I have Ubuntu with my X1 (less than a year old but not carbon). While it works great from a drivers standpoint, the trackpad is extremely messed up. My only dislike for the laptop is the poor trackpad. Other than that it's solid.
But the most annoying problem was definitely the damn trackpad. The main problem is that it's horribly jumpy and unpredictable. No matter how I tweaked the options for the device, it would hop erratically. Most annoyingly, the act of lifting my finger away from the trackpad would cause the cursor to move. So, for example, I would move the cursor over a 'close window' icon, lift my finger to do something else (e.g. press a button/whatever) and the cursor would no longer be over the icon. I'd then have to reposition the cursor. So frustrating that I just gave up on the trackpad for a while and started using the trackpoint (which, I tend to call "the nipple").
Eventually, due to all of the problems taken together, I just started using Windows 7 (which, to my surprise, I actually like) with Ubuntu running in VirtualBox. All problems seem to be gone. Trackpad is totally fine in the VM.
Yes.
> And is the laptop heating up more when you are running a vm ?
Not really but I honestly haven't hammered on the VM yet. I gave the VM 1024mb
> Are fans louder when running ubuntu in a VIM ?
Nope. I've heard stories about loud fans on the x220. My fan is dead silent. I actually have to put my ear close to the machine to know it's running.
That said, you should try to use the TrackPoint, since it's a much more efficient pointing device once you get used to it.
I just increased the sensitivity of the TrackPoint. When I use a MacBook (supposedly the pinnacle of trackpad technology), I feel like the cursor is moving in slow motion.
http://shop.lenovo.com/us/itemdetails/55Y9003/460/60AC6A0372...
Between that and this [1] I might be done until the brain scanners arrive.
1: http://www.logitech.com/en-us/mice-pointers/trackballs/wirel...
I'm trying to keep in touch with the ultrabook scene, as I'd quite like my next computer to run linux. The trackpad not working super-well has been one of the things holding me back, as that's one of my favourite features on the mac.
The thing feels unbelievably cheap (which, given the fact that her previous machine was a bargain basement eMachine that had a far better trackpad), is far too touch-sensitive and the texture on it makes it uncomfortable to drag stuff around.
The X1 Carbon's trackpad has been getting rave reviews.
Day to day, the battery life isn't as good as it is in OSX, but other than that, it pretty much just works.
[1] (4,2 I think, but I can't remember how to check.)