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Dell Bringing Thunderbolt 3 USB-C Support To Linux

Posted by timothy on from the bring-it-faster dept.

Freshly Exhumed writes: A series of posts on the Project Sputnik developers' forum at Dell indicate that hardware on a soon to be released XPS 13 Developer Edition laptop will support Thunderbolt 3 USB Type C, which has been tested on the device with video and USB 3.1 on non-dock devices, although Dell's Type C docks are not yet supported. Intel has already implemented Thunderbolt 3 drivers in the Linux kernel, so this Dell initiative represents a first for a physical implementation on a consumer platform.

37 comments

  1. Say what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I don't know what this article is talking about. I already have the XPS 13 9350 business model with 16gig ram, and it is currently running Ubuntu 16 LTS with absolutely everything working hardware wise.

    The thunderbolt support that's 'coming soon' ? This thunderbolt dock already says its compatible with Ubuntu 14 and there's multiple reports about it working just fine.

    http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=450-AEVM

    1. Re:Say what? by 110010001000 · · Score: 2

      What they are saying is that this laptop ships with Linux installed and supports Thunderbolt 3 USB. I am assuming you installed Linux on your laptop yourself.

    2. Re:Say what? by Junta · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Which is nice and all, but it's not *Dell* bringing it to linux, it's Intel bringing it to Linux, and Dell blessing that via preloading (which by itself isn't so exciting, though it does make an unambiguous statement about expectations around support).

      --
      XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
    3. Re:Say what? by fbobraga · · Score: 1

      TFA is really misleading :/

    4. Re:Say what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ubuntu Linux with Intel's kernel support of Thunderbolt 3 and Dell's hardware USB-C interface implementation. That's what this is all about.

    5. Re:Say what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hey hey hey. Don't be stealing Dells thunder man. It's not like they have anything else going for them. Give a Dell a bone!

  2. What you are saying is... by Junta · · Score: 5, Insightful

    That Intel brought that support to Linux, not Dell. Dell gets credit for preloading Linux, but the subject is misleading, given that Intel did the heavy software lifting.

    --
    XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
    1. Re:What you are saying is... by phayes · · Score: 2

      So Timothy/Freshly_exhumed, what exactly is it that excludes the Thunderbolt 3 USB Type C equipped Google Chomebooks ad Retina MacBooks from being "consumer platforms"? Personal prejudice?

      --
      Democracy is a sheep and two wolves deciding what to have for lunch. Freedom is a well armed sheep contesting the issue
    2. Re:What you are saying is... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The article is pure journalistic incompetence, the Dell TB15 USB-C thunderbolt dock already works with any equipped device running kernel >=3.18

    3. Re:What you are saying is... by somenickname · · Score: 2

      I'm not sure if "credit" is the word I'd use when describing Dell pre-loading Linux. I recently got one of their XPS 13 Developer Editions and it's unusable out of the box. It's literally not possible to type on it without spending a huge amount of time trying to fix the touchpad. If anything, buying one of these machines pre-loaded with Linux is probably a deterrent for a new user to ever try Linux again. It's a shame because I really wanted to like the machine.

    4. Re:What you are saying is... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Dell devs themselves said the dock doesn't work yet.

    5. Re:What you are saying is... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Intel added Thunderbolt 3 support to the kernel, and Dell is developing a laptop that implements it through USB-C but they cannot get their own docks to support that configuration yet. Simple.

    6. Re:What you are saying is... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Chromebooks run on ChromeOS, while Retina MacBooks run on iOS. The Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition laptop will run on Ubuntu Linux with Intel's earlier contribution to the kernel of Thunderbolt 3 support and Dell's hardware implementation of the USB-C interface. You also really missed the point that this story is all about consumer platforms for Linux. Got it now?

    7. Re:What you are saying is... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=450-AEVM

      Tech Specs:

      OS Required

      Microsoft ®Windows®7, Microsoft ®Windows®8; 8.1, 10, Ubuntu 14.04 SP1 (PRTS), RedHat Enterprise Linux v7.2(PRTS)

    8. Re:What you are saying is... by rahvin112 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Intel should be praised for the extensive Linux development they do. There is a lot of code in the kernel that makes their hardware work that Intel wrote themselves. That's been rare in the past and they deserve praise for it.

    9. Re:What you are saying is... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So all you have to do now is go onto that Dell forum linked in TFA and ask the devs what they're having problems with.

    10. Re:What you are saying is... by mattventura · · Score: 2

      I'd like to give Dell some credit for offering Linux preloaded (and it even shaves ~$100 off the price), but some of it is just moronic. I was playing with the configurator for one of their laptops, and it told me that the Ubuntu option wasn't compatible with the 4k screen option.

    11. Re:What you are saying is... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      the macbooks don't run iOS, champ, but thanks for the sarcasm.

    12. Re:What you are saying is... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not to mention ChromeOS runs the Linux kernel...

    13. Re:What you are saying is... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      To sell something pre-installed and officially supported, it needs to work reliably and look good. You can't expect Dell to put their name and reputation behind Linux's current state on high-DPI displays, it's a mess.

      Major applications like Libreoffice, Firefox, Inkscape, GIMP, [...] are still based on Gtk2, which doesn't really support DPI scaling at all. Gnome 3 is almost perfect now, but all the other desktops have various problems.

      Perhaps the Wayland transition - and its enforcement of modern toolkits - will improve things. But that's been 'next year' for four years now...

  3. I'd rather have by rossdee · · Score: 0

    a Thunderbolt 2
    AKA A10 Warthog
    FP?

    1. Re:I'd rather have by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Me too. Maybe the US military could donate me one, since they are getting rid of them.

    2. Re:I'd rather have by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh well done on your success with word association of two totally unrelated objects.

      Really, how old are you?

    3. Re:I'd rather have by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I'd rather have an actual thunderbolt. You can't fuck with nature.

  4. If only I didn't already have a laptop I like by Improv · · Score: 3, Interesting

    There's so little time for all the neat-looking hardware that's been coming out recently.

    --
    For every problem, there is at least one solution that is simple, neat, and wrong.
  5. R and D by ISoldat53 · · Score: 1

    Dell still has R and D?

    1. Re: R and D by tysonedwards · · Score: 3, Funny

      Nope, just Marketing around Intel's R&D Efforts.

      --
      Thirty four characters live here.
    2. Re:R and D by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dell's products have been improving by leaps and bounds since they took the company private.

      Without shareholders constantly drumming that they turn out cheap shit that's little more than bottom rung chinese OEM crap with the dell brand slapped on they actually have the ability to do R & D now.

  6. Watch out for spies by fustakrakich · · Score: 2

    FTW:

    Full-featured USB Type-C cables are active, electronically marked cables that contain a chip with an ID function...

    Sounds like something that will make headlines soon.

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
  7. Drivers before available hardware? by whoever57 · · Score: 1

    So what this article is saying is that the drivers were available before the hardware was available.

    There must be exploding minds amongst those people at Microsoft who used to promote the idea that Linux had poor hardware support.

    --
    The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
    1. Re:Drivers before available hardware? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't forget: When Linux supports some hardware before it's commercially available, it's a waste of time because no one can use it!
       

      What a milestone (not). No hardware available but linux supports it!

      Why is this news???

    2. Re:Drivers before available hardware? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      You can already buy the laptop in question, its the XPS13 9350, and you can already buy the USB-C thunderbolt dock, thats the TB15. AND, the dock and laptop already work together in Linux. You just have to install Linux yourself on the 9350 right now, and its extremely pain free. The only bit of new information from the article appears to be that Dell is going to offer the 9350 pre-installed with Linux eventually, which is not a surprise.

  8. Screw Dell by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If Dell does all that, then they will claim control over it later down the line.

  9. Unix-like Apple OS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If OS X is BSD, then doesn't the driver basically already exist from Apple and just needs to be adapted for Linux?

    1. Re:Unix-like Apple OS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not really. Linux, BSD and XNU all have different driver models.

  10. Gigabyte motherboard? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's not the "first for a physical implementation on a consumer platform".

    Thunderbold 3 on USB type C is already there in the last Gigabyte motherboard line with z170 chipset.

  11. This works already by 1umpy · · Score: 1

    I speak from experience: I'm typing this on a keyboard & screen that are connected to my XPS 13 with a Dell USB type C dock (WD15)... and it's obviously working. :-)

    There are two points to note however:

    1. 1. You will probably have to install a recent kernel yourself (Linux 4.5 with Fedora in my case).
    2. 2. The issues with Dell's dock that are mentioned on their forum may refer to their Thunderbolt dock, the TB15.
      For more information on the difference see http://www.dell.com/support/ar....