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Re: Great meeting last night... but we need topics...

by Dennis Payne

Argh! I meant to join last night but forgot. I've been working on a new project if people are interested. It is called Gamerzilla. It is an achievement/trophy system for open source games. http://identicalsoftware.com/gamerzilla/ On Fri, 2020-06-12 at 10:55 -0400, Tim Keller via WLUG wrote: > Hey Gang, > > Thanks for everybody who showed up, we had a great time! > > We also had a couple new people show which was great! However, it's > clear that even doing the virtual meetings, we need to have a topic.. > we simply ran out of stuff to talk about... > For the next meeting I'm going to do a talk on https://min.io/ > > It's an open source object storage system that works just like S3 > only you can host it locally. > > IF people have things they'd like to talk about let me know! > > Thanks, > Tim. > > > > _______________________________________________WLUG mailing list -- > wlug(a)lists.wlug.org > To unsubscribe send an email to wlug-leave(a)lists.wlug.org > Create Account: https://wlug.mailman3.com/accounts/signup/ > Change Settings: > https://wlug.mailman3.com/postorius/lists/wlug.lists.wlug.org/ > Web Forum/Archive: > https://wlug.mailman3.com/hyperkitty/list/wlug@lists.wlug.org/message/IHEPT… -- Dennis Payne dulsi(a)identicalsoftware.com https://social.freegamedev.net/channel/dulsi

June 12, 2020

Great meeting last night... but we need topics...

by Tim Keller

Hey Gang, Thanks for everybody who showed up, we had a great time! We also had a couple new people show which was great! However, it's clear that even doing the virtual meetings, we need to have a topic.. we simply ran out of stuff to talk about... For the next meeting I'm going to do a talk on https://min.io/ It's an open source object storage system that works just like S3 only you can host it locally. IF people have things they'd like to talk about let me know! Thanks, Tim. -- I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their constituents as "consumers".

June 12, 2020

WLUG Meeting tomorrow night (June 11th) , via Jitsi! @7PM

by Tim Keller

Hey Gang, We've got a virtual wlug meeting tomorrow night via JitSi at 7PM! The link is going to be: https://meet.jit.si/WlugMA I also announced it on the meetup so who knows who'll show up! Maybe our meeting will get bombed! The topic is going to be the usual... come, be nerdy we'll talk about everything! Like I said before, at some point in the future we'll be actually meeting up in person, hopefully at Technopia! However, we need to coordinate with them and do it safe and sensibly. Later, Tim Keller WLUG President -- I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their constituents as "consumers".

June 10, 2020

Re: June virtual meeting!

by Tim Keller

I suppose I should have put in the pertinent details.. Yes, Thursday at 7pm. https://meet.jit.si/ the room is "WlugMA" Thanks, Tim. On Tue, Jun 9, 2020 at 10:48 AM Richard Klein <rich(a)richardklein.org> wrote: > Thursday the 11th, at 7? > > ref. https://technocopia.org/ > > On Tue, Jun 9, 2020 at 10:22 AM Tim Keller via WLUG <wlug(a)lists.wlug.org> > wrote: > >> Hey Gang! >> >> Well, we're still not quite out of it, so this month's meeting is going >> to be virtual again. >> I've been watching Technopia's website and they're now open to members >> only. >> >> I think when it's open to the general public, we'll follow the CDC >> guidelines, see what Technopia wants to do and have a real in person >> meeting. >> >> I hope everybody has kept sane, okay less crazy, during the quarantine. >> >> Later, >> Tim. >> >> -- >> I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their >> constituents as "consumers". >> _______________________________________________ >> WLUG mailing list -- wlug(a)lists.wlug.org >> To unsubscribe send an email to wlug-leave(a)lists.wlug.org >> Create Account: https://wlug.mailman3.com/accounts/signup/ >> Change Settings: >> https://wlug.mailman3.com/postorius/lists/wlug.lists.wlug.org/ >> Web Forum/Archive: >> https://wlug.mailman3.com/hyperkitty/list/wlug@lists.wlug.org/message/7BMHO… >> > -- I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their constituents as "consumers".

June 9, 2020

Re: June virtual meeting!

by Richard Klein

Thursday the 11th, at 7? ref. https://technocopia.org/ On Tue, Jun 9, 2020 at 10:22 AM Tim Keller via WLUG <wlug(a)lists.wlug.org> wrote: > Hey Gang! > > Well, we're still not quite out of it, so this month's meeting is going to > be virtual again. > I've been watching Technopia's website and they're now open to members > only. > > I think when it's open to the general public, we'll follow the CDC > guidelines, see what Technopia wants to do and have a real in person > meeting. > > I hope everybody has kept sane, okay less crazy, during the quarantine. > > Later, > Tim. > > -- > I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their > constituents as "consumers". > _______________________________________________ > WLUG mailing list -- wlug(a)lists.wlug.org > To unsubscribe send an email to wlug-leave(a)lists.wlug.org > Create Account: https://wlug.mailman3.com/accounts/signup/ > Change Settings: > https://wlug.mailman3.com/postorius/lists/wlug.lists.wlug.org/ > Web Forum/Archive: > https://wlug.mailman3.com/hyperkitty/list/wlug@lists.wlug.org/message/7BMHO… >

June 9, 2020

June virtual meeting!

by Tim Keller

Hey Gang! Well, we're still not quite out of it, so this month's meeting is going to be virtual again. I've been watching Technopia's website and they're now open to members only. I think when it's open to the general public, we'll follow the CDC guidelines, see what Technopia wants to do and have a real in person meeting. I hope everybody has kept sane, okay less crazy, during the quarantine. Later, Tim. -- I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their constituents as "consumers".

June 9, 2020

Re: X1 Carbon Gen8 review

by Jon "maddog" Hall

Joshua, It depends on the "bloatware", but usually "bloatware" reduces the price of the laptop for the end user because the bloatware is looked at as advertising in the bloatware company's budget. The bloatware company pays the manufacturer to put the bloatware on the laptop, so either the laptop is cheaper for the end user or the OEM makes more money on a per-user basis. All of this makes it even harder to compute the "Microsoft Tax Refund". md On Sat, Jun 6, 2020 at 9:37 PM <joshua.gage.stone(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Jon, > > Thanks for the positive feedback! I think now that've had a hands-on > experience with the X1 Carbon, I'm not going to go back to buying "big" > laptops like the T series because they feel too bulky by comparison. > > I agree that the true cost of a license is never clear cut -- in addition > to bulk discounts from Microsoft, an OEM would likely have to factor in > the savings from third-party bloatware (although Lenovo doesn't seem to > include much of this in their business lineup), the cost of R&D for > vendor-specific optimizations, and the cost of customer support. It's > probably easier for them to simply not offer refunds and sell Windows as > part of the hardware to streamline support. > > In my experience with Lenovo, the refund came out to $87. I didn't ask > whether this amount was based on the post-discount price or the original > listed price, as I was just happy that I could get a refund at all. It > actually seems like a significant refund considering I had originally > purchased the X1 Carbon for $1,243 (Memorial Day sale and corporate > discount took off more than half of the original price!), taking it down to > $1,156. > > > On Sat, 2020-06-06 at 20:35 -0400, Jon "maddog" Hall wrote: > > Joshua, > > Thanks for the report. I have been a Thinkpad user a very long time and > I have an earlier model Carbon also....both are great computers. > > One comment about the return of the "Microsoft Tax".....what might seem to > be a relatively simple issue is actually fairly complex and is tied into > quantity discounts on licenses with Microsoft that really needs to be > addressed at the top. Until that is done, nobody really knows how much > the "tax" is. Defining the "Microsoft Tax" has probably been getting > better over the years as more and more people decide they do not need or > want MS products and more and more companies re-write their contracts to > give them more freedom. > > md > > On Sat, Jun 6, 2020 at 1:10 PM joshua.gage.stone--- via WLUG < > wlug(a)lists.wlug.org> wrote: > > Hey all, > > Since Lenovo has been making announcements about shipping Linux on > their machines [1] and expanding on their certifications [2], I decided > to purchase an X1 Carbon Gen8 [3] as my newest daily driver. I thought > I'd share some thoughts after installing Fedora 32 on it. > > Chassis: > > The X1 Carbon has excellent build quality. Despite being an ultrathin > laptop, it feels quite solid in my hands and is well-balanced when > grasping with one hand. Weighing in at 2.38 lbs, it's much lighter and > smaller than my T480 (4.03 lbs) which makes it more ideal for > traveling. The laptop doesn't flex or wobble when typing either. > > Ports: > > The number of ports is quite good compared to other ultrathin laptops > like the Dell XPS 13 and Macbook. Two USB-C ports are available which > are its main method of charging (very useful for sharing cables too). > There are two also standard USB-A ports, as well as an HDMI port and > headphone jack. There isn't native ethernet which is a bit of a > disappointment, but fortunately this is mitigated with a dongle that > comes with the laptop. There isn't an SD card slot or even a microSD > slot either, but the SD card reader dongle I already use with my > desktop can be used instead. > > Monitor: > > The FHD 400 nit screen is very good. Costa Rica 4K [4] -- which is > typically used as a benchmark for demonstrating display quality -- > looks quite nice on it. I don't have a colorimeter [5] on hand for > measuring the full capabilities of the screen in a more empirical > fashion, but it should be capable of showing the full sRGB range as > well as covering most of Adobe RGB. The 4K HDR 500 nit configuration > should be more ideal if color reproduction and HDR are of utmost > importance. > > Keyboard: > > Thinkpads are well renowned for their keyboards, and the keyboard on > the Carbon is no exception. The keys feel just right to me when typing, > not being too mushy or too clicky. They also don't give off much noise, > which is very much appreciated when working in a quiet room. > > Speakers: > > I'm quite happy with the quality of the Dolby Atmos speakers. Usually > laptop speakers are a disappointment to me, but the speakers on the > Carbon are more than capable of handling different genres of music. The > speaker alignment being upward-facing instead of side-facing as seen in > other thinkpads also makes it better for watching videos and listening > to music with other people. > > It does seem a bit lacking in bass-heavy music [6], but the built-in > DAC is more than capable of driving a pair of good-quality headphones > [7]. I might have to make an update on this later because Dolby Atmos > support on Linux appears to be a work in progress and may need a preset > to have it more closely match the speaker output on Windows [8] in the > meantime. > > Battery: > > I can get a decent amount of battery life from the 51Wh battery, > usually about 14 hours with light usage and medium screen brightness on > stock Fedora. I think I could easily squeeze more battery life out of > it if I installed Powertop or TLP, but hopefully battery optimizations > land in upstream so no extra work needs to be done by the time Fedora > 33 comes out. > > Noise & thermals: > > This laptop is quiet! Even when playing 1080p@60fps video in a quiet > room, the fan don't make any audible noise. > > Multi-core workloads like code compiling also don't seem to be an issue > on this laptop. Sensors report roughly 70C during such workloads, and > the fan gives off a low amount of noise that's well within acceptable > range. > > Performance & Stability: > > The i7-10510U performs quite well. It appears to be about as fast as > the R5 2600X in my desktop at compile tasks, which is especially > impressive considering this is in an ultrathin laptop! > > It also remains responsive for multitasking while compiling, still > being able to play fullscreen video in Firefox while dropping a few > frames when attempting to switch tabs (considering it's able to sustain > full 60fps playback otherwise while most cores are saturated, this is > still acceptable). > > Suspend support on the Carbon is rock solid too. I've repeatedly closed > the lid and opened it back up to have it immediately wake up from > suspend, making it ideal for keeping around on standby for when I want > to look something up. > > Vendor Support: > > Almost everything about this laptop works out of the box on Fedora, > with one exception being that firmware for the fingerprint sensor is > currently still in testing and needs to be explicitly enabled [9] if > you want to enable fingerprint login & authentication from Gnome > Settings > > Since I bought the Carbon before Lenovo started offering a > configuration with Linux preinstalled, I ended up paying for a Windows > license. Lenovo support however was quite understanding of my situation > in having no desire to run Windows on it, and provided a refund for the > license. I think this is noteworthy since they previously didn't offer > a refund when I previously bought my T480 a few years ago. > > Enabling hardware decoding support for improving CPU usage and battery > life [10] is also trivial. Firefox appears to consume 15%-25% CPU > during fullscreen 1080p@60fps video playback, and VLC is usually using > 8%-15% for the same video. It's worth noting that Firefox's accelerated > decoding support is still bleeding-edge and probably has room for > optimizations, and I'd imagine VLC could be even more efficient once it > has native Wayland support. > > Conclusion: > > Overall, I'm very happy with this laptop, both on the software and > hardware side. Despite being brand new, the out-of-the-box Linux > support has been some of the best I've seen in a long time and the > tweaks I've had to do for it were quite minimal. I think once Lenovo > sorts out their official Linux support (I still don't see it offered as > an OS option in the customization page), they'll have a truly stellar > product that they can market to Linux users as a daily driver. > > > > Sources: > > 1. https://fedoramagazine.org/coming-soon-fedora-on-lenovo-laptops/ > > 2. > > https://news.lenovo.com/pressroom/press-releases/lenovo-brings-linux-certif… > > 3. > > https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpad-x/X1-Carbon-Gen-8-/p… > > 4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXb3EKWsInQ > > 5. > https://www.amazon.com/X-Rite-Color-Munki-Smile-ColorMunki/dp/B009APMNB0/ > > 6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgRr0CLFhaw > > 7. > > https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATH-M50xBT-Wireless-Bluetooth-Headpho… > > 8. https://github.com/JackHack96/PulseEffects-Presets/tree/master/irs > > 9. > > https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Lenovo_ThinkPad_X1_Carbon_(Gen_7)#Fing… > > 10. > > https://mastransky.wordpress.com/2020/06/03/firefox-on-fedora-finally-gets-… > > _______________________________________________ > WLUG mailing list -- wlug(a)lists.wlug.org > To unsubscribe send an email to wlug-leave(a)lists.wlug.org > Create Account: https://wlug.mailman3.com/accounts/signup/ > Change Settings: > https://wlug.mailman3.com/postorius/lists/wlug.lists.wlug.org/ > Web Forum/Archive: > https://wlug.mailman3.com/hyperkitty/list/wlug@lists.wlug.org/message/CZMXV… > >

June 7, 2020

Re: X1 Carbon Gen8 review

by joshua.gage.stone＠gmail.com

Jon, Thanks for the positive feedback! I think now that've had a hands-on experience with the X1 Carbon, I'm not going to go back to buying "big" laptops like the T series because they feel too bulky by comparison. I agree that the true cost of a license is never clear cut -- in addition to bulk discounts from Microsoft, an OEM would likely have to factor in the savings from third-party bloatware (although Lenovo doesn't seem to include much of this in their business lineup), the cost of R&D for vendor-specific optimizations, and the cost of customer support. It's probably easier for them to simply not offer refunds and sell Windows as part of the hardware to streamline support. In my experience with Lenovo, the refund came out to $87. I didn't ask whether this amount was based on the post-discount price or the original listed price, as I was just happy that I could get a refund at all. It actually seems like a significant refund considering I had originally purchased the X1 Carbon for $1,243 (Memorial Day sale and corporate discount took off more than half of the original price!), taking it down to $1,156. On Sat, 2020-06-06 at 20:35 -0400, Jon "maddog" Hall wrote: > Joshua, > > Thanks for the report. I have been a Thinkpad user a very long time > and I have an earlier model Carbon also....both are great computers. > > One comment about the return of the "Microsoft Tax".....what might > seem to be a relatively simple issue is actually fairly complex and > is tied into quantity discounts on licenses with Microsoft that > really needs to be addressed at the top. Until that is done, nobody > really knows how much the "tax" is. Defining the "Microsoft Tax" has > probably been getting better over the years as more and more people > decide they do not need or want MS products and more and more > companies re-write their contracts to give them more freedom. > > md > On Sat, Jun 6, 2020 at 1:10 PM joshua.gage.stone--- via WLUG < > wlug(a)lists.wlug.org> wrote: > > Hey all, > > > > > > > > Since Lenovo has been making announcements about shipping Linux on > > > > their machines [1] and expanding on their certifications [2], I > > decided > > > > to purchase an X1 Carbon Gen8 [3] as my newest daily driver. I > > thought > > > > I'd share some thoughts after installing Fedora 32 on it. > > > > > > > > Chassis: > > > > > > > > The X1 Carbon has excellent build quality. Despite being an > > ultrathin > > > > laptop, it feels quite solid in my hands and is well-balanced when > > > > grasping with one hand. Weighing in at 2.38 lbs, it's much lighter > > and > > > > smaller than my T480 (4.03 lbs) which makes it more ideal for > > > > traveling. The laptop doesn't flex or wobble when typing either. > > > > > > > > Ports: > > > > > > > > The number of ports is quite good compared to other ultrathin > > laptops > > > > like the Dell XPS 13 and Macbook. Two USB-C ports are available > > which > > > > are its main method of charging (very useful for sharing cables > > too). > > > > There are two also standard USB-A ports, as well as an HDMI port > > and > > > > headphone jack. There isn't native ethernet which is a bit of a > > > > disappointment, but fortunately this is mitigated with a dongle > > that > > > > comes with the laptop. There isn't an SD card slot or even a > > microSD > > > > slot either, but the SD card reader dongle I already use with my > > > > desktop can be used instead. > > > > > > > > Monitor: > > > > > > > > The FHD 400 nit screen is very good. Costa Rica 4K [4] -- which is > > > > typically used as a benchmark for demonstrating display quality -- > > > > looks quite nice on it. I don't have a colorimeter [5] on hand for > > > > measuring the full capabilities of the screen in a more empirical > > > > fashion, but it should be capable of showing the full sRGB range as > > > > well as covering most of Adobe RGB. The 4K HDR 500 nit > > configuration > > > > should be more ideal if color reproduction and HDR are of utmost > > > > importance. > > > > > > > > Keyboard: > > > > > > > > Thinkpads are well renowned for their keyboards, and the keyboard > > on > > > > the Carbon is no exception. The keys feel just right to me when > > typing, > > > > not being too mushy or too clicky. They also don't give off much > > noise, > > > > which is very much appreciated when working in a quiet room. > > > > > > > > Speakers: > > > > > > > > I'm quite happy with the quality of the Dolby Atmos speakers. > > Usually > > > > laptop speakers are a disappointment to me, but the speakers on the > > > > Carbon are more than capable of handling different genres of music. > > The > > > > speaker alignment being upward-facing instead of side-facing as > > seen in > > > > other thinkpads also makes it better for watching videos and > > listening > > > > to music with other people. > > > > > > > > It does seem a bit lacking in bass-heavy music [6], but the built- > > in > > > > DAC is more than capable of driving a pair of good-quality > > headphones > > > > [7]. I might have to make an update on this later because Dolby > > Atmos > > > > support on Linux appears to be a work in progress and may need a > > preset > > > > to have it more closely match the speaker output on Windows [8] in > > the > > > > meantime. > > > > > > > > Battery: > > > > > > > > I can get a decent amount of battery life from the 51Wh battery, > > > > usually about 14 hours with light usage and medium screen > > brightness on > > > > stock Fedora. I think I could easily squeeze more battery life out > > of > > > > it if I installed Powertop or TLP, but hopefully battery > > optimizations > > > > land in upstream so no extra work needs to be done by the time > > Fedora > > > > 33 comes out. > > > > > > > > Noise & thermals: > > > > > > > > This laptop is quiet! Even when playing 1080p@60fps video in a > > quiet > > > > room, the fan don't make any audible noise. > > > > > > > > Multi-core workloads like code compiling also don't seem to be an > > issue > > > > on this laptop. Sensors report roughly 70C during such workloads, > > and > > > > the fan gives off a low amount of noise that's well within > > acceptable > > > > range. > > > > > > > > Performance & Stability: > > > > > > > > The i7-10510U performs quite well. It appears to be about as fast > > as > > > > the R5 2600X in my desktop at compile tasks, which is especially > > > > impressive considering this is in an ultrathin laptop! > > > > > > > > It also remains responsive for multitasking while compiling, still > > > > being able to play fullscreen video in Firefox while dropping a few > > > > frames when attempting to switch tabs (considering it's able to > > sustain > > > > full 60fps playback otherwise while most cores are saturated, this > > is > > > > still acceptable). > > > > > > > > Suspend support on the Carbon is rock solid too. I've repeatedly > > closed > > > > the lid and opened it back up to have it immediately wake up from > > > > suspend, making it ideal for keeping around on standby for when I > > want > > > > to look something up. > > > > > > > > Vendor Support: > > > > > > > > Almost everything about this laptop works out of the box on Fedora, > > > > with one exception being that firmware for the fingerprint sensor > > is > > > > currently still in testing and needs to be explicitly enabled [9] > > if > > > > you want to enable fingerprint login & authentication from Gnome > > > > Settings > > > > > > > > Since I bought the Carbon before Lenovo started offering a > > > > configuration with Linux preinstalled, I ended up paying for a > > Windows > > > > license. Lenovo support however was quite understanding of my > > situation > > > > in having no desire to run Windows on it, and provided a refund for > > the > > > > license. I think this is noteworthy since they previously didn't > > offer > > > > a refund when I previously bought my T480 a few years ago. > > > > > > > > Enabling hardware decoding support for improving CPU usage and > > battery > > > > life [10] is also trivial. Firefox appears to consume 15%-25% CPU > > > > during fullscreen 1080p@60fps video playback, and VLC is usually > > using > > > > 8%-15% for the same video. It's worth noting that Firefox's > > accelerated > > > > decoding support is still bleeding-edge and probably has room for > > > > optimizations, and I'd imagine VLC could be even more efficient > > once it > > > > has native Wayland support. > > > > > > > > Conclusion: > > > > > > > > Overall, I'm very happy with this laptop, both on the software and > > > > hardware side. Despite being brand new, the out-of-the-box Linux > > > > support has been some of the best I've seen in a long time and the > > > > tweaks I've had to do for it were quite minimal. I think once > > Lenovo > > > > sorts out their official Linux support (I still don't see it > > offered as > > > > an OS option in the customization page), they'll have a truly > > stellar > > > > product that they can market to Linux users as a daily driver. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Sources: > > > > > > > > 1. https://fedoramagazine.org/coming-soon-fedora-on-lenovo-laptops/ > > > > > > > > 2. > > > > https://news.lenovo.com/pressroom/press-releases/lenovo-brings-linux-certif… > > > > > > > > 3. > > > > https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpad-x/X1-Carbon-Gen-8-/p… > > > > > > > > 4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXb3EKWsInQ > > > > > > > > 5. > > > > https://www.amazon.com/X-Rite-Color-Munki-Smile-ColorMunki/dp/B009APMNB0/ > > > > > > > > 6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgRr0CLFhaw > > > > > > > > 7. > > > > https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATH-M50xBT-Wireless-Bluetooth-Headpho… > > > > > > > > 8. > > https://github.com/JackHack96/PulseEffects-Presets/tree/master/irs > > > > > > > > 9. > > > > https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Lenovo_ThinkPad_X1_Carbon_(Gen_7)#Fing… > > > > > > > > 10. > > > > https://mastransky.wordpress.com/2020/06/03/firefox-on-fedora-finally-gets-… > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > > WLUG mailing list -- wlug(a)lists.wlug.org > > > > To unsubscribe send an email to wlug-leave(a)lists.wlug.org > > > > Create Account: https://wlug.mailman3.com/accounts/signup/ > > > > Change Settings: > > https://wlug.mailman3.com/postorius/lists/wlug.lists.wlug.org/ > > > > Web Forum/Archive: > > https://wlug.mailman3.com/hyperkitty/list/wlug@lists.wlug.org/message/CZMXV… > >

June 7, 2020

Re: X1 Carbon Gen8 review

by Jon "maddog" Hall

Joshua, Thanks for the report. I have been a Thinkpad user a very long time and I have an earlier model Carbon also....both are great computers. One comment about the return of the "Microsoft Tax".....what might seem to be a relatively simple issue is actually fairly complex and is tied into quantity discounts on licenses with Microsoft that really needs to be addressed at the top. Until that is done, nobody really knows how much the "tax" is. Defining the "Microsoft Tax" has probably been getting better over the years as more and more people decide they do not need or want MS products and more and more companies re-write their contracts to give them more freedom. md On Sat, Jun 6, 2020 at 1:10 PM joshua.gage.stone--- via WLUG < wlug(a)lists.wlug.org> wrote: > Hey all, > > Since Lenovo has been making announcements about shipping Linux on > their machines [1] and expanding on their certifications [2], I decided > to purchase an X1 Carbon Gen8 [3] as my newest daily driver. I thought > I'd share some thoughts after installing Fedora 32 on it. > > Chassis: > > The X1 Carbon has excellent build quality. Despite being an ultrathin > laptop, it feels quite solid in my hands and is well-balanced when > grasping with one hand. Weighing in at 2.38 lbs, it's much lighter and > smaller than my T480 (4.03 lbs) which makes it more ideal for > traveling. The laptop doesn't flex or wobble when typing either. > > Ports: > > The number of ports is quite good compared to other ultrathin laptops > like the Dell XPS 13 and Macbook. Two USB-C ports are available which > are its main method of charging (very useful for sharing cables too). > There are two also standard USB-A ports, as well as an HDMI port and > headphone jack. There isn't native ethernet which is a bit of a > disappointment, but fortunately this is mitigated with a dongle that > comes with the laptop. There isn't an SD card slot or even a microSD > slot either, but the SD card reader dongle I already use with my > desktop can be used instead. > > Monitor: > > The FHD 400 nit screen is very good. Costa Rica 4K [4] -- which is > typically used as a benchmark for demonstrating display quality -- > looks quite nice on it. I don't have a colorimeter [5] on hand for > measuring the full capabilities of the screen in a more empirical > fashion, but it should be capable of showing the full sRGB range as > well as covering most of Adobe RGB. The 4K HDR 500 nit configuration > should be more ideal if color reproduction and HDR are of utmost > importance. > > Keyboard: > > Thinkpads are well renowned for their keyboards, and the keyboard on > the Carbon is no exception. The keys feel just right to me when typing, > not being too mushy or too clicky. They also don't give off much noise, > which is very much appreciated when working in a quiet room. > > Speakers: > > I'm quite happy with the quality of the Dolby Atmos speakers. Usually > laptop speakers are a disappointment to me, but the speakers on the > Carbon are more than capable of handling different genres of music. The > speaker alignment being upward-facing instead of side-facing as seen in > other thinkpads also makes it better for watching videos and listening > to music with other people. > > It does seem a bit lacking in bass-heavy music [6], but the built-in > DAC is more than capable of driving a pair of good-quality headphones > [7]. I might have to make an update on this later because Dolby Atmos > support on Linux appears to be a work in progress and may need a preset > to have it more closely match the speaker output on Windows [8] in the > meantime. > > Battery: > > I can get a decent amount of battery life from the 51Wh battery, > usually about 14 hours with light usage and medium screen brightness on > stock Fedora. I think I could easily squeeze more battery life out of > it if I installed Powertop or TLP, but hopefully battery optimizations > land in upstream so no extra work needs to be done by the time Fedora > 33 comes out. > > Noise & thermals: > > This laptop is quiet! Even when playing 1080p@60fps video in a quiet > room, the fan don't make any audible noise. > > Multi-core workloads like code compiling also don't seem to be an issue > on this laptop. Sensors report roughly 70C during such workloads, and > the fan gives off a low amount of noise that's well within acceptable > range. > > Performance & Stability: > > The i7-10510U performs quite well. It appears to be about as fast as > the R5 2600X in my desktop at compile tasks, which is especially > impressive considering this is in an ultrathin laptop! > > It also remains responsive for multitasking while compiling, still > being able to play fullscreen video in Firefox while dropping a few > frames when attempting to switch tabs (considering it's able to sustain > full 60fps playback otherwise while most cores are saturated, this is > still acceptable). > > Suspend support on the Carbon is rock solid too. I've repeatedly closed > the lid and opened it back up to have it immediately wake up from > suspend, making it ideal for keeping around on standby for when I want > to look something up. > > Vendor Support: > > Almost everything about this laptop works out of the box on Fedora, > with one exception being that firmware for the fingerprint sensor is > currently still in testing and needs to be explicitly enabled [9] if > you want to enable fingerprint login & authentication from Gnome > Settings > > Since I bought the Carbon before Lenovo started offering a > configuration with Linux preinstalled, I ended up paying for a Windows > license. Lenovo support however was quite understanding of my situation > in having no desire to run Windows on it, and provided a refund for the > license. I think this is noteworthy since they previously didn't offer > a refund when I previously bought my T480 a few years ago. > > Enabling hardware decoding support for improving CPU usage and battery > life [10] is also trivial. Firefox appears to consume 15%-25% CPU > during fullscreen 1080p@60fps video playback, and VLC is usually using > 8%-15% for the same video. It's worth noting that Firefox's accelerated > decoding support is still bleeding-edge and probably has room for > optimizations, and I'd imagine VLC could be even more efficient once it > has native Wayland support. > > Conclusion: > > Overall, I'm very happy with this laptop, both on the software and > hardware side. Despite being brand new, the out-of-the-box Linux > support has been some of the best I've seen in a long time and the > tweaks I've had to do for it were quite minimal. I think once Lenovo > sorts out their official Linux support (I still don't see it offered as > an OS option in the customization page), they'll have a truly stellar > product that they can market to Linux users as a daily driver. > > > > Sources: > > 1. https://fedoramagazine.org/coming-soon-fedora-on-lenovo-laptops/ > > 2. > > https://news.lenovo.com/pressroom/press-releases/lenovo-brings-linux-certif… > > 3. > > https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpad-x/X1-Carbon-Gen-8-/p… > > 4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXb3EKWsInQ > > 5. > https://www.amazon.com/X-Rite-Color-Munki-Smile-ColorMunki/dp/B009APMNB0/ > > 6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgRr0CLFhaw > > 7. > > https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATH-M50xBT-Wireless-Bluetooth-Headpho… > > 8. https://github.com/JackHack96/PulseEffects-Presets/tree/master/irs > > 9. > > https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Lenovo_ThinkPad_X1_Carbon_(Gen_7)#Fing… > > 10. > > https://mastransky.wordpress.com/2020/06/03/firefox-on-fedora-finally-gets-… > > _______________________________________________ > WLUG mailing list -- wlug(a)lists.wlug.org > To unsubscribe send an email to wlug-leave(a)lists.wlug.org > Create Account: https://wlug.mailman3.com/accounts/signup/ > Change Settings: > https://wlug.mailman3.com/postorius/lists/wlug.lists.wlug.org/ > Web Forum/Archive: > https://wlug.mailman3.com/hyperkitty/list/wlug@lists.wlug.org/message/CZMXV… >

June 7, 2020

X1 Carbon Gen8 review

by joshua.gage.stone＠gmail.com

Hey all, Since Lenovo has been making announcements about shipping Linux on their machines [1] and expanding on their certifications [2], I decided to purchase an X1 Carbon Gen8 [3] as my newest daily driver. I thought I'd share some thoughts after installing Fedora 32 on it. Chassis: The X1 Carbon has excellent build quality. Despite being an ultrathin laptop, it feels quite solid in my hands and is well-balanced when grasping with one hand. Weighing in at 2.38 lbs, it's much lighter and smaller than my T480 (4.03 lbs) which makes it more ideal for traveling. The laptop doesn't flex or wobble when typing either. Ports: The number of ports is quite good compared to other ultrathin laptops like the Dell XPS 13 and Macbook. Two USB-C ports are available which are its main method of charging (very useful for sharing cables too). There are two also standard USB-A ports, as well as an HDMI port and headphone jack. There isn't native ethernet which is a bit of a disappointment, but fortunately this is mitigated with a dongle that comes with the laptop. There isn't an SD card slot or even a microSD slot either, but the SD card reader dongle I already use with my desktop can be used instead. Monitor: The FHD 400 nit screen is very good. Costa Rica 4K [4] -- which is typically used as a benchmark for demonstrating display quality -- looks quite nice on it. I don't have a colorimeter [5] on hand for measuring the full capabilities of the screen in a more empirical fashion, but it should be capable of showing the full sRGB range as well as covering most of Adobe RGB. The 4K HDR 500 nit configuration should be more ideal if color reproduction and HDR are of utmost importance. Keyboard: Thinkpads are well renowned for their keyboards, and the keyboard on the Carbon is no exception. The keys feel just right to me when typing, not being too mushy or too clicky. They also don't give off much noise, which is very much appreciated when working in a quiet room. Speakers: I'm quite happy with the quality of the Dolby Atmos speakers. Usually laptop speakers are a disappointment to me, but the speakers on the Carbon are more than capable of handling different genres of music. The speaker alignment being upward-facing instead of side-facing as seen in other thinkpads also makes it better for watching videos and listening to music with other people. It does seem a bit lacking in bass-heavy music [6], but the built-in DAC is more than capable of driving a pair of good-quality headphones [7]. I might have to make an update on this later because Dolby Atmos support on Linux appears to be a work in progress and may need a preset to have it more closely match the speaker output on Windows [8] in the meantime. Battery: I can get a decent amount of battery life from the 51Wh battery, usually about 14 hours with light usage and medium screen brightness on stock Fedora. I think I could easily squeeze more battery life out of it if I installed Powertop or TLP, but hopefully battery optimizations land in upstream so no extra work needs to be done by the time Fedora 33 comes out. Noise & thermals: This laptop is quiet! Even when playing 1080p@60fps video in a quiet room, the fan don't make any audible noise. Multi-core workloads like code compiling also don't seem to be an issue on this laptop. Sensors report roughly 70C during such workloads, and the fan gives off a low amount of noise that's well within acceptable range. Performance & Stability: The i7-10510U performs quite well. It appears to be about as fast as the R5 2600X in my desktop at compile tasks, which is especially impressive considering this is in an ultrathin laptop! It also remains responsive for multitasking while compiling, still being able to play fullscreen video in Firefox while dropping a few frames when attempting to switch tabs (considering it's able to sustain full 60fps playback otherwise while most cores are saturated, this is still acceptable). Suspend support on the Carbon is rock solid too. I've repeatedly closed the lid and opened it back up to have it immediately wake up from suspend, making it ideal for keeping around on standby for when I want to look something up. Vendor Support: Almost everything about this laptop works out of the box on Fedora, with one exception being that firmware for the fingerprint sensor is currently still in testing and needs to be explicitly enabled [9] if you want to enable fingerprint login & authentication from Gnome Settings Since I bought the Carbon before Lenovo started offering a configuration with Linux preinstalled, I ended up paying for a Windows license. Lenovo support however was quite understanding of my situation in having no desire to run Windows on it, and provided a refund for the license. I think this is noteworthy since they previously didn't offer a refund when I previously bought my T480 a few years ago. Enabling hardware decoding support for improving CPU usage and battery life [10] is also trivial. Firefox appears to consume 15%-25% CPU during fullscreen 1080p@60fps video playback, and VLC is usually using 8%-15% for the same video. It's worth noting that Firefox's accelerated decoding support is still bleeding-edge and probably has room for optimizations, and I'd imagine VLC could be even more efficient once it has native Wayland support. Conclusion: Overall, I'm very happy with this laptop, both on the software and hardware side. Despite being brand new, the out-of-the-box Linux support has been some of the best I've seen in a long time and the tweaks I've had to do for it were quite minimal. I think once Lenovo sorts out their official Linux support (I still don't see it offered as an OS option in the customization page), they'll have a truly stellar product that they can market to Linux users as a daily driver. Sources: 1. https://fedoramagazine.org/coming-soon-fedora-on-lenovo-laptops/ 2. https://news.lenovo.com/pressroom/press-releases/lenovo-brings-linux-certif… 3. https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpad-x/X1-Carbon-Gen-8-/p… 4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXb3EKWsInQ 5. https://www.amazon.com/X-Rite-Color-Munki-Smile-ColorMunki/dp/B009APMNB0/ 6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgRr0CLFhaw 7. https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATH-M50xBT-Wireless-Bluetooth-Headpho… 8. https://github.com/JackHack96/PulseEffects-Presets/tree/master/irs 9. https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Lenovo_ThinkPad_X1_Carbon_(Gen_7)#Fing… 10. https://mastransky.wordpress.com/2020/06/03/firefox-on-fedora-finally-gets-…

June 6, 2020