Hello everyone,
I currently use Linux as my personal operating system and really enjoy it. I’m now looking for a reliable laptop for my business.
I’ll mainly use it for office work, software development, and programming in C++ and Python. I use Debian, so good Linux compatibility is important. Durability and repairability are also high priorities, since I plan to use it as my primary work laptop every day.
Could you recommend any laptops that would be a good fit?
Framework and System76 aren’t options for me because I’m located in Costa Rica, where they aren’t readily available.
Thank you!
Why don’t you like the X1s?
I’ve had OpenSUSE Tumbleweed running on a Carbon Gen 11 for a year now with no issues. The fingerprint reader and touchscreen both worked out of the box.
Just that they are not built the way “traditional” thinkpads are. I don’t have personal experience how durable they are, but in general they aren’t as easy to repair as T-series (for example). With T-series it’s pretty straightforward to replace nearly every component separately (wifi, ram, keyboard, display…) which is either way more difficult or straight impossible to do with X1. Also spare part availability is generally better with T-series.
But to be honest, newer T14s aren’t as service-friendly either as older T-series. But if repairability is a deciding factor then I’d skip X1 and get some T-series instead.
That’s a fair assessment. The build quality is great considering they’re business laptops, but since they are a smaller form factor the repairability isn’t nearly as good as other models.