Guy Steele on Functional Code for Parallel Execution (2009) [video] - <AUTHOR> http://vimeo.com/6624203/

<comment><USER2> A great paper to read if you find this talk interesting is this one about data-parallel algorithms that Steele co-authored with Daniel Hillis in 1986: [http://uenics.evansville.edu/~mr56/ece757/DataParallelAlgori...](http://uenics.evansville.edu/~mr56/ece757/DataParallelAlgorithms.pdf)

</comment><comment><USER3> This was a really interesting talk. Pretty high information density.

It makes sense to use divide-and-conquer rather than a first-rest pattern when doing parallel computations on sequences. But I'm curious if that pattern can be applied to other data structures as well and not just tree structures like the conc list?

<comment><USER4> This pattern can be applied to a large set of collection representations, as long as a former collection can be divided into smaller parts which can be processed independently giving partial results to be combined into a final outcome using an associative combiner.

For instance, to compute a count of words, the former word collection can be either a conc tree in memory or a file divided in chunks or a bunch of files. In each case, the sub counts can be computed independently and reconciled into a total count.

The deep insight Guy Steele provides in his talk, is how to deal with the non trivial cases like the count of words in a file divided in chunks where words can cross chunk boundaries.

Hence, I highly recommend watching this talk. As further reading, I recommend too a post [1] that I written after having watched Guy Steele talk. [2] is a work in progress to implement the idea in OCaml.

[1] [http://acidalie.free.fr/unfoldvalue/blog/map-reduce- spirit.h...](http://acidalie.free.fr/unfoldvalue/blog/map-reduce-spirit.html)

[2] [https://github.com/didier-wenzek/odist](https://github.com/didier- wenzek/odist)

<comment><USER5> Indeed the cross-chunk recombination is quite something. We're used to clean cut boundaries and here he is going away from this rule to bring new opportunities. But I wonder how hard it is to think about, design and test such assoc. combiners ..

<comment><USER4> Yes, it may be quit hard to design such a combiner due to constraints both on the input (as the need for cross-chunk recombination), and on the output (as too early finalization preventing further combinations); with the consequence that we often have to imagine a genuine intermediate data representation of the problem.

But this complexity is mitigated by the fact that these associative combiners can be built incrementally using a reduced set of patterns, combiner compositions and transformations.

Have a look to this remarkably well written post [1] on incremental regular expressions (it appears that incremental computation is deeply related with parallel computation). It shows well, on a non-trivial example, how to build such an intermediate data representation with its associative combiner.

[1] [http://jkff.info/articles/ire/](http://jkff.info/articles/ire/)

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> What Guy says is his big message for the talk is on the slide seen at 2:34, transcribed below:

> This Talk Is about Performance > > The bag of programming tricks that has > served us so well for the last 50 years is the wrong way to think going > forward and must be thrown out.

</comment><comment><USER7> I haven't watched this talk for several years now, so my memory may be faulty.

That said, I highly recommend watching this talk. I think the most insights regarding cons v. conc lists are worth thinking about.

</comment><comment><USER8> If you liked this talk, or perhaps liked the topic but found the pacing a bit fast, here is a friendlier-paced revision of it presented at Strange Loop 2010: [http://www.infoq.com/presentations/Thinking-Parallel- Program...](http://www.infoq.com/presentations/Thinking-Parallel-Programming)</comment>


Alibaba Could Buy Yahoo for Free - <AUTHOR> http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-09-22/alibaba-could-buy-yahoo-for-free

<comment><USER2> Matt Levine remains the funniest, most clever financial reporter working today. There's really no limit to how many different iterations you can illustrate that Yahoo is worth negative $8 billion.</comment>


A Short History of Neoliberalism (1999) - <AUTHOR> https://www.tni.org/en/article/short-history-neoliberalism <comment><USER2> my response to this: _very_ frowny face >:(

thanks for posting, OP</comment>


Novelty Search Creates Robots with General Skills for Exploration [video] - <AUTHOR> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-EqOBqjTyU <comment><USER2> If novelty-based searches were better at developing "exploratory skills", shouldn't they outperform the traditional approach when ranked on how well they explore the new maze? But the video shows that they don't.</comment>


The "Linux" of online learning? edX takes big step toward open source goal - <AUTHOR> http://gigaom.com/2013/03/14/the-linux-of-online-learning-edx-takes-big-step-toward-open-source-goal/

<comment><USER2> I like the model of udacity classes; they don't have an end date so one is free to be as slow at completing the course work as their schedule allows.

Also, I would also like it if there was a better way to collaborate with fellow online students. I think one learns best when bouncing the topics between a group of people.

<comment><USER3> I really don't understand why coursera and edx classes ask me x hours per week. My amount of free time is not constant through time, so I can't enroll in edx AI class with realistic expectations and this really bugs me.

I think that all online classes should offer two paths:

1\. one for people that can follow lectures and homeworks, meeting deadlines and everything. This is what edx and coursera are now offering. 2\. the other for people that can't keep the course pace, allowing assignment submissions without deadlines.

<comment><USER4> I was taking a Coursera course (game theory), and found my work load in university was just too great to continue it. As far as I know, if I go back all the lectures and such are available still, and I can submit assignments for instant feedback. In general, after a timed course the content stays available so you can go back to it.

<comment><USER5> I agree with the OP's point in general, but disagree with you on the game theory course. This was the first course I've ever completed on Coursera and I think it's precisely because the time requirement is very low. They don't have any projects or essays or special software like other classes. It's an hour of video (30 min at 2x) and 5-10 multiple choice questions per week. The whole thing honestly requires 90 minutes of your time.

Contrast that with Daphne Koller's PGM class, which I also started taking a while ago but stopped. You had to install Octave and learn to use it, you had really time-intensive programming assignments, you had to answer a bunch of assignment questions, _and_ you had 10 multiple choice problem set questions every week. That class simply required too much work.

<comment><USER6> I didn't take the Game Theory course but that strikes me as quite easy by coursera standards. Perhaps you're downplaying the difficulty of the videos and multiple choice questions? An hour of video on coursera can take me 3 hours to complete if it's very complex material with many engagement checkpoints (where the video is paused and the student is required to answer a question on the material just presented)

<comment><USER5> I am a machine learning researcher working on game theory problems, so I suppose it's possible. I've never actually had any classes in game theory, so I took the Coursera one to have a firmer background on the subject. I actually learned a ton about things I wasn't aware of, but the mathematics were all very very basic. If you can solve a linear equation (e.g. 2 equations and 2 unknowns), you can ace this class.

Many (most?) of the videos did not even have any checkpoints. The class was only 7 weeks so there was not much of an endurance challenge either. It was also really well taught and I learned a lot without needing to pause and rewind, making 2x a breeze. They give a lot of concrete examples and walk through everything multiple times.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> The code is at: <https://github.com/edX/XBlock>

</comment><comment><USER8> Ever since I started taking online courses(edX,coursera,udacity) my knowledge improved immensely. I am excited to get home from work and watch the classes and try the homeworks.

I think this may be the most revolutionary technology to come out of the USA since computers themselves: extremely high quality distance learning.

Educating the masses is the most difficult mission in history and these courses do the job. I guarantee you that if you take Coursera, edX and Udacity courses you will see the world differently.

<comment><USER9> I agree. I am taking or rather I intermittently go and read course stuff from MIT's Learning Creative Learning course. You learn so much.</comment></comment>


Firefox 6 available, version 8 to offer add-on control - <AUTHOR> http://www.h-online.com/security/news/item/Firefox-6-available-version-8-to-offer-add-on-control-1322874.html

<comment><USER2> How you can know Chrome is doing this kind of versioning correctly: when you _don't know or care_ what version of Chrome you're running.

<comment><USER3> YES! I have never been happier with my switch to Chrome.

I'm actually quite frustrated with myself for having put my friends and family on Firefox as it's constantly needing updates, getting new versions, changing its look, etc.

It's more frustrating than dealing with IE now.

Mozilla's game of "look how fast we are moving" is absolutely frustrating and painful.

I can just click my "About Chrome" link now, and it says it's up to date. How refreshing.

EDIT: All a Firefox update means to me anymore is that my plugins won't work anymore so I need to stick with an outdated, probably less secure, and slower Firefox version.

<comment><USER4> I've not had a problem with addons since 3.6. They've autoupgraded all the ones on the Mozilla site, so far as I can tell.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> Just downloaded Firefox 6. Umm... I don't have benchmark software to test internal improvements, but I don't really feel like any difference. Probably because Firefox 5 is already fast enough for me. But Xmarks addon is broken now, and I experienced some issues with trying to install some of the add-ons. Everything else is fine.

<comment><USER4> Yeah, it doesn't look like there are massive changes in 6. 7 is where the changes for memory are coming in, I'm rather looking forward to that.

On the other hand, the list of fixed bugs is pretty massive: [http://www.mozilla.com/en- US/firefox/6.0/releasenotes/buglis...](http://www.mozilla.com/en- US/firefox/6.0/releasenotes/buglist.html)

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> Won't bother with the upgrades until add-ons upgrading is dealt sensibly.

<comment><USER7> This is my biggest problem with Firefox. Up until Thursday, I was still running 3.6 because I really dislike dealing with add-on issues during upgrades. When a new version of Firefox comes out, I tend to backup my install, upgrade to see how badly it breaks, then revert back out to the older version.

When I finally upgraded to v5, I spent a solid hour trying to get the thing back into a workable state.

The biggest mistake I ever made with Firefox was installing Tab Mix Plus, because now I have easily manageable rows of tabs, which led me to using tabs as ephemeral bookmarks - things I want to read but not now. I currently have 175 tabs open (and no, I don't complain about memory usage - it's not that bad and I know what usage there is is my own fault).

To keep things in check, I use an extension called BarTab, which keeps tabs unloaded on restart until I switch to that tab. Upon upgrading to FF5, that extension broke horribly, leading all of my tabs to fire at once. Turning off compatibility checking didn't fix it, and neither did installing a beta version upgrade to the extension. In the end, I had to go searching the extension library until I found something called BarTab Lite, which worked.

Also, my theme was incompatible with Firefox >=4, but I resigned myself to just deal with it, since I was tired of being made fun of for not upgrading a not-quite-five-months out-of-date browser (the community seems to be becoming one of the worst parts of Firefox). Eventually, I found a new theme, which was a non-linked upgrade to my old one. It would be nice if that was a little more obvious.

That was a long winded way of saying I'd like to see more explicit links between extensions. Rather than saying "there are no upgrades for this broken extension", I'd prefer that there be a way to identify "spiritual successors" so that Firefox can tell you "it's got a different name, but this is where extension Foo lives now."

It would have saved me a lot of time and trouble, because as it stands right now it seems a lot of broken extensions don't have upgrades when really they do - they're just hidden and you need to spend some time looking for them.

(Sorry.. /rant)

</comment></comment><comment> alok-g As far as you can "trust" the updates that come, version numbers are not very useful. I generally see minor versions as bug fixes (number of bugs reduced hopefully) and major versions as major feature changes (number of bugs most likely increased).

Now I just cannot tell anymore whether to upgrade or not. Believe it or not, the current browser* is running just fine for me. I am OK with a speedier browser etc, but not at the cost of more trouble.

* Does it really matter which? (Firefox 5)

</comment><comment><USER8> Rapidrelease is really confusing me wildly, and all my customers. You support which of the 50 combined Chrome and FireFox versions now?

<comment><USER4> There are three versions of Firefox: Release (the version that you should be using) Beta (If you want to do some testing, or don't care about minor instability) Aurora (If you are feeling particularly risky and need a new feature NOW).

That's it.

</comment></comment><comment><USER9> the only thing that changed for me is disabling of some add-ons due to compatibility problem!!

</comment><comment><USER10> Unfortunately, FireBug doesn't work in FF6.

<comment><USER11> The latest Firebug claims to be compatible with FF5 and 6:

<http://blog.getfirebug.com/2011/08/10/firebug-1-8-1/>

You should try updating all your addons.

</comment></comment><comment><USER12> What the heck, I seriously updated to FF 5.0.1 TWO DAYS AGO

Still, this is great.

</comment><comment><USER13> Firefox _9_ will be out this December, lol, <https://wiki.mozilla.org/RapidRelease/Calendar>

Who on earth though this was a good idea?

So, every six weeks a new release - that means Version _15_ this time next year. Seriously?

<comment><USER14> I agree, the new version numbers are stupid. If they wanted to copy Chrome's rapid-release schedule, they should have just ditched the version numbers altogether (like Chrome) and just continuously and transparently kept their install base up to date.

There's also a real practical problem to fast-growing version numbers. Historically, a major release would have major new features and might break existing extensions. Minor releases were typically safe to install and were designed to be as compatible as possible with the version they were supplanting. With new major versions of Firefox coming out every 6 weeks you're constantly checking to make sure they haven't changed something critical.

<comment><USER15> Chrome has version numbers. And similarly, firefox doesn't make a big deal about new version releases since 4.0 was out. The ones that do make a big deal out of them are blogs and tech sites, but those will get bored of doing so soon enough.

<comment><USER16> Chrome hides the version number, because 98% of the time, it doesn't matter. There's no mention of it on there download page (<http://www.google.com/chrome/>). They make it available only if you need to get specific.

Firefox, OTOH, still advertises their version number right on the download button (<http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/new/>).

<comment><USER17> Chrome has no version number, firefox has a tiny version number on the button. You're really going to say that chrome is better because of that?

So HN has gotten past the language holy wars, but now they're arguing about something ridiculous like which browser is somehow better. Fantastic.

<comment><USER16> No where did I say it was "better", I'm just pointing out that Google has effectively made Chrome version-less, while Firefox is still making a big deal about each of their new versions, despite them having fewer changes.

I think you're looking for conflict where there is none. I use both browsers, depending on what I'm using them for.

<comment><USER17> How do you check the chrome version? Wrench -> About Chrome

How do you check the firefox version? Firefox -> Help -> About firefox

Does chrome post a blog post when there is a new version? Yes.

Does firefox post a blog post when there is a new version? Yes.

Does someone on HN make a thread when there is a new version of either? Usually.

Neither one is making a big deal about their versions. _You_ are.

<comment><USER16> I'm just pointing out differences. Hardly a big deal, it's just clear that Mozilla is still transitioning to thinking less about distinct versions.

A couple of examples of where Mozilla does make the version number clear:

* The download link

* The downloaded file (Firefox Setup 6.0.exe)

* The new version page that automatically comes up the first time you run the new version (<http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/6.0/whatsnew/>)

* And, most annoyingly, the add-on version check and resulting incompatibilities.

That last one actually is kind of a pain, since, as other people have mentioned, not all add-on authors have updated their add-ons to be compatible with 6.0, despite that being a single character change to an XML file for 98% of them. (Fortunately, addons.mozilla.org does this for authors, so it is only the ones hosting the add-ons themselves that are a problem.)</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


Steganography and Steganalysis: Different Approaches [pdf] - <AUTHOR> https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1111/1111.3758.pdf <comment><USER2> "Steganography is the technique of hiding confidential information within any media. Steganography is often confused with cryptography because the two are similar in the way that they both are used to protect confidential information. The difference between the two is in the appearance in the processed output; the output of steganography operation is not apparently visible but in cryptography the output is scrambled so that it can draw attention. Steganlysis is process to detect of presence of steganography. In this article we have tried to elucidate the different approaches towards implementation of steganography using 'multimedia' file (text, static image, audio and video) and Network IP datagram as cover. Also some methods of steganalysis will be discussed."</comment>


Ask HN: What do you think needs improvement? - <AUTHOR>

A good friend and I are looking to transition out of our current full-time jobs and start our own thing. Together we have extensive experience in UX, web dev, programming, and databases and we feel like we're ready to put those skills to the test. We've both been out of college for less than 5 years, and since we both have enjoyable jobs with flexible hours, we feel like the time is now.
Some people say ideas are a dime a dozen since most fail to deploy. We're having trouble finding really solid ideas, but we're passionate about execution. We're very interested in productivity tools, ticketing systems, CRMs, and other SaaS apps that might fall into those categories and help people like you.
What are some areas where your current tools just aren't cutting it? <comment><USER2> Up to very recently I would have recommended that you forget the areas that you mention - productivity, ticketing, CRM - because they are very crowded spaces. But the fact is that they are trying to solve fundamental and eternal problems that people have and it's just a matter of finding solutions that work better or differently than the competitors'. Trello is a great example on how you can bring something fresh and usable to a very crowded space. <https://trello.com/>

I would throw money at you if you could give me a software development and deployment platform where I didn't have to worry about the OS, libraries, uptime/scalability, email servers, etc. Something that delivers the best parts of WebFaction+Heroku+Google Apps+Linode for those of us who want agility and performance without all the typical bullshit and hassle.

</comment><comment><USER3> Searching for stuff is still a huge pain for me. While everyone and their aunt seems to be rushing off to build social recommendation engines to suggest the perfect colour for your next puppy, it's still bloody hard to look for stuff beyond keyword search. For example, it's still a hack job looking for news or blog posts in chronological order.

On-site search for almost all sites is very poor. By default, people use a google custom search engine and the filtering options are actually not very good.

So, I think search is still a good problem to attack.</comment>


Nigerian astronaut lost in space needs $3m to get home - <AUTHOR> https://boingboing.net/2016/02/12/nigerian-astronaut-lost-in-spa.html <comment><USER2> I couldn't stop laughing at the title and this very creative scam letter which has actually been out there for more than 14 years and reported on The Register. [0]

[0] [https://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/04/16/cosmic_419er](https://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/04/16/cosmic_419er)

The OP's title is gold.

</comment><comment><USER3> Maybe someone could write one regarding the SLS project launching into space</comment>


US money supply plunges at 1930s pace as Obama eyes fresh stimulus - <AUTHOR> http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/7769126/US-money-supply-plunges-at-1930s-pace-as-Obama-eyes-fresh-stimulus.html <comment><USER2> Bring back M3 reporting by the Fed. Everyone should be able to get this measure at the same time and for free.

But for now we can use: [http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate_data/money- supply-chart...](http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate_data/money-supply- charts)</comment>


Celebrities Threaten Google with $100M Lawsuit for Hacked Nude Photo - <AUTHOR> http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/celebrities-threaten-google-100-million-737544

<comment><USER2> From a linked article off this article...

>Moreover, Google lodges takedown notices it receives at ChillingEffects.org, so Verlander's demand now is public. That creates another issue because Google has in effect provided a road map for any voyeur looking for sites that refuse to remove stolen photos. Google has contributed to ChillingEffects.org for the sake of "transparency" — a funny word in the context of a now infamous privacy breach — but IP attorney Jon Steinsapir says Google "could use some discretion here for good manners and good taste."

No, Google cannot. Transparency that is not transparent does not work, every single removal demand will also come with a anti-transparency demand. While this is bad for a few people that have lost their privacy due to issues such as the listed in this article, the vast number of removal requests are by corporations seeking to control media they may or may not actually have rights to control and such actions need to be in the public eye.</comment>


Publicly Funded Schools That Are Allowed to Teach Creationism. - <AUTHOR> http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2014/01/creationism_in_public_schools_mapped_where_tax_money_supports_alternatives.html <comment><USER2> A high school in Pensacola, FL, where my girlfriend studied years ago, got sued by the ACLU for forcing students to pray. Teachers defended the practice, arguing that prayer was acceptable because nearly all the students were Christian.

I wonder how those teachers' perspectives will change over time, as America's ethnic and religious demographics change. If a predominantly Muslim public school requires students to pray, will the teachers in Pensacola start citing constitutional concerns?

<comment><USER3> _Teachers defended the practice, arguing that prayer was acceptable because nearly all the students were Christian_

And this is a clear illustration of why you should never put minority rights up for majority vote.

<comment><USER4> ^-- This is the most important thing said on this whole topic.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> This has been happening for a long time, and resulted in the Pastafarian movement: venganza.org

</comment><comment><USER6> Why is slate doing this? Shouldn't we be teaching every point of view the students are going to encounter objectively instead of censoring "unwanted things"?

<comment><USER7> No, because anybody who believes in creationism is a completely backward person and incapable of rational, critical thought. Even on the off-chance they somehow come up with something that makes sense on another topic, anything they say is suspect.

So, no, we shouldn't be teaching every point of view, because that'd be stupid.

Similarly, I've flagged this article, because it's just another "ho ho ho look how superior we are to those backwards Southerners yes...."

<comment><USER8> > anybody who believes in creationism is a completely backward person and > incapable of rational, critical thought.

Was that meant to be sarcastic? Because that's rather bigoted. I think that creationism is irrational, but it's a very large jump to say that a person is therefore incapable of critical thought.

<comment><USER7> My entire post was sarcasm, though reading back through it it is rather dry and non-obvious.

<comment><USER8> Ah, my bad.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> Science is all about observation and repeatable experiments. When it comes to the question of how we got here, both creationist and evolutionists have the daunting task of convincing us to believe in an extraordinary tale with very little supporting evidence on either side. Either you believe a supreme being willed the world into existence or you believe that fish turned into people -- when you boil them down, both explanations are quite implausible. It seems fair to me that teachers would tell their students "Obviously we weren't around to witness the origin of the planet, but here are a couple theories people have on how we got here..."

<comment><USER10> In the case of creationism, you're only vapidly correct. There's a geologic record, stratigraphy, and a fossil record that have to be accounted for. Simply put, no variation on creationism can account for all of those things. I don't see how some obvious creation myth, no matter how powerful the backers, can be taught with a straight face, much less in public school.

As far as intelligent design, I'll agree to teaching that, as long as we follow up on the consequences. First, what criteria can I apply on my own to decide whether a biological feature (the vertebrate eye, for example) is irreducibly complex? Second, what does the existence of intelligent design have to say about theology and the various hagiographies? Does ID make monotheism or polytheism more likely for example? Can we determine characteristics of God or gods based on examples of Design?

There are plenty of observational sciences, astronomy and geology and economics among them. What you wrote is hackneyed and untrue.

<comment><USER9> I think you're reacting to a lot more than what I actually said. The indisputable fact is that you and I weren't there and it's impossible to prove either intelligent design or evolution because neither is reproducible.

<comment><USER11> >>it's impossible to prove either intelligent design or evolution because neither is reproducible.

I don't even know where to begin..... If that was the case science could tell us nothing about anything that isn't perfectly reproducible.</comment></comment></comment></comment>


Zoho free mail and Yandex (better?) alternative - <AUTHOR> https://postale.io <comment><AUTHOR> -> compared to Zoho: not limited to webmail only (e.g. POP/IMAP enabled).

-> compared to Yandex: way simpler, and no ads, but limited to 5 mailboxes per domain.</comment>


For Free Throws, 50 Years of Practice Is No Help - <AUTHOR> http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/04/sports/basketball/04freethrow.html?ref=sports&pagewanted=all <comment><USER2> While free throws is an important part of the game, it's relatively minor compared to other factors that make basketball players great - athleticism, basketball IQ, ball handling, height, playing under pressure, defensive ability, etc..

I wouldn't be surprised if other metrics have been steadily increasing over the past 50 years. Basketball players in college and the NBA simply aren't selected for their free throw ability.

<comment><USER3> The fact that is has been approximately constant over such a long period of time is what I find most surprising. I would naively expect many of the improving factors that you mentioned would lead to an increase in free throw percentages as well. Clearly, there are some teams which hit >75% and even occasionally close to 80%. I like the idea that there is a tradeoff in that every hour spent training for free throws leads to a decline in other skills. But still what's special about the 69% number? I would like to see how much time the 75% teams spend doing free throw drills compared to their competitors.

<comment><USER4> Similar to optimisation theory, each skill has positive and negative effects on other skills. This has been thoroughly explored in fields such as profit maximisation and breeding, but little has been done in sports.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER3> Why don't they just use the granny shot? The cross section of the basket is much higher from the typical granny-shot trajectory is it not?

<comment><USER5> It is, but it is still an inferior technique for two reasons:

1\. It is impractical as a technique at any other time because it is so easily defended. This means that it would need to be developed as an additional skill.

2\. It requires the coordination of both hands. Proper shooting form requires only the use of one hand and the elbow is in line with the basket. Good shooters generally only miss on distance for this reason.

I think the takeaway from the article is that a free through is bound by players' psychology rather than athletic ability. Other accuracy based solo- efforts also haven't shown improvement:

 _There are measures in other sports that have shown similar consistency, like golf scores or batting averages, but none of them are as straightforward as lobbing a ball toward a basket._

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> (pretty irrelevant:) Jose Calderon is doing pretty good: [http://www.blogto.com/sports_play/2009/01/toronto_raptors_jo...](http://www.blogto.com/sports_play/2009/01/toronto_raptors_jose_calderon_chasing_free- throw_record/)</comment>


The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity - <AUTHOR> http://www.cantrip.org/stupidity.html <comment><USER2> Before you start categorising yourself or other people, you might want to read up on the Dunning-Kruger effect,

        The Dunning–Kruger effect is a cognitive bias in
        which "people reach erroneous conclusions and make
        unfortunate choices but their incompetence robs them
        of the metacognitive ability to realize it". The
        unskilled therefore suffer from illusory superiority,
        rating their own ability as above average, much higher
        than in actuality; by contrast the highly skilled
        underrate their abilities, suffering from illusory
        inferiority.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect>

</comment><comment><USER3> Suspending disbelief for a moment, and taking this seriously ...

I take issue with the following statement:

> A stupid person is more dangerous than a bandit.

Sometimes, perhaps. However, a bandit, by his gain, can give himself more resources with which to continue his banditry. A stupid person, on the other hand, will tend to deprive himself of resources.

For example, I decide I want to be nasty. I'll drive around town and siphon gasoline out of people's cars. As a bandit, I might put this gas in my tank, thus enabling me to drive on to the next victim. I'm not a perfect bandit, since it cost me some gas to get to my victim, and so the total amount of available gasoline in the world is reduced by my actions, but I do gain somewhat. On the other hand, as a stupid person, I might simply dump the siphoned gas on the ground. And eventually, I run out of gas, making it more difficult for me to victimize others.

(Okay, I'll stop taking it seriously now.)

</comment><comment><USER4> If you can get past the curt/cocksure/consciously-provocative first two laws, the laws starting at the third have an interesting quadrant-based analysis of human interactions.

The stuff about 'bandits with overtones of intelligence' brings to mind Coasian analyses -- we really don't want to prohibit such net-positive banditry, just arrange side payments. So it didn't surprise me to find at the end that the piece was written by an economics professor.

</comment><comment><USER5> His laws are too rigid. I gravitate between the areas on his chart, depending on various factors.

Alcohol consumed, location, whether I'm among friends or not, etc.

<comment><USER6> It's a 2-by-2 matrix, so of course it's going to be oversimplified.

The stupid people often believe they're pursuing their own gain, but are too ignorant and misguided to do so.

In practice, I think the bandits are more dangerous. In a corrupt and declining society such as ours, they end up running the show.

Stupid people are like the magnetic charges in a block of iron. Because their stupidity is fairly random, they tend to cancel each other out under normal conditions, and therefore are not very dangerous (except to themselves) on a macroscopic level. When those charges become aligned and they now have macroscopic pull (as we see in the modern "religious right" and the Tea Party movement) they become scary, but that can only happen when they've been manipulated by (crafty, and likely intelligent at least in the IQ sense) bandits.

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> Stupid people usually are a burden. But for startups they're an asset. We make complicated things so simple and dangerous things so easy that those morons out there can use them without hurting others and themselves (too much). The process of creating a solution for the non-geeks out there means: "Dumbing down." It's a pain. And the price they pay heals our intellectual wounds. :)

<comment><USER8> My wife likes to say: the problem with making something idiot-proof is that they will always invent a bigger idiot.

<comment><USER9> One teacher once said: The sum of all human intelligence is constant over the time.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> "stupidity" is a poorly-formed category evoked by those too lazy to find the real processes determining other people's behaviors.

</comment><comment><USER11> if you suffer from the action of a stupid person, you have participated in an interaction where both you and the other party lost. By the author's definition, you are stupid.

<comment><USER12> No, the author says that the person who PERFORMS an action that causes loss to both parties is stupid.

</comment></comment><comment><USER13> What pointless drivel.

The author starts off by being blatantly offensive to the point where I wondered if he was trolling.

Then, as if to excuse himself with a "ahhh! got you all!" he drops this gem halfway down the article:

> _"A stupid person is a person who causes losses to another person or to a > group of persons while himself deriving no gain and even possibly incurring > losses."_

Thanks, if we're going to go around redefining the accepted _and_ colloquial definition of "stupid", it would seem relevant to put this near the top of your treatise.

This would also seem to contradict the author's previous assertion that stupidity is genetic and largely unrelated to nurture - unless the author seriously believes that personality traits (i.e., the tendency to go for lose- lose arrangements) are genetic.

Plausible claim, but pointless without real research, or at the _very very_ least some semblance of qualification for the author to make such a wild assertion.

I couldn't really make it too far beyond that without being profoundly disturbed by the author's self-important vigorous mental masturbation.

<comment><USER14> its funny! relax!

<comment><USER13> If that was supposed to be satire, it went _right_ over my head :S

<comment><USER15> It was tongue-in-cheek. Like most humor, parts are more or less true.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> That was really stupid.</comment>


You Can Learn A Lot About America From Each State's Internet Search History - <AUTHOR> http://blog.estately.com/2014/05/you-can-learn-a-lot-about-america-from-each-states-internet-search-history/

<comment><AUTHOR> I ran across this and thought a discussion of the techniques would be interesting. I don't see the results themselves generating interesting discussion though.

<comment><USER2> I don't know, I found that both entertaining and insightful.</comment></comment>


Copilot was bipolar, not "depressed," and had been given an antipsychotic - <AUTHOR> http://asserttrue.blogspot.com/2015/04/what-drugs-was-copilot-taking.html

<comment><USER2> I myself am Bipolar; specifically I have Bipolar-Type Schizoaffective Disorder, which is somewhat like being manic-depressive and schizophrenic at the same time. You can read more about it at [http://www.warplife.com/mdc/books/schizoaffective- disorder/](http://www.warplife.com/mdc/books/schizoaffective-disorder/)

I am puzzled by the author's assertion that antidepressants aren't effective. That's not my own experience, nor the experience of many others that I know. However it is the case that any one antidepressant may not be effective for a specific individual. To find an effective medicine, one may have to try several different kinds. That experience is unpleasant, as it can take up to two months for an antidepressant to take effect, but after that the result is, without a doubt, remarkable.

Zyprexa is widely regarded by psychiatrists as one of the most-powerful antipsychotics. It is particularly effective for acute bipolar mania. However it can have the side effect of causing diabetes. As diabetes runs in my family, I avoid it, but I once specifically requested it at a time when I really did feel I needed it.

I've never heard of Zyprexa being used for OCD. However, once a medicine has been approved for any specific condition, it is quite common for such a medicine to be used off-label. Those off-label uses may or may not be backed by controlled, peer-reviewed studies. When a regulatory authority as - in the US - the FDA approves a drug, in general any MD may prescribe it for anything.

Akathesia is not "bizarre" and is a fairly common side effect of antipsychotic drugs. It is an inability to sit still. It can effect one's ability to work at a desk job; were I to get it, I'd have a hard time working as a coder.

When I am manic, I do some ill-advised things.

On the other hand, in the US the Americans with Disabilities Act forbids discrimination for reason of employment or housing against the mentally ill. The simple fact that I have Bipolar-Type Schizoaffective Disorder cannot be considered when determining whether to make me a job offer. On the other hand, suppose I became manic on the job, and emailed all the company's trade secrets to a competitor. That's something one could be fired for.

I expect but don't really know that the EU has similar laws as well.

If you'd like to know more about bipolar mania, manic depression, depression - including suicidal depression, as I have attempted several times - please ask me your questions and I will be happy to answer them.</comment>


Ask HN: New git feature? Comments on edit - <AUTHOR>

I constantly find myself doing git add -p before a commit. While comments themselves are great, sometimes I feel like having the ability to annotate these edits so that I could refer to when I looked up old commits would be helpful.<p>IE: A comment that represents my aim / goal or theory on why im making this change. Would be a nice additional level to comments I think. <comment><USER2> Use an issue tracker for this, and reference issue IDs in your commit logs.</comment>


Neurogenesis linked to aerobic exercise - <AUTHOR> http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2016/04/how-neuroscientists-explain-the-mind-clearing-magic-of-running.html <comment><USER2> Most of the neurogenesis studies are done in rodents. So the conclusion should be carefully taken, especially for something like neurogenesis which varies wildly across species.

Running promotes neurogenesis, but also enriched environment, many drugs, genetics etc. Its effect in mice is also somewhat elusive at this point: we aren't sure whether it promotes learning or forgetting.

That being said, all the nice cognitive effects from exercise probably all due to endorphins (literally endogenous morphine) released in the brain afterwards.

<comment><USER3> How distinguishable are externally introduced endorphins to morphine or heroin?

Billion dollar startup idea: insulin pump-like device that lets you watch hours of ads for heroin infusions..

<comment><USER4> Actually, runner's high is caused by endocannabinoids, not endorphins. This NYT article[1] has a decent writeup and a link to the actual journal article. So, not sure how well your startup idea will work, THC infusions maybe?

[1] [http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/well/2015/10/07/homing-in- on...](http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/well/2015/10/07/homing-in-on-the- source-of-runners-high/?referer=)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> A treatment for PTSD, called EMDR, involves trying to enhance the right/left communication in the brain. This is done by eye tracking back and forth from left to right. I personally know two people that this was effective on, but __there is a lack of hard data __on whether this works or not in general.

However, the PTSD specialist that worked with these two individuals suggested that running (and walking) long distances can create the same effect since the person is continually scanning the environment. This would alleviate PTSD symptoms plus anxiety and depression in her patients.

<comment><USER6> If scanning the environment while walking or jogging works, then I'd recommend learning how to identify edible mushrooms. Whenever you're outside you go into 24/7 extreme scanning mode that is pretty much impossible to turn off.

Beginning mushroom hunters find mushrooms by seeing them. Expert mushroom hunters just see things in their peripheral vision that are consistent with a mushroom being there. (E.g. some leaves out of place, a pop of color where there shouldn't be, a wisp of smoke, etc.) By the time you actually consciously focus your eyes/attention on the area and get close enough to see whether or not there really is a mushroom, you're already pretty sure whether or not you've found something.

<comment><USER7> Why a wisp of smoke? Because they see something grey or are mushrooms out there starting forest fires?

<comment><USER6> If the mushrooms are older you can sometimes see the spores before seeing the actual mushroom. This obviously happens with puffballs, but I've also seen it with Honey Mushrooms and Maitake.

These are really bad for you to breathe in though, so if you see this happening then definitely go in the other direction.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> Unfortunately, some of the benefits of running may prove elusive to those of us living in urban settings.

[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23073213](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23073213)

<comment><USER9> Could always run in a 3M respirator. The reduced airflow would make it extra intense, if not untenable. On the other hand, frequent breaks due to being stopped by police would probably balance that out.

<comment><USER10> There are some reviews of different options here: [https://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike- blog/2015/oct/0...](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike- blog/2015/oct/07/avoiding-pollution-on-bike-we-test-cycling-anti-pollution- masks-respro-totobobo-biologic)

<comment><USER8> Some of the more dangerous pollutants are ultra-fine particles (less than 100nm in size). I wonder how effective these masks are for trapping these particles. I can only find information on how well they trap particles larger than 100nm.

<comment><USER11> Many people don't realize how dangerous small particles can be over many years. Something that doesn't seem dangerous can cause scars on lung tissue with constant exposure to it over many years.

My dad has idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis or IPF it's probably from breathing in small particles over the years which causes scarring of lung tissue. Although the idiopathic part means how it occurs is not known for sure. He worked a blue collar job and often breathed in dust from various things.

Lungs are only for air don't mess with your lungs!

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> > After about 30 to 40 minutes of a vigorous aerobic workout – enough to make > you sweat – studies have recorded increased blood flow to this region, > which, incidentally, is associated with many of the attributes we associate > with "clear thinking": planning ahead, focus and concentration, goal- > setting, time management.

I wonder how HIIT stacks up against running in this regard. When done properly, it's impossible to do it for the said 30 minutes, yet it makes one sweat no less than that 40 minute run. For example, the routine I follow daily takes about 15 minutes and consists of series of calisthenics a minute/half a minute long with 20 seconds of rest between them. By 15 minutes mark it leaves me breathless and drives every muscle to exhaustion. If it's all about blood movement, then I assume HIIT should compare well since the routine quickly drives my heart rate up and keeps it relatively high for hours afterwards.

<comment><USER13> They only talk about neurogenesis here but here's an article that says it's not as good for neurogenesis.

[http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/02/17/which-type-of- exerc...](http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/02/17/which-type-of-exercise-is- best-for-the-brain/?_r=0)

I could find being forced to randomly run on a treadmill and then slow down to be extremely stressful, which is bad for neurogenesis, so I don't know how representative this experiment is.

<comment><USER12> Agree, the stress might have negated possible positive outcomes. In my case, though, I'm sticking with it purely for the joy of it--15 min. of HIIT at the end of the work while you are hungry and tired followed by a cold shower/bath for another 15 min. is like being knocked out and woken up after a long sleep --makes you relaxed and focused for the rest of the evening.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER14> >vigorous aerobic exercise, said Karen Postal, president of the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology. "That's it," she said. "That's the only trigger that we know about."

Actually that isn't true.

[https://www.jci.org/articles/view/25509](https://www.jci.org/articles/view/25509)

<comment><USER15> I thought antidepressants such as Prozac were shown to have a neurogenesis effect.

</comment></comment><comment><USER16> Considering we are the most long-distance and endurance optimized land animal evolution has come up with, why do we continue to be surprised that running is good for us?

<comment><USER17> I think that when we as individuals each discover this, we are struck by it. It's one thing to read that exercise is good for you, another thing to actually feel the goodness.

</comment></comment><comment><USER18> If you enjoy that article I think you will get heaps out of John J. Ratey's book Spark. It describes the connections between mental health and exercise in many dimensions. I like that it both speaks layperson and gives scientific details to spring off from, but some friends wish it was either or, not both.

<comment><USER19> If you enjoyed this article it's hard to imagine there exist other things on the subject you wouldn't enjoy much more. Read What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, which is mentioned in the article, for instance.

<comment><USER15> The author started running because he knew writing was a very unhealthy line of work that could lead to an early grave.

Those of us in technology should be even more worried.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER17> It feels good after a workout. Running or powerlifting, I feel the same effects.

<comment><USER20> Endorphins make you happy. That's my response to anyone asking why I "bother" to run

<comment><USER21> In your personal experience, did you find it taken some amount of practice, or to clear a certain barrier of fitness, before you started to enjoy running?

I've been training for about three months now and I spent about 6 weeks of that feeling sick the entire time, and the more recent 6 weeks just not enjoying it.

<comment> david-given Some people just don't enjoy exercise. I'm one of them. The only way I can do it is through sheer willpower.

I've heard about the endorphin thing; I think it's happened to me exactly once, after climbing a mountain, and it was really creepy and I don't want it to happen again. The only thing I feel when finishing exercise is 'oh thank god that's over'.

What I've found is that the more I train, the fitter I get, and so the longer I can prolong the discomfort, stress and boredom. Maybe you're not one of those people --- but if you are, I'm sorry.

(In fact, the most _annoying_ thing are that the people who _do_ enjoy exercise simply don't believe any of this, and produce unhelpful platitudes like 'you just haven't found something you like yet' or 'but if you keep doing it you'll find you're enjoying it'...)

<comment><USER22> You could try doing "fun" things instead of things that rely on endorphins. Bouldering, wrestling, soccer... Something that keeps your brain occupied as well as your muscles.

I don't really follow my own advice, but I used to boulder regularly when I lived in Berlin, and I liked it.

<comment> david-given Bouldering I've tried --- it's okay, but it's not really aerobic exercise, which is what I'm looking for.

Competitive sports --- flat no. They just don't keep my attention.

What I do is run, because I can build that into my commute, so it doesn't feel like it's a _complete_ waste of time. Right now I'm capable of making myself run to work twice a week, 7km each time, which is okay. Hopefully when summer comes round again I'll start running back again as well.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER23> nitpick: The actual title of the article is "How Neuroscientists Explain the Mind-Clearing Magic of Running" and that's like the best summary it can get. Neurogenesis (a word not even in the article) being linked to exercise is only one of the mechanisms involved (another commenter mentions endorphines as well, which strangely isn't in the article)

<comment><USER19> double nitpick: 'neurogenesis' is in the article, it is in the third sentence of the third paragraph.

But yes, it is not the focus of the article, because the article has almost no focus. There is an irony in the idea that a runner writing an article about using running to get focus and calm would be so unfocused, disjoint, frenetic and confused, but only a minor irony.

<comment><USER23> lol got me there, I thought I read it indeed but then afterwards did a page search which didn't find any matches and I was like 'meh, computer's probably right'. It was, because it was case sensitive and I copied 'Neurogenesis' from the title here :]

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER24> Adding a plug for Ratey's book "Spark" ([https://www.amazon.com/Spark- Revolutionary-Science-Exercise-...](https://www.amazon.com/Spark- Revolutionary-Science-Exercise-Brain/dp/0316113514/)) which is a pretty good lay introduction to a lot of the research on cognition and exercise as well as exercise's role in ameliorating depression, anxiety, stress response, and some neurological deficits. Recommended by my physician. Turns out the wonder drug we were looking for might have been "take a lap".

</comment><comment><USER25> Anyone else feel uncomfortable and mild mental-claustrophobia when they run? Time seems to slow to a crawl. I'be never been able to get past that to enjoy running.

<comment> wu-ikkyu Putting in some headphones with good pump up music on helps. Also, try running somewhere outside with good scenery (I.e. trail running).</comment></comment>


Starbuck's growth chart by # of stores - <AUTHOR> https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Starbucks_stores_graph.png <comment><AUTHOR> OP: I thought this was a pretty interesting depiction of exponential growth and the infamous "cockroaching" of startups, since it took about 15 years of operating for them to really kickstart their growth

<comment><USER2> doesn't fit for a "Show HN:" though: [https://news.ycombinator.com/showhn.html](https://news.ycombinator.com/showhn.html)

<comment><AUTHOR> Shoot. How can I delete the post?

<comment><USER2> Can you still edit the title? Otherwise just leave it, when a mod sees it they'll fix the title.</comment></comment></comment></comment>


Ask HN: Best Linux Laptop Replacing a Macbook Pro? - <AUTHOR> All in the title.
We are transitionning from Macs to "whatever you like" and I would like to look around for a good linux laptop equaling what we can get for the price of a MBPro (13", 512Go disk, 16G ram for 2400€).
I bet the competition can do better (I'd certainly fancy 32Gb of ram), but I don't have much experience in PC type laptops. I use linux a LOT at home so I'm confident I'll be able to install it, but I don't have the compatibility story.
What would you suggest?
Dell XPS? Lenovo something?
THanks! <comment><USER2> The Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition is the usual recommendation as far as having the most "Macbook"-like design (e.g. slim, unibody aluminum, but powerful).* ThinkPads generally have pretty solid Linux support, and System76 makes a line of Linux-only laptops, although both of them will be a good bit chunkier than your MBP. Neither are bad laptops if you're willing to trade sleekness for a tad more power or durability. It really depends on what you're looking for.

* This excludes Huawei's "Matebook" line, which is more like a Chinese carbon-copy MBA clone, and doesn't come with Linux as a preinstalled option.

<comment><USER3> XPS seems to me more like a replacement for the MacBook Air 11" size wise... except that it has a 13" HiDPI screen and a 6 core processor. I keep mine in an 11" MBA case.

I've found mine to be really good. They seem to have fixed issues with the trackpad that bothered me.

Only things I'm not keen on are the PgUp, PgDn key positions above the cursor keys and mixing the 4k screen with a 1440 external screen.

I opted to buy it over a Thinkpad because it comes with linux preinstalled and at the time the current X1C had some issues, as I recall. I think whatever it was has now been fixed but it's still officially unsupported hardware in that you're not paying Lenovo to support it.

<comment><USER2> > XPS seems to me more like a replacement for the MacBook Air 11" size wise... > except that it has a 13" HiDPI screen and a 6 core processor. I keep mine in > an 11" MBA case.

Well sure, but I have yet to hear someone say that they actually _liked_ the 13" MBP's giant bezel. It was a testament, at the time, to the XPS 13's ingenuity that it managed to fit a 13" screen into what was basically an 11" laptop chassis.

My XPS 13 9343 has served me well for several years, although the battery life on this model was a meager four hours, and the QHD+ resolution on a 13" screen _still_ feels like it's a DPI that modern OS's have yet to handle elegantly, even four years later.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> Lenovo X1C is the standard-bearer for a Linux notebook experience that is hassle-free, hardware-wise, and includes a great keyboard, trackpad, screen, battery, all in a slim ultrabook format. I wrote up my experience of a 4th gen model here:

[https://amontalenti.com/2017/09/01/lenovo- linux](https://amontalenti.com/2017/09/01/lenovo-linux)

If you care about outdoor usage, opt for the matte IPS screen rather than the glossy options. Lenovo sells both types on almost every model. I'd also suggest skipping the touchscreen.

<comment><USER5> Complete agreement; I've used the X1 Carbon since the first generation.

One issue, though: the 6th and 7th generations currently use a cell modem (the PCIe Fibocom L850-GL LTE-A) that doesn't work under Linux. The USB version works; the PCIe version has no driver.

<comment><USER6> I'm still using a circa-2013 X1 Carbon, running Ubuntu. Overall it's been great, with the one exception being the battery life, which has always been abysmal. I've never been able to get any more than 2 hours out of the battery, even after extensive tinkering with tools like powertop.

That machine is getting a bit long in the tooth now, so I've been thinking about what to buy to replace it; getting another X1C would be a no brainer if I wasn't worried about whether the battery life in the new ones is as bad as it was in my old one.

<comment><USER5> I get 10+ hours of battery life out of mine, depending on workload. I run Debian, without any special tuning, beyond powertop and running an up-to-date kernel.

<comment><USER4> Yes, on my 4th gen, I get a solid 6-10 hours, depending on usage. I think running powertop is important to identify background power hogs and ensure kernel params are tweaked. I love how ever since the 4th gen, the X1C's also rapidly charge to 80%+ power, and get to 100% not long thereafter. Pretty much the only thing that'll chew through my battery quickly is a Google Meet call, and that's just because Google/Chromium hasn't figured out how to reduce CPU usage on the video encode/decode steps on Linux.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> I'm happy with my System 76. It comes running Linux, and with all the nVidia GPU driver + CUDA setup done.

[https://system76.com/laptops](https://system76.com/laptops)

I got the 15" Serval with 4K display and 64 GB RAM. It's big and heavy, but they have light ones too.

<comment><USER8> Out of curiosity, may I ask what desktop environment you run? For me, that is the weakest part of the Linux experience.

<comment><USER9> If you can stand up to the shenanigans of the OS X you can handle any mayor Linux DE. They might not be as polished as OS X but they offer you anything you might expect and are well polished by now.

<comment><USER8> Sure! I'm more interested though in specific recommendations. So feel free to share what DE you're using :)

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> I have not tried either of these products, but I have been looking at trying one:

System76 Laptops: [https://system76.com/laptops](https://system76.com/laptops)

Purism Librem 15: [https://puri.sm/products/librem-15/](https://puri.sm/products/librem-15/)

</comment><comment><USER11> I had two Dell (XPS 13 and XPS 15), both had their share of driver issues. The XPS 15 also had severe hardware issues, which support could not help with (sound randomly starting and stopping to work).

Now I use a Lenovo T480s dual-booting Windows 10 Pro and Ubuntu 18.04 and everything just works.

For Linux I recommend getting a Laptop without a dedictated GPU. Regarding Linux distributions, I stopped having issues since I stick to Ubuntu LTS releases.

<comment><USER12> I agree. I'm using a T480s with no GPU and Ubuntu 18.04 and have no regrets since switching. If you really need a GPU, consider the P1 and X1E series.

</comment></comment><comment><USER13> My xps15 9560 has been a basketcase under ubuntu or arch linux, mostly due to the nvidia gpu never playing well with, well any other gpu.

In general I'd recommend avoiding anything with a "hybrid" gpu solution.

The downside is you're stuck with a crappy intel gpu, which at high-res (4k) on my xps15 is pretty crap, so I wouldn't get anything beyond a 1080p display with it.

I think life would be much better if we could disable the intel gpu in the bios to only let the system know an external solution exists, but then intel might have to admit to world+oems their gpu's are crap to need hard-disabled.

<comment><USER14> XPS 9570 (2018): i9-8950HQ, 32GB RAM, 1TB SDD, 15" 4k touch screen, Ubuntu 18.04.

Good: * Fast. * Regular BIOS updates for Linux (none affected me). * No hardware problems (I use Killer WiFi every work day; fingerprint not supported but doesn't matter to me).

Average: * No official Linux Dell support (need Latitude or 13") * No DisplayPort * Keyboard ok

Poor: * Linux support for 4k has problems (even with second 4k screen). * No PgUp/PgDn/Home/End keys * Coil Whine - occasional noise depending on activity - like hearing old CPU on radio. * nVidia - causes fan to run - poor switching support - low battery life - so I just never use it. * Glossy screen (touch screen models always shiny)

</comment></comment><comment><USER15> I've read probably every HN thread the past 10 years about this, and the current consensus seems to be either Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition or Lenovo X1 Carbon.

</comment><comment><USER16> Thinkpad X and T series.

Unless you hate money, don't buy current years models. This will also give you better Linux support.

Also, don't forget to purchase the 3-year on-site support.

</comment><comment><USER17> Hey, I moved from a MacBook air (2014) just for programming purposes. now I'm happy with a Asus Zenbook ux430 (1100€) with 16 GB ram, 512 GB SSD and i7 8850U (14 inches) Manjaro OS. Perfect, smooth and clean.

</comment><comment><USER18> Does anyone have Linux experience with the Dell Inspiron 15 5000 AMD laptop? I was looking to get a Lenovo X490 or T590, especially now that they have an AMD version, but they've removed a lot of features that longtime Thinkpad fans like myself loved the series for. I noticed that Dell has this Ryzen 7 based laptop available at about half the price of Lenovo, and am considering it now that the Thinkpad line seems effectively dead.

EDIT:

Dell Inspiron 5000: [https://www.dell.com/en- us/shop/laptops/new-15-amd/spd/inspi...](https://www.dell.com/en- us/shop/laptops/new-15-amd/spd/inspiron-15-5585-laptop)

Lenovo T495: [https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpad-t- ser...](https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpad-t- series/T495/p/20NJCTO1WWENUS0/customize)

The main advantage of the Lenovo is that it can be equipped with 32GB RAM (and has a Trackpoint), but adding more storage and a higher DPI display brings the price up to over $2k, while the Dell is priced at $774.39...

Inspiron is also Dell's more prosumer oriented brand, while the Lenovo T series is supposed to be enterprise grade, so not sure how the Dell would stack up in terms of longevity.

EDIT 2:

Apparently the Lenovo E495 can be configured with 64GB of RAM at around $1,500, so this might be a good option for me, as well as the OP as this is a 14" model. I don't see a 64GB option on Lenovo's site, but there is one listed at Newegg: [https://www.newegg.com/p/1TS-000E-0EMS3](https://www.newegg.com/p/1TS-000E-0EMS3)

Newegg also has an HP Envy laptop with 64GB RAM for a similar price, but I'm not familiar with that brand.

</comment><comment><USER19> Probably Lenovo something depending on your priorities. (I'd get a Lenovo X1 Carbon if I were replacing my X270 as I mostly prioritize lightweight.) We use Lenovos at Red Hat for our issued Linux laptops so compatibility tends to be pretty good.

</comment><comment><USER20> MSI PS42 8RC - [https://www.msi.com/Content- creation/PS42-8RX/Specification](https://www.msi.com/Content- creation/PS42-8RX/Specification) A powerful 14': the variant with 1050 for some reason is priced same as the one with MX250 (an MX150 with a different name). Only 8 gigs of RAM but you can upgrade. The price is really great, it's very lightweight and has a good battery life. Also: good matte display.

A weird alternative could be GPD Pocket/Pocket 2?

I'd definitely avoid XPS though, afair they've installed MX150 '1D12' gpus which are about 25% slower.

</comment><comment><USER21> You can get a Purism Librem 15 with 32GB RAM and a 500GB NVMe drove for about 2K USD...

[https://puri.sm/products/librem-15/](https://puri.sm/products/librem-15/)

</comment><comment><USER22> I am interested in switching from Macbook to Linux laptop. My biggest concern is the different keyboard shortcuts and layouts (most important ones are cmd vs ctrl for shortcuts, but keeping ctrl+C for terminating processes).

I bought a cheap Lenovo x230 recently, and the most annoying thing is finding an easy to configure the keyboard shortcuts to be the same as the OSX. Does anyone know if there are any OSes or software that helps mimic the OSX keyboard experience for those who don't want to undo the years of muscle memory?

<comment><USER16> Honestly, if this is your big problem with Linux I think you should stay with osx.

(of course you can configure shortcuts and there are distros that mimic isx shortcuts)

<comment><USER22> I'm curious, which distros mimic the OSX shortcuts?

<comment><USER23> Elementary os for example [https://elementary.io](https://elementary.io)

Although they try to mimic everything in OSX

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER24> I transitioned from MBP 15" 16GB / 1TB SSD in Nov, as I found MACOSX too restrictive and dissimilar to Linux for my dev purposes. MBP was 5 years old and new MBP only allowed max 32GB RAM with concerns about butterfly keyboard issues. I use my laptop 7 x 14 on dev and it travels with me everywhere so no time to return for something that should not be an issue at time of purchase.

I purchased Lenovo P72 8GB / 256GB SSD 17" with 3 year warranty extension, like AppleCare, and have upped the RAM to 64GB (it is 128GB capable when the RAM becomes more affordable), added 1TB Samsung SSD and an internal 7mm 2TB drive. If SSDs fail, tends to be binary while a drive tends to fail over time (by sector / track) which the drive manages, so better for online backup.

Have installed VMware workstation 15 allowing a win / Linux dev environment and multiple Linux flavor installs. Since I still have two other macs, I have installed MACOSX on a VMware VM as well, using my existing appleID. Runs like a dream and can develop without being online.

I also install various flavors of windows to resolve subscriber issues where it relates to their OS.

If you buy the same machine and need to upgrade RAM under the keyboard, ignore the need for a keyboard removal tool. A youtube video allowed me to achieve that using two credit cards.

</comment><comment><USER25> I think, it is strange that there are so few passively cooled high end laptops. Most devices with these ~5 Watt Intel CPUs are in cheap Chromebooks with <= 8 GiB RAM or in expensive ~2000 € devices with weird hybrid tablet form factors.

Here in Germany, I know two vendors who sell the same(?) Clevo white-label laptop with a passively cooled Amber Lake Y CPU in a regular Ultrabook chassis. [0] [1]

I am unsure whether the increased 9 Watt TDP of the new Ice Lake Y chips will still allow laptops without any fans. (It seems like "TDP" as no clear definition anymore...) The introduction of LPDDR4X support would allow devices with 32 GiB RAM and this is probably necessary for future-proofing the device because new multi-platform apps for Linux are usually Electron-based. Also, with the upcoming ZFS on root support in Ubuntu desktop we can't have enough RAM. :)

[0] [https://www.tuxedocomputers.com/en/Linux-Hardware/Linux- Note...](https://www.tuxedocomputers.com/en/Linux-Hardware/Linux- Notebooks/10-14-inch/TUXEDO-InfinityBook-14-v2-passive-/-fanless.tuxedo#)

[1] [https://bestware.com/en/schenker- via-14.html](https://bestware.com/en/schenker-via-14.html)

</comment><comment><USER26> I've recently checked options for replacing my aging XPS 13, and AFAICT right now only Dell has first-party support for preinstalled Linux (Ubuntu), whereas Thinkpads come either with Windows or, rarely, without O/S, and are merely listed as Ubuntu-certified. But OTOH Thinkpad (480 and X1) notebooks have fantastic user communities on eg. notebookcheck and elsewhere sharing reliable support info.

I'd recommend testing the devices yourself. I had the luxury of testing an XPS vs a Carbon in a shop in 2016 and found the XPS's display, trackpad, and even keyboard better, certainly more Macbook-like (though Apple's Touchpads are bigger and better). Classic Thinkpads don't have flat trackpads, but use a somewhat special design and also have that pointer thingy (though the latest Carbon does have a flat trackpad I believe, and there's a new Lenovo line very much like Thinkpads, but using mainstream trackpad designs and doing away with pointers).

Be aware that current XPS 13s have only glare screens (which would very likely be a deal breaker for me) and can't be equipped with more than 16 GB. OTOH, the Carbon X1 has a 16:9 display (14") which could maybe also break the deal for me.

</comment><comment><USER27> I just got a Lenovo P1 Gen 2 and so far have been very happy with it. It has two NVMe slots and I think it can go as high as 128gb of RAM, 64 at least. The build quality and keyboard are very nice and it has an nvidia quadro T1000 w/4gb.

My setup is a 9th gen i7, 16 gigs and 256 NVMe, it was ~1600 USD, and I think it was worth the price. My only complaint is that it took over 3 weeks to ship.

<comment><USER28> It looks like PSREF [1] for that platform says 64GB RAM maximum, possibly because it only has two DIMM slots and there's nobody making 64GB modules at the moment.

According to Intel [2] most of the 9th Gen can support 128GB, perhaps it'll be able to do that should 2x64GB modules ever become an option in the future?

[1] [https://psref.lenovo.com/syspool/Sys/PDF/ThinkPad/ThinkPad%2...](https://psref.lenovo.com/syspool/Sys/PDF/ThinkPad/ThinkPad%20P1%20\(2nd%20Gen\)/ThinkPad_P1_2nd_Gen_Platform_Specifications.pdf) [2] [https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/192990/...](https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/192990/intel- core-i9-9980hk-processor-16m-cache-up-to-5-00-ghz.html)

</comment></comment><comment><USER29> Lenovo X1 Carbon. I've been using Linux on it for over 4 years now, with zero complaints. When doing consulting engagements, I also ask my clients to issue a Carbon to me, and without fail they do.

Usable keyboard, the "nub", high density screen, long battery life, small size, and light weight. I struggle to see what could be improved about it.

When the one I'm typing this on (my personal workhorse) kicks the bucket, it will be replaced by another X1 Carbon. The only caveat is, the 15" "Extreme" model has an NVIDIA GPU, and that's a PITA in Linux, since GPU switching is still an esoteric feature, so your options are either to not use the discrete GPU, or to spend hours following obscure readmes to set it up. And in the latter case it still won't be anywhere near as good as Windows GPU switching, let alone macOS, and will likely break after a software update a few months down the road. But that's easy to avoid: just don't buy the 15" model.

</comment><comment><USER30> I would probably still say Lenovo. Although ordering on their website was the single worst eCommerce experience I ever had.

Mine might be a bit dated, but you might be able to find one on eBay for pretty cheap now. I switched from an MBP 2013 to a ThinkPad T480 running Ubuntu 18.04 LTS back in July of 2018. Linux support has been really great and I didn't have to install a lot of special drivers. (e.g. trackpad support with multi-touch scrolling worked from the start)

Things to love about the T480:

\- Fairly portable at around 3.5 lbs with a 14inch screen. It avoids the dedicated numeric keypad that some larger 15inch models have, while still having good screen real estate.

\- Great keyboard as all Thinkpads have. (media keys are working great under linux)

\- Very durable having undergone mil-spec testing.

\- Camera placement at top with a mechanical shutter if you get the FHD screen.

\- 32 GB of ram if you want/need it

\- Hot-swappable batteries. No need to turn off the laptop. just flip it over and replace. (You can buy the extended 72Wh battery for extra battery time)

<comment><USER31> I also switched from a Macbook Pro to a Thinkpad T480 running Ubuntu 18.04. Everything except the fingerprint reader worked out of the box, I haven't had any hardware compatibility issues so far, been running for 2 months so far. I picked the T480 because it was the last one with a removable battery.

Initially I installed dualboot w/ the existing windows install, but after a week I found there was no reason to flip back to windows and I formatted the whole thing and re-installed Ubuntu.

I've been using Macs for development for so long that I'd forgotten what using a non-mac keyboard was like. Took a couple days to get used to it, but now there's no way I'm ever going back.

</comment></comment><comment><USER32> Get either:

 __The Dell Precision 5520 __(or whatever the latest verison of that is) with Ubuntu pre-installed (you can easily wipe and reinstall with distro of your choice, but this guarantees maximum compatibility.

Pros:

\- Premium hardware (better than Apple IMHO, and I love Apple's hardware)

\- Nice trackpad

\- Good compatibility with Linux (except the Nvidia Optimus stuff, so avoid that if you can)

\- Good warranty

\- Touch screen compatible (which works great with Gnome)

Cons:

\- Price is better than Apple but definitely on the high end

\- Compatibility isn't perfect (tho it is really close)

 __The Lenovo T{4,5}80 __

Pros:

\- More hardware for the buck (excellent value)

\- Super easy to self service (basically anything)

\- Highly compatible with Linux

\- Can get Nvidia card for higher-end graphics/gaming

Cons:

\- Body is a little plasticky and looks cheap-ish

\- Bezels on the screen are kind of big

\- Intel graphics won't let you do gaming or video editing (although I do use Kdenlive on mine. It takes forever to render but I can edit just fine)

I've had both and they are awesome. My current setup is Lenovo T580 32 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD running Fedora 30. It's flawless and worked out of the box (after running the Fedora installer).

<comment><USER33> Agreed with the Nvidia Optimus comment. My Thinkpad T460p runs pretty much every distro you throw at it, but the Nvidia Optimus card is almost always the cause of some headaches when something with graphics doesn't work. On the other hand the touchpad driver is better than the official one for Windows(which doesn't support middle mouse click with the center button).

</comment></comment><comment><USER34> I'm now working with a Dell Precision 5530 which costs around 3k on its current specs.

The good:

\- It had ubuntu 16.04 which means the hardware has good compatibility with linux and you don't need to pay for the windows license.

\- 32Gb of ram, and it supports even more.

\- The 512Gb NVMe SSD is very fast.

\- The battery lasts several hours on non-CPU intensive tasks, I haven't need to charge it when using it for browsing the web on non-working days.

\- Even that the screen is 15", it is actually smaller than my precision 3510.

\- It doesn't get as hot as my 3510 gets sometimes.

\- I'd say that the keyboard is decent.

\- It has more input ports than the macbook pro.

\- It's built from a decent material instead that my 3510 which is just plastic.

The bad:

\- When I installed ubuntu 18.04, I found an issue with the nvidia driver which I was able to solve, if you want to get ubuntu preinstalled, the only choice was to get the nvidia P1000 included (even that it seems to have poor support), if buying again, I'd probably get Windows preinstalled instead to avoid paying for the graphic card.

\- The AC adapter is lighter than the one from my 3510 (which gets easily damaged on the port, I expect this to last longer but we'll see).

\- The trackpad is not as good as it could be, it is common to paste content accidentally (I believe it detects the middle-click gesture), I guess there may be a software trick to avoid it but haven't invested enough time, I can live with the issue.

\- As the screen has tiny borders, the camera is placed below the screen which is something I laugh about each time I do a videocall.

Those are the details I can think about, I'm far happier with linux on dell laptops than what I ever was using a macbook pro.

<comment><USER35> You bought with Ubuntu pre-installed, but when you upgraded it, there was a driver issue?

That's not much of an improvement over a MacBook situation.

<comment><USER34> Well, if I have stayed with ubuntu 16.04, there wouldn't been any problem at all.

My understanding is that dell ships the OS with some proprietary drivers which were there on 16.04 but they they were missing on the default 18.04 install.

Anyway, the driver issue took me a couple of hours to fix which I did only once.

It depends on your priorities, it's totally worth for me, instead of having to install xcode and register an account if I want to compile anything.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER36> I also moved off a MacBook to dell XPS but will probably not buy dell again. Customer service was shockingly bad compared to what you get from Apple. I mean really bad (bought in Switzerland).

I was looking today at the HUAWEI Matebook X Pro but not thrilled about taking a laptop with nvidia.

<comment><USER37> Is there still coil whine when running Linux on the XPS?

<comment><USER3> Antidata point here but not on my XPS13 9370. That doesn't mean it doesn't happen for other people.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER38> I made the switch to a Dell Precision laptop (or mobile workstation as Dell calls it) for work and speced it to the max a few years ago. I specifically wanted to run Ubuntu. I've had it for 3 years now and it's never let me down.

<comment><USER39> Also very happy with this choice. I'm on my second Dell Precision.

Also nice that Ubuntu comes pre-installed and is officially supported.

</comment></comment><comment><USER40> I have an Acer Swift 3 with AMD 2700u APU and while it's certainly not as high end as the top range MBP, it's pretty damn good (literally no issues, everything works perfectly) and the chipset is impressively quick. The higher end Acer laptops would probably be a decent alternative (and the open source AMD drivers are very good).

Lenovo ThinkPads are well known for their Linux support, I had one and loved most things about it. And of course Dell has been selling Linux laptops.

There's tons of options, just go with the hardware and features you want and google compatibility, but there's not too much that Linux doesn't support.

</comment><comment><USER41> I still use my 2011 MacBook Pro daily, and has been running Linux for the majority of its life. I must say it has been the best Linux machine I have ever had. It will be very hard to replace. Just put an SSD in it so I will only replace it once the motherboard or other components die, however I have a spare (donated) so it can be used for parts.

I am seriously considering buying a Lenovo x1 carbon when it does kick the bucket. Apparently popular with devs for BSD and Linux. Plus has amazing battery life, is light, awesome keyboard. I would get a refurbished ex corp or gov machine, they are just too expensive new.

</comment><comment><USER42> Lenovo T4xxs Lenovo X series

Lenovo T series works well with Linux, also quite many Linux developers use Lenovo laptops so driver support is good.

Detailed Reviews [https://www.notebookcheck.net/Notebookcheck-s- Top-10-Premium...](https://www.notebookcheck.net/Notebookcheck-s- Top-10-Premium-Office-Business-Notebooks.98925.0.html)

On Dell XPS I had some really weird BIOS sound hardware enumberation, where sound hardware would change hardware bus type during reboots which was annoying.

</comment><comment><USER43> I would definitely recommend the XPS13. I have the 2018 with the nosecam but other than that it's served me well for the short time I've spent with it.

The newer version does away with the nosecam which is the biggest improvement in my opinion. I'm ambivalent on the fingerprint scanner, but is a welcome addition. Other than these, the line has had only incremental improvements (which is great considering it leaves little to be desired)

</comment><comment><USER44> Having used both a Lenovo P1 and the latest Dell XPS, I have yet to find anything with the battery life and general experience if a macOS laptop.

<comment><USER44> A downvote, eh? Classy.

</comment></comment><comment><USER45> Acer E5 575G upgraded to 16gb RAM and 256gb ssd, running Manjaro Linux with XFCE. Good battery life, lightweight and cheap.

Everything works out of the box. I even got advanced touchpad gestures working with a little research. This was also the first Linux desktop experience in 20 years of trying occasionally that got me to switch from Windows for work.

</comment><comment><USER46> I have XPS 9560 with i7-7700HQ CPU, 16GB RAM, 512GB SDD, and 1080p 15' screen. I switched from MacBook Pro 2014 Retina, the highest specs back then. I had an azerty keyboard layout that was driving me crazy. (Gosh, how I hate the stupid azerty! I always forget how to write a freaking pipe "|".)

Windows works very well. I had issues with CPU overheating when playing Witcher 3, but I reduced the voltage on CPU a little without reducing clock with an Intel program and it succeeded in reducing temperatures without stability issues.

On Ubuntu ([https://github.com/stockmind/dell-xps-9560-ubuntu- respin](https://github.com/stockmind/dell-xps-9560-ubuntu-respin)) there was some fun in making sure that Nvidia GPU is off during normal work in order to reduce battery usage. I can get GPU back on with single command if I need to do some simple machine learning. Right now during my normal working (Firefox with 200+ tabs, Chrome, VS Code running) with 100% battery, powertop gives me a discharge rate of 12.3 W and estimated remaining time of 7 hours, 31 minutes. It normally is about enough for a full workday.

The Bluetooth sometimes goes off after closing the computer (suspend) while being connected to headphones. In order to fix the issue, I need to restart the computer waiting for about 10 seconds downtime before starting again. Funny enough, right now Ubuntu is claiming that Bloototh is off but it is actually working. There are also very sporadic issues with video. For example, sometimes YouTube will just crash and I will need to restart the system to get it back working.

I'm happy with the build quality (beside mentioned thermal properties). I especially like the sturdy screen. Keyboard and trackpad, for me at least, are about as good as Mac. I liked Mac trackpad maybe a little bit more. IO in XPS is good. I'm certainly missing MagSafe plug (charger plug that disconnects while pulled). I should also mention that when the battery is full and I'm connected to the charger I can hear a very weak coil whine. Kind of like an HDD head working but possibly even less noisy, most time I don't even notice. When I do notice I just disconnect it from the charger and the whine is gone.

I never had to deal with Dell support, so I don't know how it looks like. But I like that a lot of technical people use XPS, so it's easy to Google issues.

Overall, I would recommend XPS. (My girlfriend has one and she is happy with it.)

</comment><comment><USER47> I have a System76 and it's a very good laptop. [https://system76.com/laptops](https://system76.com/laptops)

I also have an XPS 13 Developer Edition. I prefer System76 over that one due to the wheezy fan sound.

Mine's a 5 year old Pangolin but they have quite a selection now.

</comment><comment><USER48> I really like the Asus VivoBook Pro 17, $1200 at [https://www.amazon.com/VivoBook-i7-8550U-Processor- GeForce-B...](https://www.amazon.com/VivoBook-i7-8550U-Processor-GeForce- Backlit)

I'm using it with Kubuntu and haven't had any issues.

</comment><comment><USER49> Depends strongly on what you are looking for: Lightweight = Lenovo X range or Razer stelth Workhorse = Dell Xps15 or Lenovo T480 All rounder = Xps 13

I would say the I find the keyboard on the xps range terrible (better than mac mind you) but thinkpad always has the best keyboards.

</comment><comment><USER50> I had a Dell XPS 9360. Only issue I had was the mouse touchpad would occasionally lock up. I don't remember what I did, but it happened infrequently and inconsistently, and took months of pain to fix it, which involved some custom driver.

</comment><comment><USER51> I went with the Lenovo X1 Carbon.

</comment><comment><USER52> Why do you want a laptop ? Building your own computer have never been easier. Just buy the parts and plug them in. (and make sure there are drivers for Linux). First pick a mother-board, probably a server grade MB from Supermicro, because many HDD, controlled fan connectors, memory slots, and possible also dual CPU, and many PCI:e if you are into machine learning. Then read the manual to see known working modules. Just an example of what you can't do on a laptop is having 6 disks in mirror/stripe mode using ZFS. Instead of taking the computer with you, you can SSH into it, maybe use X-server to run the apps on the work machine. Just leave it on when you go home or travel, so you can run lab on it. You can give shell accounts to your jealous colleges, run the git server on it. Use it instead of "cloud" computing and save thousands of dollar, etc.

</comment><comment><USER53> Lenovo X/T/P Series. Heavy discounts on the Lenovo website right now. And an abundance of refurbs on ebay that are in pretty much brand new condition.

Ubuntu 18.04 LTS / Fedora / Manjaro are all good on this platform.

Have fun picking!

<comment><USER54> I'm looking at a X390 really hard, the 32GB is a dream

<comment><USER53> Yea that machine looks nice. USB-C charge and I/O. Great for travel (1 charger for phone (android) and laptop). Looks like a slightly heavier X1 Carbon. Otherwise everything seems the same!

<comment><USER54> Two non-size differences: 32GB is only available on the X390 and one of the two (I forget which) only has dual-lane Thunderbolt. The other one has full 40Gbps.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER55> For being able to specify your requirements down to the lowest levels, I can recommend [http://emperorlinux.com/](http://emperorlinux.com/) without hesitation.

</comment><comment><USER56> I received a (Dell) Alienware at work and no matter what I've tried, the trackpad does not work in Linux. I've tried every supposed remedy on the Internet. So at least I would avoid that brand.

</comment><comment><USER57> I've been using both Alienware and Predator laptops with Linux for a development machine for years. Been running PopOS and runs great.

</comment><comment><USER58> Lenovo ThinkPad, hands down. They work really well with Linux, and have enough models to pick and choose the right one for your needs.

</comment><comment><USER59> asus vivobook s15 s510un (slim, 1.7kg, full hd, 128 ssd, 1TB hdd, 8/16 gb ram, 2gb nvida)

\- dual boot with linux and windows ( disable fast boot and startup in windows). buy with global warranty. very good for programming and overall. for heavy video editing, chck reviews, may not work.

believe me asus is the one of most underrated brand for laptops.

</comment><comment><USER60> Razor Blade 15 works very well, also under heat.

The Surface Pro is also fantastic except the lack of webcam support.

<comment><AUTHOR> What is the Linux story on a surface? I admit I like Microsoft's products form factor a lot, especially the surface book.

<comment><USER60> It works - there is a script for Ubuntu that can be found on github that basically takes care of everything. The only issue I have found is that the webcam doesn't work.

I also haven't been able to get the 4g to work yet (I have a surface 5).

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER61> my 2cents: take a look at the zbook mobile workstations from HP. Those are real workhorses, but not pretty on the outside, if that is you thing. And you can get a nice price drop getting last year model, without compromising performance...

</comment><comment><USER62> Stealth/Blade 15 should do it. Upgradability & build quality.

</comment><comment><USER63> TLDR: If you don't care about USB-C charging I'd suggest a Librem. Otherwise, I'd go with the new X1 Carbon.

I initially switched from an MBP to an XPS13. Pretty good, but I wasn't super super happy with it, nothing wrong in particular, but it felt a bit plastic-y. Then bought a Lenovo X1C6 as soon as it was announced last year and I'm very happy with it: super solid and no issues with any component.

I also bought a Librem 13 because I wanted a free laptop and because why I love the X1C6 as a machine, I'm not willing to trust Lenovo 100% as far as ethics go. The Librem is a beautiful machine and works really well, however I'm not willing to use it as my main driver because it doesn't have USB-C charging. As soon as they'll release a model with USB-C charging, I'll get it and switch to it.

<comment><USER26> What's the deal with USB-C charging for you? I can see the hypothetical benefit of interchangeable chargers, but I'd try to avoid it, having seen my S8 smartphone USB-C wear out in less than a year.

</comment></comment><comment><USER64> Panasonic Toughbook CF-54.

</comment><comment><USER65> Lenovo Chromebook</comment>