

Sputnik – Dell’s Ubuntu-based developer laptop is here - macco
http://blog.canonical.com/2012/11/29/sputnik-dells-ubuntu-based-developer-laptop-is-here/

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bstar77
Despite being a mac user now, I am so happy to see a high-end product
optimized for a linux distribution. During the 7 years I used linux as my
daily driver, I would have killed for a well integrated, high-end mobile
machine.

I don't plan to move away from macs anytime soon, but I still rejoice when the
platform makes progress. I'm already hearing whispers from developers that
plan to support Steam's linux client which seems unbelievable to me- this was
unthinkable just a couple years ago. I hope this window of opportunity stays
open long enough for a viable pc/windows alternative to take foot.

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janzer
It's rather funny, rather sad to see the comments about how overpriced this
is. Especially the implications that the overpricing is because the laptop
runs linux by default.

The XPS-13 line is a standard ultrabook line from Dell. The closest comparable
windows version is the same price. But it has half the ram (4GB) and a
generation older chipset (Sandy Bridge).

So this price is completely in line with, and even a bit cheaper than Dell's
other offerings.

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jamesbritt
See current HN discussion on this here:
<https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4847720>

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ghc
I'm never going back to a sub-1920x1080 laptop screen for development. Screen
real estate is just too precious to waste by having a sub-optimal resolution.
Maybe in 10 years, or whenever I need reading glasses, I'll feel differently.

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codewright
I have terrible eyesight, I still prefer this. I compensate by wisely choosing
fonts.

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edmond_dantes
Developers have been complaining about the 1366x768 screen resolution in the
Ars comments. Shouldn't developers be designing for (and on) the resolution
the user is most likely be using?[1]

1: [http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/11/statcounter-
finds-1366-x-...](http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/11/statcounter-
finds-1366-x-768-to-be-most-popular-screen-resolutio/)

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lambda
Not everyone is a frontend web developer, or any sort of frontent developer. I
develop software to manage network attached storage, making my resolution
pretty much irrelevant for testing my software. In fact, for the small amount
of UI work that I do, I run it in a VM at 1024x768; the tiny resolution on
this thing means that that would take up pretty much my whole display.

Furthermore, I like to be able to see my code and and the final product at the
same time. In fact, I prefer to be able to have several columns of code, a
terminal, a web browser, and my VM that I'm deploying my work to all visible
at once. The more I can see, the better. I usually work with 3 1920x1080
monitors plus my laptop display, but sometimes need to use my laptop when I'm
not at my desk. Being able to fit multiple columns of code and/or terminals on
my screen at once is important to me.

Heck, these days, phones are coming with greater resolutions than that; you
can't even fit your phone emulator on that display without scaling, if you
develop mobile software. The Nexus 10 has 2560x1600 display on a 10 inch
screen; why does a $400 tablet have such a better screen (its smaller
dimension has more pixels than the XPS 13's larger!) than a $1500 laptop?

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snapdata
Aside from the poor resolution I also don't understand the price. I purchased
a gaming laptop (ASUS G75VW) w/ 16GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD, 750GB HDD, GTX 660m
& 3610QM, which runs 1920x1080 for under $1400. This dell laptop has the
specifications of my $400 Chromebook. It seems like it has been massively
overpriced because it's one of the few machines that runs linux out of the
box.

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sciurus
Tell me more about this $400 Chromebook with a 3GHz i7 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and
256GB SSD.

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davewasthere
If you only look at screen resolution, then his argument held (some) water.

I've got to admit, 768 vertical is a bit poor for developing.

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bugsbunnyak
Kind of odd that they have a Microsoft Office ad on the 2nd screen of the
customization wizard... :/

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iamdave
Why? People still think in the mindset of Linux vs. Windows when in reality,
each party makes use of the other's software; frequently. I promise the
"competition" is purely in your head.

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bugsbunnyak
"Productivity Software" page in the customization dialog. A large banner
displays "MS Office - Get tools to express ideas and solve problems with full
functionality". However (obviously) there is no possibility to actually select
MS Office! Just odd/bemusing oversight.

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hcarvalhoalves
This should have been released 6-8 years ago.

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Kilimanjaro
And at $999. But looks like Dell doesn't like our money.

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DigitalSea
Will the cloud-to-cloud integration this laptop ships with be an option for
those who haven't got the money to buy this developer beast of a laptop
perhaps as something you can buy separately or is it tailored only to the
laptop that ships with it?

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vhost-
My System76 has that resolution and I hate it. I thought it was going to be
okay, but it's not. I won't make that mistake again. A tiling window manager
helped, but I still cry from time to time when I think about it.

/me goes and cries.

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gerritone
It's resolution is really lolz! Im a developer and seriously even 1400x900
doesn't feel right (dell e6410).

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davewasthere
Yeah, I bought a new Thinkpad (great keyboard) to replace my broken laptop.
But at 1366x768 resolution, I just couldn't be productive. 1600x900 on my new
Samsung Series 9 does the trick. Keyboard isn't as awesome, but chuffed with
the rest of it.

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vanmik
Ubuntu laptop with Windows logo on keyboard. Great.

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frenchfries
too expensive

