HP Dev One Laptop with Pop_OS • Hacker News Board

Re: HP Dev One Laptop with Pop_OS

#11

Post by itomato » Fri, May 20, 2022, 10:36 PM UTC

Offset trackpad is a 100% deal breaker for me, sorry. It could support 64GB and Libreboot and I would pass.

Re: HP Dev One Laptop with Pop_OS

#12

Post by Rebelgecko » Fri, May 20, 2022, 10:37 PM UTC

messe wrote: post #7

16GB RAM? Is it upgradable or can it be configured higher? If not, why in god's name would you have 16GB RAM as a selling point? FHD at 14"? That's more than usable sure, but I'd prefer at least 2560x1440, preferably 2560x1600; A 16:9 aspect ratio is a pain in the ass. 4 years ago, these specs (if you can even call it that, we've been given almost no information) would have been decent. Now? This just seems desperate…

I haven't used Pop!_OS so maybe this isn't a valid concern, but some Linux distros have a hard time with DPI scaling, especially by non-integer amounts... So you could end up with an unfortunate situation where a 1440p screen is too small to read at 1x scaling but too clunky to use at 2x

Re: HP Dev One Laptop with Pop_OS

#13

Post by prescriptivist » Fri, May 20, 2022, 10:37 PM UTC

Looking at the keyboard layout makes me wonder. How many devs here actually use the right shift key and/or the right modifier keys? I've been programming for 20 years (15 or so using emacs) and I exclusively use the left shift and left modifiers. I probably have never used the (physically) right shift/modifier keys on the keyboard I'm currently typing on that I've had for 2 years.

I loathe the four left modifier key layout on keyboards which is probably why I hate typing on my Macbook. It would be nice if I could have a fat left control key with the fn key on the right somewhere.

Re: HP Dev One Laptop with Pop_OS

#14

Post by stakkur » Fri, May 20, 2022, 10:37 PM UTC

This seems...underwhelming. In most features, especially the screen. Also: I've used multiple high-end HP laptops at work (a requirement), and they are awful.

Re: HP Dev One Laptop with Pop_OS

#15

Post by jchw » Fri, May 20, 2022, 10:37 PM UTC

The pointer stick is a really great thing to have assuming it works well. That said, my muscle memory would be decimated by the lack of a middle button. On Thinkpads, holding this makes the pointer stick scroll, making it a lot more useful than if it only middle clicked.

Re: HP Dev One Laptop with Pop_OS

#16

Post by smoldesu » Fri, May 20, 2022, 10:38 PM UTC

fortysixdegrees wrote: post #6

Cursor arrow key layout fail. Devs use cursor keys more than anyone and they didn't prioritise a layout you can easily hit with muscle memory. I know because my current laptop has a layout like this machine and it sucks

Inverted-T is a good layout for the most part, but I think IBM/Lenovo have suckered me into their 3x2 arrow cluster. Having pgup and pgdown so close to a single hand really helps me fly through docs and PDFs.

Re: HP Dev One Laptop with Pop_OS

#17

Post by jeffbee » Fri, May 20, 2022, 10:38 PM UTC

aarongray wrote: post #5

It has a trackpoint mouse like the Thinkpads <3

All HP EliteBooks have one, right?

Re: HP Dev One Laptop with Pop_OS

#18

Post by na85 » Fri, May 20, 2022, 10:38 PM UTC

messe wrote: post #7

16GB RAM? Is it upgradable or can it be configured higher? If not, why in god's name would you have 16GB RAM as a selling point? FHD at 14"? That's more than usable sure, but I'd prefer at least 2560x1440, preferably 2560x1600; A 16:9 aspect ratio is a pain in the ass. 4 years ago, these specs (if you can even call it that, we've been given almost no information) would have been decent. Now? This just seems desperate…

>If not, why in god's name would you have 16GB RAM as a selling point?

With 16 GB you can run two whole Electron apps!

Re: HP Dev One Laptop with Pop_OS

#19

Post by messe » Fri, May 20, 2022, 10:40 PM UTC

Rebelgecko wrote: post #12

messe wrote: post #7

16GB RAM? Is it upgradable or can it be configured higher? If not, why in god's name would you have 16GB RAM as a selling point? FHD at 14"? That's more than usable sure, but I'd prefer at least 2560x1440, preferably 2560x1600; A 16:9 aspect ratio is a pain in the ass. 4 years ago, these specs (if you can even call it that, we've been given almost no information) would have been decent. Now? This just seems desperate…

I haven't used Pop!_OS so maybe this isn't a valid concern, but some Linux distros have a hard time with DPI scaling, especially by non-integer amounts... So you could end up with an unfortunate situation where a 1440p screen is too small to read at 1x scaling but too clunky to use at 2x

I believe Pop!_OS is based on GNOME, which handles fractional scaling in the same way as macOS, by rendering the UI at 2x and then scaling down. In my experience with macOS, this is good enough for ~95% of cases (I've run into issues with image editing and pixel art).

It hurts battery life, but... this is a developer laptop: make it a bit thicker, and give it as much battery as you legally can.

EDIT: If you're going to down this, please share your disagreement in the comments below; fractional scaling has some good arguments on either side, I'd be interested to hear another perspective.

Re: HP Dev One Laptop with Pop_OS

#20

Post by messe » Fri, May 20, 2022, 10:41 PM UTC

na85 wrote: post #18

messe wrote: post #7

16GB RAM? Is it upgradable or can it be configured higher? If not, why in god's name would you have 16GB RAM as a selling point? FHD at 14"? That's more than usable sure, but I'd prefer at least 2560x1440, preferably 2560x1600; A 16:9 aspect ratio is a pain in the ass. 4 years ago, these specs (if you can even call it that, we've been given almost no information) would have been decent. Now? This just seems desperate…

>If not, why in god's name would you have 16GB RAM as a selling point? With 16 GB you can run two whole Electron apps!

Slack and VSCode. What else does a developer laptop need?