Heather wrote: > > > > Hello again, > > > > I've got a budget of =< $2000 (US) for a laptop through a new > > employer. > > Due to job requirements, I need to run RedHat and windoze (preferably NT) > > in > > addition to Debian. I also need to do some presentation work on the laptop. > > > > Any suggestions for the closest to 100% compatible laptops? > > Well, NT has fairly stringent hardware requirements, so chances are pretty > darn good that if NT can take it, so can we. The main issue will be the > video chipset, since evry manufacturer looking to rake in a buck seems to > be willing to cough up an MSwin driver.
Watch out about this. I have a Toshiba Tecra 780, with very good support from Toshiba for Windows 95, 98, and NT 4.0, but very little support for Linux. It runs Linux just fine, but there is a proprietary built-in DSP modem (Lucent "mars") and a proprietary video camera. Lucent has released a driver, but it's a pre-compiled binary which complains about my kernel. I may get it running some day. Support for the camera is in the works (according to Toshiba), but when? and maybe it has the same "pre-compiled" problems when it arrives. Alas, NT support is not sufficient as a requirement. I have read messages here from people using the Lucent driver with their Toshiba's, so don't count them out -- my previous (obsolete but still running well) Toshiba Tecra 500CDT ran everything great with Linux (it came with a real modem built in). Just pin down support before deciding. IBM claims to be getting into Linux in a big way, but I don't know what that translates into in the real world... regards, Bret
