Ubuntu computer, which is best to buy in Thailand?

[Ianatlarge]

I am a long time Apple user (Macbook Air), but am interested in making the switch to Ubuntu. I have seen a number of cheap looking laptops on sale in various stores in Thailand, but am unsure of what I am getting.

Can anyone make a worthwhile suggestion? Any direct experiences of using any of these machines?

Thanks.

[martinnielsen0401]

Hey,

I have an Acer Aspire 5750ZG running Ubuntu 14.04. Its a 2GHz, 4GB Ram and 750GB HDD setup which is running just fine.

If you are buying a laptop in one of the cheap stores, make sure that the specs they are telling you are correct, and check things as much as you can. Start the computer and look at the specs when it is booting. If there is an OS installed let it start and look for a system specs info page.

There is a little caveat though. Be prepared for some fiddeling with the WiFi drivers. They are somewhat difficult to deal with and I had a lot of trouble setting it up after installing Ubuntu. If you can, let the laptop get a wired connection so you can download and experiment with the drivers. You dont want to be copying stuff from your desktop to your laptop and then trying to install and setting it up. When that is done, I have had no trouble with the Wifi at all. Just the initial setup that was problematic.

I doubt that I would like to put Ubuntu on something slower if you are looking to run "serious" applications like Blender/GIMP or anything that is RAM and CPU/GPU happy.

Currently im running Lubuntu on my desktop, which is a so called light weight version, but still based on Ubuntu and Debian. Running nice, and with few problems so far. Have had it install for 1+ year now. If you are looking for "low end" you might want to check that out as a replacement for Ubuntu. You will certainly get better performance, and it is still Debian based.

[innerspace]

Also for an improved price to performance ratio consider an ssd...added bonus on a laptop is improved battery life.

Scary ripping a brand new laptop to pieces and voiding warranty within hours of purchase, but it performs as well as one twice its speed and has 12+ hours battery.

Share that with the mrs so its running windows but handles linux on a live usb ok.

[h90]

I would only go with some known brand and try to boot ubuntu from USB stick in the shop first and check if everything works, wifi, network etc

[Ianatlarge]

Thanks guys. Useful info. Yes, take the machine for a workout in the store. I did speak to Banana Tech (?) in BigC Kamphaeng Phet, and the guy told me I can try it for 3 days, bring it back if not happy! Perhaps I should get that in writing (eng)?

So Acer is ok? I have seen Acer Ubuntu machines in the 15-20k baht range.

I don't do anything too intensive that often, but I would need at least a mid-range processor.

Followup question, for you who have used U for a while, is there anything you miss from your Win or Mac days. I mean any app or function that cannot be replicated?

[martinnielsen0401]

Well. one thing that I sometimes use, when all online searches fail, is an off line version of Oxford English Dictionary. That one is a Windows only version, but with the Wine application it has been possible to run it anyway. Just for good measure, Wine is an emulator that makes it possible to run Win programs under linux. There are limits however, and dont think that everything will just run, nor run smoothly or run at all. It has its limits, and fiddeling might be needed.

I do also have virtual box installed, and I actually have a Win 8.1 running there. This could also be a possibility if there is something you cannot live without or you are just not able to get under linux.

Beides that, I run no win programs at all, and have so far found everything I have been looking for.

Depending on how technical you are, there are a great many programs that only runs on the command line, and does not have a GUI version. However, the power and flexibility offered by these programs are certainly worth a look. If you feel like it, this might be something worth checking out.

Have fun!

[innerspace]

Only thing I run in virtualbox is photoshop, thats what I learnt and never been able to adapt to gimp. But virtualbox works fine for that on the odd occasion I need it.

[Ianatlarge]

Thanks. Feel reassured. I will put my investigation hat on, and go and find my new computer.

[jmd8800]

Try searching for reviews or installations of whatever distribution you want and the hardware you are considering. Often times someone has already installed you favorite OS on that hardware.

Ubuntu offers up pages like this: http://www.ubuntu.com/certification/desktop/

As was mentioned then take a bootable 'live' USB or CDRom to the store and boot that particular model.

Or you can order straight from manufacturers: http://zareason.com/shop/home.php

https://system76.com/

zareason offers a choice of Linux OSs

[aarn]

<<<Followup question, for you who have used U for a while, is there anything you miss from your Win or Mac days. I mean any app or function that cannot be replicated?>>>

I have an ancient ZTE F852 phone, and a gadget geek digital TV receiver. They work perfectly with XP, less so with Win7 and 10, gave up trying to get them to speak with wine on linux (lubuntu).

Hence I keep a dozer partition on the computer, but when my antiquated technology finally succumbs , I can see no reason to succour windoze. AA

[Gumballl]

Hey,

I have an Acer Aspire 5750ZG running Ubuntu 14.04. Its a 2GHz, 4GB Ram and 750GB HDD setup which is running just fine.

If you are buying a laptop in one of the cheap stores, make sure that the specs they are telling you are correct, and check things as much as you can. Start the computer and look at the specs when it is booting. If there is an OS installed let it start and look for a system specs info page.

There is a little caveat though. Be prepared for some fiddeling with the WiFi drivers. They are somewhat difficult to deal with and I had a lot of trouble setting it up after installing Ubuntu. If you can, let the laptop get a wired connection so you can download and experiment with the drivers. You dont want to be copying stuff from your desktop to your laptop and then trying to install and setting it up. When that is done, I have had no trouble with the Wifi at all. Just the initial setup that was problematic.

I doubt that I would like to put Ubuntu on something slower if you are looking to run "serious" applications like Blender/GIMP or anything that is RAM and CPU/GPU happy.

Currently im running Lubuntu on my desktop, which is a so called light weight version, but still based on Ubuntu and Debian. Running nice, and with few problems so far. Have had it install for 1+ year now. If you are looking for "low end" you might want to check that out as a replacement for Ubuntu. You will certainly get better performance, and it is still Debian based.

This is really good to know. I'm going to up the RAM (to 8GB) on my brother-in-law's eMachine (currently only has 1GB of RAM, and a HDD that's is half the size of yours), and then install Kubuntu 14.04.

Regarding networking, I am was able to easiy set up the use of an AIS 3G CDMA dongle under both my laptop (also running Kubuntu 14.04) and the eMachine which was running a live-version of Kubuntu from a USB stick.

[Gumballl]

Thanks guys. Useful info. Yes, take the machine for a workout in the store. I did speak to Banana Tech (?) in BigC Kamphaeng Phet, and the guy told me I can try it for 3 days, bring it back if not happy! Perhaps I should get that in writing (eng)?

So Acer is ok? I have seen Acer Ubuntu machines in the 15-20k baht range.

I don't do anything too intensive that often, but I would need at least a mid-range processor.

Followup question, for you who have used U for a while, is there anything you miss from your Win or Mac days. I mean any app or function that cannot be replicated?

I have a Mac at home, which I procured for my children. I rarely use it, unless it is to perform admin functions.

Linux has everything I need, but lacks the ability to stream video from NetFlix or Amazon. Well, actually, the latter is not completely true; I was able, after jumping through hoops/hurdles, to finally get the video-streaming from Amazon working on my laptop.

For everything else, music, Email, web-browsing, etc., Linux can do it. Ubuntu is a care-free OS, although I prefer the KDE version (Kubuntu) in lieu of Gnome.

[drupopuppis]

I am using Ubuntu 14.04 on my 9 years old Lenovo and I am able to use programs such as Gimp or play Games such as Minecraft both online and offline, (only 2GB RAM).

Any decent laptop will be able to run Ubuntu with no problem.

When you look for your new machine make sure you choose a solid CPU, (I would not recommend a slow old celeron), an Intel i3 would do just fine, choose 64 bit operating system so that you can add more RAM when required.

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