I recently purchased 2 Ryzen 7 systems from ZaReason. These beasts are fast and can do everything I need from them. I also received a free graphics card upgrade on both of them to the GTX 1660. I have no complaints at all with them. They exceeded my expectations and I will be buying a desktop from them again. read more

I purchased a ZaReason Limbo in Sep 2019. It shipped with a note indicating my non-root username and password. It did *NOT* indicate what my root password is. I emailed ZaReason asking them what my root password is. Three days later, I received a response along these lines: We think your root password might possibly be the same as your non-root password. Or possibly, it might be the null string. Or quite possibly it might be your non-root username. Seriously?! ZaReason makes you jump through hoops for your root password? They don't think customers ever need their root password to upgrade our systems? Seriously?! Anyway, I figured out the root password and installed the software I wanted onto my system. That's when the real problems begin. Every once in a while (maybe every week or so), my session crashes. I see a screen for 1/2 a second that reads NMI: Dazed and confused. I google this, and it turns out this is usually for hardware errors. Oftentimes, this is related to RAM issues. Now I have to do troubleshooting, email ZaReason and hope their crappy customer service replies with something more meaningful than, "We think quite possibly that it is possible that the issue is ..." Purchasing from ZaReason was the worst decision of my life. Save yourself the headache and take your business elsewhere. read more

Just a follow-up to the previous review. I got the netbook I wanted, and it's great. Nice to type on, great screen, 3G works well. The power cord short circuited after about a week, but I got a UPS ship notification for a new cord within an hour of sending a message to the ZaReason folks about it, so yay customer service. read more

I ordered a Limbo 6220a desktop computer on New Year's Day 2014. I was able to easily use the Zareason site to customize my system. I went with a an AMD FX-4130, and asked for a Fedora 20 LXDE operating system. On the day of my order, I received a machine confirmation. On January 3, 2014, I got an e-mail that my computer had shipped. I had it in hand on January 9, 2014. The computer worked very well out of the box, with the o/s set up just as I wanted. The shipment included a DVD with the operating system. The build quality was good. After fifty days, the computer still works well. I did substitute a USB wi-fi for the on-board wi-fi that came with the system. I am not a gamer nor a power user, though I do make music with my system using software synthesizers. The computer easily supports my uses. The ZaReason system has worked without incident. I would buy from ZaReason again. I was glad not to have to deal with Secure Boot, with installing around Windows 8, and that the pre-install was smooth and just as I requested. I only wish that ZaReason offered an AMD laptop selection, so that I could realize the "bang for the buck" advantages I got from this desktop. I like Intel systems, too, but I like AMD's value for the price in budget and mid-range systems. It's good to see a company like ZaReason that treats Linux as the main attraction and not a hidden arcade sideshow. I could find a less expensive desktop out in the wide world, but I did not mind paying for the personal install attention my computer received. I like to support companies that support sharing culture. I recommend ZaReason. read more

I bought a Verix 530 exactly 2 years ago, and although ZaReason as a company was great to do business with, there are a few things about the laptop that have made me regret the purchase. The keyboard and trackpad are beyond horrible. On average, once every 200 keystrokes, some part of my hand lightly brushes the trackpad, and the cursor jumps to a different point on the screen. Honestly, it is almost unuseable and it has been incredible frustrating and has introduced bugs into my code on countless occasions. I am 6'4" and have very long hands and fingers -- I can maneouver around a keyboard well. I can't imagine what it would be like for anyone with smaller hands that would need to travel further. When I first got the laptop delivered and I became aware of this problem, I told myself I was going to take it to a local shop and see about moving the components into a different laptop case. I never did it, since it is a bit desperate and I'm not sure if it would even be possible. I don't know of anyone who has had to do anything like this. The left and right click buttons undereath the trackpad are surprisingly loud. If you are at a Meetup, or in a library, or even sitting near someone in a coffeeshop, they very easily will notice the loud, plasticy CLICK noise that each use generates. It sounds like someone is snapping a medium sized twig every few seconds, when in use. It is very loud and very annoying. I know this might come off as a minor thing, but it really isn't. In graduate school, I became really self concious about it, as I began to realize that my classmates were being distracted during lecture. This weekend I went to a conference called ODSWEST -- and I have to wonder if I was the only one who was not able to connect to the hotel's Wifi. The Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N in this laptop, quite simply, does not perform well at all. I could not connect to the WiFi. I have been trying to avoid getting a Mac, but gazing out across the sea of productive people on their Macs, made me jealous as I missed out completely on the day's acitivites...basically, I have just wasted a weekend and $200 for a ticket because I have substandard equipment. Regarding the battery, at the 2 year mark, I can use the laptop for roughly 20 minutes on one charge, while doing basic things like checking email or coding. Last year, I could make it about an hour. The elecricity is drained by the loud fan as this laptop runs very hot. The keys are bulky, loose, and loud. They aren't recessed into the laptop, but instead jut out at least 1/8th inch high. Possibly due to this, if you don't press the key exactly in the middle of the key itself, there is some high probablity that you will not get the character you were attempting to get. It took me quite a while to retrain myself to key slower, more deliberately, and with less spontaneity / fluidity. It has made me a slower typer (this is due as well with desperately attempting to avoid the huge, poorly place touchpad as mentioned above)...and has slowed my typing down to a snail's pace. This laptop's keyboard has caused me more typos and reduced my productivity and introduced more bugs into my code than I could ever have expected possible. One more thing that has been difficult -- the quality of the speakers is very poor. The volume maxes out very low, and the actual audio quality is tinny and flat. Sometimes I have to shut it down and watch video on my girlfriend's Macbook simply because I find myself missing dialogue due to poor quality and low volume. Watching non-optimal audio (classic films that were recorded on analog, or torrents with less-than perfect audio) is a bad experience. I'm not really happy having to give a 2 star review. But I have to be totally honest. Overall I am pretty unsatisified, not with the software as much, or with anything that ZaReason has done, but with the actual physical product. Paradoxically, my main reason for ordering this laptop from ZaReason was to avoid any potential hardware issues which may sometimes occur when installing Ubuntu on a 'regular' laptop. Althought the OS runs okay and I haven't had any major issues, this computer's case or shell or whatever you want to call it, is a nightmare and makes me regret the $1,668.81 I spent. If I had the choice again, there is no way I would have purchased this piece of equipment. I would not recommend this product, unless ZaReason can put the components into a better, more functional laptop case. read more

I absolutely love my ZaReason laptop. They are an amazing company with an open mind. I wrote a review on my blog of the laptop I received. You can see it at http://blog.nixternal.com/2010.08.27/my-zareason-laptop/ UPDATE: 10/25/2016 - 6 years later, that laptop is still working just as good as the day I got it. It never once had an odd hiccup. Only bad thing about it, my daughter stole it a couple of years ago & still uses it. Her grandparents got her a Mac, which she thought she wanted, but she doesn't like it. For school work, ZaReason, for everything else she is a Chromebook junkie too. Love it when you raise smart kids :) read more

I've had a Limbo since 2010, & am quite satisfied with it & with zareason's service. I started using linux as my desktop in 1996, but can't say I ever enjoyed installing & tweaking distros. So when I noticed this little shop in the area, it was a natural fit. Their hardware-first approach has also eased my migrations thru a couple upgrades. I've had no problems with build or quality in the Limbo. After 3.5 years, no signs of hardware saturation even at ubuntu 13.10. Zareason continues to be responsive & helpful long after the machine is out of warranty. I also own their netbook - remember them? - the Terra HD. As Steve Jobs said, you can't build a laptop at that price point that isn't a piece of junk. So I did have some hardware problems, very quickly corrected, & learned to baby it. Zareason's support was impeccable. Before the Terra, I'd owned two "Gazelle" (17" Sony VAIAO) laptops sold by Emperorlinux. My employer paid for these at a huge markup. They were in no way superior to the Terra WRT software robustness. Emperor service was occasionally disagreeable though always competent. I had no software problems with the Terra that I hadn't had with the Gazelles. My hardware problems with the Gazelles were much worse - the warranty was with Sony, not Emperor, with a 6 week turnaround. I retired the Terra after concluding that linux wi-fi support seems to be perpetually uncooked, regardless of vendor. My current laptop is a Mac Air, but my favorite machine is my Limbo. People contemplating using a linux desktop need to understand that software for Linux's non-server world is a collection of hobby projects, demos, & master's theses in variable states of completeness. Thanks to companies like Canonical, it's getting better; but expect some potholes on the road less taken. -- update 3/23/14: Actually not so sure Canonical/Ubuntu are improving things for people like me (old Unix users who know their way around computing in general & Unix in particular). New releases move towards accommodating newbies from the GUI/mobile world, & in the process create more obstacles (e.g., Unity) for heritage users. For me it's not worth the bother. My next desktop will be a Mac. Not the fault of Zareason, which supports other distros. read more

The computer (Limbo) I received from them is well built, but Linux (Debian) was not installed correctly on it and it was obvious from the first bootup. They never bothered to install the proper video drivers or check the computer before they shipped it. The point of their company is to build systems with Linux configured properly and I did not find that to be the case. Since I had to do a full reinstall myself anyways, I would've been better served by saving the money and buying a Dell. Upon calling them to try to get some help, I was told someone would call me back in 30 min....which never happened. I had to call back hours later to try to get tech support. I received little help at first in diagnosing the initial problem. Eventually (after a couple of days of phone calls) I was able to get some legitimate tech support and they said they would send me out an install CD and USB. After a few more days and the package never arrived, they emailed me to let me know they sent it to the wrong address and it would be a bit longer. Oops. By this point I had just reinstalled Debian and configured the system myself. Earlier in the year I ordered one of their bootable Linux USB sticks and they sent me the wrong one. I had to send it back to them before I got the correct one I ordered. Oops again. I almost feel bad for writing this, because *if* they're serious about what they're doing then that's a good thing for the Linux/FOSS community. But I couldn't recommend them right now. I just didn't have a good experience with them and it's a chunk of money to spend. Maybe in a year or two, they'll get their act together, but it seems a bit sketchy right now, I'm sorry to say. read more

Need Avoid this business. Bad product, extremely bad support. I bought an $1300 laptop, it died and won't start within 10 months. Also need point out how lousy the wireless detecting is! read more

Customized and ordered linux desktop -- good price! Got it in less than a week. Everything exactly as ordered, working perfectly.

Very nice place! I bought the Limbo desktop from them recently - great value, and it's working very well! Ordering and shipping was super-fast (I think just one day? Maybe two. Makes sense, since they're in Berkeley and I'm in Palo Alto...). I chatted with customer service online about getting a nonprofit discount and about installing Xubuntu (not one of the standard choices their computers come with) - they were quick and helpful, I got a perfect Xubuntu install and the discount without any unnecessary paperwork. I'll definitely check them out next time I need a computer. read more

I own a Zeto, and I like it. I probably could not have built it noticeably cheaper, so the price was good. The machine itself is pretty nice and compact, and I have had no trouble hooking up multiple monitors up to 2560 X 1440. I wish they offered the option of an aftermarket CPU heat sink, and it took a little while to arrive, but it is nice to have a really fast Ubuntu machine without bothering to build one or get a windows machine and hope Ubuntu works with the hardware. read more

Great experience. I had a quick question and got it answered immediately over the phone. I built my laptop on their website, ordered it, and it appeared at my door a week later. The laptop is exactly what I expected. read more

I ordered a Limbo desktop from them. On start up there was no way to create a new user and password. So I called and they told me to reinstall Linux, which I did. The monitor I ordered from them did not work, except in the VGA port. I called and they said to reinstall nvidia drivers, which I did, but the monitor still didn't work in the DVI or HDMI ports. So I had to send it all back at my own expense and the warranty leaves it up to them if they want to give me a refund or fix it. Why order from them if there's no guarantee you won't face hardware and configuration problems? Isn't that the only reason to get a preconfigued Linux box, so there aren't any hardware suprises? Also support seemed to have a bare minimum of knowledge, had no idea what xorg.conf was or that Nvidia ever had any issues on linux and Ubuntu. I would really warn against this company. Go get a Dell or whatever at your local store, save the hassle, uncertaintly and shipping costs, and just install Linux yourself. read more