At work i use an HP Elitebook 850 with Ubuntu, no issues. Everything works.
HP almost always get so much shit (also for linux-compatibility), but I never understood it
Ask HN: Best current Linux-compatible laptop?
91–100 of 122 posts
Re: Ask HN: Best current Linux-compatible laptop?
#92http://www.ubuntu.com/certification/desktop/ http://www.ubuntu.com/certification/ In my experience Dells usually work well and if you're willing to spend the money they have some pretty decent end developer laptops that come with ubuntu (xps I think). Edit: seeing as Ubuntu 14.04 has only been out for a couple weeks the links provided may not be as relevant because they're so far only certified to run on 12.04, but i…
That worked well for me. I bought a laptop a couple of years ago off that list. Dell Latitude E5520. It is like a cheaper Thinkpad.
I have the E6400 and it works like a dream once you install the broadcom driver (which is easily done with "Install Additional Drivers in Ubuntu).
Re: Ask HN: Best current Linux-compatible laptop?
#93This might not be what you're actually looking for, but I just set up a new laptop, and after a week of trying to get it to dual boot (UEFI, eh?) decided to run Linux in VMWare under Windows instead. I've got to say, Windows+VMWare makes a darn good hardware abstraction layer, which means I don't need to worry nearly so much about crappy driver stuff.
I agree. I've used both vmware and virtualbox, and they both provide good options to running linux under windows. Since most of my linux work is server type work, it works out pretty well.
Re: Ask HN: Best current Linux-compatible laptop?
#94Ctrl+F ThinkPad. I guess the search count should show you something. I'm on a W530. It's a beast and everything works. And I'm talking Debian!
> I'm on a W530. It's a beast and everything works.
Same here: Quad-core i7, 32 GB RAM, 480 GB SSD + 500 GB SATA, 1920x1080. This thing is mostly going to waste. :(
Re: Ask HN: Best current Linux-compatible laptop?
#95Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've heard very good reviews for the X1 Carbon. The only cons are: 1)weird keyboard layout 2)low-quality mousepad. Except for that the X1 Carbon seems to be a perfect Linux laptop. My friend's running Arch and it's working like a breeze.
It has a chicklet type keyboard, not the ones you find on previous thinkpads. I like it better than the old ones. Layout-wise, it has the weird layout of the home/insert island, and a stupid positioning of the print screen key. Other than that it's standard qwerty. As for the trackpad, I'm not a good reviewer. I use the red trackpoint exclusively. My previous laptop (X61t) didn't even have a trackpad. Between the tra…
Oh the X61t. It was hilarious how many times i'd hand mine to a friend and they'd be completely lost without the trackpad.
Re: Ask HN: Best current Linux-compatible laptop?
#96Earlier quoted context omitted.
ThinkPads USED to be good products. Lenovo killed it. the W530 is still good, but the W540 is a joke. The "Lenovo recommends Windows." at the top of Lenovo's website finished to convince me not to buy any TP anymore.
ThinkPads USED to be good products. Lenovo killed it. the W530 is still good, but the W540 is a joke. Elaborate, please?
The Haswell refresh has been full of laptops where corners have been cut in the form of lower production quality, many convenient features being removed, and questionable keyboard layouts. There have even been a couple of ThinkPad-branded keyboards that do not have trackpoints.
I realize that in order to make a lightweight and power-efficient laptop, there have to be tradeoffs, but the ThinkPad has historically been a premium brand, where frills like indicator lights, hardier materials and more generous keyboard and trackpoint/trackpad button layouts are expected. Their absence in the Haswell lineup is saddening, yet Lenovo still "wins" by default because all the other companies' offerings are even more deficient.
Re: Ask HN: Best current Linux-compatible laptop?
#97As of now, I use a mac for the hw but the linux experience on this box is shitty. I installed archlinux, and still havent got the fonts right. Its so much strain on the eyes and I had to go back to mac.
Have you tried Ubuntu 14.04? My sister just installed it on her MBP and she hasn't had any issues except with the track pad, which she was abe to fix (not sure how). Don't install arch unless you're ready to tweak some configuration files.
I know its stupid, but I just love arch. Moving to anything else just don't seem right.
How did ubuntu fix font issues? That code should be FOSS! Let me see how I can make that run on arch ;)
PS: I use a very minimal arch machine with i3 wm (the most awesome WM ever and I pretty much hate gnome and unity religiously. I think KDE is a bloat) I'll soon have a look at it again, and will post here if something good comes along.
Re: Ask HN: Best current Linux-compatible laptop?
#98Earlier quoted context omitted.
Other happy T430 user here. Great keyboard and trackpoint. The touchpad is meh, but you don't really need it with the trackpoint.
Yeah I don't use the touchpad most of the time either. With a huge SSD and plenty of RAM, the i7-3520M T430S gets the job done. I'm not entirely pleased with the screen quality, but perhaps I've been spoiled by the IPS display on my personal laptop (Dell XPS 13) and my desktop monitor (Samsung S24C750PS). My one complaint is that the keyboard isn't as robust as previous models. After only a few months I already have…
Oh? Odd. My workflow is almost entirely keyboard-driven, and I have no such problem (the laptop is about a year old).