Mac or Thinkpad?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6229596

by linux_devil • 13 years ago

8 44 13 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I am a software developer , and looking for alternative to my laptop. Which one does most developers use?

linux_devil2• 13 years ago

Mac

yulaow3• 13 years ago

Well, at first: which os you prefer? Are you goind to use w8, os_x, linux, bsd, solaris? What? In which language do you code? Which are your main needs (battery, nice screen, a touch screen, a lot of usb to connect a lot of device, space, upgradability, low weight, etc)?

linux_devil2• 13 years ago

linux , need : performance

yulaow3• 13 years ago

Then i would go for a thinkpad without doubt, but wait for one with the new haswell cpu

tjsnell• 13 years ago

Mac using whatever OS you like.

saiko-chriskun2• 13 years ago

in my experience macbooks definitely seem to be the defacto development machine/os

pearjuice• 13 years ago

You don't have much experience, then.

saiko-chriskun2• 13 years ago

Here's a picture from, you know, only like the biggest hackathon in SF, the world's largest tech/startup hub.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7054/8689948816_4a775858bb_h.j...

Patrick_Devine• 13 years ago

I use a Mac with Fusion for my linux VMs.

olgeni• 13 years ago

Mac + IBM Model M in a proper black gym bag.

skyhvr• 13 years ago

Mac + Fusion

jfe• 13 years ago

if you have other apple devices, i'd suggest sticking with macs to take advantage of icloud et. al. otherwise it doesn't really matter which one you choose.

intull• 13 years ago

Thinkpad without a doubt!

Irishsteve• 13 years ago

You can load some of the lenovos up with 32gb of ram from their website @ 2k USD.

phaus6• 13 years ago

With many of them you can just install the RAM yourself and save quite a bit of money.

troni• 13 years ago

I'm curious about this as well, I'm looking at getting a ThinkPad for battery life. I've heard they support Linux well, but is there any component(s) that I should avoid getting for Linux? I run Debian.

Mac is not an option for me, I want Linux-on-hardware.

owlheart2• 13 years ago

Well make sure your hardware is supported on the kernel you are going to use, this is where debian tends to lag behind with its stability.

Try looking for people running your expected hardware with debian online and you'll probably get a better idea.

Unless you don't mind using updated kernels, most thinkpads should work reasonably well.

This should help too: http://www.ubuntu.com/certification/desktop/make/Lenovo/?cat... (Precise is close to wheezy kernel).

phaus6• 13 years ago

Don't get anything with an SLI graphics set-up. Don't get an Nvidia Optimus card. Don't get an AMD processor or GPU.

grumps2• 13 years ago

Mine has the nvidia...Its not to hard to work around.

bowyakka• 13 years ago

Thinkpad, they are indestructible tanks.

danpalmer• 13 years ago

I use a Mac at home, for uni, and for my previous 2 summer jobs (software development). I now use a Thinkpad at work for software development.

It all depends on what you want to use it for, and your previous experience. For a Linux user, the Thinkpad will probably be great, although I have heard from people who work at IBM (and therefore only use Thinkpads) that they can be a little unreliable. Macs are pretty good hardware, and with the new MBPs the battery life is amazing.

You can always install Linux on the 'bare hardware', I dislike developing in VMs. But you might find that if you try OS X for a little while you might like it. Not saying you will, many don't, but I find Mac applications tend to have more polish and I spend a lot less time fixing my operating system while I'm on OS X.

nvarsj• 13 years ago

I would have recommended a Thinkpad a couple of years ago, but now I'd say go with the Macbook if money is not an option. If it was me, I'd get the new Haswell MBA 13" and put Linux on it.

Thinkpad quality is terrible these days, and they got rid of the good keyboard. Just do some forum searches. On the plus side, you can get a used Thinkpad for really cheap - about 1/3rd the price of the equivalent Macbook. Just make sure to get one with a warranty.

awayand• 13 years ago

I got the x220 less than a year ago because of all the recommendations out there and I regret it. Should have gotten a Macbook. The trackpad is horrible, the usb connections get cut off after putting the laptop to sleep, which means any mounted external drives are disconnected hard after resuming. Oh and the microphone doesn't work.

ctb_mg• 13 years ago

I keep hearing about this supposed terrible thinkpad quality. Can you expand on that?

I purchased one in December 2012 and I think the build quality is excellent. They did change the keyboard, but not everyone hates it (I think it's just fine and still embodies the spirit/feel of the old keyboards).

brackin• 13 years ago

I use OS X on my Macbook Pro retina but also duelboot Windows 7 & Ubuntu.

nikkfs2• 13 years ago

Mac for decent performance, beautiful apps and development environments to work in and amazing built quality. Apple always does good in hardware, but for that price, you can get a lot better.

ThinkPad, really good performance, good graphics and battery life.

And if performance is only what you care about (not $) then why don't you take a look at Razor laptops. I know, I know, that's a gaming laptop company, but there laptops are made out of the best and definitely the best laptop I have ever used. Plus they have a snake symbol on the back which is company's logo and which I love as I'm a Python programmer.

phaus6• 13 years ago

Not sure how much the screen matters to OP, but the last Razer was considered by many to be an otherwise perfect machine that is ruined by a screen that you would expect to find on a $300 laptop.

nikkfs2• 13 years ago

Yeah, that's where the Apple's Retina Display shines.

sciencesama• 13 years ago

as a developer if you want to develop in windows go for dell xps 13 with FHD or else with out a doubt go for MBP retina display :) its awesome with the new processor and new retina display .....

fingerprinter• 13 years ago

I have both a MacBook Air 13" and a Thinkpad 220x.

I like the MacBook Air more only b/c I have more screen real estate. If the Thinkpad had the same resolution, it would win hands down. NOTE: I have the style thinkpad with the traditional IBM thinkpad keyboard. It. Is. Awesome.

Note: I have Ubuntu running on both. 13.10 daily on thinkpad and 12.04 LTS on MBA. Whichever you choose, I would HIGHLY recommend installing Ubuntu on it.

zachlatta3• 13 years ago

What's the battery life with Ubuntu like on the MBA?

spdegabrielle• 13 years ago

Gaming laptops are awesome but my last one was heavy. Macs are essential if you want to build iOS apps, but otherwise not required. (Obviously expensive - if you want the option to dev iOS then the best value is a mini) New thinkpads are overpriced and don't live up to the name. A shame really. You could get an old one but what's the point.

A cheap laptop will do an acceptable job, at an acceptable price. Whatever you buy make sure you get an SSD an get as much RAM as you can afford. And don't underestimate the value of VM's.

Update - I wonder if I could rehouse a MBP in an old thinkpad case/keyboard?

neep• 13 years ago

Absolutely Mac. I'm a front-end developer previously use windows laptop and I'm satsified enough using Mac. If you need windows you can install windows on Mac too, yes?

phaus6• 13 years ago

FYI, Lenovo is about to release the T440s. It's finally got 1080p as an option, and it will have a Haswell processor. If you decide to go for a Thinkpad, you might want to wait for this one.

http://shop.lenovo.com/fi/en/laptops/thinkpad/t-series/t440s...

cabbeer• 13 years ago

Has anyone looked at the y410p? It has really good specs for the price, but I'm now sure how the quality holds up?

winter_blue• 13 years ago

How does the system76 Galago UltraPro compare to all of these?

Mac or Thinkpad?

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