[kwlug-disc] laptops with Linux preinstalled

Thu Jun 4 13:55:02 EDT 2020

I'm really tempted to buy a PiTop laptop   (https://youtu.be/X8vCS2mi3ig)
but with the new Raspberry Pi 4 8gb model...

On Thu, 4 Jun 2020 at 13:29, Jason Eckert <jason.eckert at gmail.com> wrote:

> Although I've raved about System76 and their Pop!_OS before, I'll echo
> Jeff's recommendation.
> Thinkpads are the best hardware on the market right now - they've always
> had stellar Linux support (it's just official now), and you can't kill
> them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMilj81s9SI
> And they run Pop!_OS perfectly well (although I run Fedora on mine
> now....I've always loved Fedora).
>
>
> On Thu, Jun 4, 2020 at 1:18 PM CrankyOldBugger <crankyoldbugger at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> 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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