I’m actually looking into buying a new laptop and seriously considering choosing some Linux distro as my new OS (I’ve always used Windows before, and Mac once for work)
How do y’all recommend which laptop I should choose?
Whatever you do, pick one that ships with Linux or is at least explicitly marked as compatible.
You do not want the headache of having a laptop with this one component that genuinely doesn’t work properly. Most will work, but for example fingerprint scanners are a very touchy subject. My freakin battery is not properly recognized by anything that isn’t Windows. It’s stupid, some just don’t care about existing, well defined, open standards.
Personally I’d go with a Framework laptop. Otherwise Tuxedo or System76 might have something you like.
Tuxedo is great. Beautiful devices. I’ve been asked about this ramdomly 2-3 times by people along the lines of “wow, that’s a nice laptop, where did you get that?”. Component upgrades also at decent prices.
Linux compatibility though… Good, if you use one of their preinstalled/supported options, but can be a pain otherwise. I installed debian and still haven’t figured out all problems with sleep/hibernation mode. The tool they offer is some bloaty node js crap that doesn’t work well.
Other than that, I think if you buy any laptop that is maybe 2 years old you should be good. Best way to check is maybe to Google the model + Linux and see how others experienced it.
I’m actually looking into buying a new laptop and seriously considering choosing some Linux distro as my new OS (I’ve always used Windows before, and Mac once for work)
How do y’all recommend which laptop I should choose?
Whatever you do, pick one that ships with Linux or is at least explicitly marked as compatible.
You do not want the headache of having a laptop with this one component that genuinely doesn’t work properly. Most will work, but for example fingerprint scanners are a very touchy subject. My freakin battery is not properly recognized by anything that isn’t Windows. It’s stupid, some just don’t care about existing, well defined, open standards.
Personally I’d go with a Framework laptop. Otherwise Tuxedo or System76 might have something you like.
Tuxedo is great. Beautiful devices. I’ve been asked about this ramdomly 2-3 times by people along the lines of “wow, that’s a nice laptop, where did you get that?”. Component upgrades also at decent prices.
Linux compatibility though… Good, if you use one of their preinstalled/supported options, but can be a pain otherwise. I installed debian and still haven’t figured out all problems with sleep/hibernation mode. The tool they offer is some bloaty node js crap that doesn’t work well.
Other than that, I think if you buy any laptop that is maybe 2 years old you should be good. Best way to check is maybe to Google the model + Linux and see how others experienced it.
I’ve been happy with every thinkpad I’ve put Mint on.
Look at the refurbished ones on ebay
Get a Slimbook. They’re good laptops, and they let you choose which Linux distro is installed out the box.
There’s even a KDE version if their Plasma desktop environment is your cup of tea.