On Mon, Oct 17, 2005 at 03:08:55PM +0000, ed stuckems wrote: > I'm going to buy my first laptop and I'm looking for advice. [snip] > In particular, what should I be looking for to ensure that I can run > linux, and is there anything that I should watch out for because it > will preclude the use of Linux (specific hardware that isn't > supported, etc.) Laptops are definitely an interesting mix due to the innate requirement for non-standard hardware. I've only owned two laptops in my life, and only the one I'm currently typing on runs Linux. (The previous one was an XT with dual 3.5" drives and no hard drive...) I find many vendors simply don't tell you what's inside (aside from the marketing numbers). I'm guessing many probably don't even know. If a live demo machine is running, you can perhaps ask them to let you see the Windows hardware manager and write down the listed components. I would probably find a friend or associate with a brand new laptop, test Linux on it (perhaps via Knoppix or another live-CD distro), and then just get that if it works and you can afford it. Failing that, a local vendor with a good return policy (no restocking fee!) can let you "try after you buy" and return it if it doesn't work. Future Shop is one such local vendor, but I have no inkling of how good their laptops are, or whether their return policy includes them. As for my own experience... [Warning: Long post. Executive summary: Don't use Dell unless you really need their excellent service plan and can potentally afford some time -- days of effort and months of waiting -- to get everything working right.] My current laptop: A Dell Inspiron 1100, purchased in January 2004. The Ethernet module (b44) was available but fairly recent, so I had to move a kernel over by USB. PCMCIA used a standard module. Video used a fairly recent Intel (i830) driver. At first, I had some funny video glitches seemingly triggered by USB connects and disconnects; switching to a text console and back would reset my X display and fix that. The 2.6 kernel introduced full ACPI support. A later rev (around 2.6.2 or so) broke a lot of stuff and made things mostly unusable, hence I held back the kernel until a couple revs passed, and I've been running the latest 2.6 without issues for many upgrades now. Currently, I have every aspect working under Linux short of the S-video (TV) out, which I don't need. However, it took about half a year for ALSA to expand to support my modem, and half a year more for me to notice, so I was using an external modem while travelling for a full year. Nearly every glitch has gone away since my BIOS upgrade, the kernel upgrades, and the X upgrades; I've been running essentially glitch- free for a year, except for a graphics initialisation issue when the laptop is quite cold. I've seen Windows users having the exact same issue, so I doubt it's a Linux thing. I'm stuck with USB wireless because PCMCIA and CardBus sucks. I've seen those cards overheat too many times on a multitude of laptops. The enclosed space is terrible for cooling, and being right under the hard drive helps neither and is probably partially responsible for my hard drive's heat death. I've heard negative reports about Dell and Linux compatibility. Certainly I had to work to get everything working, and a lot of glitches along the way. However, I'll probably keep using Dell until something better comes along. For me, the benefit is the service plan I purchased. It's not cheap, but it means I could run my laptop over repeatedly, and as long as I gave the pieces back, I'd get a new one. I've have already had the power adaptor replaced once due to cord wear-and-tear (soon to be twice), the main board replaced once due to physical damage to the PCMCIA slot (soon to be twice due to physical damage to the Ethernet port), the hard drive replaced due to heat death, and the keyboard replaced due to physical damage again. The service speed is amazing, too; for everything but the main board, I made the call and got the replacement parts and instructions the next day. For the main board, I called Monday, got a prepaid custom- fit-foam shipping box on Tuesday, sent it off that day, and got the whole thing back that Thursday. After my first couple of reports, my calls started getting immediately forwarded (no holding) to techs who would take everything I said at face value and were happy I spared them the troubleshooting steps. My last call was some 80% dead time while he punched in the replacement part order; we talked about the weather on the east coast, etc. Either I've been profiled (for the better) by my service tag, and/or moving tech support from India to Canada has had a profound impact. Bottom line: If you have the cash, and can get something that works, and know how to make it work, and perhaps don't immediately need some system components, and tend to put a lot of wear (or risk of damage) on your laptop, and know how to diagnose problems and assertively tell the techs what the problem is, Dell has okay hardware and excellent service. However, there are enough caveats that I'd recommend against them in the general case -- especially since this level of service isn't cheap for most budgets. I'd also be curious to know what other companies (if any) offer an equivalent three-year service plan and have better Linux compatibility. This plan runs out in 2007, and you can bet I'll be looking for a new one shortly thereafter.
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