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Ask HN: Is there a developer laptop that does not suck and is not a Mac in 2022?

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Re: Ask HN: Is there a developer laptop that does not suck and is not a Mac in 2022?

#501

Post by happymellon »

6c737133 wrote: post #483
mlmonge wrote: post #453

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've had an eye on the Huawei Matebook X Pro on Swappa. My other eye is on the XPS, new from Amazon. The latter is certainly more expensive and yet, doesn't impress me as much as the Matebook. But as we all know, Huawei is not trusted much here lately in the U.S. Is this in fact another Chinese company that's best we avoid? I was considering starting an Ask HN just for Huawei given not much has been posted here on th…

with all due respect - lol there isn't a fire capable of burning hot enough, to throw every huawei device into just google the company man, it's a track record that's genuinely hard to believe 20190409 backdoored laptops - https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-47800000 20190430 backdoored routers - https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/apr/30/alleged-h... 20210813 alleged widespread IP theft from a pakistani tech…

Yes I remember the router situation where they accidentally left telnet listening on the WAN.

I worked at Vodafone and all the routers get a security review, so it is highly doubtful that they left it in on purpose because they would have known that it would have been found. It was test engineering firmware that got left on some routers, and makes spurious claims even though in the article it points out that Vodafone didn't believe it was a backdoor.

And your first link talks about how someone appears to have added an additional chip to the design, which is unlikely to have come from Huawei. Sounds suspiciously similar to this

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-10-04/the-big-h...

Do you want a list of everything that Cisco (replace with your preferred networking manufacturer) messed up and claim that it's all malicious?

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/may/12/glenn-greenwal...

Tampering with these things is allegedly pretty simple.

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/10/plant...

Re: Ask HN: Is there a developer laptop that does not suck and is not a Mac in 2022?

#502

Post by z9znz »

ImPostingOnHN wrote: post #480
z9znz wrote: post #445

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With the hub, you have many more ports - when you need them. My little Anker has two USB-A, two USB-C (one may be thunderbolt I think), HDMI, and SD card slot. You're not going to find a laptop with more than those ports. So I stand by my comment that 2 ports (and the optional little hub in your bag) are all you need. If you somehow need more, then you probably aren't traveling with all that gear... or at least not u…

that doesn't work if you don't have the hub, meaning you need two ports plus also to buy this hub and carry the hub around with you everywhere you go with your laptop, and add in the hassle of dealing with it that is significantly less convenient and more expensive than a computer that has the same functionality without needing the extra hardware or a bag to carry around "accessories" that bring the laptop up to snuf…

I'm curious; what external devices are you always needing connected to your laptop? What is this "extra hardware" and "accessories" that you need (and which you seem to think most people also need)?

In my case, the port expander is smaller than a phone, and I rarely need it. My laptop has 2TB of drive space, so I don't need external storage except occasionally at home to do a physical backup. But my important data is frequently syncing to the cloud, so I don't need to travel with a backup drive.

So more than 99% of the time, all I need is the laptop (and usually internet, which I have via wifi or mobile phone hotspot.

And with one 65W Anker power adapter, I have 2 USB and 1 USB-C power so I can charge my laptop, phone, and a third small device if necessary.

The MB Air is very thin, pretty light, and very rigid. That makes traveling so much more pleasant compared to the bulky heavy XPS 15 I previously had. Yes, I only have 13" display now instead of 15", but the difference in screen real estate isn't very significant.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a developer laptop that does not suck and is not a Mac in 2022?

#504

Post by tmaly »

zivkovicp wrote: post #137

Please excuse the long-winded answer... I have also given up on Apple, but mostly because I can't see the value in it anymore, otherwise my experience with them has been satisfactory (Intel CPU models). For the past few years I used a Microsoft Surface Pro because it seemed to have good build quality and high screen resolution, but despite this I have had to replace it as part of a recall due to a graphics hardware i…

If your primary usage is development, I still think the resolution on the screen is a very important factor for your eyes.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a developer laptop that does not suck and is not a Mac in 2022?

#506

Post by throwaway12372 »

6c737133 wrote: post #483
mlmonge wrote: post #453

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've had an eye on the Huawei Matebook X Pro on Swappa. My other eye is on the XPS, new from Amazon. The latter is certainly more expensive and yet, doesn't impress me as much as the Matebook. But as we all know, Huawei is not trusted much here lately in the U.S. Is this in fact another Chinese company that's best we avoid? I was considering starting an Ask HN just for Huawei given not much has been posted here on th…

with all due respect - lol there isn't a fire capable of burning hot enough, to throw every huawei device into just google the company man, it's a track record that's genuinely hard to believe 20190409 backdoored laptops - https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-47800000 20190430 backdoored routers - https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/apr/30/alleged-h... 20210813 alleged widespread IP theft from a pakistani tech…

they (or their previous entity) also routinely stole/steal intellectual property from us firms

at one point they were just straight ripping off cisco asrs, lucent gear, etc and presenting it as their own

Re: Ask HN: Is there a developer laptop that does not suck and is not a Mac in 2022?

#507

Post by aaaaaaaaata »

happymellon wrote: post #501
6c737133 wrote: post #483

Earlier quoted context omitted.

with all due respect - lol there isn't a fire capable of burning hot enough, to throw every huawei device into just google the company man, it's a track record that's genuinely hard to believe 20190409 backdoored laptops - https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-47800000 20190430 backdoored routers - https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/apr/30/alleged-h... 20210813 alleged widespread IP theft from a pakistani tech…

Yes I remember the router situation where they accidentally left telnet listening on the WAN. I worked at Vodafone and all the routers get a security review, so it is highly doubtful that they left it in on purpose because they would have known that it would have been found. It was test engineering firmware that got left on some routers, and makes spurious claims even though in the article it points out that Vodafone…

Besides the Wireguard incident, where has Netgate been a joke like the two being discussed here?

Re: Ask HN: Is there a developer laptop that does not suck and is not a Mac in 2022?

#509

Post by tatersolid »

tchaffee wrote: post #220
z9znz wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This can happen to any device if there's a one-off manufacturing problem somewhere (esp in the battery). I don't see it very often, but I've seen it on a Surface Pro (the store display model!... I had to point it out to the staff and suggest they replace it before it caught fire and hurt a shopper), on my 2014 MBP after 4 years, and some other device I now forget about. Unless lots of people are reporting this for a…

Which is fine if they would replace it. But Dell no longer does so it's your cost if you get unlucky. Buyer beware. My keyboard also started sticking on my latest Dell. I won't even sell it to someone it's such a troublesome laptop.

Dell replaces swollen batteries on our whole fleet, even nearly 3 years into the “Pro support” warranty. Happens to about 1% of our machines over a 3-4 year lifetime.

If you pay for the on-site “pro” warranty Dell just sends a tech, quickly and no questions asked. Even to small rural towns.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a developer laptop that does not suck and is not a Mac in 2022?

#510

Post by zeroc8 »

NorwegianDude wrote: post #174

You don't say where you are located, but unless you are in one of the few places where Dell doesn't offer on-site next business day support then XPS 13 is a great laptop. Their support is amazing: "We're not sure what is causing it, but we'll send someone to replace the whole motherboard tomorrow." "OH, your currently halfway across the world on a island? No problem, we'll be there tomorrow" I really don't understand…

I got an XPS 13 and it's the biggest crap you can imagine, especially the docking station. Not sure if it is Windows 11 or if it is the Dell hardware, but I cannot stand it.

I feel the only serious alternative is a Lenovo running Linux.

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