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> Users who know how to do a fresh Linux install should do that anyway Not great advice. Dell laptops at least ship with a specific version of Ubuntu that has
by loloquwowndueo 4y ago
> Users who know how to do a fresh Linux install should do that anyway
Not great advice. Dell laptops at least ship with a specific version of Ubuntu that has all the necessary drivers and config tweaks for the laptops devices to work well out of the box. A stock Ubuntu install will result in a half-working laptop and a not great experience.
The Dell-customized Ubuntu image is pretty clean and crap ware-free anyway so it’s definitely a good idea to use that.
- colordrops 4y agoMaybe not the best advice for total beginners, but good advice for anyone who wants to learn Linux. There is plenty of documentation out there on how to get a fresh Linux install up to speed on a Dell laptop.
- bornfreddy 4y agoGreat advice. I'm not sure if Dell upstreams their changes or list them somewhere, but if they don't, they deserve support problems. And if they do, well, no issue then, right? I wouldn't trust vendor not to put spyware / crapware on the laptop.
- nmstoker 4y agoHaven't checked in on Ubuntu on Dell for a while but they used to have a PPA so you could install fresh but get all the drivers easily
- bornfreddy 4y agoWhy would I install a package from some 3rd party PPA? That is almost the same as leaving their installation intact. It is a matter of trust. I trust my distribution vendor (no choice here really), but hardware vendors should just offer open-source drivers and apps and leave it at that. The app comes from the PPA already compiled, so who knows what it is doing.
- jychang 4y agoStartup idea: Become a source of software where paranoid people install your things instead of from the OEM. Install rootkits on your drivers and sell to the CIA
- Jon_Lowtek 4y agoDrivers that are near unobtainable except when using the preinstalled OS is a NO-GO. But it's probably something trivial. I know stories about bleeding edge wifi hardware drivers not being provided by a year old LTS Ubuntu (well du'h). And of course there is the gpu driver shism. But i'm guessing. Can you elaborate on the changes made by dell?
- abnry 4y agoI've never figured out how to manage battery power settings on my windows MSI laptop after I installed Ubuntu.
- djbusby 4y agoLikely some sleep-state fixes for wifi HW. Those have a long history of issue (on many vendors) and fixes generally require BIOS, firmware and kernel to all play nice.
- loloquwowndueo 4y agoDell has a better description of what’s done to the custom image and how most of those changes are later upstreamed. https://www.dell.com/community/Developer-Blogs/Dell-s-Developer-line-turns-10-A-decade-of-Project-Sputnik-amp/ba-p/8342173 https://www.dell.com/community/Developer-Blogs/Dell-s-Develo...
- nsajko 4y agoAre you sure you meant to provide this specific link? Where on the page should we look, if so?
- teawrecks 4y agoJust sound like reasons to not get a dell.
- loloquwowndueo 4y agoTotally. A manufacturer supplying drivers and a suitable pre installed OS, and upstreaming changes so they become available widely. The horror.
- thomastjeffery 4y agoMost of the appeal of getting a laptop speed with Linux is the expectation of good Linux hardware support. Most of the utility in running Linux on your hardware is from running the Linux distribution you prefer.
- nsajko 4y agoSounds dubious, could you be more specific? > A stock Ubuntu install will result in a half-working laptop Probably just because Ubuntu is outdated, try Archlinux.
- donutshop 4y agoThis. Have gotten the DE of the XPS and everything worked flawlessly. Along with Dell ProSupport it's hard to beat it.
- 12345hn6789 4y agoBad advice. A user unable to properly configure their device should be buying a Windows machine. Or a MacBook / Chromebook.