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What Are The Best Laptops For Programmers And Hackers?! - Programming (2) - Nairaland

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Re: What Are The Best Laptops For Programmers And Hackers?! by Nobody: 11:39pm On Feb 17, 2016
Maxmmanuel:
OK! What do you guys think about the Dell XPS 15?

The Dell XPS 15 price starts at $1,500 (or is there a cheaper one) that's #300,000 to #500,000 is that what you call low budget? or is confusion taking over you? ....well i have checked the specs online and in my opinion they are one of the best PCs in the market and also one of the very few PCs bold enough to compete with the macbook pros (13" and 15"wink. If you like windows BUY IT.

But my young friend, why are you so concerned with getting the best laptop(which is macbook pro by the way), its like a cook looking for the best cooking pot to make continental dishes. Chances are that you will want to baby this laptop, you might not even want to dual boot windows and linux into it or do some other cool stuff cuz you don't want it to "spoil", but if i am wrong and you can afford it buy it
Re: What Are The Best Laptops For Programmers And Hackers?! by Maxmmanuel(m): 8:33am On Feb 18, 2016
LOL! @ovoSoftware Why won't I want to dual boot or do other cool stuff on it? I just love that laptop (I love Windows too)..... Ok let me go with you. Please tell me a good (with good config) I can buy with 50k!
Re: What Are The Best Laptops For Programmers And Hackers?! by Nobody: 2:19pm On Feb 18, 2016
Maxmmanuel:
LOL! @ovoSoftware Why won't I want to dual boot or do other cool stuff on it? I just love that laptop (I love Windows too)..... Ok let me go with you. Please tell me a good (with good config) I can buy with 50k!

Lenovo Mini Laptops, 8hours Battery, 320gb Hdd, 4gb Ram ,11.0 Inch screen...except you want to go for used laptops(I advice against that) this should be about 50k for a brand new one....you can also check out other mini laptops with at least 4gb ram.

This should be enough then when you are a pro, receiving jobs to program for different platforms and the money starts flying in you get a better one (macbook pro) or your fav. dell xps 15(brand new)

1 Like

Re: What Are The Best Laptops For Programmers And Hackers?! by Maxmmanuel(m): 6:51pm On Feb 18, 2016
Thanks so much @ovoSoftware. I sent u a follower request on twitter, maybe u should axept it! Cyprian Okonkwo Jnr is my fb id! Thanx once again!
Re: What Are The Best Laptops For Programmers And Hackers?! by broswilli: 2:16pm On Feb 19, 2016
ovoSoftware:
for programming I would go for macbook pro.....BUT WHY.....welll because
1. the best software for web development exits on OS X eg TextMate and more....it is believed that the best developers are on macs so they built the best tools on macs

2. windows is considered to be slow, complex and unreliable in comparison to OS X

3.Mac OS X is the only platform that allows you to develop for any platform - web, Microsoft windows (bootcamp), iOS , Mac, Unix and Linux


for hacking....I mean serious hacking ....the only laptop I have seen that is close to that of a desktop is the Sky X9W having
1. 64gb ram (DDR4 2666MHz)
2. 5tb of ssd disk space
3. Intel’s Skylake i7-6700K
4. ultra HD (4K) display
5.  8GB Quadro M5000M GPU.
6  3 fans onboard to keep the workstation from overheating
.......this beast will be able to do a brute force attack (to test possible key combinations) pretty well.... but that is only if you have $11,000 to spend


NOTE : the above writeup is subjective

Although most modern computers can be used for programming, but if you are programming mobile apps and you want to target as many phones as possible then you should use a mac because only mac can be used to compile your code for use with iphones. Most programmers don't need this feature so most modern machines can start you out as a programmer cheers

2 Likes

Re: What Are The Best Laptops For Programmers And Hackers?! by danidee10(m): 1:17am On Feb 21, 2016
ari3l:


Xamarin codes iOS.
Do your research very well.

https://developer.xamarin.com/guides/ios/getting_started/hello,_ios/

Xamarin works on windows and linux as well

Xamarin is not native
Re: What Are The Best Laptops For Programmers And Hackers?! by danidee10(m): 1:41am On Feb 21, 2016
Let me clear the air....there is no best laptop, disregard all these comments about Mac book pro, it's a good laptop but certainly not the best. IMHO just get a decent pc at least a dual core laptop and start plugging away. As a Beginner it's even better to get a low-end laptop as it forces you to write better code to maximize performance instead of buying a beast that'll run bad code quickly

At the end of the day you'll know exactly what you want.

3d game development you'll need a system with a powerful gpu

Number crunching and heavy arithmetic you'll need a fast multi-core processor etc

As for hacking, i don't mean to discourage you but just forget about it...most nigerian so called and aspiring hackers are just script kiddies that can't build their own exploits, hacking is so much more than firing up a terminal or knowing how to use metasploit you have to be extremely knowledgeable and smarter than programmers and hardware designers to outsmart them and find loop holes in their systems, not just re-using old tricks that can't break high profile targets

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Re: What Are The Best Laptops For Programmers And Hackers?! by Fulaman198(m): 8:34am On Feb 21, 2016
ovoSoftware:


MACS ARE OVERPRICED?!!!!!!
well that's your personal opinion and i respect it, but you didn't even compare any similar PC with the same specs as a MAC before reaching such outrageous conclusion. I did my own comparison and discovered that......
The highest priced mac in the market (this is the highest I SAW) is the maxed out Mac Pro which costs $9600, And that's certainly not cheap, but building an ALMOST equivalent Windows PC costs $11,500.

From a webpage called "Extremetech.com":

"12-core Intel Xeon E5-2697 V2 CPU ($2750), two AMD FirePro W9000 graphics cards ($3,400 each), Asus Rampage IV Gene micro ATX motherboard ($280), Silverstone FT03 and Strider 850W PSU ($360), 32GB of Corsair Vengeance DDR3 RAM ($360), and two 512GB Samsung 840 Pro SSDs ($450 each). Plus a windows 8 copy. That is 11,500$

Despite costing $2,000 more than the Mac Pro, the DIY PC isn’t even as good: It has 32GB of RAM instead of 64GB, and the PC doesn’t have Thunderbolt support. The Silverstone case, though similarly shaped, is still much larger than the cylindrical Mac Pro.
Futurelooks also took a look at the entry-level Mac Pro ($3,000) and found that it was impossible to build a comparable DIY PC ($4,000)."


So for the absolute professionals, a Mac Pro is cheaper. But as a mid-level guy why will i want to buy this, if someone asks me for the best without adding: "I want to get one for my programming carrier"......it will be absurd to say "get anyone with at least 4gb RAM"

Not necessarily true, but try again:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7dNXramIIY
Re: What Are The Best Laptops For Programmers And Hackers?! by Fulaman198(m): 8:36am On Feb 21, 2016
danidee10:


Xamarin is not native

I responded to her already about that, she was wrong. You also need a Mac if you want to use Xamarin to develop iOS apps on Linux/Windows.
Re: What Are The Best Laptops For Programmers And Hackers?! by Djade007: 1:53pm On Feb 21, 2016
I still can't think of why I would waste money and buy a macbook. My current windows pc is just perfect.

It uses a 9cell battery which lasts up to 9 hours and its replacement battery is readily available in Lagos.
Specs
Core i5
8gb ram
512gb ssd hard drive


And it cost less than 200k, a similar configuration on a mac would cost about 600k
Re: What Are The Best Laptops For Programmers And Hackers?! by asalimpo(m): 2:30pm On Feb 21, 2016
Is there a programming career path in nigeria? Apart from web (php) dev?
Re: What Are The Best Laptops For Programmers And Hackers?! by danidee10(m): 2:40pm On Feb 21, 2016
asalimpo:
Is there a programming career path in nigeria? Apart from web (php) dev?

Mobile app dev
Re: What Are The Best Laptops For Programmers And Hackers?! by danidee10(m): 2:40pm On Feb 21, 2016
Djade007:
I still can't think of why I would waste money and buy a macbook. My current windows pc is just perfect.

It uses a 9cell battery which lasts up to 9 hours and its replacement battery is readily available in Lagos.
Specs
Core i5
8gb ram
512gb ssd hard drive

Ssd hard drive.....Cmon bro undecided
Re: What Are The Best Laptops For Programmers And Hackers?! by emeritusali(m): 2:53pm On Feb 21, 2016
Please, where can I learn programming in Ibadan, Oyo state Nigeria.
Re: What Are The Best Laptops For Programmers And Hackers?! by Nobody: 2:55pm On Feb 21, 2016
Fulaman198:


Not necessarily true, but try again:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7dNXramIIY


Oh, thank you for your valuable insight without any proof. You have just wasted 6mins of my time watching a video from confused set of people (TechSource).
Here is what TechSource said about the video:
"Wow, people still complaining about this video? You guys do realize it was made in 1/2014...Lots of noobness existed back then. From then I have learned a lot, check out my recent Gaming PC Builds smiley"

Pls check out the part two of that video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZVJnWcRHB8
Re: What Are The Best Laptops For Programmers And Hackers?! by Djade007: 3:14pm On Feb 21, 2016
danidee10:


Ssd hard drive.....Cmon bro undecided

You should know I wanted to emphasis the storage
Re: What Are The Best Laptops For Programmers And Hackers?! by Djade007: 4:10pm On Feb 21, 2016
Ovosoftware what is the exact spec of your mac?
Re: What Are The Best Laptops For Programmers And Hackers?! by danidee10(m): 7:42pm On Feb 21, 2016
Djade007:


You should know I wanted to emphasis the storage

Yeah i know was just pulling your legs. but seriously a 512gb ssd, that's super cool
Re: What Are The Best Laptops For Programmers And Hackers?! by dazekid(m): 12:05pm On Feb 22, 2016
seunoni34:

I disagree with you. How can you say Mac the most limited os in the world allows for development on every platform? What's wrong with all you apple fan boys and over hyping your gadgets? And how can you say windows is slow in development,? You definitely havent used a windows system before.

Just so you know, I'm using imac( 8gb ram and 1tera) to write programs in the office, and this has to be the worst system ever. Only one server works well with Mac os which is mamp(and youve to pay for it). And it's by far the slowest of all. I compiled a php program using my 4gb RAM system with xampp and it was 3 times faster than my imac.

Besides, if Mac os was that flexible, how come developers hardly write serious apps for it? Fifa, pes, hit man and other power games wasn't developed for Mac for the same reason. Please get your facts right

I guess the problems you have depend on you. Saying only mamp works well on osX means you haven't even done your research. Your speed results might even simply be as a result of being a primary windows user because osX is definitely more efficient than windows on the same hardware level.
Lastly, you talk about serious apps then go on to list games but everybody knows that osX is more about productivity and as such gaming isn't a major focus. "Serious" programs are readily available on osX those that aren't have alternatives.
Re: What Are The Best Laptops For Programmers And Hackers?! by dazekid(m): 12:12pm On Feb 22, 2016
FincoApps:


Mehn I agree with the Macbook suggestion.

But the second is weird....very weird. What would an hacker want to use Such config for ?

Laptops like that are meant for 3d game designers or heavy 3d graphics designers.

OP, any laptop with fair config is okay for hacking.... you could get Kali-Linux, Backtrack or Gentu OS to make your hacking life easier

I understand your perspective on this but I can guarantee you that the person you quoted is spot on. Serious hackers(ethical or otherwise) need high performance hardware. Mapping ports using cain on a 4GB RAM system isn't even comparable with an 8GB RAM system, running through a dictionary list that is over 5GB in size is a futile venture on a low end system, heck you might even need to run various vulnerability testing software at once, whilst performing other exploits, low end systems aren't cut out for this.
I guess the issue here is most people are giving replies from a programmer perspective. The situation is different from a hacker perspective.
Re: What Are The Best Laptops For Programmers And Hackers?! by dazekid(m): 12:15pm On Feb 22, 2016
Fulaman198:


Exactly, and fellow Nigerians you should really be thinking of building productive applications rather than thinking about hacking. I mean come on now.

Hacking is divided into different areas o, besides, not everybody can be a developer na.
Re: What Are The Best Laptops For Programmers And Hackers?! by FincoApps(m): 4:53pm On Feb 22, 2016
dazekid:


I understand your perspective on this but I can guarantee you that the person you quoted is spot on. Serious hackers(ethical or otherwise) need high performance hardware. Mapping ports using cain on a 4GB RAM system isn't even comparable with an 8GB RAM system, running through a dictionary list that is over 5GB in size is a futile venture on a low end system, heck you might even need to run various vulnerability testing software at once, whilst performing other exploits, low end systems aren't cut out for this.
I guess the issue here is most people are giving replies from a programmer perspective. The situation is different from a hacker perspective.

There are just more efficient ways to do such. Most people, (not only you) say a powerful machine is needed for hacking mainly because of brute-forcing or dictionary attacks. But trust me, my 16gb ram laptop has done more damage in a shorter time. It's all about your approach
Re: What Are The Best Laptops For Programmers And Hackers?! by rahman3853(m): 7:12pm On Feb 22, 2016
ovoSoftware:
for programming I would go for macbook pro.....BUT WHY.....welll because
1. the best software for web development exits on OS X eg TextMate and more....it is believed that the best developers are on macs so they built the best tools on macs

2. windows is considered to be slow, complex and unreliable in comparison to OS X

3.Mac OS X is the only platform that allows you to develop for any platform - web, Microsoft windows (bootcamp), iOS , Mac, Unix and Linux


for hacking....I mean serious hacking ....the only laptop I have seen that is close to that of a desktop is the Sky X9W having
1. 64gb ram (DDR4 2666MHz)
2. 5tb of ssd disk space
3. Intel’s Skylake i7-6700K
4. ultra HD (4K) display
5.  8GB Quadro M5000M GPU.
6  3 fans onboard to keep the workstation from overheating
.......this beast will be able to do a brute force attack (to test possible key combinations) pretty well.... but that is only if you have $11,000 to spend


NOTE : the above writeup is subjective
tru talk, lol. For ur mind!!!!! Like kilode....Baba o de joooo!!!!! Weytin u want hack? FBI database?

2 Likes

Re: What Are The Best Laptops For Programmers And Hackers?! by webdevgod: 2:49pm On Feb 25, 2016
laptops are useless for development.

For better performance, you want to use a Mac
Re: What Are The Best Laptops For Programmers And Hackers?! by asalimpo(m): 9:41pm On Feb 28, 2016
webdevgod:
laptops are useless for development.
For better performance, you want to use a Mac
What about those who've been doing all their developments on lappies? Didnt their code run? Didnt it compile?
Re: What Are The Best Laptops For Programmers And Hackers?! by airsaylongcon: 10:25pm On Feb 28, 2016
Ayam seeing programming goons here o! FincoApps webdevgod asalimpo u r all sighted. Una do well

1 Like

Re: What Are The Best Laptops For Programmers And Hackers?! by jidez007: 10:57pm On Feb 28, 2016
asalimpo:

What about those who've been doing all their developments on lappies?
Didnt their code run?
Didnt it compile?

Abi na. If not for Adobe creative suite that is not on Linux, I would just be using Linux alone. But I just like how my pc is dual booted with Windows and Linux.

And if its speed, my pc boots in less than 20 seconds

2 Likes

Re: What Are The Best Laptops For Programmers And Hackers?! by Fulaman198(m): 11:04pm On Feb 28, 2016
In regards to OS Fluidity they are all very fluid (Windows, OS X, Ubuntu/Mint Linux, etc.). It's mainly about your computer's specs. One is not better than the other. I have used all 3 extensively. All are great for programmers but I'd say GNU Linux and Mac OS X are the best for programmers. Windows is more about the user experience.
Re: What Are The Best Laptops For Programmers And Hackers?! by FincoApps(m): 8:19am On Feb 29, 2016
jidez007:


Abi na. If not for Adobe creative suite that is not on Linux, I would just be using Linux alone. But I just like how my pc is dual booted with Windows and Linux.

And if its speed, my pc boots in less than 20 seconds

Try using wine on Linux. It works for most windows apps
Re: What Are The Best Laptops For Programmers And Hackers?! by FincoApps(m): 8:20am On Feb 29, 2016
airsaylongcon:
Ayam seeing programming goons here o! FincoApps webdevgod asalimpo u r all sighted. Una do well

Lol Warehouse programming master, I see you too o smiley
Re: What Are The Best Laptops For Programmers And Hackers?! by DonSegmond(m): 9:20pm On Feb 29, 2016
Use whatever you can afford.

My main laptop is a used chromebook that I paid N15,000 for 2+ years ago.
As some of you may know, a chromebook is very light, 2gb of ram, mine has a 16gb sd drive.
I added an 8gb ram I had to bring it to 10gb ram, it still has only the 16gb drive, and I use a 64gb sd card I have when I need additional storage.

I install crouton on it which lets me run chromeOS and linux in parallel.

With this laptop, I do python, java, php, ruby, clojure, c/c++, c#, prolog, lisp programming.

It's not a good machine for mobile programming, so if you really need to do android or ios then i won't advice it.

Point is, it doesn't take much to write programs, like someone mentioned earlier, you are the one that is going to write the code, not the computer, so don't waste your hard earned money on the most expensive computers, just get the minimal best that you can and spend the rest of your money on classes, books and learning or saving it for other important things.
Re: What Are The Best Laptops For Programmers And Hackers?! by webdevgod: 10:43pm On Mar 06, 2016
asalimpo:

What about those who've been doing all their developments on lappies?
Didnt their code run?
Didnt it compile?

It will but windows is very slow, and not efficient enough.

You're better off using a Mac or Linux for better performance and efficiency

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