System76 Continues Refining Their Pop!_OS

[starshipeleven]

slightly off topic - can ME be disabled on Thinkpads? I've got a couple of them, a T440 and a T450....

only "neutralized", with the https://github.com/corna/me_cleaner
as the broadwell ME does not have the HAP bit (a setting to actually disable the ME), so the me_cleaner script can only delete all modules from the ME. This means that the ME is still "running", but it won't be able to communicate with the outside world (as all modules to do that are removed).

Having a hardware SPI flasher (to backup and restore the original UEFI even if the board does not boot anymore) is warmly recommended, also reading and understanding the me_cleaner wiki https://github.com/corna/me_cleaner/wiki is a good thing to do before attempting it.

[Creak]

Guys, I think you missed the most important news here:

The work on HiDPI nears completion. [...] When this work is complete, you will be able to have smooth experience with multiple monitors of different resolutions and have it do the right thing. [Build together] a great experience that just works!

And they should normally upstream all that (if the X devs accept the patch).

[MartinN]

slightly off topic - can ME be disabled on Thinkpads? I've got a couple of them, a T440 and a T450....

[starshipeleven]

I have an Oryx Pro, the GTX 980m version. From my understanding, it's not just a rebrand, they also have some work done on the bios level.

Most likely it was an ACPI table issue in the "stock" UEFI firmware (the one from Clevo) that they fixed in their own UEFI firmware.

ACPI is a standardized description of the local hardware devices provided by the board firmware to the Linux kernel (or Windows or MacOS), issues in these tables mean you might not be able to adjust brightness or "Fn" buttons don't work, or some hardware features (usually powersaving states or hybernation) won't be available, or the whole damn thing won't boot at all as the GPU driver panics the kernel.

An example of some guy hacking around a very bad case of acpi/dsdt issues http://www.mikejonesey.co.uk/linux/hp-envy-15-ah150sa

So yeah, if System76 guarantees that their ACPI is clean for Linux, that's a significant added value right there.

[starshipeleven]

In other words, you can and want to spend time on fixing DSDT tables?

That's fun for the whole family.

I re-sell instantly a laptop with severe DSDT tables issues (since I buy used stuff I can do that with limited loss), and I did just that for my last laptop.

[timofonic]

In other words, you can and want to spend time on fixing DSDT tables?

It's fun not only fix DSDT tables, but all the ACPI tables

[RussianNeuroMancer]

As a Linux guy though, I'm used to doing things myself.

In other words, you can and want to spend time on fixing DSDT tables?

[sarmad]

If they were competitive with other Clevo rebranders I'd buy an Oryx Pro with GeForce 1060. When the price difference is $1000 (Prostar or Sager) vs $1500 though...

http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np7850-clevo-n850hp6.html

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIAATJ5NR7301

I have an Oryx Pro, the GTX 980m version. From my understanding, it's not just a rebrand, they also have some work done on the bios level. I know that because they at first shipped a unit with the wrong bios then I contacted support about issues and they said something like "it seems you don't have the right bios flashed", and they shipped me a new unit that didn't have the issues I was having (can't remember what the issues really were, it's been a while). In other words, I'm not sure you'll get the same experience if you go with Sager or Prostar. Also, when I bought the machine it was still more expensive than a Sager but the difference wasn't as big as 500$. Double check, maybe there are differences you didn't notice. For instance, it seems both of the links you posted are for systems with a max ram of 32gb, compared to the 64gb of the Oryx Pro. Also, you won't get a disabled ME with Sager or Prostar AFAIK; that by itself is worth some price difference.

[kaprikawn]

For those who said things along the lines of 'Oh no, not another distro...', from the blog :

Upstream is a key part of the work we do

[dimtass]

It looks nice. It reminds me the theme of the LineageOS I'm using on my tablet.
Currently, I'm running it on a VM and it's a bit early to get promoted from VM to real HW, but it looks promising.