Best laptop for programming?
 

hey all,

I am starting to take my programming hobby a bit more seriously so I am thinking on getting a laptop just for that. I am looking on developing mostly for the maemo competition, so meego/maemo/sailfish and iOS/Android and maybe tizen :P

Basically the laptop need to run the code and I am debugging with hardware so I won't be running a emulator that often. (unless I do not have the target device :P)

My first choice would be a MacBook air 13in (cheap and linux) or a new Razor Blade Stealth (bit overkill tho but powerful)

Any advice or recommendation for me?

I can't wait to start developing for the competition!!

Thanks in advance

Re: Best laptop for programming?
 

Any modern laptop will do.

Re: Best laptop for programming?
 

Macs are great but also pretty bad due to the price and the quality. They got the strangest issues :D but if money is no issue, go for it. Cheap Linux?

Is this computer only for learning to code? Then I say get a cheap windows computer. Especially if you are coding at home.

But if you decide to get a mac...buy it in US. It's so much cheaper that you almost get the trip for free ;)

Re: Best laptop for programming?
 

I just love Thinkpads, they are built to last and have that developer feeling. (The T series, that is, not the consumer grade crapload)
So any 2nd hand T60/61, T400, similar like that. Cost almost nothing, built like tanks.

Re: Best laptop for programming?
 

In case you care, there is a retailer from Essex, that sells RYF-certified X200 and T400 with Libreboot and Trisquel pre-installed. [1]
Compared to professionally refurbished laptops of the same type (in Germany), the prices seem quite hefty, but if their prices for the service alone are an indication for the difficulty of the modification, then the hardware is actually a bargain.

[1] https://minifree.org/product-category/laptops/

Re: Best laptop for programming?
 

Get a good display, whatever you get. Clear, easy-to-read -- for you -- and nice and big, considering what you've got to spend and how much carrying around you need do. The older I get, the bigger a screen I want, so see it in person to make sure the size and resolution work for you in a programming environment.

Coding can be really tedious when ls and 1s and Os and 0s get hard to distinguish, e.g. Not to mention having to frequently tab or switch windows all the time when you really might prefer to see two or more things simultaneously but there isn't the room.

Re: Best laptop for programming?
 

+1!

I have had T60 and now T420. Thinkpads are awesome, they are pretty easy to disassemble+assemble, easy to upgrade (Eg. RAM and more disks). :) Thinkpads are well supported if you want to run Linux :)

Re: Best laptop for programming?
 

T410 ... everything you could ever need is under your fingers.
Any interface, good performance, low price, great build quality.

Comparing a T410 to a recent "ultra thin" laptop makes appear the recent one a toy to read newspapers.

Re: Best laptop for programming?
 

I can recommend the FHD Asus Zenbooks - light, half the price of a MacBook, same or better performance.

Re: Best laptop for programming?
 

Unless you have one of those T410 with the wonky fan controller.

Thinkpads are overrated in my opinion. Yes, they are usually good (I have a T430, which is quite ok). But Dell Latitude/Precision, and Fujitsu Lifebook/Celsius are on par quality-wise. I've also heard good things about some HP series.
Stay away from Sony Vaios! They tend to have a screwed-up cooling system.