Linux laptops

Recently, I thought my threeyear-old laptop had finally bitten the dust. It had suffered too many careless drops, and I had thought I would have to replace my faithful companion. While my laptop was in the hands of my IT guy, I did come across what I thought was a great deal. It was a Lenovo unit and very similar to the Lenovo I own. I bought it only to discover the challenges of UEFI.

I was somewhat aware of the issues, but I really hadn’t payed close attention to the matter. Needless to say, I couldn’t boot the unit from the optical drive. In fact, I couldn’t install Linux Mint at all. With a little research, I was able to remove a number of the roadblocks, but, ultimately, the firmware on the Lenovo’s motherboard stymied my attempts.

For the record, I am an old fart who has been a Linux convert for a number of years, but I’m not an administrator, a programmer or any such thing. However, I do read your magazine every month. One of the things I like about your publication is that there is something for almost every skill level. Admittedly, there is much that is over my head, but I almost always find some tidbit that is quite useful to me.

I believe one of the things the Linux community needs is more information about which manufacturers, and which of their computer models, are Linux ‘friendly’. I know that Ubuntu maintains a database of units (and hardware) that are compatible with Linux. However, that database is a bit unwieldy and not completely user friendly. I think it would be a very helpful thing if Linux Format would include a brief review of three or four computer models that the novice would have little or no trouble installing his, or her, favorite Linux distro.

I believe it would be nice if the offerings covered a wide spectrum from the budget minded to the extravagant. I believe this is important not just to maintain the Linux community at its current levels, but also to attract new users who are fed up with Windows.

For the moment, my old Lenovo is functioning once again, but the day is coming when I will have to replace it. I only hope that when that day arrives, I will have a buying choice that includes a computer

upon which I can install a Linux distribution. D. Hunter Armstrong, Richmond, VA, USA.

Neil says: It’s a great suggestion but one that won’t work in the real world (pesky reality). No manufacturer is going to send us a unit to review knowing we’re going to install an unsupported OS. It’s hard enough and usually impossible to get them to part with Linux-running devices. Perhaps we could do a gorilla-style invasion of PC World and force install Linux on systems?