[ale] New laptop

[Brian MacLeod]

On Wed, Sep 30, 2009 at 7:27 PM, George Allen <glallen01 at gmail.com> wrote:

> My home laptop broke, physically, after 5 years of abuse (IBM's stand
> up well), so I am looking to buy a new one. Considerations are:
>
> -Thinkpad T or X series. - I've had a T41 (still running headless w/
> dead LCD after 7years) and X32 (latest, cpu fan died) I like IBM, like
> the keyboard, prefer the trackpoint to a touchpad, and am satisfied
> with the durability. Also- IBM hardware generally supports linux.
>
> -Apple- always wanted one, couldn't afford one before now, am tempted
> but realized I could even get the IBM X200-Tablet for the price of a
> 15in macbook pro. Also questionable linux support, because I would
> install linux on this. They seem durable, but I don't know that I
> quite like the keyboard/trackpad much.
>
> So, what are anyone's thoughts on running linux on a 15in macbook pro?
> Any other suggestions aimed at good linux support, and general
> durability? Fast is good, but not looking for more business than a
> gaming machine, although gl support would be nice. Target range 1500
> +/-500 depending on specs.
>


So, I'm going to go out on a limb here for just a bit, and make a slightly
different suggestion, but this is highly dependent on your needs for your
linux machine:

Get the Apple, leave it running Mac OS X, but run your linux machine as a VM
using (suggestions have been strong, and it is the one I use at home)
VirtualBox from Sun to host it.  Then, depending on what you need, you can
export your X apps to the Apple, or run a full desktop environment as a
window on the Mac.

My reasoning: when I need to get something done quickly (common office
stuff, browsing, email), the Mac certainly fits the task.  When I need
something more intricate, I can do what I need and easily acquire the
software for linux.  I get the best of both worlds as far as productivity,
and, if I do things right, can even revert changes I made to the VM or even
spawn off a couple of clones. I also have Dropbox running on the physical
and VMs as well as a Windows box elsewhere so I have access to my data.

Now, if you're doing process/graphics intense stuff in linux, and the apps
available on Mac won't fit/cost way too much, then obviously this suggestion
may not work so well for you.

And the touchpad on the Macs: once you learn the tricks, I feel I can do
more (reliably) with the Mac touchpad than on any of my other machines.  Add
Quicksilver to the Mac, and suddenly you can drive the machine by the
keyboard pretty well too.

Brian
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