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If you're in the market for new hardware, perhaps the new Star Labs StarBook 7 might be what you should be looking at. Their 7th generation has a number of nice upgrades and changes compared to what came before.

Naturally, it comes properly tested with full Linux support. With a choice between many different Linux distributions like Ubuntu, Manjaro, MX Linux, Zorin and even Windows 11 if you wish.

You can grab it with either the 1GHz 4-core Intel Processor N200 (Intel UHD Graphics) or the 1.40GHz 16-core Intel Core Ultra 7 Processor 165H (Intel Arc graphics). Both models come with a 14-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit matte display with IPS technology (16:9 3840x2160). You also get 512GB Gen3 PCIe SSD as standard, 8GB of 3200MHz DDR4 memory, Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX210, Bluetooth 5.3, a 65-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery they claim has up to 14 hours battery life and plenty of ports available:

Left

  • HDMI
  • USB Type A
  • Ultra 7:
  • 2x Thunderbolt 4.0 with Power Delivery 3.0
  • N200:
  • 2x USB Type C with Power Delivery 3.0

Right

  • Micro SD Memory Card Reader
  • USB 3.0
  • USB 2.0
  • 3.5mm Combination Jack

You can also have it with coreboot and firmware updates easily via LVFS.

Nice to see a UK hardware vendor doing well, as we don't have too many of them, a lot of Linux hardware is often pretty centered around the USA.

See more on the Star Labs website. Pricing starts at £597 right now during pre-production for early-bird savings, but after it will go up to £753.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly checked on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly.
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7 comments

Dorrit Aug 21
A 14 inch monitor with 16:9 aspect ratio? No thanks.
lilovent Aug 21
A squashed cursor block a la apple macbook again... no thanks.
geekening Aug 21
Intel only processor... no thanks
tmtvl Aug 22
Seems like this is a thing now, lessee... no DVD drive? No thanks.
Unfortunately, I'll have to pass because the RAM's soldered. I would've preferred if I could swap it out further down the line for future-proofing.
vox Aug 22
Not sure about all the hate comments here, but I thought I would join in in the end. No DP port and having HDMI is a bad idea, considering recent news about their licensing scam with drivers.
adamhm Aug 30
I decided to email Star Labs asking if they had any plans for an AMD version as I'll be looking for a new laptop in the near future - and Intel are not an option right now with the scandals regarding their CPUs & customer support currently going on - and this is what they told me:

QuoteWe don't - not until AMD improve their support for open-source projects.

So I asked them if they could elaborate. To their credit they replied very quickly, but with another short response lacking in detail:

QuoteThey just don't work with them and have zero interest in doing so; it doesn't look like it'll change any time soon especially as Google ended their agreement.

Shame. My experience with AMD on Linux has been almost entirely positive and I even switched to AMD GPUs due to their move to open source drivers & increasing open source support, so I'm not sure why Star Labs are claiming AMD's support is so lacking.
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