[kwlug-disc] laptops with Linux preinstalled

Thu Jun 4 13:17:33 EDT 2020

While I think we have a FOSS obligation to support companies like System/76
and Slimbook, I can say that Lenovo has always been a solid name in my
experience.  No one ever got fired for buying IBM, as the saying goes (even
though Lenovo got spun off by IBM years ago..)  I have a Lenovo laptop
that's maybe 8 years old (made for Windows 7, which I fixed right away),
now running PopOS, and it still hums along nicely.  I've had to replace the
cooling fan a few years ago, and I swapped out the HDD for an NVME drive,
and I added more RAM over the years.  The new drive and extra RAM really
made a difference.

Though for the life of me, I can't get Kali to install on it.   I've been
trying for years...  well, that's outside of this discussion..

If you do go with a "made for Linux" laptop, please be sure to tell us how
it goes for you.  I'm sure other folks here are thinking about buying soon
too.

On Thu, 4 Jun 2020 at 12:57, Doug Moen <doug at moens.org> wrote:

> I'm researching a replacement laptop for my aging Macbook Air.
>
> We used to live in an era when Macbook Pros were very popular with the
> open source crowd, and you'd see a lot of these laptops at conferences. I
> think that is changing. I have personally soured on Apple. I was originally
> planning to replace my Macbook Air with a Macbook Pro, but now I want a
> Linux laptop.
>
> Nowadays, there are many options for buying laptops with Linux
> preinstalled and officially supported by the laptop manufacturer. Linux on
> the laptop is now serious business, it is no longer just for hobbyist and
> homebrew types. Linux laptops can be lighter, have better specs, and at the
> same time be more upgradeable than Macbook Pros. These are nice
> developments. Some of these options are quite new. So I will share my
> research.
>
> The options I looked at are premium, expensive laptops, generally in the
> range of $1500-$3000. Think of these as Macbook Pro replacements.
>
> Lenovo has been Linux friendly for many years, but Tuesday they announced
>  that their entire Thinkpad P series can now be purchased with Ubuntu LTS
> or Fedora Workstation preinstalled.
>
> https://news.lenovo.com/pressroom/press-releases/lenovo-brings-linux-certification-to-thinkpad-and-thinkstation-workstation-portfolio-easing-deployment-for-developers-data-scientists/
>
>   ThinkPad P1 gen2: 15.4" screen, 3.74lb, nvidia GPU, premium specs, lots
> of ports, webcam shutter, opt. touch screen
>
> Dell has sold laptops with Ubuntu preinstalled for many years. Notable
> ones are:
>
>   Dell XPS 13 model 9300: 13.4" 16:10 screen, 2.65lb, few ports, soldered
> RAM, opt. touch screen
>   Dell Precision 5550: 15.6" screen, 4.06lb, nvidia gpu
>
> System76 is an American manufacturer of Linux-only laptops. Jason has
> previously endorsed their Pop OS distro (an Ubuntu variant), and I'm
> planning to run Pop OS after seeing Jason's presentation. Notable features
> are Core Boot (GPL 3 firmware that boots very quickly), and disabling Intel
> ME in hardware, before the firmware runs. Their laptops are cheaper than
> the Dell/Lenovo machines mentioned above, at the expense of lower spec
> hardware in some areas (eg. poor speakers, poor colour rendition, no wifi
> 6, no thunderbolt, no touch screen). Lots of ports, very
> repairable/upgradeable.
>
>   Lemur Pro: 14.1" screen, 2.2lb
>   Darter Pro: 15" screen, 3.6lb
>   Gazelle: 15.6" screen, 4.85lb, nvidia GPU, numeric keypad
>
> Slimbook is a Spanish manufacturer of Linux-only laptops. They are openly
> targetting the MacBook Pro. Their laptops seem better speced than
> equivalent System76 laptops (eg, good speakers, good colour rendition). No
> wifi 6, no thunderbolt, no touch screen option. Their most notable feature
> is authentication using an IR webcam and face recognition, like Windows,
> except for Linux. You can use face recognition to supply a sudo password,
> for example.
>
>   Slimbook Pro X: 14" screen, 2.38lb, nvidia GPU
>   Slimbook Pro X 15: 15.6" screen, 3.3lb, nvidia GPU
>
> The latest Macbook Pros are heavier than the competition, have soldered in
> RAM, no WIFI 6, no touch screen, otherwise nice specs.
>   Macbook Pro 13.3" screen, 3.1lb
>   Macbook Pro 16" screen, 4.3lb, AMD gpu
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