
Dell Announces A Linux Laptop Designed For Developers - alexwilliams
http://devopsangle.com/2012/05/07/dell-announces-a-linux-laptop-designed-for-developers/
======
ntkachov
How about a laptop with a better key board, slim figure, larger special
character keys and more feedback for keys?

Then shove a great processor, a mouse pad that's not accidentally click able
while typing, and a high resolution screen.

That's a developer laptop. Ill install my own software, Thank you very much.

~~~
rdtsc
Thinkpad (T60) has a great keyboard, good feedback. I don't use the mousepad,
I like the little red pointer thingy it has and has 1400x1050 resolution
display. It also a mate display (not the glare type).

It is bulkier than other laptops and by now its processor is behind the latest
i7 and i5's.

Also as soon as I got I installed Ubuntu on it. Ubuntu lets me re-map caps
lock to a control for my emacs usage.

And most of all this machine has worked great for many years . It has traveled
with me, has been banged up, dropped, had hot liquids spilled on it and it
still works.

~~~
mbrubeck
What I really miss from the T60-era laptops is the 4:3 (non-widescreen)
display. Widescreen is fine for watching movies, but a taller display can be
really nice for reading, writing, and coding.

~~~
goatslacker
I actually like the widescreen displays for coding. I keep my line counts to
80 columns and now I can have two files side by side. Or a file open and a
browser open side by side.

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glogla
This is kind of sad. XPS 13 is not exactly good -- the display resolution is
terrible, there's no ethernet port, and for ultrabook it is not very thin,
feels real cheap in hands, and the keyboard is not very good. It's almost like
someone tool everything bad from the ultrabook trend and nothing good from it.

And when people won't care because the hardware is not worth it (especially
when it's not that much cheaper than MBA), it will be interpreted as "no one
wants linux".

~~~
diminish
i agree, a developer ultrabook must be more modular, and more equipped.

------
fierarul
>Project Sputnik, a product of Dell’s new internal incubation fund, features
not just full hardware support for Ubuntu on the XPS13, but a notion of
“profiles” for developers

They could have stopped at "full hardware support for Ubuntu". Nobody cares
about their crapware.

Just two weeks ago I bought an HP ProBook for a colleague for the sole reason
of being Linux certified. It came with a Suse license but he's using it with
Ubuntu.

The one Dell laptop I could have bought came with an Ubuntu version from 2010.

~~~
seanp2k2
Agreed that I don't want/need their crapware. It'd be great if companies that
make hardware had a clue what people wanted, but that's why Apple is going to
be the biggest company in the world while IBM lays off seventy-some percent of
their workforce, HP has 100 models of notebook that all do the same thing, and
Lenovo forgets what made their older laptops so nice.

~~~
bretpiatt
IBM and Apple compete about as often as GM and Boeing do. One builds servers,
systems, and writes business software wrapping it all with services and the
other sells end user devices, media, and minimal software wrapping it all in a
brand LVMH is jealous of.

------
eterps
If its vertical resolution is lower than 900 pixels I can't take it seriously
as a laptop designed for developers.

~~~
seanp2k2
Amen; I'm also a member of "Team 16:10"

Not getting rid of my Latitude D830 (14.1" 1920x1200) until I can get
something with /more/ pixel density and vrez

~~~
jakeonthemove
Well, then you're s@@t out of luck :-)... though the 1920x1080 17.3 inch
laptops aren't that bad - the resolution is good enough (well, it's the best
vertical resolution you can get) and unlike Full HD 15.6 inchers, the text is
big enough not to make your eyes hurt like you're welding without a mask...

~~~
Arelius
The Macbook Pro 17" Still ships with a 1920x1200 screen, still not as nice as
the same on a 15" though.

------
timtadh
I know there is a lot more to a nice laptop than proper software integration.
However, proper software integration goes a long way. I bought an XPS m1330
"N" with Linux pre-installed 4 years ago. I have had zero funky
hardware/software dances with it through the many re-installs I have done. I
don't relish the idea of replacing it.

So this is good news to me. I looked into recent Dell's and found that there
is almost always something slightly "wrong" with them when you run Linux on
them. Either weirdness in power management or the touchpad or some other
random thing. Just being able to buy a computer and not have to worry if it is
going to work with my OS is very nice. I have too much to do and don't want to
spend a week futzing with drivers and other nonsense (I have done enough of
that for a life time).

------
davidw
In the spirit of... well... "thinking differently" we might call it, I'll
actually say I'm pretty happy with the Dells I've had. They're solid
workhorses with relatively good value for the money I spent on them.
Certainly, they are not glamorous or beautiful, but they work well, have good
support, and have generally run Ubuntu pretty well.

That said, if someone came along and really did good Linux support, I'd
probably switch.

~~~
jamesbritt
I've been pretty happy with my Dell laptops, running Ubuntu.

But they lost me when they dropped WUXGA. That extra 200-pixel row may not
matter to folks using their machine to watch movies, but it's missing
developer real estate to me.

~~~
davidw
Ouch, they have? That does stink, I have one of those, and love it. _Sigh_...

~~~
jamesbritt
I think you have to go to 17" or something to get WUXGA from them.

It pains me that there's no good way to assemble or upgrade laptops to one's
liking. It's pretty much take it or leave it.

------
dman
I think this thread is a great example of why developers are notoriously tough
customers (myself included)

~~~
pm90
Actually, the things that we are asking for are not that difficult for a
hardware vendor to implement. Besides, we usually tend to buy the higher end
models rather than the entry level ones, so the profit margins are higher for
each developer

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agumonkey
What would you think about a contemporary GRiD Compass?

Emphasis on durability and ergonomy before slim-ness, providing :

    
    
      - Stronger structural material for laptop frame
      - Shock and torque absorbing bits around corners, and hinges
      - Stronger hinges that you can manipulate carelessly
      - Better ergonomics by balancing weight
      - More space for internal addition (PCIe, USB3) for modders
      - Ease of access to internal, repairability.
      - Easier heat dissipation aiming for 35-50C min-max range with minimal fan speed.

Beside, add:

    
    
      A true 8bit IPS LCD.
      A thinkpad class keyboard.
    

A nice vintage black box that handle 25 years of hackery without a glitch.

------
alasdair_young
The worst part for me is that the XPS13 only allows a MAXIMUM of 4GB of RAM.
This is ridiculous for a dev box, especially when I want to run a VM or two.

~~~
jakeonthemove
They all say that - I'm 99% sure you can install at least 6 GB, if not more...

~~~
dlwh
Aren't the ram chips usually soldered to the mobo on ultrabooks? Crucial
indicates they can't upgrade ram on the XPS13. And a little googling says
soldered RAM... Nothing on the Dell website suggests they can upgrade past 4.

~~~
jakeonthemove
Damn, you're right, the XPS 13 is non-upgradeable. the Samsung Series 9 and
Series 5, as well as the Toshiba Z830 are, though...

------
rickmb
So their target audience is developers that are incapable of installing their
own tools and that are cool with the cheap look and flimsy build quality of
Dell laptops.

Unfortunately, that market actually exists, and nine out of ten times that
lack of caring for quality is reflected in their work.

~~~
vibrunazo
Official driver support matters.

You won't run the risk of buying a notebook, install Linux, find that driver
xyz doesn't work, then find the store won't take it back because reinstalling
the os voids warranty. And waste money. This is a big risk when shopping for
Linux laptops. Specially for cheaper brands that you can't easily find online
reports about whether it works or not.

Official support makes shopping much easier.

~~~
kijin
> _reinstalling the os voids warranty_

That's why you should make a disk image before you wipe Windows. Plug in a
Linux Live USB, use dd + gzip to create a bit-for-bit copy of your hard drive
(it should compress well because there's no data on the machine), keep the
copy in an external hard drive, and then wipe the internal hard drive. Nobody
at Best Buy will know what you did.

------
pkmays
I'm surprised they think developers would be interested in this. Having worked
with Dell in IT, you couldn't pay me to use anything they put their name on.
Dell have a bad reputation in both hardware and peopleware, and it's well
deserved.

~~~
astrodust
This comment would be meaningful if it even contained a hint of an anecdote.
"Well deserved" how, exactly?

~~~
amackera
I've owned 3 Dell laptops in the past 2 years.

First one's screen broke. Second one's graphics card was faulty. Third one's
sound was messed up, sent the PC in for repairs. Dell technicians dropped it
on the ground, blamed me for doing it, then refused to further support it.

I don't care one way or the other if anyone else buys Dell; but there's no
chance in hell that I will ever again.

~~~
blhack
Okay, anecdotes with anecdotes. The dell laptops that I've had (from the
latitude series. That ugly gray one) have been sturdier than most bricks. I've
dropped them on my wood floor, they've been tossed around in my backpack, had
things spilled on them, and been abused in every way you can imagine.

They _still_ keep chugging.

*When I'm talking about multiple laptops, I'm talking about multiple laptops within my company. Not my personal laptop [although I have had one]

~~~
ramLlama
I think this is because you are comparing the business laptop to the consumer
edition. While I haven't actively shopped laptops for a few years, I have
noticed that the business editions, while a tad more expensive and less
"stylish", are usually much better built. My friends' consumer Dell laptops
consistently fail within the first 1.5 years or so. My father's 6 year old
Dell survived much abuse, and is doing fine.

The business versions of laptops are usually far better built, but you cannot
buy them at Best Buy and the like.

------
brandon
The biggest possible upside to this project will be if Shuttleworth & Company
get on board to support the XPS13 as a first class Ubuntu platform because of
Sputnik.

And when I say first class, I don't mean "give it the Supported Platform
stamp." I mean "respond to user reports of touchpad bugs" and "fix them."

~~~
pm90
This is actually a pretty great Idea. I wouldn't mind paying a support fee
instead of the ridiculous Windows License fee that I have to pay every time I
buy a laptop (only to erase and install Ubuntu the moment it arrives). If only
Dell had the courage to stand up to Microsoft...

------
tsm
"Configuration as code". In other words, "configuration as plain text files".
Another innovation that's actually been in *nix since forever.

As a result of this, I can turn any computer into a me-friendly machine in
about an hour. Install my favorite Openbox-based distro (Crunchbang), copy
over dotfiles I've already customized, and install every package from a list
that's been exported from my main laptop.

------
xando
This is kind of interesting for me. I'm trying to find for myself a proper
Linux machine. Right now on Dell e6410, a bit regret that I bought it. In my
opinion nearest to the ideal developer machine on Linux is Lenovo X1 or X220.

Screen 13": is enough, even 12" is enough. If you are kind of developer who
moves his behind from meeting to meeting or spends some time on plains or
conferences. 13" (max) is your choice. You can buy really cheap big monitors
and plug you machine, in every place where you work.

Processor and Memory: this is out of discussion i7 and 8GB ram. Memory is so
cheep those days that giving developers less than 8GB is a sin.

HDD: SSD 128. This works for me. I have external drives, as a developer I
don't keep movies, games, photos on my computer.

Graphic Card. I had a rule that if I'm using Linux I'm using Nvidia cards.
This probably not true any more. I've heard from people that Intel Cards work
well. But still, switching screens is done decently in NVIDIA drives.

Screen: for me Glare.

Battery: should follow at least MacBook Pro 13". which is 3-4h.

Price if this will be more than 1400 $ people will buy MacBookPro.

Ubuntu: I'm using Xubuntu. Unity still keeps me angry, and as smallest as
possible number of installed programs. Because I'm developer it doesn't mean
that I'm using Eclipse.

~~~
magnetikonline
+1 to the NVIDIA requirement with Linux - when looking for a new Linux dev
laptop, this was a must since I use an external monitor most of the time when
docked - you can trust this will work 110% with NVIDIA - Intel GPU's have been
a bit shaky with this in the past. But this might be better with newer Linux
kernels/Xorg shipping with distros like Ubuntu 12.04.

In the end, I went for a speced up Thinkpad T420 with i7/NVIDIA/8GB - works
really, really well.

~~~
secure
Uh, I can’t really second this. I’ve been using Intel graphics for the last 3+
years, and never had a single multi-monitor problem. Intels FOSS drivers
(nVidia doesn’t publish FOSS drivers or even specs) support xrandr (the linux
standard for multi-monitor configuration) like a charm. nVidia only offers
xrandr support in the latest beta of their driver, forcing people to use their
weird twinview utilities for years.

------
dsrguru
Linux developers by and large don't care what distro or software comes
preloaded. They intend to replace it with their favorite setup the moment they
take the machine out of the box. What they want is a keyboard designed for
productivity and hardware that is fully compatible with the Linux kernel. Some
will only use free (libre) drivers. Some want a large touchpad, others just
want a pointing stick, and others don't use a pointing device at all. Many
want easy access to the inside of their computer. Then there are always the
regular consumer issues like how pretty the machine is, does it have
bluetooth, an optical drive, etc. All laptops have a tradeoff among
portability (size and battery), performance (CPU, GPU, RAM, and display), and
price (low is good). Most great laptops only excel in two of those categories.
Different developers choose a different two.

------
akmiller
I'd like the ability to have 16GB of RAM in a machine that's the size of an
Air or Ultrabook. It seems at the moment, that is impossible to find.

------
sgarrity
A nice move. Too bad the XPS13 has a (reportedly) terrible display:
[http://www.theverge.com/2012/3/6/2848346/dell-
xps-13-review#...](http://www.theverge.com/2012/3/6/2848346/dell-
xps-13-review#section_4)

------
brunoqc
It is only softwares for the XPS13?

~~~
klint
So far, yes.

------
libria
I fully expect it to be $140 cheaper than a comparable machine running Windows
7 Pro.

~~~
technomancy
Can't tell whether this is sarcastic or not, but if you think Dell pays full
price for Windows licenses you are in for a surprise.

~~~
pm90
I don't know the backstory on this....does Dell pay much less than the full
price? How much less?

~~~
commandar
When people have managed to get refunds for preinstalled Windows licenses from
major OEMs, the number's generally been in the $35-50 range.

Keep in mind that the manufacturers also subsidize the cost of systems with
all the preinstalled crapware that comes on a lot of machines.

------
seclorum
Hmmm .. "devops" angle .. "developer profiles" .. these things don't seem
necessary.

~~~
jf781
DevOps is hot area right now.. applications are driving the infrastructure and
it's changing what cloud is..developers are in charge

------
jakeonthemove
I don't know, I think matching hardware to software is a stupid idea. Just
focus on building the hardware as a platform, don't lock it down with custom
BS solutions and let the software developers handle the software.

What kind of developer doesn't have their own workflow and customize their own
workstation to their needs? You just can't mass produce a one-model-fits-all
laptop for developers...

Of all Dell laptops, the Precision line is the only one I'd buy - the M6600
looks especially good now that HP abandoned the near-perfect design of the
Elitebook 8740/8540w (just for the sake of a new design it seems)...

------
bookwormAT
the negative and aggressive attitude in this thread is depressing.

:-(

~~~
trafficlight
Maybe Dell should have consulted their target market first.

------
nicholassmith
On every single Dell I've used I've hated the keyboard within 10 key presses
at most, and I've tried a good 2 dozen over the past 15 years.

And there in lies the problem, every other spec is fucking useless compared to
'does this keyboard suck'. If it sucks you can have 32GB of RAM, a draw that
spits out toast and Knuth built into it and I still won't buy it.

------
gaius
Why would a laptop running Ubuntu be for "developers"? Not to get into a
distro flamewar, but (for example) many large organizations use RHEL on their
servers, and developers on the back-end would want to develop there so it will
run on their customer's systems. They should be clearer that it's for "web
developers".

------
dsirijus
Standard size function keys. No media keys, only volume/mute control.

Trackpoint is a must. I can even live without a track/touch pad.

------
rbanffy
If I'm allowed to design my dream laptop, I'd make it have

\- a 13 inch 1080x1920 screen

\- two video outputs (for when its docked)

\- an SSD for the OS and my tools

\- an average hard disk for my data

\- a good keyboard

\- enough memory

\- a camera and audio

\- 3G data (or better)

\- Bluetooth for the keyboard and trackpad when it's docked.

And the rest of it would be a humongous battery. And power it with an Atom-
class processor so that the battery lasts a day. Leave the software alone.

Make it pretty.

------
rch
The XPS13 doesn't really seem equipped to appeal to professional developers,
but Dell might be specifically targeting the entry-level and enthusiast
markets. I would have enjoyed having something along these lines in high
school, for instance.

------
za
They can start by unfucking the internal/external display mode key.
[http://www.osnews.com/story/23202/The_win_p_Mess_Will_Micros...](http://www.osnews.com/story/23202/The_win_p_Mess_Will_Microsoft_Ever_Learn_)

------
zandorg
Running SUSE 9.1 on a Dell Precision M70. Huge screen works fine in Suse, and
as I use an external PS2 keyboard, no chance of accidentally tapping the mouse
pad. Wifi works fine on M70's internal wifi card. Great cheap Linux laptop.

------
mindcrime
Great, now offer Fedora on it and you might have a shot at selling me one. I'm
in the market for a new laptop Real Soon Now, and I will definitely be looking
for something to run Fedora on.

------
astrodust
I like the pop-under ad for gambling when you visit this site. Classy.

~~~
klint
On devopsangle.com or somewhere else? We don't do any sort of banner
advertising, popunder or otherwise so unless our site has been hacked (I'll
look into it) then it sounds like you've got malware on your computer.

~~~
astrodust
Well, I visited this link twice to be sure and Safari pitched up a pop-under
ad both times.

I assure you, I do not have malware.

It happens when the justin.tv widget in the side-bar loads. It attempts to
load something that redirects to <http://rts.pgmediaserve.com/03d458/>

~~~
jf781
I cannot duplicate the error..sometimes i've seen providers have f'd up dns
where some bad stuff happens..

~~~
astrodust
This is not a DNS issue. This is the justin.tv widget doing something fishy in
the background.

I have Little Snitch installed and locked down so it can't make any
connections, but it tries two different sites over SSL in an attempt to fetch
content for the frame.

Curiously it works with AdBlock enabled, too.

------
jebblue
With Linux slowly growing in popularity among developers this is good news to
me. Now if IT shops at large companies will start supporting Linux for
developers more that would be cooler.

------
reirob
A developers laptop without a trackpoint, crappy keyboard and a screen that
does not provide much vertical space? Other than this, I welcome Laptops
designed for developers with Linux.

------
warmfuzzykitten
So I immediately went to the Dell website to check the XPS13. The only OS
choices were Windows or Windows. Apparently they didn't announce Linux
internally.

------
badragon
I would buy a Ubuntu laptop. I feel like a fool that I spent money on a
MacBook Pro. I was too lazy to get a Linux laptop working.

------
maebert
And there I am, wishing the headline was "Dell Announces a Linux Laptop
Developed for Designers" instead.

------
xaa
People can develop on 13" screens?

~~~
there
I develop on an 11" screen.

~~~
joneil
My laptop is in for repair and is taking a disturbingly long time, but my
friend lent me his out-of-use EeePC with a 10" inch screen.

I'm amazed at how much work I have actually managed to get done. When I'm in
the office I dock it to a keyboard/mouse/monitor, but even on the road I've
found myself able to use it, once I adjusted to the keyboard.

If you run light-weight ubuntu (lubuntu for me), have your
browser/editor/terminal in fullscreen, and you can get back to work. The slow
processor does struggle with our companies rails app though...

------
va_coder
Someone must be able to make a viable business model out of selling Ubuntu on
Ultrabooks.

------
jf781
Big time developers have always said that OS X is a better Unix development
environment than Linux. Dell is smart to come out with a power Linux
development station. My friends have been replacing their unix workstations
with Macintoshes. Mac OS X is basically plain Unix -BSD flavor. Now Dell is
going there. Smart by Dell

@furrier

------
krakensden
It would be nice if you could get them to ship it preinstalled.

------
auggierose
Just get a Macbook Pro 17 inch. Best machine ever. The only serious laptop for
developers ;-)

Bought it last week, and did almost go for a Macbook Air after the Linus
endorsement. I am so happy I didnt!

------
xxiao
what's new here, because xps13 is a fancy ultrabook? i installed ubuntu on my
laptops and they always worked fine, why is this big news. i might be missing
something...

------
rhizome
The most obvious thing about Dell's ignorance-promoting product page for the
XPS13 (the differences are only defined in marketspeak) is that there is still
no SSD available:

<http://www.dell.com/us/p/xps-13-l321x/pd>

However, I'll keep the low-end version in mind the next time I'm shopping for
"America's Best Protection." Oh wait, they all come with that. Hrm.

Are they really hoping to get a piece of the Macbook Air pie with this?

~~~
ben1040
_The most obvious thing about Dell's ignorance-promoting product page for the
XPS13 (the differences are only defined in marketspeak) is that there is still
no SSD available:_

Says right there on the page you linked that the $999 base model comes with a
128GB SSD. So does the final summary if you went through their configuration
tool (which is admittedly laughable because all it allows you to configure is
what level of Windows/MS Office licenses you want bundled, warranty coverage,
and accessories like a monitor/printer).

~~~
rhizome
I'm not seeing any mention of an SSD on the page I'm looking at:

<http://imgur.com/JjneQ>

~~~
amitparikh
The yellow 'signal strength' bars under the 3 configurations -- 'Solid State
Drive'.

Also, a 'solid state drive' is mentioned in the feature details under 'Turns
on instantly'.

~~~
rhizome
LOL. In my defense, those are extremely crappy UI signalling.

