I’ve had multiple Thinkpad X1 carbon laptops with whatever the most recent Ubuntu LTS version. The hardware is well supported by Ubuntu, however I have experienced a few bugs with Gnome and the keyboards on newer X1 carbons are not as reliable. Since much of what people do these days is in a web browser, the difference between operating systems is not as meaningful these days.
> You rarely knew if the people you interviewed were hired or not
Perhaps this has changed over the years. I recall there is a website listing all the people you have interviewed and their status (e.g. upcoming interview, rejected, application withdrawn etc)