What are some options with a similar feel? Good for travel, seems sturdy, and a nice screen? Samsung has a few options, but idk how's the Linux support on their models.
Wait a cycle then maybe do the same with the M2.
Eventually we'll have arm machines made by other PC manufacturers, I'm most excited by Lenovo, but till then. $600 gets you a powerhouse of a machine.
As someone who has been waiting for this to happen for nearly fifteen years now, you'll forgive me if I don't hold my breath.
Now that there are machines out there that work out of the box with any upstream Linux kernel, the XPS Windows-first, Linux-eventually model just doesn't seem appealing.
And very concretely, one problem with it is that there's a wait between the Windows version appearing and the Linux-mostly-supporting one appearing. With the recent XPS 13 refresh to the 9315 model, there is currently no developer edition available (Dell lists it as "discontinued" if you go to its webpage), and the Arch wiki shows major compatibility problems, like the webcam not working: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Laptop/Dell
It's a big no for me.
The 13th Gen (w/i7 only?) has a bigger batter so battery life should be better (a chief concern for some - though I am almost always plugged in). The new version also has an option for a matte screen. There's also an option (coming) for an AMD based system (eg better iGPU).
Almost everything is repairable/replaceable... and in a year or three, when I want to upgrade to a newer/faster system, I know I'll be able too (the upcoming AMD MB is tempting but my machine is less than a year old and I can't justify the cost)
I know the 11th gen wasn't quite as smooth, and 13th gen isn't really in people's hands yet (but they are increasingly aware, and supportive, of their Linux-using audience, so I'd be surprised if there were issues). EDIT: Their Linux page does in fact list the 13th gen as being officially supported with Fedora and Ubuntu: https://frame.work/linux
FWIW, even if you don't run Arch, I find that the Arch wiki pages tend to be full of tons of great technical detail, and their page on the Framework backs up the "mostly everything just works" vibe: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Framework_Laptop_13
It's nice to use at home, but it's pretty much useless anywhere else.
The other issue with an older eeePC is the original SSD may have non-trivial wear issues and the battery is likely shot. Unless you get the machine for next to nothing fixing those issues will cost as much as just a brand new cheapo laptop.
I really miss my old eeepc901 some days but I agree. Going back to those slow atom processors is really a nonstarter. But the size and form factor (with exception of the nonstandard screen aspect ratio) was just about the perfect 'take anywhere' laptop. I used Ubuntu on it and if I had to do it again in this day and age I'd try to see if I could make Ubuntu-Mate to work on it. Being able to set the font sizes and the icon sizes made that nonstandard screen aspect ratio work far better than it ever did in Windows XP.
I really like mine. Everything worked out of the box, and I tend to get ~12 hours of battery life.
I also run this config as a daily. The Debian container experience is seriously lacking compared to native.
I used Ubuntu all those years before switching to Debian
Asus X555ld
Dell Vostro some briefcase model.
Ubuntu's official web page has a list of verified laptops running a given version of Ubuntu as well, possibly worth giving a look.
I'd recommend trying to install Alpine Linux as a challenge and it ends up teaching you a lot about the simplicity of the OS and beauty of OpenRC.
Otherwise, Debian is a very reliable and easy to use/install OS and well tested on Lenovo hardware. Failing that, install Ubuntu which has invested much in compatibility with ThinkPads, specifically X1's but those are expensive and cheaper models are often just as compatible.
If you have problems running wireless, the easiest solution is sometimes to figure out if your wifi card is officially supported and swap out the one in the PC with an older and more compatible wifi card.
Sleep and hibernate are often problematic. Find a workaround that works well enough.
The size/form factor is basically the same as my old T460s which I've had for ~8+ years and is still running, but a bit dated now with a 2c/4t Intel CPU. I believe back then the T460s was the "slim" version of the T460, but Lenovo seems to have dropped the "s" for the T14 even though the dimensions of both seem the same to me, maybe a couple extra mm in height on the T14.
My little 12-13" class carryin' around laptops for the last many years have been a first-party refurbished Latitude E7250 succeeded by a similarly refurb Latitude 7390. Replacement after not quite 5 years because I finally got a tiny hairline crack in the LCD that caused some discoloration in the corner of the screen, from a hit that would have bent the corner of an aluminum chassis machine, and it was starting to struggle with running video conferencing at the same time as my usual workloads. First party refurb meaning https://www.dellrefurbished.com/ - It's a joint venture by FedEx and Dell, stock is "whatever they have right now" but there are always machines coming through, and there are usually coupons that make it even cheaper, so pick what you want and watch for a few weeks if you can.
As you note, going for a generation old machine not only gives time for the hardware support to settle out, it makes it _much_ cheaper: Both of those were around $500 for examples optioned up to 1920x1080 screens, the newer one has 16GB of RAM in it, etc., and I kind of prefer that the machine I carry around day-to-day isn't something I have to be super precious about.
In the two example cases, everything _except_ a Broadcom smartcard reader that I don't have any compelling use for anyway worked out of the box with little-to-no configuration, I get credibly 10-12 hours of usable battery out of the newer one (I'm running a full-integration KDE on Arch setup, so it's not light but it's also running active power management), and the 7250's (readily replaceable if I chose to) battery still has 78% of its design capacity after years of cycles.
...or if you want a truly low-end beater, buy an EOL Chromebook for like $50, flash a UEFI Coreboot payload (MrChromebox maintains builds for most of the common models) and hack on it mercilessly. They're low-end, but are fine at being low end, and the ones built for the education market will take a _beating_. I have one that I use as a media player/reference materials display when doing potentially destructive things like sanding/filing/paint stripping or what have you. I got it to do that as a Chromebook, but after it was getting concerningly out of date once the model passed AUE, I flashed it and now it's usually running some weird stack (currently Hyprland) that I want to try out on a machine I actually use without interfering with machines I do real work on.
The chrome books seem like a nice path as well.
I'd love to lear more about the nomenclature/model codes that the main manufacturers use. I had no idea "7"s were the reliable ones :D
However, if you want something with the horsepower of the M2 MacBooks I have colleagues that run the Dell XPS 13.
One company that always interested me in the Linux specific laptop space is Star Labs out of the UK. They seem to have a competitive offering in the Starbook line when compared to manufacturers like Purism and System 76. They also have a very small netbook style laptop but the processor seems pretty weak on it.
Depending on the power requirements, the last Intel MacBook might be a good option.
if you're prefer long term usage, As you say, older model would less weird issue (Graphic/Wifi),
Intel cpu would less issue (My desktop Ryzen5 2400g was randomly freeze before, but that freeze issue does not occur recently, maybe half year or one year? I'm not sure it cause by kernel upgrade or I've change some configuration)
You may choose a old laptop that you're able to replace battery, ssd(avoid mount on mainboard)
my experience, I'm using asus UX31LA with linux mint (it was scrapped, waiting to discard, I've pick up from our accountant scrapyard)
intel i5-4200u
4GB ram (enable zram to increase ram space, you may pick a 8GB+ model)
256GB ssd (enough for me, but it depend on your use case)
replace battery by my own
it work over 4 years, and still working.
Personally I'd go for a MacBook and run Linux in a VM because I'm afraid the battery life on Linux won't be good enough.
If you can stand the look of Thinkpads they're quite durable. I'd give Framework a chance, albeit I've heard conflicting reviews.
Dell, Surface, Lenovo, HP: utter garbage.
My current setup is an old MacBook running Mac for travelling and a Linux desktop PC.
I used to have a MacBook 2015 running Linux and it was pretty neat, but Linux support is just not there with my current MacBook.
Old Lenovo X1 Carbons are <1.4kg and perform really well. Gen 7 or so can be had for a few hundred bucks.
I just bought an MS Surface Pro 5 to run Linux and the hardware is delightful. Less thrilled with Ubuntu/Gnome in tablet mode, but as a laptop it's rather good. AU$200 it cost me.
Other than that no other issues.
I use Mint MATE for my desktop environment. (Since about 2012)
It's what 'Works for Me'.
(I have never ever used Windows for my daily system. UNIX from 1991 to 2001. Linux only since 2001.)
I'm considering the X1 Nano Gen2 (Gen1 and Gen3 are capped at 16GB for some reason).
* Framework (easy to upgrade)
* slimbook (great customer care and support and the laptop are nice)
* Dell XPS
Obviously if you want to run something heavy like Twitter or g++ or Gnome you'll want something expensive.
