Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2016/11/28/new-macbook-pro-great-for-ha.html
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NO way OMFG apple added multiple USB ports I’m totes a hacker now1!!!
:ridicule:
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Faster CPU options? The wording is confusing here; I can’t tell if you’re trying to say the Signature Edition Dells from MS are available with faster CPUs than the ones sold from Dell (which is not correct), or faster than Apple.
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This “great for hackers” thing after having read the post is somewhat misleading and clickbait-y
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I’m holding out for the next generation of Chromebooks. Things have gone really quiet on the hardware front there, yet Google still seems more than committed, especially with their work to bring Android apps onto Chromebooks.
My old Chromebook (currently awaiting recycling after the case cracked due to my abuse of it) allowed me to do 80% of what I need to do on a daily basis. I think that Android integration would push that to 95%, because a lot of the things that I can’t do in a web browser I do have an app for…
That remaining 5% is basically TeX (for which there appear to be Android Apps, but I haven’t yet evaluated them), photographic workflow (which I’d rather do on my PC anyway) and hobby-level software development (for which we I could use AIDE, but again I’d rather do that on a PC.)
I have a strong suspicion that the coming generation of touchscreen Chromebooks running Android apps will just hit the sweet spot that Microsoft has been chasing…
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“Almost the perfect computer”, not when it dies and you want your stuff off it, “good luck with that”
Honestly if you don’t back up your data in 2016, it’s not Apple’s fault if your machine dies. They do have a way to recover data if the machine dies (but drive is good) btw, despite it being soldered. So again I’ll say: back up your data!
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You can make all the excuses for Apple’s disposable computers that you want, it does not stop them being sub-optimal.
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Am I the only one who thinks it irresponsible to recommend people use “drugstore power adapters” to power anything, nevermind a laptop computer? That’s how fires happen.
Or have a few isolated stories made me paranoid?
Even if you’re not worried about the charger bursting into flames why would you trust an unbranded device made at the lowest bidding subcontractor in a country where there’s probably no accountability for shoddy products with safely converting AC power to low voltage DC for your $2000 laptop?
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It’s this kind of thinking that got us president Trump.
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I’ve been calling the touch bar “The Trump Bar.” It really annoys the right people.
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Yeah, since backup services and devices have become so inexpensive and common, and threats to your data are far beyond the failure of hardware (ransomware, buggy software, PEBKAC) it’s just irresponsible to not back up your data and be able to get it back on your own. Apple even provides devices and services that integrate into the OS for this.
Also, designs without connectors will always be superior from a performance point of view. All connectors create an impedance mismatch, even slightly, that will drag down the available bandwidth to the device. They also create mechanical and chemical (corrosion sucks) fault points, and increase cost (high-speed board-to-board interconnects are fucking expensive) and weight.
I guess one other thing is I tend not to open my notebook computers these days; I get the extended warranty and let the shop deal with problems. I don’t find a need to mess around with the internals of my machines anymore.
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On Dell’s website, I couldn’t get it to configure an XPS 15 to have an i7-6700HQ and a 4k display, but the Signature Edition at Microsoft has both.
(My guess is that the pairing so completely murders battery life they didn’t want to make it the obvious flagship model)
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You’re not the only one, the super cheap power adapters are terrible and are fire and shock hazards, and they really need to not be sold (like that’s going to happen anytime soon). The author also recommended the magsafe-like connectors, which if I recall properly, they all violate the USB-C spec in one way or another.
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All SSD chips have a specific use cycles and eventually will fail, not really a problem with a removable drive where you can swap it out as it starts to fail. As the expected use will be video creators with high drive use it’s a problem waiting to happen. As I said they are suboptimal disposable computers for people with too much money.
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I was able to do that. Dell’s interface is … not ideal. Make sure you check out how many available models you’re looking at at a time; it has a paged display, and the high-end stuff is generally going to be on the second page (when looking at only the XPS 15s).
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Disposable! In the UK they cost more than a second hand car. The cheapest 15" is £2349, at minimum wage (£7.20/hr) that’s over eight weeks of full time work (assuming you don’t get taxed, and you don’t spend any money on food or rent, or electricity). It’s over a month’s wages for someone earning the national average UK wage (again, before tax).
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Oh please. There are lots of legitimate reasons to dislike a non-upgradable computer, but this is not one of them. For any realistic use case, the rest of the computer will be antiquated well before the SSD wears out. CF this article by Anandtech which suggests that you’d need to write 800 tb to a 160gb SSD to wear it out. At 10tb of writes per year (far more than I’ve ever managed to do even with loads of video downloads), it’ll last you until you die of old age.
I’ve bought over a dozen used SSDs on ebay for myself and for friends. The hardest used ones have expended at most 10% of their lifetime writes. The oldest and most used SSD that I own, after years of downloading tons of videos and games, says it still has 85% of its life left.
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I always find it super hard to find good information on apple products. I use apple near exclusively, but between fanboys and haters, I feel like decent info is squished out the middle.
It’s like a self perpetuating cycle, as well. With rabid haters on one side, and white knights flooding in on the other, and they just keep perpetuating this forever.
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As opposed to whose non-disposable computers? Every laptop in existence is disposable, in the sense that once the motherboard dies, you’re looking at more money to fix it than it would cost to buy a new one.
On the other hand, Apple and Lenovo both make laptops that, barring accidental damage and setting aside the battery, will continue to work for a decade or longer before giving up the ghost.
It’s very simple: Apple doesn’t make laptops for people who give a damn about upgradability anymore. That doesn’t make them any more or less “disposable” than any other laptop for the 99% of computer owners who never perform upgrades and who would sooner buy a new computer than dream of opening the case of the one they own. If that offends your nerd sensibilities, then Apple’s machines are not for you.
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