13 ms·

My New FreeBSD Laptop: Dell Latitude 7390

147 points by cperciva 6y ago

robocat 6y ago
Isn’t there an XPS 13 model 7390 too? I know that when I bought my XPS15 Dell didn’t officially support Linux on it. I think I was told I could order the more expensive equivalent latitude model. However the XPS15 has been well supported, with plenty of Linux specific BIOS fixes (auto updated on Ubuntu). Aside to author: your page breaks mobile Safari hard on an iPad! Looks like a Safari bug (unless author is being tricky!). Anyone else wanting to read on iPad, use reader view.
- znpy 6y ago
  Yes, but they're different series: XPS vs Latitude. The XPS13 7390 is basically the marketing-grade full-BS laptop: no ports and soldered ram on some models. The latitude 7390 is the good laptop with user-replaceable ram and disk, thin bezels. Looks a bit boring but delivers.
- cperciva 6y ago
  Aside to author: your page breaks mobile Safari hard on an iPad! That's very weird. I haven't changed the CSS on that site since... uhh... some time around 2006, actually.
  - robocat 6y ago
    Mobile Safari gets into a bistable loop - I’m guessing due to an interaction between widths and font reflow (maybe font or weight is dependent on something in CSS). I’ve seen it before with mouse :hover changing to bold, causing reflow due to increased text width, causing element to shift from under mouse, causing not(:hover), causing normal font (start loop again, repeat forever). Some browsers are better at detecting looping reflow problems and halting them.
    - cperciva 6y ago
      Is it still having issues? I manually wrapped a <pre> tag which was causing issues for some people.
znpy 6y ago
I've been given this laptop at work, I use it with Ubuntu. It's an amazing machine. Perfect under every aspect. Way better than the XPS13. It's really, really remarkable. It's thin yet it has ALL the ports you might wish for in a modern laptop, 2xUSB type A, USB-c/Thunderbolt, HDMI, Ethernet, regular power plug, audio jack, sim card, micro-sd. I'm glad it only has the intel integrated video card so I don't have to deal with proprietary drivers. The only downside is that the fingerprint reader isn't recognized and doesn't seem to be supported under gnu/linux. Otherwise it would be 100% supported. Wifi, bluetooth and camera all work out of the box. There's an IR camera, but I haven't tested it. Had it had the trackpoint, I would have declared the TinkPad definitively dead and would have switched my personal laptop to this exact dell model (I currently use a ThinkPad T440 for personal stuff). Mine came with a 4c/8t i7, 16 gb ram and a 512gb nvme disk. It's really, really a remarkable small but capable machine.
- m-p-3 6y ago
  > I'm glad it only has the intel integrated video card so I don't have to deal with proprietary drivers. I'm not sure if there is a model with an AMD GPU, if there was I'd go with that.
  - znpy 6y ago
    I don't know. But I can tell that intel cpu + intel graphics are a dream for gnu+linux compatibility.
- gigatexal 6y ago
  better than the xps13 dev aka ubuntu edition?
  - tbrock 6y ago
    Hah yeah, it’s probably any thinkpad. The X1 carbon is such a better built machine that there isn’t even a comparison. The XPS13 looks good but feels cheap, also good luck getting service from dell if anything breaks.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
8K832d7tNmiQ 6y ago
Do people have a problem opening the site? It keeps resizing the font for every second on my iPad.
- timc3 6y ago
  Totally fine on my iPad
ornornor 6y ago
Considering replacing my t410. Is this a good contender for Linux? I’m reading the fan is loud, speakers subpar (quiet), and the keyboard isn’t great with very low travel.
- cperciva 6y ago
  The fan on my laptop is quiet unless I'm doing something very power-intensive like an 8-way parallel compile. It will probably depend on the CPU model you get though. The speakers and keyboard feel fine to me, but that's very subjective. Speaking of subjective, this feels like the most solidly constructed laptop I've ever used.
  - ornornor 6y ago
    Thanks for the info. So yours isn't the so-called "2 in 1", right? It cannot be flipped over as some kind of tablet, and doesn't have the touchscreen.
    - cperciva 6y ago
      Correct. No touchscreen, lid opens ~180 degrees but not 360 degrees. I wish Dell wouldn't use the same model number for different models. :-/
wolf550e 6y ago
Why is sendmail even an option? And worse, a default? Why qmail? Is it really original qmail, or qmail with freebsd patches, or notqmail, or what? (In light of https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23247196 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23247196) Why not postfix?
- erk__ 6y ago
  As far as I can tell it is pretty much up to the user, in the port [0] there is 16 config options for what you want to have, it also seems that the above referenced bug got fixed only a few hours ago in the commit history. [0]: https://www.freshports.org/mail/qmail/ https://www.freshports.org/mail/qmail/
znpy 6y ago
This has already been posted, so I'll paste my comment on that post: I've been given this laptop at work, I use it with Ubuntu. It's an amazing machine. Perfect under every aspect. Way better than the XPS13. It's really, really remarkable. It's thin yet it has ALL the ports you might wish for in a modern laptop, 2xUSB type A, USB-c/Thunderbolt, HDMI, Ethernet, regular power plug, audio jack, sim card, micro-sd. I'm glad it only has the intel integrated video card so I don't have to deal with proprietary drivers. The only downside is that the fingerprint reader isn't recognized and doesn't seem to be supported under gnu/linux. Otherwise it would be 100% supported. Wifi, bluetooth and camera all work out of the box. There's an IR camera, but I haven't tested it. Had it had the trackpoint, I would have declared the TinkPad definitively dead and would have switched my personal laptop to this exact dell model (I currently use a ThinkPad T440 for personal stuff). Mine came with a 4c/8t i7, 16 gb ram and a 512gb nvme disk. It's really, really a remarkable small but capable machine.
- dang 6y ago
  Please don't copy/paste comments on HN. It lowers the signal/noise ratio and makes for pain when we go to merge duplicate threads. I've consolidated all the replies to your comment under the other one (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23269802 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23269802). If you want to refer to something you posted elsewhere, please use a link. Better still, when you see a split discussion, email hn@ycombinator.com so we can merge them. We'll make sure your comment ends up in the winning thread. https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&query=by%3Adang%20copy%20merge&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...
  - znpy 6y ago
    well duplicate posting lowers the signal/noise ratio too. how about, maybe, deleting the duplicate posting instead of bothering people that contributes with genuine personal opinions based on first-hand experience?
    - dang 6y ago
dddddaviddddd 6y ago
I also have the Intel 8265 chipset in my T480. Currently only 802.11g speeds are supported in FreeBSD, but good news is that work is starting on bringing AC support to the relevant driver: https://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-wireless/2020-April/009055.html https://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-wireless/2020-Ap... I've tried doing PCI passthrough to get full wireless speeds but never figured out how to make it all work with suspend/resume https://www.davidschlachter.com/misc/t480-bhyve-wifi-pci-passthrough https://www.davidschlachter.com/misc/t480-bhyve-wifi-pci-pas... Other than frustrations with WiFi, using FreeBSD as my main OS has been an interesting learning experience.
- floatboth 6y ago
  > PCI passthrough to get full wireless speeds Wow! I've been thinking about this (for unsupported Broadcrap etc. cards) ages ago, very nice to see that someone actually did it :)
autocorr 6y ago
I got this model refurbished or resold (not sure) from Newegg for 500USD and it's worked perfect under Debian out of the box[1]. For those wondering about using Linux, you don't need fancy mac hardware. You don't need the retina display and multi-gesture touchpad and you don't miss them when they're gone. This things got a battery that lasts forever, all kinds of ports, lightweight, and a nice keyboard. But most importantly, everything just works and was trivial to setup if it required it: UEFI secureboot, full disk encryption with luks, suspend and lid close, WiFi, sound, function keys. My model is the one without the finger print reader, so as far I know, everything is supported. "The Law of Linux Threads" states that every anecdote will replied with an equal and opposite anecdote, but this was a night and day experience from the old 2012 MacBook Air that I ran and a suite of weird Asus 200-300USD range laptops that were always sketchily supported at best. [1] Using the firmware ISO image instead of the regular one so that the intel-wifi package would be in the image at install time.
- criddell 6y ago
  > You don't need the retina display and multi-gesture touchpad I may not need those things, but I definitely want them. When you work with text all day, a high dpi screen is wonderful. I'd like to see it get to the point where it's comparable to a page out of a laser printer.
  - aeronaute 6y ago
    I agree. I've tried using various distros on a Lenovo T480 recently. The laptop itself is decent though the screen is a little small for my tastes. Regardless, no matter what combination of OS and hardware that I've tried, nothing holds a candle to a Macbook. I'd really like to be able to use Linux on whatever piece of hardware I want, though things like the retina display and trackpad (among other things) keep me from leaving. Macbooks are such a joy to use, which I can't say about most other hardware/software unfortunately.
    - leotaku 6y ago
      What does "Retina" mean to you? I use a ThinkPad T480S with the WQHD display option and have never been able to spot individual pixels.
epistasis 6y ago
It looks like Dell no longer sells this model. What other Dell models would have similar hardware compatibilities?
- neogodless 6y ago
  If you're still interested in this specific one, consider the Dell outlet: https://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnlineSales/Online/InventorySearch.aspx?c=us&cs=28&l=en&s=dfb&brandid=2801&sign=PXhcOSHtr1T4IOw%2fPR7UdRDYjlDOgwPJI5xBFJifDmCyALZuG8V7%2fdLWv466H3WmF4UjIb%2bUC3tggwGwrdBI1vDBj%2fiPCXLwAI03d88T%2fmN6I3id2fD4uZWGo%2bD89Cr5fXEctCHMnAfN34BmqKMq6Sku21GdR9%2b%2fF6izHbQY3DM1AVU5qQiHUT48k3I%2fqPiLm2i5Xh9TenwHjjkc2JXfLLBNmnVuH1xMA4J0Szlap5aMEXVHQD%2bbJUQ0nCtORRRURBoo2FduuS8%3d https://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnlineSales/Online/InventorySe...
kees99 6y ago
OP writes: > my System76 Galago Pro had its second experience with a dead/swelling battery. I used to have a Dell laptop which had exactly the same problem with my first battery. Running laptop plugged into AC adapter 99% of the time was one reason for that happening, I imagine. Fix was ridiculously simple - I bought a new battery (original) + a knock-off power adapter (a more expensive one - hoping it's built well enough so it wouldn't burn my house down - and as luck had it, it didn't). Knock-off adapter doesn't speak magic Dell charging protocol, so laptop runs off of it, but refuses to charge. I kept original AC adapter for (infrequent) travel only, all the other time powering from a knock-off. Worked a charm - second battery held something like 90% of charge 3 years later, with no signs of swell whatsoever. Compare that to first battery, that lived on constant top-up charge (original adapter), and after less than a year swell up to the point it wouldn't clip in anymore.
- yourad_io 6y ago
  Despite bad intentions, DRM helped once
- icefo 6y ago
  You can tell your Dell laptop to not charge the battery to 100% in bios now. Since mine is often plugged in I enabled this setting and the capacity seems to stay stable (I've had it for two years now)
  - kevinkeller 6y ago
    Have you measured the loss in battery capacity (battery wear), to quantify the stability? ThinkPad and some Asus laptops also have the feature. In fact, my Asus laptop stops charging at 60%. Not sure if that's significantly better than stopping at 80%.
- rewoi 6y ago
  You can set charging options in BIOS. It is possible to disable battery completely.
- Shorel 6y ago
  >I used to have a Dell laptop which had exactly the same problem with my first battery. Running laptop plugged into AC adapter 99% of the time was one reason for that happening, I imagine. Except Dell laptops have a configuration in the BIOS to better handle to be always plugged. I changed this BIOS option, and it basically never uses or charges the battery unless AC is off. So, the fix is even more ridiculously simpler than you thought.
johnchristopher 6y ago
I love my Dell Latitude 7280 that I got for €300 (second hand). Almost brand new. I shelled out €150 for the `official` dell dock later (second hand) and then €150 later to upgrade the nvme drive from 256gb to 1tb and the RAM from 8gb to 16gb. Only thing I miss and somehow can feel is the lack of dual channel. I'd trade one 16gb dd4 for two ddr3 slots any day. edit: forgot why I wrote it down: it runs linux fine ^^ (kubuntu 18.04)
- javitury 6y ago
  > the 'official' dell dock Do you use Linux? One of the reasons why I chose a thinkpad is having a docking station that reliably works on linux. Any past experience with thinkpad docks? How do they compare?
  - johnchristopher 6y ago
    It's my first dock so I can't compare but so far everything's working fine. Only one screen plugged in, mirror and extended mode works fine though. I sometimes have hiccups (black screen, needs to plug it back in and out) when unplugging from the dock but I think it only shows up after a kernel upgrade. It's the wd15.
bluedino 6y ago
These are really nice machines, compatible with Linux and upgrade able. Almost as nice as a thinkpad. But the work at home rush on laptops made them hard to find. You could get them for $100-200 less than a similar spec T-series.
todd8 6y ago
I am always impressed by the serviceability of Dell computers, including this laptop. Servers, for example, can be opened and services without tools. Blue plastic levers and knobs are for parts that can be removed with the power off; red plastic is for parts like internal cooling fans that can be hot swapped while the server is running. I wish Apple hadn’t completely given up on the market that includes most of the computer purchases I want to make: software development, a few network servers, NAS, content creation, home automation, gaming.
- ggm 6y ago
  I have no major beef with the rackables, despite having just had ALL 8 2.5"SAS drives RMA. They do understand 'no screw' replace issues in cramped locations. (iDrac is crap. just sayin) But I got burned on the laptops, and the company got burned on the laptops, and repeatedly the worldwide warranty experience was poor, compared to what was IBM and is now Lenovo. We moved to ThinkPad and apart from a cooked batch of R- series with faulty ethernet, never regretted it. I am glad Dell is maybe back on form in Laptop land. I probably won't be trying yet.
  - todd8 6y ago
    Eight drives! That's bad. I always order my Dell machines with the minimum cost single drive option so that I can buy my own drives.
blfr 6y ago
It the casing plastic?
twic 6y ago
How come some config goes in /etc/sysctl.conf, and some goes in /boot/loader.conf? Is there a systematic way to know what config goes in a syctl-style file, and what goes in a rc-style file (via sysrc)? I have never used FreeBSD, but i am excited to see that there are only four (?) config interfaces used in these instructions!
- cperciva 6y ago
  The things in /boot/loader.conf are things which are needed early in the boot process -- typically for driver initialization. /etc/sysctl.conf is processed later, as part of the (userland) boot.
- loeg 6y ago
  > How come some config goes in /etc/sysctl.conf, and some goes in /boot/loader.conf? As cperciva notes, sysctl.conf is read by userland during rc(8) "multiuser" boot. loader.conf is used by the bootloader to set tunables (knobs that can only be changed at boot time), load kernel modules early, and configure other bootloader settings. Some sysctls are also tunables; for backwards compatibility or in case it is useful for the value to be set during boot before userspace runs. > Is there a systematic way to know what config goes in a syctl-style file, and what goes in a rc-style file (via sysrc)? Sure: loader.conf: https://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=loader.conf https://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=loader.conf rc.conf: https://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=rc.conf https://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=rc.conf sysctl.conf: https://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=sysctl.conf https://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=sysctl.conf
- cperciva 6y ago
  I have never used FreeBSD, but i am excited to see that there are only four (?) config interfaces used in these instructions! That sounds about right, depending on how you count "copy this sample configuration file into place". FreeBSD has the concept that /etc/rc.conf is a "master configuration file", not just for turning features on and off but also for setting command line options. More complex daemons -- e.g. devd and crond -- have their own configuration files as well, but in most cases they also have configuration directories allowing you to add configuration by creating new files rather than editing an existing one.
beervirus 6y ago
What a nightmare.
fouc 6y ago
Can anyone tell me what the 15" equivalent of this laptop would be?

147 points by cperciva 6y ago

Isn’t there an XPS 13 model 7390 too? I know that when I bought my XPS15 Dell didn’t officially support Linux on it. I think I was told I could order the more expensive equivalent latitude model. However the XPS15 has been well supported, with plenty of Linux specific BIOS fixes (auto updated on Ubuntu). Aside to author: your page breaks mobile Safari hard on an iPad! Looks like a Safari bug (unless author is being tricky!). Anyone else wanting to read on iPad, use reader view.

znpy 6y ago
Yes, but they're different series: XPS vs Latitude. The XPS13 7390 is basically the marketing-grade full-BS laptop: no ports and soldered ram on some models. The latitude 7390 is the good laptop with user-replaceable ram and disk, thin bezels. Looks a bit boring but delivers.
cperciva 6y ago
Aside to author: your page breaks mobile Safari hard on an iPad! That's very weird. I haven't changed the CSS on that site since... uhh... some time around 2006, actually.
- robocat 6y ago
  Mobile Safari gets into a bistable loop - I’m guessing due to an interaction between widths and font reflow (maybe font or weight is dependent on something in CSS). I’ve seen it before with mouse :hover changing to bold, causing reflow due to increased text width, causing element to shift from under mouse, causing not(:hover), causing normal font (start loop again, repeat forever). Some browsers are better at detecting looping reflow problems and halting them.
  - cperciva 6y ago
    Is it still having issues? I manually wrapped a <pre> tag which was causing issues for some people.

znpy 6y ago

I've been given this laptop at work, I use it with Ubuntu. It's an amazing machine. Perfect under every aspect. Way better than the XPS13. It's really, really remarkable. It's thin yet it has ALL the ports you might wish for in a modern laptop, 2xUSB type A, USB-c/Thunderbolt, HDMI, Ethernet, regular power plug, audio jack, sim card, micro-sd. I'm glad it only has the intel integrated video card so I don't have to deal with proprietary drivers. The only downside is that the fingerprint reader isn't recognized and doesn't seem to be supported under gnu/linux. Otherwise it would be 100% supported. Wifi, bluetooth and camera all work out of the box. There's an IR camera, but I haven't tested it. Had it had the trackpoint, I would have declared the TinkPad definitively dead and would have switched my personal laptop to this exact dell model (I currently use a ThinkPad T440 for personal stuff). Mine came with a 4c/8t i7, 16 gb ram and a 512gb nvme disk. It's really, really a remarkable small but capable machine.

m-p-3 6y ago
> I'm glad it only has the intel integrated video card so I don't have to deal with proprietary drivers. I'm not sure if there is a model with an AMD GPU, if there was I'd go with that.
- znpy 6y ago
  I don't know. But I can tell that intel cpu + intel graphics are a dream for gnu+linux compatibility.
gigatexal 6y ago
better than the xps13 dev aka ubuntu edition?
- tbrock 6y ago
  Hah yeah, it’s probably any thinkpad. The X1 carbon is such a better built machine that there isn’t even a comparison. The XPS13 looks good but feels cheap, also good luck getting service from dell if anything breaks.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

8K832d7tNmiQ 6y ago

Do people have a problem opening the site? It keeps resizing the font for every second on my iPad.

timc3 6y ago
Totally fine on my iPad

ornornor 6y ago

Considering replacing my t410. Is this a good contender for Linux? I’m reading the fan is loud, speakers subpar (quiet), and the keyboard isn’t great with very low travel.

cperciva 6y ago
The fan on my laptop is quiet unless I'm doing something very power-intensive like an 8-way parallel compile. It will probably depend on the CPU model you get though. The speakers and keyboard feel fine to me, but that's very subjective. Speaking of subjective, this feels like the most solidly constructed laptop I've ever used.
- ornornor 6y ago
  Thanks for the info. So yours isn't the so-called "2 in 1", right? It cannot be flipped over as some kind of tablet, and doesn't have the touchscreen.
  - cperciva 6y ago
    Correct. No touchscreen, lid opens ~180 degrees but not 360 degrees. I wish Dell wouldn't use the same model number for different models. :-/

wolf550e 6y ago

Why is sendmail even an option? And worse, a default? Why qmail? Is it really original qmail, or qmail with freebsd patches, or notqmail, or what? (In light of https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23247196 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23247196) Why not postfix?

erk__ 6y ago
As far as I can tell it is pretty much up to the user, in the port [0] there is 16 config options for what you want to have, it also seems that the above referenced bug got fixed only a few hours ago in the commit history. [0]: https://www.freshports.org/mail/qmail/ https://www.freshports.org/mail/qmail/

znpy 6y ago

This has already been posted, so I'll paste my comment on that post: I've been given this laptop at work, I use it with Ubuntu. It's an amazing machine. Perfect under every aspect. Way better than the XPS13. It's really, really remarkable. It's thin yet it has ALL the ports you might wish for in a modern laptop, 2xUSB type A, USB-c/Thunderbolt, HDMI, Ethernet, regular power plug, audio jack, sim card, micro-sd. I'm glad it only has the intel integrated video card so I don't have to deal with proprietary drivers. The only downside is that the fingerprint reader isn't recognized and doesn't seem to be supported under gnu/linux. Otherwise it would be 100% supported. Wifi, bluetooth and camera all work out of the box. There's an IR camera, but I haven't tested it. Had it had the trackpoint, I would have declared the TinkPad definitively dead and would have switched my personal laptop to this exact dell model (I currently use a ThinkPad T440 for personal stuff). Mine came with a 4c/8t i7, 16 gb ram and a 512gb nvme disk. It's really, really a remarkable small but capable machine.

dang 6y ago
Please don't copy/paste comments on HN. It lowers the signal/noise ratio and makes for pain when we go to merge duplicate threads. I've consolidated all the replies to your comment under the other one (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23269802 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23269802). If you want to refer to something you posted elsewhere, please use a link. Better still, when you see a split discussion, email hn@ycombinator.com so we can merge them. We'll make sure your comment ends up in the winning thread. https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&query=by%3Adang%20copy%20merge&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...
- znpy 6y ago
  well duplicate posting lowers the signal/noise ratio too. how about, maybe, deleting the duplicate posting instead of bothering people that contributes with genuine personal opinions based on first-hand experience?
  - dang 6y ago

dddddaviddddd 6y ago

I also have the Intel 8265 chipset in my T480. Currently only 802.11g speeds are supported in FreeBSD, but good news is that work is starting on bringing AC support to the relevant driver: https://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-wireless/2020-April/009055.html https://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-wireless/2020-Ap... I've tried doing PCI passthrough to get full wireless speeds but never figured out how to make it all work with suspend/resume https://www.davidschlachter.com/misc/t480-bhyve-wifi-pci-passthrough https://www.davidschlachter.com/misc/t480-bhyve-wifi-pci-pas... Other than frustrations with WiFi, using FreeBSD as my main OS has been an interesting learning experience.

floatboth 6y ago
> PCI passthrough to get full wireless speeds Wow! I've been thinking about this (for unsupported Broadcrap etc. cards) ages ago, very nice to see that someone actually did it :)

autocorr 6y ago

I got this model refurbished or resold (not sure) from Newegg for 500USD and it's worked perfect under Debian out of the box[1]. For those wondering about using Linux, you don't need fancy mac hardware. You don't need the retina display and multi-gesture touchpad and you don't miss them when they're gone. This things got a battery that lasts forever, all kinds of ports, lightweight, and a nice keyboard. But most importantly, everything just works and was trivial to setup if it required it: UEFI secureboot, full disk encryption with luks, suspend and lid close, WiFi, sound, function keys. My model is the one without the finger print reader, so as far I know, everything is supported. "The Law of Linux Threads" states that every anecdote will replied with an equal and opposite anecdote, but this was a night and day experience from the old 2012 MacBook Air that I ran and a suite of weird Asus 200-300USD range laptops that were always sketchily supported at best. [1] Using the firmware ISO image instead of the regular one so that the intel-wifi package would be in the image at install time.

criddell 6y ago
> You don't need the retina display and multi-gesture touchpad I may not need those things, but I definitely want them. When you work with text all day, a high dpi screen is wonderful. I'd like to see it get to the point where it's comparable to a page out of a laser printer.
- aeronaute 6y ago
  I agree. I've tried using various distros on a Lenovo T480 recently. The laptop itself is decent though the screen is a little small for my tastes. Regardless, no matter what combination of OS and hardware that I've tried, nothing holds a candle to a Macbook. I'd really like to be able to use Linux on whatever piece of hardware I want, though things like the retina display and trackpad (among other things) keep me from leaving. Macbooks are such a joy to use, which I can't say about most other hardware/software unfortunately.
  - leotaku 6y ago
    What does "Retina" mean to you? I use a ThinkPad T480S with the WQHD display option and have never been able to spot individual pixels.

epistasis 6y ago

It looks like Dell no longer sells this model. What other Dell models would have similar hardware compatibilities?

neogodless 6y ago
If you're still interested in this specific one, consider the Dell outlet: https://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnlineSales/Online/InventorySearch.aspx?c=us&cs=28&l=en&s=dfb&brandid=2801&sign=PXhcOSHtr1T4IOw%2fPR7UdRDYjlDOgwPJI5xBFJifDmCyALZuG8V7%2fdLWv466H3WmF4UjIb%2bUC3tggwGwrdBI1vDBj%2fiPCXLwAI03d88T%2fmN6I3id2fD4uZWGo%2bD89Cr5fXEctCHMnAfN34BmqKMq6Sku21GdR9%2b%2fF6izHbQY3DM1AVU5qQiHUT48k3I%2fqPiLm2i5Xh9TenwHjjkc2JXfLLBNmnVuH1xMA4J0Szlap5aMEXVHQD%2bbJUQ0nCtORRRURBoo2FduuS8%3d https://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnlineSales/Online/InventorySe...

kees99 6y ago

OP writes: > my System76 Galago Pro had its second experience with a dead/swelling battery. I used to have a Dell laptop which had exactly the same problem with my first battery. Running laptop plugged into AC adapter 99% of the time was one reason for that happening, I imagine. Fix was ridiculously simple - I bought a new battery (original) + a knock-off power adapter (a more expensive one - hoping it's built well enough so it wouldn't burn my house down - and as luck had it, it didn't). Knock-off adapter doesn't speak magic Dell charging protocol, so laptop runs off of it, but refuses to charge. I kept original AC adapter for (infrequent) travel only, all the other time powering from a knock-off. Worked a charm - second battery held something like 90% of charge 3 years later, with no signs of swell whatsoever. Compare that to first battery, that lived on constant top-up charge (original adapter), and after less than a year swell up to the point it wouldn't clip in anymore.

yourad_io 6y ago
Despite bad intentions, DRM helped once
icefo 6y ago
You can tell your Dell laptop to not charge the battery to 100% in bios now. Since mine is often plugged in I enabled this setting and the capacity seems to stay stable (I've had it for two years now)
- kevinkeller 6y ago
  Have you measured the loss in battery capacity (battery wear), to quantify the stability? ThinkPad and some Asus laptops also have the feature. In fact, my Asus laptop stops charging at 60%. Not sure if that's significantly better than stopping at 80%.
rewoi 6y ago
You can set charging options in BIOS. It is possible to disable battery completely.
Shorel 6y ago
>I used to have a Dell laptop which had exactly the same problem with my first battery. Running laptop plugged into AC adapter 99% of the time was one reason for that happening, I imagine. Except Dell laptops have a configuration in the BIOS to better handle to be always plugged. I changed this BIOS option, and it basically never uses or charges the battery unless AC is off. So, the fix is even more ridiculously simpler than you thought.

johnchristopher 6y ago

I love my Dell Latitude 7280 that I got for €300 (second hand). Almost brand new. I shelled out €150 for the `official` dell dock later (second hand) and then €150 later to upgrade the nvme drive from 256gb to 1tb and the RAM from 8gb to 16gb. Only thing I miss and somehow can feel is the lack of dual channel. I'd trade one 16gb dd4 for two ddr3 slots any day. edit: forgot why I wrote it down: it runs linux fine ^^ (kubuntu 18.04)

javitury 6y ago
> the 'official' dell dock Do you use Linux? One of the reasons why I chose a thinkpad is having a docking station that reliably works on linux. Any past experience with thinkpad docks? How do they compare?
- johnchristopher 6y ago
  It's my first dock so I can't compare but so far everything's working fine. Only one screen plugged in, mirror and extended mode works fine though. I sometimes have hiccups (black screen, needs to plug it back in and out) when unplugging from the dock but I think it only shows up after a kernel upgrade. It's the wd15.

bluedino 6y ago

These are really nice machines, compatible with Linux and upgrade able. Almost as nice as a thinkpad. But the work at home rush on laptops made them hard to find. You could get them for $100-200 less than a similar spec T-series.

todd8 6y ago

I am always impressed by the serviceability of Dell computers, including this laptop. Servers, for example, can be opened and services without tools. Blue plastic levers and knobs are for parts that can be removed with the power off; red plastic is for parts like internal cooling fans that can be hot swapped while the server is running. I wish Apple hadn’t completely given up on the market that includes most of the computer purchases I want to make: software development, a few network servers, NAS, content creation, home automation, gaming.

ggm 6y ago
I have no major beef with the rackables, despite having just had ALL 8 2.5"SAS drives RMA. They do understand 'no screw' replace issues in cramped locations. (iDrac is crap. just sayin) But I got burned on the laptops, and the company got burned on the laptops, and repeatedly the worldwide warranty experience was poor, compared to what was IBM and is now Lenovo. We moved to ThinkPad and apart from a cooked batch of R- series with faulty ethernet, never regretted it. I am glad Dell is maybe back on form in Laptop land. I probably won't be trying yet.
- todd8 6y ago
  Eight drives! That's bad. I always order my Dell machines with the minimum cost single drive option so that I can buy my own drives.

blfr 6y ago

It the casing plastic?

twic 6y ago

How come some config goes in /etc/sysctl.conf, and some goes in /boot/loader.conf? Is there a systematic way to know what config goes in a syctl-style file, and what goes in a rc-style file (via sysrc)? I have never used FreeBSD, but i am excited to see that there are only four (?) config interfaces used in these instructions!

cperciva 6y ago
The things in /boot/loader.conf are things which are needed early in the boot process -- typically for driver initialization. /etc/sysctl.conf is processed later, as part of the (userland) boot.
loeg 6y ago
> How come some config goes in /etc/sysctl.conf, and some goes in /boot/loader.conf? As cperciva notes, sysctl.conf is read by userland during rc(8) "multiuser" boot. loader.conf is used by the bootloader to set tunables (knobs that can only be changed at boot time), load kernel modules early, and configure other bootloader settings. Some sysctls are also tunables; for backwards compatibility or in case it is useful for the value to be set during boot before userspace runs. > Is there a systematic way to know what config goes in a syctl-style file, and what goes in a rc-style file (via sysrc)? Sure: loader.conf: https://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=loader.conf https://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=loader.conf rc.conf: https://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=rc.conf https://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=rc.conf sysctl.conf: https://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=sysctl.conf https://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=sysctl.conf
cperciva 6y ago
I have never used FreeBSD, but i am excited to see that there are only four (?) config interfaces used in these instructions! That sounds about right, depending on how you count "copy this sample configuration file into place". FreeBSD has the concept that /etc/rc.conf is a "master configuration file", not just for turning features on and off but also for setting command line options. More complex daemons -- e.g. devd and crond -- have their own configuration files as well, but in most cases they also have configuration directories allowing you to add configuration by creating new files rather than editing an existing one.

beervirus 6y ago

What a nightmare.

fouc 6y ago

Can anyone tell me what the 15" equivalent of this laptop would be?