Potential problems with various laptops don't stop with wifi. However, the brand isn't so much an issue as the configuration of the particular model. If I were buying a new one today, I'd be sure to get a laptop with separate video and video RAM. That makes things much simpler, I think, and performs much better. In truth, the vast majority of laptops are made by a limited number of manufacturers under contract with the major brands--so there is much similarity from one to another.
For example, I have an HP DV5000 series laptop. When the Ubuntu family was "updated" about three versions ago, the login screen went crazy! Information is in HUGE fonts, making the whole thing rather useless. This is true for Ubuntu, Kubuntu, and various *buntu clones. I searched the Web and never could locate the source of the problem or how to fix it. In addition, although the sound worked fine running the Live CD, after installation, it didn't work at all. I presume that would be fixable, but I didn't stick around with it long enough to alter the config files to tell. By contrast, the Intel wireless worked fine in a variety of distributions I've sampled. At present, I'm running OpenSUSE 11 on it, and everything works fine (although the original choice for video, 800x600, was obviously pretty lame). I have mixed emotions about KDE 4.0, but I understand that 4.1 is a big improvement--I just haven't had the time to download the beta and install it. I was impressed that the current iteration of YAST is nearly as easy to use as the Ubuntu system for finding and installing software...probably just as easy as I get more used to it. So far, the repositories seem a bit smaller than the Ubuntu ones, but that may be from my unfamiliarity more than anything else. David --- In [email protected], "Harold Williams" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > I belong to more than one group and have read of some laptop problems > with different aspects of Linux, ie sound, video, etc. > > My wife keeps whining for a laptop. Of course it will have to run XP > but I would like to install Linux on it too. I don't want to buy one > that has problems with Linux. > > Do any of the following have problems with Linux that anyone knows of: > HP > Dell > Acer > Gateway. > > I am not hung up on a particular brand name but it's going to be my > wife's laptop that I will use some of the time. Don't even know if I > can buy any of the above without Vista on them. Probably not. If I > have to buy Vista I delay the purchase until I can find something > different or just delete it and install XP. > > Thanks for your input. > ------------------------------------ To unsubscribe from this list, please email [EMAIL PROTECTED] & you will be removed.Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LINUX_Newbies/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LINUX_Newbies/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
