On Friday, February 04, 2011 01:26:01 Frank DiMitri wrote: > > On Thursday, February 03, 2011 20:31:03 Frank DiMitri wrote: ... > >> I'd think that pretty much all laptops have good Linux compatibility. > > > > Be careful making that kind of a general, global statement -- that kind > > of thing can lead people astray. > > > > New hardware comes out all of the time, and obscure laptops with broken > > BIOSes that misreport local hardware or have ACPI or other bugs are > > common. It takes about a year for new hardware support to trickle down > > into your favorite distro, so if you buy something brand new, you have > > a brand new interesting problem getting Linux fully supported on it -- > > it doesn't always work right away. > > Hardware support is rolled into *distros* now? Weird. I thought it was all > in the kernel.. :)
Actually it's *not* all in the kernel. Tell you what -- try compiling a kernel for Ubuntu sometime for a laptop (on real hardware, not a VM) and you find out what that means. I'll give you a hint: Linus Torvalds himself has complained that compiling a kernel for Ubuntu is "not easy". > Obscure laptops? That's what they're called on the Linux Kernel Mailing List. If you don't like the term, call it "less popular". > > I still commonly see complaints about people not being able to find > > touchscreen devices -- device finders like lspci, lsusb, etc, can't > > always find these. > > That doesn't necessarily mean they won't work. And why do you think people went looking for them? Stop being coy. There are devices on laptops that do not "work out of the box". Some touchscreens, some built-in cameras, some wireless devices... etc. > > Before I would ever buy a NEW laptop, I'd want to know whether Linux > > worked on it first and/or what lengths someone needed to go through to > > get it working fully. And even when it comes to ThinkPads (which usually > > get good support) there are devices you can get for them that are still > > not supported, like > > > > "Turbo Memory": > > http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Intel%C2%AE_Turbo_Memory_hard_drive_cache > > > > For old laptops, I like to test that at least a Knoppix CD will boot on > > them and get to a graphical desktop. > > Couple responses to this.. first being.. does that really matter to anyone? > You don't *need* an EEPROM cache. Not being able to use it doesn't stop you > from effectively using the laptop.. and with the dropping prices of SSDs on > many levels it makes no sense to run a mechanical HDD in a laptop anyway. The point I'm making here is that even laptops that are VERY WELL "SUPPORTED" under Linux have devices that still cannot be used with Linux. > >> I'd try to stick to business laptops (my personal preference are > >> Thinkpads, but then again I try to stay away from laptops, and only > >> just got my first used Lenovo as a personal machine). Most of the > >> consumer laptops are pure garbage. Junk hinges, screens, lots of > >> flexing, or just crappy keyboards. Are you looking for something new? > >> > >> The IdeaPads should be OK as far as compatibility, but are nowhere near > >> the quality of a Thinkpad. > > > > There is at least one special Linux kernel options specific to the > > IdeaPads as of Linux 2.6.36, relating to the "RF Kill Switch" for > > the wireless device. And ThinkWiki reports that not all IdeaPad models > > have Linux support. > > Please define "Linux support." To get a definitive answer you'd have to ask ThinkWiki, as that's who made the statement. I took it to mean "won't work with Linux out of the box." ... > > One thing that's common on laptops are custom keyboard buttons (like > > volume up/down/mute), and these can be tricky to get working under Linux. > > Seems kind of unimportant vs the functionality of the rest of the laptop. > Does anyone really care if their volume keys don't work? Although, they're > usually not really *tricky* to get working. That reply is completely unhelpful. ... > >> I just went with a used Thinkpad (T61, getting a T61P too), it was > >> cheap, and I know *I* don't need a laptop to be fast. > > > > What you need to know is that the Nvidia G84M video chip in the T61p has > > internal manufacturing problems and is known to fail heat-related death, > > thus requiring depot repair. There's likewise a problem requiring > > eventual motherboard replacement in relation to the RAM controller when > > using two sticks of RAM. [I had both problems.] Great laptop otherwise, > > though. > > G84/G86-M deaths are better known in HPs/Dells, but yeah the GPU *can* be a > problem if it gets hot. It's an internal chip manufacturing problem as to the heat issue, not a cooling problem external to the chip. -- Chris -- Chris Knadle [email protected] _______________________________________________ Mid-Hudson Valley Linux Users Group http://mhvlug.org http://mhvlug.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mhvlug Upcoming Meetings (6pm - 8pm) MHVLS Auditorium Mar 2 - MHVLUG 8th Anniversary - Show and Tell Apr 6 - Introduction to IPv6 May 4 - Inkscape
