> The 'it just works' narrative applies to Microsoft better than any other company right now, and consumers are noticing.<p>Can anyone who's recently transitioned to a Surface from a MacBook Pro / Air testify to the validity of this statement? I am dreading the day I need to upgrade my 2014 MBP, I'm just not compelled by the Touch Bar Macs and the tax they add to the new lineup, but I still hear horror stories about BSOD, bloatware, and the surprise update you can't back out of that I'd want to return to far less.
>One final thought: the biggest point of discussion around these new devices is the lack of USB-C on modern devices. While I agree with this point, I suspect that the decision was made because consumers outside of our industry simply don't care, and the transition period sucks -- dongles galore and little to show for it.<p>Well it's not only that they don't care, they just don't know yet. But they will care and know after they get new gadgets then they'll start wondering why they need adaptors or different chargers for their computers.<p>That argument was fine with the previous models, but in 2018 all new gadgets use USB-C and that will be the norm from now on. I was thinking on getting one of their products, but this really is a turn off for me, since if I buy a computer today I expect to use it for at least 5 years (like my current 2013 MacBook Pro) and I don't see myself carrying around adapters in 2023.
The key feature keeping me in Apple’s ecosystem is their unwavering embrace of privacy. I think this matters to more high-end consumers than many people realise. If Microsoft deployed features that made their devices (and culture) convincingly impenetrable, I’d switch.
I enjoy having windows as a machine for gaming and hacking, but WSL feels slow. Simple things like compiling and running watchers/servers for local changes.<p>What's the recommended approach for (non-visual-studio) coding larger projects? Install Linux on another partition? Use native binaries and forget about WSL?<p>Fwiw I like working in NeoVim and it's been great in WSL-terminal, overall I'm happy with that route - but the slowness is annoying...
Does Microsoft hardware have a decent trackpad, unlike all other PC laptops? My MacBook trackpad is great and I'm baffled as to why PCs can't replicate it.
Wish Microsoft fixed the following two things<p>a. Fix IO overheads - things like cloning git repositories, copying directories with several thousands of small files, compilation are all much slower on Windows.<p>b. Write a proper terminal.
Hardware is the easy part. The software is where the "soul" lies. Microsoft for the most part, has always had descent hardware - its the software that causes them to be unpleasent and unreliable to use.
Glad Microsoft is catching up, competition is always good for us. But they are still severely lacking in the software department imo. It's just too complicated (see below) and on top of that the disregard for privacy and including ads in the OS is a no-go.
Small anecdote: Last time I had windows 10 installed on my MBP, the screen was funnily dark, although set to 100% brightness via the corresponding keys. Searching deep down in the system settings I found something like 2-3 different settings (power saving settings, profiles etc) which COULD have affected screen brightness, but weren't the culprit. Took me a good couple minutes to dig through the new metro settings app and then the older settings menus to find the right option.
Now, it might have been my Bootcamp installation which was configured incorrectly so it was more vetted towards saving power, still doesn't matter: the settings shouldn't be so complicated. It's not really close to "it just works". On mac, the user-facing system architecture is much more comprehensive and easy to figure out.
Is someone honestly referring to a laptop that literally cannot be repaired as "the best hardware"?<p>It's not even possible to replace the battery in the Surface Laptop.<p>>According to iFixit, the Surface Laptop isn’t repairable at all. In fact, it got a 0 out of 10 for repairability and was labeled a “glue-filled monstrosity.”<p><a href="https://www.extremetech.com/computing/251046-ifixit-labels-surface-laptop-glue-filled-monstrosity" rel="nofollow">https://www.extremetech.com/computing/251046-ifixit-labels-s...</a>
> The 'it just works' narrative applies to Microsoft better than any other company right now, and consumers are noticing.<p>'It just works' is best tested when you connect to a printer via wi-fi. We sent humans to the moon and car-sized rovers to Mars, but printing seems to be an unsolvable task for the humanity at the current technology level. At least in the Windows world.
The article contradicts itself<p>> It took years to get here, but Microsoft has nailed it. By comparison, the competition is<p>> flailing around arguing about whether or not touchscreens have a place on laptops. The<p>> answer? Just let people choose.<p>Or if you are Microsoft just put a touchscreen on all your devices<p>> Every single one of these machines <i>has a touchscreen</i>, supports a high-quality stylus, and current generation chipsets.
Apple will now sell me a laptop with: 6 core i9, 32 gig of RAM and 1TB. As a bedroom producer this is truly incredible - and, yes, incredibly priced. The sheer capability of this machine is awe-inspiring, then you remember that it's super portable. 2018 is great.
This is so great. I am so glad someone finally did this. It took 15 years but the heat is on and Apple will have to deliver big or stop building personal computers. I hope it’s the former.
I hope this means I get to watch the same guys buy another bunch of surface hardware and then sell it a few months later and sheepishly return to their MacBooks.<p>Edit: Hit a sore spot I see.
I really like my windows 10 set up, it took me a few weeks to make it perfect by:<p>>Swapping my HDD with a SSD<p>>Fresh install of windows, removing the crapware that came with my laptop<p>And its incredible, I have about 7 chrome windows with 30 tabs open, sublime, Virtualbox, VS code, heidiSQL, excel, calculator, folders, paint, snipping tool, and often more open at the same time.<p>I can remote into my ubuntu server and get all of those benefits.<p>What is the competition? Apple who costs 3x more? Linux desktop which requires the extensive use of Terminal to function at Window's expectations?<p>I want to see someone knock M$ off their OS throne, but that is more of an unnecessary fantasy than a real pain.