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From: David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no>
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.hardware
Subject: Re: Subnotebook?
Date: Tue, 11 Feb 2025 17:51:34 +0100
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On 11/02/2025 15:20, Carlos E.R. wrote:
> On 2025-02-10 08:35, David Brown wrote:
>> On 07/02/2025 20:43, Carl Fink wrote:
>>> Anyone have a recommendation for a Linux-installed, or second-best
>>> Linux-compatible subnotebook? I'm defining a subnote as having a 10" or
>>> smaller screen, and I'm looking to buy new, not refurb or used.
>>>
>>
>> I've never found much point in pre-installed Linux systems - they 
>> never have the distro or setup I want.  But that might be just me.  So 
>> I tend to get the hardware I want, then install the Linux I want, 
>> ignoring the "pre-installed" Windows.
> 
> The point is that the machine has been tested with some Linux, although 
> it is feasible they use some binary blob to support something, or that 
> something only works on certain distro.
> 
> 
>> Generally, most hardware works out of the box with a fairly modern 
>> distro (vastly more than with Windows), but there are some things to 
>> watch out for if you get a very new design.  The most common issue, I 
>> think, is new laptops or notebooks with Wifi chips that are not 
>> supported by the kernel versions that come as standard with a 
>> mainstream distro like Mint or Ubuntu.  That means upgrading the 
>> kernel, which can be a pain without a working network - and these 
>> machines often don't have Ethernet.  So make sure you have a USB C 
>> docking station or Ethernet adaptor handy for putting it all together.
> 
> Which is why I insist that laptops must have Ethernet.
> 

I certainly prefer Ethernet on laptops, but newer and smaller ones 
frequently don't have Ethernet.  A USB C Ethernet adaptor (or hub with 
Ethernet) costs very little, and I've never seen one that does not work 
immediately out of the box with Linux.