Looking to upgrade from an old Latitude, curious as to what mobile hardware you folks use for writing your open source projects?

  • d3Xt3r@lemmy.nz
    341·
    7 months ago

    I personally use a ThinkPad Z13 (all AMD; it’s nice but pricey), but I’d recommend getting a Framework (which wasn’t an option for me back then). I think modular and repairable laptops are cool, plus they seem to be well supported by the Linux community.

    • Lumilias@pawb.socialEnglish
      141·
      7 months ago

      The only caution I would provide on Framework is their relative lack of BIOS updates: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/04/frameworks-software-and-firmware-have-been-a-mess-but-its-working-on-them/

      They don’t have a BIOS updater for Linux (yet) and they have a history of overpromising stable updates. I get they’re hamstrung by upstream providers, but it’s a bad look on them to basically deliver a promised Thunderbolt update 1.5 years after announcing it. The CEO did say at least that they’ve hired on a new development team to get things moving, so hopefully they’ll be able to catch up.

      Everything else I’ve heard about Framework is stellar.

      • kelvie@lemmy.ca
        6·
        7 months ago

        I updated my AMD framework BIOS using fwupd last weekend with no problem on arch.

        • Lumilias@pawb.socialEnglish
          1·
          7 months ago

          Thanks for the info. I wonder if it’s just the older Intel laptops that need the catchup then.

      • www-gem@lemmy.ml
        5·
        7 months ago

        I’ve been watching on the framework machines for my next one. It looks like fwupd support them for BIOS updates. Framework owners will know more for sure.

    • aedelred@lemmy.worldEnglish
      6·
      7 months ago

      I’ll second the Framework. I’ve had one since the 1st gen Framework 13 and love it.

        • Bilb!@lem.monsterEnglish
          3·
          7 months ago

          Framework laptops are undeniably expensive. I say that as a happy owner of both the 13 and the 16. The value is not the appeal. To be honest, I don’t even expect it to “pay for itself due to upgradability and repairability” like many people say.

          More availability of refurbished mainboards should help over time, I guess.

      • jet@hackertalks.comEnglish
        5·
        7 months ago

        It’s an open source operating system, that looks for the best level of practical paranoia using virtual machines as a form of isolation between processes

        Because of virtual machine workloads, and the security requirements, it can be quite demanding on hardware, and also open source support. So if a laptop supports qubes it’ll support anything else

              • jet@hackertalks.comEnglish
                7·
                7 months ago

                I admire your level of purity, but your distinction is not helpful in laptop selection.

                I’m not aware of any FOSS operating system that only uses totally open source hardware drivers. even GNU HERD would run proprietary drivers if they actually ever finished.

                For Qubes, I’m not sure how you can have a better approach to isolating binary drivers, then running them in a totally contained virtual machine.

                Which operating system are you referring to without drivers?

                • Telorand@reddthat.com
                  2·
                  7 months ago

                  I’m not super informed about the kernel layer, so forgive me if this is a silly question, but how does that approach compare to atomic distros like Fedora Kinoite, UniversalBlue, or NixOS?

    • umbrella@lemmy.ml
      2·
      7 months ago

      what do i need for good qubes support? if i have enough for gpu passthrough can i assume qubes will be good?

  • hperrin@lemmy.world
    18·
    7 months ago

    I just bought a Framework 13, and I got say, it’s amazing. First of all, everything works out of the box. That’s surprising for a laptop with Linux. Even the Dell I used to own that specifically advertised compatibility with Linux and even came with Ubuntu had a fingerprint reader with no Linux support. Meanwhile, the fingerprint reader on my Framework has worked flawlessly.

    Second, it’s blazing fast. I got the new AMD one, and it’s definitely fast enough to handle everything I’ve thrown at it.

    Third, if something breaks on it, like the screen, replacing the part is incredibly easy. I’ve replaced a couple laptop screens before, and while they’re easier than phone screens, it’s still a PITA. And that’s if you can find a replacement screen.

    And then lastly, eventually I’ll be able to upgrade it. I like that.

    So yeah, if you can afford the price premium, I highly recommend the Framework 13.

  • cosmic_cowboy@reddthat.comEnglish
    9·
    7 months ago

    System76 has some good options. A little overpriced, but your money goes towards an open-source friendly company.

  • Engywuck@lemm.ee
    7·
    7 months ago

    I have a cheap Thinkpad from 2018 (E580). A couple of years ago I expanded its ram to 16 GB, added a NVME disk and an second-hand AX wifi card and it still serves me very very well.

  • lascapi@jlai.lu
    81·
    7 months ago

    I use Tuxedo InfinityBook since few weeks and I like it very much. :)

  • Corroded@leminal.spaceEnglish
    7·
    7 months ago

    ThinkPad x200s. I recently did the USB C charging mod and upgraded to WiFi 6E. I’ve had Libreboot installed for a while now.

    I do wish I could have more than 8GB of RAM though.

  • Lettuce eat lettuce@lemmy.mlM
    93·
    7 months ago

    Thinkpad A485. If you’re going used, I would grab a T460, T470, or T480. Really reliable models, all those can be had for $300 or less online, work great with Linux, and last forever. Plus they are decently repairable.

    If new, I would also go with Framework laptops. Super repairable and sustainable. And very high quality laptops. My friend got one and it is super nice. Runs Fedora on it flawlessly.

    • dingdongitsabear@lemmy.ml
      3·
      7 months ago

      what they said but don’t go below T480; the performance jump is huge (quad vs dual-core) and the price difference is negligible while almost everything is interchangeable (screens, keyboards, cards, plastic parts, dock stations, etc.).

      T480 should be attainable around the $/€ 200 mark nowadays as they’re 5-6 gens behind and upgrading 'em to like 16 or 32 GB and 1TB NVMe or more is stupid cheap.

      • Lettuce eat lettuce@lemmy.mlM
        1·
        7 months ago

        Fair point. Some folks are on an ultra tight budget or prefer the older model for various reasons.

        But I agree, at $200-$300 used, you can’t really go wrong with the T480. Really nice specs for most use cases, and still fairly repairable and upgradable.

    • cmnybo@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
      3·
      7 months ago

      I’ve got a T480 and it gets really good battery life. Having a hot swapable battery is nice too. I would suggest avoiding the ones with a dedicated GPU though. They are power hungry and don’t have enough performance to be worth it.

    • gomp@lemmy.ml
      3·
      7 months ago

      Thinkpad A485

      I had one of those, but the trackpad occasionally wouldn’t work until I rebooted several times (I was using fedora). Did you run into any similar issue?

      • MadEarl@lemmy.ml
        2·
        7 months ago

        Had that happen after BIOS updates. Sending it to sleep and waking it up once always fixed it for me.

      • Lettuce eat lettuce@lemmy.mlM
        1·
        7 months ago

        Not with the trackpad, but other issues yeah. For some reason, this model seems to be really finicky depending on the distro you use.

        I had weird random issues with most distros I’ve tried on it over the years.

        The two distros that have worked with almost no issues are Manjaro, and Mint Debian Edition, which is what I currently run on it.

        The most frequent I had with it were random lockups when bringing it out of sleep mode.

    • jrgd@lemm.ee
      2·
      7 months ago

      The A485 is actually such a terrible laptop. I would never reccomend such garbage to anyone considering mine almost never worked properly. I had in three years have six main board replacements for various hardware faults. Not a single of the boards has been free from severe hardware faults.

  • monovergent 🏁@lemmy.ml
    5·
    7 months ago

    ThinkPad X230 with 9 cell, 16 GB RAM, total 1TB storage, and an Atheros NIC. A bit limiting at times, but I ‘outsource’ heavier tasks to my much more powerful desktop. I’m quite uncompromising with laptop design and ‘ergonomics’, so I’m trying to piece together a custom laptop based around the Framework mainboard before the X230 no longer meets my demands.

    For testing stuff on Windows and work stuff that requires it, an X1 Carbon Gen 7 with 16GB RAM and 256 GB storage.

  • jokeyrhyme@lemmy.mlEnglish
    5·
    7 months ago

    Without being specific, I’d try to get something with firmware updates available on LVFS: https://fwupd.org/

    And you might want to check for distribution specific notes on that model e.g.

    If Wayland is more important to you than AI/ML/LLMs then you probably don’t want anything with an nVidia GPU

  • some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org
    5·
    7 months ago

    Framework is making machines that I find really interesting. I’m a Mac person, so I don’t have one and can’t speak to the experience.

    • egonallanon@lemm.ee
      6·
      7 months ago

      As an owner of a 13 I really like it. I only use it mostly as a YouTube and email machine while most ofy heavy duty work is on a desktop but it does well enough running popos. They are a bit pricey to buy new thiugh so either get one of the older one used or go the used think pad route for a similarly repairable experience.

      • sunstoned@lemmus.orgEnglish
        5·
        7 months ago

        I use my Framework 13 (Intel 12th gen) for some heavy CPU workloads and it’s been a champ! For the balance of quality, performance, cost, and repairability I really don’t think it can be beat.

      • mortalic@lemmy.world
        3·
        7 months ago

        So far I love it. I bought it brand new from Lenovo and you could pick from I think 3 or 4 distros. I picked fedora, which it came with 38. When I first booted up it had a bios update which honestly surprised me that they would bother. Then upgraded to 40 through the fedora upgrade path. All painless.

        I was fully prepared to make a windows live USB just to flash the bios/firmware.

      • pingveno@lemmy.mlEnglish
        3·
        7 months ago

        I have one from 2015 that is literally falling apart, but it still works okay. I’m going to be sad when I have to finally give up on it. Unfortunately, it’s not great for repair. I was going to replace the keyboard because some keys are malfunctioning, but it requires basically pulling apart the whole computer including some parts that are taped on.

  • jollyrogue@lemmy.ml
    4·
    7 months ago

    To run Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD, or some other FOSS OS?

    I’m running Fedora on a refurbished Thinkpad P1 Gen 4, and I’ve had good luck running Linux and the BSDs on higher end refurbished Dell Optiplex, Latitude, and Precision equipment.

    Apple hardware is nice, and MacPorts gives me access to the vast majority of my *nix tools.

    Shopping for new hardware I’d look at the list below to get Linux preinstalled.

    • Thinkpad X1 Carbon
    • Slimbook
    • System76
    • Tuxedo Computers
    • Juno Computers
    • Starlabs Systems

    Or buy refurbed equipment from Dell or Lenovo.