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Any suggestions for cheap but decent laptops for coding? (lemmy.blahaj.zone)

submitted 6 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I'm currently learning how to code (currently Python, then maybe JavaScript), but I'm not always around my desktop, and learning on my phone is not always an option (also, it can be quite cumbersome at times). Therefore, I'm looking into purchasing a laptop just for learning how to code and stuff.

I don't want to get a Chromebook because I want to be able to wipe the drive and install Linux on it (probably Linux Mint). Maybe it's changed since 2013, but the last time I had a Chromebook, it was a pain in the ass to install even bog-standard Ubuntu on it.

Problem is, I'm also heavily limited by space & budget: no more than 11 in (280 mm) total laptop width and 330 USD base price.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Please forgive me if this is not the right space for this kind of question. Lemme know if it is and I'll delete it. :)

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I work in IT and my 4 year old retired Dell 5300 is working just fine. Great form factor as well.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (2 children)

Looking it up, it seems like a delightful little laptop, but it's too big. It's got a 13.3 inch screen, and I'm limited to a total laptop width of 11 inches.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 months ago (1 children)

The screen is measured diagonally.

The screen width won't be 13 inches.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

Not the screen width. The laptop width. The total space I have to work with is exactly 11 inches wide.

(I didn't have a ruler, so I used a 3-hole punch, which has the zero point in the center, and spreads out 5½ inches in each direction, resulting in a total width of 11 inches.)

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

The laptop won't be 13.3 inches either.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

Wait, now I get what you're saying.

What do you mean the laptop won't have a 13.3" screen? The page I linked to said it does. And if the screen is 13.3", then the total laptop width will be more than that.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I've got a Lenovo P11, goes pretty well on a charge, and VSCode is available on android, haven't used it much as I almost always code at home now.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

Oh shit! I didn't even know VSCode was available for Android. Nice! Thank you!

Edit: Er, nevermind. VSCode is indeed available on Android, but for US$12. Ew. Thanks anyway though. :)

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago (1 children)

That's fucked up, it was $8AUD when I got it like a year ago. Fuckin corpos and their price hikes.

I was happy to swallow it to code on the go, but I only used it for a few weeks. Sometimes I lay in bed to code though so I can watch TV as well (never mind all the errors I make as a result).

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Honestly, why should it be paid at all when it's free on desktop? That doesn't make sense to me.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

I thought exactly the same thing, as previously though, I was willing to swallow the $8 (at the time) in order to use my tablet for coding (may as well be a laptop running android tbh).