Can I Buy a Linux "Ultrabook"?

GordonR on 27/04/2016 - 22:43

Is there anywhere selling a high-spec, but lightweight laptop (aka Ultrabook) with Linux installed and configured.

Getting tired of waiting for Apple to produce hardware to match recent Win laptops like XPS13, Surface Book etc, but I need a Unix-based OS, either OSX or some variant of Linux (probably RHEL as that the variant supported at work).

I am not keen on buying a Windows machine and trying to wipe it and install / configure it myself, and would be willing to pay a (small) premium to have it done for me.

Computing

Comments

  • Diji1 on 27/04/2016 - 22:48
    -4

    Are you a hacker?

  • scotty on 27/04/2016 - 23:06
    +1

    I would love a ready-made Linux Ultrabook although the choice seems to be quite limited. Skylake also does not play that well with Linux especially all the new power saving features.

    The best one out there is probably the Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition that comes loaded with Ubunutu LTS. Not sure about the compatibility with 16.04 though, also it's US only.

  • the-mal on 28/04/2016 - 08:36

    As long as you get a mainstream ultrabook that has fairly generic hardware there will be incredibly basic step-by-step guides that will get Ubuntu up and running in well under an hour (including download and update time).

    For example, here's one for the XPS 13: http://hgdev.co/install-ubuntu-15-10-on-the-dell-xps-13-9343…

    Just do a quick Google to make sure the make/model you pick is Linux friendly before you buy. It's honestly a no-brainer to get a dual-boot working nowadays as long as you're not running on super special hardware.

    Also, depending on what you're planning to do in Linux, you will want to keep your eyes out for this:

    Bash on Windows 10 - It's currently running on the Insider Preview versions of Win 10 and will be released to all Win 10 builds in the next month or so. And that's not bash emulation, that's a running version of Ubuntu sitting inside Windows effectively so you can apt-get any terminal based tool you want.

    • GordonR on 30/04/2016 - 20:24

      The Bash on Windows 10 sounds like the right option for me.

      I'd hate to pay $3k for nice hardware and then find that my version of Linux didn't have the drivers to support the screen at full resolution (or any similar sort of thing where some of the hardware doesn't work properly)

      But if I could have the hardware compatibility of Windows and the software tools of Linux combined, then sign me up…

      (Unless Apple can come up with a competitive update to the Mac Book Air which is my current workhorse when travelling.)

      • scotty on 01/05/2016 - 08:13
        +1

        If bash and a Linux command-line environment is good enough for you then why not just run Linux inside a VM? I usually do development / testing inside a VM anyway (Virtual Box) as deployment environment (Debian 8) can be very different from development (Win10 or Ubuntu LTS).

        • GordonR on 01/05/2016 - 10:35

          Probably enough for what I do, but not sure how well other software performs. Last time I looked at VM they were terrible but that's probably more than 10 years ago.

          I'll investigate all these good ideas…

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