Developer Laptop
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Mmmmaaa....? Maaaacc...? Macccb...? Nope, can't force myself to say it!!! Tbh, I have no doubt that you are right in terms of hardware, looks, OS stability (just guessing on that one but got to be better than windows right?) But I just don't see myself making the change. On the other hand there is a definite shift in reliance on Windows in my work, maybe I'll give it a look...
I run Bootcamp on my Macs, and have for 10 years. 2 years ago I said "I'm done" and bought the best Windows laptop I could find. After (literally) 6 months of constant searching (and swearing at the US for the Huawei ban which meant no Matebook Pro) I settled on a DELL XPS 13, fully loaded. Being in Canada we could only get the white version at that spec level, but that was fine since I wanted a change. Turns out their white keyboard has a white backlight so if your in a light room and the backlit is on you can't see the keys. Simply switching the colour of (I assume) a couple of LEDS would have fixed that for no cost to DELL. And it was actually way thicker than the marketing said (no drama, but really DELL? You're formally going to quote width without including the feet thickness? And battery life was...not even vaguely what they claimed. Not even close. And the bloatware. And opening the lid required two hands. And the heat. And (really, the only thing that truly bugged me) the fact that it was the same speed as my 7 year old iMac. Running Bootcamp. And the thing just looked like every other Windows laptop after a year: cheap and tattered. I palmed it off to someone else and went out and grabbed a Macbook Pro. I still have it and it just works, looks neat, and was cheaper than the Dell for a higher spec.
cheers Chris Maunder
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Ok, so this subject has probably been done to death in the past but things are always moving on... New job means new laptop, new boss says tell me what you need and we'll get it for you - I'm in R&D working on test software generally, a lot of number crunching maths, data processing and apps for embedded applications. Graphics are typically light. Do I go for something off the shelf or spec me up something special?
I would not forget that while SSDs are fast, the do fail and when they go, they are often not recoverable. I had a fully loaded Dell XPS (loved it), but I had 2 SSD drives fail in 3 years (total loss) so that is a lot of reinstalling Windows/development platforms/testing tools. I would like a laptop with both SSD and HD. BTW I threw the Dell out after the second fail.
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Ok, so this subject has probably been done to death in the past but things are always moving on... New job means new laptop, new boss says tell me what you need and we'll get it for you - I'm in R&D working on test software generally, a lot of number crunching maths, data processing and apps for embedded applications. Graphics are typically light. Do I go for something off the shelf or spec me up something special?
Depends on how they do testing where you work. Portability is a big deal in a laptop. My personal goal is to keep my laptop under 1kg, which is still a difficult goal. This means only an ultralight, and probably something tablet-y. I'm running a Surface Pro right now (sadly, a Surface Pro 3, but I'm in the market to upgrade). You can walk a long way with a 1kg tablet in your bag and not develop a hunchback. It's all about the RAM if you buy a laptop, needed to run virtual machines for testing in. But hopefully they have test servers for the workaday testing, so you don't need super fast CPU. Still for VMs an i7 with several cores would be best. Is there an i5 with four real cores (not just SMT) yet?
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I run Bootcamp on my Macs, and have for 10 years. 2 years ago I said "I'm done" and bought the best Windows laptop I could find. After (literally) 6 months of constant searching (and swearing at the US for the Huawei ban which meant no Matebook Pro) I settled on a DELL XPS 13, fully loaded. Being in Canada we could only get the white version at that spec level, but that was fine since I wanted a change. Turns out their white keyboard has a white backlight so if your in a light room and the backlit is on you can't see the keys. Simply switching the colour of (I assume) a couple of LEDS would have fixed that for no cost to DELL. And it was actually way thicker than the marketing said (no drama, but really DELL? You're formally going to quote width without including the feet thickness? And battery life was...not even vaguely what they claimed. Not even close. And the bloatware. And opening the lid required two hands. And the heat. And (really, the only thing that truly bugged me) the fact that it was the same speed as my 7 year old iMac. Running Bootcamp. And the thing just looked like every other Windows laptop after a year: cheap and tattered. I palmed it off to someone else and went out and grabbed a Macbook Pro. I still have it and it just works, looks neat, and was cheaper than the Dell for a higher spec.
cheers Chris Maunder
Well I can see where it went wrong. From Dells Comparison site[^], The aiming groups for XPS are "Ultra mobile consumers" and "C-level executives" for home offices. If there ever is a next time you should aim for Latitude, they are free of bloatware (if you discount the stuff that comes with windows itself), and the aiming groups are "Mobile professionals" and "Information multitaskers" for "Medium and large organizations". My five year old Latitude looks like new, and works like new. It's out of warranty though, so I recently got a new one just in case. In the last twenty years I have had five latitudes, four of them are still alive, the fifth only runs on power adapter.
Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello
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If you are testing software, my recommendation would be to get 2 test machines: 1. The hottest hopped up laptop with the most modern expensive options, lots of memory and large disks 2. The oldest wimpiest crappy laptop that you support for the software with the smallest memory and disk that are reasonable to use with it. Make sure it has Windows Vista. You'll be seen as the smartest tester in the group.
If pigs could fly, just imagine how good their wings would taste! - Harvey
Microsoft won't allow you to install Windows Vista on a new machine. My test machine died and I tried to re-install Windows Vista and it went to the MS website to validate the software, but the URL was no longer active. The oldest OS you can install (before Vista) is XP.
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Ok, so this subject has probably been done to death in the past but things are always moving on... New job means new laptop, new boss says tell me what you need and we'll get it for you - I'm in R&D working on test software generally, a lot of number crunching maths, data processing and apps for embedded applications. Graphics are typically light. Do I go for something off the shelf or spec me up something special?
I haven't view the whole thread. Microsoft Surface Notebook. I had a 3 and was great development 'puter.
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Ok, so this subject has probably been done to death in the past but things are always moving on... New job means new laptop, new boss says tell me what you need and we'll get it for you - I'm in R&D working on test software generally, a lot of number crunching maths, data processing and apps for embedded applications. Graphics are typically light. Do I go for something off the shelf or spec me up something special?
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Ok, so this subject has probably been done to death in the past but things are always moving on... New job means new laptop, new boss says tell me what you need and we'll get it for you - I'm in R&D working on test software generally, a lot of number crunching maths, data processing and apps for embedded applications. Graphics are typically light. Do I go for something off the shelf or spec me up something special?
I am very happy with MSI Creator series. Got some good horsepower, lots of SSD, lots of RAM, is light and thin, good battery life while unplugged and as a bonus a nice graphics card. And it also has a very professional look, which makes it suitable for an office.
To alcohol! The cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems - Homer Simpson ---- Our heads are round so our thoughts can change direction - Francis Picabia
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Well I can see where it went wrong. From Dells Comparison site[^], The aiming groups for XPS are "Ultra mobile consumers" and "C-level executives" for home offices. If there ever is a next time you should aim for Latitude, they are free of bloatware (if you discount the stuff that comes with windows itself), and the aiming groups are "Mobile professionals" and "Information multitaskers" for "Medium and large organizations". My five year old Latitude looks like new, and works like new. It's out of warranty though, so I recently got a new one just in case. In the last twenty years I have had five latitudes, four of them are still alive, the fifth only runs on power adapter.
Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello
I've tried the latitudes and found them too clunky for travel. Everyone else seems to be able to create a thin and light laptop, so why must I move up to the clunker? Underneath it's still the same silicon, and on top it's still the same marketing and poor experience choices. I never understood Dell's insistence in having their business development team handle the UX of their site. Instead of "let's show you something amazing" as the first thing you see, it's "Are you using this for Office or Home". err...both? Inspiron, Latitude, XPS, etc etc. Iterations to suit price points developed against business metrics instead of focusing on the consumer.
cheers Chris Maunder
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Something that is small and light enough to put in your pocket, with a 28" curved screen.
Nothing succeeds like a budgie without teeth.
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Ok, so this subject has probably been done to death in the past but things are always moving on... New job means new laptop, new boss says tell me what you need and we'll get it for you - I'm in R&D working on test software generally, a lot of number crunching maths, data processing and apps for embedded applications. Graphics are typically light. Do I go for something off the shelf or spec me up something special?
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You can get them at amazon.alternate.parallel.universe
Nothing succeeds like a budgie without teeth.