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Comment by latch | Hacker News Reader

As a frequent traveler, I regret replacing my 3-year-old 4GB + 128SSD with a 13" rMBP. I like the rMPB, but I should have kept my Air and gotten a quad-core 15" rMBP. The point? I'll pay a lot, in terms of cash and power, for portability and battery life.

I've been eager to move off of OSX for some years [1], but with this rumored laptop, they'll probably sink their teeth in me for another 3 years.

[1] If anyone knows of a laptop that is portable, that supports 16GB of RAM and works well with Linux, please let me know. Even the newly announced X1 and XPS13 are limited to 8GB (and I assume they get relatively poor battery life on Linux)

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What didn't you like about the rMBP? I'm very pleased with mine. It's about as portable as could possibly be necessary - I carry it with me a lot during the day and it's way small and light enough. Of course, I would love a longer battery life, but I get about 8-10 hours which is ~ a day's work, and I'm always close enough to a power outlet.

Unless you're working with the laptop in one hand or using it regularly on journeys > 8 hours, I can't see much of a difference between Air and Pro.

I do like the rMBP, but I know I could use the 4 cores when I'm at home or just going to work, which is why I wish I had gotten the 15".

However, -1 lbs + smaller form factor + better battery is pretty significant when you're traveling abroad with a backpack for a week or two. I'll take less weight + more socks any day of the week. Also, I almost killed myself trying to get power from an outlet at Phnom Penh International Airport.

So, personally, I find the 13" a compromise I could have just spent my way out of.

I have one. Two fans constantly running. Annoying.

Have a look at Lenovo's X series.

I was pretty disappointed with the X1, was getting RSI from the trackpoint, while its touchpad was unusable. I got an rMBP and can't be happier. Hopefully the precision touchpad in the new XPS 13 really works.

Got a Dell M3800 expecting a decent trackpad. It's a premium machine and even sub-$500 Acers bring precision trackpads now, right? Wrong, it's excruciatingly low-res and persistently jumps by unpredictable distances on clicking.

Is there a laptop other than these? [1]

They are all limited to 8GB. According to [2] the new X250 is, like the new X1, also a single DIMM.

[1] - http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/x-series/

[2] - http://www.anandtech.com/show/8822/lenovo-thinkpad-x250

T450S will have 12 GB (1 DIMM + 4GB soldered), http://www.ubergizmo.com/2015/01/lenovo-thinkpad-t450s/

X230 (Ivy Bridge, 2 years old) supports 16GB and has the good keyboard/trackpad.

System 76

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