OTA and Linux

[Evan Leibovitch]

D. Hugh Redelmeier wrote:

>    AS3623NWXMI Celeron-M370
>    256MB,40GB,DVDRW14"
>    LINUX$660
>
>    AS3623WXMI CELEREON-M
>    1.5GHz,512MB,40GB,DVDRWM
>    14.1"WXGA,XP$790
>  
>
One small thing: Note that the $130 saved is not just because of the 
lack of Windows; the "Linux" system also comes with half the RAM.

>This seems like a fairly weak notebook.  But getting a mainstream notebook running 100% under Linux is a real crap shoot.
>
Not really. It's just a matter of getting a laptop without oddball 
hardware and choosing a distro that's designed to work well with laptops.

This is an area where I believe Mandriva shines. It can autodetect what 
kind of laptop, so if there's some hw-specific stuff that it can 
install, it will try. My install on Thinkpad T42 automatically installed 
support for the extra keys and hot-plugging the docking station.

Commercial support is available for laptops purchased from 
Emperorlinux.com, and they have a pretty good selection. Good resources 
for DIY laptop installers can be found at http://tuxmobil.org/ and 
http://www.linux-laptop.net/

It's always good to check these sites to see how well your intended 
purchase is supported.

- Evan
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