[NetBehaviour] linux laptops

[Edward Picot]

Helen,

Good for you! I agree that Linux is much less deterring than we are 
generally led to believe. I started by putting it on an old spare 
computer a few years ago, and since then I've been buying cheap laptops 
and over-writing the existing Windows operating system with Linux, which 
always gives me a bit of a transgressive thrill. Apart from anything 
else you save a fortune in anti-virus fees. I started out with Mandriva 
Linux - which was probably an odd choice, but I came across a disc for 
it somewhere - but I now use Ubuntu. Unfortunately Ubuntu 16, which is 
the one I'm currently using, has some well-documented wireless 
connectivity problems, so I have to connect to my router via an ethernet 
cable, not that that's the end of the world. There are some rather 
lengthy fixes out there, but I haven't got round to trying them yet.

The range and quality of software available for Linux never ceases to 
amaze me. Libre Office, the Gimp, Audacity, Kdenlive and Inkscape are 
all wonderful. As for Blender, it's mind-bending to be able to get your 
hands on a piece of software that powerful for nothing, although it's 
extremely challenging to learn (I've only scratched the surface). The 
only thing I genuinely miss is Flash - but Flash in its Adobe 
incarnation is now so expensive that I wouldn't be able to afford it anyway.

Edward

On 22/05/17 09:47, helen varley jamieson wrote:
>
> hi everyone,
>
> more than a year ago i wrote to this list asking for advice about 
> buying a linux laptop. it took me a while, but i'm now happily working 
> with ubuntu mate on a no-brand machine :)
>
> i spent quite a lot of time looking at second-hand & B-ware 
> (ex-display) machines, & also at new models (lenovo, dell, hp, acer, 
> asus, etc etc ... ) & got quite overwhelmed by the choice & variables. 
> nothing was exactly what i wanted, & i couldn't decide on what to 
> compromise. i had a couple of things that were definite - not bigger 
> than 14", must have ethernet port, prefereably separate audio in & 
> out; so that narrowed things down quite a bit, but still i wasn't 
> finding anything that felt right.
>
> then i found a uk company that sells no-brand laptops with linux 
> pre-installed (https://www.entroware.com). i could choose the hard 
> drive, RAM, keyboard layout, etc & it arrived 5 days after i ordered 
> it. i took it out of the box, turned it on, & started using it. the 
> trickiest thing i've had to do so far was use the command line to get 
> it to talk nicely to my printer - & i managed that without incident.
>
> i'm still adjusting to the non-mac keyboard shortcuts - it's easier to 
> take a screenshot but more difficult to do an umlaut (ü), & there are 
> a couple of things i still need to work out. & one loss is that there 
> are no linux drivers for my wireless webcam, so i'm back to a tethered 
> webcam for now. but it is soooo much faster than my old mac, & i've 
> found most of the software that i need.
>
> so if anyone else out there is also considering making the switch to 
> linux, i say - just do it! :)
>
> h : )
> -- 
> helen varley jamieson
> helen at creative-catalyst.com <mailto:helen at creative-catalyst.com>
> http://www.creative-catalyst.com
> http://www.upstage.org.nz
>
> *We have a situation, Coventry! <http://www.wehaveasituation.net/?p=1402>*
> 24 November 2016
>
>
>
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