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Ask HN: Best developer laptop for coding on long commutes?
Hi!
I would like to know what kind of netbook/notebook you use when coding during long commutes etc.
I don't really know what to look for in such a notebook (optimal size? battery life? performance? optimal price?), so your advice would be much appreciated.
- loumf 13y agoCommuting on what? My long commutes on Amtrak and Buses have access to power -- which means my MacBook is fine. It is really a hard tradeoff of screen size to portability if you don't need to worry about power. If you do need to worry about power then an Air if you want OSX. This is what I'd be eyeing for other OS's http://gigasquidsoftware.com/blog/2013/12/26/guide-to-leaving-your-mac-laptop/ http://gigasquidsoftware.com/blog/2013/12/26/guide-to-leavin...
- VLM 13y agoI've done some coding on trains (who am I kidding, playing games mostly) and my experience is screen and screen hinge are an issue. Unless you're on some kind of perfectly smooth monorail, you're going to have a bouncy ride. So a small screen is good, less wobble. On the other hand, a larger screen makes it easier to see under stereotypically bad lighting conditions. I found it much more difficult to concentrate on the train than in my nice quiet cubicle. Those suffering in open plan most likely would consider the worst train car ever to be blissful calm compared to "work". Just saying your needs for calm are hard to predict over the internet. I had to put on earbuds on the train, but I can see those used to a more abusive workplace might not be bothered by train and passenger noises at all. Personally I always locked the thing up and was uncomfortable a couple times on commuter rail even when just going to the bathroom. So you might want to think about, if I fold this thing up can it fit in a giant coat pocket or something. Would you be comfortable taking this device to the bathroom with you, because you're probably going to have to, sooner or later. So smaller/lighter would be better.
- wattengard 13y agoAir if OSX, Lenovo X1 Carbon if windows... That's what I've heard...
- maaarghk 13y agoI have a 13.3" Zenbook Prime. 256G SSD is plenty but I wish I had more than 4G ram (newer models do.) Running Windows 8 and Ubuntu dual boot; the problem is that windows doesn't handle high DPI nicely and Ubuntu is ugly as hell... If I could choose again I might go with a Macbook Air.
- allsystemsgo 13y agoMacbook Air.
- JacobH 13y agoAny laptop you can really get more out of by turning off unneeded background applications. Underclocking the CPU is said to improve battery life also. Newer intel CPUs. DDR4 RAM, and SSDs use way less energy than their predecessors also. So there really isn't much room to get this wrong when purchasing a laptop.
- RealGeek 13y agoI use MacBook Air, it's light form factor and long battery life is perfect for long commutes. Best thing about MacBook is great resell value, you can use it for 1 year and sell it for 80% value and 60% after 2 years.