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What would you say about a zenbook prime UX32 [11.6in 1080p] sporting a noob friendly Linux distro [Ubuntu/Mint]. Similar (possibly better) performance, alumini

by sixtay 14y ago

What would you say about a zenbook prime UX32 [11.6in 1080p] sporting a noob friendly Linux distro [Ubuntu/Mint]. Similar (possibly better) performance, aluminium body, lighter form factor, bleeding edge OS, access to most developer tools available on the OSX (bar textmate and xcode). Pricetag - $1300. The mind can justify whatever it wants...its called human nature

colmvp 14y ago
That computer is comparable to the 11-inch Macbook Air, which is around $1300 when all is said and done, not to mention it doesn't come with the stickers and bloatware of the Zenbook Prime.
- sixtay 14y ago
  Comparable? Considering the Macbook Air ships with a second gen dual-core i5-chip [Zenbook 3rd-gen i7], and an 1440x900 [Zenbook Full-HD (read 1920x1080)], It is more comparable to the lower end MBPs. Last I checked bloatware was really an issue on most linux distros [Archlinux leaves you with a terminal prompt]. I'd recommend Ubuntu for new users, but as a Mac user you'd feel right at home. When you then take into consideration that performance of Wine (the free, open source Windows emulator available on linux) when running native Windows applications (Including high-graphic-demand games), it's a developer's dream. Stickers...well there's precious little anyone can do about that.
jsolson 14y ago
So it looks like you can get a Zenbook Prime that's very similar to the $1099 MacBook Air for $900, but yes, with somewhat better specs. It looks like a competitive laptop, although I'd have to hold one in my hands to really know. Looking at the pictures I'm guessing that the trackpad would drive me crazy (I don't understand why other manufacturers have so much trouble here, although Vizio seems to have done a nice job with their new line of laptops in this department -- no separate buttons for one). I'd also be trading OS X for Linux (or Windows), would would be a pretty serious compromise for me[0]. Anyway, yes, the mind can justify whatever it wants, but I don't feel like I have to do a lot of work to justify spending an extra $200. That's substantially less than a day's gross pay if you've got a typical US software engineering job. [0]: I'm no stranger to Linux. I ran it exclusively from 1999-2004, and I have a Linux dev desktop at work. Out of the box I strongly prefer OS X, if for nothing other than the consistency of keybindings across software (including third-party). I could (and have) customized my Linux config to be more consistent, although some things are not easily tweaked.
r00fus 14y ago
How's the clickpad? How about SSD performance? Does Mint handle the app switching pretty well compared to OSX's Expose/Drag-Drop? These things in a 2010 MB Air, where you wouldn't expect it, were unparalleled. When I spend 10+hrs a day on a device, I need it to have flawless input devices, and the Apple products seem to deliver the best (OSX req'd for best integration).
- sixtay 14y ago
  I'd recommend trying out the App switching/Workspace management on Ubuntu 12.04. 'Super'+S gets you all your different workspaces (defaults at 4 but customizable to 64 :D), while 'Super'+W shows all the applications running in a workspace. All that added to good old Ctrl+Tab and yup...comparable experience. SSD performance is the same as that of the Mac and available in 128GB and 256GB. Considering Ubuntu is more lightweight, its understandable that performance is better on it. Try it out for yourself. It comes with a multitouch touchpad too, and installing synaptic-multitouch-trackpad [google it] gives you the gestures on the famous trackpad. Is it as good, probably not, but does it significantly improve the UX when used....very. I don't know about you, but that sound about parallel to me. For $700 less.
encoderer 14y ago
I would say that the screen size and rez are not comparable. That the Macbook Pro Retina has 3 Million more pixels than the Zenbook. And that 11.6" is still awfully small for a primary machine. I'd also say that the Zenbook has a dual core i7 with 4MB L3 cache. The MBP has a quad core with 6MB L3. I'd also say that the SSD on a UX32 looks like it's 128MB standard, half what comes standard on the base MBP Retina. And finally that even Ubuntu/Mint have far more issues than OSX. Things like always reliably coming back from sleep modes. I still have issues with this on Ubuntu 12.04 on my desktop machine. Look, i think the Zenbooks are beautiful and if all you have to spend on a machine is $1300 then I'd seriously consider it vs the 13" Air. I'd probably go Air because I have a lot of Apple ecosystem but an apple noob would probably go Zenbook. But you can't compare it to a Retina 15" Macbook Pro. It's not like everybody that buys Apple just mindlessly forks-over an extra $900 for the brand name. The machine packs a punch.

by sixtay 14y ago

colmvp 14y ago

That computer is comparable to the 11-inch Macbook Air, which is around $1300 when all is said and done, not to mention it doesn't come with the stickers and bloatware of the Zenbook Prime.

sixtay 14y ago
Comparable? Considering the Macbook Air ships with a second gen dual-core i5-chip [Zenbook 3rd-gen i7], and an 1440x900 [Zenbook Full-HD (read 1920x1080)], It is more comparable to the lower end MBPs. Last I checked bloatware was really an issue on most linux distros [Archlinux leaves you with a terminal prompt]. I'd recommend Ubuntu for new users, but as a Mac user you'd feel right at home. When you then take into consideration that performance of Wine (the free, open source Windows emulator available on linux) when running native Windows applications (Including high-graphic-demand games), it's a developer's dream. Stickers...well there's precious little anyone can do about that.

jsolson 14y ago

So it looks like you can get a Zenbook Prime that's very similar to the $1099 MacBook Air for $900, but yes, with somewhat better specs. It looks like a competitive laptop, although I'd have to hold one in my hands to really know. Looking at the pictures I'm guessing that the trackpad would drive me crazy (I don't understand why other manufacturers have so much trouble here, although Vizio seems to have done a nice job with their new line of laptops in this department -- no separate buttons for one). I'd also be trading OS X for Linux (or Windows), would would be a pretty serious compromise for me[0]. Anyway, yes, the mind can justify whatever it wants, but I don't feel like I have to do a lot of work to justify spending an extra $200. That's substantially less than a day's gross pay if you've got a typical US software engineering job. [0]: I'm no stranger to Linux. I ran it exclusively from 1999-2004, and I have a Linux dev desktop at work. Out of the box I strongly prefer OS X, if for nothing other than the consistency of keybindings across software (including third-party). I could (and have) customized my Linux config to be more consistent, although some things are not easily tweaked.

r00fus 14y ago

How's the clickpad? How about SSD performance? Does Mint handle the app switching pretty well compared to OSX's Expose/Drag-Drop? These things in a 2010 MB Air, where you wouldn't expect it, were unparalleled. When I spend 10+hrs a day on a device, I need it to have flawless input devices, and the Apple products seem to deliver the best (OSX req'd for best integration).

sixtay 14y ago
I'd recommend trying out the App switching/Workspace management on Ubuntu 12.04. 'Super'+S gets you all your different workspaces (defaults at 4 but customizable to 64 :D), while 'Super'+W shows all the applications running in a workspace. All that added to good old Ctrl+Tab and yup...comparable experience. SSD performance is the same as that of the Mac and available in 128GB and 256GB. Considering Ubuntu is more lightweight, its understandable that performance is better on it. Try it out for yourself. It comes with a multitouch touchpad too, and installing synaptic-multitouch-trackpad [google it] gives you the gestures on the famous trackpad. Is it as good, probably not, but does it significantly improve the UX when used....very. I don't know about you, but that sound about parallel to me. For $700 less.

encoderer 14y ago

I would say that the screen size and rez are not comparable. That the Macbook Pro Retina has 3 Million more pixels than the Zenbook. And that 11.6" is still awfully small for a primary machine. I'd also say that the Zenbook has a dual core i7 with 4MB L3 cache. The MBP has a quad core with 6MB L3. I'd also say that the SSD on a UX32 looks like it's 128MB standard, half what comes standard on the base MBP Retina. And finally that even Ubuntu/Mint have far more issues than OSX. Things like always reliably coming back from sleep modes. I still have issues with this on Ubuntu 12.04 on my desktop machine. Look, i think the Zenbooks are beautiful and if all you have to spend on a machine is $1300 then I'd seriously consider it vs the 13" Air. I'd probably go Air because I have a lot of Apple ecosystem but an apple noob would probably go Zenbook. But you can't compare it to a Retina 15" Macbook Pro. It's not like everybody that buys Apple just mindlessly forks-over an extra $900 for the brand name. The machine packs a punch.