[CLUE-Talk] Linux Laptops

[Sean LeBlanc]

On 02-10 12:54, Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier wrote:
> I'm not having much luck shopping around, so I thought I'd touch
> base with the CLUE talk list to see if anyone had suggestsions.
> 
> I'm trying to find a decent laptop to run Linux, and not having
> a great deal of success...
> 
> I'm aware of QLI's laptops, but none of their offerings really excite
> me. I like the Apple line of PowerBooks, but they're so overpriced,
> it's ridiculous.
> 
> Here's what I'm looking for:
> 
> * At least 256MB of RAM, upgradeable to 512 or more.
> 
> * Solid construction.
> 
> * 1024x768 resolution or better.
> 
> * 14" or 15" screen.
> 
> * Independent system and video RAM -- many of the laptops I've looked
>   at are pretty nice, except that system RAM is shared with the video
>   RAM... Urgh. No thanks.
> 
> * I'd prefer an Athlon-based system, but will settle for Pentium or
>   Celeron. Clock speed isn't that important. Hard drive size -- anything
>   bigger than 20 GB is fine.
> 
> * Video, sound and USB must work under Linux. I don't care if the
>   internal modem works.
> 
> * Price: Less than $1,500.
> 
> I think that's about it. Any suggestions?

Joe,

Last fall I bought a Thinkpad 390x from Contactpc.com (in the ComputorEdge).
Except for the HD size, I think it'd meet your requirements. It's nothing
really blazingly fast or high-end (PIII, 450MHz), but it was under $800
after taxes - and I'm sure you can find them much cheaper now.

I have not run Linux, but I dual-boot W2K and FreeBSD, and everything
(sound, video, USB, Wireless/Non-wireless NIC) worked under FreeBSD, so I'm
sure everything would work under Linux. 

The battery life seems a little short, but it might just be my battery
that's at fault, not this model. Also, the hinge on the left-hand side seems
to be working itself free...I'm hoping that's something I can fix. 

-- 
Sean LeBlanc:seanleblanc at americanisp.net  
http://users.americanisp.net/~seanleblanc/
Get MLAC at: http://sourceforge.net/projects/mlac/
Is a dream a lie if it don't come true, or is it something worse?