Desk vs Laptop

[komputes]

On 11/22/2010 02:32 PM, Randall Ross wrote:
> On 10-11-22 09:28 AM, ubuntu-ca-request at lists.ubuntu.com wrote:
>   
>> From: Pay Wahun <paywahun at gmail.com>
>> Subject: Desk vs Laptop
>>
>> I am confused in this days of pc architecture. What is the best pc to
>> make a long term use of open source? I have been using a HP lap for
>> three years and seems that my original windows setup disk is the only
>> means to make effective use of this pavilion. I have been switching
>> hard drives for ubuntu and windows  but now wants to stay with open
>> source. Just found that my original windows setup disk is the only way
>> for optimum use as per HP teach. Iam however confused whether to buy a
>> new laptop or desktop. Any advice? The confusion is that even desktop
>> architecture gone and wis going through many changes today - what's
>> the best bet forward with an uncertain economic future?
>>     
> Adding some focused advice about Ubuntu (since this is an Ubuntu list ;)...
>
> The complete list of Ubuntu Certified hardware is here:
> http://webapps.ubuntu.com/certification/
> That should be your first stop.
>
> And, System76 is an Ubuntu systems vendor that sells
> desktops/notebooks/netbooks with Ubuntu fully installed, tested and
> supported. I recommend them as a customer and also because they are
> committed to Ubuntu, and not treating it as a sideline. http://system76.com
>
> Hope that helps!
>
> Cheers,
> Randall
> Ubuntu Vancouver "Buzz Generator"
>
>
>   

Randall recently ran an interesting poll on his blog [1] which showed
that out of ~300 voters, over 60% of the people polled don't use
Canonical-Certified machines.

Martin Owens blogged [2] about Ubuntu's feature friction and polled the
readers of his blog. What I found interesting here was that the primary
concern of Ubuntu users is Bugs at 39% and Hardware Compatibility at 20%.

Mark Shuttleworth announced at UDS N (in the context of "Unity") that
the number one issue for this cycle is drivers and performance. [3]

So why make these points in this thread? Pay started by asking "What is
the best pc to make a long term use of open source?", a question that I
get very often, from users into hardware during pre-purchase decision
making. Unfortunately it's something we have not been paying much
attention to, as a community. We have dispersed hardware compatibility
information among many different resources, but no useful central resource.

These hardware issues don't just affect us in the Ubuntu community; So
how can we help ourselves and the whole free software movement advance
to a higher level of quality? How can we assist in "Crossing the
Chasm"[4] in terms of hardware, making the mainstream user's out of the
box experience rock?

This is where the proposal for a Hardware Compatibility Website comes
in. This site would combine information made voluntarily public by users
into a central community-driven resource with the aim to help users
ascertain the compatibility of hardware components, peripherals and
entire computer systems. It would link to hardware-specific bugs,
provide solutions to make hardware work.

The spec [5] was laid out in detail a while ago and we have yet to find
a crew to create such a resource. I am (continuously) calling out to web
developers in the community. If you are interested in joining a team
developing a community-driven Hardware Compatibility Website please
contact me.

Cheers!

-komputes

  (]( -. .- )[)

[1] http://randall.executiv.es/ubuntucertpoll &
http://randall.executiv.es/node/41
[2] http://doctormo.org/2010/11/16/ubuntus-feature-friction/
[3] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUAzicy_01o @ 12m 55sec
[4] https://blueprints.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+spec/better-hardware-database
[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossing_the_Chasm