Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition: Linus Torvalds' Favorite Laptop

Short Bytes: We know that Fedora is Linus Torvalds’ favorite Linux distro and he dislikes Debian. But, what about his favorite programming laptop? In a recent Google+ post, Torvalds revealed that he recently bought a Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition and it looks like a “very solid machine.”

Few weeks ago, Linux creator Linus Torvalds wrote a Google+ post and asked for his followers’ input on a new laptop. He asked for a “real Core i5 or i7” that he could use to build Linux kernel. Recently, in another Google+ post, Torvalds told that he has found a new laptop for his programming needs.

Before moving ahead, let me tell you about the things he was looking for in a laptop. Torvalds doesn’t use his laptop as a desktop replacement. Instead, he uses it for traveling purposes. So, it needed to be fairly small and light. Other requirements included a good screen. Interestingly, Torvalds doesn’t care about “all day battery life” and touch-screen.

“I’m ok with 8GB/256GB of RAM/SSD. I’ve lived with 4GB when on the road for several years, I don’t want to do that any more, but I also don’t need huge amounts of RAM. I compile the kernel, I don’t run big VM’s or other odd things,” he wrote.

Before deciding the final laptop, Torvalds had few options in mind. He was considering Asus UX305UA, Lenovo X1 Carbon, Dell XPS 13, and Lenovo Yoga 900. In the end, he decided to settle with the Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition, which comes with preinstalled Ubuntu operating system.

Dell XPS 13 comes with a 13.3-inch display with a 3,200×1,800 touchscreen. That’s 280 pixels per inch–60 pixels more than a MacBook Pro with Retina display.

We don’t know about exact hardware specifications of Torvalds’ XPS 13, but its popular model comes with 2.2GHz 6th Generation Intel Core i7-6560U Skylake processor, 16GB DDR3 RAM, and a 512GB SSD.

Dell claims that XPS 13 comes with a 12-hour battery, thanks to its 56wHT, 4-Cell Battery. While there are some minor issues with this machine, it stands tall as one of the best laptops around.

So, if you are willing to buy a new machine, you can give Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition a try. Don’t forget to drop your feedback in the comments section.

Also Read: Why Linus Torvalds Doesn’t Like Using Debian Or Ubuntu Linux?