Ask HN: What to replace my MacBook with? Seen the recent issues with Apple hard- and software I’m not 100% sure I want to replace my 2015 MacBook Pro with a 2017 MacBook pro. What are your suggestions for a decent replacement? I’m looking for something the size of a MacBook that can run Ubuntu or something similar. Good boos quality and a good screen. |
My personal belief is that, for a working dev, MacOS is still the best deal running. The fact of the matter is that it will always work and any new software you want to install will have a well documented how to. Even if you don't want to run MacOS, I'd still probably recommend buying an MBP and dual booting linux on it. Thinkpads are great, the x220 keyboard is probably the best keyboard ever put on a laptop, but the screens are horrible, you will notice the RAM and CPU shortage, and battery life was an issue. Further, the form factor is not as small as an MBP.
If you are going down the Thinkpad route, the X62 is an interesting option custom made by an enthusiast group in Shenzhen. [1] Otherwise, Hackaday wrote a fairly modern Thinkpad buyer's guide [2]. One thing I would note is that upgrading the x230 keyboard to the x220 keyboard is trivial and only requires a jeweler's screwdriver and a few new parts (about $70). You can also upgrade the x230 screen to an HD screen but that is a significantly more complicated upgrade.
[1] https://geoff.greer.fm/2017/07/16/thinkpad-x62/ [2] https://hackaday.com/2016/10/28/apple-sucks-now-heres-a-thin...
What takes getting used to is that Thinkpad screens are trash. :( I’ve been so disappointed in them. They start mediocre and decline rapidly with blotching and ghosting. I’ve used Thinkpads for my personal laptop and my work laptop and refuse to own another. My manager has a recent Thinkpad with an OLED screen which seems pretty good but I’m not willing to try another. I fully expect that in 6 months his OLED will exhibit ghosting or burn in.
I will admit that the older models had fairly crappy resolutions (I mean 1366x768 and 1600x800 was crap, and Lenovo held on to those resolutions far longer than they should), and pretty dim (I could barely use my X200t and X201 in the shade outside), but I feel most models in the last 2-3 years have made plenty of progress in that regard.
EDIT: another good option is probably XPS 13 Dev editions that give you ubuntu preloaded as well
Not sure what your platform choice is, linux or windows, but this post is all with a linux bias.
I have a 15" macbook pro from late 2013. I do not upgrade computers very often and expect them to last a long time.
Laptops are especially hard because I am also a linux user who has never operated a linux laptop. The departure from Mac leaves me with Windows which I will not ever operate.
I've looked into this before am currently considering these
Thought about getting a super light weight low spec cheap laptop like a thinkpad x220 or even a dell. Most the time my laptops are used as clients, so I do not need too much. Running a web browser is the most intensive need these days.
System76 - Gazelle or better. These look nice and are linux compatible.
Also, an article I saved to read later and still havn't found time https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2016/11/2/13497094/b...
Of course if you are looking at playing games and being able to plug in just about any piece of USB hardware, then Windows is always going to be better supported.
Had multiple co-workers going this route and now they are full-time ThinkPad users.
Here is a detailed review of T470s https://www.notebookcheck.net/Lenovo-ThinkPad-T470s-Core-i7-...
Here is ranking of Laptop brands by Laptop mag, Lenovo rank best laptop brand. https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/laptop-brand-ratings
Soon though the T480 is out with the quad core ulv CPUs, so maybe waiting is also an option...
The T470 and T470s/p are pretty nice. I managed to get a good bargin on a T460 off Craigslist, and it runs like a dream. After some minute tweaks (mostly installing tlp), it's running Ubuntu 17.10 fantastically.
If you want something a bit smaller, the X series is the line with a 12.5inch screen. Downside is the latest model (the X270) only has a FHD screen, with 1920x1080 max. The T470s and T470p both have a 14 inch WQHD screen with 2560x1440 max. The 15 inch T570 has a UHD screen with 3840x2160 max, which is definitely Retina-like.
After checking the cost of a new MBP (basically almost same specs as the old one, plus touch bar!) and then noticing a Dell sale on before Xmas here in Sydney, I decided to replace it with a Dell XPS 15 9560 (laptop version, not the split-part "2-in-1" version, in black, with max memory and hard disk) for about ½ - ⅔ of the price of a Macbook Pro, but with better specs. The physical build of the machine takes some getting used to but I prefer the keyboard immensely, the black/carbon fiber finish is excellent and the high-grip "don't fall off table" feature is also great. As I have been focusing on family over Christmas and also have a company to run I am time short, so still setting up Gentoo, but set myself the somewhat uncharted goal of ZFS root (achieved!) and am enjoying the setup so far. Yet to finalize optimum video setup as the machine has two chips, X11 does not yet want to function correctly with the closed source nvidia-drivers on super-new kernels, but it works awesome for angband and X does work fine with the open source i915 drivers. Current notes on the Gentoo wiki at https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Dell_XPS_15_9560
Just install Ubuntu and be done with it
AFAIK, Gentoo is the best full-control Linux distro out there, possibly only rivalled by arch. It's not for everyone, but I do want that level of control. Using OSX I constantly run up against annoying irritations and have to spin up special VMs, which is tedious. I gave it a good go - almost seven years. Enough. IMHO ZFS root (snapshots and rewind) goes a long way towards resolving the worst irritations in using Gentoo as a desktop OS.
BTW: They are currently addressing the Intel ME problem.
With an i7 it runs really smooth. I opted for the FHD option for the longer battery life, but would have gone UHD if I didn't mind about battery life.
It's really nice to see Dell make Linux part of it's line-up. Part of me bought it as a little heads-up to Dell that Linux laptops are a good thing. I've always just installed Ubuntu over existing windows laptops, but it's nice to see it somewhat as a first class citizen with Dell.
Cracking machine for the price works great with Linux.
I also think they are a bit cheaper, but I'm not sure about hps track record regarding quality and Linux support.
I have really enjoyed this machine and don't miss my MacBook Pro at all.
The machine worked great out of the box, I made a few minor changes to how I like to work.
The two major changes I made were:
* Install a libinput and get rid of synaptics driver * Install the latest kernel
I run with a bunch of proprietary drivers (nvidia, intel, etc.) and don't have any problems
The only thing that I miss having is Sketch. But I just run a small Windows VM and use PS when I need it.
Majority of my time is spent in Chrome/Firefox, Terminal, gVim and Slack, so I don't miss anything Mac-specific.
If you're looking for help on how to get yours configured, there are plenty of guides if you search for: Dell XPS 15 Ubuntu or variants of that.
Also, I know most workstation Linux users prefer Ubuntu over other flavors, but I personally usually stick with the Redhat family (like CentOS) since I just know its commands and names better. Is there anything (features) I'm missing concretely, by not using Ubuntu?
- battery swelling
- fan spinning on high speed for no apparent reason (not due to CPU load)
- random wakeups while sleeping (happened in my bag once and the laptop almost overheated :( ). This was eventually fixed via BIOS updates
- lots and lots of BIOS updates to fix all kinds of issues- at least 1-2 every month since its initial release. Although I am glad they are being fixed
- OEM wifi card (broadcom) was a POS in both Linux and Windows (Windows came with the box). I replaced with Intel card and life has been great.
The above may not be a problem in current XPS (9660 I think), but I really don't know. The XPS forums I have been to seem to filled with people with issues and instead recommending Precisions if you are OK with a less gaming based GPU. Plus you get business support and not the craptastic consumer support. If I were to do it again and wanted a 15" I'd definitely go with 5520 precision.
RE: XPS size and weight vs Precision -> If you stick with 5000 series it is almost the same box. If you bump to 7000 series you are getting into supersize land (but you can also fill it with more goodies that of course weigh more). The only downside is that all precision laptops are 15" - if you want smaller form factors you would need to go XPS (e.g XPS 13).
RE: Ubuntu v RH variants - it doesn't matter. Go with what is comfortable and familiar to you. AFAIK Ubuntu may have a more desktop/laptop friendly setup unless you go with Fedora (which is pretty much equivalent to Ubuntu non-LTS versions).
One final thing: the one thing that the Dells have over the Macbooks is user serviceable parts. IN the 15" models, you can replace SSD, WiFi, battery, memory very easily AND without compromising weight or size. I really wish Apple would get off the thin -> super-thin -> paper-thin? ride and offer this kind of modularity again. Hell at minimum allow replacement of SSD, memory.... but that is another rant for another time :)
And anyway, Lenovo’s matte display technology consists of a slightly cloudy piece of adhesive-backed plastic sheeting stuck on top of the display. I don’t know why anyone is impressed with this. It’s not as if they actually have textured glass or even a proper screen coating. It’s contact paper that you can buy for pennies per square foot at Staples. It’s really awesome if you have a device that has pen input because the pen scratches up the plastic over time.
If you really want this, you can buy it aftermarket and stick it on any glossy display. You’ll end up with a better result than Lenovo if your laptop is using a decent panel to start with.
Keep in mind, it comes with a bunch of stuff enabled by Dell and using their own repos.
I upgraded the kernel as I'm using the WD15 dock and the thunderbolt firmware/drivers are flaky on older kernels and will lock up the system.
If you've never ran Linux as your primary machine, be prepared for occasional snags, especially around suspend.
Overall, it's an easy system to fiddle with with lots and lots of online resources and how-to's.
The keyboard and battery life are both best in class. Of course when the battery is worn out, you can buy a new one. This is possible with ThinkPads.
The keyboards are fine but not better than, say, MBPs from a couple of years ago. (Half millimeter travel on the latest MBPs is not great.)
T25 has the legacy 7 row keyboard which had no competition currently.
That's why I prefer distros that work out of the box, like Ubuntu, or Fedora.
I have tried using tablets and BT keyboards, it works well, but I prefer the all in one form factor of a simple notebook. BTW the Lenovo tablets with the flip out stand are terrific on the desk and to hold. That rounded battery compartment makes it feel like a spiral bound book when using it with Kindle.