On Fri, Aug 22, 2003 at 02:29:46PM +1000, Eddie F wrote: > Hi all, > > I'm in the process of convincing the boss that I need a laptop for work > purposes. Looks like I’m doing well, so I’ll probably be looking at which > one to get over the next few weeks. > I’ve installed on a few laptops before (old and new) so I’m familiar with > the kind of issues that I could face and how to get around some of them, but > I’m wondering if any of the manufactures tend to be more or less Linux > friendly than the others.
I've bought a Dell 8500 in the last month ($4000 - 1Gb RAM 60 Gb Disk 2.4 Gh P4). Dell doesn't "support" linux on their laptops, but all the bits available with the 8500 work under linux, with a bit of effort. Except the Truemobile 1300/1400 minipci wireless card. But you can apparently get the Truemobile 1150 miniPCI separately for US$49 which is an orinoco and well supported. Nice bits include 1920x1200 screen and Geforce4 4200 graphics. Surprises so far: Dell takes at least a week to deliver the thing You have to order the bluetooth module with the laptop, it's on the motherboard. No PS/2 port for your mouse keyboard, but you can get a USB - 2* PS/2 dongle thing from Jaycar for $20 which makes your PS2 keyboard and mouse look like USB ones to the laptop. Dell specials change a lot during the month, I got mine with a free double memory special, hence the 1Gb. Also do a good survey of the dell prices they are a bit wonky, I got the 2.4 because it was cheaper than the 2.2, and about the same as the 2.0. Nice thing about Dell is you have heaps of options with bits, and the prices are shown in real time. > I’m sure most of their support teams will fob me off, the instant I mention > Linux (or any other OS), but there may be some that are willing to give me > the information I need in my efforts to resolve something. > God forbid there may even be one that provides Linux drivers… Then again > maybe not! I haven't had to ask the manufacturer, I did a quick survey of linuxlaptops.com to make sure the model worked under linux to the extent that I needed. cheers, Woody -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group - http://slug.org.au/ More Info: http://lists.slug.org.au/listinfo/slug
