Well, I don’t want to have a bad time, that’s for sure…thanks for the warning. I’ll be cautious about Lenovo.

Interesting - and yet I read about many folks installing Linux on thinkpads, and those laptops even being recommended for Linux. Is it just cause so many have worked on making Lenovo be able to handle Linux?

Excellent point - guess I was just applying proprietary thinking to what Tuxedo offers, but of course it’s a different kettle of fish.

Aspire 15

Looks nice - and nice price too!

Libreboot looks very, very interesting - thanks for the tip!

Thanks for the tip - I’ll check out the AMD Acer laptops. You thinking of Nitros, in particular?

Looks like a nice selection. A sensible approach, and one I may end up taking: getting a Windows laptop for good value and then installing Linux myself.

Good points all round, thanks - and I did think the Linux installation cost seemed high. I might be willing to pay a premium for good support. I’ve heard good things about System76’s customer service (but they’re US-based). Installing a distro on an old laptop doesn’t scare me - I’ve done it before. It’s more the hardware/driver issues that might arise. And then I’d love to discover an “out of the box” solution that I could recommend to my friends and family, who have little appetite for tech tinkering. Maybe that’s where Tuxedo comes into the picture…

Can’t seem to find refurbs on their website - and judging from the original announcement, they may only be available in the US and Canada (I’m in the EU).

That’s helpful, thanks. I’m guessing they charge a premium because they provide a service. I’m not afraid to tinker a bit, but my interest in Linux is not tinkering - it’s to switch to a freer, more sustainable OS. So I’m curious about services that offer support.

For that reason I’ve also looked at Tuxedo computers, but I’m worried that I’m locking myself into another company’s OS again (from Microsoft/Apple to Tuxedo) rather than having the freedom to choose my own distro. But I guess with support comes a price: less freedom.

Right now I’m deeply locked into the Apple ecosystem. Apple makes wonderful hardware and apps, but it’s still a straitjacket, even if it’s a designer straitjacket. 😀

These do look nice 🤩 Thanks!

How do you get a terminal app that’s cool and user-friendly? Any recommendations?