Comment by gigatexal

Comment by gigatexal 12 hours ago

This. My 2013 MacBook Pro lasted just shy of 10 years no issues.

My m3 max mbpro I only wish was the larger screen one and not the 13 inch one … oh well. But I suspect it will last me — and be passed down as well — 8-10 years as well.

The trackpads are second to none. So are the speakers. The screen are pretty good. I wish mine got even brighter but the m4s do. The keyboard is finally awesome.

The OS just works. In fact I moved from Linux to MacOS. I thought I’d miss i3 and sway but with Magnet and a launcher I don’t. I live in a terminal and can split that as much as I like. And gui apps Magnet does a decent job.

There are projects to go even further and you don’t have to leave MacOS for all the tiling love.

https://github.com/koekeishiya/yabai https://github.com/nikitabobko/AeroSpace https://github.com/ianyh/Amethyst

But I get basically everything I need with Magnet.

So TLDR I used to be a huge Linux head (I still am…) but I’m practical now and tired and macOS is a small price to pay for such amazing hardware.

More on why I left Linux as my main platform: https://gigatexal.blog/pages/no-perfect-workstation/no-perfe...

Doohickey-d 9 hours ago

It's possible to increase the brightness in software on M1, by faking HDR (desktop capture -> scale brightness to HDR -> display).

One example: https://www.brightintosh.de/ but there's many others.

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gigatexal 8 hours ago

you just made my day I am so happy with this I could kiss you!* just saved me a bunch of coin cuz I was considering trading up for a m4 or otherwise to get better brightness
amazing!
* more a turn of phrase, a hug, a handshake, a thank you thank you thank you all suffice ;-)
I insta bought the suggested app

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- sersi 6 hours ago
  
  Check out https://github.com/alin23/Lunar it's the most advanced app on mac when it comes to controlling screens
  
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  gigatexal an hour ago
  
  purchased as well. thanks! was looking for a way to tweak my connected monitors, too.
  this brings up a good Q -- what monitors other than the absurd Apple XDR are out there that are good at high brightness. I'm loving the brightness above 500 nits on this main screen I want it everywhere.
  
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asimovfan 7 hours ago

I read why you left linux as your main platform.. You say you are "practical now and tired" implying GNU(+linux) is unpractical and tiring, which is perfectly wrong in my opinion. Not only my opinion but also in your own opinion, as you also write how package managers are better in linux, macOS is not as hackable, how much it is locked down etc. So it comes down to this paragraph:

"I learned to like nice things. I became a bit bougie, hah. I like the build quality of the Apple laptops. The amazing trackpads. The vibrant screens. And how, for the most part, the hardware and software just work together so well. Seamlessly connecting Apple Keyboards to my Apple Laptop, or my Apple Headphones to my Apple Laptop, etc., etc."

so boils down to this intangible "bougieness" they tricked you with. I dont know about Apple build quality. I have the experience that they absolutely slow down, break down faster, more expensive to get fixed, and the trackpad is annoying as hell. I haven't had any problems with headphones or connecting keyboards (wireless or wired) in non macOS laptops either. It is 2025 and all my computers work fine with such peripherals.

The screens look vibrant i'll give you that, but you pay for it anyway, like you could've paid with another laptop.

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gigatexal an hour ago

I should monetize my blog for the 5-10 or so people who hate read it ;-)
I am not a sane, logical, rational person most of the time ... but I think not many folks are.

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sersi 6 hours ago

Well I have a desktop running arch linux as my main computer at home. For my laptop though I use a mbp purely for the build quality because I have never found a laptop that is as good at the current generations of mbps for thermals, trackpad quality, sound quality, screen, battery life.
Now personally I'd be happier running linux and I'm looking forward to arch linux on asahi working on my laptop. But I will use macos (which I used to like but has become steadily worse over the years) just because of the hardware

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