5 ms·

Ask HN: Best Linux ultrabook?

25 points by humility 12y ago

fpierre 12y ago
The new Chromebook ? (http://www.google.com/chromebook/pixel http://www.google.com/chromebook/pixel). I don't know if it's possible to replace ChromeOS for Linux...
- welly 12y ago
  > I don't know if it's possible to replace ChromeOS for Linux... It is, with Crouton. https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton Or to be more precise, run the two concurrently.
  - fpierre 12y ago
    But ChromeOs is based on Linux kernel no? So the Chromebook natively supports Linux I think.
  - humility 12y ago
    I'm sure google has their own version of Superfish in there, waiting to be found!
    - zingplex 12y ago
      The biggest problem with superfish was not the surveillance itself but instead that it broke SSL and thus exposed all "infected" systems to a plethora of attacks. Because Google controls both the operating system and the browser, installing a malicious certificate would not be necessary to achieve similar levels of surveillance.
  - peatmoss 12y ago
    If the new Pixel goes the way most Intel-based chromebooks have, then it should be possible to have a completely generic Linux / non-Crouton device. I believe support for unlocked SeaBIOS is the feature you're looking for. I read somewhere, however, that without a hardware developer-mode switch, running out of juice can cause the device to revert from developer-mode and wipe your non-chromeos environment. Check the recent Hacker News thread on the new Pixel for more details.
papaf 12y ago
There was discussion on Slashdot yesterday about the Thinkpad X1 Carbon: http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/15/03/14/1454240/tested-lenovo-thinkpad-x1-carbon-update-w-intel-broadwell-self-encrypting-ssd http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/15/03/14/1454240/tested-l...
- jensv 12y ago
  Sure if you want to do business with Lenovo in light of Superfish.....
  - humility 12y ago
    I concur, probably that's why they've offered a discount so close to the release!
    - ldonley 12y ago
      I suppose its a good deal if you're willing to clean install.
ze_dude 12y ago
I'm running Ubuntu on a Samsung Ativ Book 9 Plus (http://www.samsung.com/global/ativ/ativbook9plus.html http://www.samsung.com/global/ativ/ativbook9plus.html) with no issues and battery life is good. Nearly all media keys worked out of the box, as well as wifi.
- humility 12y ago
  Not sure how reliable are Samsung notebooks in general, since I've only used a macbook so far which has set high expectations!
- kaielvin 12y ago
  Using the exact same setting. Very happy with it. Only difficulty you might run into is adapting applications to scale text and graphics up, as the screen's DPI is very high. For example, Chrome's bars (navigation, tabs and bookmarks) are still sized in fixed number of pixels and look painfully small.
- tluyben2 12y ago
  What is the battery life?
- Throwaway90283 12y ago
  I have a Samsung Series 9, which was renamed to the Ativ Book 9 in recent years, so they may have improved on some of the below issues. 1. Some of the media keys don't work on Windows 8, even with Samsung software (laptop shipped with Windows 7, and they offered limited support with Windows 8). 2. The touchpad is awful. I can click on some right sides of the touchpad and it left clicks, or sometimes it right clicks when I click on the left side. My old netbook and dell laptops had much better touchpads. Thankfully, the touchpad is rarely used. 3. Usb or mini hdmi devices sometimes disconnect if I wiggle or bump the plug. 4. Ports are too close together. I have 3 or 4 flash drives (some fairly slim - http://www.testberichte.de/imgs/p_imgs/Mushkin+Ventura+Pro+%2832+GB%29-617097.jpg http://www.testberichte.de/imgs/p_imgs/Mushkin+Ventura+Pro+%...), and none of them fit in the left port, because they hit the power cable. In the right port, they're also tight if I have headphones plugged in. You really need to be careful with the cables and devices you own, because you only have a millimeter or two of clearance between them. 5. The power cable on the side is annoying. When I move the laptop when it's plugged in, the cable always wants to fold under the device. I guess it's better than my dell, where the cable would pull out the back at the slightest movement. 6. Battery life is poor. I keep the battery saver enabled, which only charges the device to 80%. It goes from 80% to dead in about 1 to 1.5 hours, with just general browsing on the internet. On the plus side, the screen is perfect, it's extremely lightweight, very quiet, it's now my favorite keyboard, and it's fast enough for everyday work. So, it has flaws, but it's the best laptop I've owned to date, and I'd either buy the newer model or one of apple's offerings the next time around.
claudiug 12y ago
dell xps 13'
- rcrichton 12y ago
  Yup, I'm super keen for the new 2015 Dell XPS 13. It should start shipping with Ubuntu shortly: http://bartongeorge.net/2015/02/23/update-2-dell-xps-13-laptop-developer-edition-sputnik-gen-4/ http://bartongeorge.net/2015/02/23/update-2-dell-xps-13-lapt...
  - iends 12y ago
    If you read the comments in the link you shared, the 2015 XPS 13 looks like a train wreck. It could be months before those fixes are into the kernel. Barton and his team seem to be doing a great job, but the greater Dell seems apathetic.
- 27182818284 12y ago
  Saw one of these in person the other day. I was impressed with it. It definitely looks better than most laptops. And, honestly, it looks like they blatantly made the designed based on the MacBook Air. Even the keyboard.
d0m 12y ago
I feel like all laptop but the macbook or macbook pro are total crap. Linux run perfectly fine on a mac.
- DanBC 12y ago
  There are some oddities with Macs. That fucking startup chime for one. You need to either mute the sound in OSX or have some way of editing NVRAM.
  - chmielewski 12y ago
    The lack of home/end and pageUp/pageDown keys has always made me cringe. Yes, I know you can remap.
    - collyw 12y ago
      No delete either. Though Fn + arrow keys does page up / dowm, home, end. The lack of ethernet and (ports in general) is annoying for me. Had to use another laptop when my home router forgot its password and I needed cable to log into it. Need an extra cable to plug it into monitors, or TVs.
      - wodenokoto 12y ago
        fn+delete deletes forwards.
- camhenlin 12y ago
  Seconding this. Macs are definitely the nicest overall quality in terms of laptop hardware, and are also the most prolific in terms of hardware sold, so driver support is excellent. Macs also give you the most options for operating systems, allowing you to run OS X, Windows, or Linux with minimal hassle or hacking around.
- humility 12y ago
  I really wanted to get a macbook air to run arch linux on, due to its form factor, awesome battery life and reliability, but was dissuaded from doing so by the good folks over at freenode.org/linux..
dman 12y ago
Lenovo t450s
ismailamca 12y ago
i had the same problem and was looking around for a new notebook. ihad some performance issues with my previous one, lackness of gpu proccessing and couldn't run multiple monitors at the same time for a long time, i wasn't able to calculate molecular foldings and handle very big chunks of data at the same time with it, by the way that machine had a first-gen i5 and nvidia gt330m (1gb of anciency). so i ought to buy a new laptop; my little goliath. anyway this is what i am trying to say: define your needings then go shopping, or ask with that way. my needings was as yo can figure, was listed above. so i bought an lenovo a z5070 < http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/lenovo/z-series/z50/?sb=:000001C9:00012E34 http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/lenovo/z-series/z50/?sb...: > you know there is a huge scandal and they are trying to cope with that with giving huge discounts! i think it is a good time for buying a lenovo, if only you'll run it as a linux box. by the i hate windows and i'm so lucky they don't care. i think windows should be a keyboard company, their keyboards are definitely awesome. < update was for keyboards >
- humility 12y ago
  having used mac all my life, i have high expectations in terms of portability, reliability, compatibility, aesthetics, etc etc. but seeing as the way macs are built, it's very difficult locating apt replacements. Right now, I've zeroed in on Toshiba Portégé z30, which is the closest approximation I could find!
Calvein 12y ago
What about the new Razer blade ? I'm in the same situation as the OP but my company is keen to get me the laptop I want (my Zenbook was great but its 4GB or unupgradable RAM is a bummer) so I don't really care about the price.
lugg 12y ago
Wait til april. I've been waiting for a while, it looks like lenovo is going to start shipping laptops with 16gb sticks around april (couple of non official confirmations) (this will also cause the price of the ram to drop down from its current 300usd price point I hope) The main issue with most ultrabooks is they only get a single sodimm slot. Or in other words have a hard limit of 8gb. These 16gb sticks[1] have been round a while but an issue with the cpu's prevented them from registering, the broadwell series has sorted that. As for recommendations, I was tossing up between x1c 3rd gen and a macbook / second air / 16gb mbp. I'm now holding out for april and likely going to go with a thinkpad X250 - its a bit fatter but its 12.5" and has upgradable insides (ram/hd.) This is mostly down to the fact that I prefer a solid keyboard over anything else and the x1c just doesn't have the travel to make it worth ditching apple. (I'd take another MBA over going with x1c) Options: - x1c - nice but too thin for key travel like a fatter thinkpad, qhd will kill battery life, at least it has track point - x250 - fatter but small, good kb with decent travel, upgradeable / replaceable insides + battery, shitty screen - mba - can't really complain, had my mba since late '11 no issues what so ever. - mb - nice everything, only a single port though, depending on usage you might not be able to deal - mbp - far better spec's than all and still cheaper / thinner than lenovos (aus taxes destroy lenovo v mac..) All of the above will run linux but have some issues until problems get sorted, nothing a deal breaker. For me, the x250 is in first place but I don't mind a fattop and the keyboard is far too important to me. (I don't mind crappy screens while coding so much) Trackpoint vs mac trackpad is a 50-50 for me also but I wouldn't want anything less than either of those. [1] http://www.intelligentmemory.com/dram-modules/ddr3-so-dimm/ http://www.intelligentmemory.com/dram-modules/ddr3-so-dimm/
weishigoname 12y ago
I am running double-system(windows 10 and ubuntu) at Samsung Ativ Book 8, they both run smoothly, and battery life can reach about 7 hours for both system.
adamgray 12y ago
I've had great luck with the Asus Zenbook Prime series.
throwawayaye 12y ago
I like the low-end Asus machines. They're not as nice as Asus Zenbooks but still nicer than anything non-Mac in regard to build quality, keyboard feel, and ports. E.g., http://www.cnet.com/products/asus-vivobook-x202e-dh31t/ http://www.cnet.com/products/asus-vivobook-x202e-dh31t/ Once you swap in an SSD it performs well enough for normal dev work.
saluki 12y ago
Another vote for going with macbook air. Nothing compares to apple hardware for me.

25 points by humility 12y ago

The new Chromebook ? (http://www.google.com/chromebook/pixel http://www.google.com/chromebook/pixel). I don't know if it's possible to replace ChromeOS for Linux...

welly 12y ago
> I don't know if it's possible to replace ChromeOS for Linux... It is, with Crouton. https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton Or to be more precise, run the two concurrently.
- fpierre 12y ago
  But ChromeOs is based on Linux kernel no? So the Chromebook natively supports Linux I think.
- humility 12y ago
  I'm sure google has their own version of Superfish in there, waiting to be found!
  - zingplex 12y ago
    The biggest problem with superfish was not the surveillance itself but instead that it broke SSL and thus exposed all "infected" systems to a plethora of attacks. Because Google controls both the operating system and the browser, installing a malicious certificate would not be necessary to achieve similar levels of surveillance.
- peatmoss 12y ago
  If the new Pixel goes the way most Intel-based chromebooks have, then it should be possible to have a completely generic Linux / non-Crouton device. I believe support for unlocked SeaBIOS is the feature you're looking for. I read somewhere, however, that without a hardware developer-mode switch, running out of juice can cause the device to revert from developer-mode and wipe your non-chromeos environment. Check the recent Hacker News thread on the new Pixel for more details.

papaf 12y ago

There was discussion on Slashdot yesterday about the Thinkpad X1 Carbon: http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/15/03/14/1454240/tested-lenovo-thinkpad-x1-carbon-update-w-intel-broadwell-self-encrypting-ssd http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/15/03/14/1454240/tested-l...

jensv 12y ago
Sure if you want to do business with Lenovo in light of Superfish.....
- humility 12y ago
  I concur, probably that's why they've offered a discount so close to the release!
  - ldonley 12y ago
    I suppose its a good deal if you're willing to clean install.

ze_dude 12y ago

I'm running Ubuntu on a Samsung Ativ Book 9 Plus (http://www.samsung.com/global/ativ/ativbook9plus.html http://www.samsung.com/global/ativ/ativbook9plus.html) with no issues and battery life is good. Nearly all media keys worked out of the box, as well as wifi.

humility 12y ago
Not sure how reliable are Samsung notebooks in general, since I've only used a macbook so far which has set high expectations!
kaielvin 12y ago
Using the exact same setting. Very happy with it. Only difficulty you might run into is adapting applications to scale text and graphics up, as the screen's DPI is very high. For example, Chrome's bars (navigation, tabs and bookmarks) are still sized in fixed number of pixels and look painfully small.
tluyben2 12y ago
What is the battery life?
Throwaway90283 12y ago
I have a Samsung Series 9, which was renamed to the Ativ Book 9 in recent years, so they may have improved on some of the below issues. 1. Some of the media keys don't work on Windows 8, even with Samsung software (laptop shipped with Windows 7, and they offered limited support with Windows 8). 2. The touchpad is awful. I can click on some right sides of the touchpad and it left clicks, or sometimes it right clicks when I click on the left side. My old netbook and dell laptops had much better touchpads. Thankfully, the touchpad is rarely used. 3. Usb or mini hdmi devices sometimes disconnect if I wiggle or bump the plug. 4. Ports are too close together. I have 3 or 4 flash drives (some fairly slim - http://www.testberichte.de/imgs/p_imgs/Mushkin+Ventura+Pro+%2832+GB%29-617097.jpg http://www.testberichte.de/imgs/p_imgs/Mushkin+Ventura+Pro+%...), and none of them fit in the left port, because they hit the power cable. In the right port, they're also tight if I have headphones plugged in. You really need to be careful with the cables and devices you own, because you only have a millimeter or two of clearance between them. 5. The power cable on the side is annoying. When I move the laptop when it's plugged in, the cable always wants to fold under the device. I guess it's better than my dell, where the cable would pull out the back at the slightest movement. 6. Battery life is poor. I keep the battery saver enabled, which only charges the device to 80%. It goes from 80% to dead in about 1 to 1.5 hours, with just general browsing on the internet. On the plus side, the screen is perfect, it's extremely lightweight, very quiet, it's now my favorite keyboard, and it's fast enough for everyday work. So, it has flaws, but it's the best laptop I've owned to date, and I'd either buy the newer model or one of apple's offerings the next time around.

claudiug 12y ago

dell xps 13'

rcrichton 12y ago
Yup, I'm super keen for the new 2015 Dell XPS 13. It should start shipping with Ubuntu shortly: http://bartongeorge.net/2015/02/23/update-2-dell-xps-13-laptop-developer-edition-sputnik-gen-4/ http://bartongeorge.net/2015/02/23/update-2-dell-xps-13-lapt...
- iends 12y ago
  If you read the comments in the link you shared, the 2015 XPS 13 looks like a train wreck. It could be months before those fixes are into the kernel. Barton and his team seem to be doing a great job, but the greater Dell seems apathetic.
27182818284 12y ago
Saw one of these in person the other day. I was impressed with it. It definitely looks better than most laptops. And, honestly, it looks like they blatantly made the designed based on the MacBook Air. Even the keyboard.

d0m 12y ago

I feel like all laptop but the macbook or macbook pro are total crap. Linux run perfectly fine on a mac.

DanBC 12y ago
There are some oddities with Macs. That fucking startup chime for one. You need to either mute the sound in OSX or have some way of editing NVRAM.
- chmielewski 12y ago
  The lack of home/end and pageUp/pageDown keys has always made me cringe. Yes, I know you can remap.
  - collyw 12y ago
    No delete either. Though Fn + arrow keys does page up / dowm, home, end. The lack of ethernet and (ports in general) is annoying for me. Had to use another laptop when my home router forgot its password and I needed cable to log into it. Need an extra cable to plug it into monitors, or TVs.
    - wodenokoto 12y ago
      fn+delete deletes forwards.
camhenlin 12y ago
Seconding this. Macs are definitely the nicest overall quality in terms of laptop hardware, and are also the most prolific in terms of hardware sold, so driver support is excellent. Macs also give you the most options for operating systems, allowing you to run OS X, Windows, or Linux with minimal hassle or hacking around.
humility 12y ago
I really wanted to get a macbook air to run arch linux on, due to its form factor, awesome battery life and reliability, but was dissuaded from doing so by the good folks over at freenode.org/linux..

dman 12y ago

Lenovo t450s

ismailamca 12y ago

i had the same problem and was looking around for a new notebook. ihad some performance issues with my previous one, lackness of gpu proccessing and couldn't run multiple monitors at the same time for a long time, i wasn't able to calculate molecular foldings and handle very big chunks of data at the same time with it, by the way that machine had a first-gen i5 and nvidia gt330m (1gb of anciency). so i ought to buy a new laptop; my little goliath. anyway this is what i am trying to say: define your needings then go shopping, or ask with that way. my needings was as yo can figure, was listed above. so i bought an lenovo a z5070 < http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/lenovo/z-series/z50/?sb=:000001C9:00012E34 http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/lenovo/z-series/z50/?sb...: > you know there is a huge scandal and they are trying to cope with that with giving huge discounts! i think it is a good time for buying a lenovo, if only you'll run it as a linux box. by the i hate windows and i'm so lucky they don't care. i think windows should be a keyboard company, their keyboards are definitely awesome. < update was for keyboards >

humility 12y ago
having used mac all my life, i have high expectations in terms of portability, reliability, compatibility, aesthetics, etc etc. but seeing as the way macs are built, it's very difficult locating apt replacements. Right now, I've zeroed in on Toshiba Portégé z30, which is the closest approximation I could find!

Calvein 12y ago

What about the new Razer blade ? I'm in the same situation as the OP but my company is keen to get me the laptop I want (my Zenbook was great but its 4GB or unupgradable RAM is a bummer) so I don't really care about the price.

lugg 12y ago

Wait til april. I've been waiting for a while, it looks like lenovo is going to start shipping laptops with 16gb sticks around april (couple of non official confirmations) (this will also cause the price of the ram to drop down from its current 300usd price point I hope) The main issue with most ultrabooks is they only get a single sodimm slot. Or in other words have a hard limit of 8gb. These 16gb sticks[1] have been round a while but an issue with the cpu's prevented them from registering, the broadwell series has sorted that. As for recommendations, I was tossing up between x1c 3rd gen and a macbook / second air / 16gb mbp. I'm now holding out for april and likely going to go with a thinkpad X250 - its a bit fatter but its 12.5" and has upgradable insides (ram/hd.) This is mostly down to the fact that I prefer a solid keyboard over anything else and the x1c just doesn't have the travel to make it worth ditching apple. (I'd take another MBA over going with x1c) Options: - x1c - nice but too thin for key travel like a fatter thinkpad, qhd will kill battery life, at least it has track point - x250 - fatter but small, good kb with decent travel, upgradeable / replaceable insides + battery, shitty screen - mba - can't really complain, had my mba since late '11 no issues what so ever. - mb - nice everything, only a single port though, depending on usage you might not be able to deal - mbp - far better spec's than all and still cheaper / thinner than lenovos (aus taxes destroy lenovo v mac..) All of the above will run linux but have some issues until problems get sorted, nothing a deal breaker. For me, the x250 is in first place but I don't mind a fattop and the keyboard is far too important to me. (I don't mind crappy screens while coding so much) Trackpoint vs mac trackpad is a 50-50 for me also but I wouldn't want anything less than either of those. [1] http://www.intelligentmemory.com/dram-modules/ddr3-so-dimm/ http://www.intelligentmemory.com/dram-modules/ddr3-so-dimm/

weishigoname 12y ago

I am running double-system(windows 10 and ubuntu) at Samsung Ativ Book 8, they both run smoothly, and battery life can reach about 7 hours for both system.

adamgray 12y ago

I've had great luck with the Asus Zenbook Prime series.

throwawayaye 12y ago

I like the low-end Asus machines. They're not as nice as Asus Zenbooks but still nicer than anything non-Mac in regard to build quality, keyboard feel, and ports. E.g., http://www.cnet.com/products/asus-vivobook-x202e-dh31t/ http://www.cnet.com/products/asus-vivobook-x202e-dh31t/ Once you swap in an SSD it performs well enough for normal dev work.

saluki 12y ago

Another vote for going with macbook air. Nothing compares to apple hardware for me.