When I'm buying a laptop, I keep in mind that I plan to install Linux on it, and plan accordingly.
You do realize that the laundry list of flaky behavior described in the post are replying to has nothing to do with the hardware (except maybe the shutdown issues), right?
Also, as I stated in my original post this laptop was certified for Ubuntu (I found that out before purchasing), so I did keep in mind that I was going to install Linux on it when purchasing, and I was expecting drivers to not be a problem. You can call me a fool for expecting OpenSUSE to work on it when it was certified for Ubuntu, but there is only so much you can confirm in a advance (and, Ubuntu-derived Mint failed on it).
OS X wouldn't have installed at all, and the wrong version of Windows may have failed even harder.
This misses my point. I realize that Linux manages to accomplish quite a lot without the support from hardware vendors that Windows enjoys. But, between 1995 and 2007 there was a huge amount of improvement in "just works" and polish for Linux. Much to my disappointment, I don't think there has been that kind of improvement between 2007 and 2014. As I said from the beginning, my experience may just be a fluke. Or, maybe it isn't. Maybe it's caused by Novell no longer being behind OpenSUSE. Maybe it is caused by resources being spread across too many distros so none of them get enough polish. Maybe it is caused by a focus on selling enterprise licenses creating a disincentive to fix bugs in free versions. Or, maybe it's all just in my head.
>and there is other weird behavior, like the laptop screen not turning off when the laptop is in a docking station with the lid closed
hardware
>(did not have this problem with OpenSUSE 10.2), and the encrypted partition password prompt being off the screen if an external monitor is plugged in
hardware (questionable: more like how KDE deals with hardware. I don't know KDE, I's suggest switching to something that doesn't do what KDE did.)
I can't see anything that you mentioned what wasn't hardware related. Also, I don't actually know what Ubuntu certification entails, but I agree with you that it isn't meant to guarantee that OpenSUSE and Mint run perfectly.
And, none of that is from the post you replied to; it is from my first post two levels up. The post you replied to is the one where I pointed out that my claim that it feels "sloppy" is based not merely on a few failed installs but also on a whole lot of bugs that have nothing to do with the hardware. Why you would reply to that and imply that it was my fault for not researching the hardware I was purchasing is a mystery to me. Your post would have made some sense (if you ignore the fact that I already stated that the hardware was certified for Ubuntu) in response to my first post, but seems really odd where you chose to put it.
> I can't see anything that you mentioned what wasn't hardware related.
I listed five bugs that have nothing to do with hardware, and you didn't address any of them. I really think you replied to the wrong post.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7458973
They're also almost entirely bugs in things that aren't linux, but applications that run on linux. I don't have any of those problems, because I use different applications. It would be more logical to blame bugs in IE on Windows.
My Linux boxen always "just work". Then again I use Slackware without a DE. I think a lot of people mean by "just work", "just works" and looks pretty and is approachable by my mom. Well, you can't get that under Linux, and as long as the Linux software stack is developed by different groups working at different organizations without a Gates or Jobs to crack the whip, you may never be able to. But I didn't put Linux on my machine to have an off-brand Mac, I put Linux on my machine because it's more robust and functional and stays out of my way when I need it to.
You do realize that the laundry list of flaky behavior described in the post are replying to has nothing to do with the hardware (except maybe the shutdown issues), right?
Also, as I stated in my original post this laptop was certified for Ubuntu (I found that out before purchasing), so I did keep in mind that I was going to install Linux on it when purchasing, and I was expecting drivers to not be a problem. You can call me a fool for expecting OpenSUSE to work on it when it was certified for Ubuntu, but there is only so much you can confirm in a advance (and, Ubuntu-derived Mint failed on it).
OS X wouldn't have installed at all, and the wrong version of Windows may have failed even harder.
This misses my point. I realize that Linux manages to accomplish quite a lot without the support from hardware vendors that Windows enjoys. But, between 1995 and 2007 there was a huge amount of improvement in "just works" and polish for Linux. Much to my disappointment, I don't think there has been that kind of improvement between 2007 and 2014. As I said from the beginning, my experience may just be a fluke. Or, maybe it isn't. Maybe it's caused by Novell no longer being behind OpenSUSE. Maybe it is caused by resources being spread across too many distros so none of them get enough polish. Maybe it is caused by a focus on selling enterprise licenses creating a disincentive to fix bugs in free versions. Or, maybe it's all just in my head.