4 ms·

> I don't really see what the big game changer is whether a laptop comes preinstalled with Ubuntu or if I do it myself. It means a certain level of support. Th

> I don't really see what the big game changer is whether a laptop comes preinstalled with Ubuntu or if I do it myself. It means a certain level of support. They're actively trying to make this thing run Linux well, instead of leaving it up to "the community". And you don't have to go reading forums or blog posts before buying just to figure out if it will have some stupid UEFI bug or whatever that makes installing Linux on it a real hassle. Although I prefer Thinkpads, I very much understand why people want Macbook-like computers – they look quite nice! You shouldn't have to fit into some black-and-blue mold just to run Linux.

NiklasMort 9y ago
Lenovo did the same in the early days at least, they were very aware of having to produce high compatibility laptops. Not so much for the point of open source but for business usage which sometimes required non-windows OS's. But sure I applaud Dell. The world should rid of Windows.
- castle-bravo 9y ago
  No longer, apparently. A colleague if mine has had some headaches with ubuntu on his legion Y520, including no wifi connectivity at work. My T430 has no problems though.
  - pritambaral 9y ago
    AFAIK, the Y-series line is not a ThinkPad line. What the parent said applied to the ThinkPad line, which is treated differently by Lenovo to their consumer lines.
speedplane 9y ago
As a practical matter, would be nicer if they could just load windows and have Ubuntu automatically loaded with a well working Ubuntu virtual machine image where everything works (e.g., webcam, sound, peripherals, etc.).
tobltobs 9y ago
When I bought my XPS13 the trackpad, sound and keyboard haven't been working reliable. The thing has been unusable. Contacted support and they send me a link how to reflash my BIOS and install a newer version of Ubuntu. It seems you get "a certain level of support", but I fail to see how this is better then the usual "buy Thinkpad, install Linux, use Google if you have problems" cycle is.

NiklasMort 9y ago

Lenovo did the same in the early days at least, they were very aware of having to produce high compatibility laptops. Not so much for the point of open source but for business usage which sometimes required non-windows OS's. But sure I applaud Dell. The world should rid of Windows.

castle-bravo 9y ago
No longer, apparently. A colleague if mine has had some headaches with ubuntu on his legion Y520, including no wifi connectivity at work. My T430 has no problems though.
- pritambaral 9y ago
  AFAIK, the Y-series line is not a ThinkPad line. What the parent said applied to the ThinkPad line, which is treated differently by Lenovo to their consumer lines.

speedplane 9y ago

As a practical matter, would be nicer if they could just load windows and have Ubuntu automatically loaded with a well working Ubuntu virtual machine image where everything works (e.g., webcam, sound, peripherals, etc.).

tobltobs 9y ago

When I bought my XPS13 the trackpad, sound and keyboard haven't been working reliable. The thing has been unusable. Contacted support and they send me a link how to reflash my BIOS and install a newer version of Ubuntu. It seems you get "a certain level of support", but I fail to see how this is better then the usual "buy Thinkpad, install Linux, use Google if you have problems" cycle is.