

Ask HN: Linux laptop for developers with a reasonable budget? - KRuchan

Looking for something similar to a Macbook in hardware, and can run Ubuntu.
Thoughts on Dell XPS 13 (seems a bit pricey) or System76?
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bikamonki
I've put Ubuntu on many things, from beefy laptops to netbooks to part-
scrapped desktops. Seldom had I needed to fix driver issues. So my advice
would be to search in the opposite direction: find any laptop that fits your
budget/specs and then search online if there had been any issues installing
Ubuntu on it.

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deangiberson
I have a 1yr old System76 Galago UltraPro. I like it, works well, fairly
quiet. Purchasing experience was good, even with importing to Canada. My two
problems are 1) it will occasionally (once every 2 months) experience a power
loss and reset the laptop. No clue as to what's happening, so infrequent that
I don't care to look too deep, 2) the wrist rest finish is rubbing off in the
corners, looks dirty, but it's just the black plastic showing through.

~~~
a3n
Anecdote: a colleague bought a system 76 and hated the keyboard, returned it.
It wasn't an issue with where the keys were placed, he just didn't like the
way the keyboard itself felt, or the way it made him feel, or something.

Try to fondle one before just buying one blindly online.

~~~
phaus
Their keyboards are notorious for being just plain defective. The issue with
the Ultrapro was that it would randomly drop keystrokes if you tried typing at
a decent rate. Some people might not have had this issue, but it was nearing
epidemic proportions when this laptop was released. They released an
"improved" keyboard which was really just the same one with a metal strip on
the back of it which made it feel like less of a piece of shit, but didn't
really solve the problem.

I wanted to support system76, but their laptops are re-branded clevos, and
clevos almost universally have shitty build quality.

~~~
codegeek
yes i had the same issue. I highly recommend not buying System76 unless they
have improved significantly in last 12 months. I was bitten so bad by their
keyboard issue that I wrote a whole post on it.
[http://yashchandra.com/2014/05/06/do-not-buy-
system76-develo...](http://yashchandra.com/2014/05/06/do-not-buy-
system76-developer-laptop/)

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fian
I've had good service from the Dell XPS 15z I am typing this on. It is now
over 3 years old.

I set it up to dual boot Win 7 and Kubuntu. I kept Win7 originally for gaming.
I think I booted to Win 7 1 in the past year. There is even less need now with
many Steam games working on Linux.

The Optimus(?) graphics system split between Intel and Nvidia was an issue
initially. I played around with Bumblebee a bit but mainly have just used the
Intel GPU as it provided better battery life and I haven't been doing anything
graphically intensive.

The only unresolved issue is that the external HDMI port will only work if
plugged in a boot and exclusive to the laptop screen. There may be driver
fixes for this now but I haven't had the need so haven't checked.

I have also successfully run Ubuntu variants on Thinkpads (T series) and a
couple of Asus Atom netbooks.

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mattkrea
I would strongly recommend looking for a used 2013 MacBook Air (non-Retina). I
used Ubuntu on one of those for a while. You should be able to get one
reasonably priced directly from Apple at this point.

~~~
smt88
Only caveat here: the keyboard is obviously a Mac keyboard, which can be very
irritating to those of us who like to have dedicated Home/Backspace keys.

Edit: another caveat. I just realized I had one of these for a while and
stopped using it because the resolution is just too small. There's just not
enough screen real estate to be truly useful without another monitor.

~~~
mattkrea
True, the resolution is relatively small. If you can live with that it is
great hardware for the price and everything in at least 14.04 worked
perfectly.

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brudgers
I am using a used ThinkPad. Great keyboard, great community around the
ThinkWiki, Ubuntu certified hardware, much cheaper than new, solid stream of
replacement parts at reasonable prices.

Good luck.

~~~
bprasanna
+1 for old ThinkPads, as my ThinkPad R60 still (~8 years old) still works
perfectly with Lubuntu!

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shivakaush
I love my thinkpad T450s. Looks sleek, professional and handles ubuntu like a
champ.

