Considering Ubuntu 12.04 for my Laptop
I'm looking for just a general idea of how good/bad of an idea this is.
I have a Lenovo ThinkPad X200 Tablet. I mostly use this laptop for notes in class, crappy drawings when I'm bored, and minor (very minor because the GPU is awful) gaming. Since I don't use any major Windows-only applications, I was considering installing something less demanding. From what I understand, Ubuntu's new version (12.04) has insane power savings over Windows 7, something that is extremely good when I start classes up again.
My doubts lie in the fact that back when I originally got this laptop, I tried out Ubuntu 8.something on it. The touch screen was basically unusable. From what I understand the touch mechanics were unsupported by Ubuntu at the time and the drivers were third-party garbage. As I like writing out my notes and what not, this made it a deal breaker for me.
As I haven't kept up with the Linux/Ubuntu news, I was wondering if someone could fill me in regarding this and whether or not it would be a good idea for me to switch to it. Like I said, I heard of impressive battery life improvements over Windows 7, and I hear the touch screen capabilities are significantly improved since Ubuntu 8.x. If I can still write out notes and draw on it, as well as improve my battery life, then I'm pretty much set because that's mostly what I use it for.
Any information would be great.
Side note: I'm not a newbie when it comes to Linux, so I understand that using it and working with it can be more complex/difficult than Windows. I've used Ubuntu in the past, for a while now on and off. I only need to know if compatibility for what I want to do has improved to the point where it's finally usable.
Thanks.
Re: Considering Ubuntu 12.04 for my Laptop
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Takebacker
The only thing that would clinch it is what games you play, but if there's windows on it already you can just dual boot. I would do some research on what is and isn't supported as far as drivers and all that.
Honestly I can't play much on it in the first place. It has one of those awful Integrated Intel Graphics cards, so almost every special effect gives it problems. It's really my only problem with the laptop, but since gaming isn't what I bought it for in the first place it's not a big deal.
As for dual booting...eh I could, but I dunno. Like I said, gaming isn't a big deal, and as a result Windows isn't a big deal either unless I have issues with the touch screen again. I've been looking around and see ways to get all the functionality working, but I was hoping someone would have personal experience with such features on Ubuntu's newer versions. I've found a few help threads that basically give me everything I need to install and get it working, but the question is if I'll actually still have that functionality. The touch screen is basically flawless right now, I love it, and as a result if I lose that then it's probably not really worth my time. I see that the drivers exist, and seem to be more supported now, but it's simply a question of how good they are, and if there's really that much battery life improvement for running in Ubuntu over Windows 7.
Re: Considering Ubuntu 12.04 for my Laptop
I'd suggest you grab a LiveCD or similar (bootable thumb drive image, etc.) so you can try it out before committing yourself to anything. Most major distros have such things, and I think they are a really good way to mess around with an OS before installing. That way, you can see if the drivers are available, check how well it detects the devices you need, and if it sucks you're only out the cost of a CD/DVD... or nothing if you use a rewritable disc or a USB drive.
Re: Considering Ubuntu 12.04 for my Laptop
I wasn't sure if the drivers would correctly work when in live cd mode. I will try that tonight though and see what happens.
