Dell releases powerful, well-supported Linux Ultrabook

"Project Sputnik" aims to be your fellow traveler by focusing on "DevOps."

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[tutubibi]

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.

 

[tutubibi]

BTW, for those who find $1500 price tag too much, you can go with clunky Vostro 2420 (4GB RAM, 14" screen, 2nd gen i3) with Ubuntu 11.10 for less then $300 (at least that was the price on Cyber Monday).

 

[tutubibi]

It is also cheaper than comparable MacBook Air with 8GB RAM and 256 GB SSD.

13" Macbook Air with 256GB SSD and 8GB RAM is $1599. You also get a 1440x900 IPS display at that price, compared to a 1366x768 TN panel. That also includes the cost of a non-free operating system. The Macbook Air is without question a better value.

XPS 13 is user upgradable and what if you someone just wants well supported Linux laptop? Not everybody wants Apple or Microsoft stuff pre-installed. Consider that Dell can count on selling maybe few thousand of these while Apple or Windows laptops are selling in millions.That brings price up as well.

Choice is good and I am glad Dell is offering that choice. Could it be cheaper, yes ... Is being somewhat overpriced is still better than no choice at all, yes again.