That day arrived for me yesterday. I bought my first Android phone (Nokia 7 Plus). I’m stepping into a brave new world…
I’m even contemplating switching my computer. Perhaps to Linux - definitely not Windows.
Best damn laptop I’ve ever owned. Slightly disappointed with the port situation in the latest models though. The USB-C I can understand, ditching a full-sized card reader for micro only is silly.
why would you need a full sized card reader? You one of those photographer types? Just use your phone.
I know, right? It’s not like every micro-SD card comes with a full-size adaptor.
We had a bunch of fiddly issues with HDMI adapters at the beginning. “Oh yeah, those don’t work with Macs.” Also some issues with charger cables (we like to have one on the desk, one in the travel bag).
I have a 2015 MacBook Pro and I recently got the one with the touch bar from work. The new one is crap. Touch bar crashes (WTF) not infrequently, and the keyboard jams from the slightest dust or hair. I have to repeatedly mash the key to break up whatever is in there so I can blow it out and keep working.
The port thing has been less of a problem than I anticipated. I keep my dongles (lots and lots of dongles) mostly in a static configuration at my desk BUT I do so appreciate the HDMI port on my older MacBook Pro. Whenever we’re at a client meeting with these things there’s always someone who’s forgotten an USB-C to HDMI dongle.
it may limit your options in terms of price, speed, and capacity to have to use micro cards, though.
100% agree.
This is part of the reason people freaked out a little about the rumor that Apple was dropping Intel processors for the Mac; Apple has sort of a nudge-nudge-wink-wink relationship with Hackintosh. It’s harder to install and get running than, say, Linux, but they’ve done precious little to shut down Hackintoshing other than making sure the public understands it’s against the EULA. Much like running Windows without activating it is a no-no.
So unless you need that ultra high resoution display, you can put MacOS on a different computer.
https://bytesout.com/best-hackintosh-laptop/
And this is where I gripe about the fact that I would happily use nothing but Linux if not for pesky things like Creative Cloud. It’s frustrating that I recently spent less time setting up KDE Neon 16.04 on a Thinkpad than I did setting up Windows 10, but Linux overall has less than 2% of the PC desktop market. It’s not perfect, it has warts, but it’s perfectly legal to just download and run on your desktop PC and as long as your hardware isn’t brand spanking new or exotic, things will likely just work out of the box.
The whole situation has made me want to do something completely different, like give an iPad Pro a try as my main computer. Am I crazy?
Yes. Switching to an iPad doesn’t really address any of the concerns you stated. Get a decent Linux-friendly laptop and call it a day. Once my current high-spec 2012 MBP dies, barring a significant reversal on Apple’s part, it’ll probably be the last Apple laptop I buy. I’ve got a Thinkpad that’s slightly newer than that, and while it’s certainly not as light or sleek as a current MBP, all the parts are replaceable, everything works, the keyboard is fantastic, and I don’t have to carry around a messenger bag full of cables just to plug anything into it.
I would definitely advise against switching to Windows though. Windows 10 is bad news that is only getting worse.
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I think Win10 is serviceable but it does irk me, Win7 i really liked.
My opposition to Windows 10 is multi-faceted. I think the interface is absolute garbage, but then again we’re talking about a person who spends more time in tmux than they do messing around with graphical windows, and who considers XFCE to be about as heavy as a window manager can be and still be useful. My opinion on that is purely subjective, and I’m sure some people like an interface that has undefined behavior, seemingly intentional ambiguity (trying to force you into metro settings apps that lack settings that the traditional control panel that NOBODY asked to be “improved” upon is an example), and not to mention the always-on spying and advertising.
A lot of people are cool with that. I think having a fucking chumbox in my applications menu is horrendously stupid, but whatever, that’s just me.
What I find really objectionable about Windows 10 is the overall direction that Microsoft is going which is: Windows as SAAS, and a general shifting focus toward becoming a consumer products company/“lifestyle brand.” I work in high-level IT, Windows is unfortunately unavoidable in certain segments of this field, and these changes are all part of an overall “fuck you” movement that Microsoft has toward people like me.
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I had several people telling me about issues with charger cables, and every time I looked at them, they were standard USB 3.0 C cables w/o Thunderbolt specification.
We checked at work, where one co-worker has an EIZO monitor. The 3rd party USB cables just prevented the battery to be drained, but didn’t charge. Three tested Thunderbolt cables did.
Regarding HDMI, idk. Never used this on a Mac. Will try at home, maybe.
You don’t even need a Mac for the high resolution display, they’re a dime a damned dozen now. It wasn’t even a particularly clever or unique idea to begin with, Apple just came up with a way to sell people a thing they didn’t know they “needed.” It was unique for basically about a week. Most people, much to my amazement, can’t even tell the difference. In one case I had a client buy a QHD monitor only to run it at 1080P.
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Eh, I said it because I know Rob has waxed enthusiastic about the super duper high res laptop screens. Personally, even on my desktop I’m still running 1080p. My eyes are 43 years old at this point and the way my desktop is set up, the monitor meets Apple’s definition of “retinal”.
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I know a few people who have tried it, in various fields, and all but one ended up keeping their laptop and switching back and forth depending on what they expected to be doing that day. (The one is shopping for a laptop now.)
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You know you’re not supposed to kick them more than once a week, right?
Ah. They’re nice and all, but I can still see the damned pixels on the retina displays too–that, and I spend most of my time in the CLI on my Macs too.
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Past tense? I.e. before they back-ported all the spyware from 8/10?
Did it stop working as a wireless router when it needed an update? Is that part of Apple’s update process?
