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New Linux Laptops from ZaReason
Successors to the Verix 2.5 and the almost-a-desktop Chimera laptop: the Mir 730 and Verix 530.
Both available with up to i7-3920XM and 32GB RAM, and a price tag well under the new MBPs.
- fratis 14y agoThese may be functional and fully Linux-compatible and whatever, but the key for me is this: does its trackpad compare to that of the MacBook Pro? Oh, it doesn't? You mean I'll have to carry around an external mouse to compensate for the lackluster trackpad? You mean one of the two ways I interact with my computer is clunky at best and non-functional at worst compared to the best one on the market? Sorry. No dice.
- electrograv 14y agoI'm glad I'm not the only one perplexed by the utterly astoundingly bad trackpad drivers on literally every platform but OSX. I just don't get it. How can so many people working on trackpad software produce such sub-par junk, while Apple's is literally competitive to (if not better than in some cases) a desktop mouse.
- glesica 14y agoI don't know about Windows folks, but as a Linux user I rarely touch the mouse except while using a web browser, and point-and-click is all I need there. In fact my Thinkpad has a convenient middle mouse button just above the track pad that's super-convenient for opening links in a new tab.
- codex 14y agoThis is just an ad for some run of the mill laptops.
- arnoooooo 14y agoWith open hardware and amazing customer support.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- imperialWicket 14y agoAs successors to the Verix 2.5 and the damn-near-a-desktop Chimera, the Verix 530 and Mir 730 updates are both available with up to i7-3920XM (2.9Ghz) and can be configured with up to 32GB of RAM. They come in a lot cheaper than those new MBPs, too (but retina displays are nice). I haven't used either, but I see good things about ZaReason, and I have been a little disappointed in my System76 Desktop (though I did heavily customize).
- aiscott 14y agoThey come in a lot cheaper than those new MBPs, too That is simply not true. Configured approximately the same as the cheaper Retina MBP, the verix cost $200 more than the retina macbook pros. I say approximately because the mbp has 1600MHz ram vs 1333 in the verix, but I had to choose a 300GB SSD in the verix vs 256 in the mbp. As well, the verix option was for a 2.2GHz vs 2.3GHz of the MBP. That was the cheaper MBP. Configuring the verix to match the costlier Retina MBP puts the Verix at $500 more.
- imperialWicket 14y agoGood point, thanks for the correction. I neglected to consider the flash storage costs in my initial glances. If you avoid a large flash drive (I usually run something like a 40GB ssd and a 256GB 7200RPM paired), the pricing leans towards the Verix, but not by much - and you aren't getting the same flash storage.
- mendocino 14y agoVerix: Dimensions: 15.6" (w) x 10.5" (d) x 2.2" (h) Weight: 7.10 lbs MBP: Dimensions: 14.13" (w) x 9.73" (d) x 0.71" (h) Weight: 4.46 lbs A plastic monstrosity. For me, this is a non-starter at any price.
- aiscott 14y agoYeah, flash is still super pricey. I run a pair as well in my mbp. The ability to configure lesser options to make it cheaper counts for something as well. With Apple you are stuck with very few yet pricey base configurations to start from.
- Umox 14y agoFor me, Samsung's Chromebook still makes the best linux laptop. Great form factor, battery life, and screen.
- joshu 14y agois it easy to get, say, ubuntu on them?
- imperialWicket 14y agoThere are still a lot of hoops to jump through for handling development on a Chromebook. That said, for a browser and general non-development machine - I agree that the newer Chromebooks have a lot to offer.
- veemjeem 14y agoSo you like slow machines? I gave up using mine and sold it... it's nice that it was cheap, but I feel like I can't do anything on it other than vim. I prefer only carrying around one laptop, so I'd rather get the laptop that can do everything.
- mtgx 14y agoI don't know about US, but in other countries there are so many laptops that come "Windows-free" (and save you ~$150). Unfortunately most of them come with the completely useless FreeDos instead of a usable Linux distro. I really don't get that at all. What's stopping them from using Linux instead of FreeDos?
- duskwuff 14y agoCynical view: Preinstalling Linux would create expectations that all their hardware have readily available, working, non-buggy Linux drivers. Preinstalling FreeDOS sets up no such expectations (especially since basically everyone will blow it away immediately).
- tikhonj 14y agoI've never seen that in the US. All the laptops I've ever seen for sale in person (rather than online) either came with some version of Windows or Mac OS. So we not only lack Linux here, we lack anything outside of Apple and Microsoft. FreeDos seems rather specialized and would not suit a casual consumer at all. Perhaps those laptops just have a different target market? I really can't imagine anybody but a hobbyist actually wanting to buy that. Also, perhaps people just buy those laptops to install Windows in some questionably legal way?
- dagw 14y agoThe FreeDos thing has something to do with some obscure rules about having to sell computers with an OS. No is expected to actually use FreeDos, and in fact the reason they use FreeDos rather than, say, Ubuntu, is to make sure no one does run it, and thus not having to offer support.
- r00fus 14y agoLikely Microsoft strong-arming. Some unspoken (because formal threats are anti-trust-bait) threats about "sell linux and your per-unit licensing costs will skyrocket".
- Zak 14y agoMost people who actively want Linux are content to install it themselves. They don't pre-install Linux because nobody really cares, and they don't want to deal with supporting it. They ship with FreeDOS in many cases because they have an OEM agreement with MS that forbids shipping computers with no OS.
- DaNmarner 14y agoTheir tag line is Linux Laptop that "just works". What does that imply about Linux? What's even sadder is that the implication is not even true. Linux these days not only "just works", but has more functionality out of the box than a stock Windows machine.
- doktrin 14y agoI respectfully disagree. It may "just work" on thoroughly tested hardware configurations, however as a blanket statement that is simply not true. Anecdotal illustration : I'm writing this from a machine running Xubuntu because of a relatively obscure Unity bug wherein the X server fails sporadically while, say, loading a text file. This most likely is a compatibility issue relating to my graphics card. TLDR; I'm a fan, but it doesn't "just work".
- mbell 14y ago> Linux these days not only "just works" 1) Try to make it sleep. (and wake up correctly) 2) Try to make it hibernate. (and wake up correctly) 3) Try to rotate a second screen into portrait mode while maintaining vsync and compositing. (choose any GPU for this, they all fail) When you can do those 3 things reliably without fumbling around, breaking between upgrades, or even just do them (3 especially), I'll happily switch back to linux as a primary OS and say that it just works.
- vasco 14y agoAlso, make proper use of graphics switching. I live with intel integrated graphics and won't even bother to try and switch to my ati because after about two weeks of searching forums when I got the laptop, I just gave up. This means, among other things, that I don't get to have webGL. Still, Linux all the way since everything else is awesome!
- mparlane 14y agoAm I imagining that the latest linux kernel added support for this?
- rikf 14y agoThink is exactly why macbooks are so popular. I think if a laptop manufacturer spent some (a-lot?) of effort on hardware design to compete with Apple then there would be huge demand from developers. As a developer now I have a laptop choice of a) Horrible design with linux installed. b) Beautiful design with a BSD like os installed. It really is a no brainer. Even Linus uses a MBA I wonder when hardware manufacturers will start to realise that people actually care about owning beautiful things.
- pnathan 14y agoWhen you say design, do you mean surface appearance? Or do you mean quality of engineering and thought put into making the machine? Those are two different things.
- pyre 14y agoIndustrial design covers both the appearance and the utilitarian aspects, IIRC. What Apple does is usually qualified as industrial design. That's not to say that they are perfect, but there is greater attention to detail (and not just visible detail) than other manufacturers.
- imperialWicket 14y agoIt's definitely an aesthetic niche - but you can easily get a Thinkpad with Linux pre-installed, and quite a few people like the design/functionality of Thinkpads. I think your choices are more 'Utilitarian/Functional design' vs. 'Beautiful design'. Admittedly, Utility/Function designs are often ugly. Another side to the coin is that I enjoy the look and feel of Apple keyboards - but I can't stand working without home/end/delete keys.
- KirinDave 14y agoLenovo is not a good vendor for linux laptops. Unless you get a behemoth plug-to-plug W520, you have to accept at least one of the following major flaws: 1. Unsupported dual-mode graphics card. 2. Inability to use multiple monitors. 3. Some ports being unusuable. 4. Audio glitches. 5. Hand patching required to keep your laptop stable. 6. Poor support for X11 even with simple Intel integrated graphics. And in all cases you will simply get atrocious battery life compared to the battery life available from the same system via windows. People will tell you, "Oh I don't have a problem with my T61 or my T520," but their definition of "no trouble" is typically so riddled with the phrase, "Oh that doesn't work so I don't do it" that most laptops are reduced to underpowered desktops or doorstops. Currently, there are no competitively priced linux laptops. This stems from a mix of vendor apathy and poor laptop support on Linux. If you would like to build a linux experience comparable to a mac osx or windows laptop with free software, it is currently either so expensive (Lenovo W520) or so difficult (T520) that it's almost certainly not worth your time. You're better off using a competent VM solution to run Linux under Mac OS X and be able to enjoy a fully spectrum of modern hardware and battery life while still getting to use Linux (presumably for your development). Note: And I sort of promised myself I wouldn't post here anymore, but on this one issue I hope this is the warning to someone that I personally never got. Don't try and make a linux laptop. It is a waste of your time and money.
- danbmil99 14y agoJust came to say, Earl at ZaReason is great, they always treated me with respect and went the extra mile.
- Subu_S 14y agoI don't know if it is just me or their laptops look mondo ugly - may be they just need a better website. The world is moving towards polished aluminum etc. while we see these clunky models - I really hope they put more thought into making the laptops more aesthetic.
- old-gregg 14y ago> The world is moving towards polished aluminum etc. I sure hope it isn't. The future cannot possibly be so grim and cold to touch. It's funny how pre-conditioned some commenters are to love shiny&sparkly things. Many complained about "ugly" but nobody noticed the poorly positioned cheap touchpads, cheap glossy LCDs, flimsy lid hinges, excessive weight, you know... stuff that actually matters. Of all things missing you're only asking for "more aesthetic"? :)
- comex 14y ago"everyone should have a laptop this advanced" Now where have I heard that sentence before?
- narrator 14y agoI have a Sony Vaio Core II Duo laptop. I bought it 2 or 3 years ago. The thing runs Linux great. I don't know why all the hardware works including suspend/resume. Maybe it's just old enough that the Linux community finally got around to supporting everything on it. It's a Sony too, so it has adequate design. Those Thinkpads are ugly.
- isalmon 14y agoI was under impression that laptop without Windows/MacOS on it should cost less. Apparently it's not the case here. I don't really see any competitive advantage vs. Dell, HP, Toshiba, etc.
- protomyth 14y agoSeriously, is there a patent on centering the trackpad? Center the trackpad, center the keyboard, and do not put a numeric keypad on unless you have found a way for me to type while still looking straight at the display.