[Arm-netbook] new development laptop needed, looking at dell xps 13 9350

Sun Dec 4 12:29:00 GMT 2016

On 12/4/16, Franck Sinimalé <franck at sinimale.fr> wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> https://lacpdx.com/gnu/Laptop
>
> FYI they did not answer to my request since i live in France i guess,
> cool machines anyway !

 unfortunately the LCD resolutions max out at 1920x1080.  after having
experienced a 2560x1600 LCD, where i can get *TEN* full 80x56 xterms
side-by-side on one screen, or *two* web browsers full-screen 1200x800
next to *four* 80x56 xterms, or can do two 80x56 xterms and then
openscad a whopping 1800x1600... or PCB CAD development 1200x1600
side-by-side with a PDF datasheet at again 1200x1600 instead of being
forced to flip between the two....  *and it's portable*...

 ... once you've experienced that kind of development environment, a
1920x1080 LCD is a *MASSIVE* step backwards.

 ... can't do it, frank :)

> a+
> Franck
>
> Le 04/12/2016 à 12:39, Russell Hyer a écrit :
>> Hey Luke,
>>
>> Well, obviously you know that there are a couple more hardware people
>> like https://www.thinkpenguin.com/ in the US and novatech.co.uk in the
>> UK, but none of these are particularly interesting from a tech or
>> friendliness perspective.
>>
>> If it's just about having a machine that might be compromised whilst
>> you bootstrap the new system up, then, the Mac Mini would get my
>> upvote (true, it's bad in some respects concerning freedom), but it
>> does support multiple screens, but, then it is locked down (soldered
>> RAM).
>>
>> Whatever you decide, I feel I should add that whilst my business is
>> improving, I've still not been able to generate any more money for the
>> project. (I could sell some items, though, though that's more worst
>> case scenario)
>>
>> Russ
>>
>> On 4 December 2016 at 11:15, Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton <lkcl at lkcl.net>
>> wrote:
>>> around 3 years ago i bought an apple macbook pro 13in because it was
>>> well-built, high spec'd and high-priced (translation: plenty of profit
>>> so that no corners need to be cut in manufacturing, which in turn
>>> means less chance of component failure).
>>>
>>> that was the theory, anyway.  one design flaw, though: the PCIe SSD
>>> could be "spiked" by the lack of earthing of the power supply,
>>> resulting in resets of the SATA bus about twice per second.  setting
>>> "min_power" on the SATA bus stopped this flood of entries in
>>> /var/log/syslog... but the setting was OVER-RIDDEN at the slightest
>>> opportunity.
>>>
>>> also, i had no idea that i would need more than 8GB of RAM (and the
>>> macbook pro is NOT UPGRADABLE - the RAM is soldered down).
>>>
>>> i've also just had my backup SSD (a 4 year old kingston 512mb SSD
>>> which is hardly used) totally fail after a non-intensive *READ*.  not
>>> write: READ.
>>>
>>> with the macbook pro's internal SSD being difficult to get at, i'm
>>> feeling a leetle paranoid: this machine is a CRITICAL resource, now a
>>> single point of failure.  my partner's machine only has 4GB of RAM and
>>> a 1600x1080 LCD.  lovely machine but it would in no way cope with what
>>> i'm doing.
>>>
>>> also... i've literally worn holes in two of the keys (ctrl and S)...
>>>
>>> basically it's time to get a new laptop, and i need something that has
>>> particularly special high-end specifications in certain areas:
>>>
>>> * 2560x1600 or greater resolution LCD (CAD development)
>>> * 13in size (has to fit in my backpack)
>>> * below 1.5kg weight (carryable)
>>> * 16GB of RAM (i'm maxing out the 8GB)
>>> * 512GB SSD (i've maxed out the 256GB drive)
>>> * cooperative manufacturer that hasn't caved in to microsoft
>>> cartelling business practices
>>>
>>> actual processor and processor speed isn't actually relevant.  battery
>>> life: also not really relevant.  doesn't *particularly* need a
>>> dedicated GPU: intel shared graphics turns out to work well enough for
>>> the 3D CAD work that i do (even when the framerate is seconds per
>>> frame in openscad).  i run mostly from mains, and processors are so
>>> insanely fast these days that speed is not really an issue.
>>>
>>> now, the machine i came up with is the Dell XPS 13, 9350:
>>>
>>> https://wiki.debian.org/InstallingDebianOn/Dell/Dell_XPS_13_9350
>>>
>>> i looked at the lenovo yoga 900: zowee, lenovo are unethical.  they've
>>> locked the BIOS so that you can't switch the NVMe SSD out of RAID mode
>>> (so you can't even install windows from a windows CD), they've refused
>>> refunds to people who claim mis-selling, they're ACTIVELY working to
>>> release new BIOS updates that prevent and prohibit people from
>>> installing linux, and they're scrambling to constantly censor reports
>>> and complaints on their forum.
>>>
>>> i also looked at the asus zenbook: fantastic machine.... except the
>>> 13in variant peaks at 12GB of RAM.
>>>
>>> sony... have stopped doing laptops!  that's the end of an era: i'm
>>> amazed...
>>>
>>> now, before i go spending $USD 1500 of crowd-funding money (which is
>>> easily justifiable as it's absolutely essential that i have a working
>>> machine and a half-decent backup) i'd like to double-check with people
>>> if they know of anything better than the XPS 9350, both in terms of
>>> specification as well as support for the linux community from the
>>> manufacturer.  dell appear to be cooperating, releasing BIOS updates
>>> that *actively* help linux users (as opposed to lenovo who do the
>>> complete opposite and then try to hide the fact, generally being
>>> incredibly evasive and unethical).
>>>
>>> thoughts and suggestions appreciated for evaluation.  the 9350's at
>>> the top of the list right now.
>>>
>>> l.
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> arm-netbook mailing list arm-netbook at lists.phcomp.co.uk
>>> http://lists.phcomp.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/arm-netbook
>>> Send large attachments to arm-netbook at files.phcomp.co.uk
>> _______________________________________________
>> arm-netbook mailing list arm-netbook at lists.phcomp.co.uk
>> http://lists.phcomp.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/arm-netbook
>> Send large attachments to arm-netbook at files.phcomp.co.uk
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> arm-netbook mailing list arm-netbook at lists.phcomp.co.uk
> http://lists.phcomp.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/arm-netbook
> Send large attachments to arm-netbook at files.phcomp.co.uk