a sense that at Apple HQ right now, the "Pro" in "MacBook Pro" no longer means "professional" but rather "prosumer." That is wrong, so a major course correction is in order before creative types start fleeing the brand in earnest (judging by this thread and others, they may have already).

gurkendoktor 7y ago
> With a retina monitor, it's a great combination. Sadly, the Retina monitor segment is a complete failure. Several 5K screens came out in 2015, along with the 27" Retina iMac, ... and then the market died off. The UltraFine 5K is finally available again, but it's being sold at 2015 prices (1400€ here). At that point you might as well get an iMac with eight cores, a dedicated GPU, and a semi-replaceable hard drive instead of the Mini. In an ideal world, we'd have 8K ultrawide Retina displays by now. Sigh...
- wyclif 7y ago
  In that scenario though, wouldn't it be better to wait a little while until 5k monitors price drop?

orpheline 7y ago

I use a MBP at work and an XPS 13 at home and much prefer the latter - Ubuntu with a Plasma desktop makes for a crazy configurable UI.

haspok 7y ago
Plasma (KDE) sucks at handling multiple displays. I had to learn this the hard way. It's OK if you only ever use the laptop screen.
- mkl 7y ago
  On the other hand, it seems totally fine with multiple displays on a desktop, or a laptop used as if it's a desktop. Is it live plugging and unplugging that causes problems?