Mailinglist Archive: opensuse (3236 mails)

[grtoft@xxxxxxxxx (George Toft)]

Brian M. Collins wrote:
> 
> I am looking for a reasonably priced laptop to take SuSE 6.3 on the road
> with me.  I need:
> - decent display
> - net & modem access
> - robustness (must not be a "delicate" box)
> - flawless execution of SuSE
> 
> Any suggestions or experiances to share?

Whatever you choose, make sure:
1.  Others have installed Linux on it (obviously).  I tried to install
Linux on an IBM Thinkpad 365, which was a fairly trivial task, even with
the backpack CD-ROM, but the video chip was not supported by Xfree86.
This particular model had a very obscure chip (I don't remember the 
name, but all I found on the 'Net was other people asking the same 
question I was, and no answers.
2.  Make sure there is good vendor support.  I bought a Sharp PC 9020,
knowing it was thinly supported.  The 1-800 customer support
has been excellent, but the quality of the computer is sorely lacking.
In the time since I bought it, support has diminished.  I cannot get
it repaired locally - I have to send it to a regional repair center.
I'm on my third hard drive - I can't run Linux for more than three
days without overheating and killing the hard drive.  The RAM died -
I replaced the 16MB with 32MB.  The power cord developed an open - I
performed surgery and fixed it.  The floppy drive connector is very
troublesome - it will cost me over $200 to ship it to California to
fix it (I can buy another computer just like it for under $600).  The 
floppy drive failed - more surgery and now I have this very 
Frankenstein-looking contraption whenever I use the floppy drive.
3.  Never buy refurb equipment.  See above.

Sorry I can't tell what *to* buy, but I can tell you what *not* to buy.

-- 
George Toft                                  http://www.georgetoft.com

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