The time had come to get a new laptop. My little Ubuntu-running Dell 10v just wasn’t cutting it, and Cassie wants her MacBook for her own stuff.
The following chart illustrates my journey.

First question was what OS I wanted. I definitely don’t want Windows for obvious reasons. I currently run Ubuntu, but the little 10v wasn’t that great for running the full Ubuntu, so it was using Lubuntu instead. I don’t want to get mired in Apple products any more than necessary, so Linux it was. But did I want to install it over the top of something else? Did I want to pay the Microsoft OEM cost just to overwrite it? I know that someone managed to get a refund on Windows by not letting it start when they turned on their new computer, but I don’t have the moral fibre for that.
I wanted preinstalled as well, because there are still issues with some hardware, so it’s safer to get the vendor to set it all up. There are a couple of small vendors that make laptops like this, so after some reading of reviews and forum threads, I decided on System 76. I double-checked the features and prices, had a good chat with one of their sales team, and then bought a System76 Lemur Ultra 14″ laptop.
time passes…
I received my new laptop yesterday, and I actually made an unboxing video, which I was going to edit together using OpenShot (it can deal with Handycam MTS files, apparently) when I got the new machine going.
Unfortunately, when I peeled off the screen protector and switched the machine on, I saw that there was a huge 5″ crack across the bottom left corner of the screen. As it continued to boot, I could see that the right-hand half of the screen seemed OK, and it was displaying the desktop, telling me the wifi had been detected, and asking me to select my language. The left-hand side was totally busted up and broken and displaying psychedelic patterns. Pretty, but not what I was hoping for.
I raised a ticket with System76, and they are sending me a new machine. They’ve raised a ticket with UPS, who delivered it. The box didn’t show any damage though, so I’m not sure what will happen there. Anyway, I’ll get a new laptop, then send this one back to them. I’ll keep you posted.