The Thinkpads have been popular for Linux users for a while. Am I wrong in finding Thinkpad prices greater than twice as high as the examples I gave for similar specs. unless I choose refurbished machines? I accept that specs. can often mislead when it comes to machine "balance" and reliability. One aspect of my decision making is that I generally prefer a desktop setup for my "main" use, and am looking for a travel machine. Hence I labelled this thread as "Discussion". There's unlikely to be a perfect answer, and I appreciate comments that force careful thinking. JN On 2021-06-14 9:59 a.m., Richard Guy Briggs wrote: > On 2021-06-14 09:39, J C Nash wrote: >> With possible opening up of travel and having laptops that are vintage 2014 and 2015, >> we're thinking of a new one for road trips. >> >> Our considerations: >> >> - 2 people sharing for email >> - need for plenty of storage for photos and family history information, plus >> some technical projects >> - reasonably fast >> - robust >> - we find 14" screen about right balance between visibility and portability >> >> Our experience: >> >> - our 2 Asus Zenbooks (I7, >8GB RAM, 512GB SSD) are quite nice, but >> -- the 3800 UHD screen gives lots of woes with apps that reset the >> resolution. Zoom really messes things about on exit. >> -- both have had hinge failure. Spent $200 to fix one, but have >> made a frame for the other and velcroed it so hinge fixed. >> -- batteries likely near end of useful life, and on the road >> you sometimes need a battery >> >> - our 2010 Asus UL30A still has nicely balanced features, though now >> too slow and charging circuit beginning to be a nuisance. But a >> 1TB spinning disk has proved exceptionally nice for road trips, since >> it can store a pretty well complete set of family photos etc. >> >> Keeping watch on offerings, the HP machines >> https://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=710_1925_1912_1909&item_id=150936 $699 i5 1920 >> https://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=710_1925_1912_1909&item_id=182955 $699 Ryzen 5 1366 >> https://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=710_1925_1912_1909&item_id=182956 $849 Ryzen 7 1920 >> >> seem interesting. Had to look at specs to see that the cheaper Ryzen is only 1366 resolution. > > I'm a huge fan of the commercial line of Thinkpads since 2001, in a 14" > you would be looking at the T series or the X series. They have > recently started offering Ryzen processors too. They are robust and > support Linux reasonably well. They are the preference for RH's kernel > and Linux developers. > >> Does anyone have opinions on these? Have not had a hands-on look, which will be important to making >> sure keyboard not "strange". Also to try to gauge whether hinge and rest of physical structure robust >> enough. However, they seem to offer reasonable bang for the buck. We're not stuck on HP, or Asus, or ... >> Mainly interested in reliable and long-term workhorse that we are comfortable using. >> >> JN > > slainte mhath, RGB > > -- > Richard Guy Briggs -- ~\ -- ~\ <hpv.tricolour.ca> > <www.TriColour.ca> -- \___ o \@ @ Ride yer bike! > Ottawa, ON, CANADA -- Lo_>__M__\\/\%__\\/\% > Vote! -- <greenparty.ca>_____GTVS6#790__(*)__(*)________(*)(*)_________________ > To unsubscribe send a blank message to linux+unsubscribe [ at ] linux-ottawa [ dot ] org To get help send a blank message to linux+help [ at ] linux-ottawa [ dot ] org To visit the archives: https://lists.linux-ottawa.org