Dell XPS 13 vs. MacBook Air
Aug 15, 2016, 12:40 pm
#46
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Aug 15, 2016, 1:49 pm
#47
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Aug 15, 2016, 2:07 pm
#48
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Aug 16, 2016, 5:03 am
#49
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drag and drop to copy. drag and drop + command key to move. simple. great.
i also like holding down Alt/Option key while right clicking on something to reveal extra menu options .
for me, using windows day to day at work and osx at home, i prefer OSX behavior in 95% of situation. but thats just 1 persons opinion
i also like holding down Alt/Option key while right clicking on something to reveal extra menu options .
for me, using windows day to day at work and osx at home, i prefer OSX behavior in 95% of situation. but thats just 1 persons opinion
Aug 16, 2016, 6:42 am
#50
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drag and drop to copy. drag and drop + command key to move. simple. great.
i also like holding down Alt/Option key while right clicking on something to reveal extra menu options .
for me, using windows day to day at work and osx at home, i prefer OSX behavior in 95% of situation. but thats just 1 persons opinion
i also like holding down Alt/Option key while right clicking on something to reveal extra menu options .
for me, using windows day to day at work and osx at home, i prefer OSX behavior in 95% of situation. but thats just 1 persons opinion
There are some great aspects to macOS (I had to dabble in some photo editing and the built-in tools on Mac, pretty great and simple).
Aug 16, 2016, 9:26 am
#51
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It may be like Windows where the default behavior depends on the destination; on Windows the default is to move if it's on the same "drive" (actually filesystem, if using multiple partitions or network shares) and copy if it's from one drive to another.
That said, I don't generally find drag and drop to be a very convenient move compared to keyboard-based or right-click cut/paste.
That said, I don't generally find drag and drop to be a very convenient move compared to keyboard-based or right-click cut/paste.
Aug 16, 2016, 11:56 am
#52
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It may be like Windows where the default behavior depends on the destination; on Windows the default is to move if it's on the same "drive" (actually filesystem, if using multiple partitions or network shares) and copy if it's from one drive to another.
That said, I don't generally find drag and drop to be a very convenient move compared to keyboard-based or right-click cut/paste.
That said, I don't generally find drag and drop to be a very convenient move compared to keyboard-based or right-click cut/paste.
Aug 16, 2016, 9:22 pm
#53
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Lets put it this way Apple charges more just for a name. I firmly believe that you will do just as well if not better than buying a Dell. What if your Mac breaks and the logic board goes out and its $700 to fix? Also as long as you have the I7 6th Gen 16 GB of RAM a good Graphics Card(look for Nvidia with at least of 2 GB Video RAM) a 256 GB SSD or even a 1 TB HDD or even better a hybrid SSD /HDD you will be good to go.
Apple makes their computers using Foxconn the Chinese manufacturer as does other computer manufacturers . They all come from the same factory using the same materials. Do you think Mac uses a different USB Connector?
As for WiFI look for Boradcom adapters.
I just ordered the HP Envy x360T with 1 TB HDD 16GB RAM and an Intel 520 Graphics Card(If i want to game I'll use an XBox 1S) It has the I7 6th Gen 6600U. And its built out of aluminum and reminds me of the Mac Book Pro. I would imagine its made at the same factory that manufactures the Mac laptops.
Also I don't want to spend $2,000 to get a laptop with a "locked down" Ecosystem. Apple puts what they think I will like. I know for a fact that Windows 10 suits my needs. I like a 2 in 1 and don't want to fall for buying separate products and spend upwards of $3,00-$4,000 dollars.
Just my 2 cents.
Apple makes their computers using Foxconn the Chinese manufacturer as does other computer manufacturers . They all come from the same factory using the same materials. Do you think Mac uses a different USB Connector?
As for WiFI look for Boradcom adapters.
I just ordered the HP Envy x360T with 1 TB HDD 16GB RAM and an Intel 520 Graphics Card(If i want to game I'll use an XBox 1S) It has the I7 6th Gen 6600U. And its built out of aluminum and reminds me of the Mac Book Pro. I would imagine its made at the same factory that manufactures the Mac laptops.
Also I don't want to spend $2,000 to get a laptop with a "locked down" Ecosystem. Apple puts what they think I will like. I know for a fact that Windows 10 suits my needs. I like a 2 in 1 and don't want to fall for buying separate products and spend upwards of $3,00-$4,000 dollars.
Just my 2 cents.
Aug 16, 2016, 11:05 pm
#54
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I don't think it's even a matter of tinkering.
For heavy users, even those who don't modify how the system works, there is a great deal of stuff that happens via patterns of use that are below conscious -- most obviously, literally muscle memory for keyboard shortcuts, but also navigation patterns to do things.
Swapping to a new OS, in that case, is going to be more difficult than a lighter user who just looks for the prompts and has to actually think about what they're doing.
This was one of the problems with Windows 8 -- the whole file explorer got redone, and for most people, that was probably an improvement. For some of us who had been using it the same way for ~18 years since Windows 95, even though there were more keyboard shortcuts, it the old ones didn't work it completely broke flow every time we expected something to happen and it didn't.
For heavy users, even those who don't modify how the system works, there is a great deal of stuff that happens via patterns of use that are below conscious -- most obviously, literally muscle memory for keyboard shortcuts, but also navigation patterns to do things.
Swapping to a new OS, in that case, is going to be more difficult than a lighter user who just looks for the prompts and has to actually think about what they're doing.
This was one of the problems with Windows 8 -- the whole file explorer got redone, and for most people, that was probably an improvement. For some of us who had been using it the same way for ~18 years since Windows 95, even though there were more keyboard shortcuts, it the old ones didn't work it completely broke flow every time we expected something to happen and it didn't.
NOW, I just want it to WORK! This is all to say that heavy users and those who want to hack the OS and every app are not necessarily the same people.
That said, my MBP vintage 2010 works every. single. time. I woke it up after 8 months of hibernation (when my <1 year old X15 W10 machine gave up) and it took up where it left off without a problem. It hasn't been rebooted since I last upgraded the OS (a couple of versions ago). My X15, on the other hand, is a disaster. I have installed W10 from scratch and it still is a constant struggle.
/rant off.
Aug 17, 2016, 4:06 am
#55
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Aug 17, 2016, 4:09 am
#56
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Aug 17, 2016, 4:46 am
#57
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Also I don't want to spend $2,000 to get a laptop with a "locked down" Ecosystem. Apple puts what they think I will like. I know for a fact that Windows 10 suits my needs. I like a 2 in 1 and don't want to fall for buying separate products and spend upwards of $3,00-$4,000 dollars.
You seem to be trying to justify your purchase to somebody...
Aug 17, 2016, 10:32 am
#59
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I wouldn't brag about that. The dual core i7 processors are not worth paying extra for compared to the dual core i5 processors.
There are at least 2 other really big ODM manufacturers who might well be making laptops (Compal and Quanta) and probably one or two others whicj are smaller, and Foxconn itself is more than large enough to have multiple factories.
The $2000+ models of the Macbook Pro are outdated extravagances at this point, and I'd be pretty annoyed about the lack of an update if I were invested in the MacOS ecosystem. Hopefully for people who need to do computationally demanding work on Macs, there will be a new generation of MBP coming out sometime this fall.
OTOH, they are still vastly more powerful than an ultrabook, and for all the larger screen, that's what you're comparing it to. If Apple made a 15" MacBook Air, that's what would be the comparison, and that would almost certainly be less than $2000.
I have very little use for the MacOS -- neither as open and flexible as Linux nor as universal and commonly understood as Windows -- but the arguments against the hardware these days have more to do with lack of choice and dated processors than being locked down.
I don't see the value of a 15" 2-in-1 that is far too large to use as a tablet, and for that matter, I'm not sure how you'd spend $3,000-$4,000 on an iPad + Macbook Pro unless you were actively trying to waste money.
There are good reasons to not get a Mac; for what I use a tablet for (essentially an LED-equipped e-reader for PDF and CBR/CBZ documents, and to watch my own TV shows at the gym), my sub-$200 older Android tablet (for a comparable current model, see the Asus Zenpad 10) is plenty; I have no need for a 2-in-1.
My current ~$1000* Dell laptop substantially outperforms the current MacBook Pro 15" in the ways that matter to me (CPU and memory), is more compact in footprint (if a touch thicker) and slightly lighter, and has a lighter and smaller charging brick. It's also got a much better keyboard and mouse for me, but these two are very much matters of taste.
It's not better in every way; the screen is worse by most measures, the SSD I chose to put in is much slower**, and the case is mostly plastic.
The graphics performance are a split, but an irrelevant one -- my laptop and the Macbook Pros are all hopelessly anemic by current standards for gaming or professional 3D graphics.***
For most people's use, any non-junk machine**** from the past ~3 years and past couple generations will be absolutely fine, and for many, a generation or two back from that will probably be fine too. But for serious professional use on a Mac, or for those who want to buy a Mac that will last like prior ones have, waiting for the updated versions coming out one of these days is going to be well worth it.
(* refurbished and upgrading the memory and SSD myself; probably $1500ish new after upgrades and you'd still have to upgrade the memory and CPU yourself as a. as of when I bought it if I'd ordered new Dell literally wouldn't sell it with the amount of memory I needed preinstalled -- and now that they do will overcharge by about $200, and b. Dell still literally doesn't sell it with a 1TB SSD preinstalled, and I can only wonder what they'd charge for it if they did, but they charge more than the $225 I paid to get their cheapest 512gb SSD model.)
(** I chose it for low cost and huge-ish capacity rather than speed -- although I could swap in an PCIe SSD into the current Dell if I wanted tothat would be at least as fast as the Macbook Pro's; 1TB ones were very difficult to get and extremely expensive back in the spring -- they're better now, but the extra speed wouldn't be worth the premium to me even now.)
(*** It is thus entirely academic that my laptop's CPU graphics will "outperform" the CPU graphics on the base model Macbook Pro (which also lacks a separate GPU) and that the higher models of Macbook Pro (with a separate GPU) will outperform mine. A modern gaming laptop like the Razer Blade or a professional workstation like the Lenovo P50 or Dell M7510 will smoke either by an unfunny margin.)
(**** which is sort of an advantage to Apple; they don't sell "junk machines", although the processors on the new (non-Air, non-Pro) Macbooks are so under-powered as to be comparable to some junk machines and require more patience than I'd have even brand new; they will be obsolete much quicker than I'd want for a machine with non-disposable pricing. The same was true of some of the older models of Macbook Air 11", which are the most recent Macs which are now totally obsolete.
I would imagine its made at the same factory that manufactures the Mac laptops.
Also I don't want to spend $2,000 to get a laptop with a "locked down" Ecosystem.
OTOH, they are still vastly more powerful than an ultrabook, and for all the larger screen, that's what you're comparing it to. If Apple made a 15" MacBook Air, that's what would be the comparison, and that would almost certainly be less than $2000.
I have very little use for the MacOS -- neither as open and flexible as Linux nor as universal and commonly understood as Windows -- but the arguments against the hardware these days have more to do with lack of choice and dated processors than being locked down.
I like a 2 in 1 and don't want to fall for buying separate products and spend upwards of $3,00-$4,000 dollars.
There are good reasons to not get a Mac; for what I use a tablet for (essentially an LED-equipped e-reader for PDF and CBR/CBZ documents, and to watch my own TV shows at the gym), my sub-$200 older Android tablet (for a comparable current model, see the Asus Zenpad 10) is plenty; I have no need for a 2-in-1.
My current ~$1000* Dell laptop substantially outperforms the current MacBook Pro 15" in the ways that matter to me (CPU and memory), is more compact in footprint (if a touch thicker) and slightly lighter, and has a lighter and smaller charging brick. It's also got a much better keyboard and mouse for me, but these two are very much matters of taste.
It's not better in every way; the screen is worse by most measures, the SSD I chose to put in is much slower**, and the case is mostly plastic.
The graphics performance are a split, but an irrelevant one -- my laptop and the Macbook Pros are all hopelessly anemic by current standards for gaming or professional 3D graphics.***
For most people's use, any non-junk machine**** from the past ~3 years and past couple generations will be absolutely fine, and for many, a generation or two back from that will probably be fine too. But for serious professional use on a Mac, or for those who want to buy a Mac that will last like prior ones have, waiting for the updated versions coming out one of these days is going to be well worth it.
(* refurbished and upgrading the memory and SSD myself; probably $1500ish new after upgrades and you'd still have to upgrade the memory and CPU yourself as a. as of when I bought it if I'd ordered new Dell literally wouldn't sell it with the amount of memory I needed preinstalled -- and now that they do will overcharge by about $200, and b. Dell still literally doesn't sell it with a 1TB SSD preinstalled, and I can only wonder what they'd charge for it if they did, but they charge more than the $225 I paid to get their cheapest 512gb SSD model.)
(** I chose it for low cost and huge-ish capacity rather than speed -- although I could swap in an PCIe SSD into the current Dell if I wanted tothat would be at least as fast as the Macbook Pro's; 1TB ones were very difficult to get and extremely expensive back in the spring -- they're better now, but the extra speed wouldn't be worth the premium to me even now.)
(*** It is thus entirely academic that my laptop's CPU graphics will "outperform" the CPU graphics on the base model Macbook Pro (which also lacks a separate GPU) and that the higher models of Macbook Pro (with a separate GPU) will outperform mine. A modern gaming laptop like the Razer Blade or a professional workstation like the Lenovo P50 or Dell M7510 will smoke either by an unfunny margin.)
(**** which is sort of an advantage to Apple; they don't sell "junk machines", although the processors on the new (non-Air, non-Pro) Macbooks are so under-powered as to be comparable to some junk machines and require more patience than I'd have even brand new; they will be obsolete much quicker than I'd want for a machine with non-disposable pricing. The same was true of some of the older models of Macbook Air 11", which are the most recent Macs which are now totally obsolete.