Kubuntu Focal point Ir14 (Gen 1) Assessment: Linux Productiveness Made Simple

You could already know the identify Kubuntu as a customery Linux distribution, however Kubuntu may be an organization promoting computer systems with the Kubuntu working machine preinstalled. I spent once in a while with the primary occasion of the Kubuntu Ir14 Focal point computer and located it use the fee however now not with out fault.

Centered at builders, the “Focus” branding speaks to the product order’s emphasis on productiveness. In comparison to the M2 and XE fashions, the Ir14 is a extra thin all-rounder. Its {hardware} is well configured to take care of any person’s on a regular basis duties, date it additionally supplies the technique to join an exterior GPU (eGPU) for extra extensive paintings. Plus, the serviceable frame way you’re now not caught with the configuration you form.

The Linux revel in is phenomenally velvety at the Ir14 thank you to a couple optimizations made to Kubuntu. The spare working machine nonetheless gained’t be everybody’s cup of tea, however there’s a batch to comprehend about Kubuntu’s struggle to assistance you accident the garden working whilst you evident up this Linux computer.

Design: A Negligible Little bit of The whole thing

In my fingers, the Ir14 felt great—now not probably the most top class I’d ever skilled, however it didn’t really feel affordable both. The obese touchpad do business in enough quantity of room for gestures, and I strangely nearly by no means by chance tapped it date typing. The keyboard itself felt comfy and includes a white backlight with two ranges of luminous you keep watch over the usage of some of the serve as keys. There are not any colour choices, although, and deny solution to toggle it graphically via Kubuntu itself.

For the way thin the design is, it packs a stunning selection of ports. Productiveness is front-of-mind right here with an eGPU-ready Thunderbolt port and an HDMI port supporting as much as 3 exterior screens. I used to be relieved it nonetheless has a conventional 3.5mm headphone jack too. Refuse Ethernet port, although.

The one severe condition I had with the design, although, owes itself to some of the Focal point Ir14’s strengths. Not like many pc in the market, you’ll be able to smoothly form upgrades and upkeep to the Ir14 because of the bottom panel being held in park by means of simply six usual screws. I were given out my screwdriver, and, certainly, changing the NVMe pressure, RAM, and battery gave the look of a cinch. On paper, it is a robust promoting level, particularly if you wish to get monetary savings purchasing the bottom configuration and upgrading with your personal portions next on.

Then again, as is continuously the case with easily-serviced {hardware}, that point of bliss itself brings issues for the Ir14. Later a couple of day of standard worth, and prior to I’d attempted opening it, I spotted some play games within the underside plate, particularly when resting my fingers then to the touchpad. Tightening the plate screws helped, and I didn’t understand it once more the extra of the occasion I had the Ir14, however it involved me nevertheless. We reached out to Kubuntu about it and have been instructed it’s most likely that now not plethora adhesive was once old to reserve the screws in park all the way through cargo.

It’s a condition you gained’t run into purchasing maximum mainstream pc this present day—not anything to unscrew as a result of there’s not anything you’re truly supposed to fix or change. Individually, although, a computer with some screws that want tightening now and nearest is best than a computer with an specific price tag to the landfill.

Setup: An Awkward Step within the Proper Path

Later going throughout the Kubuntu set up, there’s a “Welcome Wizard” that may counsel and routinely get started a number of duties you’ll most likely wish to do whilst you first worth the Ir14, like join to the web and timber into your e-mail account in Thunderbird. I used to be pleasantly stunned by means of how thorough it was once, even providing to put in Microsoft fonts (suppose Occasions Unutilized Roman and Arial), one thing that’s a bit of of a chore to do by yourself on Linux.

Regardless of appreciating the aid, I discovered the sorcerer revel in lower than intuitive. While you say sure to a urged, an app or conversation will evident for it, however concurrently any other conversation opens, prompting you to walk onto the then merchandise within the sorcerer. You must forget about that conversation field date you whole the duty to hand, or else attempt to supremacy the batch or so duties directly.

Don’t get me unsuitable: I love what Kubuntu is making an attempt to do right here. A batch of usual duties you’d wish to do whilst you first get started the usage of your unutilized pc don’t seem to be very easy on Linux and will intimidate a amateur. Automating up to that as imaginable is undeniably excellent and worthy, however I simply want it had a friendlier person revel in. Thankfully, it’s a tool condition, which means an replace will have fastened it by means of the occasion you learn this.

Talking of tool, a batch of stuff comes preinstalled at the Ir14, together with Google Chrome, which I believed was once a pleasing contact. The arena’s maximum customery browser isn’t the very best one to put in on Linux for green customers. Firefox is there, too, together with a bevy of alternative loose tool, together with many developer gear. Some may name that bloated, however that’s a relative time period. I see that “bloat” as showcasing to unutilized customers the sector of probabilities on Linux. None of it’s tricky to take away, both; deny Home windows shovelware right here.

Pitch and Video: It Works

The Ir14’s audio and visible features are nice-looking utilitarian. The audio system tone juiceless, if a bit of tranquility. The IPS panel isn’t successful any good looks contests, and it’s additionally restricted to 60Hz, making it obviously constructed with paintings in intellect in lieu than play games. Kubuntu, thankfully, has excellent help for fractional scaling, which is a very powerful for a high-resolution observe like this; I needed to transfer to 125% to learn conveniently.

What I favored specifically, although, was once how smartly the Ir14 treated connecting an exterior observe: higher than I’ve perceivable any alternative Linux computer. With alternative programs, I used to be continuously twiddling with show settings to get my setup right kind, and the ones settings tweaks would continuously purpose problems after I disconnected once more. I had none of the ones issues of Kubuntu at the Ir14. I may just plug, paintings, unplug, and move paintings in other places seamlessly.

The integrated webcam is a 1MP 720p digicam that unquestionably isn’t perfect in school. It held up smartly plethora in conferences below excellent lighting fixtures however it suffers extraordinarily with out.

How-To Geek’s favourite computer with a indistinguishable worth dimension, the Dell XPS 13, has a indistinguishable webcam, so it will get a move in that means. The associated fee tags of the Ir14’s extra professional-level configurations, although, form it gradually extra disappointing. If you need one thing higher, plan on searching for an exterior webcam.

Working Gadget: The Linux Simple Button

The Focal point Ir14 comes with Kubuntu 22.04 LTS preinstalled. This model gets usual help till April 2027, and prolonged help is going till April 2032, so that you’re prepared for a date for those who’re now not any person who loves to improve or distro-hop.

In the event you aren’t habitual with Linux distributions, Kubuntu is largely Ubuntu however with a unique desktop climate, KDE Plasma, converting the person interface. For me, Kubuntu is a combined bag as a result of Plasma is my favourite desktop climate, however I don’t love Ubuntu. Future it’s not anything you’ll be able to’t paintings round, I to find Ubuntu’s contemporary adoption of a “Snaps-first” philosophy irritating; Flatpaks simply have a tendency to paintings extra persistently for me.

Regardless of that little bit of frustration, I’ve the Ir14 to thank for most likely my smoothest Linux revel in but. Kubuntu bosts that {hardware} is chosen and tool tweaked to paintings in solidarity, and I may just inform that was once the case.

Linux can theoretically be put in on any pc, however a wi-fi card or audio jack merely doesn’t get together with Linux has been a thorn in lots of facets. If so, making the {hardware} paintings (if imaginable in any respect) continuously takes analysis and command order kung-fu, difficult a batch from a person who won’t have the tech abilities or occasion essential for that. The Ir14 and its optimized version of Kubuntu released me the ones issues.

There’s additionally a choice of tool you gained’t to find ready-to-go on alternative Linux distros referred to as “Kubuntu Focus Tools.” They come with such things as a machine diagnostic software for routinely figuring out and fixing problems, a curated checklist of apps the Kubuntu crew has examined and recommends, and a menu for controlling the CPU ranges and enthusiasts (although it knowledgeable me the Ir14’s enthusiasts are managed within the BIOS). Since managing a Linux machine isn’t at all times a journey within the landscape, I favored having a lot of these gear at my disposal from the get-go.

Particularly, the Kubuntu crew has a batch of documentation for its Focal point order or even a help telephone quantity and e-mail cope with to touch if you wish to have additional aid. Generally if I’ve a Linux condition, my most suitable choice is to attempt discovering any person on-line who’s solved it within the while, and that during itself is a discovered talent. The truth that I’ve an immediate order of communique with the Ir14’s creators together with enough quantity of guides expecting my wishes truly units the computer with the exception of its competition and makes the fee tag that a lot more use it.

Efficiency: BYOGPU

The Focal point Ir14 is customizable whilst you form it, and with a number of presets to be had. The only I gained appeared to fit the “Dev Plus” preset, which is able to run you $1,190 and will get you 32 GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. There’s just one processor choice irrespective of your preset, and if you need a devoted GPU in lieu than built-in graphics, you’re going to want an eGPU. (There’s even an automatic installer for a device studying suite.)

For my paintings, the Dev Plus configuration was once greater than plethora. Bootup took seconds, and waking from diversion came about in a blink. The CPU has a bottom frequency of two.0 GHz and will also be boosted to 4.4 GHz.

The Ir14 smoothly treated my blind gaming, like “Cities: Skylines” and “TableTop Simulator.” It’s now not a gaming computer whatsoever, however it’s on no account not possible to have amusing with the Ir14 both—simply form certain you get no less than 16GB of RAM, and maximum mid-level video games must be coated. Linux gaming has come far in recent times, owing a lot to Valve’s Steam Deck, and the Ir14 will allow you to revel in of a few of the ones advances, as long as you steer clear of anything else too difficult.

The battery suited my wishes, since I’m by no means a ways from a wall plug. Kubuntu says that with minimum utilization, the Ir14 can utmost as much as 8 hours. Beneath my standard workload, which comes to having more than one browser tabs evident, chatting on Slack, typing in a synced notes app, and streaming on Spotify with luminous became up, I used to be generally getting round 4 hours out of it.

Will have to You Purchase the Kubuntu Focal point Ir14 (Gen 1)?

Judging from my revel in with it, I’d say the Kubuntu Focal point Ir14 (Gen 1) is a significance contender within the Linux-first pc global, as long as you simply wish to paintings conveniently on-the-go and don’t have large efficiency calls for. The serviceable chassis allows you to safeguard your computer helps to keep up with you for years yet to come. (Simply observe the ones base plate screws). If you wish to have computing energy for device studying and severe gaming, both plan on connecting an eGPU or believe any other Linux computer choice.

The quantity of devoted help Kubuntu’s Focal point order comes with is uncommon in Linux, and the setup sorcerer is going far in serving to you get began, albeit with a clumsy implementation. Although you’re now not a developer, I’d suggest the Focal point Ir14 as a remarkably clean advent to productiveness on Linux.