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Ars Reviewer is Happily Bored With Dell's Linux Ultrabook
Ars Technica reviewer Lee Hutchinson says that Dell's Ubuntu-loaded 13" Ultrabook (the product of "Project Sputnik") is "functional," "polished," and (for a Linux laptop) remarkably unremarkable. "It just works," he says. Hutchinson points out that this is a sadly low bar, but nonetheless gives Dell great credit for surpassing it. He finds the Ultrabook's keyboard to be spongy, but has praise for most elements of the hardware itself, right down to (not everyone's favorite) the glossy screen.
"It works" and "it's not riddled with crappy 'trial' ware you can't easily get rid of" has become something worth mentioning when reviewing laptops.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
There is one thing all Ultrabooks, notebooks and netbooks don't have and that is a good keyboard. I have yet to hear of a *book with a mechanical keyboard.
Also still 1,500$. I can't find that much money in the hardware, so where did it go?
"Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
The problem I find is that with a laptop of any kind you often can't control the environment where you are using it and the glare can become a real issue. If I'm wearing a light colored shirt in a bright area the reflection in a glossy screen is horribly distracting. If I am using my work laptop instead with a matte screen I never even give it a thought.
Back in Feb I bought a Dell Vostro 2520 laptop w/ i3, 4GB, 500GB HD loaded preloaded with Ubuntu 12.04 for only $450 (including tax & shipping). I used $220 in spare change at a CoinStar machine to pay for half of it (no fees charged by CoinStar because Dell is one of their "Partners").
I had trouble ordering it on their site because I couldn't use my CoinStar issued 'Gift Card' on a registered account (GCs are for consumer purchases and this was a "business" computer). I couldn't order it over the phone because they said all Dell "business" computers are required to come with Adobe Reader but they can't add Reader to Linux computers (no option on their screens and the ordering system rejected the laptop without Reader). Eventually I bought it via the 'Guest' checkout. Could NOT have been harder to buy.