I’ve noticed in the Linux community whenever someone asks for a recommendation on a laptop that runs Linux the answer is always “Get a Thinkpad” yet Lenovo doesn’t seem to be a big Linux contributor or ally. There’s also at least six Linux/FOSS-oriented computer manufacturers now:
So what gives? Why the love for a primarily Windows-oriented laptop when there are better alternatives?
Cause thinkpads are cheap and easy to come by
Source: i work in ewaste
Yes, exactly this. The alternatives would cost close to $1k as starter.
Out of curiosity, do you ever rescue laptops from your work and use or resell them?
yes. Companies goal is to essentially take in e-waste and used stuff, sort through it and pull out decent laptops/desktops wipe(or destroy) hard drive based on instructions, and resell. The company that gives us the goods gets a cutback of what’s being sold. everything else that is junk is then sorted and recycled to their respective correct facilities. Gotta use the second R in the 3 R’s and the third for whatever is considered old. What’s considered old goods is still very desirable to another company, especially companies outside of the U.S where computers may be more expensive, especially when you’re trying to get them in bulk.
the work laptop I use is definitely used goods, in fact relevant to thread as it is a 8th gen Thinkpad T490.
With everything I hear about good stuff going to waste, I highly enjoyed reading that.
Keep doing what you do, your workplace is cool
In the US a lot of business use them. It’s not uncommon to see a pallet of “old” ThinkPads at the swapmeet selling for less than $200. We’re talking x1 Carbons. These machines have upgradable SSDs, Wifi, and battery. For less than $300 you can get a BEAST of a machine that runs Linux very very well.
Because these are small shops that have limited availability outside North America, and are fairly expensive compared to Thinkpads which are widely used by corporations, and can be found pretty cheaply.
Exactly this - none of those vendors will sell to me, but I can get a ThinkPad shipped from any of the major local retailers, or direct from Lenovo themselves. I’d love a Framework, and I’m trying to set it up so I can get one shipped to a friend in the UK who will be visiting next year but I’m sceptical that the timing will work out or that Framework will accept my credit card
What I don’t like about buying things from abroad is that RMA-ing gets difficult and expensive.
They stand the test of time, used ones can be bought at reasonable prices, there is an abundance of configurations, and they still have the best (the only good) keyboards for any laptop.
thats exactly why i bought my dirt cheap x1 3rd gen
They can be found cheap as shit. I got a great t480 for less than $150 and another $50 I upgraded my RAM and battery. It’s a really nice laptop and only cost me a couple hundred.
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I know nothing, why is Purism a scam?
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Scam is too strong of a word. I’ve got a Librem 5 and it works. I had to wait several years to get it, yeah, but that’s about what I expected. Can’t comment on their laptops, but I still doubt that scam is the right word.
Secret sauce: it’s much easier to get an employer on board with buying you a Thinkpad as part of a bulk order than it is to get them to spring for any of these more obscure models as a one-off.
Price. You can find second hand Thinkpad’s whereas new laptops are very expensive.
yeah good luck getting those brand outside of US
Thinkpads tend to have excellent build quality, solid firmware and well thought out design. Price to performance on second-hand models is always outstanding and their popularity ensures hardware compatibility with Linux.
Of the brands you named, I just don’t trust the hardware. Tuxedo computers for example uses Tongfang white-label computers that they just slap their logo on. Quality control isn’t as thorough as Lenovo’s, firmware is sketchy, TDP tends to be all over the place and keyboard quality doesn’t come close.
Thinkpads also have-- and I can’t stress the importance of this enough-- a nipple. I don’t really use it, but if you try to take it away from me I’ll bite you.
Heck, why buy a pre-made laptop anyway, just take this bag of microchips and this spool of solder and compile your own!
Integrated circuits‽
I make my CPUs using individual transistors on a breadboard.
The way God intended
Don’t be silly, you also need some chewing gum and bits of string.
None of them are available in my country
I bought a Framework once. The build quality was better than System76, but not great. However, Framework is not a Linux laptop. They designed it for Windows and only afterwards they were surprised to find that people wanted it for Linux.
A lot of Linux laptops don’t have HiDPI displays because they’re not really compatible.
Example Framework: https://community.frame.work/t/tracking-state-of-hidpi-on-linux/8301
For years people have been trying to work around Framework’s poor display choice. And they’re still trying.
If you have a regular DPI display, you get to avoid a whole class of bugs and issues.
If you wanna have a good time with Linux, you need some mechanical sympathy.
Btw, tbh, brb, I’ve had good success with the Dell XPS 13 and the Lenovo X1 Carbon. System76 build quality was meh.
As someone running a Framework 13 with Fedora 38 with 1.5 fractional scaling using Wayland I cannot say I experienced the same issue. Everything kinda just worked out of the box.
Personally I couldn’t go back from HiDPI screens. The lower resolution just makes stuff look blurry IMO.
My third world country only have Thinkpad around so. It is what it is.
I also live in Europe
same
