

Ask HN: Which small laptop for Ubuntu development work? (mid-2014) - bshanks

I&#x27;m looking to buy a small (12&quot; at most, preferably smaller; 8&quot;-10&quot; would be ideal), lightweight laptop or tablet&#x2F;laptop with available docking station. It must have a not-slow x86 processor and SSD, and at least 8 GB memory. It must work well with Ubuntu; Ubuntu will be used as the primary OS, not via VMWare.<p>Nice-to-haves: Ideally, the fan would be relatively quiet, and it would have a webcam (that works under Ubuntu). A stylus would be cool.<p>Non-requirements: gaming, media, good GPU, screen quality, sound quality, stylish looks. I don&#x27;t care if it&#x27;s thin, rather i just want a small length and width.<p>Some systems i have heard of that might (or might not) fit the above criteria are the 11&quot; MacBook Air, the 12&quot; Microsoft Surface Pro 3, the Lenovo Yoga 2. What are the other options? Which is best? Thanks
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UnoriginalGuy
The Yoga 2 and Yoga Pro are very good, cost effective, but a little bit
heavier than the MS Surface Pro 3. The thing with the Surface Pro 3 is that it
isn't a "laptop" it is a tablet with a keyboard, I like the keyboard for what
it is, but I would never code full time on it (or use it as my only PC).

The MBA is wonderful, really just wonderful, I have nothing but good things to
say about it as a small light laptop. It is a little expensive but the
touchpad is darn good and the keyboard is also a pleasure.

I'd strongly suggest you head down to Best Buy. They have the Yoga 2, Surface
Pro 3, AND MBA. So all three of your core options. Get a feel for the weight
and the trade-offs.

PS - I own a Surface Pro 3, it is good, but it is ultimately a tablet that can
run x86-64 applications, and even with the kickstand it isn't as usable as a
"real" laptop. Plus the dock is super expensive in its own right.

PPS - Given your list and your requirements I suspect you'll get the MBA. It
is the "boring" option but something can be said for just getting something
which will simply work and is popular enough so you'll get good driver support
on Ubuntu.

~~~
bshanks
i haven't tried the Yoga yet but i will soon. It sounds like you've had a
great experience with the MBA, though, thank you, that helps.

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misframer
I currently use a Thinkpad x230 with Ubuntu. It has a 12.5" screen. I've been
satisfied with it. I'm not sure about the current version (x240 [0]), though.
They also have a tablet version.

[http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/x-series/x240/](http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/x-series/x240/)

~~~
bshanks
Thanks -- it looks like a decent computer.

~~~
bshanks
(I do worry about the size though; my current computer is a 10.1" Fujitsu
Lifebook T580 and i really appreciate its small dimensions -- as noted in the
post, what i'd really like is something between 8" and 10", but i might go up
to 12" if i have to)

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AlexeyBrin
I wouldn't try Ubuntu on the Surface 3 Pro. I'm pretty sure you will have
problems with the keyboard ... like these guys here:

[http://www.geek.com/microsoft/linux-users-rejoice-heres-
ubun...](http://www.geek.com/microsoft/linux-users-rejoice-heres-ubuntu-on-
the-surface-pro-3-1594864/)

Don't get me wrong, I like the specs of Surface 3 Pro, I just don't think it
will work so great with Ubuntu.

What you should do is to do some research about how Ubuntu runs on the
hardware other people suggests.

Personally I would go with a Dell XPS 13" that already comes with Ubuntu 12.04
installed. The system will probably work well with Ubuntu 14.04 too. Also it
has 8GB or RAM and 256 GB SSD.

[http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/xps-13-linux/pd](http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/xps-13-linux/pd)

~~~
bshanks
Thank you, yes, I'm aware of the keyboard problems with the the SP3, but i'm
confident they'll be fixed soon and in fact some people have claimed to have
fixed it already on their systems eg
[http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2231207&page=2](http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2231207&page=2)
. However i do agree that that is likely a sign that there will be other
annoying problems. The Dell XPS 13" looks great, but i'd really like a smaller
computer. I currently have a 10.1" Fujitsu Lifebook T580 and i really
appreciate its small dimensions. 12" is already a big stretch for me, and i'm
not willing to go any larger, especially since most of the time the computer
will be plugged into my external monitor and keyboard anyways.

~~~
AlexeyBrin
Probably a MacBook Air 11" is the best choice for you. Be sure to check online
if other people had problems installing Ubuntu on the Air.

[http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=ubuntu_14...](http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=ubuntu_1404_mba2013gl&num=1)

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mattkrea
I strongly recommend an Acer C720. The conversion is mostly painless and the
portability is incredible. Aslo, once it's set up I've had to do nothing.

At least consider it. For someone who works at the office on a MacBook Pro
retina with 16 gb of ram the 2gb isn't a cause for concern either though you
will notice it while compiling anything.

~~~
bshanks
Thank you, unfortunately the 8GB is a requirement as i sometimes work with
some large datasets in Numpy.

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motyar
Give DellMini9 a try.

