[PLUG] Suggestions for featherweight laptop

[Dave Lien - W7DAL]

Thanks for the suggestions, Tom. I'll check them out.

Should have mentioned I'm looking for something under 3 lbs and abt $200 
or less. Nothing fancy needed for this non-critical app. There seem to 
be lots of Chromebooks in that category but I'm led to believe Linux 
doesn't work well on those without an Intel CPU. Is that true in your 
experience?

Looks like the days of the Serial port on portables are pretty well 
gone. Began downhill when they moved the external modem inside I 
suppose. :-D. But pure Serial is hard to beat for rock solid external 
hardware control without the vagaries and idiosyncrasies of dongles, 
multiple conversions, and drivers. I never buy a desktop mobo without at 
least one on the board.

TNX AGN for the help.

-Dave



On 9/3/2017 11:22 PM, Tom wrote:
> I have 1st class Linux experience with Lenovo Thinkpad X2x0 (currently
> x=7), Dell XPS 13 and HP Elitebook 820 G3 (HP is the most expensive one
> )
> Both are almost identical in size, weight and have decent battery life
> (~8 hours) in lightweight formats.
> Pros:
> Dell has better 13" LCD with 100% sRGB gamut. I have IPS 1920x1080 - it
> has significantly better battery life than with QHD panel and and costs
> less. XPS 13 probably thinner and lighter.
> Lenovo has 2 batteries - one internal, one external - so that you can
> swap the external without shutting the laptop down. It also has
> ethernet port, mechanical 3x touch pad buttons, RAM DIM slot and real
> dock port at the bottom.
> Cons:
> Dell has soldered-on RAM and does not have ethernet port
> Lenovo - you can get 10+ hours of extended battery run time, but you
> need extended battery which is thicker than the standard 3 cell type
> which gives you about 4-5 hours. The 12.5" IPS LCD panel has lower
> gamut ~ 65% sRGB
> Both laptops have 2xUSB3.0 ports and 1xTB3/USB3.1v2-C-type ports and SD
> card reader.
> No recent laptop has serial port - you will need USB dongle for about
> $10 or more. They generally just work on Linux.
> The Thinkpad and Dell XPS13 are about the same cost for equivalent
> configuration.
> Hope it helps, Tomas
> On Sun, 2017-09-03 at 19:02 -0700, Dave Lien - W7DAL wrote:
>> Portege R100.
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