- html/css/js/angularos editing
- need basic linux tools such as ssh
- need to be lightweight, long battery life, slim
My budget is $500
Total cost £370, which is just under $600. If you skip the extra ram and get a lower capacity SSD, you can get this under $500.
I installed Crunchbang 64bit. I do lots of coding on this machine. My battery lasts about 7 hours. Very lightweight. The Thinkpad keyboard is excellent.
I would consider the SSD essential for both speed and battery saving, but you could make it cheaper still without.
You could go back another generation and get an X60/61. These are even cheaper. The Thinkpad build quality is excellent. I expect mine to last for at least 5 years.
Otherwise, what you’re describing is an Ultrabook, and you won’t get a new one for $500.
That’s because of the needs you listed.
Software needs: there are a lot of great code editors for OS X and they are either free or very cheap. The OS also comes with a lot of UNIX tools preinstalled and you can easily install more.
Hardware needs: “lightweight, long battery life, slim”, that’s a description of the MacBook Air if I ever read one. The description also fits Ultraboks, but because they were introduced relatively recently and so few are sold, you’re not likely to find a good one for $500.
> How easy is it to get used to coding on a Mac / installing packages?
Given that you‘re familiar with Windows and Linux distros, that’s not going to be a problem. And in the off-chance that you do not like working with OS X, you can always install another OS.
I recommended the MacBook Air because there’s a big second hand market for them, they’re available within your budget, they fulfil the needs you listed, they’re all around solid, and Apple’s service and warranty is legendary.
You can pry my 18" linux rig from my cold, dead fingers.
The 13" screen works great for development, but at home, I do connect a 27" external display[1].
If I were buying again I'd get 8GB.
With nitrous.io, you will be able to do everything you list. With an installation of chrouton, you can do anything you want, locally and offline. Another tool worth looking at is Caret, a great imitation of Sublime Text that runs as a Chrome app and supports multiple cursors.
I get 3-4 hr battery life, but I have the stock battery. There are others available with 150% the capacity of the original.
Speaking of upgrades, the Acer C7 is the most easily and possibly the only upgradeable chromebook. It supports up to 16GB RAM and any size laptop hard drive. Mine came with a 16GB SSD, of which 2.3GB is available with a full, well used chrouton install. I am thinking of upgrading the RAM as 2GB is getting tight with instances of chrome running under both operating systems. Having a computer with a 1:1 ratio of RAM to hard storage would be kind of strange.
Overall, the keyboard and screen are really nice. The touchpad is what could be expected for $200.
A Chrome app https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/terminal/kogcfmeen...
Free virtual machine (VM) with Ubuntu, root access, apt-get, and many commonly used tools
Built-in Terminal with 256-color support
All languages, databases, and command-line tools are supported
Various file upload options such as Drag & Drop, Dropbox, Clone from Github, FTP and the ability to access them using SSH
Real-time code and terminal collaboration with integrated chat abilities
Subdomains serve PHP, Perl, Python via Apache, and additional ports are available for other web apps
So in my opinion that's your best choice. :)
good luck with that.
Chromebook or http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=Proper... are my suggestions.
9 hr battery life, supposedly. And if it takes after thinkpads, then it supports a native GNU/Linux pretty well.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834314...