Laptop

[Aidan]

For school, I'm considering buying a 15" (13" too small, 17" too big) laptop. It's for computer programmer analyst. I want it to be pretty good, and I'm probably also going to run win7 & Ubuntu on it.

I was actually considering a 15" macbook pro at one point as I could just use reFIt to double into win7, and triple boot into ubuntu. Not to mention that the UI for reFIt is quick and efficient as soon as you turn it on.

Thing is.. Macbook's are always priced high, I would be laughed at. Alienware is expensive as fuck because Dell likes the name to cost $1k. Half of the people I know that by from ibuypower have their lappy's break on them :/

I would be saving for this during the summer, but I need ideass!!!!

EDIT: Might get a falcon northwest tlx

[clyzm]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834220876

[Dae]

15" macbook pro at one point as I could just use reFIt to double into win7

You don't need reFIt if all you want is a multiboot. There's the default bootloader (on which reFIt is based on) from Apple, you could invoke it with Alt after the starting scheme. It as well lists all of the bootable partitions.

I've got a low-end 2010 MBP 15" and it's great. One of the best things is that it can really work up to 9 hours exactly as advertised.

But if you want Win7, then it might not be a really rational choice. Personally I buy Macs primarily for their OS.

[Aidan]

That's very true. A macbook is still sitting at the back of my head. However, I think OSX would be useless for my course in school, were as Linux and Win7 i'd be using a lot :/

I can always use a Kalloway hackintosh if I want OSX. I have the disk somewhere around here haha.

I DO love the battery life though. Power management in OSX is fantastic.

Derek:

Yes! I was looking at that earlier on as well. Seems like a great deal. I'll have to put forth more research into this though.

[Tantalus]

You don't need a laptop for school unless you're dyslexic.

[James]

Wish I had a fucking laptop because I've got dysgraphia.

Let me save people the trouble of whomever have not heard of this, subsequently look it up and attempt to link me aspie/autistic sufferers.

[Aidan]

You don't need a laptop for school unless you're dyslexic.

I'm doing the three year computer programmer analyst course for school. Everything we do is on a computer. For unix, OSX lacks programming capabilities, hence Win7 and Ubuntu are my best choices..

I might end up going for that Asus Laptop Derek. I might even pay a bit extra and go for the RoG Asus

I mean.. I'm only using the laptop for programming, and general purposes. It's going to be at school, and at home. I already have a rig at home, so why would I use it for gaming at all.

Okay, enough of my scatter-minded thoughts. I might go for the 15" MBP then, and rEFit it.

BUT IM STILL SCATTERMINDED.

[Dae]

For unix, OSX lacks programming capabilities

Sorry but this is bullshit. Gcc runs great on OS X last time I checked. Moreover it comes with Python, Perl, Java, PHP preinstalled.

OS X is a Unix-based, POSIX compatible system. Smaller programs (that do not include interface and kernel calls, obviously) written on Linux can be easily compiled on OS X and vice versa.

[Aidan]

Really? Well this changes everything then!

[Professor Layton]

I got a 9.4inch netbook for my computer science study. It's good enough yeee

[Aidan]

Yeah? That sounds pretty good. What netbook jabuy?

[Jon]

Ubuntu IDE's are all shit - if you want to code, do it on a platform that you're comfortable with like Windows; no pissing around with consoles or program compatibility. IF you need Linux, just Wubi it.

I do all my programming on a Dell Mini 1101; I have a 22" monitor at home and at work that I plug it into and its great. Not the best netbook in the world at 3 years old, but it fits into my bag just fine.

Might be worth mentioning that I have an 18" laptop at home for 3D design and gaming, but its not one that I'd be willing to throw between work and uni like my netbook is.

[Aidan]

So you're suggesting a netbook as well? That sounds great then. Although I would also enjoy using my SDK's on a portable platform as well.

I think I will go with a windows based laptop. So I have that locked into my head.

Now, is 17" too big to lug around? Or would a 15" be better? I do like the extra space to work with though.. and I would have a shoulder carrying case for it too.

I have money to spend too. I was looking at northwest falcon, the Asus RoG laptop, and I was eying the Alienware (Which apparently by most reviews is great for the price, and what's included).

[Dae]

Ubuntu IDE's are all shit

Not talking about emacs/vi/vim, but Eclipse? Netbeans? Seriously?

I was looking at northwest falcon, the Asus RoG laptop, and I was eying the Alienware (Which apparently by most reviews is great for the price, and what's included).

Maybe I don't understand something but your decision-making process seems weird to me.

Do you realize that large powerful laptops last 3 hours on battery at best? (While a netbook may work fine for up 6 hours with wireless etc) And as you use it unplugged more often, the battery life will decrease significantly. You will notice that really soon.

If you're going to carry a charger, add another 0.5KG to the weight of your backpack. A 15" laptop usually weights about 2.5KG. Personally I couldn't imagine a day in my uni without my netbook (and it wasn't even an IT course!), so if you're going to carry it every day and if you're going to walk for long distances it's gonna be tiresome. Trust on me that: when I bought the Asus Eee nettop after having had carried MBP15" with charger for two months, my backpack felt like a feather and my day was suddenly much brighter. As a geek I'm not in a very good physique but still, I do believe those additional 2KGs make difference for anyone.

Another aspect is that if you're going to carry it often and unless you're really careful, it will fall, it will get scratches and is more likely to break. After 1.5 years I found my netbook's display broke when some stupid bitch with high heels accidentally stepped on my bag which was lying on the floor. I wasn't saddened too much and continued using it with a broken display, but obviously it wouldn't have been so easy for me if it was my primary workhorse that I use at home and that cost thousands.

And I'm not even talking about safety of information etc.

In the end... I would have looked like an idiot behind some 17" beast in a lecture hall.

So what I want to say, Jon's setup seems most adequate for me. A PC/fast and large laptop at home + some cheap netbook for uni is the best choice.

And don't get a Mac unless you know what you want. It's a truly great and intuitive system for a beginner in computers or someone with average demands, and it is as well great for audio/video/design, but if you're a hacker/programmer, in some truly problematic situations you might suddenly find yourself alone, trying to get hints for a solution on 14th google search page or a long forgotten usergroup. That gives literally tons of XP and deep understanding but only if you're persistent enough and using a computer is more than a hobby for you.

Same applies for Linux, except that as a desktop system it really lacks applications of all kinds and various solutions even for complicated problems (which occur much more often than in Mac, of course) are usually available in the first two google search pages.

[DxPlayer]

If you are going to program u better make it on the target platform. The notebook suggested by klizzem is good, format it and configure a multi boot.

You are probably learning C and starting with consoles, if the course is decent you are going to program for multiple platforms (Win/Linux). You will use Linux a lot!

[Aidan]

Yes, I know my decision making process is very strange. You see, for school, my laptop is the only thing I'm going to have on me. I will have a laptop backpack to put it in, but around school, there are outlets everywhere. I don't mind using it plugged in at all. I like having a large screen to work with, which is why I want either a 15" or 17" screen. To add, when in the library studying, etc. Or fiddling with SDK's, I would like to have power as well. Even just playing a game or two of something with friends. My college atmosphere is very different. There's quite a lot of us who use 17" beasts. Lugging it around isn't a deal for me either. I swim, participate in parkour in the summer, and lift weights all year round.

A Macbook is out of the picture for me, as well as using Linux, as I'm the most comfortable with Windows.

Alienware sucks up a LOT of battery life. it's already rated at having 1 hour of life unplugged. i don't want to get to the point of having 10 minutes if I were to unplug the laptop for a bit of time. I might count that out.

That leaves me with the Asus RoG laptop, and Falcon Northwest TLX. I have always admired both companies for their quality and service (and Falcon Northwest for not selling out! whilst Alienware sold out to Dell, and Voodoo sold out to HP).

[DxPlayer]

I do not know how is the course there, but I am pretty sure u will HAVE to use Linux. At the beginning your only SDK will be the notepad, your brain and the compiler or maybe only the Logic book, a paper and pencil.

[James]

Unrelated but I've been sitting back here with nothing to say but this:

I was asking around about Ubuntu on notebooks/laptops lately, and as usual, the usual USE GENTOO neckbeard comes about. Now seriously, I made perfectly clear about the usage of this laptop/notebook was to be portable... who has their time to fuck about with Gentoo on the go than the easier Ubuntu? It's just sickening how elitist they are to their distro.

[Aidan]

I don't see why we would have to use linux. I know quite a few graduates of that course that didn't have to use linux once.

As far as SDK is concerned. That is for personal use in my free time, and for creating a portfolio when applying to game developers down the road.

[DxPlayer]

Dude thats bad. Linux is expanding at the market and being implanted at several institutions around the world, you better not depend only on one platform.

[Aidan]

I don't depend on Windows. I'm versed with Linux although I prefer to use Windows.

As far as game development goes.. Windows da best.

[clyzm]

If you're going to be doing any kind of 3d work (such as with OpenGL and such, almost any kind of SDK environment for game devs) try getting a laptop with a workstation graphics card.

I recommend FirePro over the Quadro series when it comes to mobility, but quite the opposite when it comes to desktops:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834157487

I know what you're thinking. "What the fuck, a workstation card for a college laptop? That's dumb. You only need those in the professional environment."

It'll pay off. And most likely your computer in the game dev workplace in the near future will utilize a FirePro or a Quadro, and you'll have experience in using it.

For battery life it's pretty bad (3 hours or so,) but you're not going to be Dae'ing it up with your Macbook and iPad all over the place doing the computer-intensive work of... taking notes. You have a pen and paper for that. This is hardcore development work dawg. Realtalk.

edit: Linux support is a must. You don't have to be all hardcore Gentoo or debian or anything, Ubuntu is fine. Even if your college won't utilize it, I can pretty much guarantee you'll see a lot of "Must have a decent understanding of Linux" on quite many job requirements in the future.

[Dae]

As I said above, I used an ASUS netbook during my uni days.

A laptop for "hardcore development work". That's a good joke.

Taking notes on a laptop is much better than with a pen and paper, because you do it 2 times faster, the text does not lose "quality" (abbreviations etc), you don't get tired and you don't lose concentration.

[Professor Layton]

Spending almost 1800 on a new laptop seems like a cruel joke

[James]

Sounds like a job for Dex!

[Aidan]

No way in hell am I buying an HP. I used to work at future shop (Best Buy's branches more known in Canada). About 85% of the computers I repaired were in fact HP's of all shapes and makes.

A workstation card might be something to consider. I'll still be able to take notes on a laptop which Dae is completely right about, and I would much prefer to writing.

You're right about linux. I might partition 60Gb of space for Ubuntu when I get my laptop.

I still have a strong feeling I'm going to end up with falcon northwest. I've always loved their computers (Laptop's in specific). Battery life is decent, multiple energy saving modes, great CPU, GPU, price (for all that comes with it), warranty, etc.

I don't need Quadro right now. Down the road however, I probably will.

[Tantalus]

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO USE 60GB IN UBUNTU FOR?!

You sound like me a year and a half ago.

[James]

I'm sure he said 60 dude.

[Tantalus]

Fixed.

Point stands, firm and erect.

[Dae]

You're right about linux. I might partition 60Gb of space for Ubuntu when I get my laptop.

or simply run it in a virtual machine (such as VirtualBox) when you need it

chances are, you won't need it