Might buy a Pangolin Performance; few question

[robtg]

My trusty Compaq Presario laptop is on its last legs (it has a Designed for Windows Me sticker on it) and I'm thinking of buying a Pangolin Performace to replace it. I have a few questions:

1) I might want to dual-boot the machine with Windows XP. Are Windows drivers supplied?
2) Does the System76 driver support Kubuntu?
3) Is anyone in the community running other distrubutions on their System 76 machines? I like Ubuntu and I'm hoping a modern laptop will help me break the Windows habit but Canonical's 6-month cycle is a bit nutty to me and I think they've had more than their share of half-baked releases.

Thanks!

Rob

[flukeairwalker]

To answer some of your questions:

1) Windows drivers are available for download on the System76 wiki in each model's page. They are available for XP and Vista.
2) I'll let someone who uses Kubuntu answer from experience.
3) I tried running a few other distros on my Pangolin but in the end I stuck with Ubuntu. It's the only distro that the System76 driver fetching program works on and it makes a big difference. System76 optimizes and tests their computers to work with Ubuntu so I would recommend you stay on the safe side and stick with it.
Personally I like the 6 month release cycles. I've only tried Hardy, Intrepid, and Jaunty, but with each new one I have seen remarkable improvements in support and stability. But I'm just along for the ride. I don't mind the adventure in upgrading twice a year. Your mileage may vary.

[thomasaaron]

2) Does the System76 driver support Kubuntu?

We do not currently install (or officially support) Kubuntu. However, we have a large number of customers who do use it. While we will always try to help you out in whatever way we can, the best support for Kubuntu currently comes from this forum...

The System76 Driver (which supplies model-specific patches to our computers) will run on Kubuntu and generally fixes basic issues like sound, microphone and fingerprint reader support, etc... However, since we do no testing with Kubuntu, we can't guarantee that everything will work perfectly.

[3Miro]

I tried Kubuntu on my laptop form the liveCD. Everything worked except I could not set up the network from the network manager. The wi-fi card was working so I am sure it was me/KDE's crappy manager/my router in a combination.

If you don't want to upgrade distros, use the LTS ones. I am still using 8.10 (the one that my machine came with) and it may be another month before I upgrade. Nothing stops you from waiting a year or two before you upgrade.

I have windows in a virtual box for some Access at work. Consider that before you have to deal with the messier dual boot.

[robtg]

Thanks all. It seems like I'll be better off sticking with Ubuntu. I have to admit that while Kubuntu has more settings to explore it seems less stable. The Virtual Box idea is good too instead of dual-booting.

-Rob