My 2017 12" MacBook is starting to show its age, but I hate ... • Aaron Parecki

My 2017 12" MacBook is starting to show its age, but I hate that there is nothing to replace it right now. There's no reason to get a MacBook Air since it's the same form factor as the 13" Pro. But it seems unlikely they're going to release a small computer again at this point.

Portland, Oregon • 51°F

Sat, Apr 18, 2020 10:13am -07:00 #apple #macbook

1 like 32 replies
- Dmitri Shuralyov
Have you written a response to this? Let me know the URL:
- Lohn lo.hn/profile/j
  
  I know what you mean.
  
  Thu, Apr 23, 2020 2:06am +00:00
- Nick Farina twitter.com/nfarina
  
  Sun, Apr 19, 2020 1:43pm +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
- Radar twitter.com/elgarne
  
  Can you count me in please?
  
  Sun, Apr 19, 2020 8:13am +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
- sonicrocketman pine.blog/u/sonicrocketman
  
  Don’t say that! I need to replace my 2013 13” MacBook and I’m just waiting for the new ones to drop with the better keyboard.
  
  Sun, Apr 19, 2020 12:31am -07:00
- Not Fake Adam Kalsey twitter.com/akalsey
  
  I just don’t like the travel. They just feel weird.
  
  Sun, Apr 19, 2020 4:39am +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
- Aaron Parecki twitter.com/aaronpk
  
  Same! It's totally fine for me! My problem is the keycaps on command and S and C wear off but it doesn't affect the functionality at all. Confuses the Apple techs every time, but they keep replacing it anyway.
  
  Sun, Apr 19, 2020 4:34am +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
- Nick Farina twitter.com/nfarina
  
  I’m the only person I know who doesn’t have issues with the butterfly keyboard…yet. I feel like I’m living very dangerously.
  
  Sun, Apr 19, 2020 4:28am +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
- Not Fake Adam Kalsey twitter.com/akalsey
  
  I never got the 12” because I hate the keyboard. Currently using a 13” Pro.
  
  Sun, Apr 19, 2020 3:45am +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
- Nick Farina twitter.com/nfarina
  
  11” was my favorite laptop ever. I have the same 12” now and have been struggling with the same dilemma. No compelling replacement yet but it’s feeling a bit creaky. I’ve resigned to hold out for the ARM version and hope that the node packages I need support it quickly.
  
  Sun, Apr 19, 2020 3:36am +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
- Pelle Wessman twitter.com/voxpelli
  
  I myself recently bought one of the cheapest 11 inch ones to have as a Chrome OS test device, and could easily install Linux VS Code and such, right out of the box (along with Android apps and PWA:s, as customary on Chrome OS)
  
  Sat, Apr 18, 2020 10:27pm +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
- Pelle Wessman twitter.com/voxpelli
  
  All Chromebooks are linux-capable (especially if one gets an x86 one) and there certainly are 11 inch Chromebooks (and there are slim 13 inch ones like the Galaxy Chromebook and Pixelbook Go)
  
  Sat, Apr 18, 2020 10:12pm +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
- jd micro.blog/jd
  
  @aaronpk I also wonder if the 13” would get bumped up to 14” rather than shrunk down to 12”, to match the 15” that got bumped up to 16”. 🤷‍♂️
  
  Sat, Apr 18, 2020 9:39pm +00:00
- jd micro.blog/jd
  
  @aaronpk Yeah! It’s tough since that would theoretically be very close to the MacBook Air which undoubtedly has much better sales, but I suppose also has a different target market.
  
  Sat, Apr 18, 2020 9:36pm +00:00
- jd micro.blog/jd
  
  @aaronpk It would seem they’d have to update the 13” MacBook Pro to match its updated 16” counterpart sometime soon?
  
  Sat, Apr 18, 2020 9:29pm +00:00
- Aaron Parecki twitter.com/aaronpk
  
  The 11" Air was also my favorite! Tho this 12" is actually smaller form factor but has a larger screen so it's nice. I just wish it was a liiiitle faster, even if it had to be a little thicker.
  
  Sat, Apr 18, 2020 8:13pm +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
- jk twitter.com/karabaic
  
  I think that the demands on the laptop would be somewhat similar, then. I’ll tell you what I learn!
  
  Sat, Apr 18, 2020 7:03pm +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
- Not Fake Adam Kalsey twitter.com/akalsey
  
  Their regular laptops are getting so thin and light, they probably don’t see a large market size for an ultra book now. But my favorite computer ever was my 11” Air. Sometimes I use my iPad mini and keyboard for similar effect.
  
  Sat, Apr 18, 2020 6:48pm +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
- Isaac Rabinovitch twitter.com/isaac32767
  
  If you can get device drivers that support the OS you need, you can build a machine that will last until heat death. (@foone is the expert on that). But Apple seems to not consider a system worth supporting if it's more than 8 years old.
  
  Sat, Apr 18, 2020 6:45pm +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
- Aaron Parecki twitter.com/aaronpk
  
  For me it's: PHP, nginx (custom-compiled), MySQL (MariaDB), Redis, Ruby (multiple versions), Node, in that order.
  
  Sat, Apr 18, 2020 6:38pm +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
- jk twitter.com/karabaic
  
  I’m going to ask my colleagues. We do mostly golang, React & Ember. That fit your profile?
  
  Sat, Apr 18, 2020 6:31pm +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
- Aaron Parecki twitter.com/aaronpk
  
  Interesting. I do have a Windows laptop that I use for photo and video editing already, I really don't think I can move my dev environment there though.
  
  Sat, Apr 18, 2020 6:25pm +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
- Artur Paikin twitter.com/arturi
  
  Trying Surface Go for this reason. Installed Ubuntu. It works, but not great. Windows 10 is good enough, if you can set your dev env there.
  
  Sat, Apr 18, 2020 6:23pm +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
- Aaron Parecki twitter.com/aaronpk
  
  Problem is I need the unpopular things, mainly a web development stack
  
  Sat, Apr 18, 2020 5:31pm +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
- Dr. Matt Lee 🏡 twitter.com/mattl
  
  I’d be surprised if they didn’t have some popular things on day 1.
  
  Sat, Apr 18, 2020 5:30pm +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
- Aaron Parecki twitter.com/aaronpk
  
  It's probably because it was not a high-end machine when I got it, plus getting it into this form factor means cutting a lot of corners on the architecture internally. When you have infinite space and no power limits you can definitely build a machine that'll last 7-10 years.
  
  Sat, Apr 18, 2020 5:28pm +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
- Isaac Rabinovitch twitter.com/isaac32767
  
  I'm bemused by the thought that a 3yo computer is "starting to show its age." I have a 2009 Mac Pro, which I only began to consider dated when Apple replaced OpenGL with Metal, which my system doesn't support.
  
  Sat, Apr 18, 2020 5:26pm +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
- jk twitter.com/karabaic
  
  Good question. Back in the day, I used a smallish Sony Vaio as an OpenBSD laptop with success...
  
  Sat, Apr 18, 2020 5:26pm +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
- Aaron Parecki twitter.com/aaronpk
  
  but also are there actually any small linux laptops? smaller than a 13" pro
  
  Sat, Apr 18, 2020 5:23pm +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
- Aaron Parecki twitter.com/aaronpk
  
  oof. I guess since I've already moved my Photoshop and video editing workflow to a Windows laptop, all I really need out of this smaller one is a good web dev environment, so maybe? I'll miss iMessage and Fantastical though.
  
  Sat, Apr 18, 2020 5:20pm +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
- Aaron Parecki twitter.com/aaronpk
  
  Even if those come out later this year, I feel like it'll be at least a couple more years before the software support for things works well on ARM.
  
  Sat, Apr 18, 2020 5:18pm +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
- jk twitter.com/karabaic
  
  Could you do what you need to on an iPad with a keyboard? You might also consider going Linux. Most of the engineers I work with have done that
  
  Sat, Apr 18, 2020 5:17pm +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)
- Dr. Matt Lee 🏡 twitter.com/mattl
  
  They will. ARM based Mac laptops will come in 12 and 14 inch models I’m sure.
  
  Sat, Apr 18, 2020 5:15pm +00:00 (via brid-gy.appspot.com)

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