Dell fanboy
I’ve just read your article entitled Launching Linux Laptops in LXF220. I’m a big fan of the Dell XPS Developer and am on my second machine, having passed my old one (2013) to my wife.
We’ve been using Linux as our household’s only operating system for about 10 years. The advantage of the Dell developer machines is that you don’t have to remove Windows from a new machine or leave Windows on a separate partition to maintain the warranty if things go wrong. You also don’t have to worry if the PC you’ve bought is really compatible with Linux.
The Dell XPS Developer is a superb piece of engineering. Granted, it costs about the same as an Apple machine, but then the Linux software is free, open source and just works, which is certainly not my
experience of Apple machines. I’m happy to pay a premium price for the hardware and then to use the best software that money can’t buy!
I’ve switched Ubuntu for Kubuntu on the two machines that we have because I find the Unity interface rather dull and ugly. Since much of the use of my machine is using Kdenlive for video editing and digiKam for photo processing, it makes sense for me to use KDE, and it has the added advantage of looking good.
I would also like to endorse the comments made by Steve Russell ( LXF220) “Less Geek” and suggest that perhaps there might be articles on something such as RAW image processing in digiKam or video-editing tips
and tricks in Kdenlive. Many thanks for a great magazine. Mike Holmes, via email
Neil says: We’re glad you’re enjoying your Dell XPS 13. Dell had to prise Jonni’s review sample from his cold, dead hands, which was a bit upsetting at the time – in part because Jonni was alive and well when the courier arrived in the office. Thankfully, he’s feeling much better about it now.
As you’re asking for it, I happen to know a semi-pro photographer that uses Linux and loves digiKAM, so perhaps we’ll see a tutorial in a future issue. My thinking has always been that LXF users are clever enough to work all of these programs out for themselves, but I guess it doesn’t hurt to lighten up occasionally and have something more practical in there.