I  Learned My Lesson - Again

The Lesson

I learned this lesson a long time ago: To ensure that your computer hardware runs Linux flawlessly you can do one of two things. You need to either buy a computer designed specifically to run Linux or purchase hardware (old or new) with components that you've determined are supported by the Linux kernel. I've had to learn it again.

A few years ago I wrote an article describing the magic of buying computer hardware and operating systems that are made for each other entitled "The Advantages of Computer Hardware Designed For Linux." I've updated some references and details and it's still valid today. Spoiler alert: If you want a laptop guaranteed to run Linux, purchase one with Linux pre-installed. 

The Past

Over the years I have installed Linux on hardware designed for Windows to give it extra years of  life with a modern operating system well after the manufacturer and Microsoft had given up on supporting them. Sometimes this worked without a hitch and sometimes I had to troubleshoot driver issues or write bash scripts to enable unsupported features. 

If you listen to the podcast, you probably know that I recently purchased a brand new 2024 HP Dragonfly G4 ultrabook/laptop designed for Windows 11 knowing that the built-in camera and the sound card were not currently supported by the Linux kernel. 

I thought: I've done this before, so I took a chance that the shiny new hardware would be supported in the future. I thought: Within a few months the chip maker (Intel) might develop a supporting driver. After all, according to some forum and GitHub posts, drivers have been developed for the previous versions of the hardware. I though: Even if the chip maker doesn't develop a driver, I might need to wait a bit longer for an open source driver. I thought: I might have to wait years but eventually the Linux kernel will support these chips. 

The Reality

I thought: How often do I use my laptop in an environment where I can't use a USB webcam and Bluetooth audio. I can wait. I can't wait. Especially when I read a GitHub post indicating that there is no driver for these components because HP didn't request that Intel enable Linux support. Ouch!  

The Lesson Relearned

I bought the Dragonfly because of the price. It was on sale at Costco for a tremendous discount and including a two year warranty. Now I almost find myself wishing I had bought the System76 Lemur Pro. It has nearly exactly the same specifications as the Dragonfly G4 and of course all of the hardware is supported by Linux. I saved a bunch of money but I got what I paid for - a project. 

Anyone want a slightly used laptop that runs Windows 11 perfectly? At least until Microsoft decides it doesn't.