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System76 Pangolin Linux-first laptop with AMD internals now in stock

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Re: System76 Pangolin Linux-first laptop with AMD internals now in stock

#171

Post by washadjeffmad »

chrisseaton wrote: post #143
jagger27 wrote: post #7

I say it every time every time one of these threads pop up and I’ll say it again here: if it’s not 16:10 or 3:2 I’m simply not interested. I buy devices like this for productivity. I don't care about black bars when watching videos because I don't watch videos on it. What I absolutely care about is the extra inch of text in my terminal or text editor. I didn't think this was a controversial opinion.

Doesn't a wide aspect ratio let you put two code listings next to each other?

If you're viewing this website on a computer, what dimensions are your browser window?

On mine, it's roughly the size and proportion of my last CRT monitor. I didn't do it out of nostalgia, but it's significantly less comfortable for my eyes to scan horizontal than vertical.

It's not that I want height as much as I don't want width.

Re: System76 Pangolin Linux-first laptop with AMD internals now in stock

#172

Post by Fnoord »

caslon wrote: post #117
amelius wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok, so the conclusion is that the keyboard should be customizable.

No, the conclusion is that more buttons are always better. You can always customize a keyboard with minimal effort, unless you're on a really bad operating system, like any of the proprietary ones.

> No, the conclusion is that more buttons are always better.

Not really. There was a time where laptops, especially 15", had front speakers. If the choice is that or numpad, I pick front speakers. Its a bummer smartphones don't have them anymore these days. More keys might seem like a no-brainer, but its always also less is more and keys you don't use are useless keys. As power user, it seems (re)binding of keys is in order anyway.

1080p and numpad is a downgrade from my MBP 2015. It also doesn't specify much about the AMD graphics card. I'd rather get a modular laptop instead, but with 1440p minimum.

The thing with a trackpad centered to left (let alone its gonna be as good as a Magic Trackpad 2 by Apple from 2015 and onward), is that if you use your right hand your arm can get hurt if you let it rest. And, you should let your arms rest. Also, the arm is in the way. Apple had a neat solution to it: large(r) trackpad (though I prefer the previous one, centered).

But I was never in the market for this because if I order something like this from USA I get to pay a large amount of taxes on top of it cause the price never includes tax. Let me know if its available in Europe and I'll have a look, but the above remain serious concerns so I doubt it.

Re: System76 Pangolin Linux-first laptop with AMD internals now in stock

#173

Post by slategruen »

trashface wrote: post #67
Rd6n6 wrote: post #39

What are system76 keyboards and trackpads like? I wish I could touch one before having to decide whether to buy

I have an oryp5 (2019). The keyboard is ok. The numeric pad is annoying though, as others have commented. I definitely prefer my old mac which didn't have one. The touchpad is awful. Way too sensitive to palm touches, even in windows - so it isn't just a linux driver issue. This might be related to the fact that its off center but I think its just lousy hardware. In linux I've tweaked both the touchpad area (reduced)…

> The touchpad is awful

Have you tried it with Wayland?

Re: System76 Pangolin Linux-first laptop with AMD internals now in stock

#174

Post by [deleted] »

washadjeffmad wrote: post #171
chrisseaton wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't a wide aspect ratio let you put two code listings next to each other?

If you're viewing this website on a computer, what dimensions are your browser window? On mine, it's roughly the size and proportion of my last CRT monitor. I didn't do it out of nostalgia, but it's significantly less comfortable for my eyes to scan horizontal than vertical. It's not that I want height as much as I don't want width.

[deleted]

Re: System76 Pangolin Linux-first laptop with AMD internals now in stock

#175

Post by stavros »

jjoonathan wrote: post #14
johnzim wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have no idea who thought this was a good idea. The trackpad is even off to the left to accommodate it. I'm not a fan of symmetry for symmetry's sake, but I do think some affordances for the human body might be a good idea. How do southpaws enjoy this keyboard setup? The ergonomics of laptops are bad enough without stuff like this.

I love numeric keypads. I don't have to type in big chunks of numbers very often (OCR and GPIB go a long way) but when I do, numeric pads make me hate life a lot less.

I have a custom keyboard I designed, and I configured it so that the tilde key turns the right-hand side into a numpad (ie the yuiohjkl etc keys). It's great, no need for extra unused buttons and very convenient to use (as the left hand is typically not used when typing on the num pad).

Re: System76 Pangolin Linux-first laptop with AMD internals now in stock

#176

Post by zwayhowder »

ohazi wrote: post #113
abledon wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't 1080p way better for battery life + its mostly indistinguishable in pixels? unless you are like, looking really close at the pixels? remember its 1080p inside a 15" monitor, not a 24" monitor a PC has.

I have good eyes and strongly prefer wqhd (2560x1440) over 1080p on my 14" Thinkpad, because I can just barely lay out two windows side by side without stupid websites like Gmail and JIRA getting too narrow, using my scale factor of choice. With 1080p, I turn off scaling and it just doesn't work. Full screen is too big, anything less than 2/3 is too narrow. I can easily get 10 hours of battery life with light use, so…

This! The wonderful world of reflowing webpages that assumes anything less than 1080p is a mobile is so frustrating. I too find WQHD a good fit for my 14" Thinpad.

Re: System76 Pangolin Linux-first laptop with AMD internals now in stock

#177

Post by jagger27 »

chrisseaton wrote: post #159
jagger27 wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure. It works even better with a little extra height.

Isn't that argument circular? Wide screen - great but add a little height so you can see more rows. Now you have a tall screen - great but add a little width so you can see more columns.

See layer8’s comment above. Let’s say there’s a sweet spot somewhere between ultrawide and square. Why would 16:9 be ideal? The golden ratio is pretty close to 16:10, which is the basis of A4 (etc.) paper.

Re: System76 Pangolin Linux-first laptop with AMD internals now in stock

#178

Post by pessimizer »

chrisseaton wrote: post #145
jm4 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would have thought the same several years ago. At age 40+, 1080p on a laptop is still good. Even at 1080p, I have to go into accessibility settings to enlarge text. I'm pretty much out of the market for 4k screens on laptops these days. Also had to switch to a big phone and crank up the text size.

> Even at 1080p, I have to go into accessibility settings to enlarge text. 1080p is about the resolution of the screen, not the size of anything rendered on the screen.

A resolution far higher than the resolution of the eyes of someone with bad eyesight, at a normal distance.

Re: System76 Pangolin Linux-first laptop with AMD internals now in stock

#179

Post by ohazi »

kazinator wrote: post #44
ruined wrote: post #12

1080p screen is a no-go. come on yall, it's 2021

It's a 15" screen! For 4K to even begin to make sense, you need a 40" diagonal, and with your face about a foot away from it. (For a more detailed explanation, ask a local fifth grader.)

40" diagonal seems a bit extreme.

I think my 27" 4k display is perfect. My dad has slightly worse eyes and prefers his 32" 4k display, which I find noticably grainier but perfectly serviceable.

Re: System76 Pangolin Linux-first laptop with AMD internals now in stock

#180

Post by syshum »

johnzim wrote: post #8
protomyth wrote: post #2

I wish a person could order one of these without the numeric keypad. I deeply hate being off-center to the screen when typing on these larger portables.

I have no idea who thought this was a good idea. The trackpad is even off to the left to accommodate it. I'm not a fan of symmetry for symmetry's sake, but I do think some affordances for the human body might be a good idea. How do southpaws enjoy this keyboard setup? The ergonomics of laptops are bad enough without stuff like this.

I buy 15in Laptops specifically for the 10 key num pad. I type on my keyboard all day offset with no issues.
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