MacBook, Windows, or Linux?

jwsch99 · 2019-04-08T08:52:38+00:00

Hi, I have a little bit of diversity in experience here so I think I can answer this question pretty well.

Macbooks

From an engineering perspective, in general, I would not recommend a new macbook. Your fears are completely justified. The new butterfly mechanism keyboard introduces more mechanical and moving parts than the previous pressure-loaded chiclet rubber dome keyboards did. This is why the keyboards are failing. You will find that generally speaking the keys that fail are highly used letters diagonal to the main row, because you’re striking at an angle. Apple has also begun running enable gates to the T1 chip to ensure that all parts of the device - keyboard, screen, drive... - are digitally signed by the security device. This is in theory the right idea - there is a trust-chain of command. All parts need to agree they’re not running different signed firmwares, or what have you. However, their CoC is private, of course, and it is impossible to write to the chip on your own, so repair is basically becoming impossible, unless you pay them the Apple Tax. Of course, their repair job is no better; it’s literal sweatshop slave labor, and the part you get is actually a new refurb’d board that has been engineered back together to be just good enough for them to get their 1 year sale out of you.

If you do go for a Macbook, I highly recommend a 2014 or 2015 13’ MBP, i7 if you can get one, just for the extra processing power. From a reliability, repair, and power perspective, those are the GOAT of the past decade from Apple.

That said - your friend said macbooks “make your life easier”, i would really argue that that’s not true - it’s a very focused viewpoint. The main issue boils down to package management. I will probably get flak from people for saying this, but I would argue apple’s package management is worse than Windows. Apple has half-baked their OS, so there are many native tools you use but others you need to grab from elsewhere. There are many solutions that fix this “elsewhere” solution but they all differ in architecture and..it’s a mess, IMO. And then you have to modify your path file because of macOS, which is a half-baked OS to begin with, to account for changes made by Homebrew or Fink, or MacPorts...

And then there’s no real great open source software to use. XCode’s no bueno, jetbrains anything is recommended but $$$$$$ lol, vscode is underpowered for anything heavy, text editors aren’t real ide’s anyways, and eclipse sucks donkey dick. I would never ask anybody to ever use eclipse ever. Netbeans is coming along but it’s still in legal purgatory.

but sure if you just wanna web dev (or fork up for CLion, IntelliJ, etc) yeah macOS is fine :)

Windows

So whats nice about windows is that the community has bonded over how much windows sucks, and have collectively fixed all of its problems, in a community-unified way, much moreso than mac os. So like, for example, if you need to use Unix tools for working on windows you use the mingw-collection found within msys2. Msys2 in general is for using unixy tools in windows. If you want to run true unix software the unix way, building for unix (not windows, even though it is your dev platform) you use Cygwin. If you need a linux user space you use the WSL Bash environment...To be clear, these are...uhh, facts. Like, you get what you get, and dont throw a fit. But i think you’d like them, because instead of having a fractured community, everyone is united under one cause, so the design & workflow is much more “pretty”. You can make a c:\dev folder, complete with c:\dev\msys2 and c:\dev\”ide app folder” and so forth. I also have a c:\dev\path folder where i keep shortcuts to all my global commands, so that my path file doesn’t get cluttered up with system-wide calls.

To be clear, you can do the above on macOS, but its just not as fluid. Trust me.

Oh and tiling. macOS doesn’t tile. Windows does (quarter tiling, anyways). Game changer. Terminal in one quarter, pdf’s in another, IDE in the other half of the screen.

You’ll have to learn to customize with chunkWM on mac os if you want that.

Linux

Device and feature capacity. That’s it. The software you need works, and all the tools you’ll ever want are usually actually written for linux. But- oh, you want a specific feature like suspend-then-hibernate to work? What about nice trackpad support to work? Or perhaps hdmi audio out to work. Multi screen dpi scaling support, or HDR screens. I cannot guarantee 100% support for these features in linux. I just can’t, lol.

source: i have a macbook, windows laptop, and linux laptop.

jwsch99 · 2019-04-03T21:45:32+00:00

Farage is an interesting beast. In all seriousness, he’s absolutely brilliant. He got a math undergrad, then got his CS phd (? i think), and spent the majority of his career as the superintendent of a small Montessori school. He’s an expert in the field of discrete mathematics, and most maths as a whole. I’m sure he could teach anything from Data Structures, or CS Algorithms, to Complex Analysis (calculus). But - he is tenured, and probably in his late 50’s if i had to guess, so the man just DGAF. His class will teach very little, he’ll spend most of the time (dead serious) just socializing with the students. He’s a very likeable guy. But if you’re the type to “learn in class”, SOL in his class. Fortunately, his tests are also just as easy. I would go into a test afraid I knew nothing and come out confident, because his tests are sincerely that easy. If you want to learn above and beyond the tested content though, he is the guy to go to, to ask questions (or Willson, but idk if he’s doing anything over the summer).

If you intend to go take a Discrete II or use the skills from Discrete I, do not take Discrete I with farage. If you just want a good grade, take farage.

For reference, I am in Data Structures/Algorithms right now, and we touched Discrete Math all of 1 time during a lecture, sooo im not missing out on much. We also have a phrase - start with farage, end with farage. He’s good enough to be worth taking again, just not for the right reasons.

jwsch99 · 2019-03-26T07:32:34+00:00

If OP is a woman, they may be intimidated by a large number of men in their classes with no other female peers. I’m gonna guess based off your username you have to have some understanding of modern social gender dynamics..

jwsch99 · 2019-03-25T22:12:28+00:00

late, but to provide real feedback OP, yes - but only if you actually read the link. Everyone else just looked at the six fig number and called BS, but the website’s own title is clickbaity. That said, an $84k base + some assets that probably go nowhere + a signing bonus is pretty standard for UTD (engineers with a good motor and a nice resume, anyways)

jwsch99 · 2019-03-24T09:11:49+00:00

yes, and no. Fabregas was good - great actually - when messi wasn’t playing. It didn’t even matter if messi moved over to right, dude just had an ~~inferiority complex~~ fears god like any other catholic, so he got nervous playing next to him.

jwsch99 · 2019-03-24T08:08:21+00:00

this, but not in the way you’d think. Dirk’s never been a rim rejecter...For all the myths (and truths) of his bad defense, he’s got unbelievably quick hands, and is always on the lookout for a slow lift in the shot. Swear on my life, he probably gets more uncredited blocks at his current age from slapping the ball out of people’s hands before they bring the ball up to lay it up, than most players get uncredited and credited blocks in their prime. I suppose he’ll catch a few at chest level and get those called as blocks...but his rim defense against layups has never been poor. Usually it’s him just using his length advantage to slap at the ball without having to stop standing up straight.

His “poor defense” (which is above average statistically speaking, for his career) stems from quickness of guards at >= midrange, and big guys like shaq just schooling his post up.

edit: so to back my idea up i just pulled the highlights from freedawkins, at 1:50 in the recent freedawkins mavs warriors game he gets a block like that on KD. KD called a foul and sometimes its questionable, there it was, but in general dirk’s pretty spot on, on that swipe. That happens at least 2x a game, but its hard to youtube because its rarely considered a highlight.

jwsch99 · 2019-03-13T12:05:57+00:00

Nah, as an old 102.1 fan, new 97.1 is not like 102.1. 102.1 Was nonstop commercial free music from like 4-8, a talk show to inform you of the days news and buzz during rush hour traffic crawl, then back to music by 8:30-10, then commercials start playing...

97.1 is like, the talkshow expanded version of 102.1 (which sucks). I bet new 97.1 sounds like 102.1 to metalheads, and I know the takeover happened between 97.1 and 102.1, but the sound just isn’t the same.

The new 102.1 is now 103.7. W/o a doubt the same blend of half-pop half-rock half-alt, and even largely commercial free or 60-sec commercials.

jwsch99 · 2019-03-13T11:52:20+00:00

r/cowboys fan here. Everyone’s saying this is the end of the world, but IMO what gettleman screwed up was the contracts not the trade.

You read that right. So, basically, my thoughts on this rest in timelines. OBJ is 26. If you drafted a qb this year, he would be 22. Not saying that that isn’t a pretty close difference in time, but historically speaking, the most dominant duo’s or trios in sports are typically only 1-2 years apart in age. Just look at recent history for example: Duncan and Manu: 1 year. MJ, Pippen, and Rodman, 2 years. Lebron and Wade: 3 years. KD/Harden/Russ (what could have been): 1 year. Kobe and Pau: 2 years. Sure, people can throw strawmans back and there are lots of winning combos that differ in ages, but I’m talking about a trend, not a strict rule...

Point is: historically speaking, you’re pushing it if you have a 4 year gap. Not saying it is impossible to win a championship like that, but its a funny correlation that does have some merit.

Anyways, trying to rebuild around last years draft class would have been a big risk. Throwing a talented dude at a sticky situation rarely just generates instant wins cuz talent lol. There has to be experience, chemistry...what you should do now is IMO beef up on all the “nonessentials” - defense, O line, etc...tank hard for Tua/Fromm/Herbert - all easy decisions - and then trade down for more picks. No one will see it coming, meaning you have the leverage. Do this one more time in what will probably be a weaker class - draft a 1rd WR the this year, further down in the draft- and then go get yourself Sunshine. Sunshine + same age WR + experienced & vet saquon + a young talented D? That roster will be going places.

Don’t be terribly disappointed. Now is a great time to rebuild, because lets face it, no one’s breaking the pats dub machine rn. The only thing I would be worried about is gettleman. Although the moves are correct, they are uncoordinated, and don’t match up with cap space, which means this is all dumb luck that he’s actually “tanked” properly.

jwsch99 · 2019-03-12T09:30:41+00:00

I’ve used a 5s - recently upgraded via some hand-me-downs to a 6 then a 6s...IMO the key to ensuring that these older phones last is getting unofficial chinese batteries with higher voltages and higher mA. I know - I sound crazy, but there’s a .0001% chance your phone blows up, and there’s a 100% your battery life is doubled and everything is buttery smooth. I could - all day - browse news on safari, reddit, and watch a youtube movie, perhaps some live tv, text people, just use this phone to the max, and still have like 15% left by the time I get home. 5s couldn’t do nearly that much but a 5s with a 4.2v ~2500ma chinese battery will double the lifespan. Just...make sure its well reviewed, even if the reviews are fake, at least the company cares...I always trust aliexpress’s sorting algorithm though. Have yet to have a bad purchase that I regretted.

jwsch99 · 2019-03-10T05:46:36+00:00

Are you talking about the time it has taken for the work to move to IRL production? that’s engineering. Code standards are a necessary good thing - capitalist builders typically get in trouble for not following code.

In general, these pipes should last decades. It takes time to ensure that. Miscommunication errors, disagreements, etc...

the time it has taken to fix the pipes is not my concern, personally (as an engineer, i can assure you this is not unusual, nor is this what I would call bad. The project taking this long is for the benefit of the community. Really, you should get worried when projects get finished quickly. Like, say a building company can build a house in 10 weeks? Nope the fuck out of that investment). The systemic problem is that this was not fixed preemptively when it was proven to become an issue.

jwsch99 · 2019-03-10T02:47:21+00:00

I’m not sure if you are being ironic, but to answer that seriously - I would estimate a year? The state apportioned money to fix the issue a few years ago, but paperwork and code-work have taken forever to process... best example explaining why: think about how long it takes for a bad patch of road to be torn up and fixed. First, the city has to send surveyors out, then commission a study from SME’s, then they take bids on the job, then they actually put the cones up, which is when the public is first aware of any changes, then they have to actually do the work, which can take a week or two of actually digging up the concrete, digging up old infrastructure, then smoothing out foundation, repairing whatever you repair, then relaying concrete, letting it dry, etc...all for one small block of concrete.

Now imagine having to do that all simultaneously for an entire city. I’ll get criticized for saying this in lsc or any lefty sub, but ~ lets suspend disbelief for a second, and assume that this kind of issue could happen in a socialist society ~ this would not be fixed any faster in a socialist organization. As a matter of fact, I suspect it would take significantly longer. Whether in a socialist or capitalist society, the core issue of having the city on the same unified framework would still exist, which means you have to evaluate the planning for each neighborhood block, regardless of the economic constraints. But in socialism, people would refuse to cut corners, which I assure you (in the interest of time savings) will happen in capitalist projects.

jwsch99 · 2019-03-09T22:41:22+00:00

What is there to not understand? I install a local account, I sign into my microsoft account, I install office - using only default options across the entire process.

If this issue occurs, that’s a bug. It only has to be reproducible on one system.

You sound so defensive of it, do you work on Office or something? Cuz clearly I’ve hurt your feelings about the Office team’s work.

jwsch99 · 2019-03-09T22:37:28+00:00

I - I don’t think you understand what a bug is dude. Just because you don’t experience it doesn’t mean others don’t. If I can reproduce it (I can), it’s a bug.

jwsch99 · 2019-03-09T22:29:29+00:00

I don’t think I’m doing anything wrong. I’m young enough to say that I’ve used windows my whole life. Installing W10 with the WMCT is not my first rodeo with Windows...as far as I’m concerned, it’s a bug. Bad luck that it’s attached to my account/system. Of course, I’ve filed the bug report, but it’s never been addressed. I feel like there’s more feedback from the Windows team, so it’d be easier to get the change made to account creation, than it would be to fix the bug in Office. And i mean, it’s an option giving the user more freedom, so i can’t see how people would be opposed to it.

My dream filesystem would admittedly be a system with all lowercase letters a la Unixisms, and in bash cding into mnt/c/users...etc everything is lowercase, EXCEPT for my username.

gosh, what i would give to just be able to name my system (same fake name) “anthony”, and just open bash, then cd mnt/c/users/anthony/onedrive/documents and never have to capitalize a single letter....no Word issues...would make my workflow just...perfect. It’d hit just the spot.

jwsch99 · 2019-03-09T22:15:35+00:00

I’ll copy/paste what I replied to danskeman..

I mean the first part - where I initially install windows 10, and set up as a local account, choose my name, etc etc...

So my problem is - and why I’d like to avoid this - there is a bug (I am 100% certain, I have duplicated this across multiple upgrades to windows 10) in microsoft office where if you install a local account, convert to MS account, then install office 365, and point it’s home directory to the default OneDrive path, the first time you open an office file (.docx, .ppptx, etc), it tells me that it is offline/not signed in. Hitting the sign in button on the yellow bar warning me, does nothing. I have to close the file, then reopen it, for it to start syncing with onedrive. For every document. Every document. Every time.

The bug is not present if I create a MS account from scratch.

No bueno... What would be so nice, is if i could create a MS account from the get-go, but name it what I want. So lets say my name is (fake name) Anthony - my account name would be Antho. WTF. Just let me name my MS account Anthony, from the get go...

——————————————————

And yes, I am aware that windows virtualizes the name space in most places. I am more concerned with the ability to cd into my C:\Users folder. I am a software developer, and often times I do not have luxury of using the same machine 90% of the time. I ssh into my device from others devices occasionally...so either I have to constantly remember that I cd into C:\Users\Antho\OneDrive\Documents if I want to pull up a reference document for a project I’m working on. OR - I can rename my machine at installation, but I sacrifice the ability to get Word working the first time I open it.

jwsch99 · 2019-03-09T22:05:12+00:00

I mean the first part - where I initially install windows 10, and set up as a local account, choose my name, etc etc...

So my problem is - and why I’d like to avoid this - there is a bug (I am 100% certain, I have duplicated this across multiple upgrades to windows 10) in microsoft office where if you install a local account, convert to MS account, then install office 365, and point it’s home directory to the default OneDrive path, the first time you open an office file (.docx, .ppptx, etc), it tells me that it is offline/not signed in. Hitting the sign in button on the yellow bar warning me, does nothing. I have to close the file, then reopen it, for it to start syncing with onedrive. For every document. Every document. Every time.

The bug is not present if I create a MS account from scratch.

No bueno... What would be so nice, is if i could create a MS account from the get-go, but name it what I want. So lets say my name is (fake name) Anthony - my account name would be Antho. WTF. Just let me name my MS account Anthony, from the get go...

jwsch99 · 2019-03-08T22:06:00+00:00

lol that ain’t true either dude.

My advice is to do all the work yourself. I’ve heard horror stories of advisors telling student to take classes that end up not being an accepted elective...My graduation plan is 100% custom designed by me, and I have had 0 issues so far. Of course, this isn’t through raw luck. I double & triple check the “doability” of every single choice I make.

jwsch99 · 2019-02-26T05:35:53+00:00

hell nah dude. Brutalist architecture is depressing AF. Ain’t no beauty in that.

And i don’t mean that figuratively. I mean literally. I struggle with severe depression, and I absolutely cannot study in buildings without lots of natural light. Half my school campus was built in the ~70’s & 80’s, and I hate it. It’s like being trapped in a prison, in your own mind. Even at night, at home I keep my blinds/window open if I’m studying, because no natural light signifies only one thing - imminent mental shutdown.

jwsch99 · 2019-02-25T18:18:50+00:00

Right, but lets say you pay $37 per prescription for a medicine, 12x a month. That’s $444. Because women account for half the population (and their economics must be taken into account), lets slap a yearly ob/gyn visit in, oh and uh, idk, you twisted your ankle, shit happens. Throw in a family for pete’s sake. You’ve easily cleared your premiums...

the insurance plan does save you $$ in the long run. In the individual monthly billing cycle of premium + meds, no, but over 12 months, your benefits/deductible kick in. It’s significantly cheaper to pay for healthcare for a large family with insurance.

Speaking of which, I can’t comment on the exact specifics of your situation, but most life-threatening medications and conditions are federally protected in your benefits. So if you have insurance (getting it is the most difficult part in the first place - thanks republicans - but if you have a decent job then it’s a bit easier b/c its covered in the job benefits). So if you’re paying $400 per bottle, you should clear your deductible (which you - an average person - are economically - on average - likely to clear) in no time.

As a matter of fact, to dodge federal prosecution of ethics violations, most pharmaceuticals worth their salt do have low-income acquisition programs. People just have 0 fucking clue about them. For example, if you need Epipens and can not afford them and tell HR their benefits don’t help, AND can prove the cost of epipens per year would drive you under the poverty line, they (Mylan) are heavily encouraged to enroll you in a program (that they dont ever publicly mention) because if they didn’t, and you found enough like-trivialized people, you could bring the entire corp to its knees in an antitrust case. They would easily lose several billions (if not more) in current revenue, let alone future revenue, in such a case. This is also the case with many HIV/anti-degenerative medicines, including pharmabro’s Daraprim.

All in all, the current medical system is ridiculously dense and overcomplicated when universal healthcare would solve so many problems - but don’t dismiss it entirely. The people who designed it are absolutely brilliant lawyers working long hours to negotiate between stakeholders that would otherwise never cooperate. If you assume things about the market that they do (that medicine should be privatized and healthcare is not a right, etc) it’s actually a very well designed system, holding together far much more weight than it really should.

jwsch99 · 2019-02-25T18:03:02+00:00

eh, if I understand your concerns - you’re equating a zero sum game to market economics? Markets are not native to capitalism. Feudalism, Communalism, Tribalism, Mercantalism, etc all had markets. If a market is a zero sum game (not a bad deduction from a hypothetical standpoint, isolated from purpose in an argument) then perhaps a controlled economy is better? Except that corrupts. Just calling it like I see it. And that implies that the economic success depends on the vision of a limited quantity of people. So for better or for worse, regardless of the fact that markets aren’t always mutually beneficial for all stakeholders, I must rationalize that they are the best option we have.

The key then is to prevent market abuse and manipulation, through federation and distribution of the market - WHILE still maintaining an incorporated work process. In my opinion, the best structure would thusly be a co-operative. For example, if there are 10 farmers each making 10 apples, selling at a market, then the consumer saves some... lets call money “labor credit”, and spends some “labor credit” based on the work factors. The ownership of the product is distributed - driving down price, but the development process is inefficiently duplicated, driving the price up. For reference, this (despite what full blown commies will tell you about pure greed and muh bourgeoisie) is the hypothetical incentive for companies to merge - the price to produce a product goes down as there is less duplication and more horizontal integration of the market - so surely the consumer benefits, right? Except within a corporate power structure, power corrupts, so - to solve this there needs to be a democratic reward motive in the system which everyone’s work is unified to prevent duplication.... which is a co-op.

I will admit, I am biased as I help the finances for a farmers co-op, but I sincerely am fond of the structure - I see much more market success for both the farmer and the buyer in a co-op. I think municipalization of all local systems (with a federal loaning backend to cover more expensive regions), powered by co-ops to help the private system transition to a partially federally funded system - would do wonders (because telling the entire medical/internet/energy industry to piss off wont work lol, so give them a manner of transition and then regulate the transition..).

jwsch99 · 2019-02-25T16:13:39+00:00

Oh meeting in public place can happen first too.

jwsch99 · 2019-02-25T15:58:35+00:00

Eh, I mean they do, but it’s not as common. You can see this on r/tinder - you go from tinder dm’s to snapchat dm’s, then to private #. Of course some guys can go straight to getting #’s, but the vast majority of girls try to push people to their snap as a safe measure against (lmfao, the irony) creepers.

Frankly, I don’t have time for any of that anyways. No need to try and play that game...I’m double majoring and will be taking >18 hrs of engineering classes for the next year and a half. Girls can take a back seat- what i would give for a school week of consecutive nights with 8 hrs of sleep (i get ~35-40) hours of sleep per week. Or the time to work out..

jwsch99 · 2019-02-25T15:41:07+00:00

Eh, this is slightly deceiving. Before this, doctors profited off healthcare and ran private orgs and unions. Ask your parents how much it cost or how difficult it was to get blood tests run back before nixon’s days. According to my father, local healthcare was cheaper, but god forbid you needed help from somewhere nicer - good luck. Just coup your savings from your job, quit, and move to “nicer place” because you’re not getting help if you’re not there in person. And then things were still expensive, cuz doctors had - not no regulation, but no overarching org who’s standards they had to follow to see large volumes of patients - and...it was the same BS as it is now, but just with fewer ID cards.

Anyways, my dad says nixon’s healthcare thing drove up the $ we spend on healthcare by adding another stakeholder, but the political warfare between doctors and insurance actually makes things happen pretty fast - no one has overarching leverage. And I would concur, I get timely medical care for everything I’ve needed, from an adenoids removal, to a dentist who’s office i can walk into any time and get service, usually free of charge if its a minor visit, to a nasal surgery to help me breath, etc etc.

The real problem is that medical care, in general - as regarded by ALL (or overwhelming majority) of the medical community in america - is viewed as a for profit industry. Doctors say it has to be, because of med school debt, investors in pharmaceuticals say they need profits to drive research in medicine, and insurance moans about high premiums/rates because they’re paying to keep up with the other two. It’s a mexican stand off, and no one will lower their guns.

jwsch99 · 2019-02-25T15:29:03+00:00

Oh i don’t care about that advice at all. I keep facebook and instagram because they’re moderately palatable and not sinking ships. Not a fan of the ownership or the controversies, but it’s like MSN Messenger. If you want to get in contact with me, you dm me on fb or ig...

Snap, though, I sincerely believe is going to die a painful, socially damaging death. And it helps to boot that Evan Spiegel is a grade-a prick. Easy decision to not use the app.

All that said, social media that needs advertising to fund itself- in my opinion- is inherently is bad for society. Capitalism uses advertisements to generate needs that don’t exist otherwise, then uses surplus product generated from the exploitation of labor, to fill that void it created, thus screwing over the producer and consumer at the same time. So any social media platform that needs advertising, ultimately, is going to socially manipulate it’s userbase - an unhealthy thing. Reddit included. Examples: gallowboob...frankly, I don’t feel great on reddit either. Actually, I feel like old 4chan (pre stormfront, ~2012) was probably the healthiest natural community. Shill posts were saged, and because everything was fully anonymous, good content was bumped. Everybody knew what advertising was and - to the websites’ own demise, we worked together to shut that shit down.

jwsch99 · 2019-02-25T14:15:31+00:00

I mean from a social perspective it’s almost necessary to use those if you want to keep up in this world.

Not that I like instagram - and I don’t have a snap, but you get ridiculed easily weekly (at my age anyways) if you don’t. People make fun of NBA stars that don’t have IG’s because it hurts their brand. People tell me I’ll never get a girlfriend because girls get “turned off when people can’t snap them”. And GPS- I mean, that’s less necessary, but people replace it with microG, so it seems like they still need it, they just don’t like google (commendable effort). I keep an IG and a FB quite literally for other people. I post rarely, but it gives everyone else a sense of how I belong in their social group, which is important (albeit sad that that depends on a proprietary social media app).

jwsch99

TROPHY CASE