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Ask HN: Best Developer Linux Laptop?

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Re: Ask HN: Best Developer Linux Laptop?

#201

Post by sigil »

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…

For the past 6 years I've used Thinkpad T40, T41 and T42s exclusively. These models tend to have solid hardware support under Linux and FreeBSD including suspend/resume and wireless.

I've come to accept the fact that every couple years I do some serious damage to my laptop, so it's a huge plus if 1) I can replace parts myself and 2) I can cheaply and easily buy a replacement laptop if the thing is totalled. Both are the case with Thinkpads. The aftermarket is still healthy, I have no problem finding T40-T42s here for about $200.

Between repairs, battery upgrades every few years, and the few times I've had to replace a laptop wholesale, my cost of ownership is probably about $200 / year.

YMMV, but I've found this setup more than adequate for coding & browsing, and have no reason to upgrade to a newer model.

Re: Ask HN: Best Developer Linux Laptop?

#203

Post by dmm »

bradleyland wrote: post #194
dmm wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know what UNIX means to you but where I come from UNIX means an atomic rename(2). http://www.weirdnet.nl/apple/rename.html

I said specifically in my post that OS X is UNIX 03 certified. http://www.unix.org/version3/ The Open Group owns the Unix trademark, which is what we're all referring to. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Open_Group So I don't know what UNIX means to you , but where I come from, it's based on a certification that adheres to a defined set of standards. What you posted is an unresolved bug report that doesn't prove or d…

I'm well aware of what UNIX 03 means. Are you? The core of it is IEEE Std 1003.1. Here's a quote from the Rationale section of the rename(2) page from IEEE Std 1003.1, 2004 edition:

"This rename() function is equivalent for regular files to that defined by the ISO C standard. Its inclusion here expands that definition to include actions on directories and specifies behavior when the new parameter names a file that already exists. That specification requires that the action of the function be atomic."

So to comply with the Single Unix specification, rename(2) must be atomic. The rename(2) function on OS X has been empirically shown to not be atomic. What reasonable conclusions can be drawn here?

Re: Ask HN: Best Developer Linux Laptop?

#204

Post by ashleyw »

slantyyz wrote: post #152
ashleyw wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nobody buys a Macbook Pro because of the hardware, it's all about the OS.

If I was going to buy a new Windows only laptop, I'd buy a Macbook Pro.

Would you though? Surely anyone who buys a Mac would just use OS X (and then dual boot Windows for whatever reason they needed it for.)

Re: Ask HN: Best Developer Linux Laptop?

#205

Post by enduser »

I bought a Toshiba Portege r705 (13") last weekend and run Linux (ArchLinux) on it exclusively. The only issue I have had with it is that backlight control goes away after resuming from a suspend. Everything else works flawlessly, and the laptop is vastly superior compared to a Macbook Pro as far as what you get for your dollar.

$780 at Best Buy for 3.0lbs, 2.4GHz Core i3, 4GB, 500GB 5400RPM drive, dual-layer DVD writer, SD slot, HDMI and VGA out, eSATA port, built-in 4G (Linux-compatible with mainline kernel drivers), chiclet keyboard similar to Macbooks, 13" 1366x768 display (glossy but less glossy than a Macbook).

Get a ThinkPad if you want to spend more.

Re: Ask HN: Best Developer Linux Laptop?

#206

Post by Confusion »

mahmud wrote: post #29

You can't go wrong with a Thinkpad, in fact, I wouldn't use any other laptop if it came free. I ran thinkpads exclusively for the last 10 years. My last desktop machine had an AMD Duron and 256 megs, that's long ago it was. They're not the most good looking, but they're rugged and functional as hell. A Thinkpad looks the same after 5 years, most others peel and scratch. When I was backpacking, my road-mate had his ma…

I don't have any experience with other laptops, but both my previous Thinkpad Z61m and my current Lenovo T500 have been great at running Linux and generally running without a problem. The only thing that really sucks are the batteries. On average they last around 18 months, so you have to take 2 * $100 for new batteries into account.

Re: Ask HN: Best Developer Linux Laptop?

#207

Post by eru »

artlogic wrote: post #199
vilya wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree, but you forgot to mention the killer issue (for me): there's no '#' key. Having to press Alt+3 for a '#' gets annoying pretty quickly when you're coding. It's even worse if you're running Linux on the MacBook. You have to fiddle with a mysteriously named keyboard preference ("Key to choose 3rd level") to get even the Alt+3 combination to work - and once it does, you can no longer Alt+Tab to switch between wi…

I'm confused by what you're saying here - do you have a keyboard with '#' as a primary key? Every keyboard I've ever used requires shift-3 to generate a '#'. Your reference to 3rd level keys seems to refer to an international keyboard. Is your keyboard not a U.S. layout?

Can't you just use your own layouts on the Mac, if something about the keyboard bugs you?

(I only tried using dvorak an the Macbook, and it works fine.)

Re: Ask HN: Best Developer Linux Laptop?

#208

Post by vilya »

artlogic wrote: post #199
vilya wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree, but you forgot to mention the killer issue (for me): there's no '#' key. Having to press Alt+3 for a '#' gets annoying pretty quickly when you're coding. It's even worse if you're running Linux on the MacBook. You have to fiddle with a mysteriously named keyboard preference ("Key to choose 3rd level") to get even the Alt+3 combination to work - and once it does, you can no longer Alt+Tab to switch between wi…

I'm confused by what you're saying here - do you have a keyboard with '#' as a primary key? Every keyboard I've ever used requires shift-3 to generate a '#'. Your reference to 3rd level keys seems to refer to an international keyboard. Is your keyboard not a U.S. layout?

Sorry, I should have said: I'm talking about the UK models.

The standard layout for UK keyboards has a dedicated # key right next to the return key: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyboard_layout#United_Kingdom

Mac keyboards for the UK - all of them, not just the laptop keyboards - omit this. I have yet to figure out why, but it's an unfortunate choice.

Re: Ask HN: Best Developer Linux Laptop?

#209

Post by bradleyland »

dmm wrote: post #203
bradleyland wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I said specifically in my post that OS X is UNIX 03 certified. http://www.unix.org/version3/ The Open Group owns the Unix trademark, which is what we're all referring to. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Open_Group So I don't know what UNIX means to you , but where I come from, it's based on a certification that adheres to a defined set of standards. What you posted is an unresolved bug report that doesn't prove or d…

I'm well aware of what UNIX 03 means. Are you? The core of it is IEEE Std 1003.1. Here's a quote from the Rationale section of the rename(2) page from IEEE Std 1003.1, 2004 edition: "This rename() function is equivalent for regular files to that defined by the ISO C standard. Its inclusion here expands that definition to include actions on directories and specifies behavior when the new parameter names a file that al…

The reasonable conclusion is that a bug exists where -- under certain circumstances -- rename(2) fails in a way that is not expected. It's a bug. It's not as if rename(2) is intentionally implemented in a way that is not atomic; it's that there is a bug. Should it be fixed? Yes. Does it mean that OS X is not Unix? No.

Re: Ask HN: Best Developer Linux Laptop?

#210

Post by koenigdavidmj »

vilya wrote: post #208
artlogic wrote: post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm confused by what you're saying here - do you have a keyboard with '#' as a primary key? Every keyboard I've ever used requires shift-3 to generate a '#'. Your reference to 3rd level keys seems to refer to an international keyboard. Is your keyboard not a U.S. layout?

Sorry, I should have said: I'm talking about the UK models. The standard layout for UK keyboards has a dedicated # key right next to the return key: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyboard_layout#United_Kingdom Mac keyboards for the UK - all of them, not just the laptop keyboards - omit this. I have yet to figure out why, but it's an unfortunate choice.

Is this done in hardware, or would it be possible simply to change the keyboard layout to US?
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