Thinkpad + Fedora
Fedora stays on the cutting edge of the kernel, which means that driver support is quite good. Additionally, most of the Linux kernel developers use Thinkpads, so the drivers for Thinkpad are always good. I've never had to download drivers individually.
Here's a list of things that just "worked" without me having to do anything:
1. My bluetooth noise cancelling headphones paired with no issues.
2. My desktop display with usb-c just works.
3. Old-style plugin iphone headphones worked as did their builtin mic.
4. Logitech camera plugging into my monitor and routing to the laptop via usb-c just works.
5. I have yet to find a printer (as long as its on the same wifi network) that I can't use (granted I barely print anything).
6. You can install and manage everything via the GUI.
7. Docker just works.
Things that didn't work:
1. I had to install "gnome-tweaks" in order to remap my CapsLock key to Control.
In my ten years of using Thinkpad+Fedora I've only encountered one issue and that was during the Wayland transition. The Zoom client (as in video chat) briefly didn't support screen sharing, but that was fixed several versions ago.
Also, people saying that "M1" is a gamechanger: I totally get it for certain sectors, but for Software Engineers? Memory has always been my bottleneck. I don't think I've ever seen my CPU choke on a legitimate task.
If you look for a Laptop, Dell XPS are pretty good. If you buy one used, avoid the one which has the camera at the bottom of the screen. People look right up your nose in meetings I was told.
If you look for a Laptop, Dell XPS are pretty good. If you buy one used, avoid the one which has the camera at the bottom of the screen. People look right up your nose in meetings I was told.