12 Years ago I had a Sony Vaio. I quite liked it. Then in my next job, 2017 or so, I went for a Toshiba Portege, and absolutely loved it.

Guess what the above two have in common? Yup, they stopped making laptops for the professional market. So now I’m a bit at a loss. Any recommendations?

Requirements:

  • Lightweight and easy to carry around.
  • 13-15" display, preferably
  • Decent battery life
  • It absolutely must have an RJ45
  • Works well with linux
  • Good keyboard quality
  • ISO keyboard availability
  • Touchpad. Bonus points if it has the touchpad buttons ABOVE the pad itself.
  • xmunk@sh.itjust.works
    1·
    2 years ago

    Lenovo seems to be pretty solid but fuck… I still have a grudge over how much shittier they are than the old IBM ThinkPads.

    • const_void@lemmy.ml
      1·
      2 years ago

      We have nothing but problems with the ThinkPads issued by my IT department. Multiple models. They’re not what they used to be.

  • dfyx@lemmy.helios42.de
    1·
    2 years ago

    Look into the Framework 13. There are no touchpad buttons but otherwise it has everything you need and is fully upgradable and customizable. The laptop has four expansion ports that can hold a variety of hotpluggable expansion cards. The manufacturer offers USB-A, USB-C, HDMI, DisplayPort, 2.5G ethernet, microSD, audio and SSDs. There are also some community-made ones like LTE and dual USB-C.

    • Player2@lemm.ee
      1·
      2 years ago

      When I eventually need to upgrade I won’t even consider anything that isn’t repairable on a similar level. Hopefully they will be sticking around until then, but it’s looking good on that front right now

  • oxjox@lemmy.mlEnglish
    0·
    2 years ago

    I’ve used Macbooks in networking / programming and construction environments for over fifteen years. They’ve been incredibly solid in my experience. In fact, the first week I was given a Thinkpad, I broke it because it was so much more fragile than a Mac. I always used USB adapters for Ethernet and serial connections without issue. They also run Windows and Linux.

  • Joker@discuss.tchncs.de
    0·
    2 years ago

    Framework if you want to repair it yourself and Lenovo if you don’t. Lenovo makes a good machine and has very reasonably priced on-site support options.

        • GBU_28@lemm.eeEnglish
          0·
          2 years ago

          Hobbists and home devs I think.

          Edit if anyone can link an example of a real sized business going with framework I’ll eat a delicious lunch very quickly so I become slightly uncomfortable

          • Manzas@lemdro.idEnglish
            0·
            2 years ago

            Why would a business not like a laptop that they don’t have to replace?

            • GBU_28@lemm.eeEnglish
              1·
              2 years ago

              Because most businesses don’t think like that at all. They don’t want employees taking things apart either.

              ThinkPads and similar are far more popular because they can be bought in large contracts