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Ask HN: Is there a developer laptop that does not suck and is not a Mac in 2022?

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Re: Ask HN: Is there a developer laptop that does not suck and is not a Mac in 2022?

#491

Post by BiggsHoson »

shp0ngle wrote: post #340
ktpsns wrote: post #318

Thinkpad X1 (Yoga/Carbon) do great for heavy use developer laptops. I use them since the first generation, with Linux as operating system. Never had serious issues with drivers, even wacom, digitizer and auto display rotation are working nowadays, not to speak of USB-3, fingerprint sensors, etc. The whole device is a no-brainer and just works.

I have looked at Thinkpad x1 carbon, and they are so expensive! People complain about Apple Tax, but the x1 Carbon is so much more expensive for what it does.

I always buy my ThinkPads as factory refurbs with remaining warranty from reputable sellers on eBay, saving quite a bit of money.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a developer laptop that does not suck and is not a Mac in 2022?

#492

Post by ccrush »

Can I recommend a ThinkPad P series with Linux and some tuning? I've had nothing but good experiences for the most part. The only things I wouldn't recommend is a 4K laptop screen, Lenovo's prices for upgrades, or trying to get good power management in Linux. Make sure your CPU fans are turning when hear goes up or fix thinkfan config and check lm-sensors and don't use hibernate and force sleep mode to old/compatible/S3/other OS/Linux or whatever the option is called for you. Note about windows sleep mode: Microsoft worked with new firmware manufacturers for laptops to include sleep mode that's actually not sleeping but the CPU runs at 400MHz with the screen off. All your apps are still on, your computer is online, and things are happening while you think it's asleep. It uses very little power so actually being asleep or being in this mode doesn't change battery drain too much. However Linux won't play ball and it'll just wake up your computer and drain your battery while heating up your laptop bag. Turn it off.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a developer laptop that does not suck and is not a Mac in 2022?

#493

Post by hnburnsy »

650REDHAIR wrote: post #489
NorwegianDude wrote: post #174

You don't say where you are located, but unless you are in one of the few places where Dell doesn't offer on-site next business day support then XPS 13 is a great laptop. Their support is amazing: "We're not sure what is causing it, but we'll send someone to replace the whole motherboard tomorrow." "OH, your currently halfway across the world on a island? No problem, we'll be there tomorrow" I really don't understand…

My XPS15 has been a paperweight for 2 years now. The original Dell battery swelled up and was replaced under warranty. The replacement battery lasted a couple of months and was so swollen it broke my keyboard and trackpad. Dell support refused to fix it and couldn't provide me with a battery because they were completely out. I tried 3 different vendors and all 3 batteries failed to work because Dell has battery DRM.…

Just replaced the 97 WH battery on my Xps15 for the third time in 4 years, got the battery from third party on Amazon for $50, no issues, and the second battery lasted longer than the Dell OEM battery. Just search for 6GTPY. Not sure what DRM issue you ran into.

Install the Dell Power Manager application as it has very granular controls to allow you to maximize battery life and avoid the swelling issue. Good luck.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a developer laptop that does not suck and is not a Mac in 2022?

#494

Post by digitalsushi »

ss108 wrote: post #344
digitalsushi wrote: post #333

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In May 2020, my wife's Dell laptop blipped out during her morning coffee from an over-weekend break, and by noon there was a Dell technician sitting at a card table in our garage, 32F/0C degrees, socially isolating from any germs we could have, and he swapped motherboards inside of an hour. Incredible.

Where are you located where it's 32F in May, lol

New Hampshire

Re: Ask HN: Is there a developer laptop that does not suck and is not a Mac in 2022?

#495

Post by 650REDHAIR »

hnburnsy wrote: post #493
650REDHAIR wrote: post #489

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My XPS15 has been a paperweight for 2 years now. The original Dell battery swelled up and was replaced under warranty. The replacement battery lasted a couple of months and was so swollen it broke my keyboard and trackpad. Dell support refused to fix it and couldn't provide me with a battery because they were completely out. I tried 3 different vendors and all 3 batteries failed to work because Dell has battery DRM.…

Just replaced the 97 WH battery on my Xps15 for the third time in 4 years, got the battery from third party on Amazon for $50, no issues, and the second battery lasted longer than the Dell OEM battery. Just search for 6GTPY. Not sure what DRM issue you ran into. Install the Dell Power Manager application as it has very granular controls to allow you to maximize battery life and avoid the swelling issue. Good luck.

Mind sharing the exact model/link?

Re: Ask HN: Is there a developer laptop that does not suck and is not a Mac in 2022?

#496

Post by hnburnsy »

650REDHAIR wrote: post #495
hnburnsy wrote: post #493

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just replaced the 97 WH battery on my Xps15 for the third time in 4 years, got the battery from third party on Amazon for $50, no issues, and the second battery lasted longer than the Dell OEM battery. Just search for 6GTPY. Not sure what DRM issue you ran into. Install the Dell Power Manager application as it has very granular controls to allow you to maximize battery life and avoid the swelling issue. Good luck.

Mind sharing the exact model/link?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B096DZJR5K

Re: Ask HN: Is there a developer laptop that does not suck and is not a Mac in 2022?

#498

Post by strangus »

fsflover wrote: post #56

Perhaps https://puri.sm/products/librem-14 should fit well for your requirements. I'm happy with their previous model, Librem 15.

Ordered a librem-14 in July of 2021. Never showed up. Filed for a refund in January 2022. Still waiting on that return. Can't dispute it with the cc company because it's over 120 days. I am going to have to take them to small claims court to get a refund.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a developer laptop that does not suck and is not a Mac in 2022?

#500

Post by nottorp »

smoldesu wrote: post #463
what-imright wrote: post #399

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Windows is a terrible OS. I don't even consider it an operating system, rather just malware that imitates macOS.

Which is a real shame, since MacOS has been imitating Unix since the beginning of time. And nowadays it doesn't even do that well, seeing how you can't run most containers without a second kernel running in a sidecar VM. It's true what they say, there is no good operating system under the sun.

> Which is a real shame, since MacOS has been imitating Unix since the beginning of time.

Hmm? Mac OS being unix based is new. Just from 2001, with OS X.

And I wouldn't say it's imitating, it's just a BSD unix under the hood.

> seeing how you can't run most containers without a second kernel running in a sidecar VM

That's because they don't want to put the effort in to do a Mac OS specific solution though. Not because they couldn't.

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