My iMac has finally died (instead of booting when switched on, it makes a high-pitched noise and a burning smell), so i'm going to have to buy a new computer. I'm thinking of purchasing a laptop. I'd like one that works with Linux, preferably doesn't come with a bundled version of Microsoft Windows and is under $2000. Other than the ECS A531 (http://www.wlug.org.nz/A531Laptop), are there others that meet my criteria? Is the A531 a good laptop to buy? All i'll be doing is writing programs, web browsing, emulating calculators and playing DVDs (so video is useful too). CPU speed isn't really a factor, anyone who knows me will tell you that i seem to stay away from fast computers. ;) Thanks, Jon
If you wish to avoid the MS tax, its real hard. I brought the aspire 1355 from DSE, and it works a treat with CollegeLinux, but there are some parts that dont work as well as they should like the battery meter, and video is a pig to get right, Since I dont play games, i went straight to vesa and Im happy. It meets my needs great, but it came with win XP home bundled. My son got an ASUS with geforce video and he dual boots pclinuxos and win XP Pro with ease, a real game machine. my wife has an asus 1400, it all detected fine and worked from the box, but again windows bundled. But I noted that HP have released the Compaq nx5000 bundled with suse linux at linuxworld, so a visit to the NZ hp site and possibly an e-mail about OS free or Linux bundled laptops in this price range may be in order. Not really and answer, but maybe if you ask, they might be able to do something now that they have a stocked solution. BTW what IMAC died ? I'm always on the lookout for macs to rebuild ;-) Just dont tell my wife, another workshop clutter is not on her priority list right now Jonathan Purvis wrote:
My iMac has finally died (instead of booting when switched on, it makes a high-pitched noise and a burning smell), so i'm going to have to buy a new computer. I'm thinking of purchasing a laptop. I'd like one that works with Linux, preferably doesn't come with a bundled version of Microsoft Windows and is under $2000. Other than the ECS A531 (http://www.wlug.org.nz/A531Laptop), are there others that meet my criteria? Is the A531 a good laptop to buy? All i'll be doing is writing programs, web browsing, emulating calculators and playing DVDs (so video is useful too). CPU speed isn't really a factor, anyone who knows me will tell you that i seem to stay away from fast computers. ;)
Thanks,
Jon
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-- "Engineering is the art of modeling materials we do not wholly understand, into shapes we cannot precisely analyse so as to withstand forces we cannot properly assess in such a way that the public has no reason to suspect the extent of our ignorance." Dr A R Dykes.
elitegroup sell laptops pre-installed with lindows, ... is that non microsoft enough According to their website their NZ contact is : *Protac International Computers* 11 Donnor Place, Mt Wellington, AUCKLAND Tel: +64-9-570-7788 Sales E-mail： johnsonc(a)protacnz.co.nz <mailto:johnsonc(a)protacnz.co.nz> URL： www.protac.com.au <javascript:__doPostBack('dlAreaDetail$_ctl0$hylwebsite','')> Contact Person: JOHNSON CHAO Jonathan Purvis wrote:
I'm thinking of purchasing a laptop. I'd like one that works with Linux, preferably doesn't come with a bundled version of Microsoft Windows and is under $2000. Other than the ECS A531 (http://www.wlug.org.nz/A531Laptop), are there others that meet my criteria? Is the A531 a good laptop to buy? All i'll be doing is writing programs, web browsing, emulating calculators and playing DVDs (so video is useful too). CPU speed isn't really a factor, anyone who knows me will tell you that i seem to stay away from fast computers. ;)
-- "Engineering is the art of modeling materials we do not wholly understand, into shapes we cannot precisely analyse so as to withstand forces we cannot properly assess in such a way that the public has no reason to suspect the extent of our ignorance." Dr A R Dykes.
I saw in a flyer from warehouse stationery that they have a Toshiba A10 with Intel integrated graphics and celeron 2.2 Price is about 1500 so in budget. but that includes MS tax. Intel tend to be good at linux support nowadays worth a look if you dont have one yet Jonathan Purvis wrote:
My iMac has finally died (instead of booting when switched on, it makes a high-pitched noise and a burning smell), so i'm going to have to buy a new computer. I'm thinking of purchasing a laptop. I'd like one that works with Linux, preferably doesn't come with a bundled version of Microsoft Windows and is under $2000. Other than the ECS A531 (http://www.wlug.org.nz/A531Laptop), are there others that meet my criteria? Is the A531 a good laptop to buy? All i'll be doing is writing programs, web browsing, emulating calculators and playing DVDs (so video is useful too). CPU speed isn't really a factor, anyone who knows me will tell you that i seem to stay away from fast computers. ;)
Thanks,
Jon
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-- "Engineering is the art of modeling materials we do not wholly understand, into shapes we cannot precisely analyse so as to withstand forces we cannot properly assess in such a way that the public has no reason to suspect the extent of our ignorance." Dr A R Dykes.
On Wed, 18 Aug 2004 14:50, Gavin Denby wrote:
I saw in a flyer from warehouse stationery that they have a Toshiba A10 with Intel integrated graphics and celeron 2.2
Price is about 1500 so in budget. but that includes MS tax.
Intel tend to be good at linux support nowadays
worth a look if you dont have one yet
I bought one a couple of months ago and have installed Mandrake 10.0 on it. Most things were detected during installation and worked well. Sound, Video, and CD-writer needed no fiddling to speak of. The speakers are pathetic, and the touch-pad is quite useless! As useful as an on-board mouse can be on occasions, I replaced it with an external USB wheelmouse immediately (it has no PS2 port). The internal 56k modem didn't work (I didn't really expect it to). I selected this model because it had a PCMCIA slot, so I could fit a proper modem, rather than wrestle with a winmodem. As much as I would have preferred to buy a Windoze-free laptop, the only other readily-available candidate (from DSE) didn't have PCMCIA, and at the time, the prices were comparable. I removed the internal modem (an easy job) just in case it caused problems. The Toshiba A10 does have a couple of shortcomings. It has no serial or parallel ports, and it doesn't have a floppy drive either. I managed to get a parallel printer to work with a USB-to-serial/parallel adapter from DSE, but it was something of a battle. Last week, I bought a Epson CX3100 multifunction thingee, and it works perfectly with minimal fiddling: Printer, Scanner, and Copier! Another minor irritation is that the PCMCIA slot seems to have almost no "grip" to the card which is inserted. Even a small tug, applied to disconnect the modem cable, pulls out the card itself. No floppy, ports, useable mouse-substitute, or working modem! When you buy all the "extras" that should be standard it isn't much of a bargain. -- regards, ********************************************* Dr Denise J. Bates, PhD School of Geography & Environmental Science University of Auckland Private Bag 92019, Auckland New Zealand E-mail: d.bates(a)auckland.ac.nz Telephone 09-3737599 ext 86592 Home: 09-2336433 email: dbates(a)iconz.co.nz *********************************************
participants (3)
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Denise Bates -
Gavin Denby -
Jonathan Purvis