[Sussex] Laptop for Linux?

[Steve Dobson]

Hi Mark

On Mon, Aug 25, 2003 at 02:02:04PM +0100, Mark Harrison wrote:
> I need a new laptop.
 
<snip>
 
> 1: What do you recommend in terms of laptop vendors? Are some pro-Linux (in
> the sense of drivers available) and others well to steer clear of (Sony???)

I haven't yet owned an IBM laptop yet but they are now my vendor of choice.
I've owned Dell & Sony and while you can get them to work it can be a bit
of effort.  I've seen a number of ThinkPads with Linux running and with IBMs
support for Linux (not to say the number of kernel developers they now 
employ) support should be simple.

> 2: Which distribution?

That's a personal choice but I still rate Debian on my laptops.  It really
does work well - It's the kernel config that's always been the problem.

> 3: Which applications?

What do you want to do.

> What I need is the following:
> 
> - OpenOffice.org for office applications

There are debs available for it (or you could convert the rmps using
alien).

> - A mail client that can talk to a POP3 and IMAP server, present a GUI
> roughly equivalent to Outlooks, AND import a bunch of messages including
> about 30 subfolders from Outlook Express, and a similar bunch from a PST
> file.

Debian's default MTA is exim (but you can install send mail or on of the 
others if you want).  I find running a local MTA and "fetchmail" works very
well for fetching and sending mail.  I have exim configured to read the 
SMARTHOST from a file that I update for the different networks I plug into.
Works very well.  With some different fetchmailrcs for the different networks
fetchmail can get mail from either POP or IMAP servers.

As for the MUA I use mutt which I like but is far from your requirement so
I'll let others recommend on that.

> - Something that can read and edit Visio files.... (this is a big scarey
> must-have.) I do a lot of work with Visio, particularly on WAN diagrams, and
> have both a legacy data store of Visios, and a bunch of clients who need to
> interchange such info, and find that an excellent tool in which to do it.
> I've been using Visio since the early 1990s, when it was a Roderick
> Manhattan product, before Visio International came along, and WAY before
> Microsoft bought it :-)

I know what you mean.  I've just started to use xfig to draw my home network
blocks.  But I don't know of a free Visio system - others might.

> - Good support for 802.11b

Not a problem if you just check which cards are supported first.  The list
is long.  Cards based on the Prism2 and the Atmel chip set work - at least
the ones I use.  I've just got hold of a 3Com 3CRWE62092B card which works.
The drivers are available for 2.4 in source format from Atmel and have been
re-written by the kernel team for 2.6.

The Prism2 card is in my base station.  I use the hostap driver which provides
full AP type functionality with the hostd deamon.

> What would be desirable, but not required, is the following:
> 
> - Came with Linux pre-installed :-)

I've never found such a system.  But the case for returning the Window's 
as "not fit for purpose" has already gone thought.  You could try and 
swap it for extra hardware (like a second battery).

Steve