I’m looking for a new work laptop and I’d like to jump to Linux at the same time. I was hoping to get some input from here because I’m still undecided!
Maybe some context first : the switch is not urgent. My current machine still works. I’d like to change it because of a few quirks and problems (for me) it has, it will find a happy owner afterwards. As for the job, I’m a dev (mostly Java and web). I need something that can run a few docker containers, multiple instances of intellij, but that’s pretty much it and it’s not a complicated requirement to fill. Also, I’m in Europe.
I’ve been looking mostly at Tuxedo and Framework, with a preference for the later 16 inch model.
Does anybody have experience with Linux support on the framework 16? With, for example, Fedora? Other than that, any recommendation / thing to pay attention to? I have some experience with Linux but it’s been a while since I’ve run it as a desktop os, and my knowledge has never been in depth, so any help will be greatly appreciated :)
The Framework 13 inch model should be plenty, especially if you want to dev on the go. Much more lightweight and smaller, and you can connect it to external monitors if the screen size is not big enough. Also, you shouldn’t have issues running Linux on either laptops.
Instead of going for the 16 version, I would use the extra 900-1000 euros (that’s the amount I saw I could save between the two almost maxed-out models) to make a dedicated server or mini-cluster to run your workloads. Deploy Kubernetes or Proxmox on it, and you’ll also get some more practice on it outside work if you want to run stuff for your home lab. That is only if you don’t want to game on your laptop, but I’d still put that money aside to make a desktop.
Thanks for the advice! The 16 is probably as overkill as you say, but I’ve come to prefer a larger machine to work on.
I already have Proxmox installed on a secondhand mini-pc (one of those NUC / thin-client like office machines) and it’s been a great way to (re)learn a few things indeed!