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Didn't Get That Linux Laptop for Xmas?

Posted by michael on from the socks-underwear-and-fruitcakes dept.

cvbear0 writes: "You didn't get the laptop you wanted for Christmas, did you? Well, surf on over to the Linux Laptop SuperGuide. The guys from the Linux Hardware Database and ZDNet have build a list of Linux-friendly laptops. Users can also post their comments about their experiences with certain model. Send back those 15 sweaters you received, and find the Linux laptop of your dreams!" My wish is that power management under Linux would be fully supported. Getting four hours battery life under Windows and two hours under Linux is disappointing.

6 of 87 comments (clear)

  1. Various responses by dillon_rinker · · Score: 4

    My wish is that power management under Linux would be fully supported. Getting four hours battery life under Windows and two hours under Linux is disappointing.

    INFIDEL! MISCREANT! Pustulent bootlicking LAPDOG of WILLIAM HENRY GATES III! Knowest thou not that the WRATH of the PENGUIN shall fall upon thee? May thy hard drive CHIP and SHATTER!

    Those who would trade security and essential freedoms for a little power deserve not security, freedom, or power.

    D00D! 11|\|UX R00lZ! J00 AR3 A 5UCK0R A|\|D 1 0\/\/|\| J00!

    What sort of loser hacker are you? Just buy a bunch of AA batteries at the airport or K-mart or wherevery you are and solder them in series/parallel to meet your laptop's power specs. If you can't get it exactly, try combinations of NiCad and regular batteries, as the .3V differential helps to meet the odd voltage specs. Or just carry around a few car batteries, a 12V cigarette lighter socket wired to some alligator clips, and one of those car adapters for your laptop.

  2. Is power management a Linux-wide problem? by Russ+Nelson · · Score: 4

    The Compaq iPAQ handheld also overuses its batteries. I wonder if power management isn't a problem across all Linux architectures?
    -russ

    --
    Don't piss off The Angry Economist
  3. Sony VAIOs make good Linux-retrofitted laptops. by AFCArchvile · · Score: 5
    Since they use the Intel 440BX chipset, there's no problem with compatibility. The F and XG series laptops are the best (except for the F-630 which runs on a K6-2 and obviously doesn't have a BX chipset). Of course, why buy from Sony, the near-monopoly of the movie industry? So you can screw them over by not registering or using their provided software.

    As far as the other brands, stay away from Toshiba; they're the manufacturer of the cheapest (and shoddiest) laptops around. HP isn't much better. Only the Compaq Armada series is worth retrofitting with Linux. All Dell systems should work out fine. As for Gateway, those laptops are worth their weight in cow pies.

    --
    "Ancillary does not mean you get to rule the world." --U.S. Circuit Judge Harry Edwards, speaking to the FCC's lawyer
    1. Re:Sony VAIOs make good Linux-retrofitted laptops. by 11223 · · Score: 4
      Excuse me? While I don't own a Vaio, several friends do, and their units never work quite right. Between the cheese-o battery life, the incredible PC Card problems (does your PC card slot work right under Linux?). Even tho they use a BX chipset, they use Yamaha sound chips, which are a pain to get working properly.

      On the other hand, my Gateway works just fine. I don't know what it is you're talking about, but Sony laptops are the biggest peices of linux-incompatible cow pies that I've ever seen.

  4. The Definitive Guide to Linux on Laptops by �nubis · · Score: 5
    While the ZDNet site is nice, you should definitely check out the Linux on Laptops site at:

    http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/kharker/linux-lapto p/

    Not only does it have a laptop compatibility list that is twenty times larger than the ZDNet one, but it also has howto's, discussion forums, and much, much more.

  5. Definitive guides on Linux/BSD laptops by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4

    Okay, here are the links you'll need when picking out a free software laptop:

    Linux:
    http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/kharker/linux-lapto p/
    http://www.linux.org/hardware/laptop.html

    FreeBSD:
    http://www.cse.ucsc.edu/~dkulp/fbsd/laptop.html
    http://www.jp.freebsd.org/PAO/LAPTOP_SURVEY/index. html

    OpenBSD:
    http://www.openbsd.org/i386-laptop.html
    http://www.monkey.org/openbsd-mobile

    NetBSD:
    http://www.reedmedia.net/misc/netbsd/laptops-and-n etbsd.html
    http://newsletter.toshiba-tro.de/netbsd/

    X window system LCD configs:
    http://www.sanpei.org/Laptop-X/note-list.html
    http://www.sanpei.org/Laptop-X/Laptop-X/

    Notebook survey for graphics/PCMCIA
    http://hci.ucsd.edu/dsf/notebooks.html

    If anyone has any other links for other free software OSes, please post them :)
    --posted anonymously to avoid karma whoring.