Re: [SLUG] advice for new laptop...

[Thomas Davies]

If you want to dual-boot rEFIt  is a 
great help.



On 12/10/2011 02:44 PM, Glen Turner wrote:

I found it to be utterly easy: Boot Favourite CD/DVD
Install as usual

With respect James, that has not been my experience with a 2011 MacBook
Pro at all.  Distribution DVDs don't even boot, standard boot loaders
don't support Apple's UEFI, the kernel dies. And sure, I've got Fedora
working now. But wasn't something I'd put anyone else through.
Apparently the next Fedora release will work out of the box -- but
that's 12 months since the hardware appeared.

-Glen



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Re: [SLUG] advice for new laptop...

[Glen Turner]

> I found it to be utterly easy: Boot Favourite CD/DVD
> Install as usual

With respect James, that has not been my experience with a 2011 MacBook
Pro at all.  Distribution DVDs don't even boot, standard boot loaders
don't support Apple's UEFI, the kernel dies. And sure, I've got Fedora
working now. But wasn't something I'd put anyone else through.
Apparently the next Fedora release will work out of the box -- but
that's 12 months since the hardware appeared.

-Glen

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Re: [SLUG] advice for new laptop...

[James Linder]

On 10/12/2011, at 9:00 AM, slug-requ...@slug.org.au wrote:

>> . is there truly nothing obvious that is a good replacement for mac users
>> to move back to linux.
> 
> Just a heads-up that installing any distribution of Linux on the current
> Mac hardware is a nightmare. If you are buying a computer to run Linux,
> don't buy a Mac.

I found it to be utterly easy: Boot Favourite CD/DVD
Install as usual

I found some things:
The iMac on snow leopard gives install discs, Lion and laptops do not. 
Reinstall mac OSX becomes an issue
Macs do heavy lifting to save power, in particular the linux throttle back 
makes the mac hardware run HOT.
EFI bios needs hard disk and disk utils to change and setup so you really want 
to dual boot.  (Ive not investigated EFI-grub)
iMac speakers are terrid, OSX fiddles 'till they sound good

So
Apple is utterly evil
In quest of ever more money they make nice hardware
And take great care of their customers
If and when you need, native word et al, native Adobe et al, and native camera 
utils (only RawTherapee handles .CR2 canon raw format, not ufraw and friends) 
are good
VBOX runs my many linux systems
finc and macports do a fine job of taming this alien landscape

My mac runs gnome-terminal, gimp, gnuplot, mythtv, ogg audio

That makes the NO a definte-maybe, have fun

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Re: [SLUG] advice for new laptop...

[Glen Turner]

On Sun, 2011-12-04 at 11:55 +1100, simran wrote:
> . is there truly nothing obvious that is a good replacement for mac users
>  to move back to linux.

Just a heads-up that installing any distribution of Linux on the current
Mac hardware is a nightmare. If you are buying a computer to run Linux,
don't buy a Mac.

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Re: [SLUG] advice for new laptop...

[David Gillies]

Hi Simran,

I can't say I can complain about the touchpad and its two finger 
scrolling. Actually I can say that its left no impression on me at all, 
which can be a good thing. I can't think of any time that its annoyed or 
impressed on me and the only thing I think I've knowingly done with it 
is turn on two finger scrolling in Ubuntu.


Its been a while since I've used a macbook (the newest one in my house 
is a Powerbook G4) so I can't really compare.


While people may complain and say that it doesn't stack up to a macbook, 
at its price point, I think its a pretty unfair comparison and I think 
its a pretty decent laptop for the money (look at how much you need to 
spend to get a similarly spec'ed laptop from other PC manufacturers)


Dave.

On 06/12/11 01:01, simran wrote:

Thanks Dave,

That does look like a pretty decent laptop... in your experience, is 
the two finger scroll working well? (and if you are familiar with a 
macbook pro, is it comparable to a mac).


The internet reviews are not being too kind to the two finger scroll 
capabilities of the U36SD.


simran.

On Mon, Dec 5, 2011 at 1:01 PM, David Gillies > wrote:


On 03/12/11 10:44, simran wrote:

wanted to ask you for some advice... i need a new laptop, and
here's my
needs:

must have's:
* SSD hard drive (or at least a quick HD)
* at least 8 Gig's RAM (12-16 Gig's would be ideal)
* two finger scroll on the touchpad (like macbook pro's etc
have as a
default)
* solid robust reliable hardy hardware

would really love:
* beautiful 15" screen (good hi-res one with a nice looking
display)
* nice form for the laptop in general (aka, just looks
beautiful :) ah...
i've been swayed by few things "apple"

Is there anything you can recommend?


My day to day PC is an Asus U36SD:
http://www.asus.com.au/Notebooks/Superior_Mobility/U36SD/

I've got the i5 version with a 128GB SSD, 8GB RAM and am running
ubuntu 11.04 currently. Its got one of those weird Nvidia Optimus
hybrid Intel/Nvidia GPUs but I've disabled the Nvidia part of it
and its all good. Its got 4 cores so running some sort of
virtualisation is fine. It has 2 finger scrolling and the hardware
has been pretty robust. Plus being thin its pretty light.

The only real downside is that the viewing angle for the screen
isn't the best but I've learned to live with it. And I wouldn't
consider it a deal breaker.

I want to stay away from apple because:
* I use linux (ubuntu) for all development anyway (in a VM)
* Mostly i'm just using the browser for just about everything
else (email
(gmail), documents (google docs), etc)
* Hate the way they are chasing samsung trying to block galaxy
tabs...:)

My day to day usage is pretty much the same usage as you from the
sounds of things and it this laptop is more than up to the task.

dave.

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Re: [SLUG] advice for new laptop...

[simran]

Thanks Dave,

That does look like a pretty decent laptop... in your experience, is the
two finger scroll working well? (and if you are familiar with a macbook
pro, is it comparable to a mac).

The internet reviews are not being too kind to the two finger scroll
capabilities of the U36SD.

simran.

On Mon, Dec 5, 2011 at 1:01 PM, David Gillies  wrote:

> On 03/12/11 10:44, simran wrote:
>
>> wanted to ask you for some advice... i need a new laptop, and here's my
>> needs:
>>
>> must have's:
>> * SSD hard drive (or at least a quick HD)
>> * at least 8 Gig's RAM (12-16 Gig's would be ideal)
>> * two finger scroll on the touchpad (like macbook pro's etc have as a
>> default)
>> * solid robust reliable hardy hardware
>>
>> would really love:
>> * beautiful 15" screen (good hi-res one with a nice looking display)
>> * nice form for the laptop in general (aka, just looks beautiful :) ah...
>> i've been swayed by few things "apple"
>>
>> Is there anything you can recommend?
>>
>
> My day to day PC is an Asus U36SD: http://www.asus.com.au/**
> Notebooks/Superior_Mobility/**U36SD/
>
> I've got the i5 version with a 128GB SSD, 8GB RAM and am running ubuntu
> 11.04 currently. Its got one of those weird Nvidia Optimus hybrid
> Intel/Nvidia GPUs but I've disabled the Nvidia part of it and its all good.
> Its got 4 cores so running some sort of virtualisation is fine. It has 2
> finger scrolling and the hardware has been pretty robust. Plus being thin
> its pretty light.
>
> The only real downside is that the viewing angle for the screen isn't the
> best but I've learned to live with it. And I wouldn't consider it a deal
> breaker.
>
>  I want to stay away from apple because:
>> * I use linux (ubuntu) for all development anyway (in a VM)
>> * Mostly i'm just using the browser for just about everything else (email
>> (gmail), documents (google docs), etc)
>> * Hate the way they are chasing samsung trying to block galaxy tabs...:)
>>
> My day to day usage is pretty much the same usage as you from the sounds
> of things and it this laptop is more than up to the task.
>
> dave.
>
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> Subscription info and FAQs: 
> http://slug.org.au/faq/**mailinglists.html
>
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Re: [SLUG] advice for new laptop...

[David Gillies]

On 03/12/11 10:44, simran wrote:

wanted to ask you for some advice... i need a new laptop, and here's my
needs:

must have's:
* SSD hard drive (or at least a quick HD)
* at least 8 Gig's RAM (12-16 Gig's would be ideal)
* two finger scroll on the touchpad (like macbook pro's etc have as a
default)
* solid robust reliable hardy hardware

would really love:
* beautiful 15" screen (good hi-res one with a nice looking display)
* nice form for the laptop in general (aka, just looks beautiful :) ah...
i've been swayed by few things "apple"

Is there anything you can recommend?


My day to day PC is an Asus U36SD: 
http://www.asus.com.au/Notebooks/Superior_Mobility/U36SD/


I've got the i5 version with a 128GB SSD, 8GB RAM and am running ubuntu 
11.04 currently. Its got one of those weird Nvidia Optimus hybrid 
Intel/Nvidia GPUs but I've disabled the Nvidia part of it and its all 
good. Its got 4 cores so running some sort of virtualisation is fine. It 
has 2 finger scrolling and the hardware has been pretty robust. Plus 
being thin its pretty light.


The only real downside is that the viewing angle for the screen isn't 
the best but I've learned to live with it. And I wouldn't consider it a 
deal breaker.

I want to stay away from apple because:
* I use linux (ubuntu) for all development anyway (in a VM)
* Mostly i'm just using the browser for just about everything else (email
(gmail), documents (google docs), etc)
* Hate the way they are chasing samsung trying to block galaxy tabs...:)
My day to day usage is pretty much the same usage as you from the sounds 
of things and it this laptop is more than up to the task.


dave.
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Re: [SLUG] advice for new laptop...

[David Lyon]

umm... yeah... but doesn't run linux afaik

On Mon, Dec 5, 2011 at 11:07 AM, simran  wrote:
> haha... indeed... would be good... although i think i'd still prefer my zx
> spectrum :)
>
> On Mon, Dec 5, 2011 at 11:04 AM, David Lyon
>  wrote:
>>
>> Simran,
>>
>> I understand... you are after true beauty..
>>
>> maybe you need a fignition system:
>>
>>  - http://hackaday.com/2011/12/04/a-keyboard-for-your-fignition/
>> --
>> SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/
>> Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
>
>
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Re: [SLUG] advice for new laptop...

[simran]

haha... indeed... would be good... although i think i'd still prefer my zx
spectrum :)

On Mon, Dec 5, 2011 at 11:04 AM, David Lyon  wrote:

> Simran,
>
> I understand... you are after true beauty..
>
> maybe you need a fignition system:
>
>  - http://hackaday.com/2011/12/04/a-keyboard-for-your-fignition/
> --
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> Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
>
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Re: [SLUG] advice for new laptop...

[David Lyon]

Simran,

I understand... you are after true beauty..

maybe you need a fignition system:

 - http://hackaday.com/2011/12/04/a-keyboard-for-your-fignition/
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Re: [SLUG] advice for new laptop...

[gonzo01]

Just watch these new fast-boot units.

I bought an MSI a few months back and it doesnt allow for booting from 
USB, plus it has a Syntelic, rather than Synaptic, touchpad. Doesnt play 
nice with Linux Mint/Ubuntu.

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Re: [SLUG] advice for new laptop...

[simran]

Thanks for the tip David... have been reading about it after your post, and
it looks like a good laptop, but people are reporting issues with the two
finger scroll etc... also, it has a "windows key!!!" :)

The design flaw you mentioned is also a deterent... not sure if i have the
time to be fiddling around with hardware... just want something that works
so i can develop :) i know you are a bit of a hardware master... so might
not be an issue for you at all :) but for me... don't want that hassel...

surprising i haven't had a flurry of responses to this thread... is there
truly nothing obvious that is a good replacement for mac users to move back
to linux... (in terms of the beauty of the hardware)... what i pity i buy
the mac just for the hardware... overpriced... the laptop is likely to cost
me $4k, but i want that extra 10% perfection...

On Sat, Dec 3, 2011 at 8:08 PM, Amos Shapira  wrote:

> I hope it's OK to share this thread since I'm checking options for buying
> such a laptop too.
> My main additional features would be - "low weight" (as in - Apple Air
> light weight) and good battery life (e.g. work at least for half a day
> straight without a power cord).
>
> On 3 December 2011 17:23, David Lyon  >wrote:
>
> > HP-Envy with 8 cores are pretty nice for Ubuntu..
> >
> > The hard-drives inside have a design flaw which causes them to
> > overheat and die. SSD would fix that.
> >
> > I repaired one for a friend, just booted ubuntu from usb. Great!
> >
> > On Sat, Dec 3, 2011 at 10:44 AM, simran  wrote:
> > > hi all,
> > >
> > > wanted to ask you for some advice... i need a new laptop, and here's my
> > > needs:
> > >
> > > must have's:
> > > * SSD hard drive (or at least a quick HD)
> > > * at least 8 Gig's RAM (12-16 Gig's would be ideal)
> > > * two finger scroll on the touchpad (like macbook pro's etc have as a
> > > default)
> > > * solid robust reliable hardy hardware
> > >
> > > would really love:
> > > * beautiful 15" screen (good hi-res one with a nice looking display)
> > > * nice form for the laptop in general (aka, just looks beautiful :)
> ah...
> > > i've been swayed by few things "apple"
> > >
> > > Is there anything you can recommend?
> > >
> > > I want to stay away from apple because:
> > > * I use linux (ubuntu) for all development anyway (in a VM)
> > > * Mostly i'm just using the browser for just about everything else
> (email
> > > (gmail), documents (google docs), etc)
> > > * Hate the way they are chasing samsung trying to block galaxy
> tabs...:)
> > >
> > > would really appreciate the recommendation of people in this group, if
> > > anyone knows linux, it's you guys :)
> > >
> > > simran.
> > > --
> > > SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/
> > > Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
> > --
> > SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/
> > Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
> >
> --
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Re: [SLUG] advice for new laptop...

[Amos Shapira]

I hope it's OK to share this thread since I'm checking options for buying
such a laptop too.
My main additional features would be - "low weight" (as in - Apple Air
light weight) and good battery life (e.g. work at least for half a day
straight without a power cord).

On 3 December 2011 17:23, David Lyon wrote:

> HP-Envy with 8 cores are pretty nice for Ubuntu..
>
> The hard-drives inside have a design flaw which causes them to
> overheat and die. SSD would fix that.
>
> I repaired one for a friend, just booted ubuntu from usb. Great!
>
> On Sat, Dec 3, 2011 at 10:44 AM, simran  wrote:
> > hi all,
> >
> > wanted to ask you for some advice... i need a new laptop, and here's my
> > needs:
> >
> > must have's:
> > * SSD hard drive (or at least a quick HD)
> > * at least 8 Gig's RAM (12-16 Gig's would be ideal)
> > * two finger scroll on the touchpad (like macbook pro's etc have as a
> > default)
> > * solid robust reliable hardy hardware
> >
> > would really love:
> > * beautiful 15" screen (good hi-res one with a nice looking display)
> > * nice form for the laptop in general (aka, just looks beautiful :) ah...
> > i've been swayed by few things "apple"
> >
> > Is there anything you can recommend?
> >
> > I want to stay away from apple because:
> > * I use linux (ubuntu) for all development anyway (in a VM)
> > * Mostly i'm just using the browser for just about everything else (email
> > (gmail), documents (google docs), etc)
> > * Hate the way they are chasing samsung trying to block galaxy tabs...:)
> >
> > would really appreciate the recommendation of people in this group, if
> > anyone knows linux, it's you guys :)
> >
> > simran.
> > --
> > SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/
> > Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
> --
> SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/
> Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
>
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Re: [SLUG] advice for new laptop...

[David Lyon]

HP-Envy with 8 cores are pretty nice for Ubuntu..

The hard-drives inside have a design flaw which causes them to
overheat and die. SSD would fix that.

I repaired one for a friend, just booted ubuntu from usb. Great!

On Sat, Dec 3, 2011 at 10:44 AM, simran  wrote:
> hi all,
>
> wanted to ask you for some advice... i need a new laptop, and here's my
> needs:
>
> must have's:
> * SSD hard drive (or at least a quick HD)
> * at least 8 Gig's RAM (12-16 Gig's would be ideal)
> * two finger scroll on the touchpad (like macbook pro's etc have as a
> default)
> * solid robust reliable hardy hardware
>
> would really love:
> * beautiful 15" screen (good hi-res one with a nice looking display)
> * nice form for the laptop in general (aka, just looks beautiful :) ah...
> i've been swayed by few things "apple"
>
> Is there anything you can recommend?
>
> I want to stay away from apple because:
> * I use linux (ubuntu) for all development anyway (in a VM)
> * Mostly i'm just using the browser for just about everything else (email
> (gmail), documents (google docs), etc)
> * Hate the way they are chasing samsung trying to block galaxy tabs...:)
>
> would really appreciate the recommendation of people in this group, if
> anyone knows linux, it's you guys :)
>
> simran.
> --
> SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/
> Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
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[SLUG] advice for new laptop...

[simran]

hi all,

wanted to ask you for some advice... i need a new laptop, and here's my
needs:

must have's:
* SSD hard drive (or at least a quick HD)
* at least 8 Gig's RAM (12-16 Gig's would be ideal)
* two finger scroll on the touchpad (like macbook pro's etc have as a
default)
* solid robust reliable hardy hardware

would really love:
* beautiful 15" screen (good hi-res one with a nice looking display)
* nice form for the laptop in general (aka, just looks beautiful :) ah...
i've been swayed by few things "apple"

Is there anything you can recommend?

I want to stay away from apple because:
* I use linux (ubuntu) for all development anyway (in a VM)
* Mostly i'm just using the browser for just about everything else (email
(gmail), documents (google docs), etc)
* Hate the way they are chasing samsung trying to block galaxy tabs...:)

would really appreciate the recommendation of people in this group, if
anyone knows linux, it's you guys :)

simran.
-- 
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