[TriLUG] HP laptops and Linux?

[Robert Dale]

On Sun, Jan 31, 2010 at 7:39 PM, Kevin Hunter <hunteke at earlham.edu> wrote:
> Hi List,
>
> My folks are considering getting themselves a new pair of laptops.  They
> also have decided to go the Linux route.  (Great, now I'm their support
> line, right?!)  In doing their homework, they've noted that they can get
> fairly similar spec'd computers from HP for between 10% and 20% less
> money than the only manufacturer with I have laptop experience: Dell.
>
> Do you have any experience to share in regards to laptops, HP, and Linux
> support?

I have a HP Pavillion dv9700 and run Fedora 12 (64-bit), upgraded from
FC11, on it.
AFAICT, everything works fine.

The Quick Play buttons work (play DVD, volume controls), bluetooth,
wireless 802.11g, USB, HDMI (worked, but could use some tweaking),
memory cards, play DVDs, write CDs/DVDs, fingerprint scanner (scanned
my kids' fingerprints for future reference, but I don't use it for
login), touchpad with scrollie.

Never tried firewire, modem, SVGA, docking port, S-video, lightscribe.
 Ethernet port worked but then physically busted.

There's a known issue (IIRC, with many HP laptops) that when using
headphones they have a very audible hum when the laptop is plugged in
to AC.  External speakers work fine.

If you do a search for linux laptops, you'll come across some
registries that point to others' experiences with linux on laptops.
You may even find the make/model that you're interested in.

-- 
Robert Dale