Ars Technica has an editorial on what they'd want in a laptop in 2017. Inspired by this, I figured to make my own list and ask SN for input. I'm not looking for a laptop, but it's fun to think about specs, right?
Anyway, I do think use case is important. My use case: working and travelling daily with laptop, sometimes to various institutes to give presentations. This already leads to some important requirements:
- Lightweight (I frequently take the laptop somewhere)
- Not needing a plethora of dongles. (I've forgotten the power supply more than once already, I'm sure forgetting a dongle or two will happen more frequently).
Thinking about it more, most of the things the Ars Editor loves are things I honestly don't use, or actively do not want (touch screen).
With that in mind, I'd arrive at:
- No touchscreen - it adds weight while I don't use its features
- 13 inch screen seems to balance portability and screen size well.
- 1920x1080 resolution - higher will drain the battery faster, and is not needed on 13 inch
- VGA port - almost all presentation places I come across need converters (dongles) for anything else.
- USB 2 and 3 ports - again, for compatibility
- 512 GB SDD
- 10GB or more memory
- Dual boot compatible with Ubuntu (I use Ubuntu, but for the occasional gadget that can get updates via your computer, you'll still need Windows or MacOS)
- Preferably with regular ethernet port - there are still hotels where wired is free, but wifi is paid.
Other than that I'd go for modern iterations of specs for things like ethernet, wifi, CPU, etc. So Kaby Lake processor, things like that. GPU is not a big issue, so probably the integrated Intel thing on a modern Intel CPU will be sufficient.
Anything I missed? Anything you'd do radically different? If so: why?
Related Stories
Laptop bezels are dead, and IFA killed them
In the past few years, IFA has become a laptop show. It may not be the place where companies like Apple or Microsoft show off their flashiest hardware, but when it comes to the midrange, workhorse laptops that dominate the shelves at Best Buy and desks at schools, IFA is where you'll find them. That's why it's so interesting that there's been what feels like an overnight revolution in laptop screens at this year's show: bezels are dead, and IFA killed them.
[...] These new laptops are pushing the screen-to-body ratio higher than ever: the Swift 5 is 87.6 percent screen, while the newly teased Swift 7 checks in at 92 percent. And Asus' ZenBooks feature a new ErgoLift hinge design, which is (in theory) to improve typing, but it also cleverly hides the lower bezel so that Asus can claim it's up to 95 percent screen.
Removing bezels isn't just about aesthetics. Yes, bezel-less screens look fantastic, but that's only a piece of the puzzle. The real advantages lie in the fact that, suddenly, companies can fit bigger screens into the existing form factors we have now. Take Acer's new Swift 5, which fits a 15.6-inch display into the old 14-inch form factor, resulting in what the company claims is the lightest 15-inch class laptop ever. On the flip side, we're also getting computers like Asus' 13-inch ZenBook. By killing the bezels, it's possible to shrink the entire laptop down, giving users a dramatically smaller 13-inch class laptop than ever before.
Related: Dell XPS 13 Review
What Are Must-Have Specs for a Laptop in 2017?
New laptops are drawing upon features/attributes associated with smartphones, such as LTE connectivity, ARM processors, (relatively) high battery life, and walled gardens:
This year's crop of CES laptops -- which we'll define broadly to include Windows-based two-in-one hybrids and slates -- even show signs of a sudden evolutionary leap. The long-predicted PC-phone convergence is happening, but rather than phones becoming more like computers, computers are becoming more like phones.
The most obvious way this is happening is the new breed of laptops that ditch the traditional Intel (and sometimes AMD) processors for new Snapdragon processors from Qualcomm. So far, we've seen three of these Snapdragon systems announced: the HP Envy x2, the Asus NoveGo and the Lenovo Miix 630.
Laptops with lower-end processors have been tried before, with limited success. Why is now potentially the right time? Because these systems aren't being pitched as bargain basement throwaways -- and in fact, they'll cost $600 and up, the same as many mainstream laptops in the US. Instead, they promise some very high-end features, including always-on LTE connectivity (like a phone) and 20-plus hours of battery life with weeks of standby time, which also sounds more like a phone than a PC. The tradeoff is that these Snapdragon laptops run Windows 10 S, a limited version of Windows 10, which only allows apps from the official Microsoft app store. That's also similar to the walled garden of mobile OS apps many phones embrace.
[...] There's another take on phone-laptop convergence happening here at CES. Razer, the PC and accessory maker, always brings one or two inventive prototypes to CES, such as last year's triple-screen Project Valerie laptop. The concept piece for CES 2018 is Project Linda, a 13-inch laptop shell, with a large cutout where the touchpad would normally be. You drop a Razer Phone in that slot, press a button, and the two pieces connect, with the laptop body acting as a high-end dock for the phone. The phone acts as a touchpad and also a second screen, and it works with the growing number of Android apps that have been specially formatted for larger laptop screens or computer monitors.
Related: Symetium Launches Crowdfunding Campaign for a "Smartphone PC"
Maru OS: an Android ROM that Turns into Debian when it Senses Connected PC Peripherals
What Are Must-Have Specs for a Laptop in 2017?
ARM Based Laptop DIY Kit Ready to Hit the Shops
Windows 10 PCs Running on Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 to Arrive this Year
Microsoft Knows Windows is Obsolete. Here's a Sneak Peek at Its Replacement.
Samsung to Give Linux Desktop Experience to Smartphone Users
Samsung Shows Off Linux Desktops on Galaxy 8 Smartphone
First ARM Snapdragon-Based Windows 10 S Systems Announced
Snapdragon 845 Announced
Qualcomm Joins Others in Confirming its CPUs Suffer From Spectre, and Other Meltdown News
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Friday December 02 2016, @08:43PM
I bought a work laptop 6 months ago, with a 17" 4K screen (not overkill, I need it as video source), 16G of RAM and an i7 so I can compile, and a real Ethernet port to talk to our 1RU.
I'd get a slim-ish 15" with 16G of RAM and a real keyboard for myself, if that existed.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 02 2016, @10:44PM
I have a decent-sized 13" that I upgraded to 16G of RAM and a half terabyte SSD. It has all the ports I want (except that I need a dongle for VGA and HDMI projectors for presentations). It's fast enough for me with an i5.
It's a 2012 MacBook Pro.
I haven't seen a better computer since then.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by takyon on Friday December 02 2016, @08:48PM
I would not buy a laptop before AMD Zen mobile chips are released. It seems that it will narrow the instructions per clock gap with Intel. On the desktop front, Zen seems to have pressured Intel to consider releasing mainstream desktop chips with 6 cores for the first time. AMD's (APU) integrated graphics performance and performance per dollar are typically better than Intel. So we have a situation where the AMD Zen laptop chips will recover significantly in the area of CPU performance, and each of them should have 2 threads per core as well (some of the cheaper Intel laptop CPUs have 2-4 cores but only 1 thread per core).
I'm not saying that you shouldn't consider Kaby Lake or Cannonlake, but wait for AMD Zen to hit the market.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by tibman on Friday December 02 2016, @09:37PM
My newish laptop for work a Lenovo(thinkpad) W541 has VGA and Thunderbolt with no HDMI. Other than that oddity it's decent for ports. 16GB RAM, 500GB SSD, Intel Core i7-4710MQ. My only other gripe is the intel HD graphics 4600 paired with the nvidia Quadro K1100M. In theory the integrated intel does lightweight work and the nvidia kicks in for heavy stuff. In reality, shit crashes or has hiccups randomly. Much rather have an AMD APU.
SN won't survive on lurkers alone. Write comments.
(Score: 1) by toddestan on Sunday December 04 2016, @06:23AM
I've got the same laptop for work. The W-series has been discontinued however, and the W541 is the last of the line. The replacement is the P50 and P50s, which by all accounts seems to be an improvement. However, the P50 lacks a VGA port, which I don't mind because IMHO the VGA port should have been gone 10 years ago but otherwise meets most of your other requirements except for having a 15" screen. I also can't speak towards Ubuntu, but I would give it a good chance of working just fine. I've not had any crashes/hiccups with my W541, but it has ended up spending almost all its time sitting in its docking station. I know others with same or similar W540 who do use it more as a laptop do experience some crashes, as well as having some problems with the wireless.
If I needed to buy a new laptop for myself, the P50 would be in the running, though like you I'd prefer it with a smaller screen. There is a P40 and while the name suggests it's just like the P50 but smaller, in reality it's one of those convertible tablet/laptop things and really is a completely different kind of machine.
I'm still hoping Lenovo actually puts the Thinkpad Retro into production but the prospects aren't looking too good.
(Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Saturday December 03 2016, @05:31AM
I'm also eager to see Zen hit the market. I find the $100 stick computers very interesting, but the good x86 ones are all Intel, with Intel's integrated graphics. Admittedly, Intel's integrated graphics have improved tremendously from the days of being a complete laughingstock, barely able to update the screen acceptably fast for word processing, never mind any real gaming. I checked into what AMD had to compete with an Atom Z8300, and learned that currently, they don't have anything to match it. AMD products capable of about the same level of performance take 3 times the power, while those that use about the same amount of power are half the performance.
(Score: 2) by tonyPick on Saturday December 03 2016, @09:33AM
Late to the party, but I'll point at PC specialist [pcspecialist.co.uk] if you're in europe/the UK, who supplied the laptop I'm on right now. (a Clevo 650SJ, I believe) and do a few VGA capable base models in the laptops range.
The killer feature for me on these is that it supports both a VGA and an HDMI port, and it can run both of those plus the internal screen at 1920*1080 simultaneously, giving a laptop with triple display support out of the box, as well as flexible external presentation capabilities.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday December 03 2016, @06:56PM
Unless it appears on a deals site like Slickdeals.net (or UK equivalent), I ain't buying it.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by AndyTheAbsurd on Friday December 02 2016, @08:50PM
You forgot to define what "working" is for you. That's completely different things for a developer, a financial analyst, or a project manager; which will in turn lead to different requirements.
Please note my username before responding. You may have been trolled.
(Score: 2) by ikanreed on Friday December 02 2016, @10:04PM
What kind of specialized hardware does lying require?
(Score: 2) by requerdanos on Friday December 02 2016, @10:26PM
It's less CPU- and GPU-intensive than things like compiling, editing/encoding multimedia, or performing engineering calculations. Hence, affects the specs....
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 02 2016, @10:32PM
You need a Bernie Sanders, a Jill Stein, an FBI and a Department of Justice. Oh and being married to a former President of the United States helps.
(Score: 3, Informative) by ikanreed on Friday December 02 2016, @10:39PM
If you're gonna go for the shallow politics jab, shouldn't you have stayed topical and gone with "A private email server off premises"? Like... then there's an actual joke rather than a lazy conservative "Laugh because you also hate this person" style joke.
(Score: 2) by chromas on Saturday December 03 2016, @02:52AM
A straight face.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 03 2016, @04:39AM
Anything made by Apple.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Celestial on Friday December 02 2016, @08:52PM
I agree with the "no touchscreen." Completely useless on a proper computer. However, I'd much prefer a 15 inch screen to a 13 inch screen. Like Goldilocks, 17" is too big, 13" is too small, and 15" is just right. I'd also up the RAM to at least 16 GB. Personal preference, but if you're going to dual boot I'd use two separate 256 GB SSDs.
The big one, for me, is that I'd add a real GPU. Intel integrated graphics just don't cut it for me, but I also play video games.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 02 2016, @11:30PM
O_O Those requirements....
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 03 2016, @05:20AM
We are still talking screen sizes, right? Right?
(Score: 1) by aim on Tuesday December 06 2016, @09:00AM
I agree with the "no touchscreen." Completely useless on a proper computer. However, I'd much prefer a 15 inch screen to a 13 inch screen. Like Goldilocks, 17" is too big, 13" is too small, and 15" is just right. I'd also up the RAM to at least 16 GB. Personal preference, but if you're going to dual boot I'd use two separate 256 GB SSDs.
The big one, for me, is that I'd add a real GPU. Intel integrated graphics just don't cut it for me, but I also play video games.
Agreed on 13" being a tad small, while 17" is too big to lug around (got one, mostly stationary use). I'd add that high res is overrated, I (in my mid-40ies with by now declining vision) actually prefer my lower-res 1680x1050 22" desktop screen to the 17" full HD on the laptop. I am also extremely averse to "mirror" (aka glare) screens, and absolutely require a matte one - quite hard to find, more so if you want the colors to be more or less correctly shown.
Be careful with the VGA ports, they may offer limited resolution - on my 17" i7 from 2014, VGA is limited to 1024x768, no such low limit on the HDMI port.
Apropos graphics, mine came with Optimum, i.e. choice of NVidia vs. Intel integrated. I tend to use Intel only, but then I'm not a gamer.
Another criterium for me was to be able to get the laptop without MS Windows license, as I'd put a FOSS operating system on - I actually found one preloaded with FreeDOS and OpenGEM, OS I replaced with Kubuntu.
Not least, make sure the keyboard is usable, or get yourself a decent separate keyboard to add when on your desk. Same for touchpad/mouse.
I'm less sure about the dual drive thing, not many laptops will even allow for that option. Although, I still have a DVD burner in mine, that might be replaced by another SSD...
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Azuma Hazuki on Friday December 02 2016, @08:55PM
My ideal machine would be something like a modern Thinkpad X220 (that keyboard~) with a 12.5" 1080p panel, 32GB of memory, and one of the HQ-series Core i7 chips. I know a small chassis like that can still cool a 45W-TDP chip, especially without the need for a dGPU in it. Also? NVMe SSD, 128 or 256GB is plenty, preferably the Samsung Pro 960.
This would be insanely powerful, very portable, a pleasure to type on, solid as a rock, and could be hooked up to an external display for stationary use.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2) by jmorris on Friday December 02 2016, @11:17PM
Yes! X200s here, but same thought process. The key feature in a laptop is the KEYBOARD, otherwise you could just get a tablet. I don't want a Mac, I know where their store is, so why does everyone insist on cloning their crappy keyboards? There are things more important than how thin and light the laptop is. I know, heresy. But there are. The Thinkpad X2xx series is perfect. The keyboard defines the size of everything else. Give me a good keyboard and a real docking connector and most of the rest is negotiable.
Are there any options that fill that requirement?
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday December 03 2016, @01:15AM
Disclaimer: I am a Dell Fanboy.
The feature is probably not unique to Dell Laptops, but my Latitude D600 (which I bought refurbished back in 2006 and is still alive and kicking like a champ) has both the trackpad and the clit mouse in the middle of the keyboard. Good redundancy since as a guy who once repaired laptops for a living I saw more than my share of failing trackpads.
My ideal laptop? A full-fledged PC integrated into the monitor (say, 20" HD) iMac-style but with a picture-frame style stand which allows it to sit directly on the desk surface. Two models of carrying-cases would be available - traditional black soft and serious-looking hard briefcase. The configuration also allows for a proper allowance of physical ports rather than hubs or dongles nonsense, and also better access to manually upgrade RAM (possibly more) if required. And it would have a DB-9 serial port because, yes, that is still widely used in the tech-industry. And a fucking fat replaceable battery with capability to charge not only its loaded battery but another externally while plugged in to AC power. It would have graphics capability sufficient to run two 20" widescreen monitors as an extended desktop, with enough graphics power to smoothly run a recent version of SolidWorks in a drawing or design context. Hell, it might even be decent at playing games.
My M.O. is obviously having as much of a full-fledged PC on the road without having to lug around a tower, but having some beef under my fat, wouldn't mind the exercise lugging it around.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Friday December 02 2016, @08:56PM
1080p minimum is a good idea. Let's kill 768p resolution already.
I would consider wasting money on a 4K screen for 15.6" and up, but check to make sure it isn't a piece of crap. There are other properties to consider when getting a screen/laptop, such as:
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by KiloByte on Saturday December 03 2016, @12:16PM
1080p minimum is a good idea. Let's kill 768p resolution already.
I haven't heard about usable screen aspect ratios of that vertical resolution. Did you mean 1024 or 1200, or sometimes 1536 or 2048?
Ceterum censeo systemd esse delendam.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday December 03 2016, @06:54PM
Check ur industry.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1) by toddestan on Sunday December 04 2016, @06:35AM
I think he's referring to the dark years of ubiquitous 1366x768 laptop screens, which we've really only recently emerged from.
(Score: 2) by KiloByte on Monday December 05 2016, @01:28PM
We still haven't emerged from the dark days of 16x9 everything. Aspect ratios are getting even worse, not better.
Ceterum censeo systemd esse delendam.
(Score: 4, Funny) by khallow on Friday December 02 2016, @09:03PM
After all, when price is no object, then it is reasonable to have your own global wireless network with satellite constellation backup on your own personal easement of microwave frequency spectrum (globally, of course). And have Skynet on the other end of that connection with plentiful nuclear weapons, a rather ample conventional military force, and trillions of dollars in wealth ready to enforce, to whatever extent is necessary, your every whim.
I mean, why else have a laptop?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 02 2016, @10:45PM
It's fitting that Arnold Schwarzenegger is hosting The Celebrity Apprentice.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Friday December 02 2016, @09:03PM
Dell has introduced "Infinity Edge" to its XPS line of laptops. The bezel is very small, so you apparently get a larger screen within a smaller sized machine:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/8983/dell-xps-13-review [anandtech.com]
http://www.anandtech.com/show/10116/the-dell-xps-15-9550-review [anandtech.com]
I'm sure other companies have done this too by this point.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 4, Insightful) by rcamera on Friday December 02 2016, @09:07PM
if it's windows 8(.x) or 10, make sure it's the "pro" version. the pro versions include upgrade rights to windows 7.
/* no comment */
(Score: 5, Insightful) by DannyB on Friday December 02 2016, @09:20PM
How about a No-Windows version. And no craptacular trialware applications bloating the hard drive.
Why is it so difficult to break a heroine addiction?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 03 2016, @12:37AM
Depending on where you buy it you can get it pretty much any way you like. With or without crap. If you want 0 crap. Go for a business line sort of computer.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by anubi on Saturday December 03 2016, @05:52AM
Maybe one day they make the trialware completely delete itself if its not purchased.
If using the software without paying for it is considered theft, then how about unwanted software squatting in precious memory real estate without paying rent?
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 03 2016, @07:48PM
It's not squating. The software paid to be there. They subsidised
the cost of your laptop. In theory, the manufacturer passes on the
savings to you. For people who don't know how to wipe the hard
drive and install from scratch there should at least be the option
to buy with and without bloatware (at different price points
ofcourse).
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday December 05 2016, @03:23PM
Microsoft is actively working to ensure that you cannot boot another OS. Or that if you can, it is a second class citizen.
Why is it so difficult to break a heroine addiction?
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 02 2016, @09:15PM
ECC RAM anyone ?
Pretty much any guide I've ever seen recommend ECC RAM when one gets into the 16 GB+ memory range.
I mean at that point we are starting to consider the laptop to be in the "workstation" class of machine.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by maxwell demon on Friday December 02 2016, @09:17PM
A screen that doesn't double as a mirror.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Friday December 02 2016, @09:21PM
https://www.amazon.com/b/?ie=UTF8&node=6669702011 [amazon.com]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by SomeGuy on Friday December 02 2016, @11:36PM
What gives with that anyway? Why are so many like that and why do people buy them? Here, let me grab the anti glare screen off of my Apple IIe...
(Score: 2) by Pino P on Saturday December 03 2016, @12:24AM
Glossy allegedly allows deeper blacks than matte, which smears ambient light all over the display.
(Score: 1) by ComaVN on Saturday December 03 2016, @01:26PM
Who cares about deeper blacks while seeing their own contorted face while looking at, um, stuff?
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Saturday December 03 2016, @05:15PM
The bad jokes write themselves...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 02 2016, @09:22PM
I just bought one of these from Dell's business outlet store for $1879 with a Black Friday coupon. 1T ssd, 32g ram, 15in 1920x1080 screen - that nice style that's on the XPS13 and 15, i7 cpu, NVIDIA Quadro M1000M 2 GB GDDR5. Nice little machine.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 02 2016, @09:24PM
We're going to be forced into upgrading all our win machines to Win10. Currently I run Win 7 with linux in a VM. Ahead of the forced upgrade, I want to get a new laptop that will run linux and have Win10 in a VM.
What to people use for linux laptops these days? I use my computer for developing software and running scientific software. Like the article submitter, I don't need a lot of the fancy crap, but I wouldn't mind a screen bigger than 13".
(Score: 1) by rev_irreverence on Saturday December 03 2016, @05:01AM
I have a Lenovo X1 carbon running Fedora 25 and Windows 10 inside a VM. Everything pretty much worked out of the box and has been rock solid stable ever since.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 02 2016, @09:59PM
I have a couple requirements to consider:
There is a short (but nonempty) list of laptops that meet these requirements.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 03 2016, @02:20PM
You will not find a cpu on the consumer market without a built in backdoor subsystem like Intel ME
(Score: 2) by Hawkwind on Friday December 02 2016, @10:03PM
I'm getting ready to buy my Linux-only kid a laptop. I've been looking at Sytem76 (14.1" Lemur, i7 processor). Any good or bad experiences to share? if it helps, the laptop won't be used for gaming, although he occasionally messes around with some of the older gaming design engines.
(Score: 5, Informative) by ShadowSystems on Friday December 02 2016, @10:39PM
Unfortunately I can't in good conscience recommend System76.
Granted it's only my own experience that makes me say this, but it is what it is.
Back in June I contacted them to buy a desktop. I specificly requested it to be built, tested, & delivered NLT July 30th as I was going on vacation August 1st. The sales rep assured me they could do it. A week before the deadline the rep emails me back to say it's been backordered & they will try to get it before, but could I move the deadline? No, I'll be on a plane & can't get refunds for the tickets. They scramble to get me the machine, swear it'll be to me on time, & end up having to refund me the full purchase price when July 28th rolls up & they finally admit they can't deliver as promised.
I recently tried again, this time with no deadline looming. Same machine, same instructions for the build (I need Orca), & they give it a go. The first machine arrives with Loose Items Inside. I have to open it up, remove the PSU, & fish out the screws before I can dare to plug it in. Evidently the screws were important because it fails to turn on. RMA the first one & they send a second. The second one arrives DOA. No LOI this time, but it refuses to power on at all. RMA it back & they discover that UPS evidently dropped it hard enough to nearly *tear out* the PSU. I hadn't noticed any external damage to the case, but given I'm blind that's not THAT surprising. They ask if I want to try a 3rd unit or just get a refund, & I opt for the refund. It takes two weeks after they acknowledge the return of the 2nd unit before they even HINT at the refund, & it takes another 3 days before it arrives in my bank. Only it's $40 short of the full purchase price. I don't know why the difference, I don't care at this point.
System76 may be a good vendor for everyone else, but they've struck out as far as I'm concerned. The Tech Support rep I talked to was *AWESOME* and I told her boss she deserved a raise (and I *meant it* too), but everything ELSE went to shit. =-/
If you go with S76 then be sure to examine the boxes *very* carefully, make sure there's no LOI in your brand new "professionally built" computer, & that it turns on at all. Call them *immediately* if there's any issues at all. If?/*When* the shit hits the fan then you want to Cover Your Ass.
HTH!
(Score: 5, Informative) by Celestial on Friday December 02 2016, @10:39PM
I don't know if it's actually the case, but I've been told that System76 is basically your standard Sager/Clevo notebook reseller. Those you can get cheaper at a lot of places. With System76, you're paying for Ubuntu support. Now, that may be important and useful to you. It may not be. Just something to take into consideration.
(Score: 2) by opinionated_science on Saturday December 03 2016, @10:55AM
this is why I got a generic Dell - (K)ubuntu works pretty much. I'm a complete Penguinista, but we all know laptops are a special breed of corporate-anitconsumerism...
I like the idea of Linux branded laptops, but think it's a bit like Branded Music....
Not going to be great , just ok.
I must say, the cheap XPS11 I got (touchscreen, folds over to make tablet, works with kubuntu, got free android tablet and amazing battery life) has only one downside - weak GPU.
I was given this Apple MacBook Pro, nice construction - curiously weak GPU (intel), suggesting Apple makes a nice profit by designing software to the edge of performance.
Still Apple's presence in the market, has force the Windoze segment to up their game...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 03 2016, @06:18AM
I've had success with (slightly used) HP, Toshiba, Samsung and Dell laptops - Win7 era up to Win8/8.1. Take it home, pop a Linux distro disc in, 30 minutes, problems all solved. Caveats are that some HP dv6's have overheating problems and Dells sometimes have wierd wi-fi chippery.
(Score: 2) by quintessence on Friday December 02 2016, @10:03PM
Well, the HP EliteBook 2550p certainly fits the bill (as well as being fairly rugged). Problem is they are underpowered in comparison to today's processors.
And that is the crux of the problem- either software becomes too bloated to run on a moderately powerful laptop, or newer designs have more umph, but lack usability.
Same can be said of cars. There are high hp monsters out there now, but are so bloated they have performance numbers that are only slightly better than performance cars of yesteryear.
(Score: 1) by ShadowSystems on Friday December 02 2016, @10:03PM
A 7th generation (Kaybee Lake) Intel I7 at 4GHz or faster, 32GiB of DDR4 (64 would be nice), ~256GiB NVMe 2GiB/s SSD, integrated audio/video, SD reader, wired gigabit LAN, 4x USB3.0 ports, a 1080 13" matte screen, IBM Thinkpad with fully user replaceable parts.
I wouldn't mind it being "Thin & Light" as long as it can properly dissapate the heat from a full throttle desktop grade CPU (UltraLowVoltage & Mobile need not apply), the parts aren't soldered in place, & it hasn't pulled an Apple to drop all the ports (INCLUDING HEADPHONE) in an idiotic attempt at "courage". Stick your "courage" to screw me over for the dongles to replace the ports you've charged me extra for not including in the first place. Give me the damned ports back you fekkin bastadges.
*Cough*
I've been finding that I have to look for "desktop replacement" or "mobile workstation" class machines in order to find what I want as a Windows machine. I looked at various Linux vendors & realized that I can get the machine I've described without having to jump through any hoops harder than picking the configuration options. I was already wanting to jump ship off the MS treadmill & the Linux vendors (Emporer, System76, ZaReason, etc) make the jump an easy one.
A 4GHz CPU, 32GiB DDR4, & a 256GiB NVMe SSD running Linux? Daaaaaammmmnnnn would that sucker be fast! Why, I could almost play PONG on it! =-D
*COUGH*
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 02 2016, @10:25PM
Perfect. Thank you for this. It answers my post above [soylentnews.org].
The last linux-only system I purchased was a workstation back in 2000 (VALinux Systems); I've lived off of installing over older hardware since. I wasn't sure who was serving that market anymore, or whether there was that market anymore.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 02 2016, @10:53PM
Would you not rather just pack a small AP, rather than use the umbilicle cord?
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 02 2016, @10:56PM
- dual diskette drives
- IEEE-488 port
- RS-232 port
- 5-inch, 52-by-24-character, monochrome monitor
- 64 kB RAM
- Z80 processor
- 69-key keyboard
- under 11 kg
(Score: 3, Funny) by RamiK on Saturday December 03 2016, @02:10AM
The bad news is that you can't find anything like that on the market.
The good news is that you can build it on a breadboard.
compiling...
(Score: 3, Insightful) by SomeGuy on Saturday December 03 2016, @03:55AM
Well, Osborn 1s come up on eBay fairly often.
But I would vote for a "modern" machine with a real serial COM port. I saw a few laptops with them a couple of years back. Easy to add to a desktop with a PCI card.
Now, a desktop PC without a real floppy disk controller interface is not a real PC.
(Score: 2, Informative) by sweettea on Friday December 02 2016, @11:17PM
(Score: 3, Informative) by ilPapa on Friday December 02 2016, @11:42PM
1. ethernet port
2. actual function keys instead of some fruity video touch bar
3. a headphone jack
4. real video ports
5. Did I mention an ethernet port?
You are still welcome on my lawn.
(Score: 2) by bryan on Saturday December 03 2016, @12:13AM
Do fans on laptops still suck? I haven't updated my laptop in years, but the one thing I remember above all is the annoyingly loud fan needed to cool the CPU. These things are tiny and normally suck air from the bottom of the device (thus suck up any carpet lint or dirt and then get clogged) Plus, they are super proprietary and not something that can be easily replaced.
The one thing I was really expecting Apple to update on it's latest model was the removal of active cooling fans. They seem to be big fans (har har) of making everything razor thin, and I expected that they would have used their aluminum construction as a giant passive heat sink and just nixed the mechanical fans.
Surely, we should be getting close to having perfectly silent laptops with the latest generation of lower wattage CPUs, right? Tablets don't have fans.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 03 2016, @02:07AM
some tablets do have fans.
but it seems most people are willing to accept a fan to have the fastest cpus
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 03 2016, @06:12AM
"Do fans on laptops still suck?"
I'd think so, the intake is on the bottom and there's not enough vertical space to turn them sideways so they could blow instead.
... what?
(Score: 1) by toddestan on Sunday December 04 2016, @06:49AM
The main improvements really are with idle power. When the processor is under load, you're still producing similar amounts of heat as the processors of several years ago, at least for any high-performance processor. So basically you either have to deal with the fans - though at least now when the laptop is at idle they barely have to spin. Or accept a laptop that can't run at 100% CPU for extended periods of time without throttling (the Apple solution, even on their "Pro" line). Well, I guess third solution is to get one of the low power, low performance chips like the Atom that barely use any power even under load.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 03 2016, @12:45AM
A laptop that respects your freedoms. [fsf.org] Since many companies are enemies of freedom, finding a powerful laptop that respects user freedoms is going to be nigh impossible, so you have to make do with laptops that aren't very powerful but at least allow you to have your freedoms. There aren't many freedom-respecting laptops or computers in general at the moment, and even the ones that qualify have their own issues (proprietary firmware in certain devices).
(Score: 2) by damnbunni on Saturday December 03 2016, @01:47AM
The Panasonic Toughbook CF-54E9716KM hits all of those except VGA, plus it has a DVD drive as well.
It's a bit heavy for a 14" laptop, but it has a carry handle which makes it easier to tote. Also it's a Toughbook. You can beat the crap out of it and it'll keep working.
On the other hand, it's almost six grand.
(Score: 2) by Squidious on Saturday December 03 2016, @03:10AM
Number one requirement for me is disposably cheap - less then $70 a unit. I buy used business laptops in lots and outfit my crew with identical equipment with multiple spares on the shelf already configured. All important data is backed up on servers. Somebody sloshes a soda or drops one on the tile and they can grab the next one off the stack and keep rolling. The broken laptops go in a tub until I can spare a moment to mix and match them back to working order. It's not so much about the money saved but about making those hardware accidents non-events.
The terrorists have won, game, set, match. They've scared the people into electing authoritarian regimes.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 03 2016, @04:12AM
How about a centered keyboard and trackpad. None of this cancerous off-center usability disaster because the manufacturer put a fucking NUMBER PAD on a 15" laptop.
Anything more, like a classic layout, is wishful thinking
A non 16:9 display ratio would be nice too. Maybe even 3:2.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 03 2016, @02:22PM
I have wondered about that for years. Why have a *keypad* on a laptop? It makes no sense.
(Score: 1) by Istaera on Saturday December 03 2016, @09:04AM
Most important thing is compatibility with linux, followed by size.
For a laptop which is really a portable desktop, then sure, go higher. But my ideal laptop is one I can fit in my bag, carry everywhere, actually use on my lap, and therefore the most convenient size is book-size, or A4. Usually this means a screen size of 11 inches, but if I had the money I'd go Dell XPS 13.
I believe there's somebody out there watching us. Unfortunately, it's the government.
(Score: 2) by Aiwendil on Saturday December 03 2016, @12:50PM
A standardized dock - and that is pretty much the most important one.
Let me explain...
Assume you add a standardized dock - and now I'm talking about standardized in fastenings, minimum mechanical tolerance and placement of hidden dataports and hidden power-ports.
Think about it, having a 1.5-2.5cm (.5-1in) thick "underlay" to the laptop that you can connect and disconnect. and have "hidden ports" on the underside of the laptop to go directly to this, and have slots at the side.
Imagine putting a usb-hub in there, or pulling a thunderbolt cord and being able to set up your own preferences of optical devices, detachable storage, external graphic card, extra cooling, extra battery, and being able to de-dock it when you want portability more than anything... and be able to just buy a "filler" to expand it to fit a somewhat bigger physical footprint when you change laptop.
As an extra bonus, this also could allow you to have a few "inert" slots that only is containers for stuff like paperclips, pens, notepads (think block of post-its), those usb-dongles you keep forgetting, and one of those "key-finders" for when you misplace the dock itself.
(Score: 2) by Rich on Saturday December 03 2016, @07:06PM
It shouldn't be to hard to make a laptop that fits the bill for me. I type this on a 2006 MacBook Pro, which still is my daily workhorse, but increasingly becomes burdensome, because newer software doesn't like the trusty Snow Leopard anymore. One, it can't really upgrade; two, newer versions of Mac OS become increasingly crappy, I wouldn't want anything newer than Mavericks as "daily driver". Also, I'm currently living through a repair nightmare with a 2012 Retina MBP, where I at least was able to recover some data through a third party adapter, so let's start with the first feature:
- No soldered-in SSD. No go. Absolute dealbreaker. Best would be a combination of a 9mm 2.5 inch drive space and a slot for an M.2 SSD.
- No soldered-in RAM. The RMBP died because of faulty RAM, so I have particular hatred for this. But also, bumping the RAM specs once or twice over the lifetime did prolong past machines' lifes a lot (as did swapping out HD/SSD storage).
- No numeric keypad forcing the user to work off-center. Those who offer those must really have brains like amoebae, unable to think past late-80s sales promotion checklists.
- No glue. I'll have nice Torx screws with metric threads for every internal component.
- No rub-off coatings. Car makers seem to have no issue making stuff with pleasing, scratch resistant surfaces that endure years of UV exposure and thermal cycling between -20 and +80 centigrade.
- No self dissolving solder in chip packages. Automotive grade for southbridge and GPU type chips, please.
- No signed bootloader requirements. I know what I'm going to run. THANK YOU.
- No broken ACPI, braindead custom RAID setups, or anything that goes into the way of booting a current Mint, closing the lid, opening the lid, and continuing to work.
See? It's totally easy to build a reasonable laptop with today's knowledge, if just basic thoughts about quality and general reason are employed.
Unfortunately there seems to be NO such device at all. Maybe the Dell XPS15 might be the most reasonable fit, as far as new hardware is concerned. The HP Omen also looks like its hardware would fit the bill well, but they seem to disable Linux with a fucked up firmware. I can't believe their QA doesn't involve one guy plugging in a USB stick, booting a recent distro and cycling the lid at least once.
As a replacement for what I run now, i'm looking at a Santa Rosa C2D MBP (which will go to 10.9 and last a few more years), a 2011 Unibody MBP (which have the only quadcore to run SL, but also run the latest crap in case you need it - however these suffer from dissolving ATI GPUs), a Thinkpad W500 (w/Penryn 2.8 & WUXGA, again, ATI issues lately reported), or a Thinkpad W530 (Quad 2.6 & FHD). After the 530 they went to build in the stupid keypad. I do sort of like the haptics of my RMBP, and the Retina screen is gorgeous, especially to work with schematic diagrams, but it seems not built solid enough (thermal overstress?!) to bear the loads of daily work.
Oh, and one more thing that I always wanted in a laptop is a slide-up display. I.e. one or more carrier rods are mounted on the hinges, while the display itself can slide up and down on them. That would allow an ergonomic typing position while avoiding pain from a bent-down neck.
(Score: 2) by Max Hyre on Saturday December 03 2016, @11:56PM
But that's absolutely my requirement #1.
(Score: 2) by darkfeline on Sunday December 04 2016, @09:51PM
My dream is that there be a self-built market for laptops like there are for desktops. Everyone's needs are different, and heck, my own needs vary on occasion. Being able to order a bunch of parts with standardized sizes that I can put together myself would be awesome.
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