[TriLUG] Seeking Free-Software-friendly laptop suggestions

[David A. Cafaro]

I just wanted to let you know that if you still want to get a Dell
Latitude C640, they are still being sold to universities.  I just
checked and the C840, C640, C400 are available from dell under their
university web sales.  I've been very happy with my C600, C610 and C640
Linux support.  They are presently using the True-Mobile 1150 Mini-PCI
cards in the C series which I believe still work under Linux (at least
my card is a True-Moblie 1150 mini-pci and has worked fine under Red hat
8.0, 9.0, Fedora Core 1, and Mandrake 9.2).  Just an option if you would
like to get another 640C.

-David

On Sun, 2004-03-07 at 22:28, Matt Matthews wrote:
> I'm positive this is an FAQ, of sorts, but with the hardware scene
> changing every day, I figured I'd give it a shot.
> 
> I'll soon be leaving behind my Dell Latitude 640C which has been a
> perfect Linux laptop (see non-Linux caveat below). I'm leaving it
> because it was bought on grant money, so doesn't actually belong to me,
> and I'm headed to Real Job at another University. The internal wireless
> and wired networking on the Dell both work as do the 3D video hardware
> and the sound hardware (with some quirks), all with Free drivers, as per
> my preference. However, I do not think that I can still buy the same
> laptop anymore, so I'm looking at other options.
> 
> However, I'm out of touch with the newest developments in hardware. I
> can live without 3D video hardware, but networking and sound are
> necessary. Built-in wireless isn't a must as I figure I can always try
> to track down a PCMCIA wireless adaptor. A combo CD-RW/DVD drive would
> be a nice feature to have. And, if possible, I'd like to use this with
> Free Software and avoid binary drivers. (So, for example, I'd use a
> laptop with NVIDIA video hardware as long as the 2D part works well with
> the standard distribution of XFree.)
> 
> Of course, if there were an option to buy a "naked" laptop or one with
> Linux pre-installed without any Windows license, that'd be ideal. I'm
> not interested in Apple hardware nor am I interested in MacOS X,
> although I am aware of what is possible with both.
> 
> So, does anyone have suggestions?
> 
> Caveat about my Dell laptop: One of the memory modules and the hard
> drive have both failed in the 13 months I've owned the laptop. That's
> not Linux-related, but it does make me wary of Dell hardware from here
> on out.
> 
> Thanks in advance, y'all.
> 
> Regards,
> matt
> 
> -- 
> Curmudgeon Gamer: In your heart, you know they're right.
> http://curmudgeongamer.com/