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Ask HN: Best Developer Linux Laptop?

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Re: Ask HN: Best Developer Linux Laptop?

#161

Post by tnorthcutt »

aconbere wrote: post #19

I can not rave enough about the Lenovo X201 small, fast, usable. I switched to the lenovo machine after using a MBP for the previous 4 years. But it really depends on what you need and want. I commute with my laptop, travel with my laptop, and generally like to carry it arround. I'm not willing to accept either of the choices that Apple has for me, excessive weight (MBP 15' or 17'), or last generation processors (MBP…

OP (or anyone else) - I saw this on slickdeals.net and decided to post here in case you decide you want one: http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=2292647

Re: Ask HN: Best Developer Linux Laptop?

#162

Post by ohyes »

In contrast to the army of Thinkpad/MBP users; I've been using a (fairly generic) Toshiba laptop (It is an older satellite model) to run Ubuntu. It has been rock solid for me for 2-3 years now.

The key thing is to make sure that all of the hardware in whatever laptop you buy has proper drivers. This can either be accomplished by buying a cheaper laptop with slightly less top of the line hardware (hardware that is slightly aged is more likely to have had someone debugging driver issues on it), or by checking that all of the hardware has appropriate drivers.

http://www.linux-drivers.org/ might be a good starting place.

Re: Ask HN: Best Developer Linux Laptop?

#163

Post by dzlobin »

yummyfajitas wrote: post #92
tjr wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just to toss this question in, because I've seen lots of people make a similar comment, but never have really seen an explanation as to why: what is the problem with iTunes? For me, I don't do much in the way of using iTunes; I set up a play list, press play, minimize it, and enjoy listening to music while I do other things. Maybe I'm not a music player power user?

Some "features" of iTunes: When I import my music folder, iTunes copies all the files to it's own private directories, using the filesystem as an index. Thanks, but my music is already arranged the way I like. iTunes doesn't play flac or ogg. And when I rip a CD, it wants to save it in some proprietary flac-like format (which, as far as I know, does not work on non-macs). I enjoy controlling my music from a phone/tab…

I'll say that it's not perfect, but there have been pretty big improvements since 2007. Just turn off the option to copy files into a new iTunes location(I think it prompts for this upon first load) and it's a pretty solid player.

The lack of FLAC is indeed a pain in the ass though.

Re: Ask HN: Best Developer Linux Laptop?

#164

Post by [deleted] »

yummyfajitas wrote: post #92
tjr wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just to toss this question in, because I've seen lots of people make a similar comment, but never have really seen an explanation as to why: what is the problem with iTunes? For me, I don't do much in the way of using iTunes; I set up a play list, press play, minimize it, and enjoy listening to music while I do other things. Maybe I'm not a music player power user?

Some "features" of iTunes: When I import my music folder, iTunes copies all the files to it's own private directories, using the filesystem as an index. Thanks, but my music is already arranged the way I like. iTunes doesn't play flac or ogg. And when I rip a CD, it wants to save it in some proprietary flac-like format (which, as far as I know, does not work on non-macs). I enjoy controlling my music from a phone/tab…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Best Developer Linux Laptop?

#165

Post by slantyyz »

aliguori wrote: post #48
aconbere wrote: post #19

I can not rave enough about the Lenovo X201 small, fast, usable. I switched to the lenovo machine after using a MBP for the previous 4 years. But it really depends on what you need and want. I commute with my laptop, travel with my laptop, and generally like to carry it arround. I'm not willing to accept either of the choices that Apple has for me, excessive weight (MBP 15' or 17'), or last generation processors (MBP…

Heh, I'm not a suit but I do appreciate being able to connect to a projector. Since the X201 doesn't have a CD-ROM, a docking station is basically a prerequisite IMHO. I love my X201. It's very light but has a full size keyboard. I tend to have problems with RSS so this was a major consideration. I went for the SSD option which I think was completely worth it. Boot of a standard Linux distribution is extremely quick…

Docks are incredibly underrated, and it's the one thing you'll probably never get from an Apple laptop.

If you can afford it, it's worth seriously considering buying a laptop with a minimum of 1 docking station (depends on your work situation - if you have an office and work at home, I'd suggest buying 2). They just save so much headaches and fumbling around with cords. Of the brands I've tried with docking stations (Dell, Toshiba, Lenovo) - I have found that I've had the best experience with Toshiba, and the worst with Dell.

Re: Ask HN: Best Developer Linux Laptop?

#166

Post by dzlobin »

tkaemming wrote: post #85
yummyfajitas wrote: post #69

If you want to do development in a language other than python/ruby, or even want to use python libraries written in c, avoid the macbook. If you are certain you will stick to {svn, git, django, python, vim}, you'll be fine. My mac ownership timeline: Day 1: Ooh, pretty. 2-3 days: I fucking hate iTunes. Luckily ports install mpd works. 1 month: Ooh, the pretty magsafe connector saved me from dropping it when I tripped…

Odd — I'm running Snow Leopard and haven't had any issues with many of the libraries or apps you mentioned (boost, ampqlib, postgresql), although it's probably worth noting that I installed them all through Homebrew ( http://www.github.com/mxcl/homebrew/ ).

psycopg2 on snow leopard has been notoriously fucked forever. There are thousands of blog posts on installing this, of which only one has worked for me in the past.

This, granted, wasn't through homebrew; I wonder if that would have worked back then

Re: Ask HN: Best Developer Linux Laptop?

#167

Post by slantyyz »

technomancy wrote: post #146
yummyfajitas wrote: post #69

If you want to do development in a language other than python/ruby, or even want to use python libraries written in c, avoid the macbook. If you are certain you will stick to {svn, git, django, python, vim}, you'll be fine. My mac ownership timeline: Day 1: Ooh, pretty. 2-3 days: I fucking hate iTunes. Luckily ports install mpd works. 1 month: Ooh, the pretty magsafe connector saved me from dropping it when I tripped…

Macs are a lot more solidly-built than they used to be, but there are a few of things still keeping them from being competitive with Thinkpads. 0) They don't try to compete on screen resolution. The 13-inch Macbook screen is only 800 pixels tall, which is fewer pixels than my phone. 1) They're quite heavy. In particular the 13-inch is only marginally lighter than the 15-inch. 2) The glossy screens make them unusable…

I don't think you could do much work on a 13" screen anyways. The 15" mbps, however, are competitive with resolution with the latest generation.

Re: Ask HN: Best Developer Linux Laptop?

#168

Post by aconbere »

notauser wrote: post #129
aconbere wrote: post #19

I can not rave enough about the Lenovo X201 small, fast, usable. I switched to the lenovo machine after using a MBP for the previous 4 years. But it really depends on what you need and want. I commute with my laptop, travel with my laptop, and generally like to carry it arround. I'm not willing to accept either of the choices that Apple has for me, excessive weight (MBP 15' or 17'), or last generation processors (MBP…

I tried out a X201 and really liked it, but it has two other problems as well as the video out which were deal breakers for me: - Low screen resolution. - Very tall screen (especially for a 12" - due to the huge bezel) so it won't open comfortable in the back of an economy seat. I ended up with the bottom of the range Vaio Z series instead (1600x900 res 13.3" screen that is more than an inch shorter than the X201, wi…

I can buy that this is a serious drawback for some users. Personally even at 1280x800 the pixel density is so high that I end up with my text size so large that having the extra pixels afforded by the x201s (1400x900) wouldn't buy me anything.

When I'm on the go, I'm mostly working in vim, or browsing the web. Neither of these activities stress my resolution (especially as an XMonad user). When I'm at work or home I have an external monitor that provides me with all the resolution I could ever want.

Re: Ask HN: Best Developer Linux Laptop?

#169

Post by cvg »

buro9 wrote: post #76
yummyfajitas wrote: post #69

If you want to do development in a language other than python/ruby, or even want to use python libraries written in c, avoid the macbook. If you are certain you will stick to {svn, git, django, python, vim}, you'll be fine. My mac ownership timeline: Day 1: Ooh, pretty. 2-3 days: I fucking hate iTunes. Luckily ports install mpd works. 1 month: Ooh, the pretty magsafe connector saved me from dropping it when I tripped…

Uncanny. I'm also 4 months in and am running Ubuntu in VMWare. That's now where I spend all of my time and I'm wondering why I haven't just dual-booted already or just over-written the OSX partition.

I, like many others, also use virtualbox for development. So much easier to develop on something close to my production servers, but it uses up too much memory.

I've been looking at some cheap Walmart/Frys PCs to install ubuntu on and develop.

Re: Ask HN: Best Developer Linux Laptop?

#170

Post by kunalb »

I've tried Ubuntu on a C series Vaio (long time back) which pretty much died on me a hardware failure at a time within 2 years and right now am using a 15'' HP Probook (4510s) which runs Ubuntu like a dream. The ATI drivers are picked up directly and the only issues that I've run into involve screen brightness screwing up after suspend/resume -- HP seems to be able to support Ubuntu really well.

This laptop didn't cost that much -- around $1000 but the build quality isn't that good -- though the keyboard is excellent (with a numpad).

As a side note -- the best solution seems to be getting a MBP and then running Ubuntu virtually for development and OSX stuff for everything else.

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