Very Computer

Sorry for the plain subject. I know of linux-laptop.net and tuxmobil.org
and did a handfull laptopinstallation on my own and always had to fight
to get infrared or suspend or winmodem or ... to work.

Now for me its time to buy a new laptop and while I'm sure I can install
linux on almost any laptop I like to buy a laptop this time which will
work very well and almost out of the box with one of the
standard-distributions. I just dont want to spend two weeks again to
make my laptop work well, like I needed when I bought my dell inspiron
4000 3 years ago ..

So are there any recommendations which laptop works just fine with a
certain distro. Maybe there is a list somewhere on the net of the most
flawless linux-laptops like there is for printers under linux.

Or maybe there is a laptop which already ships with a recent linux on it?

thnx a lot,
peter

ps: If somebody really has many information on this topic: I'd like to
buy a decent new laptop with a P4>2GHz and loads of RAM as well, a
DVD-burner and it should be not to heavy and .. of course .. it should
be cheap ;) Currently I think at the ACER ...

Quote:

> So are there any recommendations which laptop works just fine with a
> certain distro. Maybe there is a list somewhere on the net of the most
> flawless linux-laptops like there is for printers under linux.
linuxonlaptops

> Or maybe there is a laptop which already ships with a recent linux on it?

> thnx a lot,
> peter

> ps: If somebody really has many information on this topic: I'd like to
> buy a decent new laptop with a P4>2GHz and loads of RAM as well, a
> DVD-burner and it should be not to heavy and .. of course .. it should
> be cheap ;) Currently I think at the ACER ...

jef

Quote:

>Sorry for the plain subject. I know of linux-laptop.net and tuxmobil.org
>and did a handfull laptopinstallation on my own and always had to fight
>to get infrared or suspend or winmodem or ... to work.

The only hardware that is a problem at all is the SD card reader.  Well,
I'm not sure about the modem.  

There is some trickery to setting the original XP install for
repartitioning and dual boot, but you can at least do it with the rescue
disc.  Remind me to look up how you do that again -- there's an
undocumented resume function in the installer that lets you partition
and format and then it un-ghosts.

If the built-in SD cardslot worked, this machine would work perfectly.
I've never had a problem with Linux on Toshiba, all the way back to a
1997 P-75 Satellite that I still use.

Had a good run with the last 3 Toshiba laptops I have had.

Some minor issues with the keyboard "repeating" under X, but there is a simple
XF86Config amendment that solved it. Seems un-necessary in Fedora Core 1
though.

Quote:> So are there any recommendations which laptop works just fine with a
> certain distro. Maybe there is a list somewhere on the net of the most
> flawless linux-laptops like there is for printers under linux.

> Or maybe there is a laptop which already ships with a recent linux on it?

The problem with laptop "vendors" is most DO NOT make their
own laptops.. Toshiba doesn't for example.  So you never know
what you are getting.. model to model.  None of the primary
laptop providers (Sager, and a whole bunch you probably have
never heard of) test for Linux compatability (AFAIK).

I would not buy a laptop for Linux without EXTENSIVE research
ahead of time.. or go with someone like emperorlinux and let
them do the work for you.

Quote:>I would not buy a laptop for Linux without EXTENSIVE research
>ahead of time.. or go with someone like emperorlinux and let
>them do the work for you.

Mladen.

--kyler

I find it more surprising that people are willing to pay to become
*less* free.  (Happens all the time, but it still amazes me.)

--kyler

Quote:>Price is the wrong reason to run Linux

I've spent a non-insignificant amount of money trying to obtain a video
card which works properly with fb support.  The worst case so far is the
geforce-4 on the shuttle xpc.  Even vesafb doesn't work with that, and
I'm still hoping someone on this forum can tell me how to fix it.  
Also, Radeon and Trident chips have totally failed with the respective
fb drivers.  That's a few hundred bucks worth of vga cards that I bought
*because* they were on the hardware compatability lists, yet cannot use
them on linux due to the framebuffer console device being broken.  Yes,
vesafb works on the radeon and the trident, and I make that compromise.
But why does a system, tagged as production ready (linux 2.6.x) fail to
support hardware which is specifically listed as tested and compatable?

Back in the first part of the linux era, I was much more tolerant toward
this sort of thing.  I've been running linux since 0.99, in case you
care.  But today, the community seems to be mystified that the system
has not gained much acceptance in the mainstream.  It's pretty obvious
why that is, to me.

Quote:> the right reason is that it's a
>vastly more powerful operating system.

Quote:>If you are buying the laptop as a
>tool then it makes perfect sense to buy something that's trouble free even
>if it's more expensive.

Try to steer clear of laptops with the centrino chipset.  Support is
still in its infancy.  VIA support is quite mature.  SiS support isn't
bad either, providing you don't plan on using the integrated modem.  Pre
Centrino intel chipsets usually work well enough too, but becoming
harder to find due to Centrino.

If you do wish to use an integrated modem, then the modem ideally should
have the Conexant chipset.  There are drivers available (linuxant.org)
which work pretty well with these.

The Dell Inspiron 5100 I have is Linux compatible, along with all its
integrated hardware.

Try to steer clear of laptops that use part of the system memory for
video memory.  While they usually work, xvid can be a pig to get working
properly in X if you plan on watching video files/dvd's on the system.

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I have an HP OfficeJet G85 printer.  In 2.6.4, it prints less
than a page a minute, which I consider not to be working.  I
using the hpoj-0.91 package, with ptal etc.

I have also connected two other printers, a Canon and a
Lexmark, and both print so slowly that they're useless.  Both
the HP and the Lexmark become useful when connected to the
parallel port.  (I haven't tried that with the Canon.)

I note that 2.6.5 was released today, and will try it.  The
ChangeLog lists a number of USB patches.   Of course the
ChangeLogs for 2.6.1-4 also listed many USB patches.