[ale] Good Linux laptops

Fri Apr 12 09:12:54 EDT 2013

I always have problems with that functionality for some reason; maybe
it's my aura.  ;-\

Having said that though, I have a Lenovo U310 that works with Mint
(14, xfce) very well, and suspend/resume DOES work.

On Thu, Apr 11, 2013 at 11:55 PM, Doug Hall <doughalldev at gmail.com> wrote:
> I didn't specifically test the suspend/resume. When he gets his second unit,
> I'll be sure to test it. (He gave the first one away to a close family
> friend.)
>
> Doug
>
>
> On Tue, Apr 9, 2013 at 9:51 AM, James Taylor
> <James.Taylor at eastcobbgroup.com> wrote:
>>
>> I can't speak for that model, but I picked up an envy last summer and I've
>> been running, openSUSE on it. Initially 12.2, now 12.3.
>> Everything worked out of the box (sound, hdcam, wireless, buttons,
>> touchpad, mic, etc...), including suspend/resume. The only glitch I've run
>> into, is that the screen light turns off during boot, and I have to turn up
>> the brightness before Iogin. I ran across a fix somewhere once, but I lost
>> the link and haven't been irritated enough to go search for it again yet.
>>
>> -jt
>>
>>
>> James Taylor
>> The East Cobb Group, Inc.
>> 678-697-9420
>> james.taylor at eastcobbgroup.com
>> http://www.eastcobbgroup.com
>>
>>
>> >>> Ed Cashin <ecashin at noserose.net> 04/09/13 9:08 AM >>>
>>
>> Thanks for all the great info.
>>
>> Does suspend/resume work well?  Any surprises?
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Apr 8, 2013 at 12:11 PM, Doug Hall <doughalldev at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> I told you all that I'd let you know what he ordered and how the install
>>> went. He decided on the HP Envy DV6 laptop. It has a 3rd gen i7 chip, which
>>> seems pretty quick. I haven't run any performance tests, but if someone
>>> knows of a good performance test suite, and is interested, I'll give it a
>>> run.
>>>
>>> Here's what he bought:
>>>
>>> <http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AFHP55S/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1>
>>>
>>> Predictably, Windows 8 seems slow in comparison to Ubuntu 12.10. I think
>>> an SSD drive would have made a big difference. Quite honestly though, he's
>>> giving this one to a friend who's a computer novice, and will probably order
>>> another one for himself.
>>>
>>> The Ubuntu install didn't go as smoothly as I thought it should. I'd
>>> heard about the Windows "safe boot" mode, and predicted that there would be
>>> some problems. The thing is, the problems didn't manifest themselves as they
>>> might should have. If you try to install, or simply choose the option to
>>> verify the install CD, it fails to read a particular sector of the CD. It
>>> makes it look like the CD (DVD) failed to write correctly. I think I made
>>> three or four DVDs, from two different DVD burners before I realized that
>>> this just wasn't the case. The MD5sum for the ISO was correct, and the DVD
>>> burning software verified the contents of the DVD after each burn. The
>>> problem was, the BIOS was expecting a "Secure Boot" image. Yea! Microsoft!
>>> Thank you for protecting us, digital overlords!
>>>
>>> There were two different settings in the BIOS which I had to change to
>>> get everything working. Under the "System Configuration" of the BIOS, there
>>> are settings called "Legacy Support" and "Secure Boot". The notes for the
>>> Legacy Support setting says: "When Legacy Support is enabled, BIOS will load
>>> Compatibility Support Module (CSM) to support Legacy OS such as Windows 7,
>>> Windows Vista, Windows XP, and DOS. When Legacy Support is disabled, it will
>>> boot in UEFI Mode without CSM to support newer OS such as Windows 8."
>>>
>>> I've forgotten, but I think I had to enable Legacy Support in order to
>>> install Ubuntu, but then I could turn it off. It's now disabled, and with
>>> Grub2 controlling the Master Boot record, it works just fine. By the way, I
>>> had to manually install Grub2 over the Master Boot record. The Ubuntu
>>> installer wasn't smart enough to figure out where to install Grub, even
>>> though I specifically said to "Install alongside Windows 8" when I was
>>> configuring the install. I created a "Linux Secure Remix" install CD, which
>>> included a "Boot Repair" application to fix the Master Boot Record.
>>> <https://help.ubuntu.com/community/LinuxSecureRemix>
>>>
>>> The "Secure Boot" setting is also disabled in the BIOS setting. However,
>>> Grub2 provides a "Windows UEFI bkbootmgfw.efi" and also a "Windows 8 Boot
>>> UEFI loader" option (which I assume are equivalent, because both of them
>>> work), to boot Windows 8.
>>>
>>> As to my overall impressions of the laptop, I think I'd rate it an 8 out
>>> of 10. It's alright, and perfectly acceptable for most people. But I
>>> personally don't like the keyboard layout. The Enter key is massive. The
>>> arrow keys are stacked in such a way that the up and down arrows are
>>> squashed, to make the two of them the same size as a the left and right
>>> arrows. (I use these keys, so it sucks for me.) He didn't want me to tear
>>> away the plastic covering the webcam, but from the picture it generated
>>> through the plastic, it looked acceptable. The monitor was nice, if maybe
>>> just a little dimmer on the top left corner, than the rest of the screen,
>>> but it's not very noticeable. I think he likes his choice very much.
>>>
>>> Thanks again for the help!
>>> Doug Hall
>>>
>>>
>>> On Mon, Mar 11, 2013 at 9:40 PM, Doug Hall <doughalldev at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> A coworker, whom I switched to Ubuntu a little over a year ago, is
>>>> looking for a nice new linux laptop. I know the Lenovos are usually a pretty
>>>> good choice. Does anyone else have a laptop they're thrilled with, which
>>>> will run Mint or Ubuntu? He's not a techie, so compatibility is important. I
>>>> think he uses it for basic things - pictures, email, web, etc.
>>>>
>>>> Thanks ahead of time!
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
>>
>>
>> --
>>   Ed Cashin <ecashin at noserose.net>
>>   http://noserose.net/e/
>>   http://www.coraid.com/
>>
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