Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

StarBook 14-inch

starlabs.systems

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 381 posts

Re: StarBook 14-inch

#11

Post by jancsika »

throwaway81523 wrote: post #4

Looks interesting, starts at $930 which is not too steep vs other products in the same space, price of upgrades is not stated which is a bit scary. Several Linux distros tested including Ubuntu, but Debian is not in the list. Appears to have a non-removable battery with nothing said about replacing it. And of course the CPU (whether you pick Intel or AMD) is full of blobs, management engine, etc. I didn't notice a me…

> And of course the CPU (whether you pick Intel or AMD) is full of blobs, management engine, etc.

And of course it can't do fast homomorphic encryption either, so that's a hard pass here.

Re: StarBook 14-inch

#13

Post by tazjin »

Looks decent. From the title it seemed like this only supported AMD, but you can get it with Intel CPUs, too.

I've been burned in recent years by trying to use AMD stuff with Linux and just running into even more weird, minor hardware incompatibilities than usual. For now I would not buy an AMD laptop again.

Re: StarBook 14-inch

#14

Post by CaptainMarvel »

This is like the Framework laptop but it's a UK-based company that has been around for years, and with an explicit focus on Linux compatibility to boot. I'm surprised I haven't come across them before as I've been looking for Linux-compatible laptops for years.

They do some things better than Framework such as supporting Ryzen processors, and seem a bit cheaper overall. The battery life seems like it would be better. They have a spare parts store as well and a full disassembly guide as well as an "open warranty". I was never a fan of Framework's swappable ports.

The biggest disadvantage seems to be that the screen is bog-standard 16:9.

I'm curious on the quality of the speakers, webcam, keyboard, and trackpad. I have a feeling they will not be great - in comparison to a Macbook at any rate.

From reviews it looks like the trackpad is poor because it is not whole-trackpad clickable, and the keyboard is also poor due to the short key travel.

Are there any other decent alternatives available in the UK?

Re: StarBook 14-inch

#17

Post by elromulous »

jancsika wrote: post #11
throwaway81523 wrote: post #4

Looks interesting, starts at $930 which is not too steep vs other products in the same space, price of upgrades is not stated which is a bit scary. Several Linux distros tested including Ubuntu, but Debian is not in the list. Appears to have a non-removable battery with nothing said about replacing it. And of course the CPU (whether you pick Intel or AMD) is full of blobs, management engine, etc. I didn't notice a me…

> And of course the CPU (whether you pick Intel or AMD) is full of blobs, management engine, etc. And of course it can't do fast homomorphic encryption either, so that's a hard pass here.

Just wanted to confirm / point out this is sarcasm?

Re: StarBook 14-inch

#18

Post by freedomben »

k1rcher wrote: post #12
ilrwbwrkhv wrote: post #5

How does the touchpad and the 2 finger scroll compare to the MacBooks? Having used those I haven't found anything matching those.

Interested in this too, as well as how it compares to the Framework

I can't comment on the StarBook, but the Framework touchpad is really great. I had an early model that had a slightly annoying out-of-the-box issue where I had to click kind of hard, but after doing that it works great now. Two-finger scroll is super smooth, and it properly detects 1/2/3 finger gestures, etc.

Re: StarBook 14-inch

#20

Post by qbasic_forever »

tazjin wrote: post #13

Looks decent. From the title it seemed like this only supported AMD, but you can get it with Intel CPUs, too. I've been burned in recent years by trying to use AMD stuff with Linux and just running into even more weird, minor hardware incompatibilities than usual. For now I would not buy an AMD laptop again.

Make sure to use the latest kernels. My Ryzen 2500U laptop has finally been fully stable and usable after about the 5.10 kernel. There were unfortunately a ton of bugs and issues with Ryzen, especially the APUs, in the earlier kernels. Ubuntu 21.10 or similar derivatives have been solid though.
Post reply on HN