Best Laptop for Linux

Mon Nov 6 23:48:28 UTC 2006

Hi Ian,

Thanks very much for sharing your experiences with Emperor Linux. I'm also
looking for a desk top replacement that works reliably on linux without
much set up cost. I bought my current desktop directly from Dell with
Redhat pre-installed. At the time, they had one high-end notebook with a
Redhat option, but I don't find that any more. I'm a bit nervous buying it
direct from Dell without some version of linux pre-installed, because I
don't want to risk incompatibilities, particularly on a laptop.
Buying from Emperor linux at least insures basic linux compatibility, but
they seem to have a reasonably high mark up given your experience. I
wonder if there are other good reliable alternatives?

Alex

On Mon, 6 Nov 2006, Ian Petersen wrote:

> I received a "Rhino" from Emperor Linux about 3 weeks ago.  It's a
> re-branded Dell Precision M90.  I chose an expensive model because I
> wanted a semi-portable desktop replacement.  The specs are:
>
>  - Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2 GHz w/ 4MB cache
>  - nVidia video card with VGA out, DVI out, SVideo out, and 512 MB
> video RAM (don't remember the chipset)
>  - 2 GB RAM
>  - 80 GB hdd @ 7200 RPM
>  - DVD burner
>  - Intel's 3xxx wireless (I can't remember the exact spec--it does 802.11 a/b/g)
>  - 17" wide-screen monitor capable of 1920x1200
>  - built-in bluetooth, gigabit ethernet, etc.
>
> I was happy with the pre-sale service.  The order was put together
> quickly, and the person I spoke to (I think it was Lincoln--the owner)
> was friendly and helpful.  Shipping was timely and fairly inexpensive.
>
> I ordered my machine with Ubuntu pre-installed because I don't have
> any experience with any of the available distributions and Ubuntu has
> the most "buzz" right now.  When the machine arrived, it included
> everything that Dell had shipped to Emperor Linux (e.g. the Windows
> installation medium) plus a nicely-bound manual explaining the basics
> of using Ubuntu on my new machine.  The manual includes instructions
> to handle the first boot-up, some tips to help rank beginners get
> started with Ubuntu, and a few other details about the machine and its
> configuration.
>
> Booting the machine for the first time was a little exciting--a new,
> cutting edge laptop with full support under a free OS and zero to no
> setup on my part!  Things went pretty well.  Suspend-to-disk works
> fine (barring a few kernel modules that don't support it) and is
> triggerd by the "blue key" (Fn + Esc).  Closing and then re-opening
> the lid brings up the "Screen Locked" display, so I have to provide my
> password to get back to the desktop.  Networking was well configured,
> and the wireless card automatically found my wireless network and
> asked for the WEP key.  (It also found all the neighbours' wirless
> networks, one of which I used to ssh to my machine upstairs to
> retrieve the WEP key from....)  Most of the blue keys worked as
> advertised, including sound control, brightness control, the wireless
> radio antenna, and the CD-eject button.  The battery life is also
> properly monitored and I get early warnings that I need to plug in AC
> at 20% and 10% left.  (It might also warn me at more urgent levels,
> too, but I've never let it get that low.)
>
> I think there were a few more pleasant surprises in terms of hardware
> support, but I can't remember them now.  Suffice it to say that I was
> very happy that everything worked as advertised.
>
> Then I tried to watch a movie on my television using the SVideo out
> port.  I have an older Acer laptop that runs Gentoo Linux and also has
> an SVideo out.  The old laptop is a little tricky and I have to boot
> it with the SVideo cable plugged in to be able to see anything on the
> TV (and, if I do, then there's nothing on the monitor).  I find this
> somewhat irritating, but I've lived with it for several years.  I
> figured, since the new laptop has SVideo out and supposedly has 100%
> hardware support, I should be able to plug it into the TV without
> rebooting.  No luck.  "Oh well," I think, "I'll just reboot with the
> TV plugged in."  No dice.  I can't get the SVideo working.   Strike
> one.
>
> I bought this new laptop because I need a machine on which I can
> develop some resource-hungry Java stuff.  I work from home
> Monday-Thursday, but I have to go into the office on Fridays.  The old
> laptop was great until we switched from Rails to Java, so I needed a
> replacement that would allow me to be productive on Fridays.  Part of
> "being productive on Fridays" means plugging in the VGA-out port and
> working on an ergonomically-superior external monitor.  This doesn't
> work on my new machine.  Strike two.
>
> This latest bug prompted me to call tech support at Emperor Linux.  No
> go.  The 1-800 number seems to be US-only.  Oh well, I send an email
> and include my home phone number.  I received a prompt reply saying
> roughly the following:
>
>  - SVideo's not really supported 'cause we can't test it.  You might
> be able to get it to work if you follow these underspecified and
> unsupported steps.
>  - VGA-out should work, please send your Xorg.conf.
>  - The 1-800 number should be working--we've been after our supplier
> about it--so please try again tomorrow.
>
> I sent the Xorg.conf file later the same day, before end of business.
> A week later, I still hadn't heard anything so I tried calling.  My
> call still cannot be completed as dialed.  So I sent a follow-up
> email: "Could I have a status update, please".  It's been another week
> and I still haven't heard anything.  Perhaps the techy I've been
> dealing with is on vacation, or something--I haven't tried emailing
> the general support email since the first contact--but I was not
> notified if that's the case.  Strike three.
>
> I'm now in the process of installing Gentoo.  I kept a complete backup
> of the factory-installed system.  I also kept the various kernels,
> their configurations, and modules.  Also, before reformatting, I made
> a list of all the packages that were installed.  I figure with Gentoo,
> a little time, and the previously working configuration, I can build
> myself a machine that I can administer myself without the need for a
> tech support guru to walk me through the process.
>
> I'm sure I could eventually learn to make Ubuntu do exactly what I
> want, but I bought this machine to get out of a productivity hole with
> the expectation that 12 months of tech support would get me up to
> speed quickly.  In this respect I am horribly disappointed.
>
> The Dell machine itself seems to be a good machine.  It's very
> capable, and compatibility with Free and Open Source software seems to
> be good (although I am using the closed nVidia drivers).  The various
> blue keys generate scan codes that the kernel recognizes, so, if
> nothing else, I can programme them as keyboard shortcuts from within
> Gnome to do whatever I want.  Also, the monitor is excellent and the
> keyboard is a good size.  Considering the power in my new laptop, the
> weight is respectable, but it might be too heavy for some users (the
> shipping weight was 16 pounds, I think the machine itself is about 8).
>
> Overall I'm happy with my purchase but I don't think I'll be a repeat
> Emperor Linux customer very soon.
>
> Ian
>
>
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