I’ve noticed in the Linux community whenever someone asks for a recommendation on a laptop that runs Linux the answer is always “Get a Thinkpad” yet Lenovo doesn’t seem to be a big Linux contributor or ally. There’s also at least six Linux/FOSS-oriented computer manufacturers now:
So what gives? Why the love for a primarily Windows-oriented laptop when there are better alternatives?
for a lot of people (me included), a cheap second hand thinkpad (or dell pro) with a light distro would be more than enough to cover their computing needs for years.
What king of dell pro compares to a thinkpad?
not sure what you mean, but I find that Dells are also cheap (second hand) easy to find, reliable, solid and easy to maintain (like the hardware is easy to access for cleaning and replacing/updating).
edit : I’m using a latitude 5470 with lubuntu. I bought it second in a pawn shop a few years ago and added some RAM last year, it still runs like a charm.