Linux

I hope nobody recommends Thinkpads manufactured after 2020. They're pure garbage in so many ways, that there's no point to list them all.

Same reason most people recommend gettinf a Honda/Toyota when asked for a general recommendation for a car. If you need to ask the question, then your needs are probably not that specialized. So something generally reliable, widely accessible, and good value would be appropriate. Lenovo still tends to fit that description.

I literally threw a ThinkPad at a brick wall in rage a long time ago and it was fine a t-42 iirc. reccomended them ever since

They are cheap and durable, and they work with most major Linux distros without much headache.

I have a spec'd out S76 Lemur, which is a great laptop for throwing in a backpack as a daily driver, and really packs a punch with a small footprint.

But I also have a couple ThinkPads that cost less than $100 to replace that I use for doing experiments in the field where a laptop is more likely to get damaged. No need to needlessly drag thousands of extra dollars in kit out into a mountain trail to do radio experiments. For that kind of work, these old systems have more than enough resources, and if I fall in a stream, or get caught in rain, the worst I have to do is replace the system for $80 refurbished on Amazon.

Of course, I've never actually had any issues requiring replacement, but ThinkPads are really hard to break. I'm not as convinced about the Lemur's durability, and would rather take fewer risks with it.

Used thinkpads especially the older ones (t480 and older) have a ton of extra parts floating around, and you can get them cheap. I built a t480 with 8th gen i7 from parts for around $170 over a year ago, it has been a great experience. I upgraded the trackpad and keyboard and plan to upgrade the screen, cooling, and battery next.

Spare parts and resilience. Thinkpads are the most tanky laptops available.

I don't like thinkpads anymore. They used to be great but Lenovo decided to kill off their best feature - the keyboards.

My fingers actually hurt when typing on a ThinkPad keyboard now. They are so shit.

I think people are nostalgic and they remember what the brand used to be. But I'm not impressed by them anymore. They keep scoring top marks at notebookcheck reviews however, but every new ThinkPad has disappointed me with bad screen or bad looks or feel.

I'm sure it's not everyone's reason, but mine was "Thinkpad still has physical left, right and middle mouse buttons".

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.

I, for one, haven't had to look at laptop manufacturers for nearly a decade because my Thinkpad is still running Linux without a problem.

Aside from political reasons (which are valid!), what makes those manufacturers worth choosing over a Thinkpad?

I believe Dell even has some models that come with Linux preinstalled.

I agree with a bunch of the comments here but wanted to add that there's a decades-long legacy of good FOSS/Linux support on Thinkpads. Before any of these companies existed, Linux was running pretty reliably on Thinkpads.

I do like the newer options with these newer manufacturers, but I won't be getting rid of my Thinkpads any time soon. I'm running a Framework now too.

Heck, why buy a pre-made laptop anyway, just take this bag of microchips and this spool of solder and compile your own!

Computers are more or less the sum of their parts.

For the longest time, and even now I think, the "Linux laptop" companies mostly sold re-branded quasi-generic laptops from Chinese manufacturers and focused on the software aspect to ensure compatibility. This meant that a lot of aspects were cheapened out on. The chassis, trackpad, keyboard, display, fit and finish in general were second class. Sure it was a machine that ran Linux, but most computers do that pretty well.

Laptop shopping is already fraught with pain and hazards. How do you know you're getting something that wont break down? Add the "vote with your wallet" premium price on these boutique Linux laptops, and they don't seem that appealing.

Thinkpads on the other hand have a huge community of nerds documenting compatibility. They have enterprise customers dumping pallets of used machines into the used market every year, and have far better parts accessibility than the quasi-generic machine.

Then there's the trackpoint, you never need to leave the home row. You're not victim to subpar trackpads(Every non-mac trackpad is subpar, sorry, I don't make the rules, they suck absolutely.)

I've had my X1 Carbon 4th gen since new in 2016. Even if I can't upgrade it, 7 years on its still nearly perfect. I got an Dell XPS 15 from work ~5 years ago and I've gone through two batteries, finishes are wearing off, the hinge is wonky, and IT HAS NO TRACK POINT.

Cost? Framework is not really "Linux oriented".

Also, why the hell would anyone ever recommend Lenovo for anything after the Superfish scandal?

System76 and other Linux-oriented hardware "manufacturers" basically take Clevo laptops and rebadge and mark them up. I got one from System76 and have been less than impressed with it considering what they charged for it. The screen is awful (purple tint to it) and the hardware didn't fully work with any distro for a while. I wished I'd just bought a refurbished Thinkpad.

Since the regular points have already been covered by other people, I'll add one thing that I like:

Two batteries. The external one is drained first, and it can be replaced while the laptop is running, because there's an internal battery. I have 24Wh internal, a 16Wh external (it's old, originallly it was 24Wh) and 72Wh external, in a 12 inch laptop (achievable because 72Wh battery sticks out and acts like a stand), giving me more battery life than anything else without an external power bank.

And I got mine for dirt cheap.

Because those laptops suck.

Thinkpads are good and cheap. If someone has a bunch of money to spend on a computer they buy a Mac.

Because most of these brands offer high-end laptops, the secondhand market is small and the new ones vastly exceed the needs of a lot of users.

Most people just browse the web, stream media, use productivity apps…these things don’t need much horsepower. The majority of people don’t need to run AAA games or graphics/video editing on their laptop.

Because of this, there is a great market for secondhand business laptops, and tons of great deals there. And of the big business brands (HP, Dell, and Lenovo), Lenovo tends to have the most compatible hardware (while also usually being very easily serviceable or upgraded).

I bought a Lenovo T470s with charger and a decent battery at a flea market on Father’s Day for $100 USD and he had a stack of them. Ordered some more memory and a bigger NVMe for $70, and now I have a very useful, practical, everyday laptop for less than $200, and it dual-boots a licensed Windows 10.

• cheap (companies sell off their stocks when upgrading so you get a few years old business laptop for a fraction of the price)

• cheap and plentiful parts

• popular models are usually easy to upgrade and repair

• it's built so coked up business sharks can throw it across the office

• best laptop keyboards

• trackpoint and physical mouse buttons

• great Linux support

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.

I've never met a Thinkpad that didn't like Linux :)

Thinkpads are cheap and accessible basically everywhere. They are business-grade devices and you can get one when folks retire their machines. A lot of places practically give them away. They were just gonna get thrown out anyways.

Framework is dumb expensive - a 16 even skimping out on RAM/HDDs comes out to over 3k CAD, and that's for a disassembled kit -- pre-built with full components comes out to easily over 3.5k, which is like a MacBook price for the promise of upgradability down the line.

System76 are rebranded shitty components from Chinese manufacturers. They're not better for Linux than any general consumer laptop, and their entire position is basically branding regarding freedom and 1776. Ironic that a company so deeply American in nature basically just resells garbage from China.

#1 reason, easier to convince businesses to purchase them in bulk; also getting a time tested model makes IT feel more comfortable that they can manage the devices appropriately.

I've gotten a lenovo legion 5 for something around 1600$, with a 3070 rtx on it. Before that I had another legion as well, with 2060. I've gotten intel both times, my friend got the amd one. Why? They are a bit cheaper than the competition and I don't really understand why asus version of essentially the same hardware costs more. Why not a linux oriented company instead of lenovo? Well linux isn't as out of reach as it was 10 or even 5 years ago. Almost every driver you need is available even if you do a clean arch install out of the box. So why get a device that you can't easily sell later on, won't get god warranty services overseas and might be hard to repair in a pinch?

All this to say, get whatever you like. I think even on a macbook you can get a perfectly fine linux setup. I hate it when people assume linux needs to run on something specific and is out of reach. Get what you like at whatever price range you want, you'd be hard pressed to run into an issue installing and using linux on it.

I've gamed, developed web and android apps, patched kernel on asus rog series, lenovo legion series, some random msi model and a base configuration acer model. Almost zero problems.

For people starting with Linux I am more comfortable to recommend them second hand/used laptops. And Thinkpads are prime examples for repairability and upgradability so you find a loot more Thinkpads that go for cheaper.

Besides that. My next Laptop is either gonna be a framework or something from Tuxedo.

PS: I know that newer Thinkpads lack in repairability. I have a X1 Carbon with soldered-on RAM... Suffice to say I wouldn't buy that again...

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

I bought a Lenovo last year to install Linux on. I've never heard of most of those, but I have been keeping an eye on System 76 for years and researched their offerings.

I don't recall everything that made me go with the Lenovo, but after my last (Dell) laptop started developing issues that appeared to be related to it flexing, I wanted something with a stronger case, and System 76's laptops appear to have plastic cases. I help run a trade show-type thing, and I sometimes walk around with the laptop, and I will occasionally balance it with one hand, while entering info with the other. I think the case started flexing, and the touchpad (I'm guessing) started giving spurious inputs, causing all kinds of headaches last year. So I wanted something with a solid case like my old aluminum body Macbook Pro had.

I recognize this is limited requirement, most people aren't going to have this issue.

I love my Thinkpad.

Lots of Linux devs love their Thinkpads.

The result is that Thinkpads are very well supported. They’re also generally very well made so I hope to use it for a decade.

I have a tuxedo. I love it. But...

1. it supports just its own version of linux (TuxedoOS, based on KDE) and Ubuntu. I use Majaro and I have to tweak it the same way as I would do it with any other non-linux computer.
2. I had a problem with sound and needed to send the computer to germany so they were able to check at it and fix it (replacing the mother board). Client service is good, but I live at 1w distance of germany (france)... what happens with people living far away?
3. Is certainly good... but not cheap :)

Ease of availability of third party repair/replace parts, and due to economies of scale, them being cheaper as well. Also I know that Lenovo will officially provide me the parts easily even 6-7 years down the line, no matter if I am a business or home/personal owner of a ThinkPad. The only complaints I am seeing are the newest fingerprint readers on selected models like Yoga being less compatible, other than that everything is as standard on Linux as it gets.