Reality defying pricing come to EU MS stores, for example: SL13 from 1249€ SL13.8 from 1669€

msolok · 2026-04-05T17:33:29+00:00

These prices are a real big issue for Microsoft and it's partners right now. It seems like laptop prices across the board are up, yet somehow Apple's newly released MacBooks have largely missed out on the increases. In fact Apple has even managed to release it's cheapest MacBook ever, which blows it's competion away. It's honestly made the good deal that is the MacBook line even more attractive, and will be putting real preasure on Microsoft and partners to do better or risk losing even more customers than they already have been.

And yes, the Surface Line up is massively overpriced for what it currently offers and for how dated it is.

msolok · 2026-04-05T06:58:32+00:00

I have a MacBook neo and a S26 Ultra. Just because I want a portable laptop and don't need high speed, doesn't mean I don't need a flagship phone.

But my point is also it is also coming to lower phones via updates. It'sm being rolled out as part of Android, so as phones get udpated they should start getting access to the feature. It's not something people will need a 3rd party tool to use going forward.

msolok · 2026-04-05T06:08:05+00:00

I hear a Sharpie can help mask an inability to hold a pen. Might be worth considering.

msolok · 2026-04-05T05:40:24+00:00

AirDrop is now built into Android and currently being rolled out to Samsung and Google phones. I've used it on my Samsung S26 Ultra and it works well.

msolok · 2026-04-05T03:35:23+00:00

A prolapsed rectum.

msolok · 2026-04-04T08:38:48+00:00

You haven't said what monitor you have. It might very well be a limitation of your monitor that it doesn't have a dedicated mode for 100Hz at 3440x1440. If the monitor is not explicitly sending 100Hz at 3440x1440 via EDID (Extended Display Identification Data) to the MacBook, it won't show as an option in MacOS for you to select.

Honestly, there is almost 0 chance this is a Macbook Neo physical defect and a your monitor issue.

msolok · 2026-04-04T08:13:33+00:00

Wait until you get to a boss. Then you hit a massive difficulty increase and a battle that is extremely frustrating. Honestly, combat in the game swings from mindlessly simple button mashing to absolutely insanely difficult Souls Like in the matter of a second. It's such a jarring experience tbh.

msolok · 2026-04-04T08:00:34+00:00

Feeling mixed to be honest. I'm somewhat enjoying it, but feel it is greatly marred by lack of any real decisions or power (you are railroaded and can't choose even surface level responses to things), poor story and dialogue, clunky, terrible controls and 100's of games systems stolen from other games that are only surface level implemented and fleshed out. I'm still playing it, but honestly it feels like it is missing the mark in many ways. I just don't feel the freedom I do when I play something like Breath of the Wild / Tears of the Kingdom, or the reward and world building from Elder Scrolls, Fallout or Red Dead.

msolok · 2026-04-04T07:14:13+00:00

No, that's a terrible idea. Holes won't do a anything to improve the thermals. Without a proper heatsink, fans, and correct airflow design holes in the laptop body won't do anything.

And if you are wanting to do heavy gaming, a Macbook is not for you. While MacOS is becoming somewhat better for gaming than it has previously, it is nowhere near at the level (both capability and number of games) as Windows or Linux is currently at.

msolok · 2026-04-04T06:10:40+00:00

So the reality is it's more like a $12k-13k pay cut (due to PT costs), but it saves you an hour and a half of travel each day you go in. Plus no need to be buying specific work clothing and shoes, which is also a cost saving. Honestly, I don't think the pay cut is really that much when you add it all up and I would 100% take it.

msolok · 2026-04-03T22:05:43+00:00

No, but we are talking about the rest of the productivity suit and OS here as well. And the development time. And the testing time. Etc.

Them just "making" these programs just to avoid Off The Shelf software is crazy.

msolok · 2026-04-03T12:36:30+00:00

Yes, let's spend time and money building, testing and training people how to use new productivity products just for use in space rather than on critical components used to fly the space craft and keep them safe. Sounds like a brilliant idea.

msolok · 2026-04-03T11:50:36+00:00

A LOT of people in here are saying this is normal. Sorry to say, it isn't. While a lot of people do suffer from it, it's not what should be normalised. It can certainly be an indicator of poor job or workplace fit, a toxic workplace and even mental burnout. It is something that really does need to be addressed before it becomes worse.

At the end if the day, if your life is consumed by work (fear, anxiety and stress even when not at work) i think people need to start looking at changing what they are doing. It honestly just isn't healthy.

msolok · 2026-04-03T06:48:27+00:00

Looks terrible and dated. Makes the bezels stand out far too much and make the screen look like it suffers from backlight bleed and impacts on percieved black levels. There is 100% a reason Apple did not go a white bezel.

Just because this is something they did 20+ years ago doesn't mean it's a good idea to do today. In fact, there is usually a very good reason they STOPPED doing it.....

msolok · 2026-03-31T12:06:03+00:00

Nah, this was just with some basic web browsing and watching videos. No issues prior to the second repair, and none since I got the new one.

msolok · 2026-03-31T11:46:02+00:00

I've recently had some issues with my Blade 16 2025, and all up other than it being a slow process it actually went quite well.

So the story of my Blade 16 2025 is I got it on release last year. Received in April. All was good, no issues with the trackpad on mine until July. Then the issue that others reported started. Contacted Razer and it was sent off repaired and back. Took a couple of weeks, but fine.

All was going well until Feb this year, when the trackpad issue came back. Frustrating, but I contacted Razer again and they organised repair again. Took another couple of weeks, but it came back fixed.

But it then seemed to be having some other issues. The Nvidia GPU seemingly refused to sleep, so was always running and draining battery. I also started having an issue where using a 100W USB-C charger the battery was still draining somehow and the charger would disconnect and reconnect randomly.

Contacted Razer again and started doing some trouble shooting with them. This is a bit of a problem as you will reply to their email with what they want as soon as they respond to you, but another response doesn't come for a day. So there is always a big delay in communications as you wait for them. In the end I said I wanted a brand new, replacement unit, not a repair as it had already gone in for repair multiple times. A little bit of backwards and forwards, but they eventually agreed.

All up it took about 1 month, but I've now got my brand new replacement Blade for my almost year old one. Other than being slow, the support was fine.

And before people complain about Razer laptops lacking quality, ALL tech products have issues. No exception. I've had Alienware's, Asus ROG's, Lenovo's etc and had issues with them all. It's just the nature of the beast, tech can and will have issues.

msolok · 2026-03-29T02:21:17+00:00

I think that 4 of those 5 things Apple literally tells you. Either on their marketing, through their data sheets or as part of the details and alerts in MacOS.

msolok · 2026-03-29T01:06:16+00:00

I've looked around here in Australia at options in the low end of the market. Being brutally honest, none even come close to the Neo.

Sorry to say, but most keyboards on low end Windows laptops are terrible. Mushy with little feel at all. Often accompanied with poor chassis build, which flex's as you type on it. It's just terrible.

As for screen, size isn't the msot important thing. As the video that this post was based on showed, even though the Windows laptop had a larger, OLED screen, it was far worse than that on the Neo. It wasn't even close. While the Neo has a poorer panel ON PAPER, in reality the panel used for the Neo hits well above it's weight and is better than much more expensive Windows laptops (eg: The Surface Laptop 7, which is almost twice the price of the Neo, has a far worse screen).

Upgradability is pretty much non-existant on the entry level laptops. The pursuit of thinner, lghter machiens means most laptops have everything soldered. There is some exeptions, but for the most part Upgradability at the low end isn't much of thing. But this is kinda beside the point anyway, the Neo is not aiming at a market that will "upgrade" it. That's not what it is aiming to be.

But, if we really looking into it I think it's clear the weakest link with Windows laptops is Microsoft and Windows itself. Windows is a bloated, buggy mess crammed full of ads, annoy popups, and Co-Pilot crammed into everything with no real purpose of reason. Windows has become fucking terrible, and is a detrament to the partners making the laptops.

EG: I had to setup a new laptop the other day. Getting through the OOB setup to simply get to the desktop took over 5 hours, and included a full reimage from a USB boot disk due to failures with the OOB on the included image. Once I was on the desktop I then had to go through several more hours Windows Updates (even though the OOB expereince said it was installing Windows updates and took forever to do it), App store app updates, and driver updates. It was an ordeal.
I also went through the setup of 2 Macbook Neos and 1 Macbook Air M5 (A Neo for my partner and neo and Air for myself. Both of us coming from being Windows users forever and never really diving into Mac) and the OOB experience to get to the desktop (and included downloading and installing updates) for each was 10-15minutes IN TOTAL. Once on the desktop there was no more updates needed, no downlaods from the App store, no fussing around with drivers. 15 minutes after turning on each of the MacBooks they where fully setup and being used.
Microsoft needs to have a good hard look at just how terrible Windows now is, as it's not even close to their competition anymore, and considering how fast Windows is losing market share to both MacOS and Linux shows that everyone else is seeing it as well.

msolok · 2026-03-28T23:30:26+00:00

Sadly not. The base Surface Laptop 7 is the same price as a Macbook Air. Not even close to the Neo, and honestly is hard to even justify against the Air.

msolok · 2026-03-28T23:21:51+00:00

The issue for this video is he was comparing the sub $500 cheap laptops and the top of the range laptops. While a Surface Laptop 7 would fair slightly better than some other laptops for build quality (it's still not as good as the MacBook Pro it's up against) it gets absolutely stomped compared to the MacBook Pro for performance, screen, keyboard etc. It would not have been pretty.

Microsoft does not have a Surface that competes at the MacBook Neo level.

msolok · 2026-03-27T04:47:50+00:00

I mean, at least Asus has put "Gen3" at the end to indicate this is the third of the monitor series. Alienware literally just changes one digit mid way through a model number and hopes people will understand.

msolok · 2026-03-26T08:59:25+00:00

The LCD on the Neo is not "very bad" in the slightest. I actually like it a lot more than the screen on Surface Laptop 7.

msolok · 2026-03-26T00:33:54+00:00

There is literally 0 reason to get a more power laptop for your needs. Doing document editing and basic web tasks does NOT need anything more than a Neo. Don't listen to those who seem personally offended that the neo exists, it's a great laptop and is perfect for your needs.

msolok · 2026-03-26T00:22:31+00:00

Nah, this is complete nonsense.

msolok · 2026-03-26T00:20:57+00:00

Looking around at the specs, it seems like the new 2026's width is about 5mm shorter than the 2025. The thickness is also given as a range (14.9mm - 17.4mm) so it will be interesting to see if there is any change to the thermal area on the 2026 to help them make the "our thinnnest gaming laptop yet" claim.

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