[nonviable]

Exactly. My primary device is a daily updated (with aptitude) Debian testing on a T410 and have exactly none of the specified problems, though I too don't run a dual-mode graphics card. Not sure where the parent post got their info.

Lenovo took a big step down from IBM when they took over the brand, but for my money they are still the best non-mac laptops out there for a Linux user.

[KirinDave]

If they are "best" is immaterial. Linux is a poor laptop experience.

And you don't have a dual mode graphics card and probably only have VGA out, so you really don't have dual monitor support except in entirely unsatisfactory or projector contexts.

You also almost assuredly get battery life that is worse to a comparable windows 7 installation with Lenovo customizations.

[pyre]

  You also almost assuredly get battery life that
  is worse to a comparable windows 7 installation
  with Lenovo customizations.

Why is this though? This has been the case for a while, but I'm unclear as to what optimization happens on Windows/OSX that doesn't happen on Linux. It's usually attributed to the Windows/OSX manufacturer drivers, but what are those drivers doing differently? Anyone have even a general idea?

[SkyMarshal]

The most recent Linux kernels make big improvements there. My linux laptop battery life went from ~4hrs to ~8hrs when I upgraded from Ubuntu 11.10 to 12.04. The reason is a few patches added to the kernel in 2012:

http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/New-Linux-kernel-fixe...

That article is from Feb 2012 and mentions two big power-saving problems with the kernel, the first one patched, the second (RC6 power-saving feature in Sandy Bridge) unpatched as of the article's publish date. The second has since been patched as well, for huge power gain.

[KirinDave]

By the way, I agree that recently things can get better. I stopped trying to get the Linux laptops in Jan after about 5 months of wrangling.