Slashdot Mirror
Dell Continues Shipping Fresh Linux Laptops
jones_supa writes: In its latest move, Dell will be bringing Ubuntu 14.04 LTS to its top-of-the-line Precision M3800 workstation laptop and the latest model of the Dell XPS 13. Both systems will be running Ubuntu 14.04.1. According to Barton George, Dell's Director of Developer Programs, programmers had been asking for a better, officially-supported Ubuntu developer laptop. This came about from a combination of the efforts of Dell software engineer Jared Dominguez and enthusiastic feedback. Specs of M3800: 15.6" LCD @ 3840x2160, Intel i7 quad core CPU, NVIDIA Quadro GPU, up to 16 GB RAM. The bad news is, as Dominguez explained on his blog, this version of the M3800 doesn't support its built-in Thunderbolt 2 port out of the box. However, thanks to the hardware-enablement stack in Ubuntu, starting with upcoming Ubuntu 14.04.2, you will be able to upgrade your kernel to add some Thunderbolt support.
It's nice to see that Dell have put Linux as an OS option right next to WIndows (and $101 cheaper than Windows too). A bit strange for them to ship a Linux release that initially has no Thunderbolt support, though I suspect not many people use Thunderbolt-only hardware outside of the Apple ecosystem.
Defaults to an HDD in the config options which is also weird, especially since it appears to have 2 drive bays, so surely you'd want an SSD in there in one of the bays?
The higher res screen is only a $70 bump, so it would appear to be a no-brainer to pick that option. If the final price wasn't so eye-wateringly high (and me being in the UK probably means it'll either not appear on the UK dell site or be a dollar to pound conversion), it would be an attractive high-end Linux laptop.
Because slim laptops may not have DVD, HDMI/VGA output, and some tablets like the MS Surface do not have ethernet either. Only Thunderbolt can do this. USB 3.1 may change this but it is not finished.
They are essential for plugging into projects for presentations, linking up video cameras (this laptop is a workstation grade one so it has this use), ethernet (I didn't see if this is netbook with an ethernet or not), and can do HDMI as well for hi resolution presentations which again it has a QUADRO so engineers and video editors are the target besides software developers.
My coworker with a MS surface 2 is our network guru for the site. He plugs in his thunderbolt ethernet controller to wireshark and use a Cisco program for port scanning instead of a bulky laptop with limited battery life. I want to buy one as a result and without thunderbolt it is a toy.
You complain about specs and costs. I mention it has benefits besides its quirks for consumers and non engineers. Yes it is pricier but it does more and this is a high end developer or engineer workstation grade laptop.
http://saveie6.com/