Ubuntu Linux snuck into high-end Dell laptops • Hacker News Board

Re: Ubuntu Linux snuck into high-end Dell laptops

#81

Post by kwanbix » Sun, Oct 22, 2023, 9:42 PM UTC

gtvwill wrote: post #31

kwanbix wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because they don't break as much?

You'd still expect to see them in the offices. Some of these places run > 10'000 devices. All dell. Not a Lenovo on site. Maybe dell just had a better salesman up this neck of the woods. I was a Lenovo and Dell tech at the time so it's not like I wasn't sent to work on them. Just bugger all of them around here. I was the only warranty tech for like 250km.

In my last 6 years I worked on a company with 200 employees, a company with 60.000 employees, another company with 500 employees, and the last one with 150 employees.

All laptops are either Lenovo or Macbooks.

Like you said, maybe in your part of the world Dell is more popular for some reason.

Re: Ubuntu Linux snuck into high-end Dell laptops

#82

Post by uneekname » Sun, Oct 22, 2023, 9:43 PM UTC

I got a recent Precision at work, and it's OK re: Linux support. Even with an up-to-date Fedora install, the fingerprint reader and official Dell peripherals have given me some trouble. The support is good but not worth touting IMO.

But, it's better than it was! I had a highish-end XPS 13 from '18 that refused to ever sleep with the lid shut, despite my best efforts.

If Dell wants to get serious about this stuff, they need to test and fix all of these issues before they release a laptop.

Re: Ubuntu Linux snuck into high-end Dell laptops

#83

Post by CharlesW » Sun, Oct 22, 2023, 9:44 PM UTC

Koshkin wrote: post #73

> Otherwise a fine device. > It's a nice laptop otherwise. These have always reminded me of: Tout va très bien, Madame la Marquise, Tout va très bien, tout va très bien, Pourtant, il faut, il faut que l’on vous dise, On déplore un tout petit rien: Un incident, une bêtise, La mort de votre jument grise, Mais, à part ça, Madame la Marquise, Tout va très bien, tout va très bien!

Everything is going very well, Madam Marquise,
Everything is going very well, everything is going very well,
However, it must be said,
We regret a tiny little thing:
An incident, a foolishness,
The death of your gray mare,
But, apart from that, Madam Marquise,

Everything is going very well, everything is going very well!

Re: Ubuntu Linux snuck into high-end Dell laptops

#84

Post by nextos » Sun, Oct 22, 2023, 10:00 PM UTC

senkora wrote: post #61

smallerfish wrote: post #38

The camera doesn't work on the current XPS13 if you upgrade to a 6.X kernel (which, to be fair, means moving outside of Dell's packaging.) Technically this is Intel's fault, as they haven't released firmware for it yet. Still, hopefully the Dell team avoid similar issues in future configs by ensuring better driver support. It's a nice laptop otherwise.

Yeah, I think it’s best to keep them on the installed Ubuntu LTS and not upgrade, if you want the seamless OEM experience. Granted, I’ve still had some random issues with mine, even on the stock version. (The wifi card is glitchy and I have to systemctl restart NetworkManager sometimes, apparently this is a known hardware/firmware issue).

This is a bit surprising for a Linux-oriented range such as XPS. I haven't had any broken devices due to an update in more than a decade, despite always using the latest kernel.

But I try to avoid buying any machines that require drivers that have not been mainlined or are a bit unstable. In 2011, I got burnt by the infamous b43 Broadcom card / driver which, while supported, had disastrous performance. So never again.

Aside, with NixOS, you can lock a particular kernel ABI or rollback if your update breaks. Aside, mainstream distros usually provide LTS kernels.

Re: Ubuntu Linux snuck into high-end Dell laptops

#85

Post by kakwa_ » Sun, Oct 22, 2023, 10:29 PM UTC

jwells89 wrote: post #43

DaiPlusPlus wrote: post #4

> The Dell XPS 13 is the best-known developer-focused, high-end Linux laptop. Not a good ol' ThinkPad T-series?

It seems like these days, the X1 series is considered the ThinkPad flagship. That's where I've seen the best chances of getting hardware that's compatible with Linux OOTB and performs well with it (e.g. Intel WiFi/BT).

Honestly, these days, I would be surprised to not have Linux hardware support with any PC I might buy.

At least, in my experience with the 3 brand new computers I got (T460s in 2016, T14s in 2021, Custom Desktop (Ryzen 5, ATI 7900 XT)), everything worked out of the box.

It's been ages since I had a real issue (like the dreaded Broadcom wifi cards back in the days).

Re: Ubuntu Linux snuck into high-end Dell laptops

#86

Post by Old_Thrashbarg » Sun, Oct 22, 2023, 10:30 PM UTC

juujian wrote: post #27

DaiPlusPlus wrote: post #4

> The Dell XPS 13 is the best-known developer-focused, high-end Linux laptop. Not a good ol' ThinkPad T-series?

Also, having looked at their lineup recently, the number of Ubuntu laptops they offer really seems to have gone down

Just talked with a Sales person yesterday. Indeed, from the new models, only the XPS 13 runs Ubuntu, but the keyboard looks like a nightmare. The sales person did send a link to a Precision with Ubuntu option, but it was 2022 model (Precision 5570).

Will probably get XPS 15 and put Ubuntu on myself. Annoying to fork money over to Microsoft for nothing.

Re: Ubuntu Linux snuck into high-end Dell laptops

#87

Post by Old_Thrashbarg » Sun, Oct 22, 2023, 10:38 PM UTC

kakwa_ wrote: post #85

jwells89 wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems like these days, the X1 series is considered the ThinkPad flagship. That's where I've seen the best chances of getting hardware that's compatible with Linux OOTB and performs well with it (e.g. Intel WiFi/BT).

Honestly, these days, I would be surprised to not have Linux hardware support with any PC I might buy. At least, in my experience with the 3 brand new computers I got (T460s in 2016, T14s in 2021, Custom Desktop (Ryzen 5, ATI 7900 XT)), everything worked out of the box. It's been ages since I had a real issue (like the dreaded Broadcom wifi cards back in the days).

When I first starting using Ubuntu 10+ years ago, getting a new laptop was like going to battle. My patience has gone down for this stuff as I've gotten older, but fortunately it's gotten commensurately easier every year.

Re: Ubuntu Linux snuck into high-end Dell laptops

#88

Post by accoil » Sun, Oct 22, 2023, 10:40 PM UTC

CharlesW wrote: post #83

Koshkin wrote: post #73

> Otherwise a fine device. > It's a nice laptop otherwise. These have always reminded me of: Tout va très bien, Madame la Marquise, Tout va très bien, tout va très bien, Pourtant, il faut, il faut que l’on vous dise, On déplore un tout petit rien: Un incident, une bêtise, La mort de votre jument grise, Mais, à part ça, Madame la Marquise, Tout va très bien, tout va très bien!

Everything is going very well, Madam Marquise, Everything is going very well, everything is going very well, However, it must be said, We regret a tiny little thing: An incident, a foolishness, The death of your gray mare, But, apart from that, Madam Marquise, Everything is going very well, everything is going very well!

Re: Ubuntu Linux snuck into high-end Dell laptops

#89

Post by FirmwareBurner » Sun, Oct 22, 2023, 10:44 PM UTC

MattPalmer1086 wrote: post #47

gtaylor wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quality went downhill since Lenovo.

Meh, I'd agree that they aren't quite built like a tank anymore, but my T560 is still going strong after nearly 8 years. Not bad going.

>my T560 is still going strong after nearly 8 years

Yeah but he was talking about modern Lenovos, not 8 year old ones.

Re: Ubuntu Linux snuck into high-end Dell laptops

#90

Post by Old_Thrashbarg » Sun, Oct 22, 2023, 10:46 PM UTC

queuebert wrote: post #75

kleiba wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me, it's the opposite: Windows is preselected, but when I switch to Linux, the price goes down.

Same here. Linux was $100 cheaper. Which makes me wonder ... why is an OEM Windows license still ~$100? And not only that, you'd think Dell could negotiate a lower rate.

Hard to negotiate when Windows has monopoly pricing power and Dell doesn't.