Live data from Hacker News

System76 Pangolin Linux-first laptop with AMD internals now in stock

system76.com

371–380 of 448 posts

Re: System76 Pangolin Linux-first laptop with AMD internals now in stock

#371
post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would prefer a keyboard with out the Top row of numbers. Those are pretty much useless. So much so that I often use AHK to remap the top number row to be other functions.

Useless? Did you never learn how to touch type the numbers? Unless you do data entry the top row numbers are vastly quicker to get to than the number pad. You just reach a finger out and tap instead of moving your whole hand to the number pad.

I am not in a full time development role anymore, but even when I was I never felt the need to drive my WPM numbers to the extreme.. So the fractions of a second it may save was not a consideration.

I find the 10-key to be more accurate and faster for me. My muscle memory is numbers are entered with my right hand...

Re: System76 Pangolin Linux-first laptop with AMD internals now in stock

#372

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another big one is Blender; I don't think I could use it without a numpad.

You can buy a usb numpad for blender. I did this to save money on a mechanical keyboard.

Was it a mechanical numpad?

Re: System76 Pangolin Linux-first laptop with AMD internals now in stock

#373
post #57
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have no idea who thought this was a good idea. The trackpad is even off to the left to accommodate it. I'm not a fan of symmetry for symmetry's sake, but I do think some affordances for the human body might be a good idea. How do southpaws enjoy this keyboard setup? The ergonomics of laptops are bad enough without stuff like this.

Southpaw here! I'd never buy a laptop without a number pad. The track pad being off-center is also good. Gaming? 78462 make for the best movement, and the number pad also has seven non-numerical buttons to bind things to. It also puts your index finger right next to lENTER, which is so useful for games that make use of it. Programming? Bind the buttons to commonly-used UNIX programs to make for a better IDE than an I…

>gaming

Why skip 5 to use 2 instead? And you also have extra keys around WASD to bind to. What makes numpad keys any different? For lefties who use mouse with left hand you can have same keys on the right hand side but hat varies (for me equal keys would be plöä)

>programming

Are all of your function keys already populated? And if you are going to move your hand to numpad why skip over insert, home, page up/down, and end?

>calculating

Well there you have me. 20 years ago when I was manually inserting PSU serial numbers into excel numpad was real nice, but I can't remember last time I had to input numbers like that.

My current keyboard has numpad, but only thing I've used it in years was as abort button for some bots.

Re: System76 Pangolin Linux-first laptop with AMD internals now in stock

#374
post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"10x more productivity" ...

It depends on what you're comparing VR to (small laptop, larger/multi-screen rig, etc), and how you use it (e.g. https://www.calnewport.com/blog/2016/05/18/immersive-single-... ). Working in VR provides an enormous virtual space for immersive work, and can for the right person be actually 10x more productive.

they just write 10x more productivity, which should mean on average workout other qualifiers. clearly that's impossible for any non gaslighting definition of productivity.

Re: System76 Pangolin Linux-first laptop with AMD internals now in stock

#375
post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

a great thing about the framework though is the processor is upgradeable! So once the new stuff comes out ...

You're still forced into buying an intel chip now. I'm holding out for an AMD with frame.work before purchasing. Hopefully they will come out with one before I purchase a M1 macbook air.

Intel's upcoming Alder Lake and Raptor Lake CPUs look to be hugely positive improvements. The Frameworks laptop is 100% on my to-buy list once they come to Europe.

Re: System76 Pangolin Linux-first laptop with AMD internals now in stock

#376

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What isn't the case? They don't provide good support for Linux or they aren't way cheaper? Cos AFAIK both of those are true.

Yeah, good luck updating firmware of your docking station or using DisplayPort's from it under Linux

So the USB C port works fine to a run a display under Manjaro. Haven’t seen a laptop with a display port that wasn’t a MacBook tho.

Unsure how not updating firmware on a dock means linux is not supported well on a laptop.

Re: System76 Pangolin Linux-first laptop with AMD internals now in stock

#377

Uhh I understand that good Linux support is valuable, but the price premium for that is just too high. For the base variant(5500u, 8gb, 240gb): Pangolin - 1200$ Lenovo Ideapad 3 15 - 430$[1] For a higher-end variant(5700u, 16gb, 500gb): Pangolin - 1542$ HP 15z - 640$[2] I admit these are the absolute cheapest ones I could find(using noteb.com), but even the more premium laptops like Thinkpads are way cheaper(and AFAI…

I don't know about the quality of the pangolin or the HP but I can tell you that lenovos consumer level laptops are pretty trash quality wise. The thinkpads (at least the X,T and P models) tend to be a different story but even that is changing in recent years

I spent over $2500 on a ThinkPad X1 Extreme three years ago. Died within three months (wouldn't turn on). Lenovo replaced all the innards, but then the 3D video didn't work at all. Had it replaced again. Two full replacements in the first six months. Later, I spilled a drink on the keyboard, and despite their claims of spill-resistant keyboards, it permanently fried eight random keys. By then it was past the warranty period (one year) and Lenovo was unwilling to service it at all. I was ready to pay, but it's not even an option. They told me I had to go through a third party. Couldn't even get any supposed "authorized repair center" to respond to my requests for estimates. A few months later, the video started going, and now it locks up a few minutes after booting.

I get that shit happens and sometimes products have defects. I'm willing to put up with a reasonable amount of annoyance. I'll never buy another Lenovo product, though, because once you're out of warranty, you may as well throw the thing away. They don't care at all.

Re: System76 Pangolin Linux-first laptop with AMD internals now in stock

#378

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Look at the framework laptop too

Yeah, a big fan of what they've designed - just waiting for version 2 so that all the production bugs are discovered and ironed out. Hopefully v2 will come with an AMD processor.

I’m torn. I’ve heard amd Linux drivers are crap. I’ve never really had any problems with Intel. But yes I’m waiting for v2. I want them to prove out replacing the main board between revisions.

Re: System76 Pangolin Linux-first laptop with AMD internals now in stock

#379
post #172
post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, the conclusion is that more buttons are always better. You can always customize a keyboard with minimal effort, unless you're on a really bad operating system, like any of the proprietary ones.

> No, the conclusion is that more buttons are always better. Not really. There was a time where laptops, especially 15", had front speakers. If the choice is that or numpad, I pick front speakers. Its a bummer smartphones don't have them anymore these days. More keys might seem like a no-brainer, but its always also less is more and keys you don't use are useless keys. As power user, it seems (re)binding of keys is i…

I got a 14 inch laptop with front speakers, and a 6 row keyboard. Since I came from a laptop with a 7 row, I actually would prefer to have one of those extra columns of keys that hp makes.

Re: System76 Pangolin Linux-first laptop with AMD internals now in stock

#380
post #370
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't 1080p way better for battery life + its mostly indistinguishable in pixels? unless you are like, looking really close at the pixels? remember its 1080p inside a 15" monitor, not a 24" monitor a PC has.

On a 1080p 14” with native resolution, the ideal terminal font size for me would be about 8px. There’s a significant difference in ergonomics around that range. I have two 14” Thinkpads and my eyes feel strained a lot faster on the 1080p compared to the 1440 if I’d have the same effective font size. The result is I can fit the content I want on the 1440 but not on the 1080p without eye-strain. There’s really no magic…

[deleted]
Post reply on HN