[wellylug] Linux laptop for software development

[Etienne Kruger]

Hi,

I can't help with experience using the ThinkPad but have been running a Dell XPS13 for a few months and it is great. The specs are close to what you are after. The angle on the webcam is weird (the screen bezel is too small so the webcam sits at the bottom of the screen) but it works well enough. With it being from Dell's project Sputnik the hardware all works well under Linux. There were a few minor issues with Intel's Kaby Lake graphics (errors in dmesg and screen flickers from time to time) but they seem to be sorted with the latest kernel 4.12. The XPS13 also has USB-C and I run an external monitor on it without any problems using a USB-C to HDMI adaptor.

In fact, I think anything from project Sputnik is awesome and they have quite a few to choose from. I don't think the actual 'developer edition' machines are available outside of the USA and Europe but the Windows models have the same hardware so it is just a wipe and install away from a developer edition.

Etienne


July 4, 2017 11:23 AM, "Matt Betts" <matt at publons.com> wrote:

> Hi,
> 
> I'm looking for some advice on purchasing linux compatible laptops for software development. Our
> team currently use a mix of desktops and mac books. Our desktops work well but are not portable and
> virtualisation on osx is too slow compared to a native linux (Ubuntu 16.04) setup for running
> containers.
> 
> We've been looking at the ThinkPad T470. If anyone is running linux on this machine I'm interested
> in your experience. Especially around running duel monitors using USBC and any audio, webcam, fan,
> heat, sleep issues. If anyone has other recommendations our requirements are 16gb ram, good webcams
> (for video conferencing), 14 inch, FHD screens and a SSD.
> 
> Matt