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Every time some big player starts pushing Linux, Microsoft makes it go away. Wal-Mart has sold Linux machiens twice, then backed off; they no longer seem to sell any Linux machines. Fry's has stopped selling Linux machines.

Go to the Dell site and try to find a Linux laptop. It's quite hard to find. Even when you finally find the Ubuntu page, for which you will probably have to search, the first thing you see is "Not sure Open Source is for You? The main thing to note is that when you choose open source you don't get a Windows® operating system. If you're here by mistake and you are looking for a Dell PC with Windows, please use the following link..."

You never get to a Linux PC from the "laptop selector", even though Dell does offer them.

I take your point about the choice but in the UK site at least its easier to find Ubuntu (its on both the desktop and laptop drop down menus) than XP which is currently blank and recommending Vista.

I take your point about the choice but in the UK site at least its easier to find Ubuntu (its on both the desktop and laptop drop down menus) than XP which is currently blank and recommending Vista.

According to Dells History: http://www.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/about_dell/company/history/history?c=us&l=en&s=corp They used 'wish lists' stored in databases for your choice of laptop, desktop or server, which debuted back in 1996. I would think that would suffice for prior art!

Maybe I used a bad example, do this: http://www.google.com/search?q=linux and install any distro that you find on first two pages of results... any of those should work fine. Don't tell me that people can't find info about Linux if they _want_ to.

Or, if installing Linux is perceived as a hard thing to do, try this, type "linux" in search field on dell.com site: http://search.dell.com/results.aspx?s=gen&c=us&l=en&cs=&k=linux&cat=all&x=0&y=0 Now, if people don't want to search for Linux, they won't, but that's not relevant for our discussion, is it?

So, what exactly IS the problem? People who don't know about Linux, won't know there are 500+ distributions either, they would get the one that Dell provides or download one in the first page of Google results, this is not a problem... You didn't explain why having so many distributions hurts Linux adoptions (even assuming that people here care about linux adoption more than they care about having choices)

We have some HPs with that issue - you can get an XP license, but the hardware does not have XP drivers.

Besides, didn't you say your guy wanted something flashy? Vista is certainly that.

I just get kinda pissed off about people who ditch Vista who have never used it, who have only used early betas, or are trying to run it on underpowered systems, or who complain its too different.

Linux gets ditched by people who have never used it, find it complicated, have not used it in years, and who complain that such and such hardware is not supported by Linux. That does not mean its a bad OS.

I am quite happy with Vista. Two years ago, I was dual-booting between XP and Linux. Now, I run Vista Business exclusively. I find it far more stable than XP, when something does bomb out in it, it is usually able to recover without any ill-effects, and in my experience, on newer machines, with both XP and Vista, Vista way outperforms XP.

In fact, in the IT department I work in, we have been so happy with Vista and Office 2007, we started rolling it out to our users back in May. After they get past the first 5 minutes of "oh my gosh, its different", they usually figure out where everything is, and claim that they will never go back to XP and Office 2003. They LOVE it.

Getting back on subject, what do you need to do to get a computer with XP? Should have bought it before June 30th. Its not as if that came as a surprise to anyone. I mean, that was not even three weeks ago.

So, I just did a build your own laptop on Dell's website and do not see an option to get XP. Same is ture on the Business Models Vostro and Latitude. However, on their main page, if you go to Large Business, and then to the Latitude laptops, there is still the option to get XP preinstalled.

HP home laptops all are Vista only, but if you go to Small Business or Large Business, they have the option to order with XP preinstalled. I have ordered business class machines from both HP and Dell before for home users, and have never been asked if we were really a business, so I have not had to "fib" about anything.

At first glance, I do not see a way to order XP at Gateway.

Just suck it up guys. Windows 3.0, 3.1 and 3.11 are dead. 95 is dead. NT is dead. 98 and ME are Dead. 2000 is dead (much to many people's dismay). And now, XP is dead.

BTW, as long as we are trying to get computers with XP preinstalled, perhaps you can also tell me how I can buy an analog TV after February of next year. Let me know where I can find LPs and 8tracks and LaserDiscs, and where I can buy an HD-DVD player.

I mean, sorry to be a butt, but you guys know that the June 30th deadline was coming. If you are a business, you can still get XP through your Microsoft Licensing Agreements.

We have some HPs with that issue - you can get an XP license, but the hardware does not have XP drivers.

Besides, didn't you say your guy wanted something flashy? Vista is certainly that.

I just get kinda pissed off about people who ditch Vista who have never used it, who have only used early betas, or are trying to run it on underpowered systems, or who complain its too different.

Linux gets ditched by people who have never used it, find it complicated, have not used it in years, and who complain that such and such hardware is not supported by Linux. That does not mean its a bad OS.

I am quite happy with Vista. Two years ago, I was dual-booting between XP and Linux. Now, I run Vista Business exclusively. I find it far more stable than XP, when something does bomb out in it, it is usually able to recover without any ill-effects, and in my experience, on newer machines, with both XP and Vista, Vista way outperforms XP.

In fact, in the IT department I work in, we have been so happy with Vista and Office 2007, we started rolling it out to our users back in May. After they get past the first 5 minutes of "oh my gosh, its different", they usually figure out where everything is, and claim that they will never go back to XP and Office 2003. They LOVE it.

Getting back on subject, what do you need to do to get a computer with XP? Should have bought it before June 30th. Its not as if that came as a surprise to anyone. I mean, that was not even three weeks ago.

So, I just did a build your own laptop on Dell's website and do not see an option to get XP. Same is ture on the Business Models Vostro and Latitude. However, on their main page, if you go to Large Business, and then to the Latitude laptops, there is still the option to get XP preinstalled.

HP home laptops all are Vista only, but if you go to Small Business or Large Business, they have the option to order with XP preinstalled. I have ordered business class machines from both HP and Dell before for home users, and have never been asked if we were really a business, so I have not had to "fib" about anything.

At first glance, I do not see a way to order XP at Gateway.

Just suck it up guys. Windows 3.0, 3.1 and 3.11 are dead. 95 is dead. NT is dead. 98 and ME are Dead. 2000 is dead (much to many people's dismay). And now, XP is dead.

BTW, as long as we are trying to get computers with XP preinstalled, perhaps you can also tell me how I can buy an analog TV after February of next year. Let me know where I can find LPs and 8tracks and LaserDiscs, and where I can buy an HD-DVD player.

I mean, sorry to be a butt, but you guys know that the June 30th deadline was coming. If you are a business, you can still get XP through your Microsoft Licensing Agreements.

Search for xp on dell's website and you can get a pc with vista and xp pre-installed and both media http://www.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/winxp_inspndt?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

It's true that you can get laptops for under $1k, but it's quite a bit harder to find a 13.3" one like the MacBook for much less.

Dells and Sonys are both >$1k

Yes, the other brands have seemed to be reserving this "newish" form factor (compared to 12.1", 14.1", and 15.4") for their mid-to-high end notebooks. For a while, Apple seemed to be the only brand that offered this size for their low-end notebook (but not for their high-end until the MacBook Air). For example that $1000+ 13.3" Dell is the XPS series, which has some features and options that many 13.3" seekers don't want.

BTW, Dell does now offer a low-end 13.3" notebook: the Dell Vostro 1310. Starts at $750 (Conroe-based Celeron, Vista Home Basic, 1GB RAM, Combo Drive) with many optional upgrades. When shopping for Dell notebooks, don't forget their "business" sites.

$50 is a moot number because consumers are not volume buyers. Let's check the facts.

Dell Inspiron 1420, Ubuntu,$449

Dell Inspiron 1420, Vista Home: $649

http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/linux_3x?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/inspnnb_1420?c=us&l=en&cs=19l=en&s=dhs (starting price model)

Sooo... Facts prove my point. Microsoft is more expensive. Please adjust your beliefs to better reflect reality.

$50 is a moot number because consumers are not volume buyers. Let's check the facts.

Dell Inspiron 1420, Ubuntu,$449

Dell Inspiron 1420, Vista Home: $649

http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/linux_3x?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/inspnnb_1420?c=us&l=en&cs=19l=en&s=dhs (starting price model)

Sooo... Facts prove my point. Microsoft is more expensive. Please adjust your beliefs to better reflect reality.

here you go, 17" inspiron

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&oc=DNDWMA3&s=dhs

the laptop comes with a camera.

if I throw in 802.11n, Bluetooth, and the fancy ExpressCard sound card with optical out, it comes to $1,619.

DVD-RW DL is included, didn't mention it because it seems pretty standard across laptops now.

Not sure about Firewire.

Why must we constantly spin around in circles every time this comes up? It's fucking ridiculous.

On the Dell side, did you configure all of the following, to match the Apple spec for spec?

• Firewire 400
• Firewire 800
• ExpressCard/34
• DVD-RW DL
• Built-in camera
• Gigabit ethernet
• 802.11n
• Bluetooth 2.1
• Digital optical audio

Match all of that (I'm sure you already have some of it) and then let's talk.

Hell, I don't even see anything labeled "Inspiron" on Dell's site. This is what I see for 17 inch laptops. WTF? Trolling or does Dell's site suck that much?

Sorry to burst your bubble:

http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/xpsdt_630?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

Dell - Intel® Coreâ2 E8300 (6MB,2.83GHz, 1333FSB)
2GB2 Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz - 2 DIMMs
500GB4 - 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache
ATI Radeon HD3870 512MB2 GDDR4
Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio

$1,099 - And on Techbargins there is even a $200 off coupon that dell is putting out.

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/imac
Your precious Apple iMac
2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
1GB memory
250GB hard drive
ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT with 128MB memory

$1,199

So before you start spewing numbers about prices, please make sure you're up to date with the times, because the dell has about twice the storage and about 20% more power.

The iMac may strike you as a bit pricey, but it compares well to Dell's similar offering.

Actually most Dell laptops have a setting in the BIOS that enables a tracking feature. Once it is activated there is no way to disable it (according to my BIOS setup screen). http://www.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/services/prosupport/computrace?c=us&cs=555&l=en&s=biz

In this part of the world (Australia), Microsoft Office costs substantially more than the PC itself.

Dell offers the Full version of the Office suite for $998.80 AUD while at the same time advertising a system that is more than powerful enough to run said software for $799.

There are, of course, stripped-down versions of the Office suite for considerably less. For a primary school student, the Home & Student version should suffice at $220. High school students can expect to pay $749.10 for a version with MS Access and Publisher needed for coursework.

--
Disclaimer: The information contained within this post is for educational and entertainment purposes. The poster does not promote the use of Dell products or other crippleware.

It's here

First up:
"Laptop loss frequencies were collected from a confidential field survey as either a direct weekly estimate or as a range variable as reported by airport officials. Exact loss frequencies were typically not calculated or available for review."

It's all just averages using methods that are vague.

Then... 22% of these lost in the major airports are recovered before the flight... (15% in the minor) but they include all of these laptops that were lost for a number of minutes.

Then there are 9% (Major) and 20% (Minor) that are recovered after the flight.

Come on, we're talking most likely badly taken figures in the first place, and then including laptops that aren't really lost at all.

12,000 / 106 = avg 113 laptops / airport / week.

Seems a little high. The pdf doesn't mention what was counted in "lost/stolen" laptops. Do they count every time someone couldn't find their baggage on the belt and reported it (and it just so happened they had a laptop)?

Only thing the pdf says about it is this:

Laptop loss frequencies were collected from a confidential field survey as either a direct weekly estimate or as a range variable as reported by airport officials. Exact loss frequencies were typically not calculated or available for review.

The article does say though that the study was sponsored by Dell supporting its ProSupport Mobility whatever. It claims that Ponemon conducted it independently.

Either way, encrypt your laptops, and try to setup RDC or somesuch, so you can prevent sensitive data from being cached. But encryption should stop casual thieves 99% of the time. I assume Dell's stuff they're selling is meant to wait until someone accesses the internet with a stolen laptop and try to track it that way. But shouldn't the top priority be to prevent data from being accessed in the first place?

What's more important? The data or the hardware cost?

From: IPAK (OTG Service Pack) Team (Internal)
Sent: Friday, January 16, 2004 5:19 PM
To: IPAK (OTG Service Pack) Notification
Subject: DATA LOSS ISSUE NOTIFICATION: Dell Servers with PERC 2 or 3Di (Adaptec) Controllers
Importance: High

DATA LOSS ISSUE NOTIFICATION: Dell Servers with PERC 2 or 3Di (Adaptec) Controllers

Issue: Datacenter Platform Standards Hardware Engineering team is providing notification of a potential data loss risk on Dell Platforms that contain PERC 2 or 3Di (Adaptec) Array Controllers. Over the past two months we have had an unacceptable number of escalations reporting this issue. We have escalated this issue to Dell and they have been able to reproduce the problem and are in the process of developing a fix/solution. In the interest of avoiding further data loss, we are requesting a hold on all Dell servers with a PERC 2 or PERC 3Di until further notice.

This issue is not related to IPAK installs or the OS. The catalyst for this event may be as simple as a warm or cold boot of an affected Dell server.

Affected Servers: Attached is a list of OTG datacenter servers (source ITCONFIG 1/16) that may have a PERC 2 or PERC 3Di controller installed:

Dell Perc2-3Di install list.xls

Keep in mind that this list contains all of the servers that may have a PERC 2 or PERC 3Di controller installed and that some of the servers on the list may not contain the affected controllers. Systems that contain only PERC 3DC controllers are not affected by this issue.

Confirmed affected models are:
PE6300
PE2450
PE1550
PE1650

Models that may have a PERC 2:
PE6400
PE6450
Recommended Action: DO NOT reboot these servers unless there is no other option. DO NOT upgrade, IPAK, change configurations, or move the server. This hold will last until a solution has been provided by Dell. We should receive a detailed explanation from Dell early next week with an ETA to a fix or solution. We will provide daily status to IPAKINFO starting Monday.

Thank you,
Datacenter Platform Standards - HW Engineering

From one of my blogs:

At work and in the past from female co-workers who sit near me hate my typings since they're loud and sometimes fast. One of them instant messaged (IM'ed) me this morning:

[11:48] co-worker: what r u doing????
[11:48] co-worker: ur so loud
[11:49] antd00d: bah typing duh!
[11:49] antd00d: don't make me type LOUDER
[11:49] co-worker: keep it down
[11:49] antd00d: NO!
[11:49] co-worker: :-P
[11:49] antd00d: haha

A few weeks ago, another one said "Stop killing/abusing your keyboard!" Bah, I say! Computer geeks love these clicky keyboards. I noticed all females non-computer geeks hate clicy keyboards. Hmm! I hate soft keyboards though and I can't type well with them. :(

A few years ago, another woman said similiar thing and suggested I get a soft keyboard. WHATEVER!!

I need to get one of those old, steel, IBM keyboards (Model M) to drive them even more annoyed. Currently I just use the cheap generic ones and from Dell. They're old too and still work. One of my college friends said that I type like a machine gun. :)

--

I think I will order Das KB! I can't use those natural keyboards due to lack of thumbs and four fingers on each hand.

Does the hardware have a console with a network port?

Examples:
- On DELL systems, there are these DRAC cards allowing a https connection to the console.
- On SUN hardware, there is ILOM (x86) and RSC (sparc).
- IBM xSeries has this thing.
- You may be to connect a serial line to ttyA from another server to 'tip' for console, making the security a little easier. See this.
- I'm sure there are others for HP, etc...
- Fancy "KVM swicthes.
- There may even be a 3rd party PCI option

Advantages:
- Console sessions require login/pass (some even accept keys)
- You can set your firewall rule to specific IP endpoints
- Minimal cost
- Minimal techy techy knowledge
- No extra software to install

To solve your 'tail -f' requirement; run nrpe/nagios, or even simpler use *.* @loghost in /etc/syslog.conf and set the correct loghost in /etc/hosts.

I understood that you presently run X11, if that isn't necessary with a hardware option and shipping logs, you may be able to run a straight terminal on the host. Unless, of course, your number cruncher requires it.

Yes dell does. You can download from it from here:
http://linux.dell.com/wiki/index.php/Ubuntu_7.04#Download_Dell_Ubuntu_Image
http://linux.dell.com/dru/images/ubuntu-7.04-desktop-i386-dell-cd-0.2-2.iso

Yes dell does. You can download from it from here:
http://linux.dell.com/wiki/index.php/Ubuntu_7.04#Download_Dell_Ubuntu_Image
http://linux.dell.com/dru/images/ubuntu-7.04-desktop-i386-dell-cd-0.2-2.iso

The Vostro 1000 laptop starts at $399 and is available with XP ($99 surcharge).

Really? http://www.dell.com/

I've used Dell's Greenprint Calculator to determine usage in my racks pretty often.

It's got a nice interface and gives you all the energy information you need on their equipment, plus allows you to insert your own equipment's energy profile to calculate total usage.

It's very handy

What a rip off, might as well just go with Vista, and if you don't want Vista then go with these.

Dell has already stated that they will continue to install XP if the customer requests it.

Oh thank god! I hate how when I buy a PC, the hardware never seems to work when I take it out of the box. Especially the complicated task of getting things like this to work! :V

From your link:

"However, I noticed that video performance was awful, so I investigated what could be done to improve this." -- There's no updates on his investigation on the website.

"When it comes to audio, Linux on PS3 falls short again as a media center, because of the 2 channel stereo support currently in the audio driver. But I've been told that work is being done in this area as well. "... -- Yikes!

This stuff sounds like the same things I heard about Linux on the Dreamcast, which eventually petered-out when that generation of console ended and the next one began, leaving a lot of abandoned, half-finished work in it's wake.

Heck, even small businesses can order laptops without Vista. Check Dell's Small & Medium Business laptop store. Or HP's Small & Medium Business laptop store. Or Lenovo's ThinkPad store. At all of these "small business" stores, it's just as easy to order a laptop without Vista as with Vista.

Go through the motions at Dell's "Small & Medium Business" store. You can still get XP without any "Vista bundle" on all of their Vostro/Latitude/Precision laptops and Vostro/Optiplex/Precision desktops and workstations.

You can do the same for almost every other PC maker that sells "business" PCs.

$1076: Inspiron 1525 w Vista 1680x1050(15.4") 2.4GHz 3GB RAM 250GB HD 85Whr battery
or
$1091: Inspiron 1520 w XP Pro 1680x1050(15.4") 2.0GHz 2GB RAM 120GB HD (+Intel Wireless N card)

Upgrade the RAM and replace the battery and hard drive to have almost equivalent specs (plus an extra lower-capacity battery) +50 + 169 + 100 = +319 = $1,410! So Vista is getting a $300 discount!

Also, in case you missed it, the Inspiron 1525's (Vista) chassis has significant updates over the Inspiron 1520 (XP). The 1525 is slimmer (1.00"-1.48" vs 1.47"-1.65"), lighter (5.9 lbs vs 6.4 lbs), and adds a HDMI output. So even if we disregard any limited-time savings, the Vista Inspiron looks like a much better deal.

But more importantly, anyone still looking for Windows XP PCs should not be looking at "Home or Home Office" PCs like Dell Inspirons. They should be looking at "Business" PCs like the Dell Vostros (if looking for low-cost), which are very similar to the Inspirons (except they're black) but all models (including newer models) offer a choice of XP or Vista. Similarly, HP's business laptops (Presario) offer many models with XP while their "home or home office" laptops (Pavilion) only offer Vista. Most Lenovo ThinkPads offer XP while their 3000 series laptops are Vista-only.

No matter what features the EEE has, it was designed to be low cost. Any competitor must also be low cost. $500 is not cheap for a laptop these days.

Why does dell need to make an EEE competitor when it ALREADY HAS a $399 laptop you can buy today. The Dell Vostro 1000 has an AMD Sempron 3600+, XP Home, 15.4 inch Wide Screen, 1GB RAM, 80GB HD, CD Burner, 802.11g Wifi, and 256MB integrated video.

I bet that Vostro is one of those fugly and heavy cheap dells.

The single biggest thing that annoys me with Dell are their laptop batteries. They last on average around 6-9 months, after which they'll hold only 20-30 minutes of charge. To get an idea of what I'm talking about, here are some reviews of their 6-cell and 9-cell batteries. My favorite one is "Pros: It fits in the battery slot. Con: The battery didn't even last a year." :-) The only good point is that with their 1-year guarantee, you're always sure to get two batteries for the price of one.

The single biggest thing that annoys me with Dell are their laptop batteries. They last on average around 6-9 months, after which they'll hold only 20-30 minutes of charge. To get an idea of what I'm talking about, here are some reviews of their 6-cell and 9-cell batteries. My favorite one is "Pros: It fits in the battery slot. Con: The battery didn't even last a year." :-) The only good point is that with their 1-year guarantee, you're always sure to get two batteries for the price of one.

I bought a inspiron 1525, it costs about $50 less than the windows version. I wonder was there a linux version available of the computer you purchased?

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&oc=DNDCPA2&s=dhs

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=dncwpl1&c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&kc=segtopic~linux_3x

of course the windows configuration has a lot more options and I still haven't been able to read off of the media card slot. (so much for hardware that just works)

I bought a inspiron 1525, it costs about $50 less than the windows version. I wonder was there a linux version available of the computer you purchased?

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&oc=DNDCPA2&s=dhs

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=dncwpl1&c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&kc=segtopic~linux_3x

of course the windows configuration has a lot more options and I still haven't been able to read off of the media card slot. (so much for hardware that just works)

Exactly. I just got an Inspiron 1525N *specifically* for that purpose. It came with the 32-bit version of Ubuntu 7.10. I upgraded to Kubunu 8.04 x86_64, and it detected all the hardware without a hitch. I don't even have to use proprietary drivers for the video or wireless. I was able to surf wirelessly and play OpenGL games while it was installing from the live cd. Here are the details

I have no idea why people keep blindly repeating this, but the Dell Ubuntu machines are not more expensive than the Windows models, in fact they are cheaper. The author apparently hasn't done his homework... I just bought an Insiprion 1420N with Ubuntu which arrived at the end of last week, and it was about $50 cheaper than the same configuration running Windows (before coupons).

Don't take my word for it:

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/04/ubuntu-based-dell-systems-50-cheaper-than-windows/

Or just go to http://www.dell.com/ubuntu/ and price it out for yourself, if you still don't believe me...

not true. you can still connect to backend infrastructure with terminal service like application. I've been shopping for a cheap NC for a while, if they mass produce these little baby, it's gonna be like a "smarter" dumb terminal.
like the WYSE

Or only if you compare "like for like" by absolutely insisting that the Wintel box have every feature of the Mac, and discount everything that the "like" Wintel box has (once you get done with it) as having no value. Otherwise you're looking at a 40-70% premium.

But what I was objecting to was the implication that Apple was charging a 200% premium for comparable hardware.

The price for a Mac Pro with:

• Two 2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon (8-core)
• 2GB (2 x 1GB)
• 320GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
• ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT 256MB (Two dual-link DVI)
• One 16x SuperDrive

costs $2,799.00 whereas a Dell Precision T5400(from small and medium business) with:

• 2 Quad Core Intel® Xeon® Processor E5440 (2.83GHz,2X6M L2,1333)
• Genuine Windows Vista® Business Bonus-Windows® XP Professional loaded
• 256MB PCIe x16 nVidia NVS 290, Dual Monitor DVI Capable
• 2GB, DDR2 SDRAM FBD Memory, 667MHz, ECC (4 DIMMS)
• 16X DVD+/-RW w/ Cyberlink PowerDVD(TM) and Roxio Creator(TM) Dell Ed
• 320GB SATA 3.0Gb/s,7200 RPM Hard Drive with 8MB DataBurst Cache(TM)

cost $3933. While the configuration of the two aren't the same I got them as close as I could. Trying to configure a Dell for large business cost even more. And I didn't find a home and home office PC that offered 2 CPUs or Xeon processors.

OK, I'll take some fanboy bait...

The bang-for-buck of Apple's hardware plus their software is a little difficult to justify by itself (though it is arguably a better deal than Windows and a lot less setup than linux). But the industrial design should not be overlooked as a value factor.

Compare a "cheap" consumer-grade MacBook to a similar consumer-grade Dell. The MacBook not only looks svelte and (to some) cool, it also is simply more convenient to deal with. If your computer is something that you use a lot, some of these little details can be very important.

I really appreciate the way a MacBook is almost completely silent. That it slips into the lid of a briefcase. That its speakers, microphone, and camera are all accessible but almost invisible. That I can click, right-click, scroll, pan, and more without moving my hand from one place. That it stays out of my way while I use it, instead of calling attention to itself: no blinking lights, no flashy logos in my face, no stupid buttons all over: it is just a screen with easy-to-use input devices.

I have a Dell Latitude D400 without an optical drive (got for free, so hard to complain). http://www.dell.com/downloads/us/products/latit/d400_spec.pdf (PDF link)

I used PXE Boot to install Ubuntu on this laptop and now it sits next to the bed for late night surfing / remote desktop access to other machines.

Here's the link on how to PXE install Ubuntu from a Windows host: http://hugi.to/blog/archive/2006/12/23/ubuntu-pxe-install-via-windows (it's from 2006, so it references Edgy Eft, but you can pick whichever release you want). I'm sure the info can be extended to many other distro's, if Ubuntu isn't your cup of tea. But the instructions worked great.

Now, try as I might, I haven't figured out how to get Windows to install via PXE even after reading / following most of the instructions I've found online (I'd like to have certain games on this laptop). But for my purposes, Ubuntu is fine.

Layne

I'm replacing a dying server, and for various reasons I'm getting a Dell, probably the PowerEdge 840. My questions:

• AMD or Intel? It seems like the ball's back in Intel's court these days, but I don't track hardware news so closely anymore.
• Pentium E2180 @2.0GHz (free), Core 2 Duo @2.2GHz ($50), or dual core Xeon at 1.86GHz ($100)? Cycles aren't everything, but I'm guessing that the Core 2 Duo at 18% higher clock speed ought to be the sweet spot.
• For RAM: 1GBx2 or 512MBx4? In some systems, more sticks == more interleaving == faster. In others, more sticks == more latency. What's the current thinking?
• Why doesn't Slashdot display bulleted lists correctly anymore?

To those who would tell me (and this story's poster) to Google it: I'd rather get today's recommendations from an interactive forum than try to find a website with the same information from the last year or so. Besides, what geek doesn't want to talk about hardware?

Come on, there are tons of rackable servers out there. If you don't feel like putting together parts, go to dell. They start at $800. http://www.dell.com/content/products/category.aspx/rack_optimized?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd

If you don't want to spend that much, go to newegg, search for 1u and enjoy the 379 results.

If you want something in between; http://www.google.com/search?q=1u+server

There's no need to place a huge order for this type stuff. And there's no need to ask /. I guess next we'll be asked

Apple computer, they are usually within 1 million units or so of their 4th quarter (the strongest quarter for any PC maker) numbers in the 1st quarter... what does that spell to me or to you or to anyone else?

There are people who because they couldn't get an apple computer for Christmas tucked that money away and bought it in the 1st quarter. There are enough of these people who couldn't get it in Christmas, that the 1st quarter sales for apple are insanely high.

• "CUPERTINO, California--January 17, 2007--Apple® today announced financial results for its fiscal 2007 first quarter ended December 30, 2006."