It seems that Linux-philes use IBM/Lenovos and Dells. I have seen this elsewhere, too.
What Linux laptops do you use for development?
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Re: What Linux laptops do you use for development?
#32I hate typing on laptops. Do any have a good keyboard?
Buckling spring keyboard from pckeyboard.com modified with Unix layout, or a Sun Type 7 if you prefer a quieter keyboard.
Re: What Linux laptops do you use for development?
#33Consider MacOS on a MacBook. I realize it's not Linux, but you avoid the trouble of installing and maintaining Linux.
Do you have to pay for all your software, or is there good free software to use for a Mac?
I use almost all free software. I do all of my work under the MacOS unix environment with vim, gcc, python, etc etc. You can use the MacPorts ( http://www.macports.org ) package manager to install and manage your usual unix utilities. (MacPorts is analogous to portage/emerge on Gentoo, apt-get on Debian, yum on RedHat/Fedora, and FreeBSD's ports). I also use Firefox for web and Adium X for IM.
The only thing I can recall paying for is Parallels, a virtualizer similar to VMWare, to run MS Windows under MacOS. I hardly ever use it.
Re: What Linux laptops do you use for development?
#34Consider MacOS on a MacBook. I realize it's not Linux, but you avoid the trouble of installing and maintaining Linux.
If you haven't tried Linux recently, it's actually gotten pretty good on both of those fronts, especially if you compare it to Windows. Also, many PC manufacturers are starting to pre-install Linux, which should make it even easier for people who don't want to worry about installation.
Re: What Linux laptops do you use for development?
#35You don't develop on laptops. This is not what they are built for: they slow, keyboards are not capable of decent typing speed and screens are tiny. Stop trying to look hip and get yourself a workstation.
Depends. I've been developing our site on a macbook pro. I prefer a workstation for the faster hard drive, but when developing a web app based on an interpreted language, that doesn't really matter.
And I'm using an external keyboard + LCD, so I have the best of both worlds.
Re: What Linux laptops do you use for development?
#36Consider MacOS on a MacBook. I realize it's not Linux, but you avoid the trouble of installing and maintaining Linux.
If you haven't tried Linux recently, it's actually gotten pretty good on both of those fronts, especially if you compare it to Windows. Also, many PC manufacturers are starting to pre-install Linux, which should make it even easier for people who don't want to worry about installation.
I have no trouble installing, customizing, and maintaining a Linux machine. I simply don't want to. I'd rather spend the time coding! :)
Plus the Mac OS X desktop environment is nice. This is exactly what I need: native UNIX and a good desktop environment.
Re: What Linux laptops do you use for development?
#37I run Ubuntu on a MacBook, but as long as the laptop you buy has Intel graphics and wireless, you'll usually be fine. My last laptop was one of Dell's 12" widescreen models, and it worked fine for me.
have you run into any problems with the built-in wireless? i know the older powerpc based models did not have a linux driver available for the wireless, but i'm not familiar with the intels.
The wireless works fine for me. I think I've come across a post or two on forums about the newest MacBooks having issues with the wireless that force people to use ndiswrapper, but mine works fine. I wouldn't suggest getting a Mac if you know you're going to be running Linux all the time. I got mine because I got a pretty nice discount. I never touch the OS X partition.
Re: What Linux laptops do you use for development?
#38Consider MacOS on a MacBook. I realize it's not Linux, but you avoid the trouble of installing and maintaining Linux.
MacOS is a nice Unix in its own right, and if you really need to have Linux, it runs fine under Parallels. I've got Windows XP, Ubuntu, and the One Laptop Per Child project images on my MacBook, and can boot any of them depending on what I want to check out.
Re: What Linux laptops do you use for development?
#39Ubuntu 6.10 on Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo Pa
Re: What Linux laptops do you use for development?
#40You don't develop on laptops. This is not what they are built for: they slow, keyboards are not capable of decent typing speed and screens are tiny. Stop trying to look hip and get yourself a workstation.
How is Linux at supporting dual monitors?
That would have been my answer to the parent: I use an external monitor, mouse and keyboard at home.
I've managed to get the ATI Radeon under Ubuntu to display both two desktops or only use one screen or the other. But it was quite a fight. And more fancy things like one large desktop on two screens didn't work out.