get a secondhand or refurb macbook, the completely solid ones. Just plain ol macbook, now discontinued. I love mine.
Ask HN: Smallest laptop that is decent for coding?
61–70 of 166 posts
Re: Ask HN: Smallest laptop that is decent for coding?
#62If you REALLY value compactness, the smallest nice computer you can get is probably the discontinued 12-inch macbook. It really is amazingly small. It is underpowered but "quickly write tiny JS/PHP/Html programs" is about the least demanding thing you can do, work wise, so I think it would be fine. It's a sacrifice for compactness though. It also has the "bad" keyboard, though some people don't mind. The just release…
I love mine, going to get another one. Actually maybe I should the air or the pro just to see.
Re: Ask HN: Smallest laptop that is decent for coding?
#63If you REALLY value compactness, the smallest nice computer you can get is probably the discontinued 12-inch macbook. It really is amazingly small. It is underpowered but "quickly write tiny JS/PHP/Html programs" is about the least demanding thing you can do, work wise, so I think it would be fine. It's a sacrifice for compactness though. It also has the "bad" keyboard, though some people don't mind. The just release…
I’m using one as my daily driver for years now and I can definitely recommend it. It’s been more than enough to work on sane projects like a web app with a DB server running. Of course don’t expect to run Kubernetes with dozens of microservices on it. Mobile development can be a challenge though - Xcode is very resource-hungry.
Re: Ask HN: Smallest laptop that is decent for coding?
#64Smallest? Notebook sized? Consider the 7" (seven) inch GPD Pocket: https://uk.gearbest.com/tablet-pcs/pp_613003.html
I believe there's an updated version too.
Re: Ask HN: Smallest laptop that is decent for coding?
#65Great timing on this post as I'm looking for something to replace my aging Dell Inspiron 1420n from 2008. Thanks for asking! It sounds like you just need something to run an editor (maybe VIM?), PHP and a browser... Like others have mentioned, if you need to run docker it will require something quite modern.
What's your budget?
Can anyone chime in about the Asus Eee PCs, or the Dell Inspiron Mini series? Or anything else near the 10 to 11-inch form factor? Would they be hard to type on for someone under 6ft tall?
I'm personally looking for something that can run Linux (perhaps even as slimmed down as Puppy Linux), Vim (or maybe VSCode) can run a browser (preferably Firefox but Pale Moon or other might be fine). Just bought an Asus VivoBook X202E on Ebay, but that's an 11.6" display, so I'll see how it goes.
What I'd really love is to find a blog post of the "Best Linux-compatible Netbooks Through the Ages". Has anyone come across anything like this? Would help me search Ebay for successively older machines until I get to the price point I'm looking for.
Re: Ask HN: Smallest laptop that is decent for coding?
#66I have tried many, believe me. First thing, if it has glossy screen I would quickly discard it - your vision health is worth much more than a pretty picture in Facebook. Having said this, I would go for dell XPS family. They are not cheap but they are very robust. In addition, screen border is almost nonexistent so all it's size is for your screen. Very good Linux support (there is a a version that ships with Ubuntu)…
I love my XPS 13 and have written a fair bit of code on it in various circumstances. It's small enough to use during takeoff and landing and the battery life is enough to last a full day. No numpad but otherwise full sized keyboard.
Re: Ask HN: Smallest laptop that is decent for coding?
#67I love my ASUS ZenBook 13! * The best laptop keyboard I've ever typed on! * Great screen * Weights 1 kg * Solid 8 hours of work on battery
>The best laptop keyboard I've ever typed on! Will definitely check that out just to see the keyboard. Getting really fed up with all the new Apple's keyboard design / experiences.
they went back to scissor from butterfly...
Re: Ask HN: Smallest laptop that is decent for coding?
#68I did some coding on my old aspire one - but in the end I find the keyboard too cramped, not to mention the screen.
The surface pro typecover is surprisingly good - AFAIK it's the best keyboard option for any new laptop these days. And the surface kinda-sorta can be lugged about like a notebook.
Going smaller... A foldable/clamshell Bluetooth keyboard to pair with your phone? Optionally a suitable size android tablet?
Re: Ask HN: Smallest laptop that is decent for coding?
#69How large is the paper notebook? :D
I.e. fit into messenger bag? Maybe even Macbook Air would fit. You actually have some selection of smallish notebooks around ~10 inch, or x86 based tablets. Old EeePC line might be a good fit, if you don't need much power. You might even opt for iPad and keyboard-cover.
Personally, I have bought myself an underpowered arm-based 10' lenovo chromebook. Has decent enough keyboard for touch-typing, and I can run most of my dev-setup with the linux support.
Do you need to go smaller? You are then entering a niche teritory, where you might want to try Gemini PDA (a Psion 5MX clone running android or linux with surprisingly good keyboard that can fit your pocket), but every time I considered it, I figured it is too expensive for what it would give me.
Re: Ask HN: Smallest laptop that is decent for coding?
#70Maybe the Cosmo Commnicator?