[kwlug-disc] laptops with Linux preinstalled

CrankyOldBugger crankyoldbugger at gmail.com
Tue Sep 1 17:49:01 EDT 2020


I have a Lenovo Y500, which certainly isn't slim, but it's 8? 9? years old
and still chugs along nicely.  Intel i7 and a big 1080p screen.  Over the
years I've added more RAM to it, and swapped out the HDD for a M2 drive,
and replaced the fan a couple of times, but other than that she's still
running great.  If you saw me at a KWLUG meeting with a laptop that's
completely covered in stickers, that's my Lenovo.

But despite my love for it,  I can't get it to install Kali!!!  I try every
couple of new versions of Kali but every time it's the same problem: the
installer (whether I use text or GUI makes no difference) splits the screen
into nine parts then displays the install menu in the three top parts.
It's too small to read.

I'm thinking of maybe installing Kali on a different machine then migrating
the HDD over, but who has time for such nonsense?



On Tue, 1 Sep 2020 at 17:18, Doug Moen <doug at moens.org> wrote:

> On Sun, Aug 30, 2020, at 2:55 PM, Ron Singh wrote:
>
> The T470s is notorious for bad batteries though. A thing that I am
> experiencing, USB-C connectors are horribly crappy on every
> T490s/X390/X1Carbon that I have dealt with in the past year or so.
> Considering that USB-C charging is all the rage these days, a poor USB-C
> connector spells trouble down the road.
>
>
> Thanks, Ron. Sounds like Lenovo has quality issues with ultra-slim
> laptops. Maybe I am better off avoiding that category.
>
> An old Thinkpad doesn't work for me. I've got a 5 year old T450, and it is
> not something I want to use as my daily driver. The trackpad is bad, the
> keyboard is unreliable (I think because it is really easy for particles to
> get under the keys). Mainly, though, the graphics are not good enough. I'm
> doing GPU programming and 3D modelling, so I want an up-to-date GPU and an
> IPS screen with a 100% sRGB gamut.
>
> If I avoid the ultra-slim models, then the 2020 T14 with AMD graphics
> looks like the best bet right now. This is an updated version of the 2019
> T490/T495 (T14 is the continuation of the entire T4xx series). It will have
> better cooling than the skinnier and lighter T14s, which is an issue given
> that I want a relatively powerful GPU (with the power consumption that
> implies).
>
> The T14 is a bit of a downgrade from earlier T4xx models: one of the two
> RAM slots is soldered in; the WIFI card is soldered in; it is harder to
> disassemble; the SD card slot has been downgraded to a tray-loading microSD
> card reader. On the other hand, the trackpad appears to be an upgrade from
> the trackpad on my T450.
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