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Honestly Dell does Ubuntu pre-installed and therefore its XPS and Precision models never give this kind of bullshit uphill, even if you don't buy the Ubuntu ver

Honestly Dell does Ubuntu pre-installed and therefore its XPS and Precision models never give this kind of bullshit uphill, even if you don't buy the Ubuntu version. It's now my go-to vendor, simply because I consider any vendor which does not do full testing on Linux, and sells any hardware that doesn't fully support it, as suspect and not worth bothering with. I'm sad to see that Lenovo is now in that camp.

ensiferum 10y ago
Just wondering, does Dell support non-US keyboard layouts? I only saw that XPS available on some Dell-US site..
- vegabook 10y ago
  I'm running an ISO keyboard on a Dell Precision as we "speak". Recall you don't have to buy the Ubuntu pre-installed version because it's the same hardware. I retro-installed mine on a UK-keyboard Windows Precision M3800 (now superseded by the 5510). And it works perfectly. If I were to buy one now I'd just go for the 13-XPS as the infinity display is big enough, although a fully kitted out Precision 5510 with Xeon, 32GB RAM and Nvidia quadro is mighty tempting but we're talking 3000 USD (2150 GBP) with 1TB SSD.
jschwartzi 10y ago
One of my co-workers bought a Linux laptop from Dell, and while the Linux capabilities worked, he spent several weeks working with their support to get the laptop re-imaged. The first time they returned it it had no system image. Apparently their service depot doesn't have system images for their version of Linux. The support rep had to actually intercept the laptop on the second trip from the depot to reinstall Linux.
orbitingpluto 10y ago
Ditto. But I think we have fallen on hard times when Dell becomes the go-to.
- vegabook 10y ago
  I have to assume you're referencing Apple, because otherwise, apart from maybe Lenovo, for a good quality decent price machine with at least a semblance of design attention, Dell has been pretty good for something like 8-10 years now (HP: are you listening?). Dell also has a long history of access to and enthusiasm for cutting edge components. If however what you're lamenting is the idea that we have to look somewhere other than Apple these days, then I have to agree with you. Their lineup is truly forgettable in the above-starbucks market, tragic considering the history of the macbook. Maybe just maybe that'll change in October, but then we'll still have to deal with the iOSification of OSX to the detriment of developers. Also I'm a big mech keyboard fan and the rumoured oled bar function key replacement idea does NOT work for me unless they open source it (haha).

ensiferum 10y ago

Just wondering, does Dell support non-US keyboard layouts? I only saw that XPS available on some Dell-US site..

vegabook 10y ago
I'm running an ISO keyboard on a Dell Precision as we "speak". Recall you don't have to buy the Ubuntu pre-installed version because it's the same hardware. I retro-installed mine on a UK-keyboard Windows Precision M3800 (now superseded by the 5510). And it works perfectly. If I were to buy one now I'd just go for the 13-XPS as the infinity display is big enough, although a fully kitted out Precision 5510 with Xeon, 32GB RAM and Nvidia quadro is mighty tempting but we're talking 3000 USD (2150 GBP) with 1TB SSD.

jschwartzi 10y ago

One of my co-workers bought a Linux laptop from Dell, and while the Linux capabilities worked, he spent several weeks working with their support to get the laptop re-imaged. The first time they returned it it had no system image. Apparently their service depot doesn't have system images for their version of Linux. The support rep had to actually intercept the laptop on the second trip from the depot to reinstall Linux.

orbitingpluto 10y ago

Ditto. But I think we have fallen on hard times when Dell becomes the go-to.

vegabook 10y ago
I have to assume you're referencing Apple, because otherwise, apart from maybe Lenovo, for a good quality decent price machine with at least a semblance of design attention, Dell has been pretty good for something like 8-10 years now (HP: are you listening?). Dell also has a long history of access to and enthusiasm for cutting edge components. If however what you're lamenting is the idea that we have to look somewhere other than Apple these days, then I have to agree with you. Their lineup is truly forgettable in the above-starbucks market, tragic considering the history of the macbook. Maybe just maybe that'll change in October, but then we'll still have to deal with the iOSification of OSX to the detriment of developers. Also I'm a big mech keyboard fan and the rumoured oled bar function key replacement idea does NOT work for me unless they open source it (haha).