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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

#221

Post by paulcarroty »

jhallenworld wrote: post #69
wldlyinaccurate wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you want to stick with Linux, I can vouch for Dell's XPS range. I've been running Ubuntu and Arch on various generations of XPS 13 for about 8 years now with minimal issues. Honestly, my work-issued Macbooks have been more problematic than my XPS laptops. It definitely helps that Dell actively support Ubuntu and provide kernel patches.

If you want something cheap: For Linux 18.04 / Windows 10 dual boot, I just bought an HP 15-cs2073cl: $450 refurb from Microcenter. Everything works and I think the price is pretty good for a Core-i7 / 16 GB / 1920 / 1TB laptop. Here's a link, but I see the price already gone up a little: https://www.microcenter.com/product/612786/hp-pavilion-15-cs... It has a slot for an M.2 card that does not interfere with the rot…

> NVIDIA GeForce MX250

NVidia, no way to working fine on Linux: you will wait for new drivers after each kernel update and tons of another issues.

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

#222

Post by JudasGoat »

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?

You should be able to swap the wifi card for something with better drivers. Not being a BSD user, I couldn't give a recommendation.

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

#223

Post by brabel »

allset_ wrote: post #110
na85 wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>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.

I agree! Specially after I installed a different desktop environment (Plasma KDE, which is beautiful) as Ubuntu's default was really poor in my opinion! Now, I honestly don't know if I prefer my Mac (used mostly for work) or my Dell :) which is great!

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

#224

Post by na85 »

asveikau wrote: post #177
selectodude wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Going from a MacBook trackpad to literally any other laptop is an exercise in extreme frustration. Even going from Mac OS X to Windows in Boot Camp makes one want to pull their hair out.

> Going from a MacBook trackpad to literally any other laptop is an exercise in extreme frustration. For you. I don't mind TrackPoint on thinkpads at all. In fact I would probably prefer that usually. Everybody's got different tastes. It's not a problem.

I've owned five or six thinkpads over the years and in my opinion the only reason people feel the trackpoint is acceptable is because the trackpads on those machines are so awful. I used to prefer the trackpoint too, until I used a laptop with a trackpad that wasn't hot garbage.

For example the trackpoint on my T70 actually drifts backwards in the opposite direction after you let go, and this is typical for trackpoints in my experience. It's just not a very good pointing device.

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

#225

Post by pjmlp »

nh2 wrote: post #34
bayindirh wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> ...mainstream OSes? Look how far we've come. Linux was the alternative OS just ~15 years ago. Now it's one of the mainstream OSes . TBH, I'd like to see one of the BSDs to become one of the mainstream OSes too. :) edit: Except macOS ofc. :)

"Stardate 2020. There is a mainstream OS with great driver support and the best gaming performance, that everybody uses (Linux). There are two other OSs battling for survival: One run by open source fanatics that release open source editors, browsers and programming languages and which frantically tries to emulate the mainstream OS (WSL), and one where stuff constantly breaks on upgrades, fundamental hardware like ke…

Stardate 2030: Everyone is now doing Chrome apps, with three major companies sharing the cloud OS resources.

Some old people keep talking about the crazy idea of owning computers and installing OSes.

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

#227

Post by szemet »

Aengeuad wrote: post #164
3fe9a03ccd14ca5 wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

Speaking from memory as it's a little difficult to search for but there's no fully FOSS ac driver available for Linux which might be why the BSDs have none, Linux has open source ac drivers of course but they still require proprietary firmware blobs and the performance is terrible compared to the proprietary drivers (think 350Mb/s with OpenWrt compared to 800Mb/s on stock router firmware). Atheros released fully open…

Doesn't mt76* count? It is in since 4.19.

http://lkml.iu.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/1808.0/04276.html

I know, because I've immediately bought an usb wifi dongle for my desktop with this chipset. (and it is working perfectly OOB with every linux kernel for me since then).

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

#228

Post by yjftsjthsd-h »

Fnoord wrote: post #210
loeg wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't each phone basically ship its own modified Android-Linux with hacked up drivers specific to the model?

Ever since Project Treble it got standardized.

I thought Treble just made the hacked up drivers use a standard ABI so you could combine them with a different userspace?

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

#229

Post by yjftsjthsd-h »

seventh-chord wrote: post #203
yjftsjthsd-h wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I keep hearing this, and I don't understand it. Windows is just so... messy . At my last job I kept a Windows VM for Skype (S4B) and the odd non-portable app, but I wouldn't want that on bare metal. I don't have experience with Darwin; maybe the experience is better there.

Whenever I try to use linux on hardware, either audio doesn't work without stuttering, video doesn't work without tearing or some package manager dependency issue rears its ugly head. From my perspective, it seems inconceivable to run linux on (personal) hardware. That being said, I am very unhappy with windows 10 at work, and would much rather have some older windows version. At some point windows probably will beco…

One thing that probably taints my perspective: the majority of machines that I have used, at home and work, have been thinkpads and business-class Dells, so I've always enjoyed excellent hardware support. Without that, I'd understand the balance being different.

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

#230

Post by nextos »

adtac wrote: post #166
nextos wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it a silent machine?

It is. I never hear the fan running. But annoyingly, they've put the fan vent on the right side of the machine, so every now and then I can feel the hot air from the vent when my mouse is close to it, but I never hear it. Even in the quietest environments.

Sounds great. What component setup (CPU and GPU) do you have?
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