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Ask HN: Best Developer Linux Laptop?

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Re: Ask HN: Best Developer Linux Laptop?

#221

Post by bradleyland »

dmm wrote: post #214
bradleyland wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> Does it mean that OS X is not Unix? No. What exactly are you arguing? What is your definition of unix? A label purchased from the Open Group or an implementation of a specification? If it's the former, I completely agree with you, OS X is UNIX. If it's the latter, what standard of proof would it take to convince you otherwise?

Ok, I'll state it clearly. I'm arguing that:

One may feel comfortable claiming that OS X is "Unix" based on the fact that all versions of OS X since 10.5 have been "Open Brand UNIX 03 Registered Product" (from an archive of the Apple website), signifying that they have met the requirements for the SUSv3 and POSIX 1003.1 specification.

http://web.archive.org/web/20070823040630/http://www.apple.c...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_UNIX_Specification

Re: Ask HN: Best Developer Linux Laptop?

#222

Post by aonic »

tnorthcutt wrote: post #161
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

Pulled the trigger on this deal after seeing the good reviews here

Re: Ask HN: Best Developer Linux Laptop?

#223

Post by hogu »

futuremint wrote: post #24

I have a ZaReason Strata Pro 13" with an SSD. The processor is by no means fast, but its fast enough for coding & web design. Any heavier work (like high-res graphics, video editing, or intensive compiling) would probably be annoying. Its a good laptop with Ubuntu 10.10, only thing not working is suspend automatically when the lid is closed. Money no object and you need Linux than a ThinkPad would be your best bet. E…

how's the battery life on that thing?

Re: Ask HN: Best Developer Linux Laptop?

#224

Post by trevelyan »

kls wrote: post #49
trevelyan wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ubuntu runs hot on the MBP and will chew through your battery power even if you aren't running it in a VM. So MacOS is Unix anyway, you say? Too bad the default libraries are a pain to upgrade, trivial applications like "locate" and "wget" are missing and you'll have to manually configure stuff like page up/page down if you want the terminal to be useful. I've had repeated issues compiling different "cross platform"…

So MacOS is Unix anyway, you say? I don't recall saying that it is or is not in my post above. Please don't put words in my mouth. but it is not nearly as good a platform for developers as Ubuntu by any means you are painting a pretty broad stroke there. I do web and mobile development, both require application like Photoshop, professional video editing tools while web specifically Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Opera and…

Relax! No-one is putting words in your mouth... this is a discussion board. The statement to which you're reacting negatively was a rhetorical flourish.... :)

My comment was in reply to your statement that you can virtualize Linux and that makes the MBP an equivalent platform, and I posted because I've gone through these issues and it wasn't fun. The MBP really isn't good for Linux because of the battery issue and then a host of other small problems (sleep, etc.) that make installing dual-boot troublesome:

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/MacBookPro

I'm glad that you can do your web development work on Mac. They are really nice machines. But if this guy needs Ubuntu it is probably because he needs software that runs reliably on it. Knowing that Photoshop will run on the MBP isn't a great impetus to switch when you need to compile various non-default libraries, setup software that isn't packaged with port, or work with almost anything coded in C or C++. This doesn't mean that Mac isn't good at what it does. It just means that if the guy needs Linux, he shouldn't think MacOS is equivalent just because it's based on Unix.

Re: Ask HN: Best Developer Linux Laptop?

#225

Post by __david__ »

yummyfajitas wrote: post #97
tkaemming wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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/ ).

That reminds me of another thing I disliked about macs. An open question: who is in charge? Macports? Fink? I couldn't pick one, because neither one had what I wanted. I think Homebrew is fairly new. If it works, I'm glad, but it didn't exist a few years back. So, a disclaimer I should have included in my original post: things might have changed in the past year . The package manager I found useful was virtualbox + a…

MacPorts and Fink both annoy me. Not because they are bad but because they are "so close but so far." I end up mostly compiling stuff manually and managing /usr/local with GNU Stow. Which is frustrating because so many mac installers seem to want to install stuff into /usr/local. I've learned to unpack the installer and install it manually so my beautiful stow-ness isn't compromised.

Re: Ask HN: Best Developer Linux Laptop?

#227

Post by __david__ »

kls wrote: post #6

Yes the MBP is a good machine, and you can get all of the items you listed on OSX. It is a good development platform if you decide to go that route. I have worked exclusively on MBP for the last two generations of my machines. This is coming from a guy that got burnt really bad on the 68-PPC conversion a while back (had basically a brick within 6mo of buying a new 68). That is another story but sufficient to say, I s…

> This is coming from a guy that got burnt really bad on the 68-PPC conversion a while back (had basically a brick within 6mo of buying a new 68).

I assume you mean 68000 series to PowerPC transition? I lived through that and thought it was handled even better than the recent PPC -> Intel transition. Programs were compiled as FAT binaries for years and years because of the huge installed base of 68k machines. I don't see how you could have had a "brick" after just 6 months.

Re: Ask HN: Best Developer Linux Laptop?

#228

Post by wtallis »

drivebyacct2 wrote: post #187
yummyfajitas wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

You forgot the part where it takes two hours to properly import 30GB of music on a fresh install of the OS. And then it forgets the index if you use a non standard location. And then it forgets it again. And then you delete iTunes and use Doubletwist. Then you find out it sucks too and you wish for rhythmbox or amarok.

Do you really think that poor support for non-standard music library locations is a legitimate complaint? What's so horribly wrong with ~/Music/iTunes as the location for your iTunes music library?

Re: Ask HN: Best Developer Linux Laptop?

#229

Post by kls »

trevelyan wrote: post #224
kls wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So MacOS is Unix anyway, you say? I don't recall saying that it is or is not in my post above. Please don't put words in my mouth. but it is not nearly as good a platform for developers as Ubuntu by any means you are painting a pretty broad stroke there. I do web and mobile development, both require application like Photoshop, professional video editing tools while web specifically Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Opera and…

Relax! No-one is putting words in your mouth... this is a discussion board. The statement to which you're reacting negatively was a rhetorical flourish.... :) My comment was in reply to your statement that you can virtualize Linux and that makes the MBP an equivalent platform, and I posted because I've gone through these issues and it wasn't fun. The MBP really isn't good for Linux because of the battery issue and th…

or work with almost anything coded in C or C++

Right, and I agree 100% I would not do sys-dev on OSX unless it was OSX sys-dev. But he specifically listed an array of web-dev technologies not sys-dev and that is why I made the recommendation that a MBP would suffice. He did not mention Photoshop but I assumed if he is doing web-dev he will need it at some point unless he works with a team and has a dedicated graphics resource. Anyway, the list of technologies provided by the poster leaned heavily to the fact that he would be doing web-dev and for me the MBP works as a web-dev platform.

If he would have asked about embedded, I would have said hell no, I have suffered first hand (as a hobbyist) at the utter lack of serious PCB design software, or dev kits available on the Mac for embedded work.

And if he would have said, I want to do C dev on an open stack, I would have also said you many want to look at a Sager Notebook as opposed to a MBP.

BTW, I apologize for jumping the gun on you. I mistook the context of your wording.

Re: Ask HN: Best Developer Linux Laptop?

#230

Post by wtallis »

jonhendry wrote: post #171
trevelyan wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ubuntu runs hot on the MBP and will chew through your battery power even if you aren't running it in a VM. So MacOS is Unix anyway, you say? Too bad the default libraries are a pain to upgrade, trivial applications like "locate" and "wget" are missing and you'll have to manually configure stuff like page up/page down if you want the terminal to be useful. I've had repeated issues compiling different "cross platform"…

locate isn't missing. The database isn't built by default, but you can do that. Mouse-Rig-Test:~ jon$ locate usage: locate [-0Scims] [-l limit] [-d database] pattern ... default database: `/var/db/locate.database' or $LOCATE_PATH Mouse-Rig-Test:~ jon$ which locate /usr/bin/locate

Or, just use mdfind, the command line interface to spotlight.
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