Is there a linux laptop that just works? monitor, hibernate, sleep :-(

[Rich_S]

I get the black screen with an error message when resuming my Gazelle from sleeping with the lid closed too.

I just rub my finger on the touchpad and wait 10-15 seconds and the GUI screen comes back every time.

[joe4ska]

Ubuntu is not the only Linux, you could try a distribution (such as Debian, Slackware, or CentOS) that is designed more for stability?

System76's drivers will only work with Official Ubuntu based distributions. IE Xubuntu, Ubuntu Studio, Kubuntu, Lubuntu.

Even distributions that should be technically compatible like Peppermint OS or Ubuntu Gnome Shell Remix are not compatible.

You can use other distributions it just means more legwork getting some of the hotkeys webcam and other features working. I've tried several on my Lemur-Ultra as I love distrohop.

[snowpine]

System76's drivers will only work with Official Ubuntu based distributions. IE Xubuntu, Ubuntu Studio, Kubuntu, Lubuntu.

Even distributions that should be technically compatible like Peppermint OS or Ubuntu Gnome Shell Remix are not compatible.

However, you can use other distributions it just means more legwork getting some of the hotkeys webcam and other features working.

I did not realize that; I personally would not buy hardware that locked me into using a particular operating system... buyer beware I suppose.

[joe4ska]

Well, in my case the only drivers it provides is hotkeys for the backlight. and a driver for the media card reader.

If i'm using Fedora or Sabayon for instance I just add xbacklight to my packages and use that to control backlight from the terminal, I then create hotkeys.

For the media card i'm sure I can easily install packages that enable it but I never use it anyway.

I don't feel locked in at all. It just means I need to take extra steps when I venture away from Ubuntu.

[Ubun2to]

I did not realize that; I personally would not buy hardware that locked me into using a particular operating system... buyer beware I suppose.

Wrong. They will fix your hardware regardless of whether you have OSX, Windows, Arch Linux, Unix, FreeBSD, even OS/2.

They just don't provide software side support for non-Canonical backed distros. Why? Well, consider the fact that there are thousands of distros out there. Now, consider how many of them are only used by one or two people. Is it really economically sustainable for a small company like System76 to hire thousands of employees to support distros that will likely never be used by any System76 customers? No. Even when you don't provide support for the defunct distros, someone can easily throw together a distro and publish it in less than an hour, so it would be ridiculous constantly hiring and firing workers that you can't even pay.
Not even big companies like HP and Dell could afford to do this without firing half their staff.

[joe4ska]

Yep, and I should mention I've installed Arch, Fedora, Gentoo... just about every major distribution and they all worked as expected. It's just a matter of extra research for the other distributions. With a lot less hassle than my Apple laptop and desktop in the past.

I'd buy another System76 laptop in a heartbeat.

[isantop]

Wrong. They will fix your hardware regardless of whether you have OSX, Windows, Arch Linux, Unix, FreeBSD, even OS/2.

They just don't provide software side support for non-Canonical backed distros. Why? Well, consider the fact that there are thousands of distros out there. Now, consider how many of them are only used by one or two people. Is it really economically sustainable for a small company like System76 to hire thousands of employees to support distros that will likely never be used by any System76 customers? No. Even when you don't provide support for the defunct distros, someone can easily throw together a distro and publish it in less than an hour, so it would be ridiculous constantly hiring and firing workers that you can't even pay.
Not even big companies like HP and Dell could afford to do this without firing half their staff.

This. You can even install DOS on it, and if the hardware fails, we'll fix it for you.

We don't set up any locks to prevent other OSs from being isntalled. We don't develop the System76 driver for any non-Ubuntu OSs, but then it usually only provides small fixes for things like Hotkeys, card readers, cameras, etc. We don't do any testing on other OSs, but you're free to install whatever you want.

[screaminj3sus]

I dreamed of a linux laptop that just worked. I got the latest gazelle professional. I was a fool.

1. It does not hibernate. That's fine. I should have read the page more carefully. It should have been clear from the feature list explicitly mentioning suspend that I wouldn't be able to hibernate.

2. If I plug a monitor in via HDMI, I get really high kworker cpu usage and the mouse is really really laggy.

3. It often wakes from sleep with a black screen. I have a functioning mouse cursor, but I can't see the desktop. I resort to switching to a terminal(ctrl-alt-f1) and restarting the desktop manager. Losing everything I was working on and defeating the purpose of a sleep function.

Is there another offering from system 76 not be plagued with linux issues like this?

4. This is unrelated to linux: I got a matte display because I didn't like reflective glossy displays. For some reason the frame around the display is a glossy and reflective surface.

#3 is a known bug with the intel driver, that afiak is now finally fixed with the latest precise updates and in 12.10. I suffered that issue on my asus laptop, not a system76 specific issue. Here's the bug report: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+s...el/+bug/966744

#1 is an ubuntu issue, ubuntu totally disables hibernate by default. You need to edit a policykit setting to get the hibernate option available at all. http://pauljoyceuk.com/codex/2012/ho...-successfully/.

[BBQdave]

Is there another offering from system 76 not be plagued with linux issues like this?

Not sure what you stated are Linux issues.

I tested a Toshiba C655 -at the store- with a Fedora Linux live CD. Everything went well with the test. Purchased the machine, paying a little MicroSuck tax... wiped the hard drive - that is to say never booted *******, installed Fedora 16 and everything works.

Now to qualify this, I use suspend and shutdown. I am currently running F17 without issue. This machine is my main work and play device, could not be happier

Not trying to rain on System76, I think they have solid hardware. Just not sure about Ubuntu and additional drivers and such... Perhaps it is appealing to have solid hardware with a LTS release, but inexpensive solid hardware and an annual upgrade -Fedora on a Toshiba Satellite- is appealing too

[isantop]

Not sure what you stated are Linux issues.

I tested a Toshiba C655 -at the store- with a Fedora Linux live CD. Everything went well with the test. Purchased the machine, paying a little MicroSuck tax... wiped the hard drive - that is to say never booted *******, installed Fedora 16 and everything works.

Now to qualify this, I use suspend and shutdown. I am currently running F17 without issue. This machine is my main work and play device, could not be happier

Not trying to rain on System76, I think they have solid hardware. Just not sure about Ubuntu and additional drivers and such... Perhaps it is appealing to have solid hardware with a LTS release, but inexpensive solid hardware and an annual upgrade -Fedora on a Toshiba Satellite- is appealing too

What kernel is Fedora using? Most of the problems we saw were with 3.2.0