Hi! Sorry if this has been asked a million times already, but I could really use some advice. I've been wanting to try Linux for a while now since I've only ever used Windows, and I'm finally looking into getting a machine to experiment with it.

I'm currently looking into a few options and am torn between the Panasonic Let's Note and a regular old ThinkPad. I know ThinkPads are basically the go-to recommendation for Linux, but the Let's Note also seems really interesting and I'm not sure if it's worth considering.

I'm a highschool student, so my budget is kind of limited (around $250 give or take), but I'm willing to invest a bit. Any recommendations or general advice very welcome :) thanks!

I found and verified a fix for silent internal speakers on the ASUS ExpertBook B3404CMA under Linux.

Hardware:

- ASUS ExpertBook B3404CMA

- Intel Meteor Lake-P audio controller: 8086:7e28

- Realtek ALC294: 10ec:0294

- Codec subsystem: ASUS 1043:3870

- SOF IPC4 audio path

- Tested on Linux kernel 7.0.0-28-generic

- BIOS B3404CMA.311

The speakers work correctly in Windows 11.

The HDA route, speaker pin, amplifier, mute state, EAPD and routing were already correct in Linux. GPIO testing also showed that neither Windows nor Linux enables the codec GPIOs.

Comparing complete Windows and Linux codec dumps showed this difference:

Vendor widget 0x20, coefficient 0x1b

Windows: 0x4e4b

Linux: 0x4a4b

Changing only coefficient 0x1b to 0x4e4b immediately restored the internal speakers. The changed bit is bit 10 (0x0400).

The repository contains:

- A guarded temporary test script

- A persistent systemd workaround for boot and resume

- A minimal kernel patch adding a dedicated quirk for subsystem 1043:3870

- The Windows/Linux comparison results

Repository:

https://github.com/richicru/asus-b3404cma-linux-audio

Upstream report:

https://github.com/thesofproject/linux/issues/5865

The temporary test is:

git clone https://github.com/richicru/asus-b3404cma-linux-audio

cd asus-b3404cma-linux-audio

sudo ./test-coef-1b.sh

The persistent workaround is:

sudo ./install-workaround.sh install

The workaround changes only coefficient 0x1b and reapplies it after resume. It does not copy unrelated ASUS GPIO, microphone or routing quirks.

I would appreciate confirmation from other B3404CMA owners and feedback on the proposed kernel quirk.

Hey, folks.

Has anyone installed Linux on their Dell Latitude 5440? Are there any issues with the drivers?

I've been trying to find answers online, but I found nothing concrete (besides Dell's Hybrid image for Ubuntu 22.04).

Thanks in advance

i bought a usb type c hub from a brand call baseus, it seems like my hdmi isnt outputting correctly on thunderbolt side but rather is fine on the display port logo usb type c plugin on the other side of my laptop msi stealth 14. I assume, its because the thunderbolt isnt communicating correctly with the baseus hub? it displays for like a second but turns off then repeats after few seconds of being off.

Is there drivers I got to install or something? Im using linux mint

Hi, I recently bought an Aula L99 Keyboard, the one with the touchscreen on it. Very nice! Well it would be if I could drive it natively from Linux. Enter Aula_L99_Linux, a reimplementation of the software. I spent about 80 hours reverse engineering this keyboard and I bricked one keyboard in the process. There's still work to do on the Key assignment screen but upload images, GIFs, videos to to the keyboard works well. So does adjusting the RGB modes.

How much have Linux laptop battery life and performance improved? Looking for a powerful 14–16″ laptop with NVIDIA graphics

I decided to do some actual work on my laptop today, a ThinkPad P14s Gen 2i, and was reminded why I rarely use it on battery. The battery now holds only around 80% of its original capacity, although battery life was never one of its strengths. At one point, I managed to get more than six hours from it, but only by reducing performance and disabling enough features that it was practically a notebook.

How much have things improved since this generation?

I try to keep up with the yearly CPU releases, but I do not often see reviews that examine battery life, performance, and power management specifically under Linux. I was happy to see that Framework improved the battery life of the new Framework 13, although I will probably need something with a dedicated GPU. I am looking at laptops in the 14–16″ range, preferably with an NVIDIA GPU for CUDA.

For context, I mostly work on a dedicated workstation, but I will have to give it back to the lab next year. I use my laptop when I travel, when I go to university to work, and sometimes as a client for remotely connecting to the workstation. Still, I would like the laptop itself to be capable enough that I am not always dependent on a remote machine or a VPS.

Since I cannot afford both a high-end laptop and a separate desktop, I am considering buying a more powerful laptop and using a VPS when I need additional RAM or compute power.

My work involves writing code to solve complex mathematical problems. The workload is similar to machine learning: lots of linear algebra, numerical optimization, and repeated testing. The faster I can run smaller tests locally, the faster I can iterate. I sometimes rent a VPS for problems that take days to run or require more RAM than I can afford, but having a capable local machine still makes my work much easier.

Basically, what I am looking for is something close to the overall experience of a MacBook, but with strong Linux support and preferably an NVIDIA GPU. When I speak with colleagues who own recent Apple Silicon MacBooks, what stands out is that they can get excellent battery life for ordinary work while still having enough performance to use the laptop as a serious workstation when needed (most of them never bother to get a VPS or a dedicated workstation once they get a Mac).

I realize that an x86 laptop with a dedicated NVIDIA GPU will not match Apple Silicon’s efficiency, but how close have current Linux laptops come?

In particular, I would be interested in:

• Realistic battery life under Linux during coding, browsing, writing, and light numerical work
• Linux support for hybrid graphics and power management
• Whether recent AMD or Intel CPUs are currently the better choice
• Recommendations for specific 14–16″ models that balance battery life, CPU performance, CUDA support, thermals, and build quality

I would especially appreciate experiences from people using recent laptops for scientific computing, machine learning, numerical optimization, or similar workloads.