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

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

#201

Post by phendrenad2 »

mid-kid wrote: post #70

Yeah, no. Maybe with old laptops, but newer laptops still have their fair share of issues. When I bought my thinkpad A485 kernels wouldn't boot without additional parameters, the graphics would freeze at times and cause a hardlock, sleep and hibernation have been fixed and broken again intermittently over several kernel versions, the wifi card's AP mode started causing segfaults in kernel 5.2 due to the driver's rewr…

How do we fix this? It seems like most people in the community have the mentality that these issues work themselves out eventually, so it's no problem. And there's nothing wrong with that. But a lot of people really really want better hardware support for new hardware, and fewer regressions in drivers for older hardware. Perhaps we need a special-interest group that keeps track of ongoing hardware issues, and generates kernel patches.

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

#202

Post by hpcjoe »

liampulles wrote: post #21

Bluetooth on linux continues to suck however - it sucks a bit on windows too but it has been unusable on a few of my linux laptops.

My favorite bluetooth issue is with MacOS. On my M1 Mac Mini, my Logitech MX keys and MX Master 3 mouse are not recognized after a reboot. So I have to attach a corded keyboard to my Mini to log in. Because when it goes to sleep after a reboot, it does not wake up for the logitech kit. Which is explicitly supporting MacOS.

Its not just linux where bluetooth sucks.

I opened a ticket with Apple on this, gave them my notes, and they still haven't done anything about this.

Bluetooth on linux sucks. As it does on MacOS. And windows.

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

#203

Post by SyrupThinker »

mid-kid wrote: post #70

Yeah, no. Maybe with old laptops, but newer laptops still have their fair share of issues. When I bought my thinkpad A485 kernels wouldn't boot without additional parameters, the graphics would freeze at times and cause a hardlock, sleep and hibernation have been fixed and broken again intermittently over several kernel versions, the wifi card's AP mode started causing segfaults in kernel 5.2 due to the driver's rewr…

As a user of the E485 (basically a budget version of the A485) I can confirm, and agree with, everything but one thing here. Regarding your Bluetooth issue, what chipset do you have? I picked a Qualcomm one on mine because I had bad experiences with Realtek before. Never had an issue like yours with it.

For me its quite a usable machine now. But I'm currently giving a M1 Macbook a shot and it certainly is convenient not to have hiccups like this (yet).

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

#204

Post by hpcjoe »

ai_ja_nai wrote: post #13

Uhm, how about suspension/hibernate? That was pretty lame even 2 years ago and I'm not seeing it improve

Works on the 4.75 year old machine (Sagar/Clevo) I'm typing this on right now. Worked on my 14 year old machine (Sagar/Clevo) that just died last month. Works on HP Omen 2020 unit.

I've not had hibernate/suspend problems in 7-ish years?

I had them for my windows laptop from work. Close the lid with no power connected, put in my laptop bag, walk back to hotel from office, and the unit was very hot. Profile was set to hibernate/sleep on battery with lid closed. Never got that to work. Replaced that monstrosity with a M1 Macbook Pro (work machine).

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

#205

Post by robocat »

blooalien wrote: post #65
ufmace wrote: post #42

I have a feeling that the overall reality is far more hit-or-miss than the author implies. If you happen to be lucky to have all hardware that Linux supports well, then everything does work nicely (which is infact a nice improvement over the early days). If you get unlucky on your hardware, well buckle up, it's gonna be a ride. You are of course more likely to have good hardware support on very old devices. Windows h…

I have two Dell laptops and a Dell tower, all of which run flawlessly on Linux, all hardware supported out of the box. Everything I've plugged into them (most often via USB) or paired via Bluetooth also works without hassle (and never once did I have to search any manufacturer's websites for drivers).

I bought a very expensive 2018 XPS15 4K Dell 9570 fully loaded - bought for its good Linux support (although not officially supported by Dell).

Minuses: Many many issues with 4K support and Linux. 1 year ago hardware fault with screen getting black lines (very very disappointing for a premium laptop treated very well). Suspend never worked great (Windows not much better AFAIK). Some recent WiFi problems - probably hardware - will replace. Needed JackHack96’s patches installed when bought. Noisy coil hum (top problem mentioned for years on forums for many models of XPS, ignored by Dell through many model releases, maybe finally fixed now?).

Pluses: Worked with Linux. Dell kept improving Bios for 2 or 3 years, and many of the fixes were Linux specific.

I wouldn’t buy Dell again.

I would use Linux for a laptop again (Windows gives me hives, Apple pisses me off).

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

#207

Post by cdata »

Just an anecdote: got my Framework laptop the other week. Installed Pop!_OS. That was the only step. Everything works. Suspend/resume. WiFi. Audio. Webcam. Funky dongle ports.

This is something I had already experienced with my older System76 laptop. This is the first time for me experiencing it with another brand.

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

#208

Post by vander_elst »

It depends on the hardware. If you buy one of the certified machines maybe, otherwise you're in for a painful treat. IMO my requirements are pretty low: i3 window manager, chrome (sorry), a terminal, audio and multiple displays. To be honest Linux is not able to provide a fully working experience for those things.

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

#209

Post by khnov »

Used ubuntu on thinkpad for work for the first time. Just got back to windows as I am x10 more productive there.

Besides the fan's noise, I struggled to find a calendar app that just shows alert for my meetings, and that is not buggy as fuck. I windows, Ms Mail just works. then I got the frustration when rust ins installed but not work (should install gcc ...) Linux is great free software, but I am not using ut just because it is great free, I am using windows because it is consistent and I just need to focus on my job

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

#210

Post by phendrenad2 »

In my experience, Linux on laptops is fine if you use it like a desktop. If you want all of the fancy features of laptops, like being able to close the lid and have it go to sleep, a lot of luck is involved. Small differences in hardware have profound effects on Linux usability, so the "just use a Thinkpad from 2008" crowd are naturally the happiest.
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