For what it's worth, I didn't mean my comment that started this thread to be Apple bashing at all. I think it's pretty reasonable for Apple to ignore this market; it's quite niche. It's just also a bummer because their laptops were the pinnacle of what I want in a computer for a long time.
I don't think the 2018 MacBook Pro leaves much to be desired unless you want features that would turn it into a ThinkBook-like brick. For $50 you get a charging USB-C hub that allows you even to leave your power brick home. The iMac Pro is pretty great.
Power Mac is a different story.....don't know how and when they're going to fix this. That's a real shame.
> unless you want features that would turn it into a ThinkBook-like brick.
Yeah literally all many of us want is a standard keyboard with function keys instead of the touchbar. A couple regular USB ports would be nice as well so we can plug in a mouse and keyboard without needing dongles. Neither of those things would turn their "pro" laptop into a brick.
So in my use case I actually got rid of one dongle at a price lower than a replacement MagSafe 2 adapter. I really liked MagSafe though.
Never used the F-keys really. ESC is not that hard for me to live without but that's all personal. But the difference in performance is quite noticeable.
The Surface line by Microsoft has a very similar magnetic power+docking connector. The only issue I have with it is that the LED doesn't change color when the device is fully charged.
I have the previous xps 13 running linux now. I'd like to support them, but unfortunately, CostCo sold me the Windows version with mostly equivalent specs for like $400 cheaper than Dell had the Developer Edition at the time. I replaced the Broadcom WiFi chip for $30 and was good to go. I think I saw where the current model no longer has replaceable WiFi modules though.
