Cheap Linux Laptops

[Rick Tomaschuk]

Below is from an email list I subscribe to.
RickT

Toronto Area Novell Users Group
http://www.TorontoNUI.ca

NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: PHIL HOCHMUTH ON LINUX
01/14/04
Today's focus:  Sub-$700 Linux laptops on the way

Dear Richard Tomaschuk,

In this issue:

* Where to hunt for Linux bargains
* Links related to Linux
* Featured reader resource
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter sponsored by LinuxWorld 

Dear IT Professional, 

**Only 2 weeks left to register for LinuxWorld Conference & Expo 
and save with advance pricing** 

Register by January 19, 2004 with Priority Code: E-GENF to 
receive a complimentary Exhibit Hall Pass. Or, register for the
conference package of your choice and save with advance pricing
currently available. 

http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=53252 
_______________________________________________________________

NETWORK WORLD SPECIAL REPORT: TAKING STOCK OF YOUR IT CAREER
AND BRINGING IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL IN 2004 

Not sure if you've made the right career choice? This Special 
Report focuses on the network IT professional's career - what 
continues to make it a good versus bad career choice and how you 
can prepare yourself for a lifelong rewarding career as a 
network IT professional. Download your free copy today 
(registration required) at: 
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=53473 
_______________________________________________________________

Today's focus:  Sub-$700 Linux laptops on the way

By Phil Hochmuth

Linux laptop lovers who are searching for a rare bargain - a 
pre-configured Linux laptop for under $700, for example - may 
want to check out the latest offerings from Elitegroup Computer 
Systems. The Taiwanese computer manufacture last week announced 
it is offering a line of laptop computers running the 
Linux-based LindowsOS for under $700.

ECS's A535 laptop runs an AMD 4 1.4 GHz processor and ships with 
128M bytes of memory and an 80G byte hard drive. The six-pound 
machine also includes integrated Wi-Fi-based wireless LAN 
networking capabilities, as well as four USB 2.0 ports built in. 
Also built in is a 1000Base-T Gigabit Ethernet port (remember 
when 1G NICs alone were over $700?). The notebooks also have 
optional DVD/ROM drives, as well as a 14.1-inch 1024x760 
resolution monitor.

ECS says 300,000 of the machines will be shipped for sale in the 
U.S. The laptops run the LindowsOS Laptop Edition operating 
system, which includes additional power management capabilities 
and native Wi-Fi support.

Getting a Linux-loaded laptop from leading notebook manufactures 
is no longer a simple task as many major vendors have pulled 
back their Linux laptop offerings. But Linux laptops are still 
popular especially with developers and a host of online 
resources and communities exist for the "do-it-yourself" crowd. 
Sites like <http://www.linux-laptop.net/> offer comprehensive 
instructions for installing Linux on hundreds of notebooks from 
dozens of manufactures. There's even a site 
( <http://www.windowsrefund.net/> ) dedicated to helping people 
get a refund on Windows operating system software from PC 
manufactures when replacing a notebook operating system with 
Linux.

RELATED EDITORIAL LINKS

Elitegroup Computer systems
http://www.ecs.com.tw/


On 14 Jan 2004 at 18:30, GDHough wrote:

> I have had good results using the mencoder portion of MPlayer. I believe there 
> is limited support for creating MPEG's with mencoder, but it would be better 
> to build an AVI container and then convert to MPEG-1 with some other tool.
> 
> Create an AVI from all TIFF's in a directory:
> 
> [farmer6re9]$ mencoder \*.tiff -mf on:fps=25:type=tiff -o temp.avi -ovc lavc 
> -lavcopts vbitrate=1800:vhq:keyint=132
> 
> Then use something like mplex to convert to MPEG-1, although I've never tried 
> it myself.
> 
> MPLEX http://www.bebits.com/app/1915
> MPLEX HOW-TO http://www.silvan.demon.co.uk/beos/mplex-how-to.html
> MPLAYER http://www.MPlayerHQ.hu/DOCS
> 
> On Wednesday 14 January 2004 10:37, Jim Ruxton wrote:
> > Curious if any of you know how I would convert a tiff file to an MPEG-1
> > file. The device I'm using to display an image only accepts MPEG-1 and I
> > only have a tiff available (although I could convert it to another image
> > type using Gimp). The MPEG file only needs to be about 10 seconds long.
> 
> You could do conversions with the GIMP. I prefer to use a one-liner:
> 
> mogrify -format jpeg *.tiff
> HTH
> farmer6re9
> -- 
> Eating Crow is better with MyCrowSauce
> 
> --
> The Toronto Linux Users Group.      Meetings: http://tlug.ss.org
> TLUG requests: Linux topics, No HTML, wrap text below 80 columns
> How to UNSUBSCRIBE: http://tlug.ss.org/subscribe.shtml
> 


--
The Toronto Linux Users Group.      Meetings: http://tlug.ss.org
TLUG requests: Linux topics, No HTML, wrap text below 80 columns
How to UNSUBSCRIBE: http://tlug.ss.org/subscribe.shtml