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Why do people still recommend Thinkpads for Linux when there are Linux-oriented manufacturers now?

I’ve noticed in the Linux community whenever someone asks for a recommendation on a laptop that runs Linux the answer is always “Get a Thinkpad” yet Lenovo doesn’t seem to be a big Linux contributor or ally. There’s also at least six Linux/FOSS-oriented computer manufacturers now:

So what gives? Why the love for a primarily Windows-oriented laptop when there are better alternatives?

starclaude ,

yeah good luck getting those brand outside of US

rog ,

You can also find secondhand thinkbooks for very reasonable prices.

I havent bought a brand new laptop in over a decade now, dont think ill be starting any time soon either.

RagingToad ,

Tuxedo is German? I had a laptop from them and it was perfect:-)

(It was a company laptop, unfortunately had to return it when I got a new job)

estebanlm ,
@estebanlm@lemmy.ml avatar

yes, it is.

Zatujit ,

No problem getting a Framework in France

MrNorm ,

The second hand market for Lenovo laptops is usually pretty good. Lots of corporations have hardware cycles and recycle the things in huge waves. I’ve picked up an X230 and X270 for fractions of what they were worth new. Accessories too.

falsem ,

Had a bad experience with System76 in the past.

danielfgom ,
@danielfgom@lemmy.world avatar

Price. You can find second hand Thinkpad’s whereas new laptops are very expensive.

MXX53 ,

I usually grab a 3-4 year old Thinkpad every year or so for anywhere from free to 300 bucks. I pick them up from old corporate liquidation lots. Usually grab one that is a little dirty or beat up and then just clean it up and install my own SSD and upgrade ram from my stockpile.

I like some of the others on that list, but with how cheaply and easily I can get a Thinkpad, I just can’t be bothered to spend more. I use my laptop mainly for code, and I do a lot of low-level programming so performance is usually way more than enough. The programs I write are extremely small and very efficient. Any processor from the last 20+ years will run what I am usually working on.

When I want to spend big bucks on a computer, I put that money towards my desktop where I do more gaming and some digital artwork.

library_napper ,
@library_napper@monyet.cc avatar

Where do you buy them from?

MXX53 ,

I usually look for corporate office liquidations in the paper or on social media. Other than that, I stop into colleges and businesses and ask them if they have hardware they need to recycle. Companies usually pay for recycling, so sometimes they will just give you stuff to lower their recycling cost.

And lastly, ebay if all else fails.

Surreal ,

Would love a reputable Canadian source for a T series. Importing anything kinda sucks in terms of brokerage fees and additional tax levies, etc.

MXX53 ,

The T series is probably my favorite. Currently I am running a P52 I got for free that was a recycle. A little big, but plenty of performance. Prior to this one I had a T460s with the i5 I got for free, it was just missing one of the two internal batteries and had a couple screen imperfections. Maybe in a year or two I will get lucky and get another T series.

sounddrill ,

Give me something less than 15k INR and I might consider it

nestEggParrot ,

Where do you get usedlthinkpads for that price? All i find are 4th gen mini pc refurbished at at price. Best hw was a 8550u, 8gb ram Asus chromebox. Would love to get a decent used thinkpad for 15k.

sounddrill ,

Intel 4th gen is alright imo

nickapos ,

@const_void because of quality of construction. I have thinkpad a running Linux that are more than 10 years old and all this without vendor support. Being able to find parts even after so many years is also important.Do any of these Linux friendly vendors have similar quality and similar prices?
Whenever I think about getting one of those systems I really don’t know if the company is going to exist in the next few years.

pH3ra ,
@pH3ra@lemmy.ml avatar

Because getting rid of Windows on a new device is half the fun

humanplayer2 , (edited )
@humanplayer2@lemmy.ml avatar

In Denmark (maybe all of EU?), you can buy them a bit cheaper without OS.

Edit: It’s a Danish ruling from 2011, according to this. But it’s not that you can buy the machine without Windows, but that you can get a refund for Windows if you haven’t activated it.

The story mentions that that’s been Microsoft practice for several years prior, but that consumers rarely use the opportunity.

kaito ,

Would be nice if everywhere in the world you could do that and not deal with the bullbloatcrap manufacturers push onto you

humanplayer2 ,
@humanplayer2@lemmy.ml avatar

I’ve edited my comment. Maybe you can, but you might have to call Microsoft and hear them out.

library_napper ,
@library_napper@monyet.cc avatar

Because I bought a Linux laptop from one of those vendors. It came with QubesOS but ran awful for it. I tried to debug but it fucking broke after 4 days.

That was 6 months ago and I’m still waiting for them to refund me after I sent back the broken device.

Never again. Thinkpad has my money for life if they keep making durable hardware.

_cnt0 ,
@_cnt0@lemmy.villa-straylight.social avatar

one of those vendors

Which one?

TheButtonJustSpins ,

Looks like Purism is the only one of the six that has Qubes as an option for preinstall.

BURN ,

I have no dog in this fight, but of the brands mentioned, I’ve heard of 1, and I consider myself fairly techy. Lenovo is a brand name that most people are going to recognize and implicitly trust (whether they should or not)

Fuckass ,

Thinkpads cost a couple hundred dollars and works fine. If you don’t do anything intensive, there’s no reason to buy a near $1000 laptop. I also dropped mine from like 3-5 feet and the only damage was a slight paint chip on the battery. My 2012 MacBook would’ve been done for.

bigboopballs ,

Thinkpads cost a couple hundred dollars and works fine.

I’m looking on their website and the cheapest ones are like $600, and it gets into the $1000+ range quickly.

Fuckass ,

Oh yeah newer models will be on par with the Linux laptops. I meant the classic models. T4 models are usually a hundred to a couple hundred dollars

ChronosWing ,

Pretty sure he meant used models which is what most people recommend.

art ,
@art@lemmy.world avatar

In the US a lot of business use them. It’s not uncommon to see a pallet of “old” ThinkPads at the swapmeet selling for less than $200. We’re talking x1 Carbons. These machines have upgradable SSDs, Wifi, and battery. For less than $300 you can get a BEAST of a machine that runs Linux very very well.

nestEggParrot ,

Wish i had access to such cheap hardware. Companies in my country use them till it gets junked and most refurbishers sell for maybe 20% less than brand new but with significanly reduced warranty.

Aria ,

System76, Framework, Malibal and Purism are assembled or shipped out of the USA, which means they spy on users. So now you’re down to two manufacturers.

Promethilaus ,

While as a British person I’m naturally biased against the USA 🤣 not all US companies are bad and spy on their users come on this isn’t China

Aria ,

No they all do, it’s illegal not to. Were none of you paying attention to Snowden?

estebanlm ,
@estebanlm@lemmy.ml avatar

for another (other than Tuxedo) EU based solution: slimbook.es/en/
(They are at Valencia, Spain).
But I have no about idea its quality as I have never tried one.

_cnt0 , (edited )
@_cnt0@lemmy.villa-straylight.social avatar

I have a Slimbook PRO X AMD. Except for the rubber bands on the bottom coming loose after ~2 years, it just works. And I never had a laptop from any manufacturer where the rubber feet/bands did not start to peel of after a few years.

combat_brandonism ,

oh cool I didn’t realize they’ve got an AMD model now

_cnt0 ,
@_cnt0@lemmy.villa-straylight.social avatar

now

They have had it for a while ;-)

ps: I hope I got the tense right. Not a native speaker and slightly drunk. They still have it.

f00bar ,

Just got one of their Executive line, with their own Ubuntu fork, and is keeping up quite nicely. I was looking for thinkpads but read about the quality drop in latest models, so I gave them a try. They do a decent job re. drivers and support a range of Linux distros.

Chewy7324 ,

Price, keyboard and build quaility are my main reasons for buying a Thinkpad 3 years ago.

They are available for a good price second hand and their keyboard is the best laptop keyboard I’ve tried. Most of those Linux manufacturers use Clevo designs and thus the keyboard isn’t amazing. Even if they design a laptop themselves it’s difficult to nail the keayboard.

My next laptop will probably be from framework. But that depends whether I’m willing too spend as much and the other options available. And framework doesn’t even sell laptops with Linux preinstalled.

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