Decent specifications, decent IO, top of the line keyboard, ok to good linux support depending on distro. I ran one off an external drive so I could keep secure boot enabled for my work windows partition.
Asus Zenbook (AMD versions)
Great performance, great battery life, decent integrated graphics with good linux support.
Of the above they are ranked in the order I would consider buying. Framework first because of their ethics around repair. The Dell second because its basically the standard against all other non apple are compared. And the Asus 3rd because its almost as good as the Dell but they offer AMD cpus which are more power efficient and provide more threads with lower heat output.
PS: Linus (the LTT one, not Thorvalds, although he’ll probably endorse their project goals too) has invested serious money in their company, well over $220k US recently. And as discussed on the WAN show yesterday, he’ll be of even more value to them through his contacts as well as his position in the spotlight on the web. YT link:
I wouldn’t want to overstate any direct familiarity with this manufacturer, and I list only as a topic of research you might want to look at. They’re EU - and Linux. though I’ve heard good things, please consider that meaningless.
That narrows it to two choices, an Intel chip or a Ryzen APU. Avoid accelerated Nvidia if possible, it works but is a lot more hassle over pure Intel / AMD solutions right now, let’s see…
This tells me you do not need dedicated graphics period.
This tells me you want lots of cores, bare minimum eight cores.
Framework is mighty interesting but unfortunately not yet an EU shop Else I would start saving for it, because to be frank, it is a great idea that I wholeheartedly support. I hope they come to the Union for the next two years or so.
For your usecase though it looks like what you want is a high-end Ryzen laptop, so maybe a Lenovo Thinkpad P14s G2? 8c/16t, 32 GB RAM, graphics are adequate for your work, battery life lasts like up to 16 hours or something crazy like that. Only bad thing is the 1TB NVMe, but I think increasing to 2TB isn’t that much more expensive.
Same with System76. They don’t even offer power adapter for european standards. And then the trouble with VAT and customs…I’m basically down to only Tuxedo (german company) if I want to avoid big OEM brands and a Linux laptop.
Hardware-wise Tuxedo and System76 both use the same manufacturer, so are similar in that regard.
To be fair to both System 76 and Framework, US/Canada is a much easier market to handle than the EU. You pretty much only need two languages (English, French) and since they are based in the U.S. I too would focus all efforts over there for now.
Europe has, I think, 6 different major languages and about 30 minor languages which makes support a nightmare; business rules are also highly regulated and different from US rules; not to mention the widespread union mentality.
Despite this, Europe is the biggest single market in the world and an obvious target to expand to, since once you have gained a foothold. expansion becomes a matter of hiring somewhat competent local talent, something you need to do regardless. But it is not a great market to start in.
I want a laptop with english language and us standard keyboard. And I don’t need german phone support with indian accent or a localized github page. My last German OS was Windows XP and I’m also only using US standard layout. Special signs in computing, like / or \ , are a pita on German keyboards to only name two.
Dell XPS 15 is a solid choice IMO, 13 if you don’t mind soldered on RAM.
Dell actually sells XPS 13 with Ubuntu preloaded and some Precision laptops with Quadros, so I imagine the Linux support for those laptops is going to be super-b.
Don’t go for the Razer laptops or Dell Latitudes even when it might seem tempting. Both Dell Latitudes and ALL Razer laptops have a bulging battery issue. On top of that Razer laptops have below average official linux support and require OpenRazer drivers to function correctly. Trackpad won’t work under Linux on 17" models of the blade and people reported not being able to boot Linux at all on some BIOS revisions
For Dell Latitudes, you get a swollen battery because of some weird quirk with the cooling that causes the batteries to heat up and swell eventually, and Dell won’t replace the batteries after a year because the batteries are considered consumable. Razer laptops have the same issue as the chassis is fully alluminium and act as a big heatsink. I have Blade Stealth 2020 and this thing gets super spicy if you do something CPU or GPU intensive and you don’t have the laptop lifted up. For casual use its great but Linux support is below average.
Unfortunately you alone is not a good customer base, and your preferences deviate strongly from the norm. Don’t get me wrong, you do you and there’s nothing wrong with your preferences, but a business needs a few hundred thousand customers, and the Venn diagram overlap of people willing to put up with a foreign keyboard layout and the people interested in the company laptop offerings is surprisingly small.
That said, I agree most European 105 keyboards have a really sucky keyboard layout for coding. That’s why I’m currently researching how to create a better layout. I started using one for vim and Swedish keyboards, so why not system wide
Plus you’d lose out on the sweet, sweet European warranty (minimum of 2 years in the EU).
I’ve had similar thoughts about importing one to the UK, but there’s no way I’m giving up on 2-6 years of buyer protection. Plus the waiting for British keyboard layouts to ship would be a pain.
The good news is that Framework say they should be open in more markets by the end of the year. I hope that doesn’t get pushed back.
On the WAN show yesterday Linus disclosed he’s pushing the Framework peeps to make a touchscreen solution. As an investor, with an audience, his suggestions matter there. We’ll see.
Its a more interesting option sure xut equally the fun of a thinkpad is hacking it. Even the s76 stuff lets you reprogram stuff all over the machine. Its like script kiddie hardware edition to me tbh.
The framework comes hacked for you. Takes the art out of it.
Any hacking I do not need to do to still keep the same flexibility is a great thing in my book. Sure, it may “take the fun out of it” but as with everything, time is money.
I hope Framework comes to Europe soon. I know several Linux-based companies that would be all over it.
I was searching for the same thing (I am based in Germany) and found a forum post where a frame.work employee said they expect shipping to Europe to begin before the end of 2021. I will post a link here if I manage to find the relevant post… I will likely be ordering one as soon as the official channel is open too to replace my aging thinkpad (and I am also a developer).
Else I would start saving for it, because to be frank, it is a great idea that I wholeheartedly support. I hope they come to the Union for the next two years or so.
