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@@ -1,24 +1,59 @@ # Scratch -Spring officially begins next week, but we've already got more daylight hours, which has left us feeling sunny and warm. If you can, shake off the winter dust that's accumulated around you and get outdoors with a new camera or lenses, or, if it's still cold where you are perhaps you'd like a new laptop or smart speaker to bring your home to life. This weekend we've got deals on all of those categories and more. +Linux may not have evolved (yet!) into the mainstream desktop operating system its advocates had hoped, but fans of free software have never had it so good. Dell, Lenovo, HP, Purism, and System76 all sell excellent Linux-based hardware. Time travel back to 2012 to shout the good news and you'll have trouble convincing even the Linux faithful that the future is even brighter than they're dreaming. -### Home and Outdoor Deals +And yet here we are. For the past six weeks I've been working on a System76 Pangolin laptop without ever giving a thought to the fact that I am not using Windows. Everything just works. The operating system is integrated with the hardware. The hardware is outstanding (more in that below), and I am hard pressed to find anything to complain about. -#### [Echo Dot (5th Gen) With Clock for $45 ($15 off)](https://www.amazon.com/All-New-release-clock-Smart-speaker/dp/B09B8W5FW7) +### AMD Inside -The latest Echo Dot comes equipped with a new custom full-range driver for improved sound and a sensor that triggers Alexa to perform a task based on the room's temperature (like turning on your smart fan when the room gets too warm). While it will likely be even cheaper for Prime Day, this is still a good deal. The kids version is also [on sale for $50 ($10 off)](https://www.amazon.com/All-New-release-Designed-parental-controls/dp/B09B96PMLY/). +System76 has been making Linux laptops for longer than most of the big names that it now competes against, and in most respects is way ahead of everyone else. The Pangolin line launched two years ago as the company's first AMD laptop. The latest iteration features a Ryzen 7 6800U processor, with 32 gigabytes of RAM, and up to 16 terabytes of SSD storage. -#### [30 Percent Off Jarvis Standing Desks](https://www.fully.com/standing-desks/jarvis/jarvis-adjustable-height-desk-bamboo.html) +As you might expect, 16 terabytes does not come cheap. The base model Pangolin is a reasonable $1,300, which gets you a single 250 gigabyte SSD (with a slot for a second). Fully decked out at 16 terabytes you'd be looking at $4,213. Most of us don't need that much storage, but I especially like having two drive slots, which gives you a lot of flexibility to upgrade down the road. -We showcased this deal last week, but it's too good not to mention again. Jarvis bamboo standing desks are our favorite way to deck out our home office. There's a wide variety of of sizes and configurations to choose from, and right now nearly everything is 30 percent off. The final price depends on how you customize your desk but the cheapest version is $329. Many of these are also [on sale at Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Jarvis-Standing-Desk-Bamboo-Top/dp/B07PJTVSKR/). +The 15-inch form factor is my least favorite part of this laptop—it's just too big for me—but if you love a huge screen and a 10-key number pad, the Pangolin delivers. That said, the big, wide screen is nice, and major bonus point for the matte display. The 1920×1080 FHD screen has a 144 Hz refresh rate, which is nice for gaming. -#### [SteelSeries Apex Pro Mechanical Keyboard for $140 ($30 off)](https://www.amazon.com/SteelSeries-Apex-Mechanical-Gaming-Keyboard/dp/B07SVJJCP3/ +The size makes the Pangolin on the heavy side at just shy of 4 pounds. That's not overly heavy for a 15-inch laptop, but it definitely feels large coming from a 2.5 pound 13-inch laptop. The build quality is great. It's not quite Thinkpad-level great, but as close as you're going to get without buying a Thinkpad. -This deal has been coming and going for a couple of weeks now, but it's a good price for a SteelSeries keyboard of this calibre. It can be programed with custom profiles, which means you have a sedate daytime look for work and then another profile for gaming with lighting effects at night. +Pangolin remains impressively thin at under an inch despite the plethora of ports that System76 has packed in. There's Gigabit Ethernet, HDMI 2.0, a single USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port (with DisplayPort support, but not Thunderbolt), three USB-A ports, a 3.5mm headphone/microphone combo jack, and a full size SD card reader. I can't tell you how much I miss full size SD card readers. Also note that unlike the previous model, this Pangolin can charge over USB-C. System76 provides a barrel-style charge cord, but I primarily it using my own USB-C charger (this [Satechi](https://www.amazon.com/Satechi-108W-USB-C-3-Port-Charger/dp/B09888WNM4)). -#### [Logitech K380 Wireless Bluetooth Keyboard for $30 ($10 off)](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0876P8VHN/) +It's also worth noting that System76 has included a hardware camera kill switch for privacy. I was curious how this works and after a bit of tinkering, discovered that it does indeed completely drop the camera from the system bus. It's a nice little feature for those that want it—saves you some electrical tape anyway. + +I really like the Pangolin's keyboard. The keys have a pleasant bounciness to them with a nice return. The keys seem every so slightly larger than what I am used to on my Lenovo, which took a minute to adjust to, but once I was comfortable I much prefer the System76 keyboard. That said, I am not a fan of number pads and the way they make the rest of the keyboard (and trackpad) off-center. It didn't bother me enough to be a deal-breaker, but I'd love to see an option to not have a number pad, I have no problem with dead space to the side of my keyboard. I should also mention that I am a key pounder and everyone in my family commented on how quiet the Pangolin keyboard was compared to, apparently every other laptop I type on. + +The AMD Ryzen 7 6800U chip delivers impressive performance. Sysbench scores were well above any other Linux laptops I've tested recently (I got 4,786 events per second on a single core). It doesn't have a dedicated GPU, but I found the integrated graphics perform very well compared to previous generation AMD graphics. If you're looking for a full-time gaming rig, this probably isn't going to cut it, but for the casual gamer the Pangolin will be able to hold its own. The bottom line is this is a plenty powerful machine for most people. The only real limitation for some will be the 32 gigabytes of RAM, which is not upgradeable. + +Battery life in Linux is often... not great. I am happy to report that the Pangolin managed 8.5 hours of battery life in our standard battery drain test, which involves playing a 1080p video at 75 percent brightness with networking turned off. That's actually quite good for a screen this size and the better news is that in real world use I almost always got through a full workday without needing a charger. + + + +Downsides: 32 gb ram, no 4k, no Thunderbolt + +### Pop_OS! Linux + +As with all of System76’s Linux-powered laptops, the all-new Pangolin comes with System76’s custom built Pop!_OS Linux distribution installed. As I said when I reviewed HP's Dev One laptop, which also ran Pop!_OS, Pop!_OS provides the best user experience I've seen in a Linux desktop. It manages to be easy enough for Linux newcomers to find their way around, while still offers a good amount of power-user features. Want tiling windows? Just toggle a switch in a toolbar menu. There are loads of (customizable) keyboard shortcuts for developers who eschew the mouse, and there's plenty of trackpad gestures to control workspaces, window focus, and more. + +As a long time Linux user perhaps I am biased, but to my mind the user experience of Pop!_OS is better than what you'll get on macOS or Windows. + +If you do have an issue, this is one of the easiest systems to get some help. At the bottom of the Settings menu, there's a Support panel. From there you can get to online documentation, community support chat (which often includes system76 engineers), and, if all else fails, you can submit a support ticket, complete with log files for system76's support staff to help you out. + +If you're a seasoned Linux user with your own prefered distro you can of course wipe Pop!_OS and install your favorite. I tested Arch Linux and it installed and worked without any special effort on my end. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +Every time I review a System76 laptop some neckbeard shows up in the comments a bit like Comic Store guy from the Simpsons, "ahem, excuse me, this are actually just rebranded Clevo laptops," so let's get that out of the way first. Not really. System76 works with upstream manufacturers like Clevo to spec out systems with hardware components that work with Linux and then write drivers where needed to make sure that the finished product is a seamless experience. Naturally Clevo also offers up a similar-looking chassis for sale, but there's none of the custom firmware or drivers that make it works so well. -If the above keyboard is overkill for you, we also really like this mini, simple, and cheap Bluetooth keyboard. It doesn't have a number pad, and requires two AAA batteries, but on the plus side, it comes in pink. # Guides Existing |