After Successful Pilot Program Dubbed 'Project Sputnik', Dell Launching Developer Laptop

After playing a successful pilot program, Dell will be releasing an Ubuntu developer laptop codenamed Project Sputnik later this year. The project will essentially be an XPS13 Ultrabook with an Ubuntu 12.04 build that runs several developer tools.

The Ubuntu developer laptop specializes in client-to-cloud solutions. The laptop allows developers to run simulations of cloud solutions called " microclouds" where they can test environments before deploying them. The laptops use LXC virtual environment containers to run the microclouds. The "microclouds" can be deployed to Ubuntu instances running on Amazon OpenStack and eventually Microsoft Azure clouds.

Dell will be making an Ubuntu install image available that's customized for the XPS13 computer just in case people want to run dual-boot systems with Ubuntu and Windows. The Ubuntu developer laptop will be packed with 4GB of RAM, an Intel Core i7 processor and 256GB of solid-state hard drive storage. The new laptop will sell just under the price of the current XPS13 laptops, which sell for $1499.

Dell was one of the first major PC-makers to embrace the Ubuntu distribution of Linux. The company began selling Ubuntu on its laptops in 2007 before drastically pulling back on its Linux offerings. Still, the Ubuntu community has remained incredibly strong and according to a TechCrunch interview with project lead Barton George, Dell believes there's enough interest to justify Ubuntu's return to Dell's product line.

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It's unclear how the Dell will go about advertising the developer's version of its laptop or if they'll bother to market it at all. It's clear that he laptop is being created specifically for power users and one's that are using Ubuntu cloud applications.

"Since we announced project Sputnik a little over two months ago, we have continued to be amazed by the amount and quality of interest and input we have received," said George in a statement. "By listening to developers, Dell can provide them with solutions and products to help make them more productive and allow for greater innovation."Introduction
Dell's 2012 approach to its iconic Alienware gaming laptops? Go big, or go home (to your home planet, presumably).

Until recently, the Alienware M14x was the middle child in the company's gaming-laptop lineup, falling between the ultraportable M11x model and the much larger M17x and M18x machines. (The number in the names of the machines describes the screen size.) That's changed in 2012, however. With the latest refresh of these popular gaming laptops, now integrating the latest mobile CPU and graphics technology (namely, Intel's Ivy Bridge processors and Nvidia's Kepler graphics), Alienware decided not to update the little M11x. That leaves the laptop we're looking at here, Alienware's M14x R2, as the company's current-generation entry-level gamer.

Alienware M14x R2 Review

With gaming laptops, what's entry-level is relative, of course. The starting price for the M14x R2 is $1,099, shipping with an Intel "Ivy Bridge" Core i5 processor, a GeForce GT 650M graphics chip (based on Nvidia's latest graphics architecture, code-named "Kepler"), 6GB of RAM, and a 500GB hard drive. As you'd expect from any Dell machine, however, the Alienware M14x R2 is customizable to the max. We looked at a review unit outfitted with a slew of upgrades: a faster Core i7 CPU, a 32GB mSATA solid-state drive ( SSD) for faster boot times and game loads (paired with a larger 750GB hard drive), 8GB of RAM, and the same GT 650M graphics chip, but augmented with twice the dedicated memory (2GB). The laptop also got a screen upgrade that bumped up the resolution to 1,600x900, versus the $1,099 model's rather ordinary 720p (1,366x768) panel.

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All those extras certainly mean a more powerful machine, and they illustrate the level of customizability available in the line. In the case of our test model, though, they also pushed up the price more than $500, to $1,604. That edged the machine into the price range of larger 17-inch offerings, like Alienware's own M17x, or the MSI GT70, both Editors' Choice winners. Those systems certainly weigh more—a lot more—than the M14x's 6.5 pounds, but they have larger, higher-resolution (1080p) panels, and they sport higher-end Nvidia graphics chip options for better performance.

That puts the Alienware M14x R2 in a pricing pickle. Even if you can't handle a hulking system with a 17-inch screen, MSI's 15-inch GT60 sells for $1,499, with more RAM, a larger hard drive, and more powerful GeForce GTX 670M graphics. Admittedly, the graphics chip there is based on last-generation Nvidia architecture, and there's no mSATA SSD. But the overall specs are better with the MSI machine, and it's priced about $100 less than our test configuration of the Alienware. (Plus, even if portability is important, the MSI GT60's 7.7-pound weight isn't prohibitively heavier than the M14x's 6.5 pounds.)

Unless you truly need the portability that the M14x offers, and you don't want to consider even smaller offerings like Maingear's Pulse 11 (which, when we wrote this, sold for $1,284 with similar components to the M14x R2, minus the mSATA SSD), we'd stick with a larger gaming laptop like Alienware's excellent M17x or MSI'sGT70. The M14x is certainly a solidly built, impressively tricked-out system, but it's pricey for what you get, especially once you load it out with options like in our test configuration. In sum, our advice: You probably do want to go bigger.