New Notebook Advice

[drjoewebb]

I need a new notebook computer and was wondering if anyone had advice regarding brand and configuration. I've had situations where computers basically work but there are issues with video cards or ports not being recognized.

I'm not interested in having to really tweak things or hunt for drivers, etc. I really do need an out-of-box experience.

I'm looking for a rather basic travel computer, with a good sized but not big hard drive, screen at least 12". I would prefer to run Kubuntu 8.04 since I recently had real problems with 8.10 and I don't like KDE 4 yet. This computer will get kind of beat up over time, and I prefer to buy refurbished if I can since I buy one every 18-24 months.

The primary uses are for surfing, presentations (which I will probably use PPT Viewer in WINE), so connecting to projectors predictably is essential, and basic word processing and spreadsheets. No major multimedia needs. Playing movies is not important at all, but I do stream audio when working.

As a fallback I could always order from System76 or Dell, but they want to support Ubuntu only (to be accurate, the System76 folks are quite willing to help if i wanted to use Kubuntu 8.10, which I do not). Neither company sells refurbished units with Linux.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[cantab]

Re: New Notebook Advice

All the Ubuntu flavours are the same system underneath. If you buy a system with Ubuntu installed you should have no issues installing KUbuntu instead, especially if it's the same version (ie Hardy, Intrepid, whatever). Alternatively, one can just do a

sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop

on the running ubuntu system. The exception is if the manufacturer has installed needed proprietary drivers, but I don't know of any who would.

Googling should find many suppliers of Linux laptops. Of course there's the recent rash of subnotebooks, most of which come with Linux.

In general, I reckon you'd be very unlucky to find a laptop that it is impossible to get Linux to run on. After all, if such existed, it would be unlawful to sell on the grounds that a computer unable to run Linux is unfit for purpose ;-)
Slightly less unlucky to find a laptop that Ubuntu won't work on. I'm typing this on such a machine - an old, malfunctioning Toshiba S-1800.

What is rather more likely, however, is that wireless, 3d graphics, or both, will not work. Wireless in particular can be a bugbear; if you do land up with a laptop without working wireless under Linux, the simplest solution may be to get a usb adaptor that supports it.

[toad]

Re: New Notebook Advice

I would recommend IBM/Lenovo. Not the cheapest but definitely the best supported. Also, there are plenty of online shops selling pre-installed and perfectly configured Linux laptops. This obviously depends on your location, mind...

[CVPunk]

Re: New Notebook Advice

I would think any newer laptop would be pretty ok.
I tend to see more people having issues with trying to get an old laptop to work.
Well, that and wireless.

As a side note... I was checking out the Dell website today and I could not find any laptops that came with Ubuntu orther than the Mini's. I even tried to configure an Inspiron 1525 and it didn't offer it as an option.

[cantab]

Re: New Notebook Advice

http://www.dell.com/ubuntu

Second result I got for googling "dell linux" (without the quotes)

[CVPunk]

Re: New Notebook Advice

that is weird.... Dell has to be one of the worst sites to navigate to get what you really want.
you can click in one spot and customize a laptop and get a certain price, but then click somewhere else and customize the exact same laptop and get a totally different price.
I did that today for a co-worker, got a killer price for her... now I can't remember what I clicked on and when I do the same customizations I am getting a higher price.
whatever.
Thanks for that link though.