There have been some postings regarding this issue so I hope these
comments are helpful.
I have been installing GNU/Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD and OpenBSD on laptops
since 1998 with few problems. And now with all the increased driver
support (rare exceptions with some things like wireless chipsets-i.e.
Broadcom-but even there you have ndiswrapper) it is pretty easy to
maintain a reliable system.
The system/package management/facilities, portability, stability and
support provided by Debian make it our "standard" environment of choice.
(In our case we consider "support" being that offered by the extensive
global effort that includes bug tracking/reporting/resolution, automated
security updates/patches, extensive mailing lists, seamless package
management, and reliable system upgrade procedures)
All this along with the various supported platforms are easily available
at www.debian.org
There are commercial vendors all over who will provide
contract/installation/support options of all kinds if need be.
http://www.debian.org/consultants/ And the big vendors are there as
well, for example HP
http://h71028.www7.hp.com/enterprise/cache/76815-0-0-225-121.aspx
And of course there is Ian Murdock's company http://www.progeny.com/ (he
was the founder of the whole Debian project)
(BTW there is a map of "known" users at
http://maps.bzzt.net/users-big.jpg?481,96 and you can register you site
at http://www.linuks.mine.nu/debian-worldmap/)
The latest installer CD makes it really easy to install on most standard
laptops (I am writing this from a Gateway 7405GX AMD 64 laptop) Just get
the right one for your platform. I like the network based installation
ISOs
http://www.debian.org/CD/netinst/
But you have many other choices.
Sometimes folks don't like the disk partitioning/file system setup - if
so you might like to try using the first Mandrake CD1
http://mirrors.usc.edu/pub/linux/distributions/mandrakelinux/official/iso/
They have a fantastic GUI based tool to accomplish this part of the
installation that covers nearly all aspects of this process. When done
with the partitioning you can return to Debian CD (but now the new
Debian installation process makes the whole issue of partitioning pretty
easy)
You should also take a look at http://www.linux-laptop.net/ to find out
any particular issues regarding systems prior to purchase.
The only problems I have encountered have been with the unsupported
wireless chipsets (check the laptop page noted above- i.e.things like
Centrino etc..).
The other thing has been failed Hitachi Travelstar notebook drives. This
of course is not related to the OS. I prefer using Seagate - they have
been extremely reliable (for our notebooks, workstations and servers)
but don't appear to be used in most notebooks or typical vendor systems.
I like Knoppix, but have found their disk installation facilities more
limited, but that may have changed in the last year.
--
Ismet B. Kursunoglu, MD, FCCP
Medical Director
Alaska Clinic, LLC
3750 Country Field Circle, UNIT B
Wasilla, Alaska 99654
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
(907)357-7240
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