But do they run Linux? ThinkPads were always great for Linux and I've been happy with them ever since I can afford them (6 years now).
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Lenovo announces the first Arm-based ThinkPad
61–70 of 257 posts
Re: Lenovo announces the first Arm-based ThinkPad
#62Earlier quoted context omitted.
Exactly. WSL2 effectively makes Windows 10/11 the best Linux distro out there without all the steps of formatting, wiping and backing up disks and then installing it.
the problem with that "distro" is the window manager sucks
The filesystem is horrible too.
Re: Lenovo announces the first Arm-based ThinkPad
#63I know nothing about ARM, but I think it's time to learn.
Am I right in saying you need to compile the OS and all applications to run on ARM? If so, I bet at least one thing I use daily wont work, and I don't want to commit to a laptop like this unless I know it will be a full replacement for my Intel machine.
Whats the state of this in Ubuntu?
Re: Lenovo announces the first Arm-based ThinkPad
#64Earlier quoted context omitted.
WSL2, as good as it gets.
While I agree WSL2 is pretty good, and it's great that it's available on Windows, you still have to put up with the day-to-day annoyances of the OS. The general UX is the main reason why I don't use Windows. I actually gave it an honest try in 2020. I was pretty excited about Windows terminal, the inclusion of OpenSSH (I always hated Putty) and even went on the insider channel to test out WSL2, with Docker desktop an…
> I always hated Putty
It has a redeeming quality: it supports Tektronix graphics.
> and input would go to some other random window
Specially annoying when the input is Control-W.
> turning on the computer in the middle of the night for some reason if left in hibernation
Corporate laptop does that. I always assume one of its overlords summoned it.
Re: Lenovo announces the first Arm-based ThinkPad
#65Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm a happy native Linux desktop user for almost that long. Preferred it to windows. Let's not exaggerate about "only usable".
My experience with Linux since 1995, kind of proves otherwise, I lost track on hand holding Linux on laptops, including those sold with Linux pre-installed.
Yes, but this doesn't prove that Linux desktop is only usable as WSL any more than my experience proves that windows is only usable as wine. You didn't enjoy the experience - that's ok.
Re: Lenovo announces the first Arm-based ThinkPad
#66It is a shame this is based on X1 cores not X2 cores. Feels like they are trying to rip off people.
I'm curious if they even considered the A78C, the variant with a similar cache (except L2) that replaces all LITTLE cores with big and possibly costs less to license as it's probably a roadmap core like the A78. It's chronologically a step behind but could unlock better performance (than A78+55) with a negligible/nonexistent hit to battery life.
Re: Lenovo announces the first Arm-based ThinkPad
#67"The ThinkPad 13s will start at $1,099 when it comes out in May." It's too expensive for an ARM device.
But Apple's aren't? I agree with you but they are pricing it relative to what they can get away with and Apple set the starting point for ARM based laptops.
The M1 is literally the fastest laptop processor on the planet, by a large margin.
Current-year MBPs are a whole 'nother class of device.
This ThinkPad is going to chug in comparison to an x86 laptop because Lenovo doesn't have the technical capability or clout to design a whole new, hyper-fast ARM part and basically make arbitrary demands of the supply chain to get it into users' hands, the way Apple does.
Re: Lenovo announces the first Arm-based ThinkPad
#68I know nothing about ARM, but I think it's time to learn. Am I right in saying you need to compile the OS and all applications to run on ARM? If so, I bet at least one thing I use daily wont work, and I don't want to commit to a laptop like this unless I know it will be a full replacement for my Intel machine. Whats the state of this in Ubuntu?
Applications need recompiling to run nativly on ARM. However you can still emulate x86 for programs that need it (with a speed penalty).
Ubuntu has great support for ARM. However the is an extra dimension that Arm laptops are also _much_ less standardised then x86; I would wait to see hardware compatability this this precise device.
Re: Lenovo announces the first Arm-based ThinkPad
#69Earlier quoted context omitted.
ThnikPads have propably the best keyboards around, definitly the best laptop keyboards I ever used.
You either have never tried a ThinkPad prior to the W530 (i.e. more than 10 years ago, when they significantly changed the keyboard for the first time) or you haven't used one of the "next-gen" models with "next-gen" keyboards that they have been building ever since and that get worse with every iteration.
I have a T450 from 2014 or so. Its keyboard is worse than my T510 (old keyboard), but still quite a bit better than other laptop keyboards.
Re: Lenovo announces the first Arm-based ThinkPad
#70But do they run Linux? ThinkPads were always great for Linux and I've been happy with them ever since I can afford them (6 years now).
https://getfedora.org/en/workstation/download/
Fedora 35: aarch64 DVD ISO should work.
Just FYI, we run our entire production api on arm on AWS. Its pretty rock stable and mature. The stability of ARM on linux is pretty much a solved problem at this point.