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StarBook 14-inch

starlabs.systems

111–120 of 381 posts

Re: StarBook 14-inch

#111

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 driv…

Well then I'm out of luck because I don't know of a GPU that can power a thunderbolt display unfortunately

Re: StarBook 14-inch

#112
This comes as a reminder that good, high resolution screens are not a given yet.

Every other specs are configurable or look decent enough, and it seems to be a well thought, very competent product. I image not getting a screen on-par with current macbooks for instance to be something that was just not feasible, and clearly not an oversight.

Re: StarBook 14-inch

#113
Tangantially related, I remember reading the Asahi Linux wiki [0], and was shocked by this statement about Apple Silicon machines. It's fascinating that Apple has a reputation for being anti-libre, yet the hardware they built is arguably very libre-friendly.

> This puts them somewhere between x86 PCs and a libre-first system like the Talos II in terms of freedom to replace firmware and boot components; while a number of blobs are required in order to boot the system, none of those have the ability to take over the OS or compromise it post-boot (unlike, say, Intel ME and AMD PSP on recent systems, or the DMA-capable chips on the LPC bus running opaque blobs that exist on even old ThinkPads).

> From a security perspective, these machines may possibly qualify as the most secure general purpose computers available to the public which support third-party OSes, in terms of resistance to attack by non-owners.

[0]: https://github.com/AsahiLinux/docs/wiki/Introduction-to-Appl...

Re: StarBook 14-inch

#114
I don't understand why the industry hasn't switched over completely to hidpi screens. Once you use one you can never go back. I feel so bad for people still using 1920x1080 screens. Truly the price of freedom is having to squint and lose your eyesight, hoping that font tricks can save you, when you could just be using a display with a modern amount of pixels on it.

Re: StarBook 14-inch

#115
post #51

Tiny bit puzzled by the random USB2 port? Seems out of place given rest of specs. Is there a specific reason why that would be desirable over another USB3?

I would guess that it’s available on the chipset so they added it. Maybe nothing more than that.

Re: StarBook 14-inch

#116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

it never changed, p in 1080p always referred to progressive lines as it came from movies/tv, 4k always meant 4096 at horizontal. We still have 2160p which is 3840×2160 They never replaced each other, just different definitions for screen sizes

Re: StarBook 14-inch

#117
post #82
post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

> Framework are so far the only ones in this market segment who have ever marketed >1080p laptop displays AFAIK. Dell has sold their Linux-ready "developer edition" XPS 13 with a UHD+ screen for quite a few years now. (They max out at 16GB of RAM, though, unfortunately.) Dell isn't quite as "open" as something like Framework or System76 (or Star Labs), but they at least sell their Developer Edition laptop with Ubuntu…

The post-Ice Lake models of the XPS series all support 32GB of RAM on the Developer Editions; I have one. Until that point this was Intel's fault because before then they were behind on their memory controllers, nothing Dell could do about it.

Fingerprint reader support for Linux in general has been a sticking point for a very long time, including on the XPS series. (I still fondly remembering the blobs needed for my old ThinkPad's reader to work...) But it's basically the only thing that requires blobs from my knowledge. I don't even bother with it on my stock Fedora install, though it is quite slick in Windows, I admit...

Re: StarBook 14-inch

#118
I know the people working on Asahi Linux don’t have things perfect yet, but it runs on an M1 Air. That machine claims 18 hours of battery life (in some tests, MacOS) and gets 14.5-16.5 hours depending on who tests it.

The StarBook claims 10 and probably achieves less (everyone does).

The base specs are roughly comparable, except i3 vs M1 and the high resolution screen on the Mac.

The site is quoting me $883 vs $999.

Even ignoring the CPU difference, the battery life alone is probably worth the $100, let alone the display.

I understand the value some place on its openness, but it’s not even a medium sacrifice. It’s pretty big.

Re: StarBook 14-inch

#119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

It changed with the “K”. The marketing teams decided that 4K sounded better than 2160p. This is all the more ridiculous as 4K usually means UHD where neither axis has 4000 pixels ( 3840 x 2160 ). In the industry I am in, this would be called 8 MP ( Megapixel ) instead.

After the popularity of 4K, somebody noticed that they could start calling 1080p 2K to make it sound better than 1080p. If you say 3 MP, does that sound even better? I mean, 3,000,000 is more then 2000 right?

Re: StarBook 14-inch

#120
post #53
post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

HP zBooks support linux (not coreboot though) and have trackpoint plus mouse buttons between keyboard and top of the touchpad. They are heavy though.

Not all trackpoints are the same. ThinkPads are unfortunately uncontested.

IMO, not all Thinkpads. My E485 was noticeably worse than my X1C6. Never seemed to track as well, nor did it seem to resist "sticking" as much.

I don't quite know to describe sticking, but it's like when an INU (or a strain gauge in this case) fails to properly self calibrate, and it decides that an objectively false input is true. Something similar to video game controllers with "stick drift," but not quite the same afaik.

Aside: Ultimately, I can take it or leave it w.r.t. the trackpoint. A good touchpad can do wonders. In tight spaces I use my thumbs then rely on decent tap-to-click and inertial dragging implementations (present since ~2008). Though in the recent years, I haven't had to commute to work by train or bus anymore, nor have I had to really travel by airplane.

When typing, I mostly rely on keyboard commands for text-heavy work. I do find quite a bit of use in many thinkpad's KB layout still preserving home/end/insert/pgup/pgdn without needing to resort to "fn" key twister games, even if newer Thinkpad layouts are worse and worse for this (insert key got eaten by fn in some newer laptops, and there are obviously longstanding debates over the 7row vs 6 row). None of the griping about the "swapped" ctrl/fn key positions would even matter if functions weren't being hidden behind fn keys in the first place, negating the need for a fn key at all.

I do appreciate the thinkpad's clustered f1-f12 keys, which make common f keys quicker and easier to find.

I've never used the touchpad on any of my thinkpads.

I think Lenovo have been okay stewards of decent laptops. Not great, especially relative to newer developments on the market.

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