[Info-vax] OpenVMS books

[Craig A. Berry]

On 7/23/17 1:15 PM, Paul Sture wrote:
> On 2017-07-23, VAXman-  @SendSpamHere.ORG <VAXman- at SendSpamHere.ORG> wrote:
>>
>> Over the years, I've purchased several x86 laptops for Linux.  Back In 2012, I
>> purchased an HP Envy 17.  It was quite a pricey upper end x86.  It just failed
>> catastrophically yesterday.  To put that in perspective, my 2002 PowerBook 17
>> and 2009 MacBook Pro 17 are still functioning.  I don't think it's the x86 at
>> fault here since the MBP is intel based.  However, the commodity marketspace
>> of the x86 has made many of the offering based around it cheap -- not just in
>> price. ;)  The Envy, for example, had a plastic frame part in a stress point
>> at the hinge.  Not even a month into owning it, a screw stripped out from it.
> 
> IIRC you told us how expensive replacement parts were for the Envy.  It looks
> like HP apply ink pricing policies for those.
> 
>> The touted "beats" audio in it was awful.  The whole thing buzzed like an old
>> rear deck speaker in a late model car.
> 
> Oh, the memories of those buzzing speakers back in the 60s...
> 
> My worst PC audio purchase was a pair of Sony "PC Speakers". Absolutely
> rubbish when compared to the speakers which came with a cheapish JVC CD
> Player/Radio combo (which I'd bought for kitchen use). That ended up
> being a replacement for the Sony speakers.
> 
>>   However, despite those hardware kinks, it was one of the better
>>   environments I've ever gotten Linux running upon.  I don't have any
>>   real-world experience with x86 servers but I do have clients that
>>   seem to be replacing them all too often while OpenVMS running
>>   hardware just keeps on going like the Energizer Bunny.
>>
>> Just my $0.02.  Does anybody have any pointers to a low-cost x86 laptop?  17"
>> preferred.  I may ??? have found another Envy (used) but you never know.
> 
> A quick search on "linux laptop" brought up a range of laptops at
> system76:
> 
> <https://system76.com/laptops>

For a review of that and a review of one of its competitors, see:

<https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/11/system76-oryx-pro-review-linux-in-a-laptop-has-never-been-better/>

<https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/06/the-beefy-dell-precision-7520-de-can-out-muscle-a-growing-linux-laptop-field/>