> I've been considering the purchase of a 7000 for linux use. I'd
> appreciate hearing your experiences. What works and doesn't work?
Here, I assuming you mean "what is supported" when you refer to "what
works". Right now, as far as I know (from both reading the mailing lists
and trial and error), neither X nor sound is supported via free software.
There is a commercial $160 X server which will work. There is also a $25
sound driver which is supposed to be released at the end of Oct. So by
the end of October, we should be seeing full support for the Inspiron 7k
if you're willing to pay for it.
PCMCIA services work okay. However, the 3com cardbus fast ethernet card
that Dell sells is currently also unsupported. (This has to do with the
card and not the Inspiron 7k specifically). If you buy an ethernet card
from the supported PCMCIA cards list, you shouldn't have any problems.
The PCMCIA modems are fine (the internal model of the Inspiron 7k is a
winmodem and not useful in linux). I use the 3com global 56k modem to
dial out via PPP.
> Any pointers for installation (your tips or URLs).
None needed here. Linux installs as usual. X and sound aren't available
for free yet so there aren't any known working configs yet. (Anyone out
there have a working configuration for either X or sound for the I7K?)
> Did you get the 15" screen... (longingly)... is it beautiful?
Yes, I like my 15" screen very much. :) The drawbacks, as some have
already mentioned, are higher power consumption and a somewhat heavier and
larger laptop. This laptop isn't for those who travel frequently.
Steve
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