Ubuntu and Hardware Compatibility
The question on Digg went:
“How would you explain to a 50 year-old computer noob why the Microsoft wireless photo keyboard that he saw stacked in PC World does not work on his Ubuntu machine? What happens when a piece of hardware breaks?â€
When I installed Ubuntu on my mom’s laptop I told her that once it was working it would be pretty stable but that she wouldn’t be able to mess around with it. That includes installing new hardware, plugging random peripherals in, etc. I tried to be up-front with my mom and the realities of using Linux, that some stuff just doesn’t work and some stuff works great. I think that as long as my mom’s computer works for e-mail, managing photos and web surfing, she’ll be fine.
I’m actually in the market for a new laptop. Which system would you suggest for someone interested in using Ubuntu on it without any problems?
Responses and Conversations
Last time I researched this the IBM line were the most favoured, like the Thinkpad T43p – these run well smooth with a fresh install of Ubuntu (apparently). I chose to go the Mac route though as I was getting more and more frustrated trying to get ubuntu and my old laptop wireless working
Comment by Chris Garrett on December 24th, 2006 at 7:42 am
Sorry I got this post late, but, have you tried looking up something in the laptop testing team forums?
Comment by Tato Pedrosa on January 17th, 2007 at 2:30 pm
by from system76.com, especially if you want to continue running ubuntu. i recommend the gazelle performance model.
Comment by landon on January 28th, 2007 at 9:07 pm
Myself and most of my friends and colleagues have ThinkPads (T42p here). I remember reading recently that Jeff Waugh really like his Dell D420.
Comment by Lloyd Budd on February 7th, 2007 at 1:42 pm