I am looking to buy a new laptop, and I’d be interested in the Framework laptop. What I like are the replaceability and upgradeability of parts, and the fact it is not (to my knowledge) tied to any large corporation.
However, they are not available for Switzerland, and there is no telling if and when they will be. I’m not dead set on having replaceable parts, but I’d at least like to have something that would not cause issues if I were to install a Linux distrib’ on it (I had a Surface Pro, and had trouble setting up a Mint on it due to missing drivers for the keyboard). And helping smaller companies is a nice plus.
What would your recommendations be?
I don’t know what Switzerland’s keyboard layout situation is like.
kagis
It sounds like Switzerland has a distinct keyboard layout from Germany or France.
It sounds like there’s a Swiss French keyboard layout, which is apparently also what Luxembourg uses:
https://kbdlayout.info/KBDSF/
This differs from the French layout:
https://kbdlayout.info/kbdfrna
There is also a Swiss German layout:
https://kbdlayout.info/KBDSG/
Which differs from the German layout:
https://kbdlayout.info/kbdgr
If you’re looking for a laptop with those layouts, you might have a hard time finding one from a small company, since it’s going to need to be big enough to serve the Swiss market(s). Do you have a specific preference as to keyboard layout?
It’s true that keyboard layout is also a huge problem in Switzerland… I prefer fr_CH
I couldn’t find it when I glanced at their site earlier, but the Germany-based Tuxedo Computers, according to this Reddit post, does have or is supposed have a Swiss French layout option:
https://old.reddit.com/r/tuxedocomputers/comments/13voqru/swiss_french_keyboard_layout/
Someone else already mentioned them.
I have looked at Tuxedo before; they sell laptops specifically targeting the Linux market, so I expect that they’d have good compatibility, and they’re in Europe. I was interested mostly in that they were one of the very few vendors out there who made laptops with large batteries and Radeon-based GPUs (more-Linux-friendly). They’re a little pricey, but not, in my book, unreasonably so relative to the hardware that I was looking at.
That being said, I have never personally owned one of their laptops, so I cannot personally speak as to the experience, just that it’s a vendor that I’ve looked at.
If I were going to personally go get a laptop that runs Linux right now for myself, I’d probably be considering one of:
Framework. Here in the US, pricey, good repairability, good expandability, Linux-out-of-box (I’m not gonna use their out-of-box install, but it means that they’ve checked the hardware for decent compatibility). I doubt that these guys offer a Swiss French layout, though, so that’d probably kill it for you. They aren’t a huge company, and have been talking about taking on projects other than laptops, and I’d be a little concerned about them maybe going out of business or something.
Tuxedo. Germany-based, somewhat-pricey, large batteries, Linux-out-of-box. Radeon GPU hardware (if you want an off-CPU GPU). I couldn’t find a Swiss French option, but that Reddit post says that they have it.
Lenovo Thinkpad. China-based, not-as-expensive. Used to be a pricey IBM line. Notable for having a model with three physical trackpad buttons, a rare feature in 2024 and a major selling point for me. I like physical buttons and they’re rare now, and Linux benefits from having three rather than having to chord two or something. May not matter if you’re fine with virtual buttons. Strong history of Linux users using the thing. I’m much-less impressed with their current hardware than I once was, but it’s also cheaper than it once was, so…<shrugs> Reasonably good historically about expandability and case-opening; last one I needed Philips-head screws and a spudger tool, though no security bits. Physically durable, at least. Large-enough that I bet that you can get a Swiss French layout. Muted black business aesthetic without a lot of LEDs and shiny stuff, which I prefer. Batteries aren’t as large as they once were, but battery life is still good (though the T14 I’m typing this on has less-than-impressive screen brightness).
Dell XPS. Often listed as being comparable to Thinkpad, business-class laptops. Haven’t owned one.