On Thu, 2004-07-08 at 16:26, Maura Edeweiss Monville wrote:
During the last year laptops have evolved and maybe the current market offers even more than I need ... I havent' found any time to follow up unluckily ... recently I've been offered a laptop ECS which is to me a totally unknown brand name. My understanding is that some third parties buy the main components and then they assembly them together according to the customer's requests .. which sounds pretty convenient.. But there may be a pitfall I cannot see out of ignorance in this field. Honestly I do not know whether it's better to buy a known brand like Dell, HP, IMB, etc ... or save some money and still have a reliable laptop specially made for me by these third parties ...
Hi, Maura. I love my IBM Thinkpad X31 and SuSE 9.1 is great on it. I have the built-in IBM 802.11a/b/g and 9.1 found it and it Just Works. The modem probably does, too, but I haven't tested it. As a general rule, in my experience (doing freelance computer tech support/repair for many years) it is always preferable to buy a known-brand laptop. Laptop hardware is generally so proprietary that if something goes wrong, you'll need to contact the mftr. for tech support. I've been really impressed with IBM tech support the two times I've called them with questions about my TP. Another thing I suggest is trying out different laptops for the feel of them. If you have a big store like a CompUSA or Fry's where they have laptops on display, type on one, check out whether it uses touchpad or trackpoint and what you like. If friends have laptops, take one for a test run in terms of how it feels to you. This doesn't have anything to do with the operating system, but one's interaction with a laptop is so personal, and unlike a desktop where you can easily change to a keyboard/mouse you like, it isn't that simple with a laptop. For instance, I have always heard that Toshibas were good - and they probably are - but I had one in the shop yesterday and I hated the feel of the keys and the touchpad wasn't responsive. It made me glad I bought my IBM. And so on. Cheers, Malke -- "Never give up; never surrender!"