Hacker News Reader

Comment by PeterWhittaker | Hacker News Reader

Macs just work. I was an Ubuntu user for over 10 years, first on an older Thinkpad (rock solid but eventually slow), later on a decent HP (with a little hardware problem).

I bought Airs for my wife and daughter. I would help them with something, then return to my machine, and feel a little more frustrated each time.

Airs have better hardware, better software, a better user experience, and are rock solid (if you don't hit them too hard). They don't get in your way, they just do their thing.

Macs are no-fuss machines that allow you to do your work without requiring you to babysit the machine. I'm no fanboi, I just recognize quality when I use it.

View on HN

> I was an Ubuntu user for over 10 years

That's impossible. The first Ubuntu release was on October 20th, 2004 - less than 10 years ago.

You are correct: I installed Ubuntu on my first laptop, which I bought in 2001 - I forgot that it ran XP for a time, until I finally got pissed at how I could not access my data the way I wanted to. (Thanks for forcing me to dredge back up those memories, thank you very much.)

I cannot remember if I started with Breezy or Dapper, but it was one or the other.

So a long time then: From B or D to September 2013, when my Air arrived.

I've been doing IT for ~13 years.

When I first started in my late teens, I was a hard core Linux user. I then moved over to a Thinkpad T40 (which I loved, and still have in a box to this day, with Windows XP on it).

About 4 years ago, I was issued a Macbook Pro while doing work at a DOE lab; I've never gone back since. It just works (as /u/PeterWhittaker stated). I've since bought my parents and my wife Air's.

I really didn't add significantly to the above comment, but wanted to be more verbose than "THIS". There is so much value in a tool that "just works".

Wow, I wish my experience was like yours. I've found my mac laptops no less frustrating than my windows laptops. They crash just as often, they lock up just as often, they have strange issues that have me digging through apple support websites just as often. The finder still drives me nuts even after having been on mac for 6 years now.

And worse, the 2 or 3 times a year I want to play a game they don't run it. I managed to play through The Stanley Parable in VMWare Fusion but the game froze around once every 1 to 3 mins. Switching in/out of fullscreen mode would unlock it.

I'm not planning to switch back .. yet .. but I do think about it. Especially as a game dev, unlike webdev most game devs are on Windows.

Who said anything about Windows? Running Ubuntu on laptop hardware can result in much more excitement than one strictly requires.

Are Macs expensive in your country/city, related to PC?

I bought my first iMac one month ago, after using HP, Acer, etc. w/ Slackware for years.

Would like to acquire a Macbook Pro soon, just to give you an idea, a Macbook Pro, i7, 16 GB RAM, SSD 512 GB is around 2900 U$ here.

Now that they're no longer end-user upgradable, you have to buy the top-spec to ensure you don't run out of capability as it gets older. I got the same model you did - with AppleCare warranty and sales tax, it was $3200. The most I've ever spent on a computer. Ouchies.

Check with your accountant to see if you can deduct the cost. Or if you can do a business lease on one.

Sadly Apple no longer makes laptops with 17-inch screens, which is a deal breaker for me.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com