On Sat, 2004-06-19 at 20:09, Simon Males wrote: > Within the next four weeks, I wish to be the proud owner of a laptop. > > Currently my target price is currently $2500. I do not want centrino > wireless tech because I plan to do some war driving and already have > PCMCIA card with the appropriate pigtails etc, further there is limited > linux support (centrino models seem to have lower spec CPU compared to > non-centrino models).
Hi Simon, The Pentium M CPU has a lower clock rate, but does more work per clock. It's a nice CPU for laptops as the lower clock rate leads to less power usage. This is helped by a few new power management features. Linux support for the Intel 802.11b Mini-PCI wireless card is basic, but better than the complete lack of support for the competing Broadcom card. I wouldn't rule out getting a inbuilt wireless card and keeping the PC Card kit for foxhunting/wardriving. You don't want to be dragging pigtails, etc to conferences just to use the wireless LAN. > First intentions were Dell because I liked the idea of building my > machine. Reading various linux laptop threads brought light that dell > change system internals but keep the same product name- something I > don't like the sound of for the sake of parts and repairing. I've used a lot of Dell. The full product name (including all the squiggly letters at the end) totally identifies the shipped components. Dell do use the Broadcom GbE chipset. This can be problem if you need full-rate GbE as the driver sucks (for the usual reason of Broadcom's pitiful Linux support). The real sticking points of buying a laptop at the moment are: - support for the inbuilt modem (you may need to send Linuxant some cash). - support for the smartcard reader (if you care for this, I do as it gives a simple way to run an encrypted home directory to guard data in case of theft). - support for the video chip. I can't stress enough the importance of a substantial warranty. Unlike a desktop system if a laptop busts you've got Buckley's of fixing it yourself. So cost into the price at least 3 years of warranty. > I like IBM as it seems there is a possibility of customising the laptop > you order (online). Acer, Dell, etc also offer this. > Firewire, which it seems that many toshiba models lack. A lot of Dell models too. > Audio must work, so should I pay attention to the chipset. You'll be lucky to get good audio. Consider using USB-connected off-board audio instead. > Possibly 64MB video (Nvidia I've had experience with although I believe > ATI has the portable market). Do not want anything bigger than 15". Go with big memory on the video, if the firewire support is a hint that you'll be doing video editing. > If someone could rant on warranty and who has received there MS tax > refund :) You won't get this. Manufacturers attach a shrinkwrapped license giving you the "choice" of: - not claiming the refund - if you wish to claim the refund, returning the computer unopened and purchasing from someone else. If you want to ignore that, still claim the refund, and fight the good legal fight then go for it. I'd be looking for legal advice first though so that the necessary I's are dotted (eg, demonstrating that you never started Windows, etc). Some companies allow you to order machines with FreeDOS (since MS encourage them not to ship machines without an OS). I'm not sure if that's an option available in the consumer market. Now seems a good time to buy a laptop. If you were looking for a desktop machine I'd be trying to make the existing box last another 6-12 months (until PCI Express and SATA-2 are consumer items and LCDs are standard). -- Glen Turner Tel: (08) 8303 3936 or +61 8 8303 3936 Network Engineer Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Australian Academic & Research Network www.aarnet.edu.au -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
