[plug] Linux on Laptops

[Onno Benschop]

/me wades into the fray...

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I'm currently using a Cappuccino PC running Debian. It has suited me 
well and has done its job admirably. However I've been looking around 
for something that requires less work to get going every time I move 
around and if I can carry it to a client, all the better. Something that 
doesn't sound like a jet taking off would be good. A lap-top seemed to 
me to be the best compromise and I've been looking for one of those for 
a few months now.

Being an Apple user from back in 1984, I have still got a PowerBook 1400 
which does its job well, but it's getting a little long in the tooth now 
and running MacOS 8.6 is a little frustrating at times. The LCD panel 
back lighting seems to have died recently, so really it appears that 
it's time to give up on it.

All this in the way of some background.
</background>

I have drooled over Apple's offering but I am concerned about a number 
of issues:

    * Open Source it is not.
    * Apple updates appear to suck according to regular accounts I'm
      reading on another list.
    * The GUI that I loved under "Classic" is gone, to be replaced by a
      colour orgasm that has me frothing at the mouth. I don't know if
      this GUI can be customised back to something saner that doesn't
      require me to remember what each coloured ball means and has the
      close box in the top left and the maximise in the top right.
    * While I'm not adverse to paying for software, I find it a little
      rich that updates cost $200 each six to ten months and that
      support costs extra.

Now some would note that I could run Debian on an Apple and that idea is 
tempting, even more so with the idea that Apple will be moving to x86 
sometime next year or so. I would get the nice Apple hardware and Debian 
in one package.

However, it is more and more apparent to me that hardware support for 
things like power, wireless, modems, etc. is not quite as good as it 
should be, that is, (completely) lacking.

The more I think about this, the more I lean toward a laptop that runs 
Debian with no problems, has hardware support for all of its features 
and has a manufacturer that isn't Linux antagonistic.

Now, to be fair, realistically, I really only need a good editor, a 
collection of web-browsers, apache, mysql, php, CVS and a CVS client. An 
excellent mail client is essential, and a DVD burner would be good. A 
screen resolution no smaller than 1024 x 768, but preferably larger. The 
Linux thing is useful because I take command line for granted, use cron, 
grep and locate a zillion times a day, but I don't really need Linux for 
that.

I think about IBM Thinkpads a fair amount and like the idea that HP 
employs one (or more) of the senior Debian developers.

Where does this leave me in this fracas?

Still no closer to buying a laptop, but happily reading the 
contributions to this thread.


Keep it up!

-- 
Onno Benschop
Connected via Optus B3 at S34°45'36.5" - E139°00'08.7" (Mount Pleasant, SA)
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