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ThinkPad T480 is my new main laptop which runs FreeBSD

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Re: ThinkPad T480 is my new main laptop which runs FreeBSD

#101

Post by loeg »

3fe9a03ccd14ca5 wrote: post #97
loeg wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They almost certainly mean 802.11g or n, not the archaic a. FreeBSD has generally good 802.11n support. It lacks 802.11ac. Yes, if you absolutely need 802.11ac wifi in particular, FreeBSD isn't a great choice. But many modern 802.11n NICs (and 802.11ac NICs, in 802.11n mode) "just work" out of the box, including the 'iwm' devices mentioned in the article, on more recent versions of FreeBSD. FreeBSD 12.0 dates to 2018…

> It lacks 802.11ac. Why in the world would it lack support for one of the most ubiquitous, not to mention fastest, wireless standards? I mean, it’s been out since 2013.

Time, resources, interest; lack of open datasheets and corporate sponsorship from the hardware vendors making the parts. These things don't just happen magically; people make them happen. Linux finally has enough market power that vendors willingly write drivers for it, but I remember a very similar situation with Linux in the 2000s when Microsoft was the only player around with that kind of market clout.

Re: ThinkPad T480 is my new main laptop which runs FreeBSD

#102

Post by jonhohle »

zelly wrote: post #72
lifeisstillgood wrote: post #27

I dropped FreeBSD as my main laptop about four years ago (and have invested a fair bit of time on dockerising my experience on ubuntu so going back is hard) But what I wanted then (and dreamed of having a million or so to make it real) was a FreeBSD reference laptop - basically a distribution of FreeBSD that worked in this laptop series - you bought the laptop and a years support and basically three hackers just kept…

> basically a distribution of FreeBSD that worked in this laptop series - you bought the laptop and a years support and basically three hackers just kept on producing patches and co-ordinating drivers and making simple tools and simple videos on how to keep your base running. This is basically the business model of Apple Computers

I had a professor who made this same comment all the way back in 2003. I had mentioned it would be nice to have a supported Unix-like OS on a laptop. A few months later I bought my first PowerBook and have been using a commercially supported Unix ever since (and FreeBSD on my headless computers).

Re: ThinkPad T480 is my new main laptop which runs FreeBSD

#103

Post by funklute »

hdkwowjdj wrote: post #48
funklute wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The screens are actually the very reason I choose a thinkpad over a mac. Gloss screens are pretty much impossible to work on if you prefer dark colorschemes, and at least the thinkpads give you the matte option.

Another of these things I don't get. Matte screens become unreadable with indirect light. I've been a long time ThinkPad user. But dim screens just don't work, no matter if it's matte or not. Bright screen with anti-reflective layer work much better, hate to say that.

I don't think I fully understand what conditions you are talking about. I very rarely put my screen brightness any higher than 50%, and I've never maxed it out. My first thought is that it's not the brightness, but the contrast, that is the cause of your problems? Or perhaps I just have a model with a brighter screen... (currently on a T460, though I don't remember the screen specifics)

EDIT: I might add as well, that part of the point of using a dark colortheme, is to not be looking into a lamp...so perhaps I am simply more okay with lower brightness, because I explicitly look for dark colorthemes. That does mean I am very sensitive to finding a colortheme with good contrast.

Re: ThinkPad T480 is my new main laptop which runs FreeBSD

#104

Post by gruturo »

Checking in with a Lenovo Carbon X1 gen1 running FreeBSD flawlessly. Everything works including suspend/resume, the only things I never tried to use are the camera and fingerprint reader but I guess I'll check out of curiosity.

Battery life is better than Windows. The touchpad is a little less pleasant to use (hard to click on a small target while using the laptop on the couch, the pointer always moves a little bit when taking the finger off). It definitely works better after some 30 minutes of usage but I have no idea why.

Re: ThinkPad T480 is my new main laptop which runs FreeBSD

#105

Post by emaste »

namirez wrote: post #6
xxpor wrote: post #2

>Ethernet and WiFi work, although WiFi is a bit slow (only up to 802.11a?) compared to 802.11n/802.11ac capable OSes. And stuff like this is why I've never stuck with FreeBSD when I've tried it. I screw around with debugging issues all day at work. Why would I want to try to figure out why something as fundamental as wifi isn't working in my spare time?

FreeBSD developers and people who use FreeBSD on a daily basis need laptops too. There are not many options out there unless they opt for ancient hardware.

I've got a Lenovo X1 Carbon 7th gen for FreeBSD development; there are many options besides ancient hardware. Buying a non-name $200 laptop isn't likely to result in a good experience, but if you're willing to do a little research there are many good options.

Re: ThinkPad T480 is my new main laptop which runs FreeBSD

#106

Post by ajford »

revicon wrote: post #7

I also have a t480, mines running Ubuntu but unfortunately I’m giving it up for a new MacBook Air. The touchpads on the thinkpads are beyond horrible after using macs for many years, it’s finally too annoying for me to keep going :(

Huh... I have the exact opposite feeling. I've used a MBPr for work the last two years, and I absolutely hate it. I've pushed to get a good solid Lenovo, but that's been repeatedly rejected as they like the convenience of the whole office using OSX and Apple hardware.

I've felt the touchpad wasn't sensitive enough and the click action was way too feeble. Combined with the mushy feeling of the keyboard and the atrocious user experience of the OS, I can barely stand using it each day.

Re: ThinkPad T480 is my new main laptop which runs FreeBSD

#107

Post by emaste »

zelly wrote: post #71
namirez wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FreeBSD developers and people who use FreeBSD on a daily basis need laptops too. There are not many options out there unless they opt for ancient hardware.

Most of them use Macs and work on FreeBSD in a VM (I'm not kidding)

There are certainly some, but "most" is unsupported by evidence.

Re: ThinkPad T480 is my new main laptop which runs FreeBSD

#108

Post by travbrack »

3fe9a03ccd14ca5 wrote: post #97
loeg wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They almost certainly mean 802.11g or n, not the archaic a. FreeBSD has generally good 802.11n support. It lacks 802.11ac. Yes, if you absolutely need 802.11ac wifi in particular, FreeBSD isn't a great choice. But many modern 802.11n NICs (and 802.11ac NICs, in 802.11n mode) "just work" out of the box, including the 'iwm' devices mentioned in the article, on more recent versions of FreeBSD. FreeBSD 12.0 dates to 2018…

> It lacks 802.11ac. Why in the world would it lack support for one of the most ubiquitous, not to mention fastest, wireless standards? I mean, it’s been out since 2013.

Because running freebsd on a laptop is an edge case. Most people run it on servers. It’s not trying to be everything to everyone like Linux is.

Re: ThinkPad T480 is my new main laptop which runs FreeBSD

#109

Post by city41 »

ptcampbell wrote: post #90

Mac user here. Still use a desktop Mac mini daily, but have replaced my 13" Macbook Pro for a 14" Thinkpad running Ubuntu. So far so good. Haven't had nearly the amount of hardware issues reported in this thread. Only the fingerprint scanner does not work, despite best efforts to install its drivers. The hardest thing for me so far has been customising it to behave like macOS. The muscle memory of keyboard shortcuts…

I run Ubuntu MATE 18 on three different Thinkpads and they all work perfectly with zero tinkering. The only issue is they chew through the battery in no time, but since I’m almost always plugged in I’ve not bothered to investigate a fix.

Re: ThinkPad T480 is my new main laptop which runs FreeBSD

#110

Post by allset_ »

na85 wrote: post #87
asveikau wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can't speak for TFA's hardware but suspend/resume works fine on my lenovo x1 6th gen running freebsd, with the only caveat being that I had to load some drivers that were not loaded by default. (I think it was called acpi_ibm. Manpage says that's for the Fn key combos, maybe it was something else.) FWIW, suspend/resume is probably the worst, fiddliest thing about free OSs on a laptop.

>FWIW, suspend/resume is probably the worst, fiddliest thing about free OSs on a laptop. Sadly I agree. My requirements for a laptop are: 1. Working suspend resume 2. Good touch pad with working palm rejection 3. Good battery life Sadly the only laptop that meets these requirements to my satisfaction is my macbook.

XPS 13 Developer edition meets these requirements. The touch pad isn't as good as a MacBook (none are) but it's plenty sufficient for working when not at a desk and if you do Docker based development having a Linux OS is actually much more performant.
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