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Ars Reviewer is Happily Bored With Dell's Linux Ultrabook

Posted by timothy on from the best-way-to-be-bored dept.

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.

10 of 181 comments (clear)

  1. glossy screen by blackjackshellac · · Score: 5, Informative

    This is why I will (sadly) never buy one of these.

    --
    Salut,

    Jacques

  2. Reminds me of when I moved to Ubuntu 9.04 by Duncan+J+Murray · · Score: 5, Insightful

    for the first time from XP.

    It was a bit of an anti-climax and a slight disappointment at first. Nothing happened. No pop-ups appeared. No first-time guide. No helpful hints. No gnashing hard-drive activity. Just silence and waiting for my command.

    Since then I've come to appreciate this as the #1 reason for using linux - when you actually want to get something done, it just seems to get out the way. It's a shame that more recent distro versions seem to be moving away from this though.

    D

    1. Re:Reminds me of when I moved to Ubuntu 9.04 by chipschap · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Since then I've come to appreciate this as the #1 reason for using linux - when you actually want to get something done, it just seems to get out the way. It's a shame that more recent distro versions seem to be moving away from this though.

      Mint is pretty good in this regard; that's why I've switched from Ubuntu (and to avoid Unity of course).

      As to the original article, though: yes, the product costs way more than I can spend on a laptop... I would have to buy a cheaper laptop and install Linux on my own. I don't at all mind doing this, but it does take time and patience.

      The article's author saying that the average user will never be able to live with running Linux, though, strikes me as incorrect. Sure, installing and maintaining Linux may be out of reach, as would be doing all the tweaks necessary with sound cards, etc.

      But running it? The average Jane or Joe that mostly needs a browser and little else? I set up a Mint box for my wife; she has no idea she's using a Linux system and doesn't care, as long as she can do email and Facebook and that sort of thing. I know of many such examples.

      To be fair, a key thing is to have someone available to maintain the distribution. But there aren't virus issues and "safe browsing" is just about a given, which I think is A Very Big Deal for the typical user.

  3. Sadly, that's actually noteworthy these days by Opportunist · · Score: 5, Interesting

    "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.
  4. Re:Still fiddly if you RTFA by tortovroddle · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Screaming frustration" in Unity means "Just Works".

  5. Re:Still fiddly if you RTFA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Then try KDE, where you can adjust the thickness of the window edge for grabbing. About six thicknesses to fatten up or slim down.
    Yes, they buried the setting, but it's under "Workspace Appearance".

  6. Re:Still fiddly if you RTFA by kelemvor4 · · Score: 5, Funny

    no, i said "i fucking hate fucking touchpads"

    That might be the problem. They're for controlling your mouse pointer, not sex.

  7. Re:Still fiddly if you RTFA by Arkiel · · Score: 5, Funny

    Every single Ars Technica laptop review complains about the trackpad. No trackpad is sufficient. As a matter of fact, we should all consider the presence of glowing praise about a trackpad in a Ars Technica review a clear signal that they're all being held hostage by crazed gunmen and the authorities need to be informed.

  8. Sweet laptop . . . by Kimomaru · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Dell makes some sweet laptops for Ubuntu and this new model seems to continue that tradition. I use the small form factor Latitude E6320 for work and play (with Ubuntu's 13.04 beta) and I'm happier than a pig in mud. If you're looking to move to a fully functional GNU/Linux distribution on a laptop or desktop, I must say that Canonical seems to have their act together. Just remember to run "sudo apt-get remove unity-lens-shopping". Nasty stuff.

  9. Re:Still fiddly if you RTFA by kwark · · Score: 5, Informative

    What do you need window edges for? Setup you window manager to use a modifier (alt in my case) key to interact with the window itself, eg:
    alt-button1: move
    alt-button2: resize
    alt-button3: lower/raise window
    Beats trying to grab edges, especially with "focus follows mouse" and a high anti focus stealing setting for the wm.