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Ask HN: Smallest laptop that is decent for coding?

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Re: Ask HN: Smallest laptop that is decent for coding?

#141

Post by basch »

theluketaylor wrote: post #133
cameroncooper wrote: post #118

Really surprised not more people are mentioning the X1 Carbon. It is extremely lightweight, thin, loaded with ports, has great battery life and has tons of ports. I use one plugged into a thunderbolt 3 dock so I can have a great desktop setup with a single wire, and quickly unplug when I need to move.

It's thin and light, but even with small bezels it's not that small due to the 14 inch screen. It's nearly a full inch wider than both macbook air and macbook pro 13 and it's a little deeper. It's a shame lenovo stopped updating the 12 inch X series as it would be the obvious answer to this question.

X1 Carbon - 12.72 x 8.54 x 0.59 in

X280 - 12.11 x 8.26 x 0.7 in

X13 - 12.2 x 8.6 x 0.7 in

The X13 is the old X 12in size.

I would still take the Carbon probably. One thing I like about it that is underrated in reviews is its flexibility. People think they want a rigid, aluminum milled laptop, but I actually quite appreciate how the entire computer can bend slightly, as an alternative way to make it more durable.

Re: Ask HN: Smallest laptop that is decent for coding?

#142

Post by salawat »

belltaco wrote: post #113
qpiox wrote: post #57

Nearly all comments are completely missing the most important point in the OP question: "The small form factor is important so I can keep it with me like you would keep a physical paper notebook with you". When one says a physical paper notebook, it means something that is small and portable and you can put it in your pocket or a small bag, not a 13" laptop that weighs 2 kilos that you need a special and when you ope…

Not sure if Sony makes them still, but they used to have small VAIO portables with keyboards. https://www.amazon.com/Sony-VAIO-VGN-P530H-Lifestyle-PC/dp/B... https://www.google.com/search?q=sony+vaio+small+laptop&rlz=1...

It's a standalone company now, last I checked they only sell in Japan; but I loved my Z Series so much I had to poach another one when the old one gave up the ghost.

I can't forgive them for the interior design, and how the lynchpin of the entire laptop is a PFC with two of the most awkwardly placed sockets I've ever attempted to repair; but I'll be damned if it isn't one of the most pleasantly ergonomic laptops to use.

Just try to avoid having to open up the case at all costs.

Re: Ask HN: Smallest laptop that is decent for coding?

#143

Post by roberte3 »

bluedino wrote: post #90
drej wrote: post #26

MacOS: check out the latest MacBook Air 13", the one just released - it has a new keyboard, better base disk configuration and it's cheaper than before. Windows: Dell XPS 13 has been the go-to laptop for years, they keep refreshing it, so make sure to get at least the 2019 model (which has a camera on the top of the screen, not the bottom), or ideally the 2020 model, which features a new keyboard and even smaller bez…

12" MacBook is quite a bit smaller than the 13" Macs.

Also I killed 2 via running Jetbeans. (Client requirement not my choice...)

Re: Ask HN: Smallest laptop that is decent for coding?

#144

Post by gru »

elcomet wrote: post #43
gru wrote: post #12

I love my ASUS ZenBook 13! * The best laptop keyboard I've ever typed on! * Great screen * Weights 1 kg * Solid 8 hours of work on battery

Do you use windows or linux ? If so, which distribution ?

Windows 10 with Ubuntu 18.04 on VirtualBox

Re: Ask HN: Smallest laptop that is decent for coding?

#145

Post by manifoldgeo »

spaintech wrote: post #71

No mentioned yet, https://system76.com/laptops/galago might not be the smallest of the bunch, but well worth it if you need the performance to compile and test while on the go. I run several VMs and QUME instances with your fave VIM scripts. :) For size vs perf, Air 13” is hard to beat... I had a Pro X (arm) for about a week and I tried to get Linux on it ASAP after all the issues, even then it was flaky at best, run…

Galago Pro owner here: I do not recommend this laptop. It's my daily driver at home, and I mostly love it. However, it's only usable because I have an external mouse and keyboard. The built-in keyboard has keys that are hard to press, the trackpad is almost unusable, and the speakers are also laughably bad and quiet. The laptop's build is thicker and heavier than it looks. If you removed the System76 labeling from the laptop and asked me what brand I thought it was, I would guess Acer, and that is not a compliment.

I traded in my MacBook Pro for this one because this has native Linux support, and the cost was the same at $1,600. The hardware qualities are night-and-day different. Granted, a small company like System76 doesn't have the economy of scale that Apple does, but this knowledge doesn't make me feel much better about my purchase.

System76 just came out with a new version of their Lemur laptop, which is slimmer and more portable. It may be worth a look. See here: https://system76.com/laptops/lemur

Re: Ask HN: Smallest laptop that is decent for coding?

#146

Post by app4soft »

_Donny wrote: post #99
app4soft wrote: post #60

> I'm looking for something as small as possible ASUS Eee PC.[0] FTR, The smallest laptop — Ben NanoNote.[1] BTW, I would recommend instead just use any Android device + Termux app + compact Bluetooth/WiFi/USB-keyboard . [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asus_Eee_PC [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_NanoNote

I used to have an ASUS EEE PC from about 2010 (I think it was 1215P). It was an incredible machine -- it was cheap for a student, fairly powerful for internet browsing, text editing, and a bit of coding. The battery easily lasted over 6 hours, so forgetting the small charger at home was not even a concern. Lastly, the keyboard was actually decent as well. I have never really seen many as well-executed machine since (…

> I have never really seen many as well-executed machine since (although I have not been looking too hard).

To be honest, there was some small Sony VAIO laptops (in same scale as ASUS Eee PC), but its price is too high.

Re: Ask HN: Smallest laptop that is decent for coding?

#147

Post by amerkhalid »

Been using 2016 13" MBP. No issues with web or app development.

Also been using iPad 10.5" with keyboard as a thin client to do dev work on Linux VPS. With Blink shell and Working Copy, it is quite enjoyable. Also I got Shadow PC for my game dev projects (my MBP is not powerful enough to do that), I can use Shadow PC app on iPad and it is mostly usable.

I am definitely using iPad as a carry around notebook. I just wish it had real local dev environment so I don't need to worry about wifi.

Re: Ask HN: Smallest laptop that is decent for coding?

#148

Post by skrtskrt »

theluketaylor wrote: post #132
drej wrote: post #26

MacOS: check out the latest MacBook Air 13", the one just released - it has a new keyboard, better base disk configuration and it's cheaper than before. Windows: Dell XPS 13 has been the go-to laptop for years, they keep refreshing it, so make sure to get at least the 2019 model (which has a camera on the top of the screen, not the bottom), or ideally the 2020 model, which features a new keyboard and even smaller bez…

The $100 core i5 upgrade on the latest Macbook Air in particular. It's a big bang for buck (especially by Apple standards) since it goes from 2 cores to 4 and adds boost clock headroom.

What about the $250 upgrade for i7 - worth it for $150 more than the i5? I'm going to be getting it and I want to have it for 4-5 years as I have with the 2015 MBA, getting the better processor seems like a decent future-proofing.

I mostly develop in Python and Go, but I do want to get into Rust and I understand the compilation is demanding.

Re: Ask HN: Smallest laptop that is decent for coding?

#149

Post by mrusme »

Used an Asus Zenbook 3 UX390UA-GS041T for a very long time for exactly that purpose. Ran Linux on it, loved the keyboard, didn't like the trackpad so much but since it was really only for writing (code) on-the-go it worked perfectly fine. Not sure if there's an updated version of that.

Re: Ask HN: Smallest laptop that is decent for coding?

#150

Post by singerislonely »

flanbiscuit wrote: post #122
drej wrote: post #26

MacOS: check out the latest MacBook Air 13", the one just released - it has a new keyboard, better base disk configuration and it's cheaper than before. Windows: Dell XPS 13 has been the go-to laptop for years, they keep refreshing it, so make sure to get at least the 2019 model (which has a camera on the top of the screen, not the bottom), or ideally the 2020 model, which features a new keyboard and even smaller bez…

I am currently typing this on my mid-2013 11" Macbook Air and it's still going strong. It's too bad that Apple is not making anymore 11" laptops anymore because I think it's exactly what OP wants. I had the same exact criteria when looking for a laptop and I work with similar technologies, but I've also done Android/Kotlin (using Android Studio) and C#/.NET (using full Visual Studio) with this laptop without any prob…

+1, 2013 11" MacBook Air is still going strong! I need to be a little vigilant about not too many Chrome tabs to keep it from getting too sluggish, but it's excellent for coding, Gmail, Google Docs, video chat, Netflix.
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