I installed five flavours of Linux on my new laptop: One month on, here's what I've learned

[steven36]

Using Linux on a laptop used to be so tricky and tedious: that's clearly no longer the case

 

 

It's been a month since I wrote about getting a new HP Pavilion 14 laptop and loading Linux on it. My experience with it so far has been extremely good – it has done exactly what I wanted, I haven't had any trouble with it, I have used it, traveled with it, updated all of the various Linux distributions I loaded on it, and even added another distribution to it.

 

First, I broke one of my own basic rules – never travel with only a new and untested laptop. I left for a three-week-plus vacation in the US the day after my previous posting. I used the laptop pretty much every day during the trip. and never had a problem of any kind. It was fast and reliable, suspend/resume on closing/opening the lid worked perfectly.  Battery life is extremely good – I've never actually managed to run the batteries completely out, but I can certainly say that they are good for 6-8 hours depending on your use.

 

Durability has been good as well; although I never actually "drop-tested" it, I did carry it in my usual travel bag, which got tossed in and out of overhead bins, under seats, in and out of cars and other normal everyday abuse. The screen has been bright and easy to read in all sorts of different light conditions, and the brightness up/down and volume up/down F-keys worked on all of the distributions I have loaded on it.

 

I kept it up to date as I was traveling (to be honest, that also breaks one of my personal rules – don't risk updates on your only laptop while traveling). That means openSUSE Tumbleweed got hundreds of updates; Debian, Fedora and Manjaro got a fair number as well, and I updated Linux Mint from 19.2 Beta to the final 19.2 release, all without problems.

 

I also decided to install Ubuntu 19.04 on it one evening when I had a bit of extra time. That turned out to be just as easy as the other distributions I had already installed – download the ISO, dump it to a USB stick and then boot that and run the installer. As with the other distributions it didn't recognize the Realtek Wi-Fi card, but I was able to correct that the same way, and using the same downloads, as I had already done with Linux Mint and Debian. The one small problem that I ran into I already knew about, that Ubuntu and Linux Mint have a directory name conflict in the EFI boot directory. I avoided that by creating a tiny EFI partition specifically for the Ubuntu installation.

 

Oh, one thing that I am starting to see in a slightly different light is the UEFI firmware and boot configuration on this HP laptop. I've had a lot of negative things to say about HP laptops in this regard before, the most serious of which was that the UEFI boot configuration was difficult to understand and manage. Maybe that has improved since the last time I tried an HP, and maybe I have learned a bit more about managing UEFI boot, but for whatever reason(s), I am starting to appreciate the predictability of the HP configuration. The boot sequence doesn't change no matter what any installed distribution does – it only changes when you go into BIOS setup and change it. This works out just fine for me, because I want Tumbleweed to be my default boot no matter what other distributions I install, so for example even when I installed Ubuntu, and it tried to make itself the default boot, when I rebooted the laptop it still brought up Tumbleweed.

 

 

While I was traveling I was asked by several friends who keep up with my blog if I regretted having wiped Windows 10 from this laptop unnecessarily (see the comments on my previous post for details ). My answer was a very clear 'no', there was not a single situation where I needed or wanted to boot Windows, and I was happy to have the additional disk space.

 

So, what's next for this system? Well, I return to Amsterdam on Monday, and I will be taking it with me there. I will be using it with the usual assortment of beamers and presenter controls, and using the browsers and application software that I need for that environment, and I don't expect to have any difficulty with that either.

 

That's about all there is to report at this time. I'd love to pass along some really juicy 'tips and tricks' about keeping the laptop working properly with Linux, but there is honestly nothing to say. I bought the laptop, I wiped Windows, I loaded Linux, and it has been smooth sailing ever since.  

 

I guess that in itself is a pretty good 'tip', since using Linux on a laptop used to be so tricky and tedious that there was a dedicated website with model-specific information, advice and configuration tips. This is clearly no longer necessary.

 

Source

[spudboy]

So what exactly did he learn? That he could update all of his distributions without issue? The guys article is absolutely worthless given it's title.

[PrEzi]

I was expecting at least a short summary of the pros and cons of the different distros and what he has learnt, maybe some tips etc etc.... 

But...this is just .... trash.

[steven36]

3 hours ago, spudboy said:

So what exactly did he learn? That he could update all of his distributions without issue? The guys article is absolutely worthless given it's title.

The  Topic is : Enterprise Software

You never distro hoped before ? He learned that he could install 5 different versions of Linux on his laptop with no trouble in 1 mounth . Here is the story of when he bought 30 days ago with Windows 10 Home and wiped it off it because Windows 10 home is crap and put Linux  nice free Enterprise software  on it and he tells  how to install Linux

https://www.zdnet.com/article/installing-linux-on-a-new-hp-pavilion-14-laptop/

 

All Microsoft  offers to the consumer is Crippled versions a.  Super Crippled Windows 10 Home b. Still Crippled Windows 10 pro . While you can pirate others  if you was running a business and got audited you be fined  so its never worth the risk . Even in Russia while they look the other way if you pirate software  at home they strict about  business and it's a big no no .

 

I find it great that he could use 5 different kinds of Linux with no trouble . Linux back years ago they said was a nightmare to install . But really most Linux you can test from a live USB or DVD and see if it run on your PC without installing it. Back when i use to distro hop i used my other PC i was no were as Lucky as him some versions ran some wouldnt  and i had other caveats along the way but i  tested way longer than 30 days . This PC i'm on now while i've  never tested 5 versions Linux i been running the same spin of Linux for 3 years with no trouble  on it  that is Intel . The other PC were i have is AMD graphics the bump i had in the road was it required Closed Source Drivers to boot up and AMD dropped  them in favor open source . So only the older LTS of Ubuntu would work  or using a version of Arch that patched the stack  that still supported the close source driver.

 

But AMD got  good open source drivers in the Linux kernel now so my problems are gone on AMD for years.  The only ones left now  that sort of a pain is nvidia graphics cards and they done made that easy on some distros Ubuntu non LTS  has the closed source drivers in the iso  also PoP OS  has them and they back ported them to auto updates on Ubuntu LTS so there real easy to install . But the kind of  graphics he has have been the less trouble free ones for Linux for years.

[CrACKzONE]

Just Install LiNIX MiNT 19.2 on your PC or LAPTOP... and all be fine.

 

[steven36]

41 minutes ago, CrACKzONE said:

Just Install LiNIX MiNT 19.2 on your PC or LAPTOP... and all be fine.

 

That was not always the case on my AMD PC  i 1st stated  using Linux it was Linux Mint 17.1 i think it was that 2015 so hard to remember  all versions  of Linux Mibt 17 ran fine on it  i do remember that  but 2016 was a bad year for me on one of my pcs  Linux mint 18 -18.2 will not boot up on my AMD PC it has open source AMD drivers not compatible  with my PC  . It was not tell Linux mint 18.3 they fixed  it . Only new versions that worked for me in 2016 was manjaro or arch .You got to remember Linux Mint is just a really stable version of Ubuntu. if you have trouble with drivers in Ubuntu LTS you will will have in them in Linux Mint because they based on the same thing.       

[CrACKzONE]

Well everthing is better then the BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH! whahahaha

[steven36]

18 minutes ago, CrACKzONE said:

Well everthing is better then the BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH! whahahaha

Not really not being able to boot up is far worse than BSOD , most of the time BSOD  is related  to drivers on Windows or some kind of software you have on your PC . But i don't know about newer versions of Windows 10 . Ive not used Windows 10 since Redstone 3 . I still have Windows 8.1 only time it ever BSOD  on me was when i 1st got this PC it came with a OEM image of Windows 8.1 once i wiped it and put a clean image in it , it quit.having BSOD..   Linux don't have .BSOD  it has kernel panic instead . I experienced it on Manjaro before were you always updating stuff to much,  that the reason Windows 10 is problematic  it's a rolling release like manjaro linux is.

[Sylence]

4 hours ago, spudboy said:

So what exactly did he learn? That he could update all of his distributions without issue? The guys article is absolutely worthless given it's title.

 

exactly lol.

he's like "after 3 months of using Linux, I now understand what a waste of time it was and now I'm gonna get rid of all these crap and get my Windows 10 pro".

[steven36]

43 minutes ago, Sylence said:

 

exactly lol.

he's like "after 3 months of using Linux, I now understand what a waste of time it was and now I'm gonna get rid of all these crap and get my Windows 10 pro".

Except the person your talking about don't use Windows  or even post about it except for he wiped it and he didn't have Windows 10 pro only he had Windows 10 home ,so he wouldnt do that, he only post Linux articles for along time. That making a assumption based on what you use and  not what he uses. hes not even new to Linux  Hes only posting his experience on his new Laptop. not other computers he already have with Linux on them. After using Linux since 2015. i find Windows 10 a waste of time that why i removed it over a year ago after testing it for a few years so i don't blame him for removing it that's what i would do too. 

https://www.zdnet.com/meet-the-team/uk/j.a.watson1/5/

 

Here is is article  before were he  posted about windows  and Linux on his  low-priced ASUS notebook

 

Setting up my new notebook with seven types of Linux - and Windows 10  May 17, 2017

https://www.zdnet.com/article/setting-up-my-new-notebook-with-seven-types-of-linux-and-windows-10/

 

So hes multi booting Labtops  if he would of wanted  to keep windows 10 home on his HP in the opening post he would have , but hes like me he don't see the point in using Windows 10 home anymore after having tried it before if you really had read the article.

9 hours ago, steven36 said:

While I was traveling I was asked by several friends who keep up with my blog if I regretted having wiped Windows 10 from this laptop unnecessarily (see the comments on my previous post for details ). My answer was a very clear 'no', there was not a single situation where I needed or wanted to boot Windows, and I was happy to have the additional disk space

 

[Sylence]

16 minutes ago, steven36 said:

Except the person your talking about don't use Windows  or even post about it ,so he wouldnt do that, he only post Linux articles for along time. That making a assumption based on what you use and  not what he uses. hes not even new to Linux  Hes only posting his experience on his new Laptop. not other computers he already have with Linux on them. After using Linux since 2015. i find Windows 10 a waste of time that why i removed it over a year ago after testing it for a few years. 

https://www.zdnet.com/meet-the-team/uk/j.a.watson1/5/

 

   

 

he doesn't use Windows that's why he has a close mind and doesn't know what he's missing

[steven36]

30 minutes ago, Sylence said:

 

   

 

he doesn't use Windows that's why he has a close mind and doesn't know what he's missing

He does know he used Windows before and he didn't want it anymore.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/setting-up-my-new-notebook-with-seven-types-of-linux-and-windows-10/

 

So has most everyone else used windows before unless they started out on Linux , MAC OS or smartphone  that mean dont mean they still use it Windows only have 35% OS market share now.. If hes closed minded  that makes about the 65% of the internet is just like him .

[Sylence]

5 minutes ago, steven36 said:

He does know he used Windows before and he didn't want it anymore.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/setting-up-my-new-notebook-with-seven-types-of-linux-and-windows-10/

 

So has most everyone else used windows before unless they started out on Linux , MAC OS or smartphone  that mean they still use it Windows only have 35% OS market share now.

 

LMAO 

 

Which world do you live in? Windows only has 35% market share? wow that linux must have been messing with your mind. I highly recommend to stay away from it until further notice

[steven36]

5 minutes ago, Sylence said:

 

LMAO 

 

Which world do you live in? Windows only has 35% market share? wow that linux must have been messing with your mind. I highly recommend to stay away from it until further notice

Now my mind is fine i'm not sure about yours you seem to lost touch and been living under  a rock every since Windows 10 came out.

https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share#monthly-201505-201907

 

The year Windows died at home and nobody cared

https://www.zdnet.com/article/in-2018-windows-died-at-home-and-nobody-cared/

 

 

[Sylence]

4 minutes ago, steven36 said:

Now my mind is fine i'm not sure about yours you seem to lost touch and been living under  a rock every since Windows 10 came out.

https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share#monthly-201505-201907

 

The year Windows died at home and nobody cared

https://www.zdnet.com/article/in-2018-windows-died-at-home-and-nobody-cared/

 

 

 

you need to learn the difference between Windows market share and Windows 10 market share. Lmao. 

[steven36]

7 minutes ago, Sylence said:

 

you need to learn the difference between Windows market share and Windows 10 market share. Lmao. 

Well  Windows 10 is windows last i checked if you only used Windows 10  vs the rest of the internet and there 900 million users that not very many when they 4 billion people on the internet .I was giving you a break by using Windows as a whole only Windows 10 makes it way less. 

[Sylence]

3 minutes ago, steven36 said:

Well  Windows 10 is windows last i checked if you only used Windows 10  vs the rest of the internet and there 900 million users that not very many when they 4 billion people on the internet .I was giving you a break by using Windows as a whole only Windows 10 makes it way less. 

 

Lol nice excuse. Windows 10 market share is different than Windows market share. hope it's easy enough to understand

If I was gonna tell you the linux market share using your own logic then linux market share would be 0.001. Lol because of all of the divided distros, each one more useless than the other. 

[steven36]

1 minute ago, Sylence said:

 

Lol nice excuse. Windows 10 market share is different than Windows market share. hope it's easy enough to understand

Its different because it reflects on dying  market  outside of business ,what OS people use at home has been irrelevant for over 2 years now your stuck in the past before they made windows 10 .Desktop don't reflect on the internet as a whole if  i even gave you Linux and MAC to go with all of windows   it would still be less than 50%.

[Sylence]

1 minute ago, steven36 said:

Its different because it reflects on dying  market  outside of business ,what OS people use at home has been irrelevant for over 2 years now your stuck in the past before they made windows 10 .Desktop don't reflect on the internet as a whole if  i even gave you Linux and MAC to go with all of windows   it would still be less than 50%.

no it hasn't been irrelevant just because you say so lol

If I was gonna tell you the linux market share using your own logic then linux market share would be 0.001. Lol because of all of the divided distros, each one more useless than the other. 

[steven36]

17 minutes ago, Sylence said:

no it hasn't been irrelevant just because you say so lol

If I was gonna tell you the linux market share using your own logic then linux market share would be 0.001. Lol because of all of the divided distros, each one more useless than the other. 

Not really because Linux is not and OS it's just a kernel  lt's is not just in desktops if you counted everything it would be way above every thing else its in Android and even it's in Windows 10 subsystem for Windows v2 even has a real Linux kernel . Microsoft don't care people don't use Windows at home like they did and they love Linux too and they make lots of money off of in the cloud so why should you care?

[Sylence]

5 minutes ago, steven36 said:

Not really because Linux is not and OS it's just a kernel  l is not just in desktops if you counted everything it would be way above every thing else its in Android and even it's in Windows 10 subsystem for Windows v2 even has a real Linux kernel . Microsoft don't care people don't use Windows at home like they did and they love Linux too and they make lots of money off of in the cloud so why should you care?

 

Lol now you talk on behalf of Microsoft. I bet next move is to claim you're the Linux founder. keep it up 👆 

Microsoft doesn't care about Windows home users, that's why they have Windows insider program  

Sometimes I can't tell you're trolling or being serious

[steven36]

2 hours ago, Sylence said:

 

Lol now you talk on behalf of Microsoft. I bet next move is to claim you're the Linux founder. keep it up 👆 

Microsoft doesn't care about Windows home users, that's why they have Windows insider program  

Sometimes I can't tell you're trolling or being serious

I dont have nothing against Microsoft just because I dont use Windows there just another business based on capitalism .they  dont bother me at all , i dont have to dread patch Tuesdays anymore that a windows user problem . i'm grateful for everything they do for Linux as far as that's concerned.  I dont have to speak for them they said they Love Linux themselves and there actions is way louder than words.

 

  .

Microsoft even makes a Linux OS  for there cloud and allows all the others on it too. Every person onboard is just more money in there pocket . They have Linux in Window store even . They contribute to the Linux community  and donate lots of money too it and are gold members of the Linux foundation . They even on the Linux private list were they talk about security issues in private because Microsoft makes Linux too now.  They do more for Linux than some of distros that just bottom feed off other distros ..they also own github were we do a lot of Linux development on  .It's not the 1990s no more . I did not use Linux back when they hated each other .  

 

 

Microsoft has insiders because they downsized and laid off there real testers.   Using you to test for business  for free is not caring about you,  you just save them lots of money every year before Windows 10 they paid people to do that  . There not helping you, your helping them. They help Linux more than they help Windows OS  at home.because they profit off Linux . Every post about  Windows 10 is  about new enterprise features witch consumers can't buy  and post about home and pro are about what a dead end it is. People who pirate should  help Microsoft it may be the only thing saving them form being like Redhat enterprise only  . People who buy windows shouldn't have to beta test and that why  they only have a 35% OS market-share now they had 51% the month before they made windows 10 .

 

Microsoft cuts 18,000 jobs

https://money.cnn.com/2014/07/17/technology/enterprise/microsoft-job-cuts/index.html

 

Bloomberg Businessweek: Microsoft Bug Testers Unionized. Then They Were Dismissed

https://www.askwoody.com/2018/bloomberg-businessweek-microsoft-bug-testers-unionized-then-they-were-dismissed/

 

Microsoft to business: Don't worry about Windows 10, consumers will test it

Assures businesses that the radically-faster update process will be reliable because "millions" will have already tested the constant changes

https://www.computerworld.com/article/2878026/microsoft-to-business-dont-worry-about-windows-10-consumers-will-test-it.html

 

Has the Windows Insider Program become too big for its own good?

https://www.neowin.net/news/has-the-windows-insider-program-become-too-big-for-its-own-good/

 

Also they laid off Testers once before back when they made Windows Vista 2 times in one year it was buggy too it was worse because they didn't even have insiders

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/microsoft-lays-off-62-testers/

 

This year there laid off the people who made the content for the XBOX

Microsoft cuts internal original content creators and producers at Inside Xbox and Mixer

https://gamedaily.biz/article/977/microsoft-cuts-internal-original-content-creators-and-producers-at-inside-xbox-and-mixer