We designed the Framework Laptop from the outset to be a great Linux laptop, and the Framework Laptop DIY Edition comes with no OS loaded to let you bring your favorite Linux distribution. We deliberately selected components and modules that didn’t require new kernel driver development and have been
We love and recommend Fedora. However, it’s going to see updates that may introduce regressions. Due to the cutting edge nature compared to say, Ubuntu LTS.
So in terms of overall stability, Ubuntu LTS (using our guide) is the recommended choice at this time.
Fedora is by far, more stable than other closer to cutting edge distros.
To Fedora’s credit, they are awesome about working to stamp out anything that crops up.
Tltr. Fedora is a fantastic choice if you want current kernels, etc. Ubuntu 22.04 LTS with the OEM C kernel is usually more stable as it’s simply LTS (Long Term Support) and not seeing bleeding edge packages.
Full disclosure, Fedora is my personal and professional use.
Cutting edge vs bleeding edge IMHO:
Cutting edge, Fedora Workstation.
Closer to beeding edge, Fedora Rawhide.
We see Fedora team members on the forums, actively participating. They are amazing.
Doesn’t that come down to what one defines as stable? To me LTS stable is just stagnant, but I prefer my software to be up-to-date.
If I look at Firefox 119.01 I don’t think it less stable than Firefox 78.6.1 (ESR)
Just how that text reads (second image) makes you think the stable tag shouldn’t exist for 22.04… Modifying something ‘out of the box’ does not seem stable when compared to something that works out of the box with updates.
Anyway thank you for all the work you do to ensure Linux works well on Framework laptops.
Doesn’t that come down to what one defines as stable? To me LTS stable is just stagnant, but I prefer my software to be up-to-date.
- Firefox (snap) continues to be updated.
- Stable in that it’s at a xx.xx.3 release state and has been thoroughly put through its paces. :)
- We work with our partners to make sure we are able to provide the best experience possible. In this case, we use OEM C as we have patches and fixes applied to that kernel set by our partners (AMD, etc). Regressions still occur of course, but are less frequent on LTS.
Appreciate the kind words. We are working like mad, and with a tiny team, it limits what we’d like to have done. But thankfully our partners are amazing, which helps.
Anything that requires snaps can stay well away from my system, as I’ve never had good experiences with them compared to real packages (or even flatpaks, which seem to solve the problem snaps are trying to solve without being awful).
Unrelated question. Does framework add DSP or similar black magic so the speakers sound better? If so is it the same for windows/Linux? I don’t know of any vendors who provides this on Linux. Asahi Linux (linux for apple silicon, and their flagship distro is fedora) just landed speaker support for m1 macs and they sound awesome/just as good as on macos. I believe they actually had to work with upstream to make it possible and now other vendors could follow suit. It would be awesome to see framework implement this. As of now the best sounding laptop running Linux is a MacBook.
Thank you very much for explaining this and even giving out a personal recommendation. I can see where my confusion came from and I also get what is the intended purpose and that they (the information in the screenshots) are in fact not conflicting. Great to know that you and other employees are actively engaging with the community!
Linux support lead here.
We love and recommend Fedora. However, it’s going to see updates that may introduce regressions. Due to the cutting edge nature compared to say, Ubuntu LTS.
So in terms of overall stability, Ubuntu LTS (using our guide) is the recommended choice at this time.
Fedora is by far, more stable than other closer to cutting edge distros.
To Fedora’s credit, they are awesome about working to stamp out anything that crops up.
Tltr. Fedora is a fantastic choice if you want current kernels, etc. Ubuntu 22.04 LTS with the OEM C kernel is usually more stable as it’s simply LTS (Long Term Support) and not seeing bleeding edge packages.
Full disclosure, Fedora is my personal and professional use.
Cutting edge vs bleeding edge IMHO:
Cutting edge, Fedora Workstation. Closer to beeding edge, Fedora Rawhide.
We see Fedora team members on the forums, actively participating. They are amazing.
Doesn’t that come down to what one defines as stable? To me LTS stable is just stagnant, but I prefer my software to be up-to-date.
If I look at Firefox 119.01 I don’t think it less stable than Firefox 78.6.1 (ESR)
Just how that text reads (second image) makes you think the stable tag shouldn’t exist for 22.04… Modifying something ‘out of the box’ does not seem stable when compared to something that works out of the box with updates.
Anyway thank you for all the work you do to ensure Linux works well on Framework laptops.
- Firefox (snap) continues to be updated.
- Stable in that it’s at a xx.xx.3 release state and has been thoroughly put through its paces. :)
- We work with our partners to make sure we are able to provide the best experience possible. In this case, we use OEM C as we have patches and fixes applied to that kernel set by our partners (AMD, etc). Regressions still occur of course, but are less frequent on LTS.
Appreciate the kind words. We are working like mad, and with a tiny team, it limits what we’d like to have done. But thankfully our partners are amazing, which helps.
Anything that requires snaps can stay well away from my system, as I’ve never had good experiences with them compared to real packages (or even flatpaks, which seem to solve the problem snaps are trying to solve without being awful).
No new features nor regressions, but bugs and security issues still get patched.
That’s not stagnant. That’s the definition of “stable”.
Unrelated question. Does framework add DSP or similar black magic so the speakers sound better? If so is it the same for windows/Linux? I don’t know of any vendors who provides this on Linux. Asahi Linux (linux for apple silicon, and their flagship distro is fedora) just landed speaker support for m1 macs and they sound awesome/just as good as on macos. I believe they actually had to work with upstream to make it possible and now other vendors could follow suit. It would be awesome to see framework implement this. As of now the best sounding laptop running Linux is a MacBook.
Thank you very much for explaining this and even giving out a personal recommendation. I can see where my confusion came from and I also get what is the intended purpose and that they (the information in the screenshots) are in fact not conflicting. Great to know that you and other employees are actively engaging with the community!
Appreciate it! We do what we can. :)