There exist a few linux hardware vendors (laptops, pcs, phones) out there. Is the community using them?
See https://linuxpreloaded.com/ for vendors
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Tuxedo InfinityBook and quite happy. It has great specs and looks good. It tends to get quite warm, but I’m not too bothered by that…
Ayy, tuxedo has been a very good experience so far. It’s my go-to now, but they increased their prices like crazy recently.
Did you choose to get it with a linux preinstall and what do you use now?
Yeah, I got it with their Kubuntu version TuxedoOS and I’m pretty happy with it.
I had a Macbook Pro before and it’s company hardware, so price wasn’t a concern for me, but I understand my privilege there…
Framework, MacBook pro, Mac mini, custom built AMD system, fanless Intel system with for ethernet ports from Ali express, gli.net devices
You know, random hardware!
Are you running linux on all of them?
5/7th of them :)
So all of them since that’s a perfect score?
So not on the macs, I assume?
Correct. But I do tun Linux VMS on the mac’s… so… maybe
What led you to getting a mac?
Work issued, I was all thinkpads before, but It lasted 10 years… and that’s a hell of a selling point.
Grew to appreciate the smooth interface. It’s not Linux, but it is BSD I grew up on BSD. So I’m very comfortable with Macs. Get Brew running, a bunch of docker containers, it’s a full-fledged environment. Get some QEMU VMs going and it does everything.
I’ll get one of those when I have the money for a high-end laptop.
Are there no linux shops in your geographical area that sell low to mid range laptops?
Is this a thing anywhere?
Ordered the starlite a couple of weeks ago, can’t wait to test it out! delivery times are quite long, so gotta hold my breath
I’m curious about it, but it’s pricey! It’s the framework alternative, isn’t it?
The lite is a tablet, which might be perfect for me, as I often work on remote machines anyway. Framework seemed pricier to me with some nice extras… but I didn’t really get well acquainted. If it doesn’t pan out I’d look into framework.
I have a System76 Lemur Pro 10, while the hardware quality is poor (poor speakers, poor quality chassis, poor trackpad), it has been pretty solid otherwise for the last 4 years, with PopOS as my daily driver which I really love.
For work, I use a 2019 MacBook which has great hardware, but I am not a fan of MacOS. Will soon ask for upgrade to an M1. (My perfect laptop would be Apple hardware running PopOS).
My next laptop will likely be a Framework laptop unless System76 rolls out their own hardware which is much much improved than their current lot. I hope my current laptop will probably last 2-3 more years, if not more. (btw I use Steam Deck for gaming needs)
I have a framework laptop for work and I build my own desktops for personal use (mostly gaming). When I was in college I used to spend days getting things working on laptops, usually having to build a custom kernel or making custom configuration for sound. I don’t have the patience anymore.
Did you get a framework laptop from your employer? 😮
I don’t have the patience anymore.
Is that why you got the framework laptop?
Yes, I have the framework laptop because it’s designed to be Linux compatible. I put pop_os on it and everything just worked with no tweaking.
My employer didn’t truly provide it. Using Linux is one of my hiring requirements and they told me to provide my own machine. But employers should really look at framework machines if they want something repairable.
Using Linux is one of my hiring requirements and they told me to provide my own machine
Wow, never heard of that. Do you work in opensource? (if that’s OK to ask)
Not currently in the open source space, although that is a possibility in the near future. But all the software I’ve made in the last several years targeted Linux anyway (except for UIs but those are web or react native). I reached the point where I was tired of dealing with windows and macOS at work. So I switched jobs and started making this a requirement. I ask about it in the first interview with any possible employer.
Probably not something you want to do when you’re a Jr Dev, but props if you can convince them. When you become a sr/principal/architect level most employers give you a lot of flexibility.
Aaay, another person with the requirement. In Europe is not easy to find employers willing to pay for linux laptops. Macs are a selling point here “tired of windows? join us and you get a brand new mac!”. It feels like a management thing: they are non-technical and get to make technical decisions. It’s a problem here as most European companies haven’t yet developed a “pure developer” career path. They go strong on the Peter Principle to add management duties to developer positions and it’s mostly the only way to jump onto a new step on the salary scale.
Anyway, congrats on finding an employer willing to accept the linux requirement.
HP 255 G7 laptop because I got it tor Christmas. It works fine. At least on the OS side. UEFI will reset your boot entries should you boot anything from external drive. You can use Bootice (Windows) or efibootmgr (GNU+Linux) to put the correct boot entries back.
Running Windows, the laptop had issues with HDD powering down and up repeatedly when the screen turned off and laptop wasn’t on charger. This wasn’t issue with power settings, and searching web I wasn’t the only one having this issue. The WiFi was also less reliable on Windows.
Running GNU+Linux, it depends. Linux Mint: All works.
Manjaro: Previously the WiFi card could just die, requiring restart. This stopped occuring about a year ago. But now there’s a new issue. Internal USB hub spontaneously dying (rarely also affects external ports) when using Bluetooth (connected on internal USB hub) requiring a restart. The likelihood of that increases if you switch to TTY.You have a peculiar set of issues there 🤔 I wish I could help, but probably the manjaro community might lend a hand. Would you get HP if you had the funds and choice?
If I had the funds, I’d go for a ThinkPad. Generally they just work, as I’ve heard, but also it’s probably the last line of modern laptops that has good keyboard. I just wish modern laptops still had DVD, or better yet, BluRay drives.
What do you still have on DVD or bluray? BluRay just whizzed past me after I dumped DVDs about a decade ago.
What’s a “good keyboard” in your opinion?
I can’t describe how a good keyboard feels. You just have to try it.
DVDs, that’s the only way I am willing to buy movies. Otherwise, I’ll just pirate them. There may be cool extras, but also it’s just different being able to physically handle something. If I had a BluRay drive, I would be buying movies on that too. But also it seems like a nice way to do backups. BDXL gives you 100GB, which is fair enough, and I am pretty sure it can outlive flash storage if stored properly.
I can’t describe how a good keyboard feels. You just have to try it.
Understood. For me, a good keyboard is one that’s quiet, doesn’t stick, allows knowing where my fingers are, and split --> not a laptop keyboard. Most laptop keyboards are relatively quiet, but quiet desktop keyboards are hard to find. Took me 10 years.
DVDs, that’s the only way I am willing to buy movies.
Interesting. I didn’t know DVD and BluRay drives still existed, much less the their media was being sold at all. You must have a lot of physical storage space. How do you organise them and quickly find what you want to watch? Do you have a system?
I have a TuxedoComputers laptop and a custom built PC where every component was checked on https://linux-hardware.org/ Any new laptop or PC that I buy will be from a linux vendor.
Lenovo ThinkPad P50. Prob not the most Linux compatible machine as it has an NVIDIA Quadro M2000M but it has 64GB of RAM and I got a good deal on it. Had a Pinebook Pro but it died. Also run a few bits in Docker on a Raspberry pi 4. Planning on building a NAS with FSF approved hardware next year when I have the cash. When I eventually need to upgrade from the P50 I’ll prob build an FSF approved desktop machine as I’ve found I pretty much only use it at my desk
Planning on building a NAS with FSF approved hardware
Have you done research on that? QNAP and Synology seem to be the NAS kings but are closed source and I don’t know any opensource alternatives.
When I eventually need to upgrade from the P50 I’ll prob build an FSF approved desktop machine as I’ve found I pretty much only use it at my desk
Have you considered a linux shop or do you plan on getting all the components and building it yourself?
I’ll be using the motherboard at the link below to build my own NAS. I had a QNAP which died because it had an Intel Atom processor with known flaws, so I do not trust them at all any more. The only gaming I do on the P50 is SuperTux Kart and 16-bit console emulation through Retroarch. The most taxing things I do on it are video editing and running a few VMs at the same time which that machines more than capable of doing at the moment. https://store.vikings.net/en/d16ryf
Wow, that is not a cheap mainboard 😮 Costs as much as some mid-range laptops
I’m using a SteamDeck as my desktop environment while docked, I think it’s the only “Linux first” machine I’ve ever bought. All of my other systems I either built from scratch, a mish-mash of secondhand parts and purchased upgrades, or have been provided with through work.
How’s the SteamDeck working out for you? I’ve read it uses an immutable filesystem that’s wiped on every update?
Built my own desktop around a Threadripper 1900X I got a fairly good price on several years ago. It’s supplemented by an ancient HP laptop that originally shipped with Windows Vista Home Basic. Both run Gentoo (yes, even though that laptop has no more grunt than a Pi3).
I’m still considering what the replacement for that ancient, cranky laptop will be when it finally gives up the ghost, since it’s used more as a media consumption device than anything else.
I’ve been considering the PineTab as an option, yes. Didn’t know about the Starlite, probably because it seems to be from the other side of the Atlantic. Hmm. My problem with premade tablet devices is that they’re significantly smaller than the 17" display built into that junk laptop—the small screens may be higher resolution, but as I get older, I find I get more benefit from the larger absolute size. That and I don’t like touchscreens. The front-running replacement option at the moment is to cobble something together from a Pi4 or other Linux SBC, a portable display, and a few other parts, but I haven’t gotten that far yet. Or just pick up another used laptop from somewhere.
Does having Gentoo help the laptop limp along? Probably to some extent, but it still has the original HDD in it, so that probably slows it down more than having bespoke binaries helps.
linux on i7-4790k, 32GB DDR3, Z97 Gigabyte mobo, nvme ssd, nvidia gpu and a 27" 2k 144hz display.
Something you built yourself?
yep.
edit: and took apart several times for cleaning, maintenance, upgrades and a case swap
I built a Ryzen 5-3600, 32GB of DDR4 Memory, a 500GB NVME boot ssd, a 2tb HHD, a Nvidia GTX 1650 PC.
I also have a Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15.6" Laptop - Intel Pentium Silver N6000 for my laptop.
As well as a Raspberry Pi 3B.
How’s NVIDIA treating you? What made you go for it?
And how’s your experience with the raspberry pi? Are you able to watch videos in your browser?
My Nvidia works just fine, I went with it because thats what I had when I switched from windows to linux.
I only really use the pi as a simple server
I have an all AMD system made of a Ryzen 5800 OEM, 48GB of memory and a 6900 XT. I’ve been using Linux almost exclusively for more than a few months and thankfully AMD hardware runs better on Linux that it did for me on Windows. Though I may add an nVidia GPU to the mix for VFIO fun for a no-compromises setup if I need something from Windows.
I also have a homelab machine with a 13900K ES and 32GB of memory. A 13900K is overkill but it has good single core performance for a gaming server and running docker services at the same time.
