7 ms·

I wouldn't risk the pain. You'll have to do a fair bit of research to figure out how easily Linux can be setup on a given laptop, and if you'll have to deal wit

by mrj 13y ago

I wouldn't risk the pain. You'll have to do a fair bit of research to figure out how easily Linux can be setup on a given laptop, and if you'll have to deal with the UEFI secure boot madness or not. I just got a laptop from system76.com instead and I'm very pleased with it. No messing about. I know it works with my OS. If that's not appealing, then Linux works great on Apple laptops.

maxharris 13y ago
If that's not appealing, then Linux works great on Apple laptops. Yep. Also, as an aside (relevant because hardware quality is an important factor no matter what OS you have installed): After 15 years of wrestling with non-Apple hardware, I bought a MacBook Pro in 2008, and another one in 2011. I tried using a PC laptop from work a couple of months ago, and I was shocked at how terrible the build quality was. A brand new laptop should not squeak when you use the keyboard or trackpad. Nor should it crash randomly once a day. After six years of pain-free living with the Mac, I have no sympathy for those that complain about PCs but won't switch.
- jamesbritt 13y ago
  What is a "PC laptop"? There are numerous companies that make laptops; what sense does it make to write them all off because some of them make junk?
- kunai 13y ago
  I see you haven't used a ThinkPad. This is the same bullshit logical fallacy that keeps me firmly opposed to modern Macs. You think, that somehow, a $300 PC will be WORSE than a $1299 MacBook, and that ALL PCs are somehow terrible in build quality. And then again more bullshit about Windows crashing twice a day. Yeah, maybe, if you have some crappy third-party wireless card with a driver written by some corporate intern in Pascal 18 years ago. People like you are why my Air is sitting in my closet and why I'm still using a PowerBook G4 in 2013.
  - rdtsc 13y ago
    Ah ThinkPads. My almost 8 year old ThinkPad still chugging along. Replaced its keyboard (as kid tore off one of the keys and broke it). Had it in a backpack traveling all of the place. Beat up. Fan go too clogged with crap, had to replace that. Put an SSD drive in it. But I still like it. Like the feel of the keyboard. Case is solid and lightweight as hell. Very impressed. It was my first ThinkPad. Also like the little joystick mouse thingy (also called a nipple mouse). The matte screen. And the relatively good screen resolution for such an old machine (1400*1050). Even newest laptops 8 years later often have a lower resolution than that.
  - antiterra 13y ago
    > People like you are why my Air is sitting in my closet and why I'm still using a PowerBook G4 in 2013. How does that in any way follow from what you said, and what do you even mean?
    - kunai 13y ago
      Well, really, it doesn't. Sorry for not making my point as clear as it should have been. Essentially, this whole point that Windows laptops have no good ideas to be gleaned from and that Apple is God is making computers worse. I don't use the Air because it represents everything I hate about Apple: locked-down, stripped-down, un-customizable, unconfigurable, and untenable. Yes, it's damn pretty, but I don't just want pretty. I want pretty, fast, and functional. The PowerBook, and later, the 2006/7/8-era MacBook Pros, represent everything I love about Apple: well-designed, comfortable, functional, easy to use, and post-purchase upgradable. Apple used to produce machines that were like that, but ever since Ive's been at the omnipresent helm of hardware design, everything I used to love about Apple's machines has gone down the river, so to speak. Yes, the new Mac Pro is exceptionally beautiful on a desk next to a huge 30" 4K monitor, but it doesn't have the functionality necessary to be called a Mac Pro. Studios need the expandability provided by PCI-e. TB still has too much latency to be able to be considered against true internal slot expansion. The Retina MacBook Pro is gorgeous, but it doesn't have an optical drive, so putting your high-quality lossless media on it gets to be a pain. It also doesn't have upgradable memory, or even a user-replaceable battery, two things that would be easily engineered if this "0.02mm thinner is better" mentality would die. But, hey, you can't please everyone. I bet I'm going to be that guy with a 20-year-old computer who's running nothing but a shell and complaining about how the transparent, glass-screened, ultra-thin tablets of the future don't have user-replaceable hard drives.
- CSDude 13y ago
  Why build quality of a laptop is important, for nothing but heat? It is not a car, or a house. It would be nice if it would be durable, but it shouldn't cost you so much extra cash. I have used many plastic body laptops and the only issue I had is that the painting on one of them got scratched easily. The build quality requirement is over-concerned. For mostly immoving use (unlike cell phones) I don't really understand why it matters so much.
  - maxharris 13y ago
    Maybe you don't move your laptop around much, but most people do. People use laptops on the couch, in coffee shops, at work, in bed (maybe that's not advisable, but they do it anyway). If it squeaks every time you go somewhere new, and you're used to something that doesn't squeak, you'll notice.
bugsbunny4341 13y ago
I'm seriously considering to get one from them. Which laptop did you buy? Galago UltraPro? How is it when compared to MacBook or Thinkpads?
- mrj 13y ago
  My work laptop is a Macbook Pro 13'' also running Linux, so I feel like I can compare them. :-) I maxed out a Darter. I am happy with it and it was much cheaper than a comparable featured Macbook. It is crazy fast and I was happy about the touch screen (I have a toddler who likes to play some edu games). Build quality is good, there's no creaking. I love that it has an HDMI out (1.3 I think?) so I don't need any adapters. Same with Ethernet. The battery is really small compared to the Macbook, so don't expect the same battery life. I bought a second for conferences. The trackpad sucks but I almost always use an external mouse for serious stuff. It's fine for web browsing. I don't miss the sharp metal edges of the Macbook. Edit: the Galago's trackpad doesn't have the buttons or weird texture on it, so I bet it is much nicer to use.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]

by mrj 13y ago

maxharris 13y ago

If that's not appealing, then Linux works great on Apple laptops. Yep. Also, as an aside (relevant because hardware quality is an important factor no matter what OS you have installed): After 15 years of wrestling with non-Apple hardware, I bought a MacBook Pro in 2008, and another one in 2011. I tried using a PC laptop from work a couple of months ago, and I was shocked at how terrible the build quality was. A brand new laptop should not squeak when you use the keyboard or trackpad. Nor should it crash randomly once a day. After six years of pain-free living with the Mac, I have no sympathy for those that complain about PCs but won't switch.

jamesbritt 13y ago
What is a "PC laptop"? There are numerous companies that make laptops; what sense does it make to write them all off because some of them make junk?
kunai 13y ago
I see you haven't used a ThinkPad. This is the same bullshit logical fallacy that keeps me firmly opposed to modern Macs. You think, that somehow, a $300 PC will be WORSE than a $1299 MacBook, and that ALL PCs are somehow terrible in build quality. And then again more bullshit about Windows crashing twice a day. Yeah, maybe, if you have some crappy third-party wireless card with a driver written by some corporate intern in Pascal 18 years ago. People like you are why my Air is sitting in my closet and why I'm still using a PowerBook G4 in 2013.
- rdtsc 13y ago
  Ah ThinkPads. My almost 8 year old ThinkPad still chugging along. Replaced its keyboard (as kid tore off one of the keys and broke it). Had it in a backpack traveling all of the place. Beat up. Fan go too clogged with crap, had to replace that. Put an SSD drive in it. But I still like it. Like the feel of the keyboard. Case is solid and lightweight as hell. Very impressed. It was my first ThinkPad. Also like the little joystick mouse thingy (also called a nipple mouse). The matte screen. And the relatively good screen resolution for such an old machine (1400*1050). Even newest laptops 8 years later often have a lower resolution than that.
- antiterra 13y ago
  > People like you are why my Air is sitting in my closet and why I'm still using a PowerBook G4 in 2013. How does that in any way follow from what you said, and what do you even mean?
  - kunai 13y ago
    Well, really, it doesn't. Sorry for not making my point as clear as it should have been. Essentially, this whole point that Windows laptops have no good ideas to be gleaned from and that Apple is God is making computers worse. I don't use the Air because it represents everything I hate about Apple: locked-down, stripped-down, un-customizable, unconfigurable, and untenable. Yes, it's damn pretty, but I don't just want pretty. I want pretty, fast, and functional. The PowerBook, and later, the 2006/7/8-era MacBook Pros, represent everything I love about Apple: well-designed, comfortable, functional, easy to use, and post-purchase upgradable. Apple used to produce machines that were like that, but ever since Ive's been at the omnipresent helm of hardware design, everything I used to love about Apple's machines has gone down the river, so to speak. Yes, the new Mac Pro is exceptionally beautiful on a desk next to a huge 30" 4K monitor, but it doesn't have the functionality necessary to be called a Mac Pro. Studios need the expandability provided by PCI-e. TB still has too much latency to be able to be considered against true internal slot expansion. The Retina MacBook Pro is gorgeous, but it doesn't have an optical drive, so putting your high-quality lossless media on it gets to be a pain. It also doesn't have upgradable memory, or even a user-replaceable battery, two things that would be easily engineered if this "0.02mm thinner is better" mentality would die. But, hey, you can't please everyone. I bet I'm going to be that guy with a 20-year-old computer who's running nothing but a shell and complaining about how the transparent, glass-screened, ultra-thin tablets of the future don't have user-replaceable hard drives.
CSDude 13y ago
Why build quality of a laptop is important, for nothing but heat? It is not a car, or a house. It would be nice if it would be durable, but it shouldn't cost you so much extra cash. I have used many plastic body laptops and the only issue I had is that the painting on one of them got scratched easily. The build quality requirement is over-concerned. For mostly immoving use (unlike cell phones) I don't really understand why it matters so much.
- maxharris 13y ago
  Maybe you don't move your laptop around much, but most people do. People use laptops on the couch, in coffee shops, at work, in bed (maybe that's not advisable, but they do it anyway). If it squeaks every time you go somewhere new, and you're used to something that doesn't squeak, you'll notice.

bugsbunny4341 13y ago

I'm seriously considering to get one from them. Which laptop did you buy? Galago UltraPro? How is it when compared to MacBook or Thinkpads?

mrj 13y ago
My work laptop is a Macbook Pro 13'' also running Linux, so I feel like I can compare them. :-) I maxed out a Darter. I am happy with it and it was much cheaper than a comparable featured Macbook. It is crazy fast and I was happy about the touch screen (I have a toddler who likes to play some edu games). Build quality is good, there's no creaking. I love that it has an HDMI out (1.3 I think?) so I don't need any adapters. Same with Ethernet. The battery is really small compared to the Macbook, so don't expect the same battery life. I bought a second for conferences. The trackpad sucks but I almost always use an external mouse for serious stuff. It's fine for web browsing. I don't miss the sharp metal edges of the Macbook. Edit: the Galago's trackpad doesn't have the buttons or weird texture on it, so I bet it is much nicer to use.

deleted 13y ago

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