4 ms·

Can I run Linux on them? Can I get them with keyboards that aren't awful? Can I get them with next-business-day-on-site warranty? Not trying to be snarky here,

by elric 5y ago

Can I run Linux on them? Can I get them with keyboards that aren't awful? Can I get them with next-business-day-on-site warranty? Not trying to be snarky here, I haven't owned an Apple product since the iMac, so I literally don't know. But I suspect the answer is "no".

Bud 5y ago
Yes, you can run the latest Linux. Linux now has native M1 support. Yes, Apple did finally fix the awful keyboards on its laptops from 2016-2020, and their keyboards are once again quite good. The trackpad is what it has always been: the best on any computer at any price. I'm not aware that Apple offers any kind of on-site warranty service, so that's a no, but the flipside is that you are much less likely to need it than you are with PCs. (Please, spare me the endless downvotes for saying this. I support hundreds of PCs and hundreds of Macs, and have for a couple decades now. I'm not just making this shit up for my health.)
- kcb 5y ago
  >Yes, you can run the latest Linux. Linux now has native M1 support. Lets not promise the moon here. The M1's Linux support is far from complete and definitely not ready for general use.
  - Bud 5y ago
    Thanks for the correction; it does have kernel support for the latest Linux kernel, but yeah, it's not a mature port yet. I do expect that it will have full support very soon, however.
    - ac29 5y ago
      Until the GPU has reasonable OpenGL and/or Vulkan support, some things are going to be pretty painful. I dont think that's happening any time soon.
sneak 5y ago
I’ve never understood the next-business-day-on-site warranty thing people seem so keen on. Apple products (top case stickers notwithstanding) are fungible: just buy another one from any Apple store in the universe and restore your backup, and let AppleCare deal with the busted one on their own schedule. There’s nothing special about your laptop except the data. The factory pumps out bazillions of them.
- adriancr 5y ago
  > I’ve never understood the next-business-day-on-site warranty thing people seem so keen on. > Apple products ... just buy another one I think you answered your own question. Buying a new laptop every time something is broken is expensive. Lenovo offers quite cheap extended warranty plus the next-day repair is great. (EU: I paid less then 50E for another year of warranty after the original 2 years)
  - chillwaves 5y ago
    Not to one up, but Dell is even better. You can extend the warranty after it has expired! You can re-up but they have a clause that you must wait 30 days before making an accidental damage claim (and it cannot have happened during the time without a warranty, but that is not enforceable). I actually did this once and tried to submit a warranty support on day 1 of buying the new warranty and was turned down, but they called me about a week later saying they would waive the 30 days and ended up doing about $500 in repairs for $130 cost of the new warranty. (the other condition is that you are only allowed one accidental repair event per year)
- DocTomoe 5y ago
  This strategy does not pass "the car test" - we would not accept Ford to tell us to "just buy another car and let insurance figure out how to reimburse you for the busted one".
  - filoleg 5y ago
    The difference is that a lot of people on HN make at least a few macbooks a month in salary. I doubt there are nearly as many people on HN making even one entry level Ford Focus a month in salary. Along a similar line of reasoning, I totally understand if Coca-Cola bans soft drinks from Pepsi on campus. But I would be much less understanding of Ford banning non-Ford cars in their employee parking lots.
poetaster 5y ago
Um, trackpads suck.
- GekkePrutser 5y ago
  Agreed but as far as trackpads go, Apple does do them the best. I always bring a mouse, I hate the little nubs even more :)

by elric 5y ago

Bud 5y ago

Yes, you can run the latest Linux. Linux now has native M1 support. Yes, Apple did finally fix the awful keyboards on its laptops from 2016-2020, and their keyboards are once again quite good. The trackpad is what it has always been: the best on any computer at any price. I'm not aware that Apple offers any kind of on-site warranty service, so that's a no, but the flipside is that you are much less likely to need it than you are with PCs. (Please, spare me the endless downvotes for saying this. I support hundreds of PCs and hundreds of Macs, and have for a couple decades now. I'm not just making this shit up for my health.)

kcb 5y ago
>Yes, you can run the latest Linux. Linux now has native M1 support. Lets not promise the moon here. The M1's Linux support is far from complete and definitely not ready for general use.
- Bud 5y ago
  Thanks for the correction; it does have kernel support for the latest Linux kernel, but yeah, it's not a mature port yet. I do expect that it will have full support very soon, however.
  - ac29 5y ago
    Until the GPU has reasonable OpenGL and/or Vulkan support, some things are going to be pretty painful. I dont think that's happening any time soon.

sneak 5y ago

I’ve never understood the next-business-day-on-site warranty thing people seem so keen on. Apple products (top case stickers notwithstanding) are fungible: just buy another one from any Apple store in the universe and restore your backup, and let AppleCare deal with the busted one on their own schedule. There’s nothing special about your laptop except the data. The factory pumps out bazillions of them.

adriancr 5y ago
> I’ve never understood the next-business-day-on-site warranty thing people seem so keen on. > Apple products ... just buy another one I think you answered your own question. Buying a new laptop every time something is broken is expensive. Lenovo offers quite cheap extended warranty plus the next-day repair is great. (EU: I paid less then 50E for another year of warranty after the original 2 years)
- chillwaves 5y ago
  Not to one up, but Dell is even better. You can extend the warranty after it has expired! You can re-up but they have a clause that you must wait 30 days before making an accidental damage claim (and it cannot have happened during the time without a warranty, but that is not enforceable). I actually did this once and tried to submit a warranty support on day 1 of buying the new warranty and was turned down, but they called me about a week later saying they would waive the 30 days and ended up doing about $500 in repairs for $130 cost of the new warranty. (the other condition is that you are only allowed one accidental repair event per year)
DocTomoe 5y ago
This strategy does not pass "the car test" - we would not accept Ford to tell us to "just buy another car and let insurance figure out how to reimburse you for the busted one".
- filoleg 5y ago
  The difference is that a lot of people on HN make at least a few macbooks a month in salary. I doubt there are nearly as many people on HN making even one entry level Ford Focus a month in salary. Along a similar line of reasoning, I totally understand if Coca-Cola bans soft drinks from Pepsi on campus. But I would be much less understanding of Ford banning non-Ford cars in their employee parking lots.

poetaster 5y ago

Um, trackpads suck.

GekkePrutser 5y ago
Agreed but as far as trackpads go, Apple does do them the best. I always bring a mouse, I hate the little nubs even more :)