Ask YC: Which notebook/laptop do you use (+ suggestions)?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=159153

by rob • 18 years ago

6 29 18 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I currently have a MacBook Pro and love OS X and its architecture, but I was looking to purchase another notebook to run Linux (yes, I know I can do that with my MBP) and wanted to see if any of you had any recommendations.

I'm looking for something cheap (i.e., around $1,000) that looks decent, such as the Lenovo R, T, or X series. Obviously it'll have to be able to run Linux, too (probably Ubuntu).

Suggestions?

sanswork• 18 years ago

I had a Thinkpad X series before I got my MBP and I loved it. It was light but powerful enough and installing Linux was a breeze.

That said given the choice I'd stick with my MBP and just tripleboot(already have vista installed for testing)

jgrahamc• 18 years ago

I use a MacBook Pro with the highdef screen as my only machine. For multiple OSes I run VMWare currently with Windows 2000, Ubuntu 7.04 and the OLPC operating system. I wouldn't waste my time with another machine, since the MBP has two cores you can just use one for you Linux installation and have plenty of horsepower left for the Mac.

lux• 18 years ago

Is your MBP old? Why can't you just save that money and put a bit of it towards VMWare Fusion? The extra savings could come in handy for something else, especially if you're in the startup game :)

chengmi• 18 years ago

I couldn't agree more with this. You could also look into VirtualBox as a virtualization solution.

You might not want to choose this route if you want to use X windows because personally, switching back and forth between desktops is just plain annoying (and last I checked, Seamless mode only works with Windows). Also, if you're going to be testing hardware on linux, you'll probably be better off getting a new machine. But for all other cases, virtualization is the way to go.

My current setup is a Macbook with an Ubuntu 7.10 server VM for development (nothing beats apt).

pivo• 18 years ago

You could run the OSX X server instead and get seamless mode that way. It's free too.

bretthoerner• 18 years ago

Agree.

I got a MBP and immediately threw 4GB RAM into it (~$80 these days! Obviously buy it online and not from Apple). I now run an Ubuntu VM 24/7 that I keep minimized and just ssh into.

Odd, I know, but sometimes the OSX/BSDisms are too much for me. Also, we deploy on Ubuntu so it's a perfect setup for development. Mount your home via Samba if you want to use TextMate or something.

brlewis• 18 years ago

My Lenovo T42 runs Ubuntu great, but the 40s often have motherboard issues, so only get one of these if you are also getting warranty service. I hear the 60s are better, but don't know what current prices are on that series.

omnipath• 18 years ago

$1000 for a laptop is not cheap. $400 for a laptop is cheap. At that price, you could literally buy a macbook and just install ubuntu on it if you wish.

I personally have a macbook pro, too, but just couldn't be bothered to add ubuntu to it, so I bought an old compaq off of craigslist for $350. Duo Core, 2gb ram, and 80 harddrive.

Now I have a laptop just for os x programming and cross-platform programming, and linux/(in the future)xp testing, minor programming as well.

dangoldin• 18 years ago

I use the Lenovo X tablet for Ubuntu 7.10 and it works great - installation was a breeze and the wireless worked right off the bat.

Not sure why I got the table functionality though.

notauser• 18 years ago

I have a MBP running Linux, following a PowerBook running Linux, and would now recommend against Mac hardware.

Apple have a nasty habit of changing out parts in the middle of a production run. That is fine if you are running OS X, but very bad if you end up with a part with no Linux drivers. I ended up with a DVD drive that can't even read data from out of region disks and a wireless card revision with flaky support when other people who bought the same model at the same time have no problems.

The M1330 laptops from Dell look pretty nice, are compact (13" screen) and are very good value. I tried one out a few weeks ago and liked the screen. Plus they come with vendor support for Ubuntu and it's not a bad idea to vote with your wallet to encourage that kind of thing :)

goofygrin• 18 years ago

I have both an x61s and an XPS m1330.

The only problem I have with the x61s is that the 1024x768 screen res is horrible in today's high res world.

And I've had lots of quality issues with the XPS m1330. Bad screens, cases, etc.

Both run ubuntu well though (intel graphics and wireless on the x61s and nvidia graphics, intel wireless on the m1330).

statikpulse• 18 years ago

The M1330 is the one I'm leaning towards. You can get them with Ubuntu installed direct from Dell (http://www.dell.com/ubuntu or http://www.dell.ca/open in Canada).

dag• 18 years ago

For some reason I've had to say this a lot recently:

If the machine is important for work then don't get a consumer model.

The XPS and Inspirons are consumer models. If something needs to be replaced the tech support people (soon Philippines based, if you haven't read the news) will tell you that they'll send a tech in 3 to 5 business days. There's no international service and depot service takes longer still. Before you buy an XPS or Inspiron ask yourself if you can live without it for a week.

ucdaz• 18 years ago

Thinkpad T42 and R51 both with OpenSuSE

justindz• 18 years ago

Lenovo Thinkpad T61 widescreen.

Pros: biometric scanner is cool. Good performance. Not too heavy for being a large, wide machine (certainly no Air). Good for mobile coding and design work when coupled with a widescreen monitor as a secondary display.

Cons: was unable to get mine with non-integrated graphics = suck. Vista device support was good, but had to update driver on wireless which was totally non-operational as shipped. Vista itself might be considered a con.

I installed Wubi at one point and everything worked with Ubuntu from the get go.

misterbwong• 18 years ago

I'm partial to the X-series. I have an old IBM (pre-Lenovo) Thinkpad x31 and it has served me well for several years. I can't speak to the quality of Lenovos but I've been hearing good things about the X-series.

That said, I don't see why you would need a new laptop just for Linux.

mixmax• 18 years ago

Second that - I have an x21 that has served me 8 hours a day for 5 years. It just keeps on ticking.

bct• 18 years ago

I'm very happy with my Thinkpad T60. I got a big discount for buying it with Visa: http://www.visaperks.ca/visaperks/

Zak• 18 years ago

Thinkpads are great. I'd avoid the R series unless you're looking to include your laptop in a weight lifting routine, but the T and the X are nice machines - and you can get certain versions preloaded with SuSE instead of Windows (unfortunately only with integrated graphics) for a little less money. Thinkpads aren't what they used to be, but they're still tougher than average, with magnesium frames and waterproof keyboards.

procrastitron• 18 years ago

I would suggest one of the new sub notebooks that comes with Linux pre-installed. The ultra mobility would make for a better companion to your MacBook than having another full sized notebook. And, as an added bonus, you don't have to worry about driver support.

Personally, I've been pretty pleased with my OLPC XO, but that's mostly because I use it as an ebook reader all the time. If I just wanted a laptop, then I would have gone with the EeePC.

blender• 18 years ago

A little more than $1,000 (at least in Canada) but we use Toshiba A200-AH9 laptops running Ubuntu. Intel wifi just works. 9-cell battery. Only downside is the resolution if you don't use an external monitor.

Cheers

nostrademons• 18 years ago

Acer. I've got a 3.5 year old Travelmate that was only $1600 when I bought it (probably a lot less now). The headphone jack just gave out (and it's still good for mono, I just lost stereo) and I've had no other problems with it. By contrast, the Sony Vaio I had before that had lost its headphone jack, Ethernet jack, and CD-R by the time it reached 18 months. There are occasional duds (the first unit I got was DOA), but I bought it on my former boss's recommendation and he's owned a string of Acers with very good reliability.

It also ran Linux fine except for the wireless, and that was because the Pentium-M chipset was too new at the time to have full-featured Linux drivers. I'd imagine that that problem was corrected long ago. And I like how Acer doesn't load you down with bundleware - my laptop came with just enough software to use all the hardware features, and none of these applications that I didn't want.

dkokelley2• 18 years ago

I had a similar problem with my Toshiba Satellite M100. I could only get mono, but I had to do some strange stuff to get that to work (it could only be plugged in half way and held at a certain angle). As it turns out, it wasn't a hardware thing at all, but a software thing. I reinstalled the audio drivers and I got my headphone sound back. You might be able to do something similar. Goodluck!

white• 18 years ago

What is the sense to run Linux on Unix platform? What tasks are you doing that make you want Linux also?

aykall• 18 years ago

If you want something around $1,000 why not a macbook with a student discount? You can buy the white one for $890 if I'm not wrong.

inovica• 18 years ago

You're crazy :) Buy a second hand MacBook and run it on that. If you love OS X its the way forward. I run VMWare and various OS on my MacBook Air

dkokelley2• 18 years ago

I have a Toshiba Satellite M100 that runs Ubuntu just fine. This machine is about 2 years old (ancient in laptop years, I know) but still runs fine. I got it new for around $1300. A similar model purchased today will run you easily under $1,000. I have a 14.1" screen, 1.25G Ram, Core Duo @ 1.66GHz, ATi x1400 graphics card, and it runs Ubuntu just fine. It also runs Vista though it was made for XP.

The media buttons also work in Ubuntu, but the fingerprint reader and remote control don't, unfortunately. I can live with that though.

PStamatiou• 18 years ago

macbook refurbs starting at $799..

rob• 18 years ago

I don't like them. I had one.

Ask YC: Which notebook/laptop do you use (+ suggestions)?

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