If you are anything like me, you are always tweaking your system. Installing new software, poking this and customizing that. Never satisfied with anything, curiosity always in the driver’s seat. What if I do this, does this improve performance and so on.
I have had my fair play fiddling with various operating systems. From installing Ubuntu, Backtrack on PC, dual booting different versions of windows, dual booting Kali, running multiple operating systems on virtual machines and so on.
I am excited for the newly released Dell XPS 13 laptop, in my opinion it going for title best laptop for developer. Running Ubuntu 14.04 LTS with a variety of tools and utilities, it promises a great developer environment. It was released as part Dell’s Project Sputnik line of laptops running Ubuntu which begun as an initiative to create the best developer laptop.
Project Sputnik History
Project Sputnik began 4 years in 2012 with the idea to create the ideal system for developers. Developer George Barton managed to get $40 000 dollar funding for the project and the project was official announced in May 2012. The team had started with bringing Linux to the Ultrabook laptops but with the success of the project it has expanded.
Gorge Barton leading the pack the team were able to come up with the system which brought excitement in the developer world. Project Sputnik also provided fans and developers the ability to make contributions that were taken into consideration according to George Barton’s on his blog.
A storm session was begun on ideastorm.com for developer’s feedback and a thread on the dell community website which is still active with contributions. George Barton says
“We put in our effort, and the community comes and expands on it.”
To provide the unique experience project sputnik had three main developer pillar in its core
Project Sputnik main components
Device
XPS 13, Developer Edition. Now Dell also offers the Dell™ Precision 5510, Dell™ Precision 3510, Dell™ Precision 7710 and other various Linux based systems. Processors ranging from 3rd Gen to 5th Gen and 8Gig Ram and above.
Profile Tool
To set up your system to your liking you get to choose from github. The profile tool get you access to profiles already created by the community which will set up for you your development environment. You can customize your profile from the Dell website
Cloud Launcher
Complementing the workflow, Cloud Launch provides the ability to simulate environments on your system and deploy to the same environment to the cloud easily.
Linux may be for the technical, with earlier configurations giving people headaches when it comes to drivers display and on multiple monitors but it’s always good to learn. To date the project has grown and issues with hardware resolved. So if you want a full functional developer edition laptop which you don’t necessarily have to fiddle with much to get “the” developer experience then go for it. It’s worth the developer experience. You can also check Barton’s blog for more info.