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I went from GNU/Linux to Mac in 2013 and back to GNU/Linux about a year ago. (Never owned a Macbook, though.) Laptop-wise, I can recommend the Asus Zenbook. Th

by krylon 8y ago

I went from GNU/Linux to Mac in 2013 and back to GNU/Linux about a year ago. (Never owned a Macbook, though.) Laptop-wise, I can recommend the Asus Zenbook. The keyboard backlight does not work on Linux, and Bluetooth is a little flakey, but apart from that it works very well for me (on openSUSE Tumbleweed, at least). There are two things I miss: At work, we use a VoIP-based PBX which also supports software clients; the client is available on Windows and Mac. So on the Mac, I could work from home and use my headset for telephony, which was very, very convenient. On Linux, I have not been able to get this to work. The other thing is that on macOS, the text input widget understands the basic emacs key navigation shortcuts (Ctrl+A -> Jump to beginning of current line, Ctrl+E -> Jump to end of current line, etc...); all the muscle memory I had build up over years of using emacs finally paid off in a big way, because I could use part of it everywhere. Apart from those two pain points, I was very happy to get back on the GNU.

estro 8y ago
I second the recommendation to get an Asus Zenbook, with the same cons. The case is solid and durable; specs range from reasonable to outstanding (especially at its price point). I would also look at the IBM Thinkpad, as I've had friends and coworkers praise its Linux interoperability.
- havemylife 8y ago
  Seconding the Thinkpad. There's also various repurposed IBM (I want to say mostly T200 and T400) that have GNU/Linux and an open source bios (or boot loader, I apologise if I'm mixing terms) pre-installed. Price is probably high for the hardware though I think it's goes back into further open-source libre development. But if it is important to you, you'll actually 'own' your computer.
  - krylon 8y ago
    Pre-owned / refurbished ThinkPads can be found surprisingly cheaply on Amazon (and elsewhere, I suppose). If you value reliability over performance, formerly top-shelf ThinkPads provide that at a great price. I got a ~2011 x220 for about €230 a few years ago - works like a charm on Debian, and compared to what that money gets you in current hardware, it's still a kick ass machine - except for the low display resolution...

by krylon 8y ago

estro 8y ago

I second the recommendation to get an Asus Zenbook, with the same cons. The case is solid and durable; specs range from reasonable to outstanding (especially at its price point). I would also look at the IBM Thinkpad, as I've had friends and coworkers praise its Linux interoperability.

havemylife 8y ago
Seconding the Thinkpad. There's also various repurposed IBM (I want to say mostly T200 and T400) that have GNU/Linux and an open source bios (or boot loader, I apologise if I'm mixing terms) pre-installed. Price is probably high for the hardware though I think it's goes back into further open-source libre development. But if it is important to you, you'll actually 'own' your computer.
- krylon 8y ago
  Pre-owned / refurbished ThinkPads can be found surprisingly cheaply on Amazon (and elsewhere, I suppose). If you value reliability over performance, formerly top-shelf ThinkPads provide that at a great price. I got a ~2011 x220 for about €230 a few years ago - works like a charm on Debian, and compared to what that money gets you in current hardware, it's still a kick ass machine - except for the low display resolution...