Anyone else abandoning ship?

[richinaus]

To continue the conversation I bought a Razer mouse and truly love it. If this was combined with the Magic Mouse controls it would be perfect, but Apple will never make a mouse like that.

Anyway, on ‘abandoning ship’ and all that, I have been doing more research and had decided to look at the HP Zbook studio 360 G5. It ticks the boxes, is upgradable and does everything I need it to, in a nice design. I have read some good reviews, and this guy ‘what do real pros use’ on You Tube has made some positive videos and was loving it. On his reviews he gets no throttling, and was saying the keyboard was great. He also did an upgrade video that shows easy SSD and Ram upgrades. It really is an all round great machine I think except.....

“I'd be very happy with it (it's really a performance beast), but recently the keyboard stopped working properly (some keys are just not registered, exactly like on new MacBooks with the butterfly keyboard). Additionally a backlight bleeding showed up on the display, making it NOT 100% Adobe RGB (imagine that solid colours become gradients...). I'm waiting for HP technician to come to my office and fix everything. Unfortunately, I'm still waiting for new parts arrival, as it seems that HP doesn't have spare parts available”

To be honest, we all like to complain about something, but this has totally nailed the coffin for me. I am 100% sticking with Apple. At least I can walk in the store and know issues will get sorted [I deal with the business team].

 

[Thysanoptera]

Can confirm on multi resolution monitors on Linux also, MacOS does it better than others.

Interesting, multi monitor support on MacOS drives me mad, it feels like throwback to old UNIX times when you had to explicitly define screen on which application has to run. Like if you move browser window with video running and leave it between the screens one part of it disappears. But what really grinds my gears is that you cannot disable display, you have to pull the cable. You can use SwitchresX ($16) but this only blanks the screen and stops mouse movement, while the system still sees it and dGPU is running like that display is still connected, those 10 Watts consumed for no good reason by Radeon is a fairly precious commodity. This makes it super annoying when I have multiple computers sharing multiple displays and want to freely change the layout at will.

 

[hawkeye_a]

OP, no you’re not the only one.

I know people are switching out of the entire Apple ecosystem. Frustration with MacBook Pros, iMacs, MacPro(or lack thereof) and iPhones seem to be the motivating factors.

Always admired the company and its design philosophies while growing up, and i used to evangelize the brand after Steve Jobs return.

I’ve been in the Apple ecosystem for two decades, and i dont think my next computer or phone will be made by Apple.

I can grudgingly adjust to dongles, but FFS, how do you mess up a keyboard in 2016? And dont get me started about the ‘stage light’ issue.

Apple is just another tech company these days.

 

[Michael Scrip]

I can grudgingly adjust to dongles, but FFS, how do you mess up a keyboard in 2016?

Exactly.

For years... earlier Macbook Pro reviews gave good marks for the keyboard. Or they didn't have to say anything because it was basically universally understood that their keyboard are great.

And then 2016 happened...

 

[richinaus]

OP, no you’re not the only one.

I know people are switching out of the entire Apple ecosystem. Frustration with MacBook Pros, iMacs, MacPro(or lack thereof) and iPhones seem to be the motivating factors.

Always admired the company and its design philosophies while growing up, and i used to evangelize the brand after Steve Jobs return.

I’ve been in the Apple ecosystem for two decades, and i dont think my next computer or phone will be made by Apple.

I can grudgingly adjust to dongles, but FFS, how do you mess up a keyboard in 2016? And dont get me started about the ‘stage light’ issue.

Apple is just another tech company these days.

See my previous post..... HP screwed it also on a workstation laptop - both screen and keyboard. I don’t think any manufacturer is perfect, and there will always be issues of some sort and it seems to be luck of the draw.

 

[rutrack]

Interesting, multi monitor support on MacOS drives me mad, it feels like throwback to old UNIX times when you had to explicitly define screen on which application has to run. Like if you move browser window with video running and leave it between the screens one part of it disappears. But what really grinds my gears is that you cannot disable display, you have to pull the cable. You can use SwitchresX ($16) but this only blanks the screen and stops mouse movement, while the system still sees it and dGPU is running like that display is still connected, those 10 Watts consumed for no good reason by Radeon is a fairly precious commodity. This makes it super annoying when I have multiple computers sharing multiple displays and want to freely change the layout at will.

These are good points , I could never bring the monitor back up from switchresx, but these are minor nuances in comparison to running a hidpi monitor with scaled text alongside a smaller resolution monitor on Linux . You can sort of work around it with browser plugin to detect the monitor and scale fonts accordingly , but then the terminal font size doesn't really work the same way. So 2 4k monitors it is.

 

[uddinf8507]

For me the apple tax has become too significant. Don't get me wrong I can afford the 15 inch macbook pro it's just hard to rationalize. The MSI Gs65 i bought with a 144hz display, i7-8750H, GTX 1060, 16gb ram etc was 1549 CAD plus tax. The 15 inch Macbook pro is 3100 plus tax. Nearly double the price.

 

[AppleTrap]

See my previous post..... HP screwed it also on a workstation laptop - both screen and keyboard. I don’t think any manufacturer is perfect, and there will always be issues of some sort and it seems to be luck of the draw.

While in the case of HP, it might be possible to say that it was a one-off issue - not a sign of a design failure but rather a defective machine. Can you say that about the Touchbar Macbook Pro?

 

[richinaus]

While in the case of HP, it might be possible to say that it was a one-off issue - not a sign of a design failure but rather a defective machine. Can you say that about the Touchbar Macbook Pro?

So you believe HP never have any issues? I was in charge of a team who used HP Z workstations and we had a fair share of problems with the computers and monitors.

Nope, I had read this happen elsewhere on the Z book Studio but thought it may be isolated.
I have a 2016 MBP and its keyboard is fine. Is this a one off non issue?

 

[kis]

The main reason why I just today decided I’ll sell my Surface Book 2 is one I honestly hadn’t factored in: over the years I just invested too much money in Mac-specific software. Plus I have a SuperDrive that won’t work on windows, my intuos tablet just works better with PDF Expert and a ton of other minor things that have been annoying me for months now. Windows 10 is GREAT. I love it. That’s not the issue. And the Surface Book 2 is an excellent computer, which is both faster (graphics) and slower (CPU) than my MacBook Pro. It has a dramatically better keyboard than the MBP, while the MBP has much better speakers. Windows Hello works better than Touch ID, especially since you can add a hello compatible webcam to any desktop monitor. Overall the Windows experience is really good. But for someone who’s worked on Macs for 22 years and has invested a ton of money, I have to say I have to call it quits with Windows for now.

If Apple really ends up switching pro laptops to the ARM platform, the decision will be easy for me to switch to Windows permanently, though

 

[rutrack]

The main reason why I just today decided I’ll sell my Surface Book 2 is one I honestly hadn’t factored in: over the years I just invested too much money in Mac-specific software. Plus I have a SuperDrive that won’t work on windows, my intuos tablet just works better with PDF Expert and a ton of other minor things that have been annoying me for months now. Windows 10 is GREAT. I love it. That’s not the issue. And the Surface Book 2 is an excellent computer, which is both faster (graphics) and slower (CPU) than my MacBook Pro. It has a dramatically better keyboard than the MBP, while the MBP has much better speakers. Windows Hello works better than Touch ID, especially since you can add a hello compatible webcam to any desktop monitor. Overall the Windows experience is really good. But for someone who’s worked on Macs for 22 years and has invested a ton of money, I have to say I have to call it quits with Windows for now.

If Apple really ends up switching pro laptops to the ARM platform, the decision will be easy for me to switch to Windows permanently, though

What is the potential problem with ARM for you ? The transition from Power to Intel was pretty smooth?

 

[kis]

What is the potential problem with ARM for you ? The transition from Power to Intel was pretty smooth?

Smooth? It was a total mess. The emulator was slow as molasses and it took forever until all the major apps were ported. And the first Intel Macs were a complete shambles too. I was in IT support back then and I don’t have very fond memories of that at all.

It was also rather expensive as either you upgraded to an insanely expensive new computer or you were left with old software that didn’t get any updates anymore very quickly. Only good thing was that you got Bootcamp a while after the transition. If they intro ARM “Macs” now, that benefit will be gone. Back then Apple was lucky as it was during the peak of the Apple follower cult and Windows sucked big time back then. Today the numbers of loyal followers have dwindled and Windows 10 is pretty decent. It’ll be a rough transition for both Apple and their customers, trust me. Might very well kill what’s left of their computer business.

 

[MBAir2010]

I AM jumping ship, i had a horrible experience at the store just now after trying to purchase a brand spanking new macbook air, is haiwei any good?

 

[SDColorado]

I AM jumping ship, i had a horrible experience at the store just now after trying to purchase a brand spanking new macbook air, is haiwei any good?

Both the most current version of the MateBook X Pro and the previous one got overall very good reviews. I guess the real bargain if you can find one is the previous version at a steep bargain. There wasn't enough of an update to justify paying more than you would for the previous version if you can still find one.

https://www.engadget.com/2019/04/01/huawei-matebook-x-pro-2019-review/

 

[kis]

I AM jumping ship, i had a horrible experience at the store just now after trying to purchase a brand spanking new macbook air, is haiwei any good?

Assuming you're not joking: Huawei is very likely insecure. It's been up for debate but the number of governments who've conducted their own safety analysis of the company is quite big and most, if not all, have come to the conclusion that the company poses a massive security risk.

 

[MBAir2010]

The silver heiwei laptop l saw looked incredibly sleek and elegant, and comes with duck sauce!

 

[SDColorado]

The silver heiwei laptop l saw looked incredibly sleek and elegant, and comes with duck sauce!

Their logo still looks like the lovechild of the JAL (Japan Airlines) Crane and the NBC Peacock imho, but the laptops do look sleek

Edit: At least the newer one *does* look more like a flower (as it should), the one they used up to 2006 looked like a seashell.

 

[jerryk]

What is the potential problem with ARM for you ? The transition from Power to Intel was pretty smooth?

Anything but. Especially for us developers moving products from one environment to the other. A lot of pain, sleepless nights, and extra costs.

Hopefully, it would be smoother these days, but Microsoft's ports to ARM 5 years ago were anything but smooth and painless. And ended up with gutted applications on a platform that ultimately failed to match Intel.

 

[MBAir2010]

Their logo still looks like the lovechild of the JAL (Japan Airlines) Crane and the NBC Peacock imho, but the laptops do look sleek

Edit: At least the newer one *does* look more like a flower (as it should), the one they used up to 2006 looked like a seashell.

I still mad at apple sales today, they were like DMV employees careless and frank.
The new ipod touch and the ihomepod are off my list of near future purchases along with a new apple tv
I need a new laptop tho, might get a macbook pro 2015/17 for $700 in mint cond.
WIndows is not fun and linux is okay, mojave is just smooth!
Id get a dell xps or asus bluebook if they looked nicer, which they dont.
[doublepost=1554598830][/doublepost]

, Mojave's biggest feature seems to be dark mode.

Mojave is very responsive, maybe the most since snow leopard
there a many unnoticed improvements from Highest Sierra that make the OSX easier to use.
Since i dont use photos, itunes (except movies via apple tv, which is getting screwed up lately) pages and other apple apps my experience is enjoyable and fluid!
Lixus apps for apple really sprouted this year, which was about time!
Im still avoiding buying anything hew from apple again tho

 

[Queen6]

I AM jumping ship, i had a horrible experience at the store just now after trying to purchase a brand spanking new macbook air, is haiwei any good?

I have an original MateBook and it's an excellent notebook, no complaints. The new models have only improved with time.

Q-6

 

[AppleTrap]

So you believe HP never have any issues? I was in charge of a team who used HP Z workstations and we had a fair share of problems with the computers and monitors.

Nope, I had read this happen elsewhere on the Z book Studio but thought it may be isolated.
I have a 2016 MBP and its keyboard is fine. Is this a one off non issue?

Don’t get me wrong. I am pretty sure HP produces its share of machines with QC issues but I am skeptical they carry severe design faults as the MBP. While I don’t have experience with the 360 Z Book, I do have experience with their Pro Books and their standard Z books deployed at work. Apart from certain QC issues (where the unit was promptly repaired by HP), these were absolute units - they were put through the grinder every day and they refused to die even after years of usage! We have now moved to Thinkpads (better corporate deal).

I have been with Apple long enough to know that their laptops can die at any time - right from the Powerbook days. At work, the only MBP we are allowed to buy is the 2015 model; the Touchbars were banned after 2016 owing to the keyboard fiasco.

Another interesting tidbit is that while we dispose off our old HPs and Thinkpads by selling them to re-sellers (and sometimes even employees), most of our MBPs go to the recycling bin because they have failed by the time they get 'old' and are too expensive to repair. Our recycling box is usually a sea of silver with a couple of Thinkpads thrown in.

 

[09872738]

Assuming you're not joking: Huawei is very likely insecure. It's been up for debate but the number of governments who've conducted their own safety analysis of the company is quite big and most, if not all, have come to the conclusion that the company poses a massive security risk.

For now the allegations remain unproven. Similarly a number of governments found nothing really.
Unless I see anything at least remotely substantial I tend to believe there is little behind
Huawei is more likely than anything else the victim of an intensifying tradewar

 

[Queen6]

For now the allegations remain unproven. Similarly a number of governments found nothing really.
Unless I see anything at least remotely substantial I tend to believe there is little behind
Huawei is more likely than anything else the victim of an intensifying tradewar

All governments and military want their communications & IT to be under direct control for obvious reasons. Far as I can see there's nothing wrong with Huawei other than being a very strong competitor to Apple. To me it's more an act of protectionism then anything else, as from my experience Huawei's hardware is extremely good.

If there was any real substance in the rumour's they would be banned across the EU for starters. Personally I think it is what it is, if Huawei had a fair field in the US it would significantly impact Apple. People can argue of the OS, however the quality of the hardware is top notch.

Another factor is if there's a backdoor I sure many would be looking for it, as solid proof would be worth a pretty penny indeed...

Q-6

 

[Mr. Dee]

Smooth? It was a total mess. The emulator was slow as molasses and it took forever until all the major apps were ported. And the first Intel Macs were a complete shambles too. I was in IT support back then and I don’t have very fond memories of that at all.

It was also rather expensive as either you upgraded to an insanely expensive new computer or you were left with old software that didn’t get any updates anymore very quickly. Only good thing was that you got Bootcamp a while after the transition. If they intro ARM “Macs” now, that benefit will be gone. Back then Apple was lucky as it was during the peak of the Apple follower cult and Windows sucked big time back then. Today the numbers of loyal followers have dwindled and Windows 10 is pretty decent. It’ll be a rough transition for both Apple and their customers, trust me. Might very well kill what’s left of their computer business.

I remember the opposite, Microsoft, Adobe and even Quark has universal versions of their apps within 2 years and even then, PowerPC versions still ran just fine through Rosetta. Also, it was actual emulation, it was translation.

I do wonder about the quality of apps if Apple does decide to push A-Series in the future. iPad versions of even popular apps like Word/Excel still can’t replace the desktop versions.

 

[Eason85]

For now the allegations remain unproven. Similarly a number of governments found nothing really.
Unless I see anything at least remotely substantial I tend to believe there is little behind
Huawei is more likely than anything else the victim of an intensifying tradewar

What kind of proof do you need to believe that Huawei is a key tool used by the Chinese government in their current push for a China-centric world?

Do some reading if you are interested in learning more. Here's an article I wrote a while ago: https://www.jpolrisk.com/huawei-and-china-not-just-business-as-usual/
[doublepost=1554627159][/doublepost]

All governments and military want their communications & IT to be under direct control for obvious reasons. Far as I can see there's nothing wrong with Huawei other than being a very strong competitor to Apple. To me it's more an act of protectionism then anything else, as from my experience Huawei's hardware is extremely good.

If there was any real substance in the rumour's they would be banned across the EU for starters. Personally I think it is what it is, if Huawei had a fair field in the US it would significantly impact Apple. People can argue of the OS, however the quality of the hardware is top notch.

Another factor is if there's a backdoor I sure many would be looking for it, as solid proof would be worth a pretty penny indeed...

Q-6

The EU is not included in the 5 eyes. They have been clueless and irresponsible for years due to declining economies, i.e. see Poland.

There was a major intelligence conference recently, and I can tell you there is major alarm going on about countering Chinese infiltration of network infrastructure, particularly 5G.

I have lived and in and around China the last 12 years, observing their behaviour and expansion of hegemony. I have friends in intelligence from many countries, and I am very familiar with the Chinese government, their aims, and behaviour. I remain impressed with how well China has been able to skate through the Trump-centric media blitz with almost no global awareness and concern about their motives and goals.

China is not a normal country; their government is not a normal government. Without hyperbole, proliferate the Chinese State's influence at the risk of your and your children's future.