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> Just find proper harware to run GNU/Linux. I suspect this is indeed the root of the problem; people tend to just pick any hardware first and then try to run

> Just find proper harware to run GNU/Linux. I suspect this is indeed the root of the problem; people tend to just pick any hardware first and then try to run Linux on it, whereas in reality they should pick hardware to run Linux on. They seem to get this when it comes to Mac, but not Linux for some reason.

elcomet 6y ago
> They seem to get this when it comes to Mac, but not Linux for some reason The reason seems pretty obvious.
- AsyncAwait 6y ago
  Care to elaborate?
  - elcomet 6y ago
    Sorry, I thought your post was sarcasm. Well, you have literally no choice for macOs supported hardware. Only apple devices. Whereas for Linux, you can in theory buy any laptop (there is no official list of supported laptops). So it's not that they get it for Mac, it's just the lack of choice.
    - AsyncAwait 6y ago
      But that's precisely my point. You don't really have a choice of just any random hardware anywhere, not on Linux, not on macOS, not even Windows. The only difference is that most BestBuy laptops come preinstalled with Windows, so of course they're going to support Windows. The support is often not excellent either, but in Windows world that's somehow just dismissed as expected or something. Also, try picking a TALOS II POWER9 workstation and installing Windows on it. Would not go well. My point being, people should buy Linux-supported hardware, preferably from a reputable Linux-friendly vendor, which would spare them a lot of trouble. They're already doing this with macOS and they're doing it with Windows too, just not realizing it because that's what comes with the majority of PCs.
      - elcomet 6y ago
        My point is that no-one is doing it on purpose for Mac or windows. They either have no choice (for Mac) or it comes by default (for windows). What you're asking is for people to do it on purpose, which is harder, and requires a lot of thoughts into it, reading about hardware vendors, ..
        AsyncAwait 6y ago
        I agree it's harder, but my opinion is that at this point we should market Linux on the desktop as being a very specific thing requiring hardware explicitly for that purpose and should try to work with vendors to make it an option for more hardware, rather than trying to support everything and it not being the best experience as a result.
        elcomet 6y ago
        Yeah, I agree with that.
ferzul 6y ago
but it's very hard to do. if you have some arbitrary requirement (for me it's hidpi[0] and enough ram), it may be very hard to find a provider who meets your requirement, or a review for a product that is on the market. (today, it seems i could get a purism machine, but i couldn't last time i was in the market in 2017.) unfortunately, for linux users, hit-or-miss may be your best option. [0] i guess my eyesight started degrading, and now i find low res screens confusing. glasses help but hidpi is important too.
- AsyncAwait 6y ago
  It used to be somewhat hard, agreed, but this is a "2020 edition", where now you have plenty of options, from Purism to System76 to DELL and soon Lenovo - all of these would meet your requirements as listed. What frustrates me is that these lists get posted every year and never seem to get updated. It's like it's not from daily experience, but still the same list compiled when they tried Mandrake Linux 15 years ago.

elcomet 6y ago

> They seem to get this when it comes to Mac, but not Linux for some reason The reason seems pretty obvious.

AsyncAwait 6y ago
Care to elaborate?
- elcomet 6y ago
  Sorry, I thought your post was sarcasm. Well, you have literally no choice for macOs supported hardware. Only apple devices. Whereas for Linux, you can in theory buy any laptop (there is no official list of supported laptops). So it's not that they get it for Mac, it's just the lack of choice.
  - AsyncAwait 6y ago
    But that's precisely my point. You don't really have a choice of just any random hardware anywhere, not on Linux, not on macOS, not even Windows. The only difference is that most BestBuy laptops come preinstalled with Windows, so of course they're going to support Windows. The support is often not excellent either, but in Windows world that's somehow just dismissed as expected or something. Also, try picking a TALOS II POWER9 workstation and installing Windows on it. Would not go well. My point being, people should buy Linux-supported hardware, preferably from a reputable Linux-friendly vendor, which would spare them a lot of trouble. They're already doing this with macOS and they're doing it with Windows too, just not realizing it because that's what comes with the majority of PCs.
    - elcomet 6y ago
      My point is that no-one is doing it on purpose for Mac or windows. They either have no choice (for Mac) or it comes by default (for windows). What you're asking is for people to do it on purpose, which is harder, and requires a lot of thoughts into it, reading about hardware vendors, ..
      - AsyncAwait 6y ago
        I agree it's harder, but my opinion is that at this point we should market Linux on the desktop as being a very specific thing requiring hardware explicitly for that purpose and should try to work with vendors to make it an option for more hardware, rather than trying to support everything and it not being the best experience as a result.
        elcomet 6y ago
        Yeah, I agree with that.

ferzul 6y ago

but it's very hard to do. if you have some arbitrary requirement (for me it's hidpi[0] and enough ram), it may be very hard to find a provider who meets your requirement, or a review for a product that is on the market. (today, it seems i could get a purism machine, but i couldn't last time i was in the market in 2017.) unfortunately, for linux users, hit-or-miss may be your best option. [0] i guess my eyesight started degrading, and now i find low res screens confusing. glasses help but hidpi is important too.

AsyncAwait 6y ago
It used to be somewhat hard, agreed, but this is a "2020 edition", where now you have plenty of options, from Purism to System76 to DELL and soon Lenovo - all of these would meet your requirements as listed. What frustrates me is that these lists get posted every year and never seem to get updated. It's like it's not from daily experience, but still the same list compiled when they tried Mandrake Linux 15 years ago.