Hi all, Considering selling my MacBook Air, and I'm after suggestions as I've been out of the notebook/ultrabook/laptop market (and if I'm honest, the mainstream consumer PC market) for a while. I'm planning to immediately format any purchase and install Linux (preferably Mint/MATE, but happy with Ubuntu/MATE if OOTB functionality is better - don't get me started on Unity/Gnome 3!), so hardware compatibility is an important aspect. Spec-wise, I'm unsure about the differences between mobile i5 and i7 CPUs - can someone clarify? RAM should be ideally 8GB, but I'm willing to stick with my current 4GB if the rest of the spec and price is right. Also, I'd ideally like an optical drive - my Air often gets ridiculed by my fiancee due to the fact that we can't play any of our 200+ DVD collection on the move - but I realise that this doesn't really fit with the UltraBook spec. Most importantly, budget. My best solution is to break even on selling my Air (which has AppleCare until August 2014, as well as a few accessories), so perhaps £650/700?
While I can't help you in finding an ultrabook for you. If you want a hybrid tablet, I know that some people got Ubuntu running on the Surface Pro tablet. http://www.geek.com/microsoft/how-to-install-ubuntu-on-the-surface-pro-1539262/ I haven't actual looked into as, well I don't have any tablet, so I don't know how well it runs. But intresting none the less. While I am not suggesting get a Surface Pro (or Pro 2, when it comes out), I am just saying that maybe from other OEMs you can do the same, if you want that kind of hybrid device. On to your questions On most ultrabook, RAM cannot be upgraded, as it's soldered on. So you have to be careful on defining your needs. Same for the SSD/HDD, and battery. In the mobile world (not to be confused with desktop) Core i5 are all dual core with Hyper-Threading (so you'll see 4 cores on the task manager). Core i7 can be dual or quad core (both with hyper-threading). Here is a detail list comparing all latest Intel Mobile processors: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haswell_(microarchitecture)#Mobile_processors I am afraid a thin optical drive is larger than an ultrabook. So you won't find one. You'll need to get an external disk drive on USB. Or switch to a laptop. Hope this helps. As you come from an MacBook Air, I would suggest to make sure your ultrabook: -> Does not have Windows 8 minimum screen resolution - 1366x728, as it's ridiculously low res. (even for PC standard.. but lastly this is the new standard, as most consumers want the lowest price possible, and give no value to these kind of thing. All they look is CPU MHz, and RAM, and looks). -> IPS panel. Most laptop and ultrabooks are equipped with TN panels, which makes the view angle be horrible, especially on laptop (it's not so bad on desktop). And the colors are not really good compared to an IPS panel. Tips: -> Don't limit yourself to consumer level products. Look at business class system. Also, business class are more likely to support Linux based OS. -> I don't know if you can in the U.K, but here for Canada and US, I recommend to order directly from the manufacture, as you can negotiate a price, and get extended warranty from the manufacture. Dell, HP, Lenovo, even have next business day on site service, meaning they come to you to fix your system, in front of you, at the time you want, the next business day. This assure that you always have the system up and running, and that your problem is properly fixed. Hope this helps
Well for me when it comes to linux I would think of system 76 or the dell xps 13 developer edition. I believe some higher lenovo models have good linux suoport. To get solid compatability you may need to spend a bit more than your budget. Finding the right linux laptop is certainly a bit of a crap shoot as peoples reports on functionality can be a bit patchy.
The majority of systems will run Ubuntu or Mint - standard features are now almost always supported out of the box and with additional drivers I've yet to find something that doesn't work on a modern system. For Windows 8 systems just remember to disable secure boot in the bios/efi. If you need to be certain I know the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon definitely does work, although it costs significantly more than £650.
One of the big ones which is important to me on laptops is suspend and resume. Things may be different now but I have found that functionality can be hit or miss. The other thing I would look for is Intel graphics over a secondary ati or nvidia as the intel graphics drivers are open source. Out of curiosity what is Linux compatibility like on the mac book you have?
Lenovo are due to release the new line of thinkpads in october, in which most models the ram can be upgraded. However, the price of the ones you will probably want: the t440s, the x240 and the t440 is a touch over budget. However, one upside is that these are some of the few machines that will rival your macbook in terms of build quality, and peripheral quality (I hear that the new keyboards on the thinkpads are fantastic).
Thanks, but I already have an iPad, so I don't need another one - the primary reason that I'm going from 11" to 13/14" screens is that my Air is pretty close to the iPad form factor, so it makes no sense being restricted to an 11" laptop screen when I have a 9.7" iPad. Brilliant, that's exactly what I wanted, thanks! Noted, I'm leaning towards the Dell XPS 13 (aka Project Sputnik) which has a 1080p IPS panel I'm not too fussed about support - I'm a sysadmin by profession so I'm happy enough digging around and diagnosing/fixing my own problems. The downtime isn't so much of a problem either, as the machine is for home use and I can get by with my iPad/iPhone if necessary. I've also been looking at the X1 Carbon, it does look pretty awesome and has the bonus of a matte screen, but I think the XPS 13 edges it on spec. Definitely something to consider - Linux's Intel drivers are far and away better than anything AMD or Nvidia have come up with! I've tried Mint (albeit 14) on my Air a while ago, and from what I can remember, power and thermal management (and consequently battery life) were an issue, as well as trackpad sensitivity and palm detection was horrendous.
I have thought about getting one of these xps13s myself but couldn't justify it at the moment. I do believe however there may be a few small out of box compatibility issues even though they are selling ubuntu pre installed. So I would have a good google around before committing. System 76 would be my top choice for compatibility even though it would be an import, they do uk keyboards as well. But if you do pull the trigger on the xps please post your experiences.
Ace... I've been waiting for a product refresh from Lenovo. I like their laptops. I also can't stand using a laptop without the nub in the centre of the keyboard. Touchpads are rubbish - the only thing I use one for is scrolling. https://www.system76.com/laptops/model/galu1 looks lovely... but no nub. I'm out.
Don't know if you got a laptop in the end craig but the next rev of the xps 13 developer edition is just around the corner.
