Ask HN: What's the State of Linux Laptops?

Linux can seem overwhelming, but it shouldn't. There are just so many more choices that it can feel like you don't know where to jump in.

I really liked some parts of Windows' desktop and window management, so I went with Debian linux and chose KDE Plasma so I could enable ClearType-like text antialiasing like Windows and a Windows 2000s like Task bar.

Most people will recommend Ubuntu or pop_OS to new linux users, but I found Gnome to be bad for text rendering and overall not natural for me to use after having used other systems for so long.

Since Debian underpins Ubuntu, and Ubuntu underpins so many other OS... I just went to the source. It has been rock stable and very fast. Old hardware is given new life, especially if you have an SSD.

I'll be keeping my 2019 MacBook on Sequoia and use it for my personal web browsing, iMessage, etc. Its nice to keep work and personal separate in my opinion, so linux on desktop and keeping my wallet green and the planet green by using my 2019 longer is my plan.

Linux can be an excellent choice if you're willing to invest time in finding compatible hardware. I’m running a 2023 laptop (Lenovo Yoga family) with a 12th Gen Intel CPU and have found the experience to be flawless. I'm using Fedora Silverblue. I've customized GNOME (slightly) to my taste and it’s been a great stable, personalized environment.

However, newer hardware features like exceedingly-good displays (talking about XDR displays) and amazing touchpad support can sometimes be tricky to get working perfectly under Linux—these are areas where compatibility might still lag, so if such features are critical for you, Linux might not yet be the ideal fit.

I haven't had trouble with Linux on laptops for years.

I have a Framework 13 (https://frame.work) running Arch. There are plenty of other distros if you value ease of installation. Pretty much all major desktops work fine; I use Gnome. There are a lot of options for devs, from the traditional toolset (emacs/vim, terminals, the toolsets provided by your favorite languages) to the latest in IDEs (VS Code[ium], Sublime, IntelliJ, Zed).

Come on in, the water is nice. I've never found myself longing for anything else.

Read some of DHHs posts - lots of useful info https://world.hey.com/dhh/the-year-on-linux-7f30279e

Also, check out Tuxedo if you're in the EU

https://www.tuxedocomputers.com/en

You can install most mainstream distros onto the chromebooks. Obviously practically all normal laptops as well.

System76 is still going strong. If money isnt a factor, you can get a 24GB RTX 5090 in one of their laptops. POPos is nice.