Where can I buy a linux-friendly laptop?

[Christopher Browne]

On 11/22/05, Lennart Sorensen <lsorense-1wCw9BSqJbv44Nm34jS7GywD8/FfD2ys at public.gmane.org> wrote:
> On Mon, Nov 21, 2005 at 07:54:54PM -0600, Sy Ali wrote:
> > USB to serial cables exist.. how Linux-friendly are they?
>
> Often not very.  There never was a standard for usb serial, unlike use
> parallel or usb storage, so there is no generic driver.

Actually, part of the problem is that there never was a standard for serial.

There were a lot of variations on how different systems used RS-232;
whether certain signals were expected/forbidden varied quite a bit.

Per the wikipedia:

"Since application to such devices as computers, printers, digitizer
tables, test instruments, and so on were not envisioned in the
standard, designers implementing an RS-232 compatible interface on
their equipment often interpreted the requirements idiosyncratically.
Common problems were non-standard pin assignment of circuits on
connectors, and incorrect or missing control signals. The lack of
adherence to the standards produced a thriving industry of breakout
boxes, patch boxes, test equipment, books, and other aids for the
connection of disparate equipment."

The "loss" of the "serial standard" is definitely an ambiguous 'evil.'
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