Support? Customer service? What's the difference? - TUXEDO Computers

The German dictionary Duden defines the now commonly used term „Support“ in German as „help, assistance with hardware and software issues.“ This definition also aligns with what we at TUXEDO mean by customer support, but our support goes far beyond just offering help and problem-solving. Below, we would like to explain what TUXEDO’s Linux support includes.

Customer Service: How We Support You!

At TUXEDO, our dedicated customer service team of over a dozen employees is here to assist you. We not only advise you when purchasing, but also support you during the use of your TUXEDO computer.

Our focus is on resolving issues that affect the basic functionality of the hardware and software we deliver. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide assistance with the operation of applications.

We recommend using TUXEDO OS or Ubuntu on your TUXEDO devices, as these systems are optimized to work seamlessly with our hardware. Additionally, our in-house editorial team keeps you updated with many current topics. Be sure to check out our News and Help & Support sections!

Support: How We Support Linux!

With our own Linux distribution, TUXEDO OS, we have created an essential component to optimize Linux for our TUXEDO computers. For you as a customer, this means that TUXEDO computers are ready to go from the very first second. You don’t need to install and configure a Linux distribution on your computer. Simply unpack your TUXEDO, open it up, and start working.

Your Laptop, Your Desktop, Your Choice

TUXEDO OS is built on the shoulders of giants: we use Ubuntu as the foundation, which we enhance with the latest KDE Plasma desktop and our own developments. In addition to visible components like the TUXEDO Control Center, we also integrate our own kernel into the system. We explain further differences between TUXEDO OS and Kubuntu in this article.

If you prefer a different desktop environment than KDE Plasma or would rather use Ubuntu (or its derivatives such as Xubuntu), OpenSUSE, or Manjaro, you’re not locked into TUXEDO OS. You can choose other distributions directly at the time of purchase or install your preferred OS yourself via WebFAI. WebFAI installs the distributions just as they are done in our manufacturing process, including our optimizations and tools.

Open-Source: Give and Take

For TUXEDO, the concept of support is not a one-way street. All optimizations made to the Linux kernel, as well as the programs developed as part of TUXEDO OS, are open source. All source code is freely accessible in our GitHub repository. We always submit the patches written by TUXEDO developers to the Mainline Kernel, so that every Linux distribution benefits from this work.

This allows you to easily install the TUXEDO Control Center and Tuxedo drivers on many other distributions. We have documented the installation process for Arch Linux and Manjaro on our blog. Installation is also possible, for example, on Gentoo or NixOS. Many Linux distributions provide documentation on how to correctly load our tools and drivers into the system.

However, it takes some time before our innovations and adjustments are integrated into the Mainline Kernel. Furthermore, it will take additional time for the latest Mainline Kernel to appear in different distributions. Since we always aim to offer the latest and most powerful hardware and software, we recommend TUXEDO OS as the operating system for our TUXEDO computers. This way, you can always get the best performance from your TUXEDO.