As the title says, I am currently learning to be a programmer, and my tablet does not suffice for the job.
I have already finished a small MEAN-Stack application for learning Typescript, learned some Java syntax (I expect nothing more exciting than a sorting algorithm, but exam language is Java, so…) and the next stop will most likely be plain vanilla C to learn about handling hardware.
Windows I hate with a passion, and I don’t know squat about Macs, so I am thinking of getting myself a decently sized laptop for a sensible Linux install.
History (I started my Liux journey with SuSE Linux 4.4.1, way back when) taught me to be very wary of driver issues on laptops, so I thought I could ask you for recommendations that play fair with Linux.
(as an aside, if I could play GuildWars2 on it in the evening and attach my two big monitors when at home, that would be super cool)
If you want to learn how to program (C++, Jave, etc.), the most hardware demanding task is using the browser. So, your requirements couldn’t be any lower. Any toaster from the past say 8 years will do fine.
E.g. have a look the the Dell Latitude 7480. You can get it second hand in really good shape upwards from 200 EUR. It’s well built, well repairable, works well with Linux and the battery lasts a day.
Forget about GPUs. (iGPUs are sufficient, dGPUs are expensive, unnecessary for your use-case and draw lots of battery.)
P.S. And have a look at Arch Linux.
P.P.S. You might also have a look at war games.
Running a mongo database, an express server in VSCode with nodejs, the Angular app, also in VSCode with nodejs and the browsers proved a bit difficult for my existing (and ooold) refurbed Dell latitude. It might have been the last windoofs update that brought it to bay, too. I don’t know.
Thank you for the wargames, I am going to try my hand.