Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Dell’s gamble on Linux laptops has paid off

techradar.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

311–319 of 319 posts

Re: Dell’s gamble on Linux laptops has paid off

#311

Post by microcolonel »

vetinari wrote: post #289
microcolonel wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I never get to see same smoothness in graphics and fonts as MacOS/Windows/ChromeOS in the same machine with Linux. Well, Chrome OS runs the same stuff as your average Linux distro, however maybe most distros don't turn on subpixel antialiasing in their FontConfig out of the box. (I don't know because I've been sharing configs between machines of the same distro for about five years).

Some distros do not enable subpixel rendering indeed, due to patents and them being based in the US. The users have to download a -freeworld package then, if they want it. With HiDPI, that doesn't matter anyway. Another issue are fonts themselves. If you have a document that uses Arial or Cambria or another proprietary font, and you don't have it installed, you are going to get something substituted, which may or may…

> patents and them being based in the US

If I'm not mistaken, those patents are dead now. Even Fedora has the freeworld stuff now.

> Another issue are fonts themselves. If you have a document that uses Arial or Cambria or another proprietary font, and you don't have it installed, you are going to get something substituted, which may or may be not metrics-compatible. Do not expect pixel-identical results then.

Yeah, though the Chrome OS core fonts are good metric-compatible substitutes for Arial and friends (though lacking the stylistic variety of the core Windows fonts).

Re: Dell’s gamble on Linux laptops has paid off

#312

Post by bitexploder »

bproven wrote: post #284
bitexploder wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. One laptop worth investigating that I haven't seen anyone discussing in this thread is the Precision 7520. It is the same chassis as the XPS 15" laptop, but you can configure it with some more adult options. It is 2017 and I finally own a laptop with 32GiB of ECC(!) RAM. That is pretty damn cool. Allow me to roll out my specs, just cause I love this laptop: * Quad Core Xeon (1505M) * Discrete GPU with accepta…

Sounds like what I should have bought. How long have you had it? Any issues? I'm about to swear off Dell due to the XPS15 (9550) - this laptop has been a buggy mess since I got it: had to replace the oem wifi adapter for an Intel to get any kind of stability, battery issues, issues with it waking up randomly in my bag and almost overheating, random high speed fan for no reason (no CPU load or heat reason). I think De…

Only one month. I had an XPS 13 and it was much buggier. I figure the large chassis makes it easier to design the hardware. The 13 worked but was a real battle for the first week.

This machine on 1604 is a dream so far. I do see Dell has more production issues, especially on XPS machines. Intel WiFi is a must. I learned a lot about what Dell does best on the 13" XPS.

Re: Dell’s gamble on Linux laptops has paid off

#313

Post by exikyut »

bitexploder wrote: post #187
luka-birsa wrote: post #6

As a 20 year Linux user I really appreciate Dells support in proving the market exists. This improved support across all manufacturers. I've recently acquired a HP Envy 13 2017 laptop with Windows preinstalled. I've really wanted to try Windows out, but after installing Google Chrome and Docker (1hr after starting it up) it stopped working - windows boot up into a blank black screen. In a hurry I've downloaded Ubuntu…

Agreed. One laptop worth investigating that I haven't seen anyone discussing in this thread is the Precision 7520. It is the same chassis as the XPS 15" laptop, but you can configure it with some more adult options. It is 2017 and I finally own a laptop with 32GiB of ECC(!) RAM. That is pretty damn cool. Allow me to roll out my specs, just cause I love this laptop: * Quad Core Xeon (1505M) * Discrete GPU with accepta…

Hastily gets nonexistant wallet out to go buy one

I like how Ubuntu and Red Hat are in the officially supported list of OSes.

Why didn't you go for 64GB ECC DDR4? :P

I couldn't see a smartcard slot on it, and then I learned that the smartcard reader is contactless.

And it supports SD cards up to 2TB in size even.

The GPU only supports 4GB RAM though.

---

So I just found the order page and have been having a bunch of fun speccing out the most expensive possible device.

After wading through the comedy of

- LINUX/RED HAT Operating Systems are not available with Dell Threat Protection and Endpoint Security Suite option. Please change one of these selections.

- The Operating System you've selected does not support the ENERGY STAR Energy Efficient Option.

- The LINUX Operating System is not compatible with the Processor.

The absolute winner of

- The Operating System you've selected does not support Office Productivity Software.

And the (easily fixed) legacy annoyance of

- The Ubuntu Operating System does not support the Wireless Card you've selected.

I finally reached:

Starting at Price: $8,383.58

Total Savings: $3,005.11

Dell Price: $5,378.47 Niiiiiice.

I added absolutely everything but kept the screen at 1080p (which adds capacitative touch!). So it has 64GB RAM, two 1TB SSDs, a 4GB Quadro M2200, a 3.9GHz Xeon E3, and an IPS display.

I like how vPro can be left unchecked :>

I'm confused why it's still saying Linux is incompatible with the processor though. Why? :(

Let's see if this URL breaks Arc: http://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/dell-laptops-and-noteboo...

Re: Dell’s gamble on Linux laptops has paid off

#314

Post by bubblethink »

pbkhrv wrote: post #264
bubblethink wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Go to dell.com/developers . Dell's site is quite a disaster in general. It boggles the mind how hard it is for this giant corporations (Dell, Lenovo, HP) to make a halfway usable website.

None of the 15" Precision series laptops linked from that page seem to be available with Linux on their dedicated sales pages... Weird. Edit: they don't list Linux as being available until you go to "Customize and Buy".

Yes, poor websites. It's also hard to find a xeon-m + ecc memory without nvidia being added as a punishment. 7520 is the only one with such a config, and even that is a bad fit with other compromises.

Re: Dell’s gamble on Linux laptops has paid off

#315

Post by fgonzag »

thomastjeffery wrote: post #305
fgonzag wrote: post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have actually moved to vscode and I love it so far. I still can't move to Linux since I need visual studio for some older projects, but I hope I'll be able to make the switch in the future. In the mean time vscode + windows subsystem for Linux has been extremely usable for me, no more virtual machines

You don't have to switch. You can dual-boot. GParted or most distro's installers will resize your windows partition, just don't forget to disable fastboot in windows first . You can run Linux in a VM. Granted, this means you can't really use a good tiling window manager, which is one of my main reasons for not using Windows. You can run Windows in a VM. Take a look at Qubes to see just how integrated this can be.

I've run dual boot systems before. Not a fan of having to reboot to switch basically between programs. Thats why I used a Virtual machine and now I use Windows Subsystem for Linux.

Once we move to fully .net core shop, I'll be making the move to linux completely.

Re: Dell’s gamble on Linux laptops has paid off

#316

Post by bitexploder »

exikyut wrote: post #313
bitexploder wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. One laptop worth investigating that I haven't seen anyone discussing in this thread is the Precision 7520. It is the same chassis as the XPS 15" laptop, but you can configure it with some more adult options. It is 2017 and I finally own a laptop with 32GiB of ECC(!) RAM. That is pretty damn cool. Allow me to roll out my specs, just cause I love this laptop: * Quad Core Xeon (1505M) * Discrete GPU with accepta…

Hastily gets nonexistant wallet out to go buy one I like how Ubuntu and Red Hat are in the officially supported list of OSes. Why didn't you go for 64GB ECC DDR4? :P I couldn't see a smartcard slot on it, and then I learned that the smartcard reader is contactless . And it supports SD cards up to 2TB in size even. The GPU only supports 4GB RAM though. --- So I just found the order page and have been having a bunch of…

I tried really hard to come up with a need for the extra RAM and failed. Even with a few beefy VMs. Plus ECC is only available up to 32GiB. I kept mine to about 3800 and got all I can use for a long while I think :)

Re: Dell’s gamble on Linux laptops has paid off

#317

Post by em3rgent0rdr »

AnIdiotOnTheNet wrote: post #302
em3rgent0rdr wrote: post #294

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure "Linux" (by this I believe you mean Linux kernel and distros & open-source software) is hostile to the concept of proprietary drivers. There is only a small subset of users who are hostile to proprietary drivers. And I have no idea why you are suggesting Linux doesn't have a stable ABI.

Because for drivers, it doesn't and never did and never will as long as Linus has anything to say about it. This is in stark contrast to his position on userland ABI, which is so stable you can still run Motif.

Ok, that sounds like a fair criticism.

Re: Dell’s gamble on Linux laptops has paid off

#318

Post by exikyut »

bitexploder wrote: post #316
exikyut wrote: post #313

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hastily gets nonexistant wallet out to go buy one I like how Ubuntu and Red Hat are in the officially supported list of OSes. Why didn't you go for 64GB ECC DDR4? :P I couldn't see a smartcard slot on it, and then I learned that the smartcard reader is contactless . And it supports SD cards up to 2TB in size even. The GPU only supports 4GB RAM though. --- So I just found the order page and have been having a bunch of…

I tried really hard to come up with a need for the extra RAM and failed. Even with a few beefy VMs. Plus ECC is only available up to 32GiB. I kept mine to about 3800 and got all I can use for a long while I think :)

That's fair.

I open far far too many Chrome tabs and only have 8GB RAM, so I guess I'm very heavily biased.

FWIW, I was able to select 64GB ECC DDR4 in the configurator.

Re: Dell’s gamble on Linux laptops has paid off

#319

Post by vetinari »

microcolonel wrote: post #311
vetinari wrote: post #289

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some distros do not enable subpixel rendering indeed, due to patents and them being based in the US. The users have to download a -freeworld package then, if they want it. With HiDPI, that doesn't matter anyway. Another issue are fonts themselves. If you have a document that uses Arial or Cambria or another proprietary font, and you don't have it installed, you are going to get something substituted, which may or may…

> patents and them being based in the US If I'm not mistaken, those patents are dead now. Even Fedora has the freeworld stuff now. > Another issue are fonts themselves. If you have a document that uses Arial or Cambria or another proprietary font, and you don't have it installed, you are going to get something substituted, which may or may be not metrics-compatible. Do not expect pixel-identical results then. Yeah, t…

The bytecode interpreter patents are dead now.

Not the subpixel rendering ones ("cleartype"). In Fedora, FT_CONFIG_OPTION_SUBPIXEL_RENDERING is still disabled.

Google also released metric compatible substitutes for Cambria (Caladea) and Calibri (Carlito), but Linux distributions do not install them by default.

Edit: I'm wrong. In F27, the subpixel rendering is enabled.

Post reply on HN