[ubuntu-us-mi] new laptop

Discussion:

Julia Christianson

2011-10-24 18:33:07 UTC

Hi Folks,

My 7-year-old laptop is about to bite the dust, I'm faced with buying a
new one, and I haven't kept up with hardware developments, so I have to
ask, what should I be concerned about?

I'm in rural southwest Michigan, hoping to buy from a small local shop,
or barring that, mail order. Don't want to spend a lot. Looking at
Acer or Toshiba. Have been running Kubuntu for several years, but
thinking about checking out Ubuntu this time. Would greatly appreciate
any warnings or recommendations.

Thanks,

-- Julia

Jay R. Wren

2011-10-24 18:37:31 UTC

Permalink

Have you considered System76?

--
Jay

Post by Julia Christianson
Hi Folks,
My 7-year-old laptop is about to bite the dust, I'm faced with buying a new one, and I haven't kept up with hardware developments, so I have to ask, what should I be concerned about?
I'm in rural southwest Michigan, hoping to buy from a small local shop, or barring that, mail order. Don't want to spend a lot. Looking at Acer or Toshiba. Have been running Kubuntu for several years, but thinking about checking out Ubuntu this time. Would greatly appreciate any warnings or recommendations.
Thanks,
-- Julia
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Team Xlink

2011-10-24 19:17:07 UTC

Permalink

http://www.system76.com

That is their site. I was reading one of the search results after Googling
System76, and this blog post came up:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/education/saying-goodbye-to-my-system76-notebooks/4455

They seem to be absolutely brilliant, I'm bookmarking them, for when the
time comes to purchase a net book/laptop for college.

Post by Jay R. Wren
Have you considered System76?
--
Jay

Post by Julia Christianson
Hi Folks,
My 7-year-old laptop is about to bite the dust, I'm faced with buying a

new one, and I haven't kept up with hardware developments, so I have to ask,
what should I be concerned about?

Post by Julia Christianson
I'm in rural southwest Michigan, hoping to buy from a small local shop,

or barring that, mail order. Don't want to spend a lot. Looking at Acer or
Toshiba. Have been running Kubuntu for several years, but thinking about
checking out Ubuntu this time. Would greatly appreciate any warnings or
recommendations.

Post by Julia Christianson
Thanks,
-- Julia
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ubuntu-us-mi mailing list
ubuntu-us-mi at lists.ubuntu.com

https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-us-mi
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-TeamXlink
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Julia Christianson

2011-10-24 21:35:23 UTC

Permalink

Well I had to google it, that's how much I've been out of the loop ...
looks *really* nice, but a couple hundred more than I had hoped to
spend. Still, very tempting.

Have you used a recent model? Just wondering about things like keyboard
feel and general quality of construction.

Thanks,

-- Julia

Post by Jay R. Wren
Have you considered System76?
--
Jay

Clay Ashby

2011-10-24 21:43:12 UTC

Permalink

Julia,

If you are looking for a low price laptop, and system76 does not sell
anything you want, then you can send me an email at clay at gnomecc.com and I
can help you out. I own a computer business in Zeeland, and I can get you a
used or refirbished system for a decent price with any flavor of Ubuntu
installed that you wish to have.

Let me know; we love to do business with Linux users!

Post by Julia Christianson
Well I had to google it, that's how much I've been out of the loop ...
looks *really* nice, but a couple hundred more than I had hoped to spend.
Still, very tempting.
Have you used a recent model? Just wondering about things like keyboard
feel and general quality of construction.
Thanks,
-- Julia

Post by Jay R. Wren
Have you considered System76?
--
Jay
Hi Folks,

Post by Julia Christianson
My 7-year-old laptop is about to bite the dust, I'm faced with buying a
new one, and I haven't kept up with hardware developments, so I have to ask,
what should I be concerned about?
I'm in rural southwest Michigan, hoping to buy from a small local shop,
or barring that, mail order. Don't want to spend a lot. Looking at Acer or
Toshiba. Have been running Kubuntu for several years, but thinking about
checking out Ubuntu this time. Would greatly appreciate any warnings or
recommendations.
Thanks,
-- Julia
--
ubuntu-us-mi mailing list
ubuntu-us-mi at lists.ubuntu.com
Modify settings or unsubscribe at: https://lists.ubuntu.com/**
mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-us-mi<https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-us-mi>

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Modify settings or unsubscribe at: https://lists.ubuntu.com/**
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-Clay
http://gnomecc.com
"technologically promiscuous"
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Gabe Pavlica

2011-10-24 20:10:05 UTC

Permalink

Make sure it doesn't have a Broadcom wireless card. They are a pain to install.

--
Sent from my iPod

Gabe

Jay R. Wren

2011-10-24 20:29:28 UTC

Permalink

This is why I recommend system76. They only sell hardware that is Ubuntu compatible and it ships with all the correct drivers installed. If you reinstall Linux you can point to their apt repo and easily get the drivers again.

Sent from my iPhone

Post by Gabe Pavlica
Make sure it doesn't have a Broadcom wireless card. They are a pain to install.
--
Sent from my iPod
Gabe

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Julia Christianson

2011-10-24 22:06:13 UTC

Permalink

Heh, Broadcom wireless was an issue before I stopped keeping up with
hardware ;-).

One thing I was concerned about was the issue someone raised a few weeks
ago with a Lenovo, a new boot system replacing the bios? Didn't pay
attention then, of course, and now I can't find that thread ...

-- Julia

Post by Gabe Pavlica
Make sure it doesn't have a Broadcom wireless card. They are a pain to install.
--
Sent from my iPod
Gabe

Gabe Pavlica

2011-10-25 00:17:59 UTC

Permalink

With windows 8, they're going to make UEFI the default, replacing BIOS. It
is more secure but is way less open.

Post by Julia Christianson
Heh, Broadcom wireless was an issue before I stopped keeping up with
hardware ;-).
One thing I was concerned about was the issue someone raised a few weeks
ago with a Lenovo, a new boot system replacing the bios? Didn't pay
attention then, of course, and now I can't find that thread ...
-- Julia

Post by Gabe Pavlica
Make sure it doesn't have a Broadcom wireless card. They are a pain to install.
--
Sent from my iPod
Gabe
Hi Folks,

--
Gabe
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Craig Maloney

2011-10-25 02:21:20 UTC

Permalink

That was with a Lenovo Thinkpad X120e. The reason it was an issue was
because UEFI replaces the BIOS, so you need to be careful with
partitioning (you'll need a special partition for the UEFI portion, or
the computer won't boot). However, newer Ubuntu distros handle it
without any issue. The issue in that thread was because the partition
got removed during the install process.

Hope this helps!

--
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Craig Maloney (craig at decafbad.net) http://decafbad.net
"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard, grow big,
wear glasses if you need 'em." -- The Webb Wilder Credo

Julia Christianson

2011-10-25 03:51:23 UTC

Permalink

Post by Craig Maloney

Post by Julia Christianson
One thing I was concerned about was the issue someone raised a few weeks
ago with a Lenovo, a new boot system replacing the bios? Didn't pay
attention then, of course, and now I can't find that thread ...

Just the ticket, thanks. Good to know because I always partition
manually. Know I probably don't need to and maybe shouldn't these days
but it just feels wrong to let the installer handle it.

In other news, someone at Slashdot must have been reading my mind.
There's a "linux laptop" item, and System 76 gets some nice mentions
right up front.

-- Julia

Jeff Hanson

2011-10-24 22:10:16 UTC

Permalink

Post by Julia Christianson
Hi Folks,
My 7-year-old laptop is about to bite the dust, I'm faced with buying a
new one, and I haven't kept up with hardware developments, so I have to
ask, what should I be concerned about?
I'm in rural southwest Michigan, hoping to buy from a small local shop,
or barring that, mail order. Don't want to spend a lot. Looking at
Acer or Toshiba. Have been running Kubuntu for several years, but
thinking about checking out Ubuntu this time. Would greatly appreciate
any warnings or recommendations.

Haven't tried but known to be Linux-friendly:
http://zareason.com/shop/Laptops/

Locally Computer Direct has made some attempts but I didn't find much currently:
http://www.computerdirectcorp.com