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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

#331

Post by onehair »

eBombzor wrote: post #326

So many negative comments. Always preferred Linux whether it's Ubuntu/Fedora/Arch to any windows OS. All the laptops I had were: Thinkpad T450s, HP Spectre 15, Acer Nitro 5. All of them work flawlessly. Windows on the other hand...

It is the simple truth. Thinkpads are usually very good and work out of the box, but a lot of other brands just don't. It isn't about hate or being negative, it's seeing a very biased affirmation generalizing a positive one time occurrence and painting it as the actual general fact.

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

#332

Post by mminer237 »

jll29 wrote: post #297

Linux worked out of the box (Ubuntu LTS or Lubuntu) with: - Lenovo ThinkPad T41 - Lenovo ThinkPad X61s - LenovWo ThinkPad X220 - Lenovo ThinkPad X230 - Lenovo ThinkPad X1 - DELL Latitude E7762 - DELL Latitude E7480 - Apple iMac 27" Problems encountered: - The touchpad on the Lenovo ThinkPad 240 mad random jumps, not sure if this is a Linux issue since I never tried Windows (I usually wipe it right after unpacking). -…

The worst thing about broken touchpads is that they're impossible to turn off in Ubuntu: https://askubuntu.com/questions/1408042/touchpad-cant-be-dis...

There's a button to do so, but it's just been broken for months with no fix other than uninstalling part of the last update. Given that Linux typically has no palm detection, it's really a frustrating experience to use on a laptop.

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

#333

Post by [deleted] »

emkoemko wrote: post #319
stormbrew wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not about new vs old but who makes the main parts and chipsets. Intel everything is always a really good bet, even when they're brand new, but there are other safe choices. It used to be quite hard to find new laptops with hardware combos that worked well with Linux but it's become a lot easier in recent years. Also my experience with windows has actually gotten quite a bit worse, actually, unless you use the st…

man i remember those days when you had to go and find all the software you use from random sites and same with drivers, then having issues you can't figure out because of a outdated old driver vs Linux where you just get the latest stuff all in once place. how do people on windows figure out what driver has updates? do you guys check the version installed and go to each manufacture to see if there is a new version>?

[deleted]

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

#334

Post by jcalvinowens »

I've been running Linux on Dell XPS laptops with only very minor issues since 2016. Currently on an XPS 13 9310, everything works perfectly.

...and that's with debian sid, a btrfs rootfs, and rebooting into whatever "git pull" in the kernel git repo gives me most weeks. I do that because I want to help fix bugs, but I honestly haven't found anything to fix in years: it just works.

Interesting that everybody with problems in this thread seems to be using thinkpads. Maybe they aren't what they used to be?

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

#335

Post by jrm4 »

Absolutely correct. Funny coincidence that happened to me:

Got my Steam Deck on the same day I got an email informing my that one of my university supplied Macs had to go back and be surplused because of our end of life policies. Now, I've typically been able to keep pretty much every computer I've been given if I have a reason (and I teach IT so I always have reasons)

Upon informing them that I wiped Mac Os from it and have been running Linux instead, IT services was -- "Ah, okay, fine -- bring it in so we can make sure it's updated and you're good to keep it. Otherwise it would have to come back."

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

#336

Post by encryptluks2 »

spadros wrote: post #153
vladvasiliu wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This seems to me as a more generic problem with newer hardware, not specific to Linux. Likely devices rushed out the door to meet some idiotic deadline, badly specced and with incompletely implemented drivers. At the end of 2021 I got an EliteBook 845 g8 (Zen 3) that worked completely fine out of the box on Linux (Arch with up-to-date kernel). Every last bit of kit worked perfectly. Bluetooth, IR webcam, fingerprint…

In all my years I have yet to see HDMI output from a laptop to a monitor work on the first try in Ubuntu. Always need to install the proprietary drivers for that to work at all. If it can't even do that without a headache, after 10+ years of Linux use, I would call that a Linux problem, not a hardware problem. My colleagues seem to run into the same issue frequently as well. This article seems kind of ignorant. I'm g…

If you are using a converter to change HDMI to your DVI monitor then that is probably why.

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

#337

Post by encryptluks2 »

matthewrobertso wrote: post #310
pessimizer wrote: post #274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would anybody expect that new hardware that has to be reverse engineered and for which no Linux drivers are provided to work out of the box as soon is it is available? It's an impossible expectation, and also one that no other OS would have a chance of fulfilling unless hardware vendors specifically catered to them. It's like asking for a book review of a book that hasn't been published. Yes, other people have pu…

>Why would anybody expect that new hardware that has to be reverse engineered and for which no Linux drivers are provided to work out of the box as soon is it is available? The title of this post is "Linux on the laptop works so damn well that it’s boring".

Because that is there experience and has been my experience too. Except we can't predict when a user wants to go install a old disto with a 7 year old kernel and say "no it doesn't"

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

#338

Post by petra »

autoexec wrote: post #318
a-dub wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

same. it's been rock solid on thinkpads because thinkpads are some of the strongest pc laptops and as such have been popular (and well supported by) oss developers.

old IBM Thinkpads were pretty solid, but now they're made by Lenovo who has a long history of shipping devices pre-infested with malware and backdoors, usually in exchange for money. They've even been caught stuffing malware into UEFI so that users reinstalling their OS would be infected over and over again. However nice their laptops are, I could never trust them. They have already proved that they are perfectly wil…

What laptops brands do you buy? Why?

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

#339

Post by encryptluks2 »

autoexec wrote: post #301
coryrc wrote: post #295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Windows users don't have to reverse engineer anything before their hardware works.

that's because new hardware is made to work for windows. Few companies care about linux drivers

Almost any hardware you get today will have standard components with Linux support. Can you give some more examples of which companies and what components you're referring to?

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

#340

Post by varispeed »

Funny that, when my beefed up XPS 15 finally died, I went on eBay on got one of those Thinkpads dumped by corporations for like £120. I put in the NVMe drive from the XPS and... it was working out of the box. What is surprising that it feels much faster, fans don't make as much noise that despite weaker CPU and 4x less RAM. I really like it. I got an M1 Pro as well, but Thinkpad will be a nice backup machine.
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