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I remember my Macbook 2019 Pro for its bad hardware: horrendous touchbar and terrible ports (no HDMI, no magnetic charging, no USB-A..) But the software wasn't

I remember my Macbook 2019 Pro for its bad hardware: horrendous touchbar and terrible ports (no HDMI, no magnetic charging, no USB-A..) But the software wasn't polished either: You can't use it in closed ("clamshell") mode, because it shuts down and you can't configure it. You need a 3rd party software to keep it on. But you also can't keep it closed because then you can't reach the fingerprint sensor. You see: iPhones can't use fingerprint recognition because they don't have fingerprint sensors, iPhones use facial recognition. But Macs do have fingerprint sensors, but can not use facial recognition (for example using an IR camera like Windows Hello) It's amazing how MacOS lacks features that everyone knows Windows has supported since XP days. ("When you close the lid > Power down / Keep running")

macintux 2y ago
Lest anyone be misled: I assume the comment means that you can’t leave it in clamshell mode without an external monitor. I almost never open mine. There are three alternatives for the fingerprint sensor issue: - Apple Watch can replace most uses for it - One of Apple’s external keyboards has a fingerprint sensor - You can always just use your password
- knallfrosch 2y ago
  - I don't own the $700 Apple smartwach, since I had an Android phone at the time and it has terrible Android integration - I already owned a mechanical keyboard and was unwilling to downgrade to Apple. - I don't want to use my password (?), since passwordless is kind of the whole point of biometrics. I forgot to mention that macOS didn't recognize the keyboard layout of my USB keyboard, something that Windows has done for the last 15 years automatically. The proposed solution was, I think, editing a text file.
- bzzzt 2y ago
  > One of Apple’s external keyboards has a fingerprint sensor Which only works on the M1 and higher models, not the 2019 Intel MacBooks.
  - macintux 2y ago
    Good point. I also didn't realize (or remember) the power requirement for clamshell operation; my laptop is being charged by the monitors it's plugged into.
    - hedora 2y ago
      The “late 2019” intel MacBooks were some of the worst computers ever built: - I had two screens fail, - The battery swelled. - It did not sit flat on my desk. - It warped a pine desk that I used during the pandemic. - At any time after a few months of using it, no fewer than 6 keys would drop or duplicate keystrokes. - It got under 2 hours battery life, when new. - under heavy use, it got about 4 while plugged into the provided charger. - If you charged it using a port on the left side, it’d throttle the CPU to 10% normal speed. - Kernel panics on resume. - They had random monitor incompatibility issues with the LG monitors Apple sold at the time. - My colleagues also had the exact same model, and mine was better than average. - no escape key - the touchbar was over sensitive, so pressing backspace would send a ghost keystroke that launched siri a few times a day. However, you could run them in clamshell mode with the monitor plugged in. It worked out of the box. (Edit: I might have the model year wrong. I used it for a long time before the pandemic. It was the last one before they brought the escape key back.)
      - rad_gruchalski 2y ago
        > It did not sit flat on my desk. Because the battery was swollen? > - The battery swelled. Ah, of course.
        freedomben 2y ago
        That could also explain many of the other issues, such as poor battery life, slow charging, CPU throttling, etc. In general though, I have had a terrible experience with Apple's QA as well. I've had 4 Macbooks over the years and they all had multiple (usually different) things that really sucked and drove me insane.
robrtsql 2y ago
Given that you mentioned the 3rd party software, you probably know this, but I think even the 2019 MacBook Pro supported working with the laptop closed--but it requires the laptop to be charging, otherwise it will just go to sleep. I, too, downloaded the 3rd party app ("Amphetamine"?) to allow it to stay on when closed and unplugged. As far as I can tell, it doesn't work at all.
- CoastalCoder 2y ago
  Circa 2019(?), Amphetamine worked for me. No idea about currently.
  - wrboyce 2y ago
    There is a builtin cli tool “caffeinate”. Prefixed to a command it will keep the machine awake until the command exits, on its own it will keep the machine awake indefinitely.
resource_waste 2y ago
Why do people pretend people buy Apple products for its features. They are the best company of all time at Marketing. Can we just admit they are really good at mind control and humans are predictable? Maybe it hurts the egos of fans who spent $2000 on a mid CPU with 8GB ram, but the only people who benefit from this open secret are Apple stock holders.
- slater 2y ago
  Must you show up in every Apple/macOS discussion to offer your tediously boring Apple hate?
  - resource_waste 2y ago
    Apple hate? No, low quality, big price hate. Check out my profile yo. No one is spared.
- Klonoar 2y ago
  Apple hasn’t had “mid CPU”s in laptops for years now. People buy them because they are hands down the best portable machines on the market.
  - resource_waste 2y ago
    That's just the mind control. If you actually compare, they are not.
    - Klonoar 2y ago
      > That's just the mind control. Nope. Burying your head in the sand isn't doing this discussion any favors.

macintux 2y ago

Lest anyone be misled: I assume the comment means that you can’t leave it in clamshell mode without an external monitor. I almost never open mine. There are three alternatives for the fingerprint sensor issue: - Apple Watch can replace most uses for it - One of Apple’s external keyboards has a fingerprint sensor - You can always just use your password

knallfrosch 2y ago
- I don't own the $700 Apple smartwach, since I had an Android phone at the time and it has terrible Android integration - I already owned a mechanical keyboard and was unwilling to downgrade to Apple. - I don't want to use my password (?), since passwordless is kind of the whole point of biometrics. I forgot to mention that macOS didn't recognize the keyboard layout of my USB keyboard, something that Windows has done for the last 15 years automatically. The proposed solution was, I think, editing a text file.
bzzzt 2y ago
> One of Apple’s external keyboards has a fingerprint sensor Which only works on the M1 and higher models, not the 2019 Intel MacBooks.
- macintux 2y ago
  Good point. I also didn't realize (or remember) the power requirement for clamshell operation; my laptop is being charged by the monitors it's plugged into.
  - hedora 2y ago
    The “late 2019” intel MacBooks were some of the worst computers ever built: - I had two screens fail, - The battery swelled. - It did not sit flat on my desk. - It warped a pine desk that I used during the pandemic. - At any time after a few months of using it, no fewer than 6 keys would drop or duplicate keystrokes. - It got under 2 hours battery life, when new. - under heavy use, it got about 4 while plugged into the provided charger. - If you charged it using a port on the left side, it’d throttle the CPU to 10% normal speed. - Kernel panics on resume. - They had random monitor incompatibility issues with the LG monitors Apple sold at the time. - My colleagues also had the exact same model, and mine was better than average. - no escape key - the touchbar was over sensitive, so pressing backspace would send a ghost keystroke that launched siri a few times a day. However, you could run them in clamshell mode with the monitor plugged in. It worked out of the box. (Edit: I might have the model year wrong. I used it for a long time before the pandemic. It was the last one before they brought the escape key back.)
    - rad_gruchalski 2y ago
      > It did not sit flat on my desk. Because the battery was swollen? > - The battery swelled. Ah, of course.
      - freedomben 2y ago
        That could also explain many of the other issues, such as poor battery life, slow charging, CPU throttling, etc. In general though, I have had a terrible experience with Apple's QA as well. I've had 4 Macbooks over the years and they all had multiple (usually different) things that really sucked and drove me insane.

robrtsql 2y ago

Given that you mentioned the 3rd party software, you probably know this, but I think even the 2019 MacBook Pro supported working with the laptop closed--but it requires the laptop to be charging, otherwise it will just go to sleep. I, too, downloaded the 3rd party app ("Amphetamine"?) to allow it to stay on when closed and unplugged. As far as I can tell, it doesn't work at all.

CoastalCoder 2y ago
Circa 2019(?), Amphetamine worked for me. No idea about currently.
- wrboyce 2y ago
  There is a builtin cli tool “caffeinate”. Prefixed to a command it will keep the machine awake until the command exits, on its own it will keep the machine awake indefinitely.

resource_waste 2y ago

Why do people pretend people buy Apple products for its features. They are the best company of all time at Marketing. Can we just admit they are really good at mind control and humans are predictable? Maybe it hurts the egos of fans who spent $2000 on a mid CPU with 8GB ram, but the only people who benefit from this open secret are Apple stock holders.

slater 2y ago
Must you show up in every Apple/macOS discussion to offer your tediously boring Apple hate?
- resource_waste 2y ago
  Apple hate? No, low quality, big price hate. Check out my profile yo. No one is spared.
Klonoar 2y ago
Apple hasn’t had “mid CPU”s in laptops for years now. People buy them because they are hands down the best portable machines on the market.
- resource_waste 2y ago
  That's just the mind control. If you actually compare, they are not.
  - Klonoar 2y ago
    > That's just the mind control. Nope. Burying your head in the sand isn't doing this discussion any favors.