Linux on the laptop works so damn well that it’s boring

That’s usually the case with these types of hardware on Linux. Super new or exotic hardware may have little or no official support.

In 2018 I was in college, working on a Linux degree, and studying for certifications such as CompTIA Linux+. I had allocated some funds to purchase a new machine; my desktop was already over 8 years old and I obviously wanted a good machine I could bring to campus.

I chose the Lenovo ThinkPad T580, because it was on the Red Hat certified list. It came with Windows 10 but I immediately installed CentOS. This turned out to be a minor error on my part; CentOS was too old to support the modern T580's hardware. I struggled briefly and then realized that Fedora would be a better option in this situation. I ran Fedora for 3 years, flawlessly, effortlessly, and yes, boringly.

Due to the vagaries of needing to use something supportable and normal for work, and because this has become not only my "daily driver" but my "BYOD" device for work, I decided to abandon Linux and install Windows 10 on Christmas Day last year.

I may never run Linux again on a personal machine, but I don't regret 30 years of "Linux on my Desktop", and I'd recommend it to any burgeoning hacker type!

> How’s the battery life though compared to MacBook Air ?

Past 5h, irrelevant to me. 5h is the longest continuous amount of time I can work on a hard problem, at least without the modern amenities that come with DC power, like a cold drink, etc.

After that, I get a break, and so does my laptop, for 30 min to 1h during which we both recharge our batteries.

That's far less sexy than a laptop with 24h+ of battery life, but I like to carry my laptop in a small bag, so the AC adapter doesn't intrude much.

Actually, I have 2 bags: both feature an AC adapter. I carry either the "big" bag with a regular Lenovo keyboard (I like it) and a 65W GaN adapter from Aohi (a cube about 2cm per side, that's not your grandpa power brick) or a flat 20W adapter (shaped like a 6mm thick credit card, with foldable blades) that's perfect for my Lenovo that barely sucks 10W (I measured).

Could there be a more correct choice?