XPS 13 developer edition 7th generation available • Hacker News Board

Re: XPS 13 developer edition 7th generation available

#371

Post by jhasse » Fri, Jan 05, 2018, 12:56 PM UTC

tepmoc wrote: post #370

jhasse wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IMHO 16:9 is best for coding. You can have multiple files side by side. Or a terminal next to your editor. When Debugging: Watching variables, call stack, ... next to your code.

16:9 fine for desktop displays where its usually large diagonals, but on 15' or smaller is kinda lose too much vertical space. Anyway is about personal choice and currently there isn't much choice for 3:2 laptops for reasonable price/specs

> but on 15' or smaller is kinda lose too much vertical space.

You could see it that way, but you could also say that you gain horizontal space ;)

Re: XPS 13 developer edition 7th generation available

#372

Post by jhasse » Fri, Jan 05, 2018, 1:14 PM UTC

pkilgore wrote: post #251

My biggest problem is that with these screens Linux hiDPI support for fractional scaling is just bad. Sure, you can hack it. And unity, for it's failings, pretty much just works. But the rest of the space is horrendous.

With 4K using 2x integer scaling should be fine, shouldn't it?

Re: XPS 13 developer edition 7th generation available

#373

Post by jhasse » Fri, Jan 05, 2018, 1:17 PM UTC

cryptoz wrote: post #301

mancerayder wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe I'm missing something, but if they sent you an Ubuntu-compatible laptop and just forgot to install Ubuntu on it, can't you do that yourself? It's not the installation by the vendor that makes the Ubuntu support novel, it's the hardware selection and official support, right?

This voids the warranty of the machine. You also do not get their professional support this way, which was the primary reason I was attempting to purchase the computer in the first place.

> This voids the warranty of the machine.

That shouldn't be the case: http://en.community.dell.com/techcenter/os-applications/f/44...

> You also do not get their professional support this way

Why not? How do they know you got one with Windows if your invoice says Linux?

Re: XPS 13 developer edition 7th generation available

#374

Post by ascendantlogic » Fri, Jan 05, 2018, 1:50 PM UTC

rsynnott wrote: post #133

ascendantlogic wrote: post #11

Only 16 gigs of RAM? Why do companies still hold that limit in 2018? I was hoping for 32 gigs back in 2015.

If you want 32GB on current Intel mobile chips, you have to use DDR4 rather LPDDR3, thus requiring more power. Some laptops do this, but usually not the ultrabook-ish ones. Upcoming Intel chips will support LPDDR4, removing the problem.

Well I honestly didn't know that. Thank you for the information.

Re: XPS 13 developer edition 7th generation available

#375

Post by spatular » Fri, Jan 05, 2018, 2:13 PM UTC

sowbug wrote: post #303

crispinb wrote: post #285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So you're on the team? Here's a perspective from a potential buyer. Apple having truly jumped the shark on their MB Pros, I've been mulling on and off about what to do when it's time to replace my current 13" MBP. An XPS 13 or 15 w/Ubuntu is definitely on my radar. But I am a bit scared off by reliability & quality reports. They're only anecdotal & biased samples of course, but there's not much else for a poor consum…

There are 3 in my family, a 9350 and two 9360s. All work fine. I represent the majority of people who have no reason to write anything about their computers because there's nothing to say.

I also own 9360 with 1080p panel for half a year.

The only thing that bothered me was adaptive brightness (CABC) that was fixed in my case with an unofficial panel firmware at some risk to brick the device. Coil whine is perceptable only if I keep ear close to the keyboard. No other problems.

If there is someone from Dell here: please fix CABC! Unofficial patch proves that it can be done. It's especially important for linux devs who switch between dark terminal windows and browser: CABC increases backlight brightness if contents of screen are light, and decreases if it's dark. So, I switch from terminal to browser, brightness jump is already unpleasant as is, but then CABC kicks in, increases brightness and burns out eyes. Switch back to terminal -- too dark, difficult to see anything. How it's even supposed to work... Another unpleasant thing happens when CABC starts to adjust brighness back and forth while I edit code, it's highly annoing when it happens.

Edit: There were also a problems with Atheros WiFi, but new firmware from Atheros's github fixes them completely for me. Works stable since June 2017.

Re: XPS 13 developer edition 7th generation available

#376

Post by ZuLuuuuuu » Fri, Jan 05, 2018, 2:59 PM UTC

dangrossman wrote: post #199

I regret buying a maxed out XPS 13 a year and a half ago. My list of problems: * Coil whine * Noisy fans * Heat issues * USB-C port has a bad pin (only works in one orientation with pressure) * Charging port inconsistently charges * Bad cell in the battery, so it suddenly shuts off without warning when on battery The charging issues started just around the 12 month mark, so I quickly sent to a repair center under war…

I have Dell XPS 13 9350 (Full HD). The computer randomly wakes up from sleep and drains the battery. And sometimes it wakes up in airplane mode. I haven't been able to solve it no matter what. Updated all drivers including BIOS, tried all the solutions people suggested online, formatted Windows, changed wifi card. Problem still continues... Also the battery life is nowhere near what they advertised. Other than that I am satisfied but this issues are so annoying that I want to change it as soon as possible.

Re: XPS 13 developer edition 7th generation available

#377

Post by edelsohn » Fri, Jan 05, 2018, 3:25 PM UTC

hortonew wrote: post #258

edelsohn wrote: post #252

I regret buying my XPS 13. The battery dangerously expanded, warped the keyboard, and Dell refuses to fix it.

I had the same issue with the XPS 15 9550, but they replaced it out of warranty.

The XPS 15 had a "known issue". Dell refuses to admit an issue with the XPS 13, so it refuses to replace the battery out of warranty, despite the safety concern.

Re: XPS 13 developer edition 7th generation available

#378

Post by wutbrodo » Fri, Jan 05, 2018, 3:46 PM UTC

dsego wrote: post #161

torgard wrote: post #98

Max 8gb for regular display... I mean, who uses touch screens for development? I can't really imagine a scenario where it would be helpful for me. Maybe when doing work in Illustrator and Photoshop, but I usually use a different machine for that anyhow, because of Adobe's lack of Linux support. I don't want to pay for something I won't use. I am otherwise actively looking for a laptop. System76 does not have European…

Touch screen is a big con for me. I've had an xps 13 for a brief time one year ago. It was the QHD model, I wanted the resolution. Well, the screen isn't bright enough and there is too much glare, almost like a mirror. It drains the battery faster, even if you disable the touch sensor. Although the colors were nice, white areas would look dirty, like there was some grayish pattern, probably the sensor grid. All this…

Agreed, I had the 2015 model for personal use and bought the 2016 model for work: I got the QHD screen on the latter, and while I appreciate the screen quality, I really don't think it's worth it.

Re: XPS 13 developer edition 7th generation available

#379

Post by wutbrodo » Fri, Jan 05, 2018, 3:50 PM UTC

MrMorden wrote: post #325

KirinDave wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anyone doing mobile or web development? It's sorta unfortunate that folks consider touch screens to be a useless luxury. I suspect if folks didn't, a lot of small X11 utilities would be easier to write.

I don't think anyone considers touch screens to be a "useless luxury"; the problem is that touch screens are also pro-glare, and that's actively harmful. I like 4k, and touch with a matte display would be unobjectionable, but any display that's not anti-glare is a big cup of nope.

> I don't think anyone considers touch screens to be a "useless luxury"

FWIW, I do. My current XPS 13 has a touchscreen which I would disable even if it didn't have so many downsides (battery, glare, etc). I'm pretty damn efficient with a keyboard and occasional mouse usage, and I don't really find a desktop touch screen to be at all desirable.

Re: XPS 13 developer edition 7th generation available

#380

Post by wutbrodo » Fri, Jan 05, 2018, 3:54 PM UTC

rayalez wrote: post #227

torgard wrote: post #98

Max 8gb for regular display... I mean, who uses touch screens for development? I can't really imagine a scenario where it would be helpful for me. Maybe when doing work in Illustrator and Photoshop, but I usually use a different machine for that anyhow, because of Adobe's lack of Linux support. I don't want to pay for something I won't use. I am otherwise actively looking for a laptop. System76 does not have European…

I'm extremely happy with my Thinkpad X1 Carbon 4th gen. That's my second ThinkPad, absolutely perfect for development, great no-nonsense laptop, works flawlessly with Ubuntu. Highly recommend it.

I have used exclusively ThinkPads with Linux for about a decade, and tried switching to the XPS 13 for my last two computers. I think it's a shockingly well designed machine.... On paper. The bezel improvement is incredible, my battery life is insane, but there are just two many things broken with it for me to bother.

1) Both chargers failed after less than a year

2) Wi-Fi and suspend have been a consistent problem (even on the Developer edition that came with Linux! Did nobody at Dell try connecting to the internet or suspending? It's a fucking laptop!)

3) Their "premium support" was worse than useless (I ended up spelunking through dmesg and firmware files and fixing it myself)

4) constant coil whine

5) a TouchPad that loses its mind a few times a day....

I had all of these problems on BOTH machines. The design is so good that it's _almost_ worth it, but I'm pretty confident I will never buy a Dell product again. Back to the X1 carbon for me.