Repair goes mega mainstream with the launch of Lenovo’s new T-series business laptops, which earned our highest honor with a 10/10 repairability score.
Lenovo also owns the Motorola phone brand, and they’re going to adopt/allow GrapheneOS. I think they know how to grab customers right now, and I honestly like it.
Is that a good idea for a non tech person* with no Linux experience who absolutely needs to send documents successfully to others the first time without delay or should I just wait until my degree is finished and I am less dependent on document interoperability and have fewer absolute deadlines?
My level of technical knowledge is here: if a program or usb device isn’t functioning, I know to check the driver, but I always have to look up what the device manager is called. On the other hand, I am capable of looking things up and following simple instructions, which has to count for something.
Not gonna lie, Linux is a pretty big learning curve, but it’s worth it to get away from Apple and (especially) Microslop Winblows. It’s the only OS that respects the user.
IMO switching to Linux as a new user is no harder than switching from Windows to Mac, which I think is something more people can identify with and aren’t afraid of, for the most part.
i think it heavily depends on the person’s use case. if someone is doing web browsing and maybe making a couple word documents, the learning curve is negligible. also, you dont need to use BASH to do most things, it’s 2026. most anything you can think of, you can do via GUI.
It doesn’t matter what the usecase is if the Wifi or speakers or camera don’t work. Or if all the icons and text are so small as to be nearly impossible to read.
that still pertains to usercase. if a user has a thinkpad the whole shebang is gonna work ootb. if you cant research ‘is my laptop compatible with [os]’, stick to iphones.
That Is almost always a hardware compatibility issue, if you get a machine that is specifically meant for Linux, even the jankiest of distros will not have all but the last issue, and for the last one if fractional scaling is causing issues just double your scale.
Edit 2 from a quick search. Lenovo laptops have faced allegations of containing backdoor vulnerabilities that could allow unauthorized access to data, particularly concerning military use. These concerns have led to bans on Lenovo products by various intelligence agencies due to potential cybersecurity risks.
 securityaffairs.com Wikipedia
Lenovo Laptops and Backdoor Concerns
Background on Lenovo’s Security Issues
Lenovo, a Chinese technology company, has faced multiple allegations regarding security vulnerabilities in its laptops. These concerns primarily revolve around potential backdoors that could allow unauthorized access to sensitive data.
Notable Incidents
Year Incident Description
2008 U.S. military investigators reported finding backdoored chips in Lenovo motherboards, which allegedly logged keystrokes and transmitted data.
2013Intelligence agencies in the U.S., UK, and Australia banned Lenovo PCs due to backdoor vulnerabilities discovered during testing.
2015The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) charged Lenovo for pre-installing adware that created security vulnerabilities, leading to a settlement.
2016The Pentagon warned that Lenovo computers could introduce compromised hardware into the Defense Department.
So in order to get more spying machines onto US IT networks, their honey pot is “build a product that is pro consumer”, and it will sell like hotcakes in the IT community.
The shitty aspect is their actually not bad hardware. They last forever and seem to be held in high regards in the tech community but it’s as if people forgot a decade later than their still owned by Chinese. Still banned for security reasons for military use even currently after 20 years. Now the military still supplies them just not for mission critical purposes but for personal devices not govt use.
Wild. Every tech person at some point shills for Lenovo and they do have great things. Just screams Trojan horse to me still. IMO
Lenovo also owns the Motorola phone brand, and they’re going to adopt/allow GrapheneOS. I think they know how to grab customers right now, and I honestly like it.
They’re usually also well supported on Linux, and even sell them with Ubuntu and Fedora pre-installed. Generally not a terrible brand.
Is that a good idea for a non tech person* with no Linux experience who absolutely needs to send documents successfully to others the first time without delay or should I just wait until my degree is finished and I am less dependent on document interoperability and have fewer absolute deadlines?
Not gonna lie, Linux is a pretty big learning curve, but it’s worth it to get away from Apple and (especially) Microslop Winblows. It’s the only OS that respects the user.
IMO switching to Linux as a new user is no harder than switching from Windows to Mac, which I think is something more people can identify with and aren’t afraid of, for the most part.
Couldn’t disagree more. Having to learn how to use the command line to complete basic tasks is a huge learning curve.
i think it heavily depends on the person’s use case. if someone is doing web browsing and maybe making a couple word documents, the learning curve is negligible. also, you dont need to use BASH to do most things, it’s 2026. most anything you can think of, you can do via GUI.
It doesn’t matter what the usecase is if the Wifi or speakers or camera don’t work. Or if all the icons and text are so small as to be nearly impossible to read.
that still pertains to usercase. if a user has a thinkpad the whole shebang is gonna work ootb. if you cant research ‘is my laptop compatible with [os]’, stick to iphones.
That Is almost always a hardware compatibility issue, if you get a machine that is specifically meant for Linux, even the jankiest of distros will not have all but the last issue, and for the last one if fractional scaling is causing issues just double your scale.
Isnt lenovo the company that used to make the rugged military laptops that actually had Chinese or foreign backdoors installed?
Edit: for those interested https://www.investigativeeconomics.org/p/government-still-buying-lenovo-laptops
Edit 2 from a quick search. Lenovo laptops have faced allegations of containing backdoor vulnerabilities that could allow unauthorized access to data, particularly concerning military use. These concerns have led to bans on Lenovo products by various intelligence agencies due to potential cybersecurity risks.
 securityaffairs.com Wikipedia
Lenovo Laptops and Backdoor Concerns
Background on Lenovo’s Security Issues
Lenovo, a Chinese technology company, has faced multiple allegations regarding security vulnerabilities in its laptops. These concerns primarily revolve around potential backdoors that could allow unauthorized access to sensitive data.
Notable Incidents
Year Incident Description 2008 U.S. military investigators reported finding backdoored chips in Lenovo motherboards, which allegedly logged keystrokes and transmitted data.
2013Intelligence agencies in the U.S., UK, and Australia banned Lenovo PCs due to backdoor vulnerabilities discovered during testing.
2015The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) charged Lenovo for pre-installing adware that created security vulnerabilities, leading to a settlement.
2016The Pentagon warned that Lenovo computers could introduce compromised hardware into the Defense Department.
That’s fucking depressing and SO ironic…
So in order to get more spying machines onto US IT networks, their honey pot is “build a product that is pro consumer”, and it will sell like hotcakes in the IT community.
What a fucking timeline
The shitty aspect is their actually not bad hardware. They last forever and seem to be held in high regards in the tech community but it’s as if people forgot a decade later than their still owned by Chinese. Still banned for security reasons for military use even currently after 20 years. Now the military still supplies them just not for mission critical purposes but for personal devices not govt use.
Wild. Every tech person at some point shills for Lenovo and they do have great things. Just screams Trojan horse to me still. IMO