[Hudlug] buying a laptop

[Ben Fowler]

On 8/28/05, MICHAEL WEAVER <michaelweaver1 at btinternet.com> wrote:
> 
> If I choose a make of laptop for running Linux, do I need to check to see 
> if
> the distro I choose will run or if a laptop runs Linux, should it run many
> distros?


Unless you don't mind your portable not working as you wish (its being to
some extent a paperweight), then I think that the answer is definitely: Yes,
you do need to check that your distribution and your proposed purchase are 
compatible.

This is what we have vendors for.

Another factor is whether you intend to run your portable as a portable
(away from power, away from the office) or as a small footprint desktop
system with a convenient uninterruptible power supply.

If I have an axe to grind, it is to suggest that you take the time to 
contact hardware manufacturers and suggest that if they want business
from clued up purchasers then they should ensure that their systems
are compatible with various polished distributions such as Red Hat or
SuSE.

Many of us here may be familar with those systems but actually run 
Gentoo, Ubuntu or Debian, and tend to point newcomers to Ubuntu,
Fedora or Mandrake. (Actually, SuSE is newcomer friendly as well).
I don't think that we can expect hardware manufacturers to assert,
far less guarantee, that their systems will be compatible with all
of those, all of the time. In reality, compatibility ought to increase over
time, and it is a goal of Gentoo and Ubuntu.

Also if I were to for example choose Ubuntu, would laptops running Debian
> support it with the distros being similar?


I think that the answer is yes, features supported under Debian will also
be supported under Ubuntu, but I would not expect anyone (even the
manufacturer) to be able to guarantee that.

See http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/7464 
http://hardware.newsforge.com/hardware/05/07/14/1721248.shtml?tid=61
and possibly http://www.linux-laptop.net/

Ben
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