(Note to the moderators: I leave this topic uncategorized cause the last topic I wrote and put under “Bad Voltage Topic Suggestion” was savagely removed by a stressed @jonobacon)
TL;DR:
- The Bad Voltage team could talk about the status of Linux on the laptop in 2014: Easy to install? Easy to use? Still big flaws or issues?
- I want to buy a good laptop that works fine on Ubuntu Linux. Any recommendation?
Long version:
So right now, it looks like installing Linux on a server is a piece of cake, and installing a recent distro on a desktop works more or less like a charm. What about the laptop?
Two years ago, I wanted to get a new laptop, since my previous one was getting really old and nothing could be done to speed it up.
I wanted something nice that I could hack a bit, use to process my photos and play some games. I also wanted this piece of hardware to last for a bunch of years, and I was ready to pay the price.
I spent months looking for the perfect laptop, but two years ago, in Taiwan, there was nothing for me: it was either super cheap and crappy hardware, either totally Linux-incompatible hardware (I’m looking at you, nvidia opti-fucking-mus!).
I discussed with many people, and the conclusion was: get a MacBook Pro!
I was pretty reluctent (APPLE!?), but after some time, it looked like the only real option available close to me (there was an HP that looked very promising, but it ended up showing super late in Taiwan, and it was even more expensive than a MacBook Pro!). I would have a chance to try Mac OSX, and after all, Mac OSX being an UNIX-based system, installing Ubuntu Linux on it wouldn’t be so hard.
And here I am, 2 years after, selling the laptop. It’s impossible to install any distro on this machine unless you spend an amazing effort bypassing all the issues and living with a semi-working environment. As for Mac OSX, well… not my cup of tea. At all.
So I’m looking for a new laptop, and I would like to know what’s the status of Linux on this kind of machine in 2014.
Do we have laptop running smoothly on easy distros like Ubuntu with basic things like a good battery life (so good support of ACPI and sleep mode, opti-fucking-mus, etc.), supporting UEFI, HDMI output, WiFi…? Or is it still a pain in the ass, spending weeks to configure a workaround to support some features?
Any brand or model name you would recommend, knowing that I’m based in Taiwan, so models available in Europe or in the US may not exist, or might be slightly more expensive (and, cruel irony, Taiwanese brands like Acer or Asus are usually more expensive than in France for instance…)?
Thanks in advance for your help!