

Mac or Thinkpad? - linux_devil

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

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nvarsj
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.

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ctb_mg
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).

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fingerprinter
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.

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

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phaus
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...](http://shop.lenovo.com/fi/en/laptops/thinkpad/t-series/t440s/)

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danpalmer
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.

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troni
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.

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phaus
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.

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

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phaus
If you don't mind me asking, which system do you have and do you find that the
GPU drivers break frequently with updates?

I'm in the middle of trying to decide between Lenovo and Apple too.

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owlheart
It isn't hard to use an optimus card with Debian or most other distros
nowadays you just need to install bumblebee (wheezy-backports for debian) with
that you get improved battery life.

I personally don't get GPU drivers breaking the computer but I don't use
nvidias drivers I use nouveau but I also use Debian so a distro like Arch
(which is more prone to packages breaking systems) might be much worse.

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nikkfs
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.

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phaus
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.

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

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phaus
To be honest, I never cared much for investing in a good screen until I got an
iPad 4 and saw how much of a difference it made. Now that I'm in the market
for a new development system, I don't think I want to settle for anything less
than 1080p and IPS.

I just hope the 13" Haswell retina will allow 16GB Ram.

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infinii
I agree. A 13" rMBP w/ Haswell and 16Gb ram to me is the perfect balance of
power, function and footprint. I don't have high hopes for Apple increasing
the max to 16Gb though :(

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yulaow
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)?

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linux_devil
linux , need : performance

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

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zachlatta
Really? I have the 2013 Macbook Air and it's a very capable machine with Linux
installed. Last time I used a Thinkpad the build quality didn't impress me.

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yulaow
He asked for performance not for build quality. Anyway I think you are talking
about appearance quality 'cause I find hard to say that the thikpads are not
the top scorer in build quality these days.

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zachlatta
I found the keyboard and plastic exterior to feel "cheap" on the recent model
I tried. They used to be rock-solid though.

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neep
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?

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

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

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Patrick_Devine
I use a Mac with Fusion for my linux VMs.

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bowyakka
Thinkpad, they are indestructible tanks.

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

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pearjuice
You don't have much experience, then.

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saiko-chriskun
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...](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7054/8689948816_4a775858bb_h.jpg)

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

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

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

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sciencesama
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 .....

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

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jfe
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.

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tjsnell
Mac using whatever OS you like.

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intull
Thinkpad without a doubt!

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skyhvr
Mac + Fusion

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linux_devil
Mac

