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

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

    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.
    Last edited by whatislinux; September 27th, 2012 at 04:57 AM.

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


  3. #3
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    Re: Is there a linux laptop that just works? monitor, hibernate, sleep :-(

    1. Hibernate is disabled by default due to it being inconsistent-some people have it working perfectly, others usually get failures for resuming from hibernate. I personally love hibernate, as I can swap the batteries out without shutting down, but I rarely do things that I can't save and then shut down to swap the battery. But, until I can get hibernate to cooperate with me, I'm leaving it disabled.
    Also, hibernate on Windows 7 is currently buggy as well. (Unrelated, but I just thought I'd bring it up.) Although it is reliable in bringing the desktop back up, it makes my computer slower than molasses, and I have to wait about a minute before it responds when I click stuff for about an hour. It's like the hard drive is spinning at 1200 RPM trying desperately to pull the processes off the drive and back into the RAM (which obviously can't be true, given that mine spins at 7200 RPM). Think about ice cream-sometimes, they freeze it so cold, you have to wait 20 minutes for it to thaw enough just to be able to put in the scooper. This is basically what it does to the drive, only for an hour, and it is still slightly slower after that until I reboot.
    2. Currently, System76 does not have any GPUs on their laptops, and Intel HD graphics are handled by the CPU, so the CPU gets the short end of the stick in this case.
    But, a laggy mouse is weird in any case-they don't use much processing power to begin with.
    3. Not waking from Suspend properly is something Ubuntu has always struggled in (in my experience when I installed it on my friends' laptops), like WiFi and GPU drivers.
    4. The frame around the display is basically unchangable unless you do it by taking it apart and reassembling it. When they meant display, they meant screen.
    Backups are amazing. 99% of data loss can be prevented by spending less than $100 on an external drive.
    If you have seen an error, there is a good chance someone else has, too. Google is your friend.

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    cprofitt is offline νόησις νοήσεως - nóesis noéseos
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    Re: Is there a linux laptop that just works? monitor, hibernate, sleep :-(

    I currently have a Lenovo T500 and a Lenovo W520 and both work with all function buttons, LCD brightness, etc.

    I have not tried hibernation as I either sleep or shutdown.

    I am in the market to replace my T500 and currently looking at the T530.

    I had a System76 Gazelle and it worked as well (with the System76 drivers installed), but I returned it due to issues with the battery life and the overly warm palm rest on the left hand side.

    My money would be getting a Lenovo, but take a look at the list posted above of certified laptops.

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

    Quote Originally Posted by cprofitt View Post
    I currently have a Lenovo T500 and a Lenovo W520 and both work with all function buttons, LCD brightness, etc.

    I have not tried hibernation as I either sleep or shutdown.

    I am in the market to replace my T500 and currently looking at the T530.

    I had a System76 Gazelle and it worked as well (with the System76 drivers installed), but I returned it due to issues with the battery life and the overly warm palm rest on the left hand side.

    My money would be getting a Lenovo, but take a look at the list posted above of certified laptops.
    +1

    @OP - For what it's worth, I just bought this one from Costco. Good specs, solid build, for not a lot of money. A good value IMO, considering the 90 day no questions asked return policy, the fact that Costco extends the computer warranty an additional year, and they offer free technical support through their concierage service.

    http://www.costco.com/Lenovo-G570-La...100007837.html
    Last edited by OrangeCrate; September 27th, 2012 at 11:26 PM.

  6. #6
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    Re: Is there a linux laptop that just works? monitor, hibernate, sleep :-(

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

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

    Quote Originally Posted by snowpine View Post
    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.
    Last edited by joe4ska; October 9th, 2012 at 08:14 PM.

  8. #8
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    Re: Is there a linux laptop that just works? monitor, hibernate, sleep :-(

    Quote Originally Posted by joe4ska View Post
    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.

  9. #9
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    Re: Is there a linux laptop that just works? monitor, hibernate, sleep :-(

    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.

  10. #10
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    Re: Is there a linux laptop that just works? monitor, hibernate, sleep :-(

    Quote Originally Posted by snowpine View Post
    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.
    Backups are amazing. 99% of data loss can be prevented by spending less than $100 on an external drive.
    If you have seen an error, there is a good chance someone else has, too. Google is your friend.

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