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Does anyone actually buy Lenovos after what happened with SuperFish? [0] [0] https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/superfish-torments-lenovo-owners-w

Does anyone actually buy Lenovos after what happened with SuperFish? [0] [0] https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/superfish-torments-lenovo-owners-with-more-than-adware/ https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/superfish-to...

bingohbangoh 5y ago
People seem to feel okay with it given they use Linux and thus everything is nominally open source.
- fsflover 5y ago
  The problem is that Superfish is BIOS malware. If Lenovo is willing to infect its BIOS for profit, I'm not sure that running Linux is safe on their hardware.
  - fulafel 5y ago
    Having proof from that incident that hw isn't necessarily safe, + the risk of a repeat offence affecting Linux, is probably a net positive for Linux security.
    - fsflover 5y ago
      This is not really hardware. On some laptops you can (almost) replace BIOS with FLOSS coreboot. The incident proves the importance of FLOSS and user control.
morpheuskafka 5y ago
ThinkPads are still the name of the game for enterprise laptop deployments. AFAIK, they don't contain any preloaded stuff beyond the OEM app (Lenovo Vantage). Some enterprises prefer the more stripped down Lenovo System Update instead, although I think users may need Vantage to change some hotkey, etc. settings. Still, for a business with stricter security standards, it would be ideal to do a clean reimage of all new laptops regardless of vendor, and specifically add only the necessary drivers, etc.
- shawnz 5y ago
  At my workplace we use all Dell, including the laptops, and I've been mostly happy with them.
  - bellyfullofbac 5y ago
    Did you get extra warranty? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go5tLO6ipxw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go5tLO6ipxw TL;DW: they did a secret shopper laptop buying experience, the sales rep pushed the extra warranty hard, and included it (at cost) despite the buyer declining it.
- sneak 5y ago
  > ThinkPads are still the name of the game for enterprise laptop deployments. I suppose startups (where but everybody is on a Mac) are not enterprises, then? > Still, for a business with stricter security standards, it would be ideal to do a clean reimage of all new laptops regardless of vendor, and specifically add only the necessary drivers, etc. There were some Lenovos that had vendor crapware in the EFI partition that would get auto-reinstalled by Windows when you’d do a fresh install.
  - jonathantf2 5y ago
    >I suppose startups (where but everybody is on a Mac) are not enterprises, then? Mac computers are not enterprise computers. They're first and foremost consumer machines.
- smlacy 5y ago
  > Still, for a business with stricter security standards, it would be ideal to do a clean reimage of all new laptops regardless of vendor, and specifically add only the necessary drivers, etc. This is what I've done with virtually every machine I've personally owned for oh... the last 20 years? Why is this not people's defacto way of setting up a new machine? It's obvious that preinstalls are full of bloatware and spyware. The only issue (primarily from the past) is that specialty hardware may not work without vendor-provided drivers. That's largely no longer true, especially for the big-name brands like Lenovo, Dell, Acer, ec.
Loic 5y ago
For the past 20 years, only ThinkPads. I directly replace the main drive and install Linux on it.
igetspam 5y ago
I've never found a laptop I liked more than a ThinkPad. I haven't used anything but Linux in over 20 years though.
- linuxhansl 5y ago
  Same here. IMHO ThinkPads are still the best laptops (again, IMHO), and I've been running nothing but Linux since 1999.
ct0 5y ago
Yes, I have.
smoldesu 5y ago
I wouldn't know, I exclusively run Linux on my Lenovo devices.
duxup 5y ago
Lots of love for ThinkPads out there on HN. Not to say they're wrong about their preference but I gave up on Lenovo a long time ago due to shenanigans.
- amiga-workbench 5y ago
  Understandable, I'm still running an X201t, the newer models are deeply unappealing. I picked up a Precision M6700 for the office and I'm very pleased with the thing. I don't see any laptops much newer than that which I'd be happy with. The current trend of soldered RAM & wireless radios is an utter dealbreaker, I can only hope the industry grows out of it.
linuxhansl 5y ago
I still buy ThinkPads and run Linux on them.
poetaster 5y ago
1 old thinkpad linux over apple since 2003/4. Apple fan boy from 1986 to about then. I miss adb and the nubus, but that really is too much ti expect, now isn't it.
only_as_i_fall 5y ago
No. Used to only buy Lenovo and then super fish happened and I haven't bought one since. I'm sure it doesn't bother Lenovo one bit though as people who actually care about this stuff are a fraction of 1% of their market. Frustrating for sure...

bingohbangoh 5y ago

People seem to feel okay with it given they use Linux and thus everything is nominally open source.

fsflover 5y ago
The problem is that Superfish is BIOS malware. If Lenovo is willing to infect its BIOS for profit, I'm not sure that running Linux is safe on their hardware.
- fulafel 5y ago
  Having proof from that incident that hw isn't necessarily safe, + the risk of a repeat offence affecting Linux, is probably a net positive for Linux security.
  - fsflover 5y ago
    This is not really hardware. On some laptops you can (almost) replace BIOS with FLOSS coreboot. The incident proves the importance of FLOSS and user control.

morpheuskafka 5y ago

ThinkPads are still the name of the game for enterprise laptop deployments. AFAIK, they don't contain any preloaded stuff beyond the OEM app (Lenovo Vantage). Some enterprises prefer the more stripped down Lenovo System Update instead, although I think users may need Vantage to change some hotkey, etc. settings. Still, for a business with stricter security standards, it would be ideal to do a clean reimage of all new laptops regardless of vendor, and specifically add only the necessary drivers, etc.

shawnz 5y ago
At my workplace we use all Dell, including the laptops, and I've been mostly happy with them.
- bellyfullofbac 5y ago
  Did you get extra warranty? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go5tLO6ipxw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go5tLO6ipxw TL;DW: they did a secret shopper laptop buying experience, the sales rep pushed the extra warranty hard, and included it (at cost) despite the buyer declining it.
sneak 5y ago
> ThinkPads are still the name of the game for enterprise laptop deployments. I suppose startups (where but everybody is on a Mac) are not enterprises, then? > Still, for a business with stricter security standards, it would be ideal to do a clean reimage of all new laptops regardless of vendor, and specifically add only the necessary drivers, etc. There were some Lenovos that had vendor crapware in the EFI partition that would get auto-reinstalled by Windows when you’d do a fresh install.
- jonathantf2 5y ago
  >I suppose startups (where but everybody is on a Mac) are not enterprises, then? Mac computers are not enterprise computers. They're first and foremost consumer machines.
smlacy 5y ago
> Still, for a business with stricter security standards, it would be ideal to do a clean reimage of all new laptops regardless of vendor, and specifically add only the necessary drivers, etc. This is what I've done with virtually every machine I've personally owned for oh... the last 20 years? Why is this not people's defacto way of setting up a new machine? It's obvious that preinstalls are full of bloatware and spyware. The only issue (primarily from the past) is that specialty hardware may not work without vendor-provided drivers. That's largely no longer true, especially for the big-name brands like Lenovo, Dell, Acer, ec.

Loic 5y ago

For the past 20 years, only ThinkPads. I directly replace the main drive and install Linux on it.

igetspam 5y ago

I've never found a laptop I liked more than a ThinkPad. I haven't used anything but Linux in over 20 years though.

linuxhansl 5y ago
Same here. IMHO ThinkPads are still the best laptops (again, IMHO), and I've been running nothing but Linux since 1999.

ct0 5y ago

Yes, I have.

smoldesu 5y ago

I wouldn't know, I exclusively run Linux on my Lenovo devices.

duxup 5y ago

Lots of love for ThinkPads out there on HN. Not to say they're wrong about their preference but I gave up on Lenovo a long time ago due to shenanigans.

amiga-workbench 5y ago
Understandable, I'm still running an X201t, the newer models are deeply unappealing. I picked up a Precision M6700 for the office and I'm very pleased with the thing. I don't see any laptops much newer than that which I'd be happy with. The current trend of soldered RAM & wireless radios is an utter dealbreaker, I can only hope the industry grows out of it.

linuxhansl 5y ago

I still buy ThinkPads and run Linux on them.

poetaster 5y ago

1 old thinkpad linux over apple since 2003/4. Apple fan boy from 1986 to about then. I miss adb and the nubus, but that really is too much ti expect, now isn't it.

only_as_i_fall 5y ago

No. Used to only buy Lenovo and then super fish happened and I haven't bought one since. I'm sure it doesn't bother Lenovo one bit though as people who actually care about this stuff are a fraction of 1% of their market. Frustrating for sure...