Dell releases powerful, well-supported Linux Ultrabook
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1366x768 .. Sigh..
Edit: We have tablets at a ridiculous 2560x1600, but this.. C'mon
Edit: We have tablets at a ridiculous 2560x1600, but this.. C'mon
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> Out of the box the laptop will just work. They also have their own PPA if you want to pull down the patches separately, either to reload the laptop or to use on a different machine.
Why haven't these patches been integrated upstream?
Is Ubuntu the only distro that'd work? What if I prefer Debian or Mint?
> The hardware is solid, but the software is the fun part.
The target audience has the software part figured out already.
Why haven't these patches been integrated upstream?
Is Ubuntu the only distro that'd work? What if I prefer Debian or Mint?
> The hardware is solid, but the software is the fun part.
The target audience has the software part figured out already.
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I would /seriously/ consider buying one if the resolution weren't so low, but knowing it's that I won't even bother going to Dell's website.
Does anyone other than Apple make a laptop with > 1080p resolution?
Does anyone other than Apple make a laptop with > 1080p resolution?
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Dell drops support faster than anyone on their products that aren't their normal laptops and desktops at the first sign of a downturn. Feedback is good? Good. I'm still skeptical Dell will have this in a year. Please prove me wrong Dell!
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If there's anything I look for in a new PC as a developer, it's very slow screen resolution and pre-installed software packages that likely don't related to what I'm doing.
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The screen is a deal-breaker. For coding, I need a high resolution display so I have enough space to work with. Plus, at $1500 it should at least beat the MacBook Air spec-for-spec.
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Why does it cost $1500 when it only has a 1366x768 screen? Does it have like a 512 GB SSD drive? Because anything lower than that, and the price doesn't make sense. It's like they're trying to charge a premium for a device with a *free* and open source OS.
EDIT: I see it has a 256 GB SSD drive. Great. So they ARE charging a premium for the fact that it's using a FREE operating system. And I agree that at this point a laptop like that, especially for developers, is a non-starter with that resolution. Doesn't Dell do any market prediction at all? Or do they always want to be the LAST ones to adopt something?
EDIT: I see it has a 256 GB SSD drive. Great. So they ARE charging a premium for the fact that it's using a FREE operating system. And I agree that at this point a laptop like that, especially for developers, is a non-starter with that resolution. Doesn't Dell do any market prediction at all? Or do they always want to be the LAST ones to adopt something?
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*sigh* I agree about the resolution. That's pretty sad. My X220 has the same resolution and it's not beautiful to look at it. While its not terrible, I would have loved to see a higher res to really showcase the Linux desktop.
Lee, your coverage these days makes me happy. You are officially my favorite writer on Ars.
I agree, while its great that Ubuntu ships on it, I've been driven away from Ubuntu by Dash/Unity. I recently found Mint and I'm loving it. A few niggles that aren't as smooth as I'd like, but overall I love the Cinnamon and Mate interfaces. Plus using the version based on Ubuntu means all those commands I have ingrained into my subconscious still work. I would expect though this laptop and the drivers written with Canonical's help would work fairly easily with Mint.
Lee, your coverage these days makes me happy. You are officially my favorite writer on Ars.
XTF":2nhuje1h said:
I agree, while its great that Ubuntu ships on it, I've been driven away from Ubuntu by Dash/Unity. I recently found Mint and I'm loving it. A few niggles that aren't as smooth as I'd like, but overall I love the Cinnamon and Mate interfaces. Plus using the version based on Ubuntu means all those commands I have ingrained into my subconscious still work.
I would expect though this laptop and the drivers written with Canonical's help would work fairly easily with Mint.
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Saw the title and almost regretted ordering a laptop last week. Saw the 1366x768 bit and regret went away. Not sure why anyone would bother at that price/resolution.
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I'll join in ranting about the pathetic screen. 1366x768, and probably TN too, for $1500?? are you serious? I know how to use an OS so don't need that crap, just give me a decent screen, and improved trackpad drivers!
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Of course Dell has to make sure these Linux laptops are not too good, or else they might anger Microsoft.
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For that price, I'd rather get a Bonobo Xtreme from System76. I'll let it's specs speak for itself.
https://www.system76.com/laptops/model/bonx6
https://www.system76.com/laptops/model/bonx6
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According to Barton George, they're trying. Unfortunately, Canonical and Dell aren't the only entities involved. As has been the case many, many times before, the hardware vendors aren't always keen on sharing, and it's hard to convince some companies that the FOSS model works and that it won't infect them with some kind of "open source cancer" that will prevent them from making money.XTF":d7r59su1 said:
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It sounds like the "Profile Tool" is doing the sort of thing that I'd much rather use a VM for.
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academic.sam":3227t88h said:
Yea. I'm pretty disappointed by this too. Dell sells a laptop with a 12.5" touchscreen that's 1080p for less money too. I was sorta looking forward to this but with that screen res at $1500 it's a no go.
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XTF":10h116cb said:
Looking at the Launchpad description, most of the fixes are backported from the 3.6 kernel. There seems to be some code for the non-standard trackpad, but I wouldn't worry. It's mostly just Ubuntu with a few version control systems and admin tools installed.
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That screen, oh, that screen...
It's like the device was hamstrung at birth: give it good software, but slap it into a line (XPS or Inspiron) that has a short shelf life and hobble it with a low-resolution screen and sell it for more money. I can see why (those panels are cheap and it keeps costs down) but it's an unfortunate choice. You might as well opt for their 12" flip-book and hope.
It would be nicer, I think, to see a Latitude with 1920x1080 or 1200. Mind you, Dell (nor Lenovo, with the T-Series) doesn't have a high-res Latitude that isn't a 15" brick. Or get a MacBook...
It's like the device was hamstrung at birth: give it good software, but slap it into a line (XPS or Inspiron) that has a short shelf life and hobble it with a low-resolution screen and sell it for more money. I can see why (those panels are cheap and it keeps costs down) but it's an unfortunate choice. You might as well opt for their 12" flip-book and hope.
It would be nicer, I think, to see a Latitude with 1920x1080 or 1200. Mind you, Dell (nor Lenovo, with the T-Series) doesn't have a high-res Latitude that isn't a 15" brick. Or get a MacBook...
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I mean, I can understand why the price is so high.. all that work with Canonical, developing the "Developer Tools", some pretty decent hardware, and the Dell business support is frankly awesome.. but for this price? I'm sure it's a good PC, but really $1,600 worth?
I think people typically think of PCs as expensive because of the Windows license.. it would have been nice to see that savings here, as well as a resolution greater than my 11" mini Dell laptop. A step in the right direction, I suppose?
I think people typically think of PCs as expensive because of the Windows license.. it would have been nice to see that savings here, as well as a resolution greater than my 11" mini Dell laptop. A step in the right direction, I suppose?
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I can't see how this is attractive to Linux/Unix fans of which I am one.
If size, weight, and looks aren't a concern then https://www.system76.com/laptops/model/gazp8 is pretty good. Otherwise, I have a 2012 Macbook Air that I picked up for 1300 with 8 GB RAM and 1440x900. Along with http://mxcl.github.com/homebrew/ I don't miss Ubuntu/Linux. You do pay the Apple tax but more importantly forgo the MS tax
If size, weight, and looks aren't a concern then https://www.system76.com/laptops/model/gazp8 is pretty good. Otherwise, I have a 2012 Macbook Air that I picked up for 1300 with 8 GB RAM and 1440x900. Along with http://mxcl.github.com/homebrew/ I don't miss Ubuntu/Linux. You do pay the Apple tax but more importantly forgo the MS tax
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Doesn't Dell have a long history of flirting with Linux, then dropping it again? This isn't change; this is hype.
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Hell,there are phones with better displays nowadays too..academic.sam":1aq6v378 said:
And to be honest for this pricetag, I'd just grab a Zenbook Prime for the 1080p display (and discrete graphics) and bite the bullet with driver support.
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Really? $1600? I spend my entire day in the command line doing "DevOps". I prefer minimal tools. I don't need fancy Dell Cloud magic. I don't want a shiny IDE with bells and whistles. Ubuntu + VIM + GIT + Open source deployment tools is all I need. The longer I work in this industry the more I simplify my rig.
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satai":xfz9m9bn said:
Dell already has a reletionship with Canonical, so that is why it is Ubuntu.
Actually, there are many server installations with Ubuntu too, so it does make some sense.
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DrDenim":37rm0vvg said:
Those drivers will go into the meanstream kernel, so atleast that is an improvement.
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Kids, you can play the 'Pricing Troll' game at home! Just follow these directions:
It's that damn [Apple/Linux/Windows] tax again. You're all just [isheep/penguins/empty suits] throwing your money away to look cool at [Starbucks/the pub/the boardroom]!
It's that damn [Apple/Linux/Windows] tax again. You're all just [isheep/penguins/empty suits] throwing your money away to look cool at [Starbucks/the pub/the boardroom]!
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The article doesn't answer the important question:
Does FreeBSD work on it or are we stuck with Linux?
Does FreeBSD work on it or are we stuck with Linux?
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Not sure why so much negative comments about this ultrabook. It's solid offering and a step in the right direction.
Yes, it has screen resolution that could be higher. But this is portable machine, nobody will do any serious development on 13" screen regardless of the resolution. You would hook it up to a nice external monitor and real keyboard for serious work and have laptop for out of the office work or demos.
It is also cheaper than comparable MacBook Air with 8GB RAM and 256 GB SSD.
In terms of quality, I don't consider Dell a bad choice, pretty much every laptop and desktop machine I purchased over the last 10 years was Dell (Vostro, XPS and Optiplex lines) and never had any issues with any machine.
Yes, it has screen resolution that could be higher. But this is portable machine, nobody will do any serious development on 13" screen regardless of the resolution. You would hook it up to a nice external monitor and real keyboard for serious work and have laptop for out of the office work or demos.
It is also cheaper than comparable MacBook Air with 8GB RAM and 256 GB SSD.
In terms of quality, I don't consider Dell a bad choice, pretty much every laptop and desktop machine I purchased over the last 10 years was Dell (Vostro, XPS and Optiplex lines) and never had any issues with any machine.
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Aside from the resolution, this looks great. I have been running Linux (Mint 13 & 14) on several laptops (Dell Vostro and Lenovo E420s) without any serious issues, but having first party support for drivers is always nice. I may very well purchase this machine if I cannot get my POS lenovo fixed.
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And for such a low-res screen at that price?! $1500?!academic.sam":2uogzchq said:
I was excited about the possibility of moving all our developers to Linux ultrabooks (that "just work") but not at $1500 each.
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stevegula":3ev74zws said:
I think Asus's Zenbook Prime and Samsung's Series 9 are 1080p screens.
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1366 x 768 on a 13.3 inch screen is nearly 118 pixels per inch. That makes everything tiny enough for me! I like ppi under 100 for comfortable text display.
"Developer" is a bit of a stretch. I might use a 13-inch for blog articles or configuring something over SSH, but serious work requires more and bigger windows than will usably fit on this screen.
The big news here is that Dell is trying again. The fact that the execs feel safe offering a Linux end-user machine again means the power of a certain monopolistic commercial-ware vendor is waning.
This is still not quite for me. I'll buy a 14 inch ultrabook for a lower price, eventually, or a 15.6 fatter laptop, when all the drivers are available in the distro of my choice.
"Developer" is a bit of a stretch. I might use a 13-inch for blog articles or configuring something over SSH, but serious work requires more and bigger windows than will usably fit on this screen.
The big news here is that Dell is trying again. The fact that the execs feel safe offering a Linux end-user machine again means the power of a certain monopolistic commercial-ware vendor is waning.
This is still not quite for me. I'll buy a 14 inch ultrabook for a lower price, eventually, or a 15.6 fatter laptop, when all the drivers are available in the distro of my choice.
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On the subject of the resolution,
I have a dell xps 15z with a 1080p screen. At 15" its almost too small to read comfortably in a desk setup. On the desk, I have a full sized keyboard and mouse and a second monitor. With it 1-2 feet away, its a bit tough to read whats on the laptop screen. Maybe I am just getting old, but 1080p on a 13" screen would be WAY too small.
The price is also way too high.
I have a dell xps 15z with a 1080p screen. At 15" its almost too small to read comfortably in a desk setup. On the desk, I have a full sized keyboard and mouse and a second monitor. With it 1-2 feet away, its a bit tough to read whats on the laptop screen. Maybe I am just getting old, but 1080p on a 13" screen would be WAY too small.
The price is also way too high.
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They had me sold until "the pilot version's 1366x768 display resolution".
Seriously?
Seriously?
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