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Why Linux is better for (most) developers!
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this post was submitted on 31 Aug 2023
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Programming
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Most companies I worked with had a choice of the work laptop, usually Windows/Linux or MacBook. And the trick is, you cannot buy cheap MacBook. So the choice is using linux but with a terrible screen, unusable trackpad and bad hardware, or take MacBook and enjoy all premium.
So I always take MacBook and then ask for a local workstation where I will have linux with i3 / Sway WM.
My company didn't leave me a choice, I got an XPS 15 which I had to setup with my distro of choice (but all the internal tooling is for Ubuntu, I personally would have preferred to install Fedora or Debian 12 with i3wm).
It's not that bad a laptop but it overheats like crazy and has really shit battery life (barely enough for a meeting), and some of its features I can't explain : why is a 4k touchscreen on a laptop a good thing? It eats 4x the battery for no noticeable visual improvement. I don't use my laptop 5 inches from my face.
the point of 4k is that you can make ui smaller and show more things
I find that very strenuous on my eyes tbh
Yeah I remember the first time I tried a 1080p 15" display. Even that I had to look at really hard, can't imagine a 4k version that actually uses 4k resolution for regular computing.
I remember having bad overheating issues with Linux years ago on an XPS 15 (9560 model if memory serves, so unlike yours no 4k or touch).
The key on mine was to disable the dedicated GPU which I didn't need anyway. I remember afterwards, mint would run mostly quiet and the battery lasted longer than on the windows partition. If you are interested look up bumblebee on the arch wiki.
Also I know this reply is late, but maybe it helps.
I already thought about disabling the dedicated GPU on that laptop, but I unfortunately cannot since I need it to train neural networks and the occasional lan party at, work
If you set up bumblebee correctly you should be able to enable and disable the dedicated gpu on the fly if i'm not mistaken. Might still help with long teams meetings.
I prefer a desktop. Don't have to worry about swelling batteries from being plugged in all day... plus they're cheaper so I get new computers far more often than my coworkers who get laptops.