When the fear of hardware incompatibilities puts you off buying a new computer be sure to run your intended purchase through Canonical’s ‘Ubuntu Certification’ website.

The site is a compendium of officially tested Ubuntu-compatible hardware from many major manufacturers – including devices from Dell, Acer Samsung and Toshiba where hardware reviewed is given one of two different certifications: –

To gain ‘Ubuntu Certified’ status hardware is tested by Canonical engineers.

‘Ubuntu Ready’ applies to hardware self-tested by OEMs using Canonical’s certification test suite with results submitted to Canonical for validation.

What does this mean for me?

The certification site allows you to search through already validated computers from many well-known OEMs. With more OEM partners submitting their hardware for certification you can be assured that the devices you buy work with Ubuntu out-of-the-box.

If you don’t find your device listed don’t assume that it isn’t compatible. Not every device manufacturer has submitted their hardware for testing. Check out the community-reviewed compatibility pages on the Ubuntu Wiki.

Visit

Head over to webapps.ubuntu.com/certification/ to check out the current tally of compatible hardware and search on any prospective machines you’re considering buying.

Thanks to Akshat