It’s time for a new laptop, as I’ve detailed, I’ve ripped apart, inserted coins and duct-taped the old iBook back together again enough times, and it’s no longer viable. It’ll work fine on a flat surface, but if you try to use it as a laptop the minor flexing must loosen the video chip, because you quickly find your video locked, with a hard reboot the only fix. The wildcards are me as a buyer, since I’m hardly ordinary with my expectation that any laptop or desktop I’m going to buy is only going to run Linux, and the recent announcements by HP, IBM/Lenovo and Dell about their Linux support (some even pre-installed), I knew I’d finally have choices to consider. In the end I came up with a pretty current system, that Debian or Ubuntu will be 100% compatible with, and will be proud to call home. The detailed specs:
Intel Core 2 Duo T5470, 1.6GHz, 800Mhz FSB, 2M L2 Cache
15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA LCD display
1GB, DDR2, 667MHz 2 DIMM
128MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
120G 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
Integrated 10/100 Network Cardand Modem
8X DVD+/-RW with double-layer DVD+R write capability
Integrated High Definition Audio 2.0
Intel 3945 WLAN (802.11a/g) Mini Card
Integrated 2.0 mega pixel webcam
Integrated Bluetooth
85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
This is more system that I originally spec’d out, but the price was right, so I’m very happy. Before I reveal which brand I picked, I’ll tell the interesting story of how I ended up with the ‘top I did, and how things compare for laptop Linux options these days, it’s an interesting ride.
NOTE: feel free to Digg this article if you like it.
As a IT contractor I’m enjoying giving my opinion when asked, and sometimes even when I’m not asked; I have the confidence to be open and honest with everyone and want them to know that. Because of this I’ve been getting to do things I otherwise would not have since they would not have known I was interested or experienced in such things. One of the things I was hired for was to setup Apache on Linux to work with their web instances. It’s been fun, and while I’ve used Apache for over 10 years, there’s always new things to learn. Recently they asked for my opinion on ‘support’ options for Apache. Keeping in mind, they already have support for the hardware and support for the Linux distribution, they still think they need another support channel for Apache. To me this a big waste of money and have somewhat made my case to them. While I understand their position that this support is a way to cover themselves if Apache ‘breaks’, the fact that this software is Open Source has to change the way they have traditionally considered support.
I’ve read a few posts online that review Dell’s Linux support, and most complain that they have to call the ‘regular’ number first, only to get the “What version of Windows are you running?” support. After redirected to the correct number for Linux support, they get excellent support. So, to try and help propogate the Linux support numbers, I present them here. Dell’s Linux support number for hardware is 866-622-1947, and for software it’s 866-982-8688. Additionally, the online 
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