A Verge writer revisited Ubuntu on a 2019 Dell XPS 15, hoping to revive the aging machine, but encountered numerous frustrations that echoed past experiences. Despite improvements in Linux over the years, the author found it more of a hobby than a reliable operating system. The piece highlights persistent quirks in hardware compatibility and software installation.
In a personal account published by The Verge, technology writer Alex Cranz describes his attempt to breathe new life into a 2019 Dell XPS 15 laptop by installing Ubuntu. The machine, equipped with a Core i7 CPU and 32GB of RAM, had become sluggish under Windows, prompting the switch in early 2024 to an M1 MacBook Pro. Cranz, a former long-time Linux user since installing Ubuntu in 2006 on a ThinkPad X40, returned to the OS to provide a typing practice device for his child and seek a distraction-free writing setup.
Cranz's history with Linux spans 13 years across multiple laptops, during which he primarily used Ubuntu while dual-booting Windows for necessities like video editing. By 2017, however, tinkering with the system began to interfere with other pursuits, such as music production in Ableton Live, leading to a full switch to Windows in 2019. Upon reinstalling Ubuntu, Cranz opted for dual-booting to preserve his Windows partition, a decision that immediately revealed Linux's 'fiddly nature.' The fingerprint reader failed to function, and an EFI partition issue—also problematic under Windows—prevented updates from installing smoothly.
Further hurdles included the OS refusing to mount the Windows partition for the first month, silent failures in app installations from the Ubuntu App Center, snaps, or .deb packages, and a protracted setup for Steam that required outdated 32-bit libraries and crashed repeatedly. Steam games ignored the external audio interface, routing sound only to the laptop's speakers. Bitwig, a music production app, recognized the audio interface but was inconsistent with MIDI controllers and crashed on initial launch. Sleep mode caused issues with reconnecting to external drives, SD card readers, and Bluetooth peripherals.
Colleagues faced similar woes: Nathan Edwards struggled with CachyOS ignoring mouse clicks and overwhelming choices among bootloaders and desktop environments, while Stevie Bonifield rage-quit over connectivity problems with a second SSD. Despite these, Ubuntu proved faster and quieter than Windows for basic tasks like web browsing in Firefox and note-taking in Obsidian. Cranz notes Linux's advances—better PC gaming support, apps like Darktable for photos, and Bitwig or Reaper for music—but concludes it falls short compared to macOS or Windows alternatives for seamless use. 'I need an OS, not another hobby,' he writes, underscoring the endless customization as a double-edged sword that risks instability.
