4 ms·

The problem I have is: What's the alternative? I've yet to see a decent linux-capable computer. I'm hoping someone can point me to one

tom_b 10y ago
I run Debian and XMonad on a Macbook Pro with 16GB of memory. Nice machine. I guess it would still dual boot to OSX, but I haven't tried for more than a year.
- soperj 10y ago
  Pay out the ass for 4 year old hardware?
  - tom_b 10y ago
    No, not really. When my purchase was made, the Macbook Pro had the nicest screen and form factor with 16GB of memory. I debated the Carbon X1 at the time, but I recall it was limited to 8GB of memory. I regularly work with Java-based ETL tools and datasets that spill out of 8GB, so having 16GB was important. I could have gotten more memory if I wanted a bigger form factor but I really didn't want to lug a "workstation replacement" around. A couple of years ago I said if the Macbook lasted as long as my Thinkpad X200 did (4-5 years), it would be a reasonable purchase. If I was buying today, I might just buy some type of large screen Chromebook and do everything on some cloud VM instance with even more memory.
  - chirau 10y ago
    So you would rather pay out the ass for the latest hardware... even if it does not allow you to install Linux?
    - brokenmachine 10y ago
      How about older hardware without the Apple tax, that does run Linux?
- CaptSpify 10y ago
  I do admit this is a fairly viable system, but I don't want to pay a ton of money, nor do I want to support apple.
rch 10y ago
Someone pointed me to the Dell XPS 15 yesterday (i7, 32GB, 1TB SSD, 4K touch screen). Dell's business practices were a big contributor to the current situation, but I'm getting close to overlooking that.
- CaptSpify 10y ago
  I've had a few people I know/trust use those and they were far from happy with them. A lot of video/battery/driver issues unfortunately
  - rch 10y ago
    That's valuable feedback, thanks. I was really considering it.
- vladimir-y 10y ago
  Recent XPS related topic https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12289479 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12289479
branchly2 10y ago
I get all my systems from [ThinkPenguin](https://www.thinkpenguin.com/ https://www.thinkpenguin.com/), and have been very happy with them. Those folks are dedicated to free software.
- CaptSpify 10y ago
  Interesting. I don't think I've heard of them, thanks!

tom_b 10y ago

I run Debian and XMonad on a Macbook Pro with 16GB of memory. Nice machine. I guess it would still dual boot to OSX, but I haven't tried for more than a year.

soperj 10y ago
Pay out the ass for 4 year old hardware?
- tom_b 10y ago
  No, not really. When my purchase was made, the Macbook Pro had the nicest screen and form factor with 16GB of memory. I debated the Carbon X1 at the time, but I recall it was limited to 8GB of memory. I regularly work with Java-based ETL tools and datasets that spill out of 8GB, so having 16GB was important. I could have gotten more memory if I wanted a bigger form factor but I really didn't want to lug a "workstation replacement" around. A couple of years ago I said if the Macbook lasted as long as my Thinkpad X200 did (4-5 years), it would be a reasonable purchase. If I was buying today, I might just buy some type of large screen Chromebook and do everything on some cloud VM instance with even more memory.
- chirau 10y ago
  So you would rather pay out the ass for the latest hardware... even if it does not allow you to install Linux?
  - brokenmachine 10y ago
    How about older hardware without the Apple tax, that does run Linux?
CaptSpify 10y ago
I do admit this is a fairly viable system, but I don't want to pay a ton of money, nor do I want to support apple.

rch 10y ago

Someone pointed me to the Dell XPS 15 yesterday (i7, 32GB, 1TB SSD, 4K touch screen). Dell's business practices were a big contributor to the current situation, but I'm getting close to overlooking that.

CaptSpify 10y ago
I've had a few people I know/trust use those and they were far from happy with them. A lot of video/battery/driver issues unfortunately
- rch 10y ago
  That's valuable feedback, thanks. I was really considering it.
vladimir-y 10y ago
Recent XPS related topic https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12289479 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12289479

branchly2 10y ago

I get all my systems from [ThinkPenguin](https://www.thinkpenguin.com/ https://www.thinkpenguin.com/), and have been very happy with them. Those folks are dedicated to free software.

CaptSpify 10y ago
Interesting. I don't think I've heard of them, thanks!