Quoting: dziadulewiczThis brought me here! Been gettin' into Linux lately and being surprised of the gaming aspect of it now!

There are numerous Linux-based "distros" - operating systems - that are just as easy to use as Apple macOS / Microsoft Windows, if not moreso... And the list of games for Linux-based operating systems is pretty big these days, with countless "AAA" titles. I just had a look and there are at least 6,342 titles for Steam, and up to 1,248 titles for GOG.com - though I run through a VPN, so the number of titles may vary slightly for you (because of region restrictions).

In the near future, those numbers will get even bigger - Valve Software's "Proton" should mean that eventually, most games for Microsoft Windows-based operating systems will work under Linux-based operating systems "out of the box" (i.e. you will be able to buy a game for a Microsoft Windows-based operating system and it will "just work" under a Linux-based operating system)!

I'm still not convinced the so-called "Year of the Linux Desktop" exists in the foreseeable future - Microsoft have an awfully big hold on the market, especially in countries that are particularly "anti-Linux", like Australia - but with everything that has happened over the last few years and everything that's going to happen in the next couple of years, there's more and more incentive to make the switch to a Linux-based operating system full time...

For me, I sat down at my computer and asked myself "What can Microsoft Windows do that Ubuntu can't to the same or a better standard?" The answer was "Not much" and nearly ten years later, I don't regret switching to a single-boot setup.

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I would love to get a System76 laptop at some point, but they're just so ridiculously over-priced... Only last night I was having a look at their website, because I'm planning to replace my laptop / the wife's laptop in the next couple of weeks, and irrespective of which (System76) laptop I was looking at, it was considerably more than a similar laptop from just about any other manufacturer - before the import tax (10% GST) is even charged at the Australian border!

There's nothing wrong with paying a premium for a quality product, especially when it comes to a company that supports "Open Source" software and "Open Hardware" like System76... But there is also a line between "premium" and "over-priced"; like Apple, System76 don't just cross it, they sprint over it.

And no, you can't use the "the Australian Dollar is rubbish at the moment" excuse - back at the peak of the 2007 / 2008 Global Financial Crisis, when the Australian Dollar was worth 1:1 with the American Dollar - I also had a look at System76's laptops and whilst the price was more reasonable, it was still a pretty big markup... Just not as extreme as it is when the Australian Dollar is rubbish, like now.

When I win the lotto and buy my Acer Predator Thronos (seriously, look this up !), I'll deck it out with all the very best System76 hardware...

Quoting: jordicomaAnyone knows if this company sells computers to Europe (with the power supply and an non us keyboard layout)?
I do not need a laptop now, but I would consider it for the next one.

As I understand it, System76 only do US keyboards - but they do send "local" power adaptors / IEC cables for whichever country the computers are being sent to... In other words, if you were in Australia like me, you'd be sent an Australian power adaptor or IEC cable, instead of an American one.

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Quoting: oldrocker99I tried Manjaro. What an experience! As easy to install as Ubuntu, as user-friendly, as well-stocked with apps as Ubuntu, and a community which is as friendly as the Ubuntu forums. Using the not-that-scary AUR is a matter of selecting the package, clicking "Build," then "Apply" and watch the system download all the dependencies (!) and the source code, and autocompiles the code itself. And, practically every program ever written for Linux can be found there. Moving to an Arch-based system has been like falling in love with Linux all over again.

That's nice for you and I, maybe even enough to convince me to have a look myself, when I next end up with a spare computer to muck around with... But it's not a realistic scenario for the "everyday" PC user.

Quoting: oldrocker99I will also say that Manjaro has become the new Ubuntu.

Which leads me to this point - based on the way you describe Manjaro, it couldn't possibly be "the new Ubuntu"...

For a long time now, Ubuntu has been the Linux distro for the "everyday" PC user; the fact that many experienced users also happen to use it is an added bonus.

But the primary focus has always been "Linux for human beings" - in other words, a Linux distro that offers all the advantages of a Linux kernel, without the technical crap being obvious to the end user...

Manjaro might end up replacing Ubuntu for more advanced users - as I said above, I'm forever hearing good things about it and Arch, so I might even have a look myself, when I next have a spare computer - but it's got a long way to go if it's going to ever become "the next Ubuntu".

Just having a look at Manjaro's website... It looks like they're trying to be "the next Ubuntu", so maybe I'm wrong and you are onto something here.

Should be interesting to see what happens going forwards - Canonical have done a lot of good things over the years, but they have a habit of starting projects with loads of potential and then abandoning them, not to mention the fact that over the last couple of years, Canonical seem increasingly dis-interested in Ubuntu as a "desktop" operating system.

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Quoting: TuxeeBut you know it's a hack. This smells more like Canonical bashing.

This.

Canonical - like Valve Software - have probably done more for the Linux Community than most other organizations... All I am hearing in these comments is "Blah blah blah, Canonical is a big, evil corporation and everyone else is a saint."

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Quoting: slaapliedjeThen they kept determining to be 'unique' in the huge Linux landscape, and pushing technologies that no one else supported, so they didn't get that much support, as Canonical is not that big.. Snap is one of those things, and it's direct competition with flatpak, which a lot of distributions/software has adopted, is what rubs me raw about it at this point.

Some of the stuff Canonical does is / was better than what its competitors are / were doing... Unity for example, was far better than the garbage that is GNOME 3.x. And Snap is theoretically superior to Flatpak in various ways, though Flatpak is more "open", which is an especially big selling point in the Linux Community. Yet another example would be "Mir", which as I understand it is theoretically superior to Wayland, though again, the latter would be considered more "open".

Quoting: slaapliedjeMy point was that Canonical wanted their own so started Snap, instead of working with everyone else and supporting flatpak.

Your comments imply everyone supports Flatpak, which is not the case. And there are numerous "key" distros that have no support for Flatpak "out of the box" - some of those distros support Snap "out of the box", others support neither packaging format "out of the box".

Canonical is not the only one that uses "bully boy" tactics to push their agenda - The GNOME Project is notorious for this (though they are not the only ones), which is part of the reason why distros will sometimes package inferior GNOME programs by default, ahead of superior alternatives.

You can call out Canonical for being a bully - but not at the expense of pretending they're the only ones that do this...

Quoting: CatKiller

Quoting: slaapliedjeMy point was that Canonical wanted their own so started Snap, instead of working with everyone else and supporting flatpak.

You know snaps came first, right? The failed internal Ubuntu project was Ubuntu Phone. Unity, Mir and snaps were all created for that.

This.

And whilst most of the stuff Canonical were pushing has since been abandoned in part or in full, the "end goal" for many of these various projects was far more grand than what most of Canonical's competitors are or were planning... Sadly, most of Canonical's projects never came close to the desired "end goal".

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I'd be more concerned that the "rubber" part of the trackpoint would wear away over time... You don't have the problem with trackpads.

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Quoting: Purple Library Guy

Quoting: Cyba.Cowboy

Quoting: chr* USB-C as main charging port or bust.

Actually, I'd love to see a laptop just abandon USB "Type A" ports altogether in favor of (only) USB "Type C" ports...

Dunno about you, but I haven't seen any USB-C memory sticks on sale yet.

There's a couple around... The best one I have found is this one, which has both USB "Type A" and USB "Type C" connections (in the same memory stick / flash drive / thumb drive)!

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Quoting: chr* USB-C as main charging port or bust.

Actually, I'd love to see a laptop just abandon USB "Type A" ports altogether in favor of (only) USB "Type C" ports... Why the hell is everyone still making laptops with a million USB "Type A" ports and just one USB "Type C" port?

There are so many advantages to USB "Type C" its ridiculous, and "legacy" USB products (i.e. USB "Type A") work just fine with USB "Type C" to USB "Type A" adaptors, which are available for next to nothing... Or you could just buy a USB "Type C" hub like I did, but they're almost always incredibly over-priced.

Quoting: chr* 2-in-1 form factor with touch screen is pretty sweet for a portable laptop like this one.

Just get a Microsoft Surface Go, if you want a "2-in-1" with a touchscreen... Unless you're doing something pretty intensive, they're cheap-ish, lightweight, have excellent usage times / battery life and work flawlessly with most Linux-based operating systems.

Originally, I bought mine just for digital comics... But now I've had it for a few weeks, I use it all the time as both a Ubuntu tablet (e.g. for watching Disney+ or reading the news online) and as an "ultra portable" laptop (e.g. when I need to take some files with me, but don't want to lug my "real" laptop around).

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Quoting: ArehandoroWhich, by the way, I install Pop_OS on my gaming machine yesterday to give it a go and it seems pretty cool too

Yeah, it's pretty good right?

I tried Pop!_OS as soon as it came out of beta - before most people had even heard of it - because I was considering my options, since Canonical had abandoned Unity... At the time, Pop!_OS was mostly a cosmetic change, with a few little tweaks here and there - but those little tweaks were significant enough to make me think the distro has potential, particularly as an eventual replacement for Ubuntu (kinda like what happened with Red Hat Linux / Fedora back in the day).

From what I understand, System76 have since taken quite a few steps to make it more than "just a cosmetic change", so I highly recommend people have a look (and if you're using a System76 computer, I really don't understand why you would be using anything else!).

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Quoting: BoldosWhy oh why do they keep shoving Intell stuff down the consumer's throats? :><:
At that price level, Intel CPU (whith that GPU) cannot be really competitive against any AMD APU-based laptop (including the windows tax).

Quoting: gregfI want AMD not intel, and I want a good keyboard like on a think pad. Till then it's a no go for me.

I agree.

Whilst I prefer a laptop with NVIDIA components - primarily because I single-boot Linux and NVIDIA stuff is considerably better for everything graphics-related in the Linux world - I would take a pure AMD setup over a pure Intel setup any day of the week... Not a fan of all this love for Intel in recent times.

Quoting: Luke_NukemWhy do so many laptop photos have the laptop screen flat back like that? I don't understand the purpose.

Glad I'm not the only one that has often wondered this...

Quoting: holisticboyYup, and the AMDGPU support is built into the Kernel, so you don't need to configure any drivers out of the box! When I had my first gen Ryzen 2700u laptop part, it was working much better than the Windows equivalent due to this factor.

It wasn't always this way... Admittedly, it has been some years since I've used an AMD laptop - I used them almost exclusively until 2012-ish and then gave up - but all the AMD laptops I had used up to that point required a bit of work to get them to play nice, usually with sub-standard performance afterwards (in comparison to similar laptops with NVIDIA components).

This is a great step in the right direction - Intel and NVIDIA are gods when it comes to Linux, but they have too much power (which hurts competition, among other things), and neither is especially trustworthy or "open"...

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