There are 8 billion people on this planet. The people that think MacBook Pros suck are likely very often not the same people that use them. And, when they do overlap, it's likely due to technology lock-in (they use Final Cut or whatever) or thinking the other options suck even worse.
I have to second the other person recommending a Lenovo X1 Carbon. I had one for awhile and it was just about the perfect laptop. Surface Pro looks nice too.
I've been using macbooks full time for 3 years now and I hate them. They are bad hardware for a high price tag.
As a developer they are the perfect middle ground. OSX runs everything I usually run in Linux and I have all the paid for software I'd run on windows (Photoshop, Lightroom, etc).
Prior to switching to mac I just dual booted windows and linux depending on what I needed. Then sketch came out and it was only OSX and I had to make the decision on having a third setup.
Then I realized everything I was doing in my 2 OSes I could do in a single one even though I hated the hardware.
Can you define "bad hardware"? To my coworkers, this usually means they can't get the largest amount of RAM on the mac that they can get when they buy a $WINTEL.
On the flipside, their battery life always ends up worse and they go through twice as many machines in the same time frame, which is _much_ more annoying. A week of productivity loss a year isn't worth the cost savings.
The cost issue is always strange one for me. Most employers are happy to drop $2500 on a laptop. If you are purchasing it yourself, fine, but that's usually not the case for a work machine.
With OSX, I get to be lazy when it comes to the OS. No wrangling, configuring like I see friends having to do. The environment is mindless and works.
And they're pretty. Great screens and resolution. And everyone else had one when I started developing. And I was kind of excited to put a sticker on top of the apple.
Switching to linux is in the same category as Vim for me. Something I should do someday.
YMMV, but I configured i3, vim and some other stuff years ago and just copy configs from previous laptop to the next one. New laptop usually works just of the box and it is already configured the way I'm used to.
I think the people who don't like it are the loudest. It certainly has some drawbacks (like the keyboard, lack of ports), and for some that's a deal-breaker.
Personally, I love my MBP I got late last year — 13", no touchbar. I use the larger, touchbar version for work, and it doesn't really suit me.
The only things that really bother me are the keyboard and sometimes the lack of ports, but honestly the keyboard is still pretty good, and I don't find myself plugging things into my laptop that often.
Because I got tired of the blue screens of death, and despite the MBP being way over priced it does one thing very well... it works 99% of the time. Plus it looks cool, if you care about that sort of thing.
I'll never understand the "stability" argument for macs. I have a gaming desktop at home that I also use for personal projects. In a decade, I have had zero bluescreens, despite AMD drivers not being the happiest all the time, and doing sketchy things with homemade code that I possibly shouldn't.
Meanwhile, my OSX work laptop needs to be restarted multiple times a week, or the wifi gets temperamental and programs somehow start to accumulate and eat all the available CPU and RAM, it restarts itself periodically with zero warning (thank goodness for the "open everything up exactly how it was" feature, pretty much necessary at this point, compare that with Windows, where I'm glad for the once a month forced restart because otherwise I'd never close out of way too much software), and has had several kernel panics just this year, which are caused by OSX itself according to the dump. It regularly struggles to do basic things, like dismiss the screensaver on wakeup.
It truly is a finicky and pathetic system to me, and the only reason I'm okay with using it is that it has SLIGHTLY better support for POSIX than Windows 7, and because I'm required by my work to use it.
The downvotes for you are puzzling. At work I compile a large project in VS2017 multiple times per day, and my machine will intermittently bluescreen during the compile. Happens to a number of my coworkers as well. W10 has come a long, long way since the unstable foundations of its forebears, but my personal experience with it still includes more crashes than I can write off as flaky hardware/drivers or mere chance.
I have a mac mini for my study desktop (use it to shell into machines to develop, watch YouTube tech videos, and listen to music with iTunes from my NAS), but every time I think about buying an MBP I remember the horror stories from watching Louis Rossmann's videos on YouTube and think "Do I really want to drop almost $2,000 on a device that is going to break down because it's more slick than it is well constructed?"
1) people end up with the MBP because they've been very good for a number of years (maybe latest keyboard excepted, I'm still running on older gens personally).
2) Though there are now more alternatives of comparable quality, it's a lot of work (and some risk) to dig up that model in the product line of XX supplier. And even if you find a good model, it often gets watered down with similarly named low-quality options so you have to get very specific about model, and you have to do that every time you have to re-buy outside of Apple.
That said, if you're doing Linux/unix work, I've been eyeing up the purism Librem laptops should I need a replacement.
Wow, thanks for sharing Librem... I had never heard of them but they are now top of my list for a laptop replacement. Linked me friend, he'd never heard of them either, and is now going to get one.
The rest of the team uses them, and the company pays.
The new keyboard absolutely sucks.
But what's even worse, is that with kids around etc, it becomes almost inevitable that there will be some kind of liquid spill etc during the 3-4 year ownership, and that costs ~$700 to replace half the machine, v $50 to replace just the keyboard on most other machines.
I had to do it on the 2013 pro (about 1 year after a coffee spill), now I'm looking at having to pay for (beg the boss to pay for) the awful 2016 pro keyboard again (beer this time, and already a couple of keys are unreliable).
for me, it's because nothing matches MBPs trackpad. I never feel I need a mouse using a MBP, but on both Windows and Linux notebooks, I really need a mouse and sit down in front of a table to be productive.
This is a big deal for me. I hated trackpads before I got this MBP. I was using a Thinkpad before and I thought it had a pretty nice touchpad compared to other laptops I had used. After a few months, I can't use the Thinkpad's touchpad because it's so much worse (movement and gestures).
SO I am typing this on my Personal Surface pro, and I have a Macbook Pro (2012) for work. I also have developed a distaste for Macs and am not afraid to voice my view.
Simply Mac OS has become shitty in comparison. The Windows XP of the modern era. It's got some cool tricks, but the OS is stale, and almost has to be. Windows and Linux can be innovative because they have more too lose (Like Macs in 2001).
Mac OS's deepest flaw (in my view) is simply terrible window management even compared to earlier versions I have used. If you are a mac head I'm sure it all makes perfect sense, but as someone who aims to switch comfortably between OSs (to the point that I favor OS neutral apps as much as possible) the radical difference in philosophy for Macs is simply Jarring.
But that personal issue aside, the system over relies on security through obscurity. This means that because Mac OS is only used for at most 10% of laptop/desktops, and not servers (Linux) or 90% of laptop/desktops (Windows) they are an incredibly small target for hackers, and are thusly "Secure" despite regularly ranking at the bottom of security reviews. You can see this in the basic security flaws in every new OS release.
Lastly the biggest issue is exposure. The more people there are using something, the more problems there will be. every new person is another chance to find a flaw. Dell, HP, and every computer manufacturer has experienced this.
Now all that said why did I pick a Macbook Pro, and why would I recommend anyone buy one? Simply support, unix, and build quality. Macs get a lot of developer support, meaning that you have access to really great tools. This is the same reason to choose windows for the best MS Office support or what not. My Co-Worker has a hackintosh just so he can run music editing software when he is not gaming (which of course he runs windows for).
Unix is also a killer feature. You get the great native Posix shell (which LSS on Windows, and just Linux also provides), which makes it easy to develop on and for the Linux/unix systems I rely on at work.
The build Quality is also great. Windows PCs are finally rivaling Macs, but Macs just are well made and hold up well to age.
But the problem with the Mac is that the OS has become actively worse in recent years. They could have literally not updated it at all in the last decade or so and the system would be better than it is today.
The same is true for the hardware. A Macbook of 5 years ago is a better machine than the current ones (except for things like CPU speed etc, of course).
Note that this is of course not limited to Apple. Windows 8 was also quantifiably a worse operating system than Windows 7. GNOME has gone through the same quality degradation on multiple occasions as well.
Honestly the linux subsystem for windows 10 is good enough for me. I see less and less of a need for an osx box for development if you're just looking for a unix subsystem.
FWIW I use a Dell XPS 13 and a Surface Pro and both work perfectly well. Install Ubuntu from the app store, get Mobaxterm and run gnome-terminal. You're set at that point.
I find it "just" good enough, if I limit my development requirements. It won't run the latest CockroachDB for example (bug filed). Running anything under Docker that has significant internet I/O leads to having to restart Docker several times a day - this seems to be due to excessive caching (or a memory leak) in the necessary VPN technique Docker uses to interact with the Windows networking. This bug seems to alternate between existence and non-existence - maybe it's a dual development track issue at Docker. Running tmux has odd interactions regarding copy/paste that I still find irritating, but I simply live with. So, what I do is use it as a proper ssh terminal, do and keep my work on other proper servers, and live with the tmux idiosyncrasies. That's just good enough for me, and lets me use a large-screen Yoga, which I like, and keep Windows, which work occasionally requires, without messing with VMs.
I have no desire to get a MacBook Pro. They are overpriced, you have to carry around dongles for everything and I would rather have real function keys than the touch bar. I actually like both my work and home Dell 2n1s better.
On the other hand, I'm slowly moving away from being a "windows developer". I'm still using .Net but it's .Net Core. As I start seeing how great the "Windows Tax" is as far as system resources and cost when it comes to running hosted servers, Docker, serverless functions, etc. it makes no sense to stay on Windows, but I really don't feel like mucking with Linux on my personal computer. I've owned Macs in the past and having both commercial software, and a real Unix operating system would be ideal and of course I could do iOS development.
So the question is, do you need a laptop? For $100 more you can get a 27 inch 5K iMac with 32GB of RAM a 2TB fusion drive. You get a faster computer, twice as much RAM. A better keyboard, a more performant GPU and USB 3 ports.
Keep in mind that you're probably not hearing from folks who like them. I use one all day at work and like it fine, even though I like the keyboard of my 2013 MBP better.
The Razer Blade is a surprisingly capable, beautiful alternative.
I will say that the primary driver is more being on MacOS, which is a nice middle ground for ease of use for our developer team that's primarily working in things like Ruby on Rails and React, and also really great for movie editing for our marketing folks.
We're all still holding hope that the next MBP fixes the keyboard issues. Personally I'm still jamming on a 2011 MBA that's probably the single most reliable, functional piece of hardware I've ever owned. It's the definitive workhorse. It's a shame the quality hasn't kept pace across the other lines and new models.
I think a certain, very vocal group of people violently reacted to the 2016 re-design's keyboard and switch to USB-C. But I also think that most users are still pretty happy with their Macs most of the time - they just don't post blog posts about that.
I understand the complaints about keyboard failures due to dust getting under keys, but my personal experience with a 2016 model has been fine. I had to blow it out once with compressed air after 1.5 years and it worked again fine after that. It took two minutes and wasn't a big deal to me.
I don't understand the violent hate of the switch to USB-C. I find it super convenient that my phone (Samsung S8), laptop and Nintendo Switch all charge from the same power cable. And getting a couple of thin USB-C end-cap convertors on Amazon to plug in older USB devices cost me less than $10. It just hasn't been a negative at all for me.
Beyond that, Macs in general are a great compromise for developers who want to write code that runs primarily on Linux servers but who don't want to run Linux as a laptop OS (which can be a pain in the ass on laptops due to unpredictable battery drain, unreliable suspend/restore, no native support for software like Photoshop/Lightroom, less polished UI, whatever your reasons).
Windows has gotten a lot better in that regard, but a lot of Unix-native stuff still sucks to install and run on Windows. Docker on Windows is a dog, installing various native extensions for Python is a real pain in Windows, etc.
There's lots of little paper cuts using Windows in a Linux environment because Windows is just so different than Linux. For example, you can write and test a Docker file on a Windows machine that won't rebuild cleanly on a Linux server because on Windows you don't have to chmod +x your Docker entrypoint script, but on Linux the Docker image won't start after a rebuild because the entrypoint script will get installed with your local file permissions (which aren't set to +x by default). That's just one tiny example, but that's the kind of thing that illustrates why people building code primarily for for Linux servers might not prefer using Windows on their personal machine.
I have a 2017 13" touch-bar at home and a 2016 15" touch-bar at work.
The work machine works fine and is mostly docked so I don't care about the ports either.
My personal macbook however was a totally different story:
- While usb-c only ports were annoying, it was much improved by the usb-c to usb-a converter included with my Samsung S8 (oh, the irony).
- The keyboard, however, was a totally different experience. I've had two replacements - one where some keys started failing (as in they'd either get stuck down or up randomly) and another one where the touchbar started acting really weird (no wakeups, hangs etc..) which was just as bad because they moved escape key to "touch" bar. Go figure.
I have the same experience as you regarding the keyboard. Lots of people on here wrote about failing keyboards, but I never had a problem with mine after 3 years (Macbook Retina 2015, Macbook Pro 2017, still use both mostly daily, with the Pro daily).
I think people are mostly complaining about the direction the last update took, such as the touchbar which seems more targeted at less experienced computer users and lack of RAM options beyond 16gb, etc.
I have been a Mac user for less than 5 years now, and have used 4 Macs ranging from 2012 to 2017 models. I don't think they suck.
For most purposes, even dev ones, they are very nice. Stable, reliable, performant. They might not be the top-of-the-line laptops but they are awesome at getting things done - as long as you don't want to impose your own requirements on it (OS, storage, RAM, etc.)
I do have to agree that they are damn expensive though. I cringe at the thought of replacing my old one and am NOT doing that unless its imperative. :|
I like my MBP, but if I got a different job and was picking a laptop, I'd first figure out what the rest of the team is using. At my current job, the whole team I'm on (and most of the company) use Macs, so bringing new people into projects is easy because pretty much everyone has the same setup.
If everyone here used Windows, I'd probably begrudgingly switch.
I have read a fair bit about Python being a mess on Macs recently, and a few years ago Java was apparently a mess. I don't use a mac so I wouldn't know, but is it really just a case of installing things easily on a Mac?
I don't own a MBP, but I use one for work, so this is mostly geared toward a work environment.
I was "that one jackass who uses Linux instead of OSX" at a previous company. At my current job, I use a MBP like everyone else.
I don't think the MBP sucks; for me, an external keyboard and Bluetooth mouse solve almost all the annoyances. I find that things work a little more smoothly when I'm using the same operating environment as everyone else. Getting help when things don't work is easier, too. I have confidence that things like screen sharing will work and not cause me grief. If there's an app that my company wants to use, I just download and run it without checking if there's a Linux version.
The bottom line is that it's a lot of little conveniences that add up, with little downside.
My 2012 MBP is still going strong and I see no need to replace it. That never happend to me with Windows laptops that I used for a decade before that.
I love the trackpad of MBPs. The aesthetics and physical build are good. The OS hardly ever gets in my way. The UI has been stable and usable and improving over the last 6 years of use. Apple's hardware service has been great (had video card issue a couple of years ago - $200 flat rate fix got me new motherboard, new screen with top cover, new video card). It has all the ports I need. Magsafe connector is genious. The display is crystal clear and high res.
I have had a genuinely good experience with my 2012 MBP. Barring bad hardware luck and missteps by Apple like the touch bar, people complaining about MBPs are being nitpicky.
[+] [-] dbatten|8 years ago|reply
I have to second the other person recommending a Lenovo X1 Carbon. I had one for awhile and it was just about the perfect laptop. Surface Pro looks nice too.
[+] [-] sontek|8 years ago|reply
As a developer they are the perfect middle ground. OSX runs everything I usually run in Linux and I have all the paid for software I'd run on windows (Photoshop, Lightroom, etc).
Prior to switching to mac I just dual booted windows and linux depending on what I needed. Then sketch came out and it was only OSX and I had to make the decision on having a third setup.
Then I realized everything I was doing in my 2 OSes I could do in a single one even though I hated the hardware.
[+] [-] batbomb|8 years ago|reply
On the flipside, their battery life always ends up worse and they go through twice as many machines in the same time frame, which is _much_ more annoying. A week of productivity loss a year isn't worth the cost savings.
The cost issue is always strange one for me. Most employers are happy to drop $2500 on a laptop. If you are purchasing it yourself, fine, but that's usually not the case for a work machine.
[+] [-] tzakrajs|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] danieljohnson|8 years ago|reply
Switching to linux is in the same category as Vim for me. Something I should do someday.
[+] [-] gtt|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] news_to_me|8 years ago|reply
Personally, I love my MBP I got late last year — 13", no touchbar. I use the larger, touchbar version for work, and it doesn't really suit me.
The only things that really bother me are the keyboard and sometimes the lack of ports, but honestly the keyboard is still pretty good, and I don't find myself plugging things into my laptop that often.
[+] [-] OneFishTaco|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mrguyorama|8 years ago|reply
Meanwhile, my OSX work laptop needs to be restarted multiple times a week, or the wifi gets temperamental and programs somehow start to accumulate and eat all the available CPU and RAM, it restarts itself periodically with zero warning (thank goodness for the "open everything up exactly how it was" feature, pretty much necessary at this point, compare that with Windows, where I'm glad for the once a month forced restart because otherwise I'd never close out of way too much software), and has had several kernel panics just this year, which are caused by OSX itself according to the dump. It regularly struggles to do basic things, like dismiss the screensaver on wakeup. It truly is a finicky and pathetic system to me, and the only reason I'm okay with using it is that it has SLIGHTLY better support for POSIX than Windows 7, and because I'm required by my work to use it.
[+] [-] Scramblejams|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] cuckcuckspruce|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dv_dt|8 years ago|reply
2) Though there are now more alternatives of comparable quality, it's a lot of work (and some risk) to dig up that model in the product line of XX supplier. And even if you find a good model, it often gets watered down with similarly named low-quality options so you have to get very specific about model, and you have to do that every time you have to re-buy outside of Apple.
That said, if you're doing Linux/unix work, I've been eyeing up the purism Librem laptops should I need a replacement.
[+] [-] rubicon33|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jacknews|8 years ago|reply
The new keyboard absolutely sucks.
But what's even worse, is that with kids around etc, it becomes almost inevitable that there will be some kind of liquid spill etc during the 3-4 year ownership, and that costs ~$700 to replace half the machine, v $50 to replace just the keyboard on most other machines.
I had to do it on the 2013 pro (about 1 year after a coffee spill), now I'm looking at having to pay for (beg the boss to pay for) the awful 2016 pro keyboard again (beer this time, and already a couple of keys are unreliable).
[+] [-] billconan|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mrguyorama|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] amf12|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Scooty|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jriver|8 years ago|reply
Simply Mac OS has become shitty in comparison. The Windows XP of the modern era. It's got some cool tricks, but the OS is stale, and almost has to be. Windows and Linux can be innovative because they have more too lose (Like Macs in 2001).
Mac OS's deepest flaw (in my view) is simply terrible window management even compared to earlier versions I have used. If you are a mac head I'm sure it all makes perfect sense, but as someone who aims to switch comfortably between OSs (to the point that I favor OS neutral apps as much as possible) the radical difference in philosophy for Macs is simply Jarring.
But that personal issue aside, the system over relies on security through obscurity. This means that because Mac OS is only used for at most 10% of laptop/desktops, and not servers (Linux) or 90% of laptop/desktops (Windows) they are an incredibly small target for hackers, and are thusly "Secure" despite regularly ranking at the bottom of security reviews. You can see this in the basic security flaws in every new OS release.
Lastly the biggest issue is exposure. The more people there are using something, the more problems there will be. every new person is another chance to find a flaw. Dell, HP, and every computer manufacturer has experienced this.
Now all that said why did I pick a Macbook Pro, and why would I recommend anyone buy one? Simply support, unix, and build quality. Macs get a lot of developer support, meaning that you have access to really great tools. This is the same reason to choose windows for the best MS Office support or what not. My Co-Worker has a hackintosh just so he can run music editing software when he is not gaming (which of course he runs windows for).
Unix is also a killer feature. You get the great native Posix shell (which LSS on Windows, and just Linux also provides), which makes it easy to develop on and for the Linux/unix systems I rely on at work.
The build Quality is also great. Windows PCs are finally rivaling Macs, but Macs just are well made and hold up well to age.
[+] [-] lokedhs|8 years ago|reply
The same is true for the hardware. A Macbook of 5 years ago is a better machine than the current ones (except for things like CPU speed etc, of course).
Note that this is of course not limited to Apple. Windows 8 was also quantifiably a worse operating system than Windows 7. GNOME has gone through the same quality degradation on multiple occasions as well.
[+] [-] ghotli|8 years ago|reply
FWIW I use a Dell XPS 13 and a Surface Pro and both work perfectly well. Install Ubuntu from the app store, get Mobaxterm and run gnome-terminal. You're set at that point.
[+] [-] thrill|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] scarface74|8 years ago|reply
On the other hand, I'm slowly moving away from being a "windows developer". I'm still using .Net but it's .Net Core. As I start seeing how great the "Windows Tax" is as far as system resources and cost when it comes to running hosted servers, Docker, serverless functions, etc. it makes no sense to stay on Windows, but I really don't feel like mucking with Linux on my personal computer. I've owned Macs in the past and having both commercial software, and a real Unix operating system would be ideal and of course I could do iOS development.
So the question is, do you need a laptop? For $100 more you can get a 27 inch 5K iMac with 32GB of RAM a 2TB fusion drive. You get a faster computer, twice as much RAM. A better keyboard, a more performant GPU and USB 3 ports.
[+] [-] jinushaun|8 years ago|reply
However, I need a new laptop and I really don't want the Touch Bar MBPs. :( I don't know anyone that likes them.
[+] [-] CharlesW|8 years ago|reply
Keep in mind that you're probably not hearing from folks who like them. I use one all day at work and like it fine, even though I like the keyboard of my 2013 MBP better.
[+] [-] crsv|8 years ago|reply
I will say that the primary driver is more being on MacOS, which is a nice middle ground for ease of use for our developer team that's primarily working in things like Ruby on Rails and React, and also really great for movie editing for our marketing folks.
We're all still holding hope that the next MBP fixes the keyboard issues. Personally I'm still jamming on a 2011 MBA that's probably the single most reliable, functional piece of hardware I've ever owned. It's the definitive workhorse. It's a shame the quality hasn't kept pace across the other lines and new models.
[+] [-] ageitgey|8 years ago|reply
I understand the complaints about keyboard failures due to dust getting under keys, but my personal experience with a 2016 model has been fine. I had to blow it out once with compressed air after 1.5 years and it worked again fine after that. It took two minutes and wasn't a big deal to me.
I don't understand the violent hate of the switch to USB-C. I find it super convenient that my phone (Samsung S8), laptop and Nintendo Switch all charge from the same power cable. And getting a couple of thin USB-C end-cap convertors on Amazon to plug in older USB devices cost me less than $10. It just hasn't been a negative at all for me.
Beyond that, Macs in general are a great compromise for developers who want to write code that runs primarily on Linux servers but who don't want to run Linux as a laptop OS (which can be a pain in the ass on laptops due to unpredictable battery drain, unreliable suspend/restore, no native support for software like Photoshop/Lightroom, less polished UI, whatever your reasons).
Windows has gotten a lot better in that regard, but a lot of Unix-native stuff still sucks to install and run on Windows. Docker on Windows is a dog, installing various native extensions for Python is a real pain in Windows, etc.
There's lots of little paper cuts using Windows in a Linux environment because Windows is just so different than Linux. For example, you can write and test a Docker file on a Windows machine that won't rebuild cleanly on a Linux server because on Windows you don't have to chmod +x your Docker entrypoint script, but on Linux the Docker image won't start after a rebuild because the entrypoint script will get installed with your local file permissions (which aren't set to +x by default). That's just one tiny example, but that's the kind of thing that illustrates why people building code primarily for for Linux servers might not prefer using Windows on their personal machine.
[+] [-] zeusk|8 years ago|reply
The work machine works fine and is mostly docked so I don't care about the ports either.
My personal macbook however was a totally different story:
- While usb-c only ports were annoying, it was much improved by the usb-c to usb-a converter included with my Samsung S8 (oh, the irony).
- The keyboard, however, was a totally different experience. I've had two replacements - one where some keys started failing (as in they'd either get stuck down or up randomly) and another one where the touchbar started acting really weird (no wakeups, hangs etc..) which was just as bad because they moved escape key to "touch" bar. Go figure.
[+] [-] Klover|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dismal2|8 years ago|reply
I think people are mostly complaining about the direction the last update took, such as the touchbar which seems more targeted at less experienced computer users and lack of RAM options beyond 16gb, etc.
[+] [-] surds|8 years ago|reply
For most purposes, even dev ones, they are very nice. Stable, reliable, performant. They might not be the top-of-the-line laptops but they are awesome at getting things done - as long as you don't want to impose your own requirements on it (OS, storage, RAM, etc.)
I do have to agree that they are damn expensive though. I cringe at the thought of replacing my old one and am NOT doing that unless its imperative. :|
[+] [-] Scooty|8 years ago|reply
If everyone here used Windows, I'd probably begrudgingly switch.
[+] [-] vinhboy|8 years ago|reply
I've seen developers waste an entire week trying to get basic things like docker to run on Windows...
I'm sure things have gotten better in Windows land, but now that I already have my Macbook, the impetus for change is just not there...
[+] [-] collyw|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pmiller2|8 years ago|reply
I was "that one jackass who uses Linux instead of OSX" at a previous company. At my current job, I use a MBP like everyone else.
I don't think the MBP sucks; for me, an external keyboard and Bluetooth mouse solve almost all the annoyances. I find that things work a little more smoothly when I'm using the same operating environment as everyone else. Getting help when things don't work is easier, too. I have confidence that things like screen sharing will work and not cause me grief. If there's an app that my company wants to use, I just download and run it without checking if there's a Linux version.
The bottom line is that it's a lot of little conveniences that add up, with little downside.
[+] [-] amthewiz|8 years ago|reply
I love the trackpad of MBPs. The aesthetics and physical build are good. The OS hardly ever gets in my way. The UI has been stable and usable and improving over the last 6 years of use. Apple's hardware service has been great (had video card issue a couple of years ago - $200 flat rate fix got me new motherboard, new screen with top cover, new video card). It has all the ports I need. Magsafe connector is genious. The display is crystal clear and high res.
I have had a genuinely good experience with my 2012 MBP. Barring bad hardware luck and missteps by Apple like the touch bar, people complaining about MBPs are being nitpicky.