xordon

Probably a bit of both. My normal workflow is to start a few services in a VM or docker and then write my code that uses them. Every time I look at a laptop I always end up comparing it in my head to the X1 Carbon or the MBP...

Hey everyone, I'm mostly a lurker so this is my first post. I'm in the market for a new laptop and with black friday coming up I figured now is the time to start researching and comparing. My use cases are light web surfing, some video watching, ocasional photo/video editing but mainly a for writing some code on the side. I am a stickler for the details and as such I've mostly stuck with Macbook Pro's for the last number of years. Here is what I'm looking for: - small-ish (13-14" and lightweight) - no touch screen with at least 1080p resolution - USB-C charging (less cables and bricks when traveling with a USB-C phone) - 16gb ram - recent cpu (8th gen or newer I'm told is good) - decent keyboard - decent trackpad - OS X, or supports linux fully - excellent build quality (it's the little things that bother me) Macbook Pro 13" Price: $$$ Pros: OS X works great and tooling is great (terminal, homebrew etc), nice big trackpad, good build quality (keyboard aside) Cons: kind of pricey given the spec's and the keyboards are bad Librem 13 v4 Price: $$ Pros: cool idea, open source everything, security focused and ready to go out of the box, really like the hardware switches for camera and mic Cons: I've heard the trackpad is kind of bad, sometimes misaligned with the case, and the build quality in general isn't the best. Also the pure open source stance means they sacrifice convenience for ideological reason eg: no proper nvidia drivers by default System76 Galago Pro / Darter Pro Price: $$ Pros: ready to go linux laptop Cons: I've heard they have some compatibility issues with various linux distros, and the hardware build quality isn't the best, popOS also doesn't include non-free drivers by default etc Dell XPS 13 Price: $$$ Pros: decent specs, nice and compact Cons: getting one with 16gb of ram is pricy and I would have to install a linux myself but should work with Ubuntu just fine Lenovo X1 Carbon Price: $$$$ Pros: best keyboard from what I hear, good specs, everything is good Cons: the nub in the middle of the keyboard, I would have to install a linux myself but should work with Ubuntu just fine Anything else I should be considering? Anything I got wrong in my estimates? Should I just get another Macbook Pro and deal with the shitty keyboard? Should I just get a $200 burner and lower my expectations?