this post was submitted on 04 Mar 2024
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12 Years ago I had a Sony Vaio. I quite liked it. Then in my next job, 2017 or so, I went for a Toshiba Portege, and absolutely loved it.

Guess what the above two have in common? Yup, they stopped making laptops for the professional market. So now I'm a bit at a loss. Any recommendations?

Requirements:

  • Lightweight and easy to carry around.
  • 13-15" display, preferably
  • Decent battery life
  • It absolutely must have an RJ45
  • Works well with linux
  • Good keyboard quality
  • ISO keyboard availability
  • Touchpad. Bonus points if it has the touchpad buttons ABOVE the pad itself.
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[–] [email protected] 15 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (4 children)

I've used Macbooks in networking / programming and construction environments for over fifteen years. They've been incredibly solid in my experience. In fact, the first week I was given a Thinkpad, I broke it because it was so much more fragile than a Mac. I always used USB adapters for Ethernet and serial connections without issue. They also run Windows and Linux.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 8 months ago (2 children)

They also run Windows

They no longer do (since the switch to ARM) - unless you count running under a VM.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago

Right. I use Parallels.

[–] [email protected] -4 points 8 months ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 9 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I know, but you can't install it directly on a MacBook - you have to use a VM like Parallels or UTM.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Honestly, unless you need Solidworks or something else highly resource heavy and windows only, VMs work well with M chips. They’re surprisingly fast.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago

I've got an M1 MBA - it's fast for sure, but the issue isn't the processing power, it's the RAM. Basemodel MacBooks, like the one I've got, still come with only 8GB RAM which is barely enough for macOS alone, never mind running Windows on top.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 8 months ago

But nothing supports windows arm

[–] [email protected] 5 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Their Linux support is so bad it might as well be unsupported.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago

I run Asahi on my 2023 m2pro mbp; performance-wise it's closer to a contemporary i7 than the actual performance of the M chip on macos, but a lot of what I need is there, a surprising amount of stuff is compiled for Arm64 actually. Feels like normal Fedora in most every aspects. Coming from thinkpads / latitudes, keyboard is shit tho, really. Screen is great, sound is quite good, device feels sturdy but sleep eats 50% battery a day. Air vents are placed just right to gulp any spilled drink, like, vacuuming it off the table, a puzzling design choice. Prices took a dive with the advent of the m3 so I'm not really angry, a 2023 i7 thinkpad would have cost me the same.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago (1 children)

In fact, the first week I was given a Thinkpad, I broke it because it was so much more fragile than a Mac

Genuine question, but what the actual fuck are you doing with your laptops? I used a ThinkPad through high school and college, and school aged me certainly didn't treat it very kindly.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I picked it up by the screen and the LCD cracked. I realize this is stupid but it's something I've always done and continue to do with Macs.

[–] t0mm13b 3 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Why? That's not a good way to pick up laptop, the base is heavier than screen

[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago (1 children)
[–] t0mm13b 2 points 8 months ago
[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Premium product experience at a premium price. Whether the cost premium is worth it is a judgment call for the user.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago

Premium product experience

The hardware is pretty premium, but the software is such a pain. As a result the overall experience is just "okay".

[–] ikilledlaurapalmer 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I see you’ve never seen a Dell BPA

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Dell is giving the Feds a premium experience?

[–] ikilledlaurapalmer 1 points 8 months ago

More like Dell likes to appear premium:

  • Crappy Dell Latitude, Price: $6995, YOUR PRICE: 2995.

And on the website it’s like a $1000 laptop. And it still falls apart one year later.