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Comment by asdkhadsj | Hacker News Reader

I'm actually switching back to Linux. Partially because of the issues you cite, I too love my 2015 MBP - where as I don't use my bigger 2017 MBP as a laptop (it's basically a desktop for me).

The bigger issue for me though is price. I love my 2015 not only because the keyboard is great, but because the price was good (it's a cheaper model). I can take it outside and not fear losing $2k-$4k. My bigger MBP is just over 3 grand, which is a lot to lose due to sea air, outside dirt, etc.

Sure, I could probably buy a cheaper 2019 MBP if they're quality and feel good about going outside, but I want power too. The price just doesn't seem worth it these days. If I go Linux, I can get a powerhouse for the same price as the lower end MBPs it seems (though I've not done rigorous comparisons yet). I want cheap and powerful.. and it just seems impossible to do that with Apple.

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I'm switching to Linux as well. It's that "just works" has become "it doesn't work anymore, and we don't sell anything you want." I'd happily give them money, but they don't seem to care about what I want as a customer.

I'm typing this on a mid-2010 iMac with Linux installed because it's no longer supported by Mac OS. My 2012 MBP died earlier this year. I replaced it with a Dell XPS 15 running Linux. I don't like it as much as my MBP, but I don't hate it like the current Apple offerings.

I don't mind paying for power. I've got a ridiculously overpowered "cheese grater" Mac Pro. But the OS is dated, and I can't replace it without a total wipe and reinstall because I used a RAID. After being left in the lurch on the (admittedly dated, but perfectly functional) iMac, not knowing if I'll ever like another MBP offering, and having to wipe the system anyway, I'm not sure I'm not just going to put linux on that as well.

I might even switch over to Android for my phone. While setting up a VPN, I had a very difficult time, because even though all Apple's configurator does is create XML profiles, I couldn't run it because none of my hardware had a recent enough version of Mac OS on it. It seems totally arbitrary; especially since I can duplicate the profile by hand, email it to myself, and install it on the phone.

I switched to Linux from Mac back in 2009.

While I enjoy the freedom and lately the niceties of NixOS, there are a few things I miss about Apple. Especially hardware.

It sounds crazy, but some Macs were among the best Linux laptops. MacBook Air 11 (Late 12) used by Linus himself. That's my main machine too. Silent, pure Intel, flawless. Other Macs were really nice too. E.g. MacBook 2.1. Great keyboard, and supported by Coreboot. Not so much lately sadly, with non-USB input devices, secure boot and bad keyboards.

People talk about Thinkpads, which are good, but you need to cherry-pick a lot. Some models are quite noisy for example. Outside Thinkpads, it's hit and miss. Currently, I like Surface Go and Xiaomi Mi Air 12. Most other laptop options are not good. Desktops are a completely different business.

Buying from Apple is always very reliable and easy. Pay and go. Everything is fine. Guarantees across borders are fine. Getting keyboards from different locales is fine. With other brands, not so much. I feel that Apple is focused on less products, and this really makes a difference in terms of quality and user experience.

Lately, I was trying to get a US ANSI keyboard in the UK, and the only option that worked was buying a Magic Keyboard (which has really nice latency).

> Some models are quite noisy for example.

You can change fan speed curve. NBFC with one is suggested profiles working great for me and my laptop became much less noisy. But nbfc was my only option because my hp laptop has unrecognizable by linux fans so fancontrol cant control it.

> I want cheap and powerful.. and it just seems impossible to do that with Apple.

My job relies on this laptop. I don't care if it's expensive, I want to buy reliability.

I agree. My desktop I want to be super powerful, but my laptop I need to travel. I don't like traveling with $4k worth of hardware in my backpack. I don't like setting $4k worth of hardware down on park benches or tables.

Worst of all, my 2017MBP has nothing for reliability. It's both expensive and unreliable. The keyboard is absolutely terrible. I never use that machine as a laptop because of how unusable and unreliable it is.

Part of reliability to me is affordability. If I take a laptop outside and it gets damaged, how quickly can I get it replaced, fixed, etc? If I have to spend $4k to replace it that's not an easy chunk of change. This is a way of saying price tags of Apple hardware can inhibit reliability, imo.

How about used ones from eBay?

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