Anyone found an Ultrabook that works great with openSUSE? (i.e. wifi works perfectly, booting, install, graphics card, battery, sleep, etc)
Hi,
ASUS UX31A (and also the older E version) works really good with OpenSUSE12.2. I like this Ultrabook. Have also a look on following thread: http://forums.opensuse.org/english/get-technical-help-here/laptop/478335-asus-ux31a-opensuse-12-2-a.html
Best wishes
Michael
I’m also thinking of purchasing an Ultra book, but it may be next year before I do such a purchase, hence the ‘model’ that I buy may not yet be out on the market.
If I were to buy today, I would be tempted to purchase the Toshiba Z935. I note from Linlap it mostly works with GNU/Linux: Toshiba Portege Z930/935 [LinLap - Linux Laptop Wiki]
Earlier this summer (in mid-June) when visiting Canada I purchased for my niece a Toshiba Z835 (core i7 version) which according to Linlap also works with GNU/Linux: Toshiba Portege Z830\Z835 [LinLap - Linux Laptop Wiki] … I helped setup that Z835 with Windows7 and liked the hardware a lot. A big press criticism of this Toshiba is the lack of sturdiness of the fold up ultrabook display. While it is flexible, with nominal Ultrabook care I don’t see that as an issue and I did play with it a fair amount. I especially liked the Z835 because it is incredibly light (lightest of the Ultrabooks) and it has all the nominal interfaces one would see on a Laptop (unlike practically all other Ultrabooks which compromise on the interfaces).
I have seen no reports of the Toshiba running with openSUSE but given that Linlap article I suspect it should work ok.
I tried out an Asus Zenbook Prime in the store (obviously it had windows on it) and it’s an amazing piece of hardware. Ridiculously thin and light, yet it didn’t feel cheap or delicate (and a very sharp screen). I was very impressed. The Lenovo I saw was thin and light but after seeing the Zenbook Prime, it looked antiquated and thick.
toshiba z830 work fine with opensuse 12.2.
some info to optimize it under linux
La boîte à prog: Linux et le Toshiba Z830
So did you manage to buy one?
If not i can share my experience with ultrabooks. 1st of all not all ultrabooks are really that good as all these are quite new to this game and they are slowly developing their base from Intel side. Now let’s jump to a few to consider.
1- Asus zen book: One of the most nice and marketed ultrabook, but with of course some down sides compare to no.3. It might be a bit cheap. But the finishing is not good, screen is not good, not that crisp. Even it’s IPS display. Conclusion: Worth to try but not to buy.
2- Toshiba Z series ultrabooks: Cannot be considered because of the sucky 768 display. Conclusion: cannot be considered.
3- Samsung series 9: One of the best ultrabook in the market. Nice and super sharp display, bright screen compare to asus zen book. Nice build and finishing. Expensive. Conclusion: Should buy if one can.
4- HP Folio: 1366 x 768 display. Conclusion: cannot be considered.
5- Dell XPS: Medicore display. Conclusion: cannot be considered.
6- Lenovo X1 carbon: High end ultrabook with good spec, but the screen is not good as series 9 even with 1600x900 display. Expensive. Conclusion: Should buy if one can.
I almost checked all, as for an ultrabook i would 1st check the screen resolution. Like HP, Dell, Toshiba they are out of the league with that crappy display resolution. It will also depend on a person personal taste for display, but if i want to spend that much money i would definitely go for high end display with good spec and solid build. But one thing which make me angry is that these companies more attention is towards tablets and phones display than laptops any more. They still stuck with the crappy displays… Shame on them.
Now for the 3 Asus, Samsung, Lenovo, most of the hardware will work under openSUSE 12.2 with latest kernel.
Samsung: wifi[works], Boot[very fast], install[2 to 3 mins on SSD], Graphics[works with no issues], battery[very good], sleep[works with latest 3.6 kernel], Fn keys some works, some not, need to patch it from redhat dev bugzilla code], display[crisp], screen[good].
Asus: wifi[works], Boot[fast on SSD], install[smooth and easy], graphics[works], battery[medicore], sleep[buggy], Fn keys[not all works like samsung], display[not that good for IPS], screen[some have LED bleeding].
Lenovo: wifi[works], Boot[fast on SSD], install[fast], graphics[works], battery[good], sleep[need to work it out], Fn keys[same like all], display[not crisp and bright], screen[good].
There is blog post from Poortvliet community manager for openSUSE on Samsung series 9 NP900X3C.
I tested all under openSUSE 12.2 KDE/Gnome and settled with Samsung series 9 NP900X3C. I was suppose to buy Asus, but when i played with Samsung i changed my mind.
Now the choice is yours, choose which one you think is better and works for you and can afford it.
Sorry for the long post. 
Good luck with your choice.
On Thu 08 Nov 2012 04:26:02 AM CST, mmarif4u wrote:
6tr6tr;2493531 Wrote:
> Anyone found an Ultrabook that works great with openSUSE? (i.e. wifi
> works perfectly, booting, install, graphics card, battery, sleep, etc)
So did you manage to buy one?
Hi
The MiL (Mother in Law) has just ordered an ASUS Zenbook UX31E-DH52,
should be here this weekend. One of the first things she asked about
was getting openSUSE on it… 
–
Cheers Malcolm °¿° (Linux Counter #276890)
openSUSE 12.2 (x86_64) Kernel 3.4.11-2.16-desktop
up 10 days 14:40, 4 users, load average: 0.03, 0.11, 0.09
CPU Intel i5 CPU M520@2.40GHz | Intel Arrandale GPU
These things area all relative. What one person thinks is a ‘sucky’ display, another thinks is a good display.
I like the Toshiba display. I used it for a while (many hours) and did not base my decision on some Internet article nor on 10 minutes in a store. How many hours did you use the Toshiba display for?
The Toshiba mostly beats the pants off the other Ultrabooks you note wrt far superior interfaces. I would not even consider most of those other Ultrabooks because of serious lack of interfaces. BUT interfaces are important to me. They may not be important to you.
So what does that say ?
It says this is all subjective. Especially IMHO when it comes to judging a display.
On 11/08/2012 04:56 PM, oldcpu wrote:
>
> mmarif4u;2502117 Wrote:
>>
>> 2- Toshiba Z series ultrabooks: Cannot be considered because of the
>> sucky 768 display. Conclusion: cannot be considered.
>> .
>
> These things area all relative. What one person thinks is a ‘sucky’
> display, another thinks is a good display.
>
> I like the Toshiba display. I used it for a while (many hours) and did
> not base my decision on some Internet article nor on 10 minutes in a
> store. How many hours did you use the Toshiba display for?
>
> The Toshiba mostly beats the pants off the other Ultrabooks you note
> wrt far superior interfaces. I would not even consider most of those
> other Ultrabooks because of serious lack of interfaces. BUT interfaces
> are important to me. They may not be important to you.
>
> So what does that say ?
>
> It says this is all subjective. Especially IMHO when it comes to
> judging a display.
>
>
I do agree with the comments about crummy resolution choices. Supposedly we’re
going to seen “retina” resolutions on ultrabooks this year (into 2013). Which
is really high res… and that will be nice…
Well, my intention was not to invoke flame war here. It was just my personal opinions to share.
You like Toshiba, good for you. I am not forcing any one to buy this and that. If you think that display is good, then good as i stated:
It will also depend on a person personal taste for display
I already stated every thing in my post to clarify most of the things. Even, about the "Internet article nor on 10 minutes".
I give my personal experience with ultrabooks, not based on road side shows for 10 minutes. I have many friends, and they use different ultrabooks some on Linux and some on M$. All that experience are based on real life tests.
How many hours did you use the Toshiba display for?.. well i can’t count it, because it is in front of me now in office for every day testing use.
I have Sony with 768 display, and to be honest it is not what a person want in ultrabook[for me at least]. Sony is famous for nice screens/displays.
And what interfaces the others don’t have for example?
Yes, that is subjective no doubt in that.
Let me quote myself again:
Now the choice is yours, choose which one you think is better and works for you and can afford it.
But what i said above are my personal opinions, if one disagree with it, cool then. PEACE!
Hi, i am sure you/she will not be disappointed with it. As most of the hardware will work out of the box.
I hope, that happen soon.
I used it for about 5 hours, continuous.
Its the complete interface package which for me makes me believe the Toshiba superior, and make this my Ultrabook of choice currently (it also works well with openSUSE, from what I have read).
- 1 USB 3.0 ports and 2 USB 2.0 ports - most Ultrabooks have only one or two USB ports, which can force one to carry a USB hub around with them, if they need more than 2 USB. I need 3 USB ports (one for mouse and one for external CD drive which requires 2 USB). IMHO having to carry a hub defeats the purpose of an ultrabook.
- RJ45 jack for 10/100/1GB LAN. Many Ultrabooks do not have an RJ45. They force one to carry a USB -> Ethernet dongle. IMHO having to carry a dongle defeats the purpose of an ultrabook. I travel a lot and while many hotels have wireless, many do NOT and instead still have a wired cable. Which means RJ45 connection is essential. I refuse to buy an ultrabook without this.
- bluetooth-4.0 (not all have the latest bluetooth),
- external VGA connector - I need to make presentations and this essential
- HDMI, and digital card reader
- weight - this is one of the lightest Ultrabooks. Weight is incredibly important to me. Other noted Ultrabooks on this thread are in some cases 20% or more heavier. IMHO that extra weight defeats the purpose of an ultrabook.
… again … its the combination of the above package. All other Ultrabooks have some of the above, but very few have all that I note.
This is important to me. It is not to others. So for me, I reject the others, just like the display (which I like but you don’t) cause you to reject this and some others.
Thats good.
It’s just the way the post was written made it come across to me with no consideration (that I could see) about factors that can be very important to others.
One thing I learned looking at Ultrabook and Laptop displays, is resolution and display statistics and viewing angles is not everything. What is IMHO more important is every day use.
But that’s my subjective view, and I agree. … PEACE
Any updates from people? Anyone purchased a new Ultrabook?