

New Linux Laptops from ZaReason - imperialWicket
http://zareason.com/shop/Laptops/
Successors to the Verix 2.5 and the almost-a-desktop Chimera laptop: the Mir 730 and Verix 530.<p>Both available with up to i7-3920XM and 32GB RAM, and a price tag well under the new MBPs.
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rikf
Think is exactly why macbooks are so popular. I think if a laptop manufacturer
spent some (a-lot?) of effort on hardware design to compete with Apple then
there would be huge demand from developers. As a developer now I have a laptop
choice of

a) Horrible design with linux installed.

b) Beautiful design with a BSD like os installed.

It really is a no brainer. Even Linus uses a MBA I wonder when hardware
manufacturers will start to realise that people actually care about owning
beautiful things.

~~~
LinXitoW
Lenovo Thinkpads have very dedicated fans that have created drivers for almost
everything. Installing Ubuntu 12.04 on my TP T61, there was zero configuration
or hacking around needed. Every last wierd, unique or proprietary feature
worked out of the box.

That being said, your point still stands. Official support is a lot better
than unofficial support.

~~~
ginko
The new Thinkpads are a huge step backwards however. Lenovo screwed one of the
defining qualities of the Thinkpad line by replacing the high-quality
keyboards with chiclet island keys that also have a row of keys less than
previously.

They also switched from 4:3 to 16:10 and now to 16:9 displays. The only
resolution you can get the X-series thinkpads in is 1366x768. At least you can
get 1600x900 displays for the T-series. (Which Lenovo ironically calls HD+)

It's almost like Lenovo WANTS me to switch to Apple.

~~~
j-kidd
What problem do you have with the chiclet keyboard on Thinkpad? For me, it is
awesome, and ever since I started using one 18 months ago, my laptop buying
criteria became "Is it a Thinkpad with chiclet keyboard?"

I am glad Lenovo switched all lines to chiclet keyboard in the latest refresh.
I think it is a bold but calculated move.

~~~
ginko
While I generally prefer the classic keyshapes, my main problem with the new
Thinkpad keyboards is the removed row.

Instead of the Insert/Delete/Home/End/PgUp/PgDown key block in the upper right
corner, the keys are put into the function key row. This also means that the
gaps between F4&F5 and F8&F9 are removed. They also removed the menu key and
replaced it with Print for some reason.

With the old Thinkpads, you could just pick them up and start typing without
having to learn too many idiosyncrasies of the laptop keymapping. This is not
the case anymore. When you work both on a laptop and a regular keyboard, this
gets really painful.

~~~
j-kidd
Good points. The changing keyboard layout can definitely be a source of
frustration. My current Edge 11 has Insert/Delete/Home/End at the upper right
corner. In the latest refresh, Lenovo changed the order to be
Home/End/Insert/Delete, which in my opinion is less programming friendly.

Anyway, I am getting a E530 with full keypads so hopefully this won't be a
problem.

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mtgx
I don't know about US, but in other countries there are so many laptops that
come "Windows-free" (and save you ~$150). Unfortunately most of them come with
the _completely useless_ FreeDos instead of a usable Linux distro. I really
don't get that at all. What's stopping them from using Linux instead of
FreeDos?

~~~
tikhonj
I've never seen that in the US. All the laptops I've ever seen for sale in
person (rather than online) either came with some version of Windows or Mac
OS. So we not only lack Linux here, we lack anything outside of Apple and
Microsoft.

FreeDos seems rather specialized and would not suit a casual consumer at all.
Perhaps those laptops just have a different target market? I really can't
imagine anybody but a hobbyist actually wanting to buy that. Also, perhaps
people just buy those laptops to install Windows in some questionably legal
way?

~~~
dagw
The FreeDos thing has something to do with some obscure rules about having to
sell computers with an OS. No is expected to actually use FreeDos, and in fact
the reason they use FreeDos rather than, say, Ubuntu, is to make sure no one
does run it, and thus not having to offer support.

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fratis
These may be functional and fully Linux-compatible and whatever, but the key
for me is this: does its trackpad compare to that of the MacBook Pro?

Oh, it doesn't? You mean I'll have to carry around an external mouse to
compensate for the lackluster trackpad? You mean one of the two ways I
interact with my computer is clunky at best and non-functional at worst
compared to the best one on the market?

Sorry. No dice.

~~~
electrograv
I'm glad I'm not the only one perplexed by the utterly astoundingly bad
trackpad drivers on literally every platform but OSX. I just don't get it. How
can so many people working on trackpad software produce such sub-par junk,
while Apple's is literally competitive to (if not better than in some cases) a
desktop mouse.

~~~
glesica
I don't know about Windows folks, but as a Linux user I rarely touch the mouse
except while using a web browser, and point-and-click is all I need there. In
fact my Thinkpad has a convenient middle mouse button just above the track pad
that's super-convenient for opening links in a new tab.

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Umox
For me, Samsung's Chromebook still makes the best linux laptop. Great form
factor, battery life, and screen.

~~~
veemjeem
So you like slow machines? I gave up using mine and sold it... it's nice that
it was cheap, but I feel like I can't do anything on it other than vim. I
prefer only carrying around one laptop, so I'd rather get the laptop that can
do everything.

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DaNmarner
Their tag line is Linux Laptop that "just works". What does that imply about
Linux? What's even sadder is that the implication is not even true. Linux
these days not only "just works", but has more functionality out of the box
than a stock Windows machine.

~~~
mbell
> Linux these days not only "just works"

1) Try to make it sleep. (and wake up correctly)

2) Try to make it hibernate. (and wake up correctly)

3) Try to rotate a second screen into portrait mode while maintaining vsync
and compositing. (choose any GPU for this, they all fail)

When you can do those 3 things reliably without fumbling around, breaking
between upgrades, or even just do them (3 especially), I'll happily switch
back to linux as a primary OS and say that it just works.

~~~
vasco
Also, make proper use of graphics switching. I live with intel integrated
graphics and won't even bother to try and switch to my ati because after about
two weeks of searching forums when I got the laptop, I just gave up. This
means, among other things, that I don't get to have webGL.

Still, Linux all the way since everything else is awesome!

~~~
mparlane
Am I imagining that the latest linux kernel added support for this?

~~~
veemjeem
Maybe you were just lucky that your combination of hardware was supported. In
my experience, you'll need the latest kernel with some patches from other
people, and you'll still have to configure with something like make menuconfig
to get the proper options to work.

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protomyth
Seriously, is there a patent on centering the trackpad? Center the trackpad,
center the keyboard, and do not put a numeric keypad on unless you have found
a way for me to type while still looking straight at the display.

~~~
arnoooooo
It looks like they have aligned it with the home keys, which seems rather
sensible.

~~~
protomyth
Which means the home keys are out of position. I want to sit dead center of
the screen, not at an angle.

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Subu_S
I don't know if it is just me or their laptops look mondo ugly - may be they
just need a better website.

The world is moving towards polished aluminum etc. while we see these clunky
models - I really hope they put more thought into making the laptops more
aesthetic.

~~~
old-gregg
> The world is moving towards polished aluminum etc.

I sure hope it isn't. The future cannot possibly be so grim and cold to touch.

It's funny how pre-conditioned some commenters are to love shiny&sparkly
things. Many complained about "ugly" but nobody noticed the poorly positioned
cheap touchpads, cheap glossy LCDs, flimsy lid hinges, excessive weight, you
know... stuff that actually matters. Of all things missing you're only asking
for "more aesthetic"? :)

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isalmon
I was under impression that laptop without Windows/MacOS on it should cost
less. Apparently it's not the case here. I don't really see any competitive
advantage vs. Dell, HP, Toshiba, etc.

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imperialWicket
As successors to the Verix 2.5 and the damn-near-a-desktop Chimera, the Verix
530 and Mir 730 updates are both available with up to i7-3920XM (2.9Ghz) and
can be configured with up to 32GB of RAM. They come in a lot cheaper than
those new MBPs, too (but retina displays are nice).

I haven't used either, but I see good things about ZaReason, and I have been a
little disappointed in my System76 Desktop (though I did heavily customize).

~~~
aiscott

      They come in a lot cheaper than those new MBPs, too
    

That is simply not true.

Configured approximately the same as the cheaper Retina MBP, the verix cost
$200 more than the retina macbook pros.

I say approximately because the mbp has 1600MHz ram vs 1333 in the verix, but
I had to choose a 300GB SSD in the verix vs 256 in the mbp. As well, the verix
option was for a 2.2GHz vs 2.3GHz of the MBP.

That was the cheaper MBP. Configuring the verix to match the costlier Retina
MBP puts the Verix at $500 more.

~~~
imperialWicket
Good point, thanks for the correction.

I neglected to consider the flash storage costs in my initial glances. If you
avoid a large flash drive (I usually run something like a 40GB ssd and a 256GB
7200RPM paired), the pricing leans towards the Verix, but not by much - and
you aren't getting the same flash storage.

~~~
mendocino

      Verix: Dimensions: 15.6" (w) x 10.5" (d) x 2.2" (h) Weight: 7.10 lbs
      MBP: Dimensions: 14.13" (w) x 9.73" (d) x 0.71" (h) Weight: 4.46 lbs
    

A plastic monstrosity. For me, this is a non-starter at any price.

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narrator
I have a Sony Vaio Core II Duo laptop. I bought it 2 or 3 years ago. The thing
runs Linux great. I don't know why all the hardware works including
suspend/resume. Maybe it's just old enough that the Linux community finally
got around to supporting everything on it. It's a Sony too, so it has adequate
design. Those Thinkpads are ugly.

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danbmil99
Just came to say, Earl at ZaReason is great, they always treated me with
respect and went the extra mile.

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codex
This is just an ad for some run of the mill laptops.

~~~
arnoooooo
With open hardware and amazing customer support.

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comex
"everyone should have a laptop this advanced"

Now where have I heard that sentence before?

