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A Kubuntu-Powered Laptop Is Launching In 2020 For High-End KDE Computing
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Last edited by starshipeleven; 18 December 2019, 05:01 AM.
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Originally posted by deppman View PostFrom our press release:
Kubuntu is oh-so-close to more-than-good-enough to replace MBPs, but there are some serious issues that have to be worked out.
For example, we found under some circumstances that the CPU ran far too hot and intel pstate was not working correctly, so we fixed that. And then we found the compositor was prone to crash, so we fixed that. Then sound wouldn't work, so we fixed that. The keyboard LED's needed to work. We needed a Kubuntu meta key. Battery life was initially poor so we found solutions to more than double that. The browser needed to be optimized for GPU acceleration. And the list continues. Some issues were show stoppers, some were just polish.
Because as I said above (only thing I care is a good firmware) I'm not interested in getting a "optimized" firmware-like OS that breaks the moment I try to update it or will go out of support when you stop maintaining it a few years later. There is Android already for that kind of user experience.
I do believe Intel ME is disabled here, but I will need to check and report back.
This device runs circles around a MBP and retails for $1,000 less. It's not as beautiful, but it works much better for many tasks.
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It's perfectly understandable to go with NVidia for a low-volume laptop product. When selling a low-volume product, you should always target a market segment that can provide you a healthy return on your small number of units. Selling low volume at a low price is a formula for bankruptcy. At the high end, NVidia is pwning AMD both for FPS per watt, and for FPS, period. Their drivers also come with a minimum of drama, and excellent launch-day performance. AMD on the other hand offer launch day drivers sometimes, and drivers that start out generally performing below the previous generation in the same performance class, but overtaking over the course of a year or two, and achieving better FPS per watt toward the end of their lifetime, which makes their used parts excellent value... but used parts are not the target market for a high-end, low-volume product... so NVidia is really the only choice. And even the relative "open"-ness of the drivers is moot since there doesn't exist an AMD GPU driver stack that comes without blobs.
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Originally posted by linuxgeex View Post
Also I'd like to question the claim that "openness of drivers is moot because AMD GPu stack without blobs don't exist". We are talking of drivers here, not firmware. Firmware does not block me to use only specific Xorg versions, for example.
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Originally posted by deppman View PostBattery life was initially poor so we found solutions to more than double that.
I think I might have been in your target market. A while ago I got a reasonably specced Dell Precision 5520 with Nvidia graphics, installed Kubuntu, and while the battery life is acceptable, the thermal performance is so abysmal that I cannot run any meaningful workload (scientific image processing) on the machine without the CPU throttling. But if your machine does not get me through a few lectures in a row on battery, then I will still prefer my crappy Precision 5520 with non-optimized Kubuntu.
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Originally posted by deppman View PostMario Junior ... Nvidia ...
Nvidia is a great company that make great products. Do I wish they were more open with Linux? Sure. But remember, they have been using Ubuntu exclusively for their Tegra Hardware for over 5 years now and have had very good Linux drivers for 15 years. Once we tuned for the graphics card, we found some surprising results. For example, battery life is better using the GPU! That makes hybrid and switchable graphics simply not worth the trouble and the system is far more stable.
For example, every company that offers Linux as a pre-installed OS is Intel-based. Not a single one through the market is AMD-based. This is silly. And a missed opportunity.
There should be:
Intel+Nvidia
Intel+AMD
AMD+Nvidia (well, why not?)
AMD+AMD
We are not talking about a hundred combinations, it's just 4.
Originally posted by deppman View PostThe key refrain from MBP lovers is it "just works" and "it's beautiful"
Hence that key refrain is absolutely moot.
Linux users are much less impressionable and will research and decide for their own (and I'm not just talking about IT). Offering a choice is really important in these conditions. Because people are informed and know their stuff.
I understand why you would want to overturn that and have something that "just works" for original non-Linux users, but bear in mind Linux enthusiasts would still be your first target (if you're not, it's less likely you'll go for a Linux-based computer), so hearing their requests of a choice might be a safeguard.
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Originally posted by starshipeleven View PostSince when Clevo laptops are "low volume"? It's a highly mass-produced commercial OEM product.
Also I'd like to question the claim that "openness of drivers is moot because AMD GPu stack without blobs don't exist". We are talking of drivers here, not firmware. Firmware does not block me to use only specific Xorg versions, for example.
Anyhow, digressing... so say 8 staff * $64,000 per year cost and $32,000 paid each, 3 managers at $96,000 cost and $48,000 paid each, = $800,000 plus payroll taxes is an even million. $10,000 per month for a small warehouse/call center/workshop/office space within 20 minute transit ride of an urban center. We're now at $1,120,000 for basic annual overhead. If we sell a $2240 laptop with a 50% gross margin aka "Keystone" and we sell 1000 of them per year then we'll exactly break even, assuming we pay the owner nothing, there's no debt costs whatsoever, no lawsuits, and the owner does all the licensing and accounting, hand-delivers each and every laptop out of the goodness of their heart, and no customer returns a single one. Sell 2000 $2,240 laptops and you might start to reliably pay for shipping and warranty costs, if your product is well-received by your target market. Sell 3000 and the risks involved in running this business might actually start to make sense. Have a sale with 30% off on 1000 laptops and you'll need to sell nearly 4000 units to make the business worthwhile. AKA participating in "black friday".
So really, 4000 is "low volume" for a company selling a $2,240 laptop.
OMG I completely forgot advertising... a startup needs to spend a minimum of 10% gross revenue on advertising. That would bring the minimum closer to 5000 units.Last edited by linuxgeex; 18 December 2019, 07:19 AM.
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Originally posted by JanW View PostSo how long does the battery last then?
How does that compare to a MBP?
This is comparable to what is available as optional on businness laptops. Is your Precision using the optional "6-cell 97Wh Lithium Ion battery " I see offered in the configurator?
Then it has the same battery of a MacBook that claims to last 9-10 hours (of light use I guess).
This laptop has only a "4 cells Polymer battery pack 62Wh" and I doubt that even "double that" is close to 9-10 hours of light use.
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Originally posted by linuxgeex View PostThere is no mass market for a Linux laptop
Or I guess you need to define your concept of "mass market" better. For me, that means thousands of units sold.
Bearing in mind that hiring Millennials
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