Live data from Hacker News

StarBook 14-inch

starlabs.systems

101–110 of 381 posts

Re: StarBook 14-inch

#101
post #72

Why only a single USB-C port? Almost everything I buy these days has only USB-C ports/cables/charging. It's gotten to the point now that I am increasingly frustrated with the fact that there are no good USB-C capable hubs that take a USB-C USB 4 and turn it into an 8 port USB-C hub. With a mix of 10 Gbps/5 Gbps/480 Mbps speeds. I can get plenty of USB-C to USB-A hubs, but that is not what I want.

On the plus side it does have three USB A ports, and it has a barrel charging port instead of one of those shitty USB-C ports for power. And you can plug USB-C-charging things into a USB A port with just an adaptor cable.

Having a barrel charging port is a serious flaw. I have many devices, but I expect to carry a single charger for all of them; if my laptop has a non-USB-C charger than I need a separate charger for the headphones/phone/Kindle/etc which is extra weight to carry around, extra mess and e-waste.

The world has moved to a single standard for charging for all devices, we're just waiting for the "transition period" to run out as the devices with nonstandard charging expire, it's inappropriate to design new hardware with an obsolete charging approach.

Re: StarBook 14-inch

#102
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can get a 14" 4K ThinkPad (e.g. P14s).

I do not count Thinkpad as open enough to be in the same segment anymore. I have owned many generations of them and some are still in use but will not be getting a newer one the way things look now. One practical aspect is how they are very inconsistent in making crucial firmware updates available. In theory, they're on fwupd/LVFS. In practice, that can lag behind by months or even years and the only way to get neces…

It is only the trackpoint that locked me on ThinkPad. There is IMHO clearly a user base that would be willing to move away from Lenovo only if they could get an open replacement for that single part...

Re: StarBook 14-inch

#103

1920x1080 on a 14" display is unfortunately not something i will be okay with anymore. i feel like 2k resolution is the sweet spot for this size display. EDIT: sorry, i meant QHD (1440p) (2560x1440)

1920x1080 is 2k BTW.

TIL that the terminology changed at some point to refer to horizontal (e.g. 2K) rather than vertical resolution (e.g. 1080p). Probably ages ago.

Re: StarBook 14-inch

#104
post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the plus side it does have three USB A ports, and it has a barrel charging port instead of one of those shitty USB-C ports for power. And you can plug USB-C-charging things into a USB A port with just an adaptor cable.

Having a barrel charging port is a serious flaw. I have many devices, but I expect to carry a single charger for all of them; if my laptop has a non-USB-C charger than I need a separate charger for the headphones/phone/Kindle/etc which is extra weight to carry around, extra mess and e-waste. The world has moved to a single standard for charging for all devices, we're just waiting for the "transition period" to run ou…

[flagged]

Re: StarBook 14-inch

#105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had to laugh when I scrolled down and it claimed to have a 0th generation processor

Agreed, the labels for some of the numbers never loaded (or the CSS just borked) and it was just a vertical list of random numbers.

It worked fine on mine but it's a weird and confusing gimmick.

Re: StarBook 14-inch

#107
post #35

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.…

> The biggest disadvantage seems to be that the screen is bog-standard 16:9. Bigger than that IMO is 14" @ 1080p. It's just too little for daily use for me. Framework are so far the only ones in this market segment who have ever marketed >1080p laptop displays AFAIK. I have a hard time understanding why there is such a lack of higher-res panel options across the market, even when seemingly all other relevant specs ar…

What's your upper size limit for 1440p?

Re: StarBook 14-inch

#108
Long shot but can this power two lg 5k displays? I'm guessing it can at least power one since it has thunderbolt 4 but I think it depends on how many "lanes" are available right?

Re: StarBook 14-inch

#109
post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't have to run macOS. There's full support for Windows and Linux and x86 applications. This is also upgradable. Run out of storage? You can replace the drive! Add more RAM! Choice is good.

Asahi's making decent enough progress that, eventually, you may not need to run macOS to enjoy macOS hardware. Why would I pay ~$930 for this, instead of buying an M1 Air? The comment you're responding to hit the nail on the head - once you've gone fan-less and sleek, it's really hard to go back. Few vendors, if any, hit the quality feel of Apple's products.

> once you've gone fan-less and sleek, it's really hard to go back

I've had sleek laptops where I couldn't tell there was a fan. Not sure what the fuss is.

Re: StarBook 14-inch

#110

Long shot but can this power two lg 5k displays? I'm guessing it can at least power one since it has thunderbolt 4 but I think it depends on how many "lanes" are available right?

unless you're considering using an egpu, thunderbolt is completely irrelevant to whether the machine can drive two 5k displays (from any mfg). thunderbolt is saying little more than the device can route pcie signals externally. on top of that, thunderbolt is only available on the intel model

both intel and amd models use their respective igpu, so it's unlikely you're going to have a pleasant experience trying to drive those displays without an egpu

Post reply on HN