Author Topic: Surface Book 2  (Read 11369 times)

Perspective

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Surface Book 2
« on: July 11, 2018, 08:26:35 AM »
Anyone have one of these or used one? I've been a mac user for the past 15 years or so (and linux before that), but I really don't like where the new macbooks are going.

Surface Book 2

ober

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Re: Surface Book 2
« Reply #1 on: July 11, 2018, 08:38:55 AM »
We have a few of them where I work because we have a mobile app and we're expanding it to be used on the Surface.  They're not bad machines and if you're looking for something that do it all (tablet with laptop power running Windows), it's a really nice option.  I even floated it by my wife as an option for her next computer.

She is considering a mac laptop for the future (she's a graphics designer).  Can I ask what you mean by 'I really don't like where the new macbooks are going'?

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Re: Surface Book 2
« Reply #2 on: July 11, 2018, 09:57:52 AM »
>Can I ask what you mean by 'I really don't like where the new macbooks are going'?

1. Lack of ports. USB-C is cool and everything, but I'd rather have a bit of extra bulk in the laptop body and get an HDMI or thunderbolt display port. Also, only one port on the MacBook (non-Pro) is crazy. I don't want to carry around 6 dongles with me everywhere I go.

2. No upgrades of anything. RAM & disk are now inaccessible and soldered in. On my current macbook pro (~2012) I popped off the back and put 16GB of generic RAM in it the day I bought it. That's not possible anymore.

3. Disk upgrade is tied to everything else upgrade. You can't get a basic macbook with a 512GB SD. You have to buy the premium processor to get the larger disk... wtf...

4. Butterfly keyboard. I haven't really tried this yet, but there are lots of complaints about the feel and durability of the new keyboard. At least Apple has acknowledged the problem and has started a warranty program to fix broken ones.

5. $$$. Ok, macs have always been more expensive, and you get better build quality for the price. But it seems like many PC brands have closed the gap without hitting those price points.

ober

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Re: Surface Book 2
« Reply #3 on: July 11, 2018, 10:49:12 AM »
Thanks, I appreciate the details.  Some of them I knew ($$ and upgrade stuff).  Her plan was to buy a laptop that had enough juice for a while and not have to upgrade it.  Her main sticking point seems to be that a lot of the Adobe products are tailored to be more functional on a mac.  I don't know if that is true or not but she watches a lot of tutorials that focus on the 'mac way' to do it.  Apparently the macs often pack better visuals into their monitors and stuff that are hard to find an equivalent for on the PC side.  I don't know what she's going to decide on yet.  Her main goal is to be able to do some work without sitting at her desk.  I'm hoping she could maybe use an iPad Pro for those occasions.  I'm not sure though.

micah

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Re: Surface Book 2
« Reply #4 on: July 11, 2018, 12:46:52 PM »
I think the Adobe/Mac love fest vibe has been around for the last 20 years but as someone who used a Mac at work for the last 8 years and a PC at home, I call bullshit.  Photoshop, Audition, Premier, After Effects all work exactly the same on both.
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Re: Surface Book 2
« Reply #5 on: July 11, 2018, 02:42:03 PM »
That's good feedback and very helpful, Micah.  Much appreciated.  Any chance you use Illustrator?  I mean I assume it's the same across the board but that is the one my wife will be spending most of her time in.

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Re: Surface Book 2
« Reply #6 on: July 11, 2018, 03:31:24 PM »
I'd suggest a Pixelbook but they don't really address many of the issues you have with where Mac are going other than they're cheaper and lovely to use, but upgrading, I don't think many laptops let you do that these days.

And with Crostini support getting better and better it makes it a more compelling device for developers that aren't just cloud based. You can run Android Studio, or any Linux app now and it even puts the shortcuts in the app menu. So I can launch Firefox as if it were a regular app on my Chromebook now, without even hitting Android apps, which are also supported.

There are a couple things they still need to get finished but many of those should be done by the fall of this year. I've been a big Chromebook fan for a while but with the Pixelbook it's much less fiddly to make it a useful development machine than it used to be. And I'm starting to see Googler's use them on their YouTube videos so that's a really good sign.
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hans

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Re: Surface Book 2
« Reply #7 on: July 11, 2018, 03:40:12 PM »
Found this blog too for those looking for alternatives in the Linux world for their Adobe products, since that's what seems to keep many people hanging around on Macs in my circles.

https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/7-apps-prove-dont-need-adobe-creative-suite-linux/
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micah

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Re: Surface Book 2
« Reply #8 on: July 11, 2018, 04:34:01 PM »
That's good feedback and very helpful, Micah.  Much appreciated.  Any chance you use Illustrator?  I mean I assume it's the same across the board but that is the one my wife will be spending most of her time in.

honestly, I don't really use illistrator but I googled this question since we're talking about it.  Among all the reddit debates and fanboy pissing matches, I found this article: https://www.agitraining.com/adobe/best-computer-for-adobe-creative-cloud which confirms there is really no difference.

Also, interesting enough that article goes on to say
Quote
There is one hands-down winner for the most innovative computer for running Adobe Creative Cloud: the Microsoft Surface Studio for desktop computers, and the Microsoft Surface Book 2 for laptop computers....

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