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Just bought a new workstation from them this week. They are very professional and full of Linux goodness! And they do thinkpads.
http://laclinux.com/

They are available from http://laclinux.com./ They have a decent selection, if not all.

I play games I can play. If those games require 3D drawing, I guess that the CPU does it. This is far from the best way to do this task, but to focus on this gives games too much ground. Games are not critical for getting jobs done. They're fun to play but most computer users don't need them to do work. Far more important and pressing than games are the issues surrounding programs people use daily. Document format issues, fighting software patents, and providing free software implementations of programs people need to do their everyday work is critical.

The BIOS issue is being worked on with Coreboot.org. I plan to purchase a new computer someday soon (my current main machine is roughly a decade old) and I intend that that computer will run Coreboot. I'm told that my XO-1 runs a free software BIOS; this machine would be fine for me if it were a little faster to improve interactive response, but I use it all the same. I understand that there's now at least one mail-order place that will sell users a machine with gNewSense GNU/Linux preloaded and I think they're eager to ship a Coreboot machine preloaded so I'll keep my eye on them for my next computer. Proprietary software is anti-social, and a proprietary BIOS is certainly no exception.

I don't know of a hardware compatibility list for gNewSense GNU/Linux, but I do know that the FSF has maintained lists of hardware that work with free software. I'd imagine that the folks who maintain gNewSense would appreciate your help in maintaining such a list.

If you want high-end power machines that run Linux, build them yourself or go buy them pre-configured here or here. In the mean time, the more non-geeks we can get to be using Linux, the more hardware manufacturers and applications developers will have to consider Linux compatibility. Once we get to the point where all hardware works in Linux (either because they make it use an existing interface, or fully and openly document the new one they design, or provide kernel license compatible open source drivers) and all useful applications have native Linux versions, then I really don't care how many people use Windows. But until then, I see expanding the Linux user base as a means to the desired ends.

Smaller companies have been doing this for a while. Why do we need to go to big companies like HP when we can get computers from places like Los Alamos Computers and Penguin Computing? Oh wait, geeks now want dirt cheap computers instead of top of the line machines?

Los Alamos Computers

I'm sure a lot of Slashdotters know the feeling when you get on the tech support line and feel like they treat you like you know nothing, when in fact they're the ones that don't know what they're talking about...

Well, with LAC, they'll treat you as a peer. First off, they request special instructions when you order, if you'd like a RAID setup, what runlevel you'd like to use, what display manager, what desktop environment, etc. They're also cooperative. For example, if I say something is broken, and tell them how I tested it to determine that, they don't run me through some inane troubleshooting sequence on the phone anyway. They picked up on what I was saying right away and shipped out a new part that day. Their response time to emails is very fast as well, about an hour or so in my experience.

Anyway, I'm not getting a kickback or anything, but it is the first time I've had a universally good experience with a computer vendor. I found out about them from a pretty good list of pre-installed Linux vendors over at the Debian site.

Perhaps you might go to a shop that will pre-install linux for you? You know, someone like LACLinux and their laptop selection.

(A satsified customer)

Los Alamos Computers These guys seem pretty good, and offer a lot of choice, and have some clearance systems.
penguin computing
Linux Certified
Linux.org's listing of linux hardware vendors. Doesn't seem to be that up to date(last I looked) but a good starting point for finding computers running linux.

For instance I would of bought a Dell laptop in a heartbeat if I knew dell supported it and offered a Windows-less or linux OS pre-installed.

I don't care if they support* Linux or not. Just give me the laptop without the Microsoft tax and I'll do the rest.

* By support I mean that if I have a problem with Linux I don't care if they have people around to help me with my problem. But if you meant that they actually do a little bit of research to make sure the hardware that goes into the laptop works with Linux, then well yeah ... it would be nice if they supported Linux.

In the latter case, here are a couple of places I've found that do just that. Unfortunately their prices can't match Dell's, but at least you know that all of your hardware is going to work with Linux. (or so they claim)

laclinux.com

linuxcertified.com

well nice. hp and all that. but when it comes to linux i think everyone would pick an ulb from lac

Is ESR's "Ultimate Linux Box" semi- or full-automatic?

Also, if you look at the bottom of this page, you'll see that the specs on the so-called ULB's don't match what you're saying, and the prices start at about $900 more.

Yeah, but Los Alamos Computers (http://www.laclinux.com/en/Linux_Computers) ,builder of ESR's "Ultimate Linux Box" will build you a nicely fitted out dual-Opteron system (8GB RAM, dual 160GB SATA disks, ...) for about $2900...

http://www.laclinux.com/cgi-bin/laptop.py

sells laptops preinstalled with a variety of GNU/LInux distributions, and MS Windows is optional. They come in a variety of sizes.

By the way with regard to the "Microsoft Tax", as far as I know, there really is no such thing. Companies that force customers to have an MS OS installed in their new system are usually following the requirements of an agreement they have with Microsoft. By the agreement, they get MS OSs very cheap, hence they do not have to add $100+ to each system to recover the cost of the MS OS. There are other requirements too -- e.g. It is not allowed to display the price of the MS OS as a part of the full system price. The MS OS must be presented as an "integral part of the computer system, without which, the computer is unusable". Ya right.

will customize it, a bit.

don't know about form factor.

they built 'the ultimate linux pc' a year or so ago. Your choice of distro. good stuff.

also: qli.

Qli sells new laptops with Linux preinstalled. Their prices range from one thousand to over two, for a fully loaded machine. They don't sell any that are tiny, like the Vaio, but there are other companies that do sell refurbished laptops and small form factor laptops with no Windows tax. I chose Qli because I was looking for a particular feature set, and because one of their installation options is Gentoo, which is my current favorite distribution.

I got an 1800MHz, 512MB (2GB max), 15.1" LCD, 20Gb, DVD/CDRW laptop for a shade over $1800. It has onboard ethernet, three USB (one of which is USB 2.0), onboard firewire, and a single CardBus slot. It was, practically, the perfect configuration I was looking for; the price was reasonable, and (as I said) they offered Gentoo as an install option.

My experience with Qli has been good. I agreed that they would install Gentoo 1.4, which is technically still beta, and this was Qli's first 1.4 laptop, so I had to do some work after the machine arrived to get it fully configured. I would expect that if you chose Gentoo 1.2, Mandrake, or Redhat, it would arrive fully configured. Qli provides a large number of installation options, and money you pay for the distribution of your choice (which varies) goes to the distribution.

The best thing about Qli, IME, was the customer service. The staff are extremely knowledgable and helpful, and are good about responding to support requests. They have a good understanding of kernel configurations, from which kernel modules are required to support which features to various configuration options.

I'm also very happy with the hardware. Although it isn't yet supported by Linux, I was pleasantly surprised that the laptop came with an unadvertised MMC/SD slot.

There are a couple of hangups with my particular hardware, but none of it is Qli's fault. The laptop is entirely ACPI, and ACPI support in Linux is immature. Consequently, I can't suspend the laptop (!) -- yet. OpenGL is proved to be a bear to get working, but this is due to my choice of distributions; apparently, Redhat on this laptop has full accellerated GL support out of the box. There is an onboard WinModem, but we know about those.

In summary, I can recommend Qli. You need to evaluate your own requirements, and then send them an email before you buy. They'll give you status reports on various configurations and recommend a system for you.

[Disclaimer] I do not work for Qli, and I don't receive any compensation for recommending them. My only relationship with Qli is that I've recently purchased a laptop from them.

You might contact a Micron PC sales rep and see if they'll provide a laptop with a version of Linux installed. If I remember correctly, I was able to arrange such a deal for a client... I don't see any option on their website so I might just be crazy :)

You might also take a look at Los Alamos Computers. They aren't as light as you want, but they might be an option.

QLI is also an option, but weight is an issue again.

Finally, Emperor Linux has some very light looking machines :) They are as light as 2 lbs, but you'll have to sacrifice a little speed. (2lbs is around 1 kg..)

Good luck.. I don't have any experience with any of these companies except for Micron PC.. You might do a quick search on google next time...

My computer came with Emacs and GNU/Linux.

ObOnTopic: Get your FSF membership number before we run out of 3-digit numbers -- your low number will be worth serious geek cred in the future. But not as much as mine, which is #3 ;)

That depends on how much software you purchase and for what purpose. I had this same conversation at work not to long ago. I suggested Linux as a way out from under Microsoft's licensing. While there were a number of reasons (cost of retraining, "there'll be no one to blame...", "that's non-standard..." etc.), one issue caught me without an answer.

We were discussing how Linux has just about everything we wanted from the Corporate Standard sense. You could lock the systems down tight for the average user, you could give developers a developer-oriented operating system, Open Office offered a good-enough Word/Excel/Powerpoint replacement, even e-mail wasn't an issue.

Our issue was group calendaring and MS Exchange. You see, while Ximian has some great stuff, it doesn't interface with the release of Exchange we're using. The question was asked, "What if we upgraded to Exchange 2000?" The answer was that we hadn't finished depreciating our current licenses for Exchange.

That last bit has also surfaced as a reason to use pay-to-play software in general. You depreciate the license cost over time like you would office furniture or new computers.

I haven't crunched the numbers, so I don't know which way is cheaper. Do you save so much in taxes by depreciating licenses as an asset? Or is it cheaper to avoid the license cost up front? It seems to me that you'll end up paying someone knowledgeable about the system regardless of whether it's open source or not. Can you really save so much on taxes that it's worth paying recurring licese fees and making yourself vulnerable to vendor-lock?

Personally, I now run Linux as the main OS on my home machine. I became more and more disgusted with Microsoft's policies. I also became more and more concerned about having to keep buying Outlook to read my e-mail archives, or being forced to use Microsoft products to gain access to my own writing. I haven't gone MS free (I'm down to a few boots a day), mostly because of my computer gaming habit. I'm working on it though. (BTW: I bought a duel-boot (pun intended) machine from Los Alamos Computers --great machine.)

I agree with your point about retraining, sort of a weening from MS (ughh can't get horrid image out of mind...). However, I think that the shift is happening off the charts. You see, because you can download it for free, computer geeks like me will try it out. Because /. and other "geek-chic" gathering places take a decidedly pro-Linux slant, people wanting to be "savvy" and "in-the-know" will talk about Linux. And because its good and free (very rich word, that) more people will use it. Linux is not a tide that ebbs, it is the small stream that becomes victorious over the rock bed. Sorry for all the philosophical nonsense, but Linux will find its way into your office and mine the same way Windows machines edged out VAX terminals. Linux offers something better.

As Microsoft becomes more and more the a media giant they want to be (Disney-esque, even), more and more people will see their software for what it is... Mickey Mouse. (Don't forget, they've got Donald Duck heading up corporate strategy.)

The best site I have found for dual proc machines is Los Alamos Computers.
The prices seem reasonable and they occaisonally put systems on e-Bay.

They were also the ones who built the Utimate Linux Box for Linux Journal and Eric Raymond that was featured earlier.

Too bad they are not accepting any new orders till 2002.

The best site I have found for dual proc machines is Los Alamos Computers.
The prices seem reasonable and they occaisonally put systems on e-Bay.

They were also the ones who built the Utimate Linux Box for Linux Journal and Eric Raymond that was featured earlier.

Too bad they are not accepting any new orders till 2002.