A desktop with six core CPU, lots of memory and a nvme drive, as well as an ultrawide 3440x1440 34" curved monitor - sandwiched between two 16:10 24s on a stand.
Because it's fast, and I can organise my editors / visual studio / environment!
Currently, a chromebook pixel 2015 running Debian testing. But today should arrive my new alienware 13: skylake + gtx1060, oled screen, 250gb ssd boot, 500gb ssd for /home (zfs). I expect to also install debian. I want to play with cuda on the nvidia gpu and run a few games on windows.
I got an MBP at work bt I really don't like it, it's there only when I need to compile something for iOS.
15" rMBP. Got it in March 2015 and it's been rock-solid for over 2 years now (my previous Macbook lasted 4+ years before having a sporadic boot problem that probably could've been fixed if I wasn't ready to replace it anyway). Fast, stable, excellent build quality, no complaints. I was a little disappointed in the touchbar MBP but it would still be an easy choice for me if I had to get a new machine.
Yep, I went for 16GB and maxed out the processor, very glad as well. The specs are still well above average for the industry, I don't think I'll replace it til 2019 barring an accident or whatever.
It's actually really easy to install Ubuntu on a Mac these days, and even dual-boot. I did it a couple years ago on a small partition for fun. I still vastly prefer OSX though, and the trackpad drivers are much smoother in OSX.
How is the trackpad on the surface pro line compared to Macs? Its something that I care about now that I never used to until I started using Macs more.
I use two 13" Macbook Airs. One is an 1.3 GHz i5 from 2013 which is admittedly slowish at times with heavy Atom and browser use. The other is an 2.2 GHz i7 from 2015 and that one is pretty awesome.
The batteries on those machines are amazing. They really last for 7-9 hours depending on use. The 2013 one is starting to show the "Service battery" warning every now and then but no performance degradation is noticeable yet. It's been through 380 cycles so far.
If you use a non-Retina Macbook like those, I suggest using a bitmap font for programming (I'm using Terminus myself). It's totally sharp and easy on the eyes. Crank up the contrast in your editor's color theme and you're all set.
Thanks for the recommendation of Terminus! I normally use Inconsolata with ITerm's anti-aliasing, nominally 18pt (though it's nowhere near as big as that sounds). Terminus (without AA) is amazingly sharp! I'm not sure if it's as readable as Inconsolata, but I'll try it out for a few days and see how I feel.
I've got the min-2012 i7 Air -- love the machine, and it still runs fast and great. The battery is pretty terrible though. I'm probably due for a new one. When I took it to my local Apple reseller, they told me that they didn't think the battery needed replacing -- but they are wrong, and I should just pay them to do it anyway :-p
Plenty of go for web browsing, compiling embedded code, and LaTeX, so long as you don't need to run 20 virtual machines, do video encoding, or play games.
Yup, me too with the caveat that I don't really use it as a primary work machine - have a desktop for that. But, if i'm on the Macbook Air, and I need more power, I remote into a machine with more power. The battery life and portability are perfect for me.
That said, I've been keeping an eye out for alternatives for future replacements after my current Air dies, as Apple seems to be flirting with ending the line? Or it least it seems like a stepchild wedged between the Macbook and Macbook Pro lines. A premium build, portable laptop that runs well integrated Linux would be nice - but honestly I'm skeptical that a competitor will emerge. Maybe a librem 13.
I use a thinkpad t61p. I've had it since 2011 and it still runs just a good as it did when I bought it. Its extremely modular, rugged, and has fantastic linux support. The only thing that I don't like about it is that it's battery life is pretty sub-par but most places that I use it have power outlets so it hasn't been an issue yet. It also has the best keyboard that I have ever used in my life by far.
You're right! Mine does run pretty hot and was having overheating issues last summer, but once I replaced the thermal paste on it it hasn't had an issue since. Considering that it was a 9 year old laptop then I was very pleased that was the only issue that I've had with it thusfar
Thinkpad T460 - best laptop ive owned yet. Great keyboard, great battery life, great linux support out of the box (everything works including suspend resume).
unfortunately t460 doesn't have one of these. It has the dreadful chiclet style keys. Fortunately I use external keyboard most of the time, but in those moments that I don't I wish the darkest circles of hell upon the genius that approved this change.
I got one of the newer ones a few months ago, running Arch. It's got great battery life, very light, pretty powerful. It wasn't the cheapest (I think around $1,300, can't remember), but I suspect it will last. Only "linux issue" is that the media keys didn't work out of the box. Actually, I've never gotten around to figuring out why, maybe I'll do that now.
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[ 2.9 ms ] story [ 205 ms ] threadBecause it's fast, and I can organise my editors / visual studio / environment!
I got an MBP at work bt I really don't like it, it's there only when I need to compile something for iOS.
Great laptop quality, Fedora runs well; had no driver issues. OS X is fantastic when I need to be super stable, otherwise Fedora is my main driver
A shame I can't easily put Linux on it though for further longevity.
It's actually really easy to install Ubuntu on a Mac these days, and even dual-boot. I did it a couple years ago on a small partition for fun. I still vastly prefer OSX though, and the trackpad drivers are much smoother in OSX.
but I don't do too much development on that machine anymore.
I mostly write c++, I think linux is a better environment for c++ development.
I have also purchased thinkpad carbon 2014 as a linux notebook. I dislike it.
next time, I might try dell xps.
* It's powerful enough for my development work.
* It's small/light enough to take with me.
* For my work the battery goes for 14 hours.
* It's not so expensive as "premium" laptops go.
* OSX with homebrew has all the things I like about Linux, but wifi and power management work flawlessly out of the box.
I'm considering getting a new machine in the coming year, but also don't feel like its critical that I do it.
The batteries on those machines are amazing. They really last for 7-9 hours depending on use. The 2013 one is starting to show the "Service battery" warning every now and then but no performance degradation is noticeable yet. It's been through 380 cycles so far.
If you use a non-Retina Macbook like those, I suggest using a bitmap font for programming (I'm using Terminus myself). It's totally sharp and easy on the eyes. Crank up the contrast in your editor's color theme and you're all set.
Plenty of go for web browsing, compiling embedded code, and LaTeX, so long as you don't need to run 20 virtual machines, do video encoding, or play games.
That said, I've been keeping an eye out for alternatives for future replacements after my current Air dies, as Apple seems to be flirting with ending the line? Or it least it seems like a stepchild wedged between the Macbook and Macbook Pro lines. A premium build, portable laptop that runs well integrated Linux would be nice - but honestly I'm skeptical that a competitor will emerge. Maybe a librem 13.
Got it because of the build quality, aspect ratio of the screen, ports and lightness.
It's cheap, good battery life, durable, does everything I need from a laptop.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41M2TlFPoWL...
No problems except a stuck key that they changed, not that expensive, and quite fast.