I might try and hold on to my x220 for another year and see if 2016 offers any better ultrabooks.
I just wonder what kind of logistical mess Dell must be. If I order an Apple, I get the same options anywhere on the planet (with the exception of keyboard variations, but at least I can always order English international), and the customized laptop gets shipped straight from China.
Surely having all these localized variations just makes things more complicated?
I got my laptop from Amazon and shipped it to Colombia just because of that. I had no luck trying to buy it local.
I know that some developers have a need to run a large number of local virtual machines, but I do not really understand why, to be honest. I use virtual machines too, but remotely, and mostly automatically for continuous integration.
I don't think programming is inherently particularly resource-consuming.
I know that some developers have a need to run a large
number of local virtual machines, but I do not really
understand why, to be honest.
Obviously, there are ways to struggle through if you don't have much RAM - for example you can run 1 VM at a time and be constantly stopping and starting them. But if testing is a PITA, and it means you do a day's work before you test properly and find there's a problem, you might have wasted that day's work :)
> I use virtual machines too, but remotely, and mostly automatically for continuous integration.
I'd love to do that, but our internet is far too crappy for that – we upgraded our offices from 2 Mbit/s to 10 MBit/s last year, and there are no faster options even if we wanted to –, hence I have to carry the VMs on my laptop (X230 with 16 GiB RAM and 2 SSDs).
I need to test load balancing configurations, transaction troubleshooting, heap dump analysis and so on. VMs are an essential part of my day-to-day activities. 8GiB let's me run Firefox and Chrome and at least 2 distinct projects.
And I'm not even talking about web development troubleshooting which is a pain in itself.
By they I mean all the relevant windows laptop manufacturers.
It affects the E7x40, E6x40, E5x40, E5x50, M4800, M6800, E7450 & XPS 13 2015 under Linux/VMs.
So basically Dell took a few months to fix the keyboard de bouncing under Windows and when they finally released a BIOS update they made the situation a lot worse for linux users (keys would appear to get stuck). After waiting a few more months, they finally released another BIOS update to "fix" the anomaly under Linux (they fixed the "stuck" key problem but many users are still reporting a de bouncing issue, see the latest pages of this thread if you are interested http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3518/t/... )
There's also a touchpad & trackpoint issue that is still not fixed after more than a year and It looks like a BIOS/EC/firmware issue: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1258837
Dell also broke USB3 support in the latest BIOS update for the E6540 and on the E6440 http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3518/t/...
They also released a botched BIOS update (when UEFI netwokrk stack is enabled) fairly recently that necessitated the removal of the CMOS battery in order to boot... https://www.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/2m6u4s/dell_latit...
Also their fan control & thermal management is a sad joke. http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3518/t/...
Their BIOS testing process is broken if not in -existing.
So, if you want to buy a Dell machine, just make sure that you know what you're getting into... Once the initial BIOS is declared gold it can take several months to see an issue resolved.
Do you know how this would perform with Linux? ASUS Zenbook UX305FA-ASM1 13.3-Inch Ultra-Slim Aluminum Laptop, 8 GB RAM and 256 GB SSD
http://www.reddit.com/r/archlinux/comments/2zbtm2/asus_zenbo...
Operating System
Ubuntu Linux 14.04 SP1
Unlike the normal release of a package into the repositories, the installation media are updated
There are some crazy discounts every so often (I got a 35% off on my X250 order a couple weeks ago; I spent $1500 w/ shipping+tax for the i7-5600U CPU, 512GB SSD, 12.5"FHD screen, w/ a 6-cell battery). It maxes out w/ an 8GB DIMM, but 16GB DIMMs are starting to show up and will be compatible (albeit currently quite expensive).
The X250 is slightly bulkier than the MBA11/XPS13, but one nice thing is that it comes w/ a built-in 3-cell battery and an additional hot-swappable 3 or 6-cell battery. Real world battery life is reported to be 6h+ with the 3+3 combo, and 10h+ with the 3+6. Lenovo claims 20h in Windows. I'm interested in running some tests but I'm confident it should last at least a work day.
Here are some notes I've gathered, both comparing various ultrabook options (I'm replacing my MBA11 after multiple generations of disappointments) as well as lots of X250 specific config notes: https://randomfoo.hackpad.com/Lenovo-X250-Linux-CVpUMLjBDZh
Linux has come a far way as all of us who remember compiling a device driver will attest to, but that does not mean we're free from having to check if our new computers have well supported firmwares and preferably functioning open drivers.
It includes info on the hardware: ALC3263 audio, BCM4352 network. Issues (presumably all fixed/worked around now that Dell is officially selling a DE) included the above-mentioned ACPI issues, sound (HDA/I2S, mic, headphone output) keyboard debouncing, trackpad freezing (and having to run in PS2 mode), and un-suspend display corruption.
Note, Major Hayden, who wrote the original post ended up switching to a Lenovo X1 Carbon: https://major.io/2015/03/30/review-lenovo-x1-carbon-3rd-gene...
The big selling features for me [and most developers, I'd assume] are the screen and the keyboard. These 2 things are my feedback loop for developing, and need to be of a certain quality or I'll feel 'off'.
I find so many companies get close to creating my ideal development laptop, only to lack in critical ways.
While I don't detest them, I find a lot of island style keyboards don't provide a resistance for typing. The scissor switches under the beveled keys on the older Thinkpads left me with a good experience for long periods of typing. Feeling that resistance is so much nicer than pushing flat tabs down (most often on spongy keys).
I do understand a lot of people watch movies on their laptops, but unless a screen is 1080 or higher, I find a 16:9 ratio screen limiting. My 12 inch SXGA+ screen goes up to 1050px height. Almost all "modern" screens are 16:9 and only go up to 900px height for the ~12" width. So unless a company makes a 1080 12" laptop, I still feel I'm missing out on those extra 150 pixels.
Soldering RAM, SSDs, etc. to the mobo. Like was mentioned here, "planned obsolescence" is everywhere, but I don't want to be a part of it. My old x61 Thinkpad still performs beautifully, even after nearly 8 years of service. Why? Because 8GB of RAM is still a nice thing to have, even if DDR2 RAM is mind blowingly expensive. And the ability to change wifi cards, throw in a CrystalHD card to play videos on, or just switch to an SSD. These little upgrades help keep my old workhorse alive, and makes me wish Lenovo would come out with an upgraded version, rather than changing to just hit the wider market of people.
And this is what it comes down to, I feel. So many companies blindly target the lowest-threshold-needs to hit the widest target group; not really thinking (or maybe just not caring) that every other company is doing the same thing. Perhaps it's the notion that 5% of a $1bn market is bigger than 80% of a $50mm. But at that point, you reduce your company's reputation to being just another brand, rather than being a master in a particular field.
Will probably wait for an Ars review but definitely looks promising. Way more affordable than the Precision model they released recently.
I'll probably pick one of these up later this year.
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=cump38...
And Dell assistance is now a joke... four maintenance works (one of them broke the display) changing random pieces and at the end the problem was still there. I wouldn't suggest to anybody to buy one of this.