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The Last PC Laptop

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61–70 of 156 posts

Re: The Last PC Laptop

#61
I have a UX32VD and I really like it - except for the fact that the integrated display sometimes doesn't wake up when it goes to sleep. Did anybody else notice the same problem?

Re: The Last PC Laptop

#63
post #34
post #3

Is this an ad or genuine? I'd trust it more if it didn't come with an amazom affiliate link.

yep, definitely an affiliate link. in previous posts atwood would disclose the affiliate links in the post (not sure why he didn't do so this time). amazon usually pays 4% on referrals (in this case 42$), so depending on the loyalty of his readership this "review" might be moderately lucrative.

Any idea why it's on the front page? Is he using bots to juice his posts?

Re: The Last PC Laptop

#64
post #53
post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My thoughts exactly. I cannot help but think there's a rather big opportunity for HW companies here...

I'm actually inclined to think there isn't . The things I want from a computer and what finds success in the market don't necessarily line up that well. I built the laptop I'm typing this on out of parts from three different Thinkpads because I wanted a 64-bit machine with a trackpoint and a high-quality 4:3 screen and nobody made one. About one in four of the programmer/IT types I talked to about it agreed that was…

How do you actually go about building your dream laptop? The parts needed just doesn't seem to mix-and-match like what we used to in desktop PCs.

Re: The Last PC Laptop

#65
post #36

Along with this, I'm considering the Thinkpad X1 Carbon or the Samsung Series 9 -- they're all advertised as lightweight, powerful, and with more vertical resolution than the usual piddling 768px. Anyone tried them and want to weigh in? http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/08/a-worthy-ultrabook-ap... (edit: previous discussion at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4428262 ) I'm leaning towards the Thinkpad since I g…

I reviewed Thinkpad X1 Carbon, Samsung Series 9 and both Zenbooks recently (tech journo here) at our test lab. Samsung has the best battery-per-weight ratio, but it has the worst screen out of the three. Still better than average, except its gamut which is typical = bad. The screen is the brightest out of three and 2nd best in contrast after Zenbook. The mouse has some problems, it likes to think you meant to select/…

Since you reviewed it recently, I'll assume you used the second-gen Series 9. I've got the first-gen running Linux, and it runs quite well. I can definitely attest to the screen being quite bright, but it is more then good enough for side viewing (although the 1366x768 resolution isn't that great, but usable). At least under Linux the touchpad works perfectly though, much better then any touch pad I've used under windows. Probably the best thing about the first-gen though, is that being a pre-ultrabook, it has removable memory, so I've currently got it ramped up to 16GB.

Re: The Last PC Laptop

#67
post #24

He has a desktop computer with a bunch of monitors, so I guess his laptop is mostly for email, entertainment and web browsing. Of course a tablet can do that just fine. If you're using a laptop as your main machine, you have different needs. Personally I am planning to retire my desktop computer and buy an ultrabook, probably a Samsung 900X3C. The Samsung is tinner and lighter, and I read it's a bit more solid in the…

I've been considering both the 900X3C and 900X4C myself, but Linux support isn't quite there yet. The most annoying outstanding issue (maybe the only one when Ubuntu 12.10 hits) is a nasty ACPI bug that causes Linux to fail to recognize when certain events take place, like lid close/open and battery charge/discharge, both pretty much show stoppers for a laptop IMHO. It seems to affect lots of Samsung laptops, not jus…

I have the original series 9 (900x3a), and I don't have all those problems (although I did have to do some manual fixes, which all should now be included in the latest kernel and udev). I admit I've never tried to upgrade the BIOS, probably been quite a while since I've checked for an update. Not having windows, it might be an issue if I needed to update, but it works fine as it is. The other advantage of the 900X3A is interchangeable ram, I've currently got 16GB in there.

Re: The Last PC Laptop

#68
My conclusion of this article is that even after so many years, it is still not possible to find a decent computer that fits normal needs even when money is not the issue.

I completely agree with the needs of the article: something usable in a subway, with a good screen, 10 hours of battery life, a descent CPU, an (optional) keyboard for productivity and a descent OS.

Re: The Last PC Laptop

#69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is the Razrl? Google search isn't being very helpful. I haven't done much testing of ARM versus Intel, but the experience that I do have with ARM, compiling software wise, using an i.MX6Q (Freescale), it takes roughly 3 1/2 hours (softfloat) to build Firefox 15. While the current market of ARM devices won't win any speed tests, there are more features to it than just power consumption. My mx51 netbook has no mov…

I'm talking about this Phone http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2409833,00.asp which as very recently been announced. With your mx51 netbook you've traded power consumption, noise and heat production against performance. If you value the former more than the latter, there is no discussion.

Ah. Okay. I'm reading/responding on my phone and I thought the i was an L.

The intel chip is definitely interesting.

Indeed it depends on what your needs/wants are. There are still quite a few people out who do expect an ARM device to have the same performance as an x86 one.

There are actually 2 different ARM cores that can be licensed, one is power efficient, and one is for performance. As far as I know, "everyone" licenses the power efficient one. I'd be interested in the performance one, but I'm not sure who licenses it. I could see Calxeda licensing it since they are in the server space, but I don't believe they are.

Re: The Last PC Laptop

#70

Along with this, I'm considering the Thinkpad X1 Carbon or the Samsung Series 9 -- they're all advertised as lightweight, powerful, and with more vertical resolution than the usual piddling 768px. Anyone tried them and want to weigh in? http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/08/a-worthy-ultrabook-ap... (edit: previous discussion at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4428262 ) I'm leaning towards the Thinkpad since I g…

I've installed ubuntu on the x1 carbon this weekend after hacker news recommendations about thinkpads for linux. UK model with US-English keyboard, i5 processor. Seems to be flawless with ubuntu. All drivers worked out of the box. Wireless, audio, suspend, wake up, volume keys on keyboard, battery warning. I've been able to use 'CompizConfig Settings Manager' to hack unity to be the way I want. I found a way to disable the low trackpad.

It's fast, light, beautiful keyboard. I'm really happy with it. I googled for discount vouchers when I ordered and got 10% off.

I'd recommend against buying it for Windows use. I tried it for a couple of days just to see what it was like. It comes preloaded with lots of rubbish (including aggressive Norton popups) and no install media. Awful. The base installation took up half of the 128GB hard disk, which seemed crazy. I uninstalled as much junk as I could, and it worked OK for a bit but later my VPN client stopped working.

If you can get an ISO image of Windows maybe you could install windows in virtual box.

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