Alright, let's say I have a budget of $500 USD. What is the absolute best laptop I can buy to put Ubuntu 10.04 on, netbook or not? What is my use case? Anything really. Let's say it will be my travel computer. So sure, maybe smaller is better, but I currently travel with a 15" MacBook Pro, so I'm not opposed to that size.
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What's the best laptop someone can buy for under $500 to put Ubuntu on?
Dell is still selling a few models with Ubuntu preinstalled. www.dell.com/ubuntu/. Not flashy, but solid.
Test Drive time! Download and burn a copy of Ubuntu Linux 10.4 (latest) onto a CD. Go to your favorite computer store (E.g. Fry's) and get permission to try a few laptops by booting into "Live CD" mode (Do *not* install it!). Don't judge by speed as "Live CD" operations are slow by nature. Judge by usability.
I'm kind of opposed to this school of thought, that you can sling Ubuntu on a super-cheap piece of crap and it'll run great. I think that if you have certain expectations given your primary machine(s), there is not much point in running with a complete bottom-feeder, because it will impact your everyday productivity. I'm pretty certain for example this is why so many Apple users who also use Windows machines feel their choice is better.
I'd say pretty much the minimum I would tolerate as an Ubuntu travel machine in terms of general specs that is known to play decently with Ubuntu is the Acer Timeline 8371 (+ external DVD). The weight is not heinous (3.75lbs), the price is right at around $700-$800 street, and while it's not as well built as a flagship ultraportable it's not a million miles away either.
Much more compelling, hardware-wise, at around the same price/weight is the Asus UL30Vt-A1 ( gdgt.com/asus/ul30vt-a1/specs/ ), but I don't know whether everything works properly on this given that it's a hybrid graphics notebook.
I would personally lean towards the Acer Timeline 8172 given the choice/use/approx budget though - an i3-330UM + 11.6" 1366 x 768 display + 2.97lb + under $700 + reasonable build quality of Timeline series in general = very compelling in my view - but being a brand new machine, once again Ubuntu compatibility is not assured.
I'd say pretty much the minimum I would tolerate as an Ubuntu travel machine in terms of general specs that is known to play decently with Ubuntu is the Acer Timeline 8371 (+ external DVD). The weight is not heinous (3.75lbs), the price is right at around $700-$800 street, and while it's not as well built as a flagship ultraportable it's not a million miles away either.
Much more compelling, hardware-wise, at around the same price/weight is the Asus UL30Vt-A1 ( gdgt.com/asus/ul30vt-a1/specs/ ), but I don't know whether everything works properly on this given that it's a hybrid graphics notebook.
I would personally lean towards the Acer Timeline 8172 given the choice/use/approx budget though - an i3-330UM + 11.6" 1366 x 768 display + 2.97lb + under $700 + reasonable build quality of Timeline series in general = very compelling in my view - but being a brand new machine, once again Ubuntu compatibility is not assured.
I think you might be missing the point a bit. Just because something is cheap does not mean that it is a piece of crap. Also, not everyone has the financial background that you do in order to be purchasing machines outside a certain budget, you know what I mean?
As far as computers within the $500 budget, I think that the Inspiron line from Dell offers some nice machines for $499. They are well spec'd and look decent too. The problem, at least for me, is that they aren't as thin as my MacBook Pro. I have been spoiled by that thinness and now I can't go back.
As far as computers within the $500 budget, I think that the Inspiron line from Dell offers some nice machines for $499. They are well spec'd and look decent too. The problem, at least for me, is that they aren't as thin as my MacBook Pro. I have been spoiled by that thinness and now I can't go back.
Oh, and the maxim 'you get what you pay for' does definitely still hold, despite the best efforts of technology marketers to confuse with you choice.
There's crap and there's adequate.
It's because people who don't actually understand what they're buying don't get this, that if you give them a choice they'll go for the cheapest/cheaper option - and then complain that it sucks later despite apparently being aware of what they were getting into.
There is such a thing as a baseline experience. True, my standards of a baseline experience for myself may be a slightly higher than most - all right, if I'm honest my baseline is the flagship in any category :p - but actually it's not that much higher if I'm putting myself in your shoes to make a recommendation, it's just tempered by my experience of a very wide range of machines.
Apple for example base their entire image on selling baseline-and-a-bit upwards. By removing the inability of consumers to choose a sub-baseline experience that will shoot them in the foot, Apple gets a better name. True, their machines are not engineered for stable operation in a professional environment but that's less of an issue with undemanding consumers - It's not just the design which is well considered.
And it's also true that Ubuntu does well on slower hardware. But if you are ACTUALLY going to use it day in day out, I would suggest that you buy a machine that's adequate, and not crap.
It's because people who don't actually understand what they're buying don't get this, that if you give them a choice they'll go for the cheapest/cheaper option - and then complain that it sucks later despite apparently being aware of what they were getting into.
There is such a thing as a baseline experience. True, my standards of a baseline experience for myself may be a slightly higher than most - all right, if I'm honest my baseline is the flagship in any category :p - but actually it's not that much higher if I'm putting myself in your shoes to make a recommendation, it's just tempered by my experience of a very wide range of machines.
Apple for example base their entire image on selling baseline-and-a-bit upwards. By removing the inability of consumers to choose a sub-baseline experience that will shoot them in the foot, Apple gets a better name. True, their machines are not engineered for stable operation in a professional environment but that's less of an issue with undemanding consumers - It's not just the design which is well considered.
And it's also true that Ubuntu does well on slower hardware. But if you are ACTUALLY going to use it day in day out, I would suggest that you buy a machine that's adequate, and not crap.
While I agree that the idea of going out of your way to acquire a bottom-of-the-bucket machine just because you want to run Linux on it come out the back end of upside down, I think you should also bear in mind the fact that the simply running Linux on your (any) machine lowers the bar considerably in terms of performance, and what would be considered crap for an OS like Windows, would be perfectly fine for Linux.
I agree with that to a certain extent.
I suppose it depends on whether you're actually going to try and use it, or whether you're simply dabbling in the OS. If you're actually considering buying something for it, I would imagine that you would be serious about it.
I would say that the equivalent of an upper-midrange Yonah (or in Mac terms for dave, a first-gen, early-'06 Macbook Pro) - e.g. an SU4100 - would be pretty much the baseline for a *good* current Ubuntu experience, i.e. something that would provide a slightly crappy Windows experience.
I would also plump for a machine with as long a bettery life as possible, as a 5-hour machine in Windows is probably going for 3 or less - even in Lucid.
I suppose it depends on whether you're actually going to try and use it, or whether you're simply dabbling in the OS. If you're actually considering buying something for it, I would imagine that you would be serious about it.
I would say that the equivalent of an upper-midrange Yonah (or in Mac terms for dave, a first-gen, early-'06 Macbook Pro) - e.g. an SU4100 - would be pretty much the baseline for a *good* current Ubuntu experience, i.e. something that would provide a slightly crappy Windows experience.
I would also plump for a machine with as long a bettery life as possible, as a 5-hour machine in Windows is probably going for 3 or less - even in Lucid.
Personally i prefer HP and there is both a high end and an ultraportable for around $500 or right on the nose. I wouldn't go for a netbook book Ubuntu on my Acer Aspire is cramped like windows, browsing is especially painful.
Ultraportable link gdgt.com/hp/pavilion/dm3z/
www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/computer_can_s...
Ultraportable link gdgt.com/hp/pavilion/dm3z/
www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/computer_can_s...
I feel kinda bad, not being able to provide a direct link to purchase one, but I cant find my particular model of Gateway NV. Its the Gateway NV 5214u, and can speak first hand, that it works wonderfully with Ubuntu 10.04. It cost me $479.00USD when I got mine at bestbuy. It works with all of the ubuntu drivers, but works even better with the proprietary ATI graphics driver. Heres the link to the product DB:
gdgt.com/gateway/nv5214u/
Gateway has recently announced a new upgrade to the series, and I'm not sure how well that will work with ubuntu, but the NV is probably the best you'll get specwise, within the 500$ vicinity.
www.gateway.com/programs/nvseries/index.php?cmpid=...
gdgt.com/gateway/nv5214u/
Gateway has recently announced a new upgrade to the series, and I'm not sure how well that will work with ubuntu, but the NV is probably the best you'll get specwise, within the 500$ vicinity.
www.gateway.com/programs/nvseries/index.php?cmpid=...
It's not a good idea to buy a new computer and install Ubuntu because it may not be compatible. I use my 3 year old Dell Inspiron 1501. It worked well with Vista for the time being, but by the time 7 came out, it was pretty bad. But once I installed Ubuntu, it was "revived" and worked almost as fast as a new computer.
That's why I suggested a test drive (see above). BTW, as of 10.4, Ubuntu improved another increment. But, yes, always try out the target hardware with a Live CD in a store if possible. The sales folks will most likely agree to it (hoping for that sale).
I'm personally running it on an Acer Timeline 3410T (gdgt.com/acer/aspire/3810t-timeline/ not the exact model but close enough), and the only problem I'm having is with the multitouch trackpad. I picked it up for ~£340 (~$520).
More generally though, I'd say any laptop manufactured in the past 12 months should be fine.
More generally though, I'd say any laptop manufactured in the past 12 months should be fine.
The ironic thing about this post is that almost any laptop that fits that bill will ship with Windows 7 anyway: a more widely supported OS that runs just as well as - if not faster than - Ubuntu. Recall W7 was engineered to run fast on netbooks.
That said, if you have your heart set on Ubuntu, the Lenovo G550 looks good
That said, if you have your heart set on Ubuntu, the Lenovo G550 looks good
That kind of post will have certain people foaming at the mouth :p
Lenovo is a popular Ubuntu platform - well, older Lenovo's are.
Lenovo is a popular Ubuntu platform - well, older Lenovo's are.
I would be more cautious about benchmarks. I agree that Windows 7 has improved over its ancestors. Linux or Unix is still the infrastructure of choice for most professional server installations that don't require the capacity of a Mainframe.
Watch for this benchmarking effort: www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=OD... . Let's make sure that it is an apples-to-apples analysis (same hardware or close to it and no networking is involved).
Watch for this benchmarking effort: www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=OD... . Let's make sure that it is an apples-to-apples analysis (same hardware or close to it and no networking is involved).
I recently installed this on a Sony VAIO W series netbook (gdgt.com/sony/vaio/w/) and everything (WiFi, webcam, trackpad, speakers, mic) worked out of the box without tweaks.
