Has anyone tried loading ubuntu 11.04/10.10 on new Samsung Series 9 (NP900X3A). It looks pretty thinner and similar to Macbook Air. Does it has good support with ubuntu ?.
I've started using my new Series 9 laptop by immediately installing Ubuntu/Kubuntu on it.
My experience so far (other than having a fancy machine) is mixed.
Pros:
- almost everything worked out of the box
- amazing speeds
- best quality laptop display I have ever encountered
Cons:
- had to make a research on how to make the wireless driver work
- had to make a research on how to get the right click functionality
- had unidentifiable crashes almost every day, usually couple of times a day (8-10 hrs of usage daily).
- had a lock up once that even made it impossible to do a hard reset holding down the power button. Given that it has built in battery and 6..7hrs of battery life, it was a huge annoyance.
I am unsure if the crashes are somewhat Linux-specific, did not use Windows. Because of them I am thinking of returning the laptop.
You may find some other guy's similar crash experience here.
Other issues are covered here.
Since the original answer by Greg, support seems to have improved considerably. I am running 12.04 (beta 2) on a NP900X3B model. There are workarounds for features that don't work out of the box (right-click, keyboard backlight, etc.). See here.
I occasionally experience minor glitches but nothing like Greg described. For example, once after waking from suspend the trackpad did not function properly. But the overall experience has been quite good.
Update, using Ubuntu 12.10, Kernel 3.5.
My Samsung 900x3cA02 runs completely fine. Upgraded the BIOS under Win7 to P04AAC then installed Ubuntu 12.10 from USB. Out of the box things are running quite well. No problems with lid closure detection, keyboard backlight, battery status, function keys. Battery life is OK (5-6 h with wireless on, using office software, browser, thunderbird). Screen brightness can be set to very low values (15% or so) indoors.
I've started using my new Series 9 laptop by immediately installing Ubuntu/Kubuntu on it.
My experience so far (other than having a fancy machine) is mixed.
Pros: - almost everything worked out of the box - amazing speeds - best quality laptop display I have ever encountered
Cons: - had to make a research on how to make the wireless driver work - had to make a research on how to get the right click functionality - had unidentifiable crashes almost every day, usually couple of times a day (8-10 hrs of usage daily). - had a lock up once that even made it impossible to do a hard reset holding down the power button. Given that it has built in battery and 6..7hrs of battery life, it was a huge annoyance.
I am unsure if the crashes are somewhat Linux-specific, did not use Windows. Because of them I am thinking of returning the laptop.
You may find some other guy's similar crash experience here. Other issues are covered here.
Since the original answer by Greg, support seems to have improved considerably. I am running 12.04 (beta 2) on a NP900X3B model. There are workarounds for features that don't work out of the box (right-click, keyboard backlight, etc.). See here.
I occasionally experience minor glitches but nothing like Greg described. For example, once after waking from suspend the trackpad did not function properly. But the overall experience has been quite good.
Update, using Ubuntu 12.10, Kernel 3.5. My Samsung 900x3cA02 runs completely fine. Upgraded the BIOS under Win7 to P04AAC then installed Ubuntu 12.10 from USB. Out of the box things are running quite well. No problems with lid closure detection, keyboard backlight, battery status, function keys. Battery life is OK (5-6 h with wireless on, using office software, browser, thunderbird). Screen brightness can be set to very low values (15% or so) indoors.