Dear Daniel, Last October, I tried to buy a Linux based laptop and had considerable difficult in finding one without windows pre-installed.
Eventually, I found that DELL (next door to SCAN in Marsa) had one which they offered with Windows or without an operating system. So I took along with me a live Ubuntu distribution so that I could check that all the hardware was recognised and after I convinced them that the hard disk would not be touched, they allowed me to boot from it and it was OK (they even allowed me to log on into their WiFi to check it!). So I bought this DELL laptop and have had no problems with it. My only grudge is that it does not have F keys - instead, the function of F keys is obtained by pressing the function key [Fn] along with the top-row numeric keys. Of course, certain short-cuts (like Alt-F4 to close a window) with is very quick and easy with a single hand, becomes fiddly as you have to use both hands to press the function key and Alt 4. Nevertheless, I have saved a nice sum for not buying windows and it is serving me well. But before rushing into buying such a laptop, it is worth considering what printer he has. As you know, not all printers support Linux equally well. Also worth considering is what distro to go for - I would suggest something easy and attractive like Kubuntu, Mint or Knoppix. But most important of all, if he has never used Linux before, perhaps he ought to consider a Windows lap-top and dual booting it into Linux. That way, he will always have a fall-back position if he finds a problem until he gets accustomed to Linux. That's my penny's worth :) Effie. On Mon, 2012-04-02 at 19:41 +0200, Daniel wrote: > This evening I was talking to a teacher who is a friend of mine and > who is interested in buying a new laptop for himself. I told him that > he should consider buying an open source one and he seems highly > interested even because of the values behind the OS. Would you have > any suggestions on what best to look for and if possible cheaper > prices as well? > Daniel > > -- > > _______________________________________________ > MLUG-list mailing list > [email protected] > http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list _______________________________________________ MLUG-list mailing list [email protected] http://linux.org.mt/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-list
