Reasons why Linux rocks on laptops

[bjordan]

I swear after running Linux for almost 2 years on my laptop I think it'd drive me crazy to use any other OS on a laptop for one reason alone. How well Gnome handles multiple workspaces. Being able to ctrl+shift and arrow through workspaces quickly is priceless for me.

It's amazing how much I can do on a 1280x800 screen comfortably without getting lost. Without multiple workspaces it'd be an absolute mess. IDE, browser windows, sample code, music player, chat windows, etc all stacked on top of each other.

I've used Linux off and on for 10 years and rarely ever bothered with multiple workspaces. Because most of that use was on a desktop. On my desktop it isn't as big of a deal considering I have more screen to work with and dual monitors. On a laptop though it's a HUGE deal. And being able to quickly shift between them is great.

I know on other OS's there are virtual workspace add ons, but I haven't used them in a while. Gnome handles this so damn well though (and has for a long long time).

Just throwing it out there. I'm not sure what other people thoughts are of Linux on a laptop. Other tips, tricks, etc.

 

[jdbower]

The good:

• SSH - where would I be without it? By setting up an SSH tunnel to my home PC and routing web traffic through that I'm immune to Firesheep issues.
• SSHFS. Granted, this could be considered to be part of SSH, but using SSHFS I have a map to my home computer's storage which means I have access to my entire media library as well as any documents I forgot to get a local copy of.
• Encrypted home folder. This should be a must for anything you can steal, but laptops are notorious for walking away. Without my password my data is safe.
• Old laptops. Linux flavors run on really old hardware very well, and without the security and functionality compromises you have with XP.
• Remote port forwarding. OK, another SSH one. When my laptop boots it makes a connection to my home computer with a remote port forward to its own SSH server whenever there's a network present. If my laptop is lost, I can connect to my server at home to gain access to my laptop and do things like figure out the IP address (and hence the approximate location) or turn on the webcam.

The bad:

• You still often need to plug in to get the wireless drivers to work. It's a one-time config and not truly bad, but annoying.

The so-so:

• Power management. I think Linux has come a long way but power management on other OSes just seems to let the battery last longer.

 

[Yourdogsdead]

The power thing could also just be driver optimization.

 

[Smitty_82]

Linux rocks, cause my old as dirt laptop (Ubuntu 10.10) smokes my brand new Windows 7 netbook (that I gave to my wife). $35 for a RAM upgrade and it works better than when I first bought it.

 

[bjordan]

The so-so:

• Power management. I think Linux has come a long way but power management on other OSes just seems to let the battery last longer.

Yeah power management certainly needs to become a priority. My laptop battery is pretty shot from age so I have to keep it plugged in a lot.

 

[tirith]

Dual-booting Win7 64 bit and Ubuntu 10.4 (yes, i know, a little outdated...) 64 bit on my asus notebook...

I get MUCH longer battery life out of my linux side than I do the windows...

I only keep windows on for a few apps WINE still seems to have a problem handling....

Wireless drivers came right on for me, had it up and running on my wifi network at home within the first minute after installing ubuntu... however, only issue i have (its kind of minor) is my webcam displays upside down.... trying to figure that one out

 

[vernotzy21]

Dual-booting Win7 64 bit and Ubuntu 10.4 (yes, i know, a little outdated...) 64 bit on my asus notebook...

I get MUCH longer battery life out of my linux side than I do the windows...

I only keep windows on for a few apps WINE still seems to have a problem handling....

Wireless drivers came right on for me, had it up and running on my wifi network at home within the first minute after installing ubuntu... however, only issue i have (its kind of minor) is my webcam displays upside down.... trying to figure that one out

........dude just rotate your cam

Unless it's a laptop......

Nah I bet there is a setting

Its late I'm frizzled....nevermind
Gnite:thumbup:

Sent from my LG-LS670 using Android Central Forums

 

[tirith]

...it's a laptop and I still haven't figured it out... Played with settings a few times but to no avail. I only ever use it with skype and my fiancee can handle me upside down...

Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk 2

 

[triptosyll]

...it's a laptop and I still haven't figured it out... Played with settings a few times but to no avail. I only ever use it with skype and my fiancee can handle me upside down...

Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk 2

I put Ubuntu 12.04 on my Toshiba laptop and I love it. I didn't have any camera problems (tho I haven't used it yet, so...) but I had a huge problem trying to figure out how to get my battery meter to show up in the status bar. No matter what I did to the settings, it wouldn't show. Took me about a week of searching, trying this code, or that trick. I about said screw it, when I finally found the solution. Funny thing is, that was only bout a month ago, and I can't even remember what I did to fix it. Lol oh well, its working now.

Sent from my SCH-I500 using Android Central Forums

 

[Algus]

The one bad thing about Linux is that there always seems to be one little thing on your system the OS doesn't play nice with. I swore off anything but the LTSes in Ubuntu because of that.

If there was a lightweight version of Windows, I'd consider it but until that day comes I'll be a believer in lightweight Linux breathing new life into old or inexpensive hardware.

Sent from my Samsung Stratosphere using Tapatalk 2

 

[cdstart]

Gnome shell!!

 

[gollum18]

Linux rocks period

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

 

[anon5664829]

Virtual desktop are available in OSX.

 

[AndroDevelope]

Linux is very good OS, i really like it.

 

[iman89]

The reason I love it is because I don't have to run all those security programs in the background coming from Windows. It would bog down my computer and make it slow. Now It runs smooth and nice. My computer is NOT a workhorse so all that extra speed helps.

 

[ShanusONealius]

Cool thread. I just purchased my first laptop a couple of days ago. It should be arriving on Monday. I can't use links in my posts yet, but it's the Acer Aspire V3-572G-54S6:

Intel® CoreTM i5-4210U processor (1.7GHz/2.7GHz w/ Turbo Boost) - 8GB DDR3L memory - 1TB hard drive
15.6" HD widescreen CineCrystalTM display (1366 x 768) - NVIDIA® GeForce® 840M w/ 2GB DDR3 VRAM

I'm ready to get my hands on it and install Arch.

 

[pinnowgm]

Yeah, it's a great os for developers. Mac OSX is also worth recommended.

 

[agentawesome]

Definitely Mac OSX is way better than Linux.

 

[Ed Briggs]

Definitely Mac OSX is way better than Linux.

Opinion. I have been a linux user for 10 yrs and wouldn't even consider anything else. And yes, as someone who had his own computer repair business, I have used MacOS and Windows more times than I care to remember. For me, linux works perfectly.

 

[Giacomo BigAndFish]

As always, it depends. Try to use kde desktop environment on a laptop and you will have some speed trouble.

Linux rocks on laptop for its lightness, but it depends on what you use.