[HacktionLab] How t buy a laptop that will work with Linux

[Gareth Coleman]

I've been using thinkpads with ubuntu/debian for years and haven't had
driver problems yet, even with the exotic bits like fingerprint readers.

And I would disagree about the build quality, having opened up many brands
including all the main ones such as acer, toshiba, dell, sony to fix them
in the computer cafe.

My opinion is that build quality on thinkpads is about as good as you get
short of apple, but with less adhesive and weird-ass screws. You can get
easily get hold of the service manuals which document the procedures and
spare part numbers. Parts are available for laptops even several years old.
These comments mainly apply to the business-oriented models, not the cheap
consumer ones, though.

I suppose the main relationship is between original cost and quality, and
who the target market is. Business laptops tend to be sold on the basis of
lower life-time hassle, consumer ones on price or colour.

I recently bought a second hand X200s on ebay for £90, and with an SSD in
it, runs mint debian edition like a dream.

In fact, like cars, a lot of the value dissipates the moment you open the
box. So why not go for a recent model second hand - get an old high-end
laptop instead of a new one built down to a budget?

For example if you can stretch to £479 there is a thinkpad x1 carbon which
looks good here:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lenovo-ThinkPad-X1-Carbon-14-120-GB-i5-3427u-1-8-GHz-4-GB-Warranty-2016-/191242517634.
It's so new it still has two years of the manufacturers warranty left!

I can second the recommendation the thinkwiki - it's an excellent resource
btw.

good luck


On 26 July 2014 18:22, Ben Green <ben at bristolwireless.net> wrote:

> Quoting Andy S <andys at bristolwireless.net>:
>
>
>
>> If in doubt: http://www.linux-on-laptops.com/
>>
>
> Though for newer laptops they probably won't be on there. Sadly that's
> also where you'll find the most issues with linux.
>
> The trouble is the driver release cycle. Whereas with Windows you get
> mainly third party drivers for newer hardware, with linux you have to wait
> for it to be in the kernel.
>
> For your last laptop penguin, that you sold to your brother, what was it
> and what were the problems?
>
> http://www.novatech.co.uk/ - novatech have a thing of about linux
> compatibility, and sell OS free computers.
>
> If you are buying from eBuyer, the comments can be very useful, though not
> as useful as they used to be when you could filter by OS used.
>
> Also, for the one you are thinking of getting I did a search for "Lenovo
> ThinkPad B5400 linux", which results in the following page:
> http://www.ubuntu.com/certification/hardware/201308-14055/components/
> "The following components are contained in the Lenovo ThinkPad B5400
> notebook, which has been awarded the status of Certified Pre-Install for
> Ubuntu."
>
> So there you go, should be fully compatible. Lenovo don't have a
> particularly good reputation for build quality.
>
> Not wanting to end on a low note though, here's an ascii kitten:
>
> \    /\
>  )  ( ')
>  (  /  )
>   \(__)|
>
> Cheers,
> Ben
>
>
>
>
>
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>



-- 
------------------------
Gareth Coleman
layer zero labs
l0l.org.uk
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