[TriLUG] Debian on a laptop

[Igor Partola]

See responses inline:

On Wed, Feb 13, 2013 at 1:58 PM, Grawburg <grawburg at myglnc.com> wrote:

> Folks,
> I'm growing weary of trying to get Debian on a laptop. And remember, I
> MUST use Debian so as to keep me "in-sync" with the Raspberry Pi I have
> coming.
>

You MUST NOT. If you are installing Debian Wheezy, then that will be fairly
close to Raspbian (I am assuming that's what you are installing on your
RPi). If you are trying to get Debian Squeeze going on your laptop(s), then
you will be better off with Ubuntu/Xubuntu, since it is based on Debian
Wheezy. In other words, if you want to keep things "in-sync", which is by
no means required, and will likely not help you in any way, you are better
off with not using Debian Squeeze.

Also, remember that the best Linux distribution is the favorite Linux
distribution of your neighborhood Linux guru.


> I first tried my Thinkpad R30 and just got sick of the mouse movement
> being jerky.
> I have now put it on a Dell 8500 Inspiron but the application icons are
> crappy looking and the mouse pointer has a weird shadow.
>

I used to have a Dell Inspiron 8600. If yours comes with an Nvidia video
card, you'll probably want to install the Nvidia drivers. This is much
easier done in Ubuntu than Debian last I checked.

Once again, if you are using Debian Squeeze, you might have some crappy
looking icons: it is an older distribution. I have no idea what it looked
like when it came out (only use Debian on servers), but it is possible that
Wheezy will look better. It's almost certain that Ubuntu will look even
better.


> I need a recommendation for a used laptop that will take Debian without my
> having to do a whole lot.


Almost any laptop will work. I would expect the two you tried to work just
fine. Historically, desktops have been easier to get going, but nowadays
the difference is almost nil.


> I'm still too new to Unix-based systems  and I don't have the time to do
> what you guys do by second nature.


Understandable, though you should take the time to learn. TriLUG might not
always be there to help.

Igor