Review of MNT Reform "fully open" laptop
Submitted for your consideration... "Review: MNT Reform laptop has fully open hardware and software—for better or worse" 2022 JAN 31 by Andrew Cunningham, Ars Technica https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/01/review-mnt-reform-laptop-has-fully-open-hardware-and-software-for-better-or-worse/ Summary: Interesting concept. Some actual wins. Very modular. You can change out the pointing device or processor module in the field. Battery is made of commodity cells. Decent screen. Lots of quirks -- power control via aux LCD menu, strange keyboard. Some parts reportedly easy to break. Crippled by a painfully slow processor and near-useless WiFi. Sounds like it might be something that can be improved upon, but I don't know if interest/momentum/money/etc will last. -- Ben ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: NH Linux laptop builders (was: SMART data & Self tests, not sure if my SSD is on it's last gasp)
On 1/6/21 4:16 PM, Bill Ricker wrote:
>
>
> On Wed, Jan 6, 2021 at 3:45 PM Joshua Judson Rosen <mailto:roz...@hackerposse.com>> wrote:
>
> Showtime Computer <http://www.showtimepc.com/
> <http://www.showtimepc.com/>> in Hudson now does custom-built laptops,
> as of some time in the last few years IIRC. They look like they're based
> on the same ODM kits
> as the other Linux boutiques I've shopped, and should be solid.
>
>
> ?? I do NOT see Linux listed on their Operating Systems page (except for a
> WSL mention on WinSvr page).
Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that Showtime was itself a `Linux boutique',
just to say that they are apparently capable of assembling the same laptop
hardware as ZaReason and ThinkPenguin
were selling when last I'd looked; I'm not sure what the Showtime staff's level
of Linux savvy is,
or if you'd need to bring your own savvy about chipsets and/or
software-installation/-setup when
picking components for them to put together into a laptop.
It might be worth asking them.
While the experiences I've had with Showtime have been great,
the scope so far has been limited to buying hardware accessories and
occasionally
having them help me figure out which accessory I need.
I'm not sure where I'll get *my* next laptop--they're on my list of places to
look,
but my next laptop purchase is probably at least another year away.
> ThinkPenguin <https://www.thinkpenguin.com
> <https://www.thinkpenguin.com>> is also based in NH again (Keene, last I
> heard);
>
> Interesting
>
> looks like they've may have stopped doing laptops for the time being,
> though
> (I don't see any in the listing on their website, just accessories; they
> have _desktops_...).
>
> Too bad
>
> I was buying all of my computers from ZaReason, but they just went out of
> business
> ("Unfortunately, the pandemic has been the final KO blow. It has hit our
> little town hard
> and we have not been able to recover from it.
> As of Tuesday, 11/24/20 17:00 EST ZaReason is no longer in
> business.").
>
>
> Sad.
Indeed! I bought my first ZaReason machine in ~2011, and bought several in the
intervening years--
including laptops, desktops, small servers, large servers..., and they were
always a joy:
even fairly exotic requests like "could you install Debian on it with RAID-5
across 4 disks and LVM on top of that,
and with an initial user login named suchandsuch" were things that they'd
happily do as part of their setup.
They'd send photos of new laptops when I asked what the access-panels on the
bottom looked like before ordering.
And I even have a nice little ZaReason-branded phillips-head screwdriver that
they send to make DIY hardware-upgrades extra easy.
--
Connect with me on the GNU social network!
<https://status.hackerposse.com/rozzin>
Not on the network? Ask me for more info!
___
gnhlug-discuss mailing list
gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org
http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: Recent Laptop experiences sought
Usually I just buy from ZaReason, have them pre-install whatever distro I need,
with whatever options I want (they'll flip whatever switches are available via
the installer--
want full-disk encryption? LVM? Software RAID? Some combination? Just ask them).
And these laptops are just *brilliant* when it comes to being able to
self-service them:
remove a few phillips-head screws, pop open one big hatch, and everything is
right there
if you want to add/swap components... or just clean your CPU fan sometime down
the road
(and if you ask, they'll even include a nice little ZaReason-branded
screwdriver in the box).
BUT...:
ThinkPenguin relocated to New Hampshire (Keene!) a few years ago.
And Showtime PC in Hudson also started doing custom-built laptops a while ago.
And Showtime and ThinkPenguin presently seem to be using the same ODM laptop
kits
as ZaReason are using.
On the other hand, I hear that if you buy a Dell with the "corporate" support
plan,
supposedly you can call Dell and have them send someone same-day to fix your
laptop
if you break it (and I've heard that support plan is actually remarkably cheap,
though I don't remember the specifics or have a URL handy...).
ThinkPenguin is a lot more active upstream in free software and open hardware
(the ThinkPenguin USB Wi-Fi module is an atheros chip has a nice story behind
it, for example
<https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/13/04/30/2251252/fsf-certifies-atheros-based-thinkpenguin-80211-n-usb-adapter>;
and LibreCMC is run by the same people who run ThinkPenguin...).
Showtime on the other hand is a brilliant I-wish-there-were-still-more-of-these
local computer shop.
Sorry, I don't know if this is even close to helpful to Mark ("short list"
might have meant
"really, needs to be one of these") But I figured if the thread was already
wandering...,
maybe someone would like to know that list of options existed.
ZaReason: https://zareason.com/
ThinkPenguin: https://www.thinkpenguin.com/
Showtime PC: https://www.showtimepc.com/
--
Connect with me on the GNU social network:
<https://status.hackerposse.com/rozzin>
Not on the network? Ask me for an invitation to the nhcrossing.com social hub!
___
gnhlug-discuss mailing list
gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org
http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: Recent Laptop experiences sought
Thanks! I appreciate all of the feedback provided- I have been running Fedora on Thinkpad laptops since IBM days- first, a T43 and then a W500. The W500 still works, but is now too slow to do much more than be a terminal server for web browsing or jumping onto a cloud VM. I had not looked at either the HP or the Dell laptops prior to this discussion- and there looks to be some good offerings from both companies. And, checking for refurbished and open box systems looks like a good idea as well. Peter noted 16GB as a minimum for carrying a reasonable (software development) workload, and, I suspect 24 or 32GB would be a better future-proofing option. A faster, newer gen CPU with more cores is usually desirable, as is a bright high resolution screen, but these items need be considered against how much quicker the battery will drain. Six hours of *real* use out of a battery/system advertised to run for 10 or 12 hours on a single charge, I think would be a realistic expectation. There were some quora/reddit discussions about BIOS tweaks necessary to reduce idling power consumption for linux, some having to do with thunderbolt support. This research, while still a work-in-progress, has benefited from your contributions. Many thanks! Regards, Mark Ellison On Sat, Sep 14, 2019 at 7:02 PM Peter Petrakis wrote: > 16GB ram is my minimum for a Linux desktop. 8GB was fine before sandbox > tabbed browsing came > along but today that's where the bulk of the memory is allocated. It works > but it feels cramped sometimes. > KDE is leaner than gnome these days believe it or not. I also don't need a > registry editor or "tweak tool" > to set stuff that matters. > > I still have a T510 with an SSD that won't die. I had to replace the cpu > fan recently though, bearings were going. > > It might be worth investigating if you can get LineageOS onto the > chromebook. I recently recycled a Samsung > Galaxy S4 from Android 4.4 to Android 9 using LOS (r16?). Thing screams > now. > > On Sat, Sep 14, 2019 at 4:07 PM Tom Buskey wrote: > >> I tend to use my laptop in one place so I don't really use the battery. >> I want chrome, xterminals and ssh to my servers. >> >> I had T61p laptops with 8GB and SSD for a long time until the power >> supplies got flakey. >> I upgraded to a T420s from ebay ($100ish) plugged the SSD from the T61p >> and just kept running. >> I like the durability (the T61p was 12 years old!). >> All the newer laptops seem to have chiclet type keyboards. I prefer more >> of a real keyboard. >> >> I have a chromebook that can run Linux. It's a bit slower, has only 4GB >> RAM (upper limit for cheap chromebooks), lower resolution and that horrible >> keyboard. The battery life is fantastic though. >> >> On Sat, Sep 14, 2019 at 2:13 PM Peter Petrakis >> wrote: >> >>> You can pickup Thinkpad x220 cheap on ebay with 2/4 core i7 >>> processor and max 16G DRAM + SSD for under $250. >>> Just picked one up for the wife for $179. >>> >>> After that I wouldn't bother with anything less than a P50. They can be >>> had for under $1K and are absolute >>> beasts. Tons of ram capacity, multiple harddrives, nvme, dual gpus, >>> suitable for CUDA dev. >>> >>> https://tinyurl.com/y3keh99t , Intel i7-6700HQ 2.60GHz 32GB 480GB SSD >>> 15.6", buy it now for $760 >>> >>> http://www.notebookreview.com/notebookreview/lenovo-thinkpad-p50-review-workstation-all/ >>> >>> I've been halfway around the world with *business class* Thinkpads and >>> they have never failed me. >>> >>> Peter >>> >>> >>> >>> On Sat, Sep 14, 2019 at 1:17 PM Mark Ellison wrote: >>> >>>> Hi- >>>> >>>> As appropriate, please respond with your recent laptop experience... >>>> >>>> I have been using the Lenovo Thinkpad line of laptops with Fedora >>>> Linux. >>>> >>>> Currently, have a short list of laptops- the Lenovo Thinkpad T490 and >>>> the HP ProBook, Zbook or Elite with the i7 4-core 8M cache. Screen should >>>> be no larger than 14". >>>> >>>> Some online research turned up 'short battery life' problems with the >>>> T490 that seem resolvable with some BIOS tweaks. >>>> >>>> Any issues, any preferences? Things to consider pre-sale? >>>> >>>> Thanks in advance for all your help! >>>> >>>> Mark Ellison >>>> >>>> >>>> ___ >>>> gnhlug-discuss mailing list >>>> gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org >>>> http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/ >>>> >>> ___ >>> gnhlug-discuss mailing list >>> gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org >>> http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/ >>> >> ___ > gnhlug-discuss mailing list > gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org > http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/ > ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: Recent Laptop experiences sought
16GB ram is my minimum for a Linux desktop. 8GB was fine before sandbox tabbed browsing came along but today that's where the bulk of the memory is allocated. It works but it feels cramped sometimes. KDE is leaner than gnome these days believe it or not. I also don't need a registry editor or "tweak tool" to set stuff that matters. I still have a T510 with an SSD that won't die. I had to replace the cpu fan recently though, bearings were going. It might be worth investigating if you can get LineageOS onto the chromebook. I recently recycled a Samsung Galaxy S4 from Android 4.4 to Android 9 using LOS (r16?). Thing screams now. On Sat, Sep 14, 2019 at 4:07 PM Tom Buskey wrote: > I tend to use my laptop in one place so I don't really use the battery. I > want chrome, xterminals and ssh to my servers. > > I had T61p laptops with 8GB and SSD for a long time until the power > supplies got flakey. > I upgraded to a T420s from ebay ($100ish) plugged the SSD from the T61p > and just kept running. > I like the durability (the T61p was 12 years old!). > All the newer laptops seem to have chiclet type keyboards. I prefer more > of a real keyboard. > > I have a chromebook that can run Linux. It's a bit slower, has only 4GB > RAM (upper limit for cheap chromebooks), lower resolution and that horrible > keyboard. The battery life is fantastic though. > > On Sat, Sep 14, 2019 at 2:13 PM Peter Petrakis > wrote: > >> You can pickup Thinkpad x220 cheap on ebay with 2/4 core i7 processor and >> max 16G DRAM + SSD for under $250. >> Just picked one up for the wife for $179. >> >> After that I wouldn't bother with anything less than a P50. They can be >> had for under $1K and are absolute >> beasts. Tons of ram capacity, multiple harddrives, nvme, dual gpus, >> suitable for CUDA dev. >> >> https://tinyurl.com/y3keh99t , Intel i7-6700HQ 2.60GHz 32GB 480GB SSD >> 15.6", buy it now for $760 >> >> http://www.notebookreview.com/notebookreview/lenovo-thinkpad-p50-review-workstation-all/ >> >> I've been halfway around the world with *business class* Thinkpads and >> they have never failed me. >> >> Peter >> >> >> >> On Sat, Sep 14, 2019 at 1:17 PM Mark Ellison wrote: >> >>> Hi- >>> >>> As appropriate, please respond with your recent laptop experience... >>> >>> I have been using the Lenovo Thinkpad line of laptops with Fedora Linux. >>> >>> Currently, have a short list of laptops- the Lenovo Thinkpad T490 and >>> the HP ProBook, Zbook or Elite with the i7 4-core 8M cache. Screen should >>> be no larger than 14". >>> >>> Some online research turned up 'short battery life' problems with the >>> T490 that seem resolvable with some BIOS tweaks. >>> >>> Any issues, any preferences? Things to consider pre-sale? >>> >>> Thanks in advance for all your help! >>> >>> Mark Ellison >>> >>> >>> ___ >>> gnhlug-discuss mailing list >>> gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org >>> http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/ >>> >> ___ >> gnhlug-discuss mailing list >> gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org >> http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/ >> > ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: Recent Laptop experiences sought
I tend to use my laptop in one place so I don't really use the battery. I want chrome, xterminals and ssh to my servers. I had T61p laptops with 8GB and SSD for a long time until the power supplies got flakey. I upgraded to a T420s from ebay ($100ish) plugged the SSD from the T61p and just kept running. I like the durability (the T61p was 12 years old!). All the newer laptops seem to have chiclet type keyboards. I prefer more of a real keyboard. I have a chromebook that can run Linux. It's a bit slower, has only 4GB RAM (upper limit for cheap chromebooks), lower resolution and that horrible keyboard. The battery life is fantastic though. On Sat, Sep 14, 2019 at 2:13 PM Peter Petrakis wrote: > You can pickup Thinkpad x220 cheap on ebay with 2/4 core i7 processor and > max 16G DRAM + SSD for under $250. > Just picked one up for the wife for $179. > > After that I wouldn't bother with anything less than a P50. They can be > had for under $1K and are absolute > beasts. Tons of ram capacity, multiple harddrives, nvme, dual gpus, > suitable for CUDA dev. > > https://tinyurl.com/y3keh99t , Intel i7-6700HQ 2.60GHz 32GB 480GB SSD > 15.6", buy it now for $760 > > http://www.notebookreview.com/notebookreview/lenovo-thinkpad-p50-review-workstation-all/ > > I've been halfway around the world with *business class* Thinkpads and > they have never failed me. > > Peter > > > > On Sat, Sep 14, 2019 at 1:17 PM Mark Ellison wrote: > >> Hi- >> >> As appropriate, please respond with your recent laptop experience... >> >> I have been using the Lenovo Thinkpad line of laptops with Fedora Linux. >> >> Currently, have a short list of laptops- the Lenovo Thinkpad T490 and the >> HP ProBook, Zbook or Elite with the i7 4-core 8M cache. Screen should be no >> larger than 14". >> >> Some online research turned up 'short battery life' problems with the >> T490 that seem resolvable with some BIOS tweaks. >> >> Any issues, any preferences? Things to consider pre-sale? >> >> Thanks in advance for all your help! >> >> Mark Ellison >> >> >> ___ >> gnhlug-discuss mailing list >> gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org >> http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/ >> > ___ > gnhlug-discuss mailing list > gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org > http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/ > ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: Recent Laptop experiences sought
You can pickup Thinkpad x220 cheap on ebay with 2/4 core i7 processor and max 16G DRAM + SSD for under $250. Just picked one up for the wife for $179. After that I wouldn't bother with anything less than a P50. They can be had for under $1K and are absolute beasts. Tons of ram capacity, multiple harddrives, nvme, dual gpus, suitable for CUDA dev. https://tinyurl.com/y3keh99t , Intel i7-6700HQ 2.60GHz 32GB 480GB SSD 15.6", buy it now for $760 http://www.notebookreview.com/notebookreview/lenovo-thinkpad-p50-review-workstation-all/ I've been halfway around the world with *business class* Thinkpads and they have never failed me. Peter On Sat, Sep 14, 2019 at 1:17 PM Mark Ellison wrote: > Hi- > > As appropriate, please respond with your recent laptop experience... > > I have been using the Lenovo Thinkpad line of laptops with Fedora Linux. > > Currently, have a short list of laptops- the Lenovo Thinkpad T490 and the > HP ProBook, Zbook or Elite with the i7 4-core 8M cache. Screen should be no > larger than 14". > > Some online research turned up 'short battery life' problems with the T490 > that seem resolvable with some BIOS tweaks. > > Any issues, any preferences? Things to consider pre-sale? > > Thanks in advance for all your help! > > Mark Ellison > > > ___ > gnhlug-discuss mailing list > gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org > http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/ > ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: Recent Laptop experiences sought
For many years I badmouthed Dells because they used to not run Linux very well. But, in the past several years they have become much much better. I had a great Lenovo when I worked at IBM, but it weighed a ton. On Sat, Sep 14, 2019 at 1:25 PM Curt Howland wrote: > On 9/14/19, Mark Ellison wrote: > > Hi- > > > > As appropriate, please respond with your recent laptop experience... > > I use a Dell 6430 at work, and everything works with Debian. It's been > a solid workhorse. > > My Mom is now using a 6430 since her machine flaked out and I knew > this would work. > > For myself I got a 6530 15" with i7, and while it's excellent for some > reason the screen brightness buttons don't work. > > Other than that, I've found the Dells run Linux flawlessly. > > Curt- > ___ > gnhlug-discuss mailing list > gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org > http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/ > -- Jerry Feldman Treasurer, Boston Linux and Unix http://www.blu.org ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: Recent Laptop experiences sought
I have a Dell inspiron 13 5378. This is a 13" touchscreen with an SSD. and dual core I7. My wife has an Asus. She broke her screen the first day we bought it at Microcenter, and it took a very long time for them to get the laptop repaired. In contrast, I had a Lenovo when I worked for Red Hat, and I broke the screen. Took less than a week for Lenovo to repair the screen. I have had good luck with Lenovo and HP laptops. On Sat, Sep 14, 2019 at 1:26 PM Curt Howland wrote: > On 9/14/19, Mark Ellison wrote: > > Hi- > > > > As appropriate, please respond with your recent laptop experience... > > I use a Dell 6430 at work, and everything works with Debian. It's been > a solid workhorse. > > My Mom is now using a 6430 since her machine flaked out and I knew > this would work. > > For myself I got a 6530 15" with i7, and while it's excellent for some > reason the screen brightness buttons don't work. > > Other than that, I've found the Dells run Linux flawlessly. > > Curt- > ___ > gnhlug-discuss mailing list > gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org > http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/ > -- -- Jerry Feldman Boston Linux and Unix PGP key id: 6F6BB6E7 Key fingerprint: 0EDC 2FF5 53A6 8EED 84D1 3050 5715 B88D 6F6B B6E7 ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: Recent Laptop experiences sought
On 9/14/19, Mark Ellison wrote: > Hi- > > As appropriate, please respond with your recent laptop experience... I use a Dell 6430 at work, and everything works with Debian. It's been a solid workhorse. My Mom is now using a 6430 since her machine flaked out and I knew this would work. For myself I got a 6530 15" with i7, and while it's excellent for some reason the screen brightness buttons don't work. Other than that, I've found the Dells run Linux flawlessly. Curt- ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Recent Laptop experiences sought
Hi- As appropriate, please respond with your recent laptop experience... I have been using the Lenovo Thinkpad line of laptops with Fedora Linux. Currently, have a short list of laptops- the Lenovo Thinkpad T490 and the HP ProBook, Zbook or Elite with the i7 4-core 8M cache. Screen should be no larger than 14". Some online research turned up 'short battery life' problems with the T490 that seem resolvable with some BIOS tweaks. Any issues, any preferences? Things to consider pre-sale? Thanks in advance for all your help! Mark Ellison ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: ARTICLE - Bunny Huang (Chumby and such) building open source laptop
On Fri, 21 Dec 2012 20:45:25 -0500, "Michael ODonnell" wrote: > > > >> The aim, however, is not to produce a cheap laptop for Huang, > >> it's more about the exclusivity of a handmade product of this > >> kind and it would be priced to reflect that. > > > >It seems like there's room in the laptop market between "cheap" > >and "artisanal". > > Yah, I'm happy to enourage his efforts but if he ends up with > what amounts to just another obscure, custom design I sure > don't want to pay boutique prices for it. Chicken and egg? > > The dream, of course, is to somehow end up with open "standards" > for laptop/fondleslab/tablet paraphenalia (power supplies, cases, > connectors, peripherals, etc) as we have for desktop boxes... I guess with an known-working, Big Name, open design, someone can come along and put it into production at various price points (i.e. dump the raspberry pi headers, the second ethernet, etc). ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: ARTICLE - Bunny Huang (Chumby and such) building open source laptop
>> The aim, however, is not to produce a cheap laptop for Huang, >> it's more about the exclusivity of a handmade product of this >> kind and it would be priced to reflect that. > >It seems like there's room in the laptop market between "cheap" >and "artisanal". Yah, I'm happy to enourage his efforts but if he ends up with what amounts to just another obscure, custom design I sure don't want to pay boutique prices for it. Chicken and egg? The dream, of course, is to somehow end up with open "standards" for laptop/fondleslab/tablet paraphenalia (power supplies, cases, connectors, peripherals, etc) as we have for desktop boxes... ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: ARTICLE - Bunny Huang (Chumby and such) building open source laptop
On Fri, 21 Dec 2012 19:47:37 -0500, "Michael ODonnell" wrote: > Traffic has been light here for some time - hope y'all are well. > Season's greetings, etc... > > > http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/Chumby-developer-building-open-source-laptop-1771223.html The aim, however, is not to produce a cheap laptop – for Huang, it's more about the exclusivity of a handmade product of this kind and it would be priced to reflect that. It seems like there's room in the laptop market between "cheap" and "artisanal". ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
ARTICLE - Bunny Huang (Chumby and such) building open source laptop
Traffic has been light here for some time - hope y'all are well. Season's greetings, etc... http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/Chumby-developer-building-open-source-laptop-1771223.html ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Boston Linux Meeting reminder, Tonight, December 19, 2012 - Building an ARM Laptop with Raspberry Pi
When: December 19, 2012 7PM (6:30PM for Q&A) Topic: Building an ARM Laptop with Raspberry Pi Moderator:Federico Lucifredi Location: MIT Building E51, Room 315 Summary Federico discusses turning a Raspberry Pi into a laptop Please note that this is a change from the previously scheduled presentation. Federico will be able to give his presentation on OpenStack at a future date. For further information and directions please consult the BLU Web site http://www.blu.org Please note that there is usually plenty of free parking in the E-51 parking lot at 2 Amherst St, or directly on Amherst St. After the meeting we will adjourn to the official after meeting meeting location at The Cambridge Brewing Company http://www.cambridgebrewingcompany.com/ -- Jerry Feldman Boston Linux and Unix PGP key id:3BC1EB90 PGP Key fingerprint: 49E2 C52A FC5A A31F 8D66 C0AF 7CEA 30FC 3BC1 EB90 signature.asc Description: OpenPGP digital signature ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Boston Linux Meeting Wednesday, December 19, 2012 - Building an ARM Laptop with Raspberry Pi
When: December 19, 2012 7PM (6:30PM for Q&A) Topic: Building an ARM Laptop with Raspberry Pi Moderator:Federico Lucifredi Location: MIT Building E51, Room 315 Summary Federico discusses turning a Raspberry Pi into a laptop Please note that this is a change from the previously scheduled presentation. Federico will be able to give his presentation on OpenStack at a future date. For further information and directions please consult the BLU Web site http://www.blu.org Please note that there is usually plenty of free parking in the E-51 parking lot at 2 Amherst St, or directly on Amherst St. After the meeting we will adjourn to the official after meeting meeting location at The Cambridge Brewing Company http://www.cambridgebrewingcompany.com/ -- Jerry Feldman Boston Linux and Unix PGP key id:3BC1EB90 PGP Key fingerprint: 49E2 C52A FC5A A31F 8D66 C0AF 7CEA 30FC 3BC1 EB90 signature.asc Description: OpenPGP digital signature ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: Prebuilt/turn-key Linux laptop availability (was: Prebuilt/turn-key PC options)
On Sun, Aug 19, 2012 at 10:35 PM, Joshua Judson Rosen wrote: > I'm less concerned about the `Windows Tax', though, than I am about > the whole EUFI `Secure Boot' business and the issue of whether > I'll even be able to buy a new laptop to run Linux in the future. This is likely less of an issue than it's made out to be. Much like the Intel processor serial number and TPM, it's a feature that's available for use. None of the hardware makers are much interested in forcing you to use it, because it would only cost them. MSFT would doubtless be happy about it, but they're already walking a fairly careful line thanks to anti-trust. > The *smart* course of action would have been to just bypass > the whole system--bypass the whole vendor/manufacturer/Microsoft stack > that put Windows onto your laptop in the first place: find out who's > *really* making the things (e.g.: Compal or Clevo) ... They're generally doing contract work with someone else's designs. You can't just buy a Dell design without it going through Dell first. > Maybe we would have had to buy a hundred of them to make it viable-- You're off by a few orders of magnitude. 100,000 would do it. Prolly 10,000. Maybe 5,000. The economies of scale that yield the price points for consumer electronics are fairly staggering. Now, if you're okay with each laptop costing $2000 each, then sure. But prices keep coming down, and designs keep getting more and more integrated, so it does get more viable -- but not without other trade-offs. Raspberry Pi is basically a cell phone SOC and a break-out board, which is great until you want a faster graphics chip or more RAM. -- Ben ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Prebuilt/turn-key Linux laptop availability (was: Prebuilt/turn-key PC options)
David Rysdam writes: > > On Thu, 16 Aug 2012 00:36:46 -0400, Joshua Judson Rosen > wrote: > > Do you do, or have you considered doing, anything in the way of whitebox > > laptops with straight-up Linux installs (i.e. no Microsoft overhead)? > > If you want/need a powerful laptop (for, I dunno, portable gaming > something?) that runs Linux right from the vendor, I have no advice. Oh, I've decided that I'm happy just ordering from ZaReason, for that (the laptop that I got from them for work, a year ago, continues to be one of the nicest I've ever lain my hands on). HOWEVER: especially when shopping for something like a laptop, I really do like being able to *put my hands on* different models before making a choice. I'm *currently* trying to decide between two different models of ZaReason; if I could actually lay my hands on them both, I'm sure I would have already bought one. But that can't happen with (e)mail-order, so I'm torn between the options. I guess I'm sort-of pining for the `before online' days <http://xkcd.com/1036/> (the issue is slightly different than in that comic, but only slightly). Of course, like Brian said, there is also that whole thing about "supporting local business" > If you only want an "adequate" laptop with no Windows Tax, I suggest > buying one used. I did that recently from "Electronics Warehouse" in > Nashua. They've got many to choose from. Well, in general: if you want it for cheap, consider buying used. I'm less concerned about the `Windows Tax', though, than I am about the whole EUFI `Secure Boot' business and the issue of whether I'll even be able to buy a new laptop to run Linux in the future. I had actually sort-of forgotten about the Windows Tax per se, though I do remember it now (OK, this is going to be a sort-of ranty essay...) Actually, I recently watched `Revolution OS' with my wife, and got to re-experience the whole `Windows-Tax rebate' thing... through the lens of hindsight. It's always interesting to go back and look at these zeitgeist documentaries a decade(!) later: you get to see how different your own attitudes might have become in the intervening time. Like, in regard to this whole `Windows rebate for laptops' thing: I remember that--and I remember how positively I felt toward it at the time. But, looking back at it now..., I can't help but think how *stupid* we were to be playing that game at all. People would spend *100 hours* fighting with a vendor, manufacturer, AND(!) Microsoft in the hope that they might get *$100* back, while still having all of the records show that *you paid for that laptop to have Windows on it*; and your reward, on top of the net-negative fancial `reward', was that you got to spend another hundred hours playing the role of `systems integrator' for that laptop, and you got a near-guarantee that you'd also have to shoulder the systems-integration task next time-- and that it'd probably also be worse next time. The *smart* course of action would have been to just bypass the whole system--bypass the whole vendor/manufacturer/Microsoft stack that put Windows onto your laptop in the first place: find out who's *really* making the things (e.g.: Compal or Clevo), put together a group project to figure out which of *those* will be easiest to make Linux work on, and then *buy them* early in the supply-chain. Before Windows even gets a chance to enter into the equation; before the decision to install maximally-hostile hardware modules like `winmodems' is even made; and *long* before the margins for all of those things are added to the price. Maybe we would have had to buy a hundred of them to make it viable-- which, if you're going on your own, is crazy; but DiBona &co. had about that many people together *in a single parking lot*, so we absolutely had enough people--and enough collective money--to actually do the smart thing in stead of the stupid `picketing Microsoft' thing that we actually did. Maybe we would have had to formally organise into a group for the purpose-- maybe even more formally than people organised for the Windows-Tax protests. The most extreme version of that would probably be `forming a company' and setting up the supply chain in the name of our corporation. Being entrepreneurial. So, here's the thing: people *have* finally started doing this. We now actually have ways to just buy a laptop with whatever Linux you want pre-installed on it, where someone else has actually done the `systems integrator' job for you, making your job as a consumer easier rather than harder--making sure that everything Just Works, so that all you have to do is buy the thing and turn it on. We don't have to worry about how we're going to deal with or work around the Windows Tax
Re: I'm considering a new laptop, looking for experiences.
Woops. I meant to send this to more than just Josh. Follow up: I went with the ZaReason "Strata 6770", pimped out with the slower (2.2GHz versus 2.5GHz) core i7, 8GB RAM, a 750GB 7200RPM disk, and Tux logo and on the key between FN and left Alt (nominally the "Windows" key). I did wind up replacing the OS they installed for me: at order time I hadn't realized that Mint 12 LMDE was 32 bit only. I stuck on Mint DE XFCE. While I haven't tried the built in bluetooth or either of the video outputs yet, everything else just works without any special coersion. (I.e.; I can play DVD movies on this drive (the old Acer's drive was not to be persuaded unless I booted into Windows, the webcam works, etc.) I did have a few episodes of getting past the "system will halt" message to a "Power Down" message, but then not powering down, requiring me to use the button, but this has "cleared up". I would rather have the all the USB connectors on the left: the USB 2.0 connectors, where I want to plug in my wireless mouse dongle, are on the right, putting the dongle where I want the realestate for my mouse. Lefties may disagree. The USB 3.0 connector is on my left, so I can use that when I just have a mouse to plug in, but I also have a wireless headset with a similar dongle, so sometimes mouse side space is constrained. (The external audio connections are also on the right, so that doesn't fully help in replacing the wireless headset.) More so if I want to plug an external drive or video capture device into USB 3.0. I can likely switch to a bluetooth mouse, and find the bluetooth headset that I don't use, and I have a USB 3.0 hub on order, so it isn't going to cramp too much, but worth knowing for the righties out there. Similarly, all external connectors, with the exception of the AC adaptor connector, and except for the SD/MMC connector (which is on the front), are toward the user end of the sides that they are on (as opposed to the monitor hinge end), exacerbating the place for my mouse and for my coffee problem as compared to if they were toward the back. It will be interesting to see how the WiFi works in a place with lots of other WiFi interfaces. My Acer's became useless at PyCON 2010 as the halls filled up and everyone booted their laptops. All in all, I'm pretty happy with it. It's fun to see those 8 CPUs in System Monitor (4 core with hyperthreading). Bill ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: I'm considering a new laptop, looking for experiences.
"Brian St. Pierre" writes: > > On 04/12/2012 03:31 PM, Joshua Judson Rosen wrote: > > I know people who enjoyed their dealings with System76, also: > > > > http://www.system76.com/ > > I'm one of those people -- writing this on one of their laptops. I also > own a netbook. Speaking of netbooks...: neither ZaReason nore System76 have any in their current offerings; and most other suppliers have switched to selling netbooks running *Windows* (uh?). Where does one go right now for Linux netbooks? And, if Linux netbooks even still exist..., have they moved onto some more `likable' distributions than they had back during their nascence, or are they still running stuff like `Lin Pus'? -- "Don't be afraid to ask (λf.((λx.xx) (λr.f(rr." ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: I'm considering a new laptop, looking for experiences.
On 04/15/2012 04:21 PM, Ken D'Ambrosio wrote: > Actually, I'm considering a new laptop, too. I love my Gateway, but it lacks > one significant thing: the ability to hold 8 GB of RAM, which is *really > handy* > for running virtuals. Additionally, if I need that extra oomph to run 64-bit > virtuals that i3's don't have, that would be big, too. > > So: > - 11.6" - 14" screen > - Ethernet port (none of this ultrabook nonsense) > - Max of 8 GB of RAM (I don't care what it actually comes with) > - 4.5 lbs. or less > - Ability to run 64-bit virtuals > - > > I admit that the 64-bit virtual issue snuck up on me; I hadn't realized that > was a problem. How do you tell which AMD chips can do that? Likewise, Intel: > is there a specific, cross-brand name for the feature? The issue is not so much whether the chip has "virtualization technology" but also whether it is accessible through the BIOS. Many laptop have chips that support "virtualization technology", but do not support it through the BIOS. Also, VT us generally disabled by default. Virtualbox will run with 32-bit guests with or without VT turned on, but will not support a 64-bit guest without VT. I know that the Thinkpad T420s (with Intel i5) do support VT. If you go to a computer store to buy your system, make them let your look around the BIOS. In the Thinkpad it is under the Security tab. It is different with each vendor. -- Jerry Feldman Boston Linux and Unix PGP key id:3BC1EB90 PGP Key fingerprint: 49E2 C52A FC5A A31F 8D66 C0AF 7CEA 30FC 3BC1 EB90 signature.asc Description: OpenPGP digital signature ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: I'm considering a new laptop, looking for experiences.
On Sun, Apr 15, 2012 at 6:55 PM, Ben Scott wrote: > On Sat, Apr 14, 2012 at 11:01 PM, Joshua Judson Rosen > wrote: >> You have to pick `what kind of business you are' *before* you pick >> what broad class of device you want to look at. >> >> I hate other people's ontologies, sometimes > > Dell is particularly bad when it comes to this. Their various > business units and/or sales groups often offer quite disconnected, to > the point where the company sometimes seems schizophrenic. Seasoned > Dell customers will know you can even get their different sales groups > into a bidding war with each other. This might even work for single > purchases -- after spec'ing the config you want, save the cart, and > then call the phone sales group and see if they can get you a better > price. > Worst case I know of (from personal experience) - consumer group had a replacement part I needed, but they wouldn't ship to an APO address. Business group ships to APO, but they don't have the part. You would think it would be easy to just move the part over, but no. Turns out (at least at that time), the two groups did NOT work together. I ended up buying the exact same part from a 3rd party (and cheaper to, despite it being a Dell part) that had the part, and would ship to APO address. I've avoided Dell since then - at least for consumer / personal stuff. HP, well my current laptop has a bad DVD drive - known problem with his model laptop. The answer appears to be "yep, it's a problem." Sony, won't go there - anyone who ships rootkits on purpose (never mind their proprietary stuff like memory sticks, etc). I'm running out of options - but thinking about Lenovo (IBM always was good, not certain now that they've sold it), system76, other Linux boxes. ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: I'm considering a new laptop, looking for experiences.
On 04/12/2012 03:31 PM, Joshua Judson Rosen wrote: > I know people who enjoyed their dealings with System76, also: > > http://www.system76.com/ I'm one of those people -- writing this on one of their laptops. I also own a netbook. The laptop has been good. No major complaints. It's heavy and drains batteries fast, which is to be expected since it's got a big screen and I didn't buy it with the upgraded battery. (The upgraded battery doesn't appear to be an option on their latest offering. I purchased about 2 years ago.) For me it fills the role of a desktop, but with the advantage of portability. Probably my biggest complaint is typing on the keyboard: the mouse pad is positioned so that my right thumb often brushes the pad while I'm typing, which moves the cursor to some random location in the text. Moving the pad about 0.75" left would solve this problem. Most of the time, though, I'm "docked" and using a separate keyboard/mouse/monitor so it isn't an issue. The netbook is just ok. It's small, light, and has good battery life. I'd hope it's fixed by now (purchased 3 years ago), but the big problem with this is that the wifi driver has never worked reliably. It was reported "fixed" at one point when system76 released new drivers, but I still frequently had trouble and now I just rely on a USB wifi (i.e. awkward big wart hanging off the side). A netbook where the wifi doesn't work is kind of pointless. ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: I'm considering a new laptop, looking for experiences.
On Sun, 2012-04-15 at 18:48 -0400, Ben Scott wrote: > On Sun, Apr 15, 2012 at 8:36 AM, Bill Freeman wrote: > >> You're looking at the wrong part. CPUs are commodities these days. > > > > Not quite, if I understand correctly. I wouldn't want, for example, a > > core i3, since it doesn't support "virtualization technology", so I > > wouldn't be able to run 64 bit guest OSes. > > Hmmm. I don't believe that's correct. See, for example: > > http://ark.intel.com/VTList.aspx > > But you raise a good point: Not all CPUs have the same feature set, > so my statement that they're a commodity is inaccurate. My current laptop uses a chip model name : Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU P7550 @ 2.26GHz that the Intel site listed as having VT-x. Unfortunately, that was not true. In actual practice, it has not mattered for me. Virtual Box has been able to run the guests I needed. (These were all 32 bit guests.) -- Lloyd Kvam Venix Corp DLSLUG/GNHLUG library http://dlslug.org/library.html http://www.librarything.com/catalog/dlslug http://www.librarything.com/catalog/dlslug&sort=stamp http://www.librarything.com/rss/recent/dlslug ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: I'm considering a new laptop, looking for experiences.
On Sat, Apr 14, 2012 at 11:01 PM, Joshua Judson Rosen wrote: > You have to pick `what kind of business you are' *before* you pick > what broad class of device you want to look at. > > I hate other people's ontologies, sometimes Dell is particularly bad when it comes to this. Their various business units and/or sales groups often offer quite disconnected, to the point where the company sometimes seems schizophrenic. Seasoned Dell customers will know you can even get their different sales groups into a bidding war with each other. This might even work for single purchases -- after spec'ing the config you want, save the cart, and then call the phone sales group and see if they can get you a better price. But even in the general case, I suspect most "serious geeks" would be better served by interfacing with all their prospective vendors as if they are a business customer. Consumer/home offerings are generally targeted at people who have a very different set of criteria and goals than most geeks. -- Ben ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: I'm considering a new laptop, looking for experiences.
On Sun, Apr 15, 2012 at 8:36 AM, Bill Freeman wrote: >> You're looking at the wrong part. CPUs are commodities these days. > > Not quite, if I understand correctly. I wouldn't want, for example, a > core i3, since it doesn't support "virtualization technology", so I > wouldn't be able to run 64 bit guest OSes. Hmmm. I don't believe that's correct. See, for example: http://ark.intel.com/VTList.aspx But you raise a good point: Not all CPUs have the same feature set, so my statement that they're a commodity is inaccurate. -- Ben ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: I'm considering a new laptop, looking for experiences.
Actually, I'm considering a new laptop, too. I love my Gateway, but it lacks one significant thing: the ability to hold 8 GB of RAM, which is *really handy* for running virtuals. Additionally, if I need that extra oomph to run 64-bit virtuals that i3's don't have, that would be big, too. So: - 11.6" - 14" screen - Ethernet port (none of this ultrabook nonsense) - Max of 8 GB of RAM (I don't care what it actually comes with) - 4.5 lbs. or less - Ability to run 64-bit virtuals - I admit that the 64-bit virtual issue snuck up on me; I hadn't realized that was a problem. How do you tell which AMD chips can do that? Likewise, Intel: is there a specific, cross-brand name for the feature? Thanks! -Ken ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: I'm considering a new laptop, looking for experiences.
On 04/15/2012 08:36 AM, Bill Freeman wrote: > On Sat, Apr 14, 2012 at 11:51 AM, Ben Scott wrote: >> On Thu, Apr 12, 2012 at 2:10 PM, Bill Freeman wrote: >>> Any bad experiences with the i7 CPU? >> You're looking at the wrong part. CPUs are commodities these days. >> Core logic chipset, video chipset, disk controller, network controller >> are what matter. > Not quite, if I understand correctly. I wouldn't want, for example, a > core i3, since > it doesn't support "virtualization technology", so I wouldn't be able > to run 64 bit > guest OSes. The Lenovo T420 with i5 does support "virtualization technology" -- Jerry Feldman Boston Linux and Unix PGP key id:3BC1EB90 PGP Key fingerprint: 49E2 C52A FC5A A31F 8D66 C0AF 7CEA 30FC 3BC1 EB90 signature.asc Description: OpenPGP digital signature ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: I'm considering a new laptop, looking for experiences.
On Sat, Apr 14, 2012 at 11:51 AM, Ben Scott wrote: > On Thu, Apr 12, 2012 at 2:10 PM, Bill Freeman wrote: >> Any bad experiences with the i7 CPU? > > You're looking at the wrong part. CPUs are commodities these days. > Core logic chipset, video chipset, disk controller, network controller > are what matter. Not quite, if I understand correctly. I wouldn't want, for example, a core i3, since it doesn't support "virtualization technology", so I wouldn't be able to run 64 bit guest OSes. ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: I'm considering a new laptop, looking for experiences.
Joshua Judson Rosen writes: > > Ben Scott writes: > > > > For what I expect you expect in a laptop, I recommend the Latitude > > line instead. Inspiron is their consumer line, designed for people > > who buy based on price and the color of the lid. Latitude is the > > business line, designed for people who are buying a tool. [...] > This all sounds great, but..., I don't see Latitude as current product line > on dell.com, and their `Ubuntu on Dell page' (linked from linux.dell.com) > shows a `Software Platforms' list that ends with Ubuntu 9.10. > > What am I missing? Oh, I get it--the product-categories listing on the front page goes down into `products for home use', and then I got trapped there. You have to pick `what kind of business you are' *before* you pick what broad class of device you want to look at. I hate other people's ontologies, sometimes -- "Don't be afraid to ask (λf.((λx.xx) (λr.f(rr." ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: I'm considering a new laptop, looking for experiences.
Ben Scott writes: > > On Thu, Apr 12, 2012 at 2:10 PM, Bill Freeman wrote: > > Can anyone offer personal experience stories on the Dell Inspirons? > > For what I expect you expect in a laptop, I recommend the Latitude > line instead. Inspiron is their consumer line, designed for people > who buy based on price and the color of the lid. Latitude is the > business line, designed for people who are buying a tool. Among other > things, the Latitude has: Easier hardware servicing, parts > interchangeable across models, longer product lifecycle, some > stability in chips across models, and a mildly higher price. > > Most significant for this crowd: Dell offers Linux (Ubuntu) > pre-loaded and factory-supported on the Latitude line. They support > some other distros, too, officially or unofficially. This all sounds great, but..., I don't see Latitude as current product line on dell.com, and their `Ubuntu on Dell page' (linked from linux.dell.com) shows a `Software Platforms' list that ends with Ubuntu 9.10. What am I missing? -- "Don't be afraid to ask (λf.((λx.xx) (λr.f(rr." ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: I'm considering a new laptop, looking for experiences.
On Thu, Apr 12, 2012 at 2:10 PM, Bill Freeman wrote: > Can anyone offer personal experience stories on the Dell Inspirons? For what I expect you expect in a laptop, I recommend the Latitude line instead. Inspiron is their consumer line, designed for people who buy based on price and the color of the lid. Latitude is the business line, designed for people who are buying a tool. Among other things, the Latitude has: Easier hardware servicing, parts interchangeable across models, longer product lifecycle, some stability in chips across models, and a mildly higher price. Most significant for this crowd: Dell offers Linux (Ubuntu) pre-loaded and factory-supported on the Latitude line. They support some other distros, too, officially or unofficially. Dell has a website devoted to their Linux support (http://linux.dell.com/). They offer drivers/diagnostics/utilities for Linux, and maintain RPM/YUM and dpkg/APT repositories with that software. Dell engineers contribute code to the kernel for some of their hardware. (e.g., the MegaRAID driver is, or at least used to be, done by Dell staff.) Dell runs mailing lists for Linux users. Some of the Dell engineers read and post, so you may even end up talking to the guy who wrote the code. It's the best treatment of Linux users I've seen from a major vendor. (Some of the boutique vendors doubtless do better.) If you do end up buying Dell, be aware that they offer two levels of support. The base level is your typical guy in or around south Asia, speaks English with a thick accent, and is reading from a script. The "Gold" or "ProSupport" or whatever it's called now is someone in North America, speaks English well, and is willing and able to help. It's a few hundred dollars more. It's worth it the first time you call. > Any bad experiences with the i7 CPU? You're looking at the wrong part. CPUs are commodities these days. Core logic chipset, video chipset, disk controller, network controller are what matter. -- Ben ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: I'm considering a new laptop, looking for experiences.
On 04/13/2012 04:17 PM, Ken D'Ambrosio wrote: > > C'mon. We're in New Hampshire/MA. I can't believe nobody's mentioned my > personal favorite: https://www.google.com/search?q=decwriter > > After the computer labs closed for the night on my campus, there was one > VT-102 > per dorm. Except for one dorm -- it had a VT102, AND a DECWriter. If all the > VT-102's were taken, you could be sure that the DECWriter would be open. > > But: don't play Rogue on it. What was wrong with punch cards. The nice thing about punch cards, you could print them up, then put them into the box to be submitted (whenever the operators felt like it). In Graduate school we had a DEC PDP-8 with a card reader as well as a paper tape reader and punch. -- Jerry Feldman Boston Linux and Unix PGP key id:3BC1EB90 PGP Key fingerprint: 49E2 C52A FC5A A31F 8D66 C0AF 7CEA 30FC 3BC1 EB90 signature.asc Description: OpenPGP digital signature ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: I'm considering a new laptop, looking for experiences.
On 4/13/12, Ken D'Ambrosio wrote: > On Fri, 13 Apr 2012 16:11:11 -0400 Bill Freeman wrote > >> On 4/13/12, Ric Werme wrote: >> > And the 1366x768 display isn't as friendly as my 1600x1200 desktop >> > monitor. >> > We really used 640x480 displays once upon a time? At least those were >> > (mostly) better than Teletypes, and those were better than keypunches. >> >> There was time of 320x200. And I remember Flexowritters. > > C'mon. We're in New Hampshire/MA. I can't believe nobody's mentioned my > personal favorite: https://www.google.com/search?q=decwriter > > After the computer labs closed for the night on my campus, there was one > VT-102 > per dorm. Except for one dorm -- it had a VT102, AND a DECWriter. If all > the > VT-102's were taken, you could be sure that the DECWriter would be open. You must be one of the new guys. Late in my time on campus they got a GT40. VT52s, let alone VT102s, were in the future. Bill ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: I'm considering a new laptop, looking for experiences.
Crud... On Fri, Apr 13, 2012 at 11:54 AM, Jerry Feldman wrote: > You sent this to me not the list. > > On 04/13/2012 09:21 AM, Tom Buskey wrote: > > I used to get Toshiba. I liked the physical volume knob they *used* > > to have. > > > > My last 2 purchases were IBM/Lenovo. A cheap G450 which was very nice > > & < $500. I replaced it with a used T61 Thinkpad. A higher res > > screen is the $$$ part. > > > > Both sleep & hibernate with Ubuntu 11.10. The T61 has lots of nice > > touches (fn-pgup & an LED lights up the keyboard). I had to replace a > > part (there were 6 mo left on the warrenty) and there was no hassle. > > > > At work we have Dell. I've only run XP and Win 7 on them. My current > > one has the same three button/2 button trackpad + pointer that the > > Thinkpad has. > > > -- > Jerry Feldman > Boston Linux and Unix > PGP key id:3BC1EB90 > PGP Key fingerprint: 49E2 C52A FC5A A31F 8D66 C0AF 7CEA 30FC 3BC1 EB90 > > > ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: I'm considering a new laptop, looking for experiences.
On Fri, 13 Apr 2012 16:11:11 -0400 Bill Freeman wrote > On 4/13/12, Ric Werme wrote: > > And the 1366x768 display isn't as friendly as my 1600x1200 desktop monitor. > > We really used 640x480 displays once upon a time? At least those were > > (mostly) better than Teletypes, and those were better than keypunches. > > There was time of 320x200. And I remember Flexowritters. C'mon. We're in New Hampshire/MA. I can't believe nobody's mentioned my personal favorite: https://www.google.com/search?q=decwriter After the computer labs closed for the night on my campus, there was one VT-102 per dorm. Except for one dorm -- it had a VT102, AND a DECWriter. If all the VT-102's were taken, you could be sure that the DECWriter would be open. But: don't play Rogue on it. -Ken ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: I'm considering a new laptop, looking for experiences.
Many thanks to all. I have several avenues to explore, now that my taxes are done. I'll report back with my decision. Bill ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: I'm considering a new laptop, looking for experiences.
On 4/13/12, Ric Werme wrote: > And the 1366x768 display isn't as friendly as my 1600x1200 desktop monitor. > We really used 640x480 displays once upon a time? At least those were > (mostly) better than Teletypes, and those were better than keypunches. There was time of 320x200. And I remember Flexowritters. ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: I'm considering a new laptop, looking for experiences.
On 13-Apr-2012, David Ohlemacher sent: > My last laptop was (still in use) a Lenovo T61. It was > mistakenly ordered with Vista. We only used XP and Linux. When > XP was installed, it just never worked - blue screened every > day. So I inherited the misfit and installed Linux. Works > great. It is a nice work horse. Nice keybd. If the screen had > been higher res, I would have used it longer. I've had Linux on a Thinkpad T42 (iirc) and it worked great. http://www.thinkwiki.org/ is a great resource Also, Woot has a ThinkPad L512 today for $500, can't speak to it's quality, but just thought I'd mention it. http://woot.com/ -- Chip Marshall http://weblog.2bithacker.net/ KB1QYWPGP key ID 43C4819E v4sw5PUhw4/5ln5pr5FOPck4ma4u6FLOw5Xm5l5Ui2e4t4/5ARWb7HKOen6a2Xs5IMr2g6CM pgpaUjvxDnf0M.pgp Description: PGP signature ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: I'm considering a new laptop, looking for experiences.
Well, here's my two cents. I have a Lenovo X201 tablet. It was expensive and the screen is small and you probably don't need a tablet. But, because the screen gets jerked around so much, it seems to be made better than other Thinkpad models. The assembly is much sturdier and the screen can be touched without damaging it. The one I have is old and requires a stylus. I make my students submit their papers in PDF format and correct them using Xournal. ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: I'm considering a new laptop, looking for experiences.
On Fri, Apr 13, 2012 at 12:48 PM, David Ohlemacher wrote: > > I looked at Dell and bought a Precision M6500 I7. Dell gives us pretty > good corp discounts. It is currently running LMDE(xfce). It has been > great. We have several, others running Windoze.One coworker has had > nothing but trouble. Dell shipped bad memory in many machines and it took > months for Dell to identify and fix. That was months of blue screens for > him. You would think Dell would keep track of what brand parts were in what > machines. It was some Israeli brand no one ever heard of. Many complained > on the forums. I had the good memory. Two weeks ago his drive died. > Just clicked when turned on. Now his 'windows restored' OS is leaking > memory and crashes daily. Takes about 6 hrs to leak 3.3 GB before > crashing. I have to quietly laugh at the last part. > > We've had some people with no issues with the M6500 and some with nothing but trouble (a lot of overheating issues) so I steer clear of them and their updated cousin the M6600. The M4x00 series (M4500 and M4600) have been much more well behaved. I have years of positive experience with Dell Latitudes (the D series for a long time, and recent years the E series, primarily the E6510 and E6520). We run Windows XP, Windows 7 and Linux on them. Most of my end users use Ubuntu or Fedora. I've never had a particularly good experience with an Inspiron. They build quality and components quality does not seem to be terribly great. -Shawn ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: I'm considering a new laptop, looking for experiences.
Hello Bill, My last laptop was (still in use) a Lenovo T61. It was mistakenly ordered with Vista. We only used XP and Linux. When XP was installed, it just never worked - blue screened every day.So I inherited the misfit and installed Linux. Works great. It is a nice work horse. Nice keybd. If the screen had been higher res, I would have used it longer. So when I bought a new one, I looked at Thinkpads. Their quotes are horrible!!! Unreadable. Random number options with descriptions consisting of random strings. Any not all options were even on it. I complained to the rep who replied he has been complaining about it for years. It was pricey. Nice features though. I would have liked it. I looked at Dell and bought a Precision M6500 I7. Dell gives us pretty good corp discounts. It is currently running LMDE(xfce). It has been great. We have several, others running Windoze.One coworker has had nothing but trouble. Dell shipped bad memory in many machines and it took months for Dell to identify and fix. That was months of blue screens for him. You would think Dell would keep track of what brand parts were in what machines. It was some Israeli brand no one ever heard of. Many complained on the forums. I had the good memory. Two weeks ago his drive died. Just clicked when turned on. Now his 'windows restored' OS is leaking memory and crashes daily. Takes about 6 hrs to leak 3.3 GB before crashing. I have to quietly laugh at the last part. One nice thing about Dell and precisions are that there is (or was) US based Linux support - one guy. He is good. I havent needed him much, but have talked to him. My laptop came with Redhat, not the India supported Ubuntu. Though I have not used the lic. since we switched to CentOS (virtual machine). At home, I bought a Zareason strata laptop and desktop, both I7s. Zareason is one of the linux-only sellers. Both machines have been very good. Again, they have US based support and they know Linux. They support many distros including requests I believe. The desktop came with the wrong p/s.a much bigger and better one.They both run LMDE. I'll likely buy from zareason for home or work next time. Others on this list seem to think highly of zareason to. David ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: I'm considering a new laptop, looking for experiences.
Asus has great laptop hardware, support, and protection plans available. They tend to be very Linux friendly and some models are available with Linux installed, last I knew, or maybe just with no OS. The current ASUS website does not lend itself to figuring this out, or figuring out which model is for you. Though, I'm not sure about the touch of their new keyboards (like new macbooks), but I have not used it much. To each his own, so worth playing with. Also, you will probably want to check for the model on http://www.linux-on-laptops.com/ before you buy anything. ___ Alan Johnson a...@datdec.com On Thu, Apr 12, 2012 at 2:10 PM, Bill Freeman wrote: > My Acer is scaring me. Sometimes at startup it goes into an infinite > reboot loop. The way out seems to be to force power off, flex the > case and whack it a few times, after which it boots. > > So, I'm considering replacing it. Last round I insisted on an AMD > CPU, but I'm currently drawn to an i7 or i5. > > I know that lots of folks swear by the ThinkPads, and I will consider them. > > I'm not really willing to consider Compaq/HP, Gateway, or Apple, and > I've found Linux on Toshiba to be troublesome in the past. > > Can anyone offer personal experience stories on the Dell Inspirons? > > Any additional suggestions? > > Any bad experiences with the i7 CPU? > > Thanks, Bill > ___ > gnhlug-discuss mailing list > gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org > http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/ > ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: I'm considering a new laptop, looking for experiences.
Bill Freeman writes: > Can anyone offer personal experience stories on the Dell Inspirons? I've got a Dell Inspirion 1525 that I paid $400 for at the Dell refurbished outlet (online). The machine is 3-4 years old at this point. I use it for a couple of hours most days. It's a $400 laptop. It is cheap, but it does what I need it to do. I've run Ubuntu on the system but I mostly run Fedora. In terms of hardware, the touchpad can be a little bit sensitive but I have gotten used to it. The actual material that the laptop is constructed from is cheap plastic and it has in fact developed a small crack near where the power cord plugs into the laptop. It is for this reason that I would say that this wouldn't be a great laptop to actually lug around on a regular basis -- this laptop wouldn't withstand the physical wear and tear. The screen itself is glossy ; I wish it was matte but I rarely use this thing in situations with lots of glare. In related news, I note that Woot is selling some Lenovo Thinkpad today. Hope this helps, --kevin -- alumni.unh.edu!kdc / http://kdc-blog.blogspot.com/ GnuPG: D87F DAD6 0291 289C EB1E 781C 9BF8 A7D8 B280 F24E And the Army Ants, they leave nothin' but the bones... -- Tom Waits ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: I'm considering a new laptop, looking for experiences.
Less useful account, perhaps. In order to put off upgrading my Suse 10.1 desktop system (Firefox V2), last year I decided to buy a cheap laptop, and found a $150 off deal on a Lenovo G560 system for $400. I forget the specs, let me know if you want them. It came with Windows 7 Home, the old laptop I was using had XP, so current Windows flavor and it wasn't Vista. I coinstalled Ubuntu, resizing the Windows partition worked fine with no hassles other than the anxiety that it wouldn't work fine. It sometimes goes into work, but spends most of its time on KVM switch running Windows because I can't figure out how to get around the VPN software saying it only runs on a single user system. The only significant complaint is the touch pad is way too sensitive, so I'll often bring a wireless mouse. Also, I tried removing the silly facial recognition software on Windows, so instead of that coming up, I get an error popup saying it can't find the program. Minor nit. Oh, the touchpad keys click loudly. And the 1366x768 display isn't as friendly as my 1600x1200 desktop monitor. We really used 640x480 displays once upon a time? At least those were (mostly) better than Teletypes, and those were better than keypunches. -Ric ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: I'm considering a new laptop, looking for experiences.
On 04/12/2012 03:06 PM, Randy Cole wrote:
> I've been rather disappointed with my few year old HP DV4-1222NR AMD
> consumer-grade laptop. Slower than it should be, runs hot, power
> adapter failed, battery failed early, mouse button broke, fan is now
> failing, and the IDT sound chip has lots of driver support trouble
> vis. built-in mic ("HD microphone array").
>
> The preceding Acer AMD worked better, until I dropped it on it's power
> connector.
I've got an old (about 7 years) HP business laptop. Battery is dead, but
everything runs fine. I use it only at installfests to burn DVDs.
--
Jerry Feldman
Boston Linux and Unix
PGP key id:3BC1EB90
PGP Key fingerprint: 49E2 C52A FC5A A31F 8D66 C0AF 7CEA 30FC 3BC1 EB90
signature.asc
Description: OpenPGP digital signature
___
gnhlug-discuss mailing list
gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org
http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: I'm considering a new laptop, looking for experiences.
We have Lenovo Laptops at work. Some are T420 (Intel i5) and some are T220 (Celeron). We've installed Virtualbox on some with 64-bit RHEL 5 as a guest OS. -- Jerry Feldman Boston Linux and Unix PGP key id:3BC1EB90 PGP Key fingerprint: 49E2 C52A FC5A A31F 8D66 C0AF 7CEA 30FC 3BC1 EB90 signature.asc Description: OpenPGP digital signature ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: I'm considering a new laptop, looking for experiences.
On 04/12/2012 04:01 PM, Bill Freeman wrote: > > I find the touchpads annoying enough (my thumb brushing it > unintentionally) that I don't like either, and virtually always use > an external mouse. But the nub is no draw for me. I, myself, *love* the nubs, but for practical reasons, wound up with a dual-core Gateway (a/k/a e-Machines, a/k/a Acer) with a touchpad. Gnome has (had?) a nifty feature. On my Ubuntu box: System -> Preferences -> Mouse -> Touchpad -> Disable touchpad while typing. When I kicked the tires on Xubuntu, it became readily apparent how much not having that feature affected me. -Ken P.S. I love my three-year-old AMD dual-core 11.6" Gateway -- thew an SSD in, and it positively flies. I just wish I could crank it past 4 GB of RAM, which is what will probably propel me to a new laptop. ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: I'm considering a new laptop, looking for experiences.
On 4/12/12, Joshua Judson Rosen wrote: > I have experience with ZaReason, and recommend them: > > http://www.zareason.com/ > > I know people who enjoyed their dealings with System76, also: > > http://www.system76.com/ I'll consider these, thanks. > When I bought my and my wife's Thinkpads, mine was 1 generation old > and hers was the latest generation; mine was *relatively* straightforward > to get everthing working with Debian, but still needed a day or so of > consulting thinkwiki.org and fiddling. My wife's took almost a month > to get working right. If want to use the latest release of Ubuntu, > I hear that's relatively straightforward to get working on > just about anything because Canonical does a lot of integration work > *with current- and next-generation hardware* (which is presumably > part of the rationale behind their 6-month release-cycle), I'm not really fond of the direction that ubuntu has been going, but I suppose that I can change the UI. > Oh, also: > > * Thinkpads appear to be the last refuge of people who like the > `pointing stick' interface; ZaReason's laptops, like almost > everyone else's, all use touchpads. I find the touchpads annoying enough (my thumb brushing it unintentionally) that I don't like either, and virtually always use an external mouse. But the nub is no draw for me. >> Any bad experiences with the i7 CPU? I'm thinking of stuff along the lines of the virtualization mode not working well with, say, virtualbox. (Though that usually tends to be more of a BIOS problem: My Acer's CPU has the VT feature, but the BIOS doesn't allow you to turn it on. Thanks, Bill ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: I'm considering a new laptop, looking for experiences.
Bill Freeman writes: > > My Acer is scaring me. Sometimes at startup it goes into an infinite > reboot loop. The way out seems to be to force power off, flex the > case and whack it a few times, after which it boots. > > So, I'm considering replacing it. Last round I insisted on an AMD > CPU, but I'm currently drawn to an i7 or i5. > > I know that lots of folks swear by the ThinkPads, and I will consider them. > > I'm not really willing to consider Compaq/HP, Gateway, or Apple, and > I've found Linux on Toshiba to be troublesome in the past. > > Can anyone offer personal experience stories on the Dell Inspirons? > > Any additional suggestions? I have experience with ZaReason, and recommend them: http://www.zareason.com/ I know people who enjoyed their dealings with System76, also: http://www.system76.com/ I bought a couple of Thinkpads for my wife and myself, about 5 years ago; they're still running, though they have accumulated various little breaks in their case-hardware (I listed some of the issues with mine, a few months ago, and you can find that in the archive; the broken palm-rests over the PCMCIA slots in both laptops is one of the most annoying). I called Lenovo a few months ago when I was considering new laptops; when I asked about Linux compatibility, they told me that they didn't sell it preinstalled, that they didn't know anything about whether it'd even boot on their hardware, and I was on my own; when I asked them about getting a laptop without a copy of MS Windows pre-loaded, they said that it wasn't possible for most models, but they did have a couple of not-particularly-desirable models that were available with FreeDOS installed, that they couldn't provide me with any data about Linux compatibility of those models either, and they couldn't even guarantee that any hardware not supported by FreeDOS (which included everything interesting, like Wi-Fi and 3-D graphics) would be in any kind of `known good' state when it got to me. When I bought my and my wife's Thinkpads, mine was 1 generation old and hers was the latest generation; mine was *relatively* straightforward to get everthing working with Debian, but still needed a day or so of consulting thinkwiki.org and fiddling. My wife's took almost a month to get working right. If want to use the latest release of Ubuntu, I hear that's relatively straightforward to get working on just about anything because Canonical does a lot of integration work *with current- and next-generation hardware* (which is presumably part of the rationale behind their 6-month release-cycle), but: if it's true, Lenovo wasn't going to tell me that; and I didn't feel like bearing the risk, at that point--especially at if I was going to cost me extra to do so. So I got a laptop from ZaReason, and I'm sufficiently satisfied that I now have no plans to ever buy from Lenovo until they start answering my questions differently. The total package from ZaReason seems superior in most ways, and about equivalent in other ways. A couple of things that really stuck out: * ZaReason's `open hardware warranty' was the warranty of my dreams (it looks like they've recently changed their terms, though; it still looks like it's probably pretty good). * Since they're whitebox laptops, they're actually designed to be modular and serviceable; flipping the laptop over, it was immediately obvious how to go about cleaning the fan. Cleaning the Thinkpad's fan sucked... less than I would have expected..., but it still sucked. * The one that I got runs a lot cooler than I would have expected. The negatives? It has a pretty-but-cheap paintjob on some parts, so my palm-prints are already worn in. Eh. Oh, also: * Thinkpads appear to be the last refuge of people who like the `pointing stick' interface; ZaReason's laptops, like almost everyone else's, all use touchpads. * Thinkpads have *drainage holes* to help save you if you spill your beverage on your laptop. As far as I can tell, nobody else does that. This seemed like a huge win when I bought my wife's Thinkpad, because she had just destroyed a laptop from work my dumping a cup of coffee-with-milk-and-sugar onto it, but there have been no spill-incidents of any sort in the years since. > Any bad experiences with the i7 CPU? I've been using one for several months, but I have no idea what "bad experiences with the CPU" could even mean--I thought that the industry basically got beyond `buggy CPUs' 2 decades ago, so what does this mean? -- "Don't be afraid to ask (λf.((λx.xx) (λr.f(rr." ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: I'm considering a new laptop, looking for experiences.
My own day job has me with a Lenovo Thinkpad T410 which has been pretty solid and fast. It came with XP and is ready for 7 and I have a vm on it with CentOS 6. The company is now issuing more Thinkpads that come with 8GB RAM and an option of RH, Fedora or Ubuntu. The RH laptop of a colleague is blazingly fast. I got spoiled, though, by a Lenovo IdeaPad, and prefer lugging that around to toting the laptop. The IdeaPad has 2GB RAM and is running WattOS very nicely. On Thu, Apr 12, 2012 at 3:06 PM, Michael Nolin < mno...@embedded-unlimited.com> wrote: > > My $DAYJOB has provided me with a rather capable Lenovo ThinkPad CORE i7 > W520. > rather large for the daily commute the size of the power brick is > unreasonable looks like an actual > full size brick. > > Never had problems running Linux on the ThinkPad products. Unfortunately > it was pre-installed with > Windows7 (32 bit), I added a VirtualBox openSUSE 586 12.1 XCFE machine. > Intel Gigabit Network Card. > > > > Michael Nolin > Embedded Solutions Unlimited, LLC > 3 Bradford Street, Windham NH 03087 > http://embedded-unlimited.com > > > On Thu Apr 12 14:10 , Bill Freeman ** sent: > > ** > > My Acer is scaring me. Sometimes at startup it goes into an infinite > reboot loop. The way out seems to be to force power off, flex the > case and whack it a few times, after which it boots. > > So, I'm considering replacing it. Last round I insisted on an AMD > CPU, but I'm currently drawn to an i7 or i5. > > I know that lots of folks swear by the ThinkPads, and I will consider them. > > I'm not really willing to consider Compaq/HP, Gateway, or Apple, and > I've found Linux on Toshiba to be troublesome in the past. > > Can anyone offer personal experience stories on the Dell Inspirons? > > Any additional suggestions? > > Any bad experiences with the i7 CPU? > > Thanks, Bill > ___ > gnhlug-discuss mailing list > gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org > http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/<http://parse.pl?redirect=http%3A%2F%2Fmail.gnhlug.org%2Fmailman%2Flistinfo%2Fgnhlug-discuss%2F> > > > > ___ > gnhlug-discuss mailing list > gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org > http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/ > > ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: I'm considering a new laptop, looking for experiences.
I've been rather disappointed with my few year old HP DV4-1222NR AMD
consumer-grade laptop. Slower than it should be, runs hot, power adapter
failed, battery failed early, mouse button broke, fan is now failing, and
the IDT sound chip has lots of driver support trouble vis. built-in mic
("HD microphone array").
The preceding Acer AMD worked better, until I dropped it on it's power
connector.
Randy
___
gnhlug-discuss mailing list
gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org
http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: I'm considering a new laptop, looking for experiences.
My $DAYJOB has provided me with a rather capable Lenovo ThinkPad CORE i7 W520. rather large for the daily commute the size of the power brick is unreasonable looks like an actual full size brick. Never had problems running Linux on the ThinkPad products. Unfortunately it was pre-installed with Windows7 (32 bit), I added a VirtualBox openSUSE 586 12.1 XCFE machine. Intel Gigabit Network Card. Michael Nolin Embedded Solutions Unlimited, LLC 3 Bradford Street, Windham NH 03087 http://embedded-unlimited.com On Thu Apr 12 14:10 , Bill Freeman sent: My Acer is scaring me. Sometimes at startup it goes into an infinite reboot loop. The way out seems to be to force power off, flex the case and whack it a few times, after which it boots. So, I'm considering replacing it. Last round I insisted on an AMD CPU, but I'm currently drawn to an i7 or i5. I know that lots of folks swear by the ThinkPads, and I will consider them. I'm not really willing to consider Compaq/HP, Gateway, or Apple, and I've found Linux on Toshiba to be troublesome in the past. Can anyone offer personal experience stories on the Dell Inspirons? Any additional suggestions? Any bad experiences with the i7 CPU? Thanks, Bill ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/ ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
I'm considering a new laptop, looking for experiences.
My Acer is scaring me. Sometimes at startup it goes into an infinite reboot loop. The way out seems to be to force power off, flex the case and whack it a few times, after which it boots. So, I'm considering replacing it. Last round I insisted on an AMD CPU, but I'm currently drawn to an i7 or i5. I know that lots of folks swear by the ThinkPads, and I will consider them. I'm not really willing to consider Compaq/HP, Gateway, or Apple, and I've found Linux on Toshiba to be troublesome in the past. Can anyone offer personal experience stories on the Dell Inspirons? Any additional suggestions? Any bad experiences with the i7 CPU? Thanks, Bill ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Laptop repair
Hello All, I remember a couple of weeks ago, one of the list members said he repaired laptops, and now I am in need of said services. Would that member please contact me to discuss the problem. Thanks Chris -- IBA #15631 USCRA #631 ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: Free laptop RAM - TAKEN
On 09/26/2011 04:48 PM, Ted Roche wrote: > A recent upgrade to a laptop left me with two spare RAM sticks: > > Thanks! > And... they're gone. -- Ted Roche Ted Roche & Associates, LLC http://www.tedroche.com ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Free laptop RAM
A recent upgrade to a laptop left me with two spare RAM sticks: 1. New 2 Gb DDR2 667 MHz 200-pin SODIMM, mfr by Corsair, Value Select VS2GSDS667D2 2. Used 1 Gb PC2-5300 CL5 1.8V (128Mx64) - Lenovo-labeled FRU: 40Y8403 OPT:40Y7738 Both worked fine and passed memory tests on my ThinkPad T60. Free to a good home. Either: - meet me at an upcoming LUG meeting (DLSLUG, Python, Ruby, Seacoast) - arrange to pick up in Contoocook. - cover the USPS shipping costs with check or cash (no Paypal). Email me offlist (tedro...@tedroche.com) with questions or interest. Thanks! -- Ted Roche Ted Roche & Associates, LLC http://www.tedroche.com ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: Looking for a laptop keyboard
On Tue, Dec 22, 2009 at 9:37 PM, Dan Miller wrote: > Theres a catch. Many of the keyboards look the same on the top, but its > the ribbon that sets them apart. Ah. The Latitude is Dell's business product line, and all the parts are interchangeable by design. I'm not much familiar with the Inspiron. Bummer. -- Ben ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: Looking for a laptop keyboard
Well, I've got a D-series laptop for parts at work. It's motherboard is shot, but I can part with the keyboard if you're interested, albeit I need a nominal fee since it's my company's property. I pulled it out and confirmed that it's not the same U-shaped ribbon you've got. If you want to try it out, and see if it's the same ribbon pinout at least and will still reach, I can try to meet up with you. I'm pretty busy these next few days, obviously, but let me know if you're interested. -N On Tue, Dec 22, 2009 at 9:37 PM, Dan Miller wrote: > > > On 12/22/09 21:18, Ben Scott wrote: >> On Tue, Dec 22, 2009 at 8:07 PM, Dan Miller wrote: >>> I would need a keyboard that fits a Dell PP21l. >> >> Google says that translates to "Inspiron 1300". Is that the correct model? >> >> Google for Inspiron 1300 in turn leads me to: >> >> http://www.notebookreview.com/assets/9016.jpg >> > > Yes, This looks like what I'm working on. > >> If that's what you have: That looks like a Latitude D series >> keyboard. Any other Latitude D series (except the ultra-small D4x0 >> series) should have a compatible keyboard. That should make your >> search easier. > > Theres a catch. Many of the keyboards look the same on the top, but its > the ribbon that sets them apart. Mines has the "U" shape as shown at: > > http://www.amazon.com/PWR-V-0511BIAS3-US-90-4D907-N01-9J-N6782-G01-20092860397/dp/B002OJA4L0 > > There are others that look the same but don't have the shape. > > If there are no keyboards, I'm willing to take a system. ;-) > > Dan > ___ > gnhlug-discuss mailing list > gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org > http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/ > ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: Looking for a laptop keyboard
On 12/22/09 21:18, Ben Scott wrote: > On Tue, Dec 22, 2009 at 8:07 PM, Dan Miller wrote: >> I would need a keyboard that fits a Dell PP21l. > > Google says that translates to "Inspiron 1300". Is that the correct model? > > Google for Inspiron 1300 in turn leads me to: > > http://www.notebookreview.com/assets/9016.jpg > Yes, This looks like what I'm working on. > If that's what you have: That looks like a Latitude D series > keyboard. Any other Latitude D series (except the ultra-small D4x0 > series) should have a compatible keyboard. That should make your > search easier. Theres a catch. Many of the keyboards look the same on the top, but its the ribbon that sets them apart. Mines has the "U" shape as shown at: http://www.amazon.com/PWR-V-0511BIAS3-US-90-4D907-N01-9J-N6782-G01-20092860397/dp/B002OJA4L0 There are others that look the same but don't have the shape. If there are no keyboards, I'm willing to take a system. ;-) Dan ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: Looking for a laptop keyboard
On Tue, Dec 22, 2009 at 8:07 PM, Dan Miller wrote: > I would need a keyboard that fits a Dell PP21l. Google says that translates to "Inspiron 1300". Is that the correct model? Google for Inspiron 1300 in turn leads me to: http://www.notebookreview.com/assets/9016.jpg If that's what you have: That looks like a Latitude D series keyboard. Any other Latitude D series (except the ultra-small D4x0 series) should have a compatible keyboard. That should make your search easier. > The current keyboard is > > Model: NSK-D5G01 > P/N 9J.N6782.G01 Dell changes their internal parts around constantly. (They outsource everything, so any given part will come from whoever the lowest bidder is that month.) Hence the recommendation to look for a Latitude D series. I only know this because we buy Dell at work. Unfortunately, I don't have any keyboards I can give away. -- Ben ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Looking for a laptop keyboard
A friend has a laptop that the keyboard does not work correctly. I'm looking at replacing the keyboard. I would need a keyboard that fits a Dell PP21l. The current keyboard is Model: NSK-D5G01 P/N 9J.N6782.G01 I know I can order online, but if possible would like to get this back together soon. Does anyone have a spare keyboard that would fit or know where I can get one? Thanks! Dan ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: New HP dv6 laptop and Knoppix (recovering data from damaged drive)
On Tue, Dec 15, 2009 at 11:22 PM, Ben Scott wrote: > On Tue, Dec 15, 2009 at 9:36 PM, Michael ODonnell > wrote: >> Note that dd_rescue (rather than plain old dd) will atempt to continue the >> copy operation even when it encounters bad sectors ... > > There's also dd_rhelp, a wrapper for dd_rescue which will recover > the easy data first, and then focus on re-reading bad blocks > repeatedly in an attempt to coax the data off a not-quite-dead drive. > Also note that from the dd_rhelp page: "We are all knowing that a quick C program should be better. So feel free to create it ! And this is what Antonio Diaz did for its "GNU ddrescue" program, make sure to have a look to it before using dd_rhelp." So, use GNU ddrescue, not dd_rescue, nor dd_rhelp. http://www.gnu.org/software/ddrescue/ddrescue.html ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: New HP dv6 laptop and Knoppix (recovering data from damaged drive)
On Tue, Dec 15, 2009 at 9:36 PM, Michael ODonnell wrote: > Note that dd_rescue (rather than plain old dd) will atempt to continue the > copy operation even when it encounters bad sectors ... There's also dd_rhelp, a wrapper for dd_rescue which will recover the easy data first, and then focus on re-reading bad blocks repeatedly in an attempt to coax the data off a not-quite-dead drive. -- Ben ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: New HP dv6 laptop and Knoppix (recovering data from damaged drive)
> I ended up pulling out a SATA USB 3.5 hard drive enclosure, > booting Knoppix 6.01. Several 'fdisk -l' and 'dd if=/dev/baddisk > of=/dev/gooddisk' I was able to copy partition information, a > working boot sector, and the HP recovery partition. The first whole > disk copy was not successful as it stopped on the bad OS sector, > a second attempt to copy the 2nd largest recovery sector worked. Note that dd_rescue (rather than plain old dd) will atempt to continue the copy operation even when it encounters bad sectors, writing nulls to the destination in place of the missing data, thereby often enabling recovery of your data from those regions of the resultant image corresponding to the undamaged parts of the original. ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: New HP dv6 laptop and Knoppix
Lots of lessons learned. I ended up pulling out a SATA USB 3.5 hard drive enclosure, booting Knoppix 6.01. Several 'fdisk -l' and 'dd if=/dev/baddisk of=/dev/gooddisk' I was able to copy partition information, a working boot sector, and the HP recovery partition. The first whole disk copy was not successful as it stopped on the bad OS sector, a second attempt to copy the 2nd largest recovery sector worked. I was able to run the recovery program which was essentially an entire reinstall of the OS. Rebooting windows after configuration confirmed a correctly installed and booting OS. I must have spent at least 6 hours on the phone and rebuilding hard drives. My recovery CD should be here in 2 more days. I was lucky to have Knoppix Hacks, knoppix CD USB hard drive enclosure. ready to go, and previous experience upgrading dual-boot laptops. I couldn't recommend HP to anyone, outside of this group who had time to burn rebuilding a laptop. Mike "nailed to the perch" .. deceased, expired, no more" ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: New HP dv6 laptop and Knoppix
On Tue, Dec 15, 2009 at 5:21 PM, Tom Buskey wrote: > FWIW, I won't buy HP if I think I'll ever need support. HP's consumer computers absolutely stink from the standpoint of software and customer service. They pre-load tons of garbage software. Advertisements, remote control software, stuff that's arguably spyware. You have no way of removing the garbage (unless you provide your own install media). All HP will give you is "Recovery Media" that restores the factory image, complete with garbage. Their phone support is completely useless, and they won't even give you the time of day if the product is out-of-warranty. I can't speak to their "business computers", but I know their "business printers" suck the same way, as do their "consumer printers". Dell, in contrast, will offer to ship media with every computer they sell, and it's always a vanilla Microsoft Windows disc plus other discs with the "value add" software. Dell's free support is pretty poor, but at least it's for the life of the machine. And their pay-extra support is excellent. -- Ben ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: New HP dv6 laptop and Knoppix
FWIW, I won't buy HP if I think I'll ever need support. If HP was an ISP, I'd prefer to get dialup from Comcast. On 12/15/09, Lloyd Kvam wrote: > On Tue, 2009-12-15 at 12:11 -0800, Michael Nolin wrote: >> The return center passed me back to the techcenter which is processing >> a recovery CD order which of course I had already asked for along with >> the replacement hard drive. > > It is amazing how these support centers work. When my new HP laptop > drive recently failed, they insisted on sending the Vista recovery CD > even though I assured them I had deleted Windows and was running Linux. > > -- > Lloyd Kvam > Venix Corp > DLSLUG/GNHLUG library > http://dlslug.org/library.html > http://www.librarything.com/catalog/dlslug > http://www.librarything.com/rsshtml/recent/dlslug > http://www.librarything.com/rss/recent/dlslug > > ___ > gnhlug-discuss mailing list > gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org > http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/ > -- Sent from my mobile device ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: New HP dv6 laptop and Knoppix
On Tue, 2009-12-15 at 12:11 -0800, Michael Nolin wrote: > The return center passed me back to the techcenter which is processing > a recovery CD order which of course I had already asked for along with > the replacement hard drive. It is amazing how these support centers work. When my new HP laptop drive recently failed, they insisted on sending the Vista recovery CD even though I assured them I had deleted Windows and was running Linux. -- Lloyd Kvam Venix Corp DLSLUG/GNHLUG library http://dlslug.org/library.html http://www.librarything.com/catalog/dlslug http://www.librarything.com/rsshtml/recent/dlslug http://www.librarything.com/rss/recent/dlslug ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: New HP dv6 laptop and Knoppix
--- On Tue, 12/15/09, Bill Freeman wrote: > > > > --- On Sun, 12/13/09, Michael Nolin > wrote: > > > > > > > The laptop I bought the kids for Christmas > arrived and it > > > did not boot windoz 7. After an hour and a half > on the phone > > > with HP tech support I got a case# and an order > number for a > > > new hard drive due to arrive on the 17. HP's > diagnostics > > > test 'hard drive:failed'. My user experience is still being enhanced on the phone with HP techcenter. New replacement hard drive arrived, installed passed hard drive diagnostics. 'No operating system installed' apparently no HP recovery partition either. I'm sure Knoppix would confirm I received a perfectly working but blank hard drive. The return center passed me back to the techcenter which is processing a recovery CD order which of course I had already asked for along with the replacement hard drive. Just asked, "you did not create a recovery CD"... not possible from a hard drive that failed diagnostics. New order #, for a recovery CD, free of charge and under warranty and all, guess I'll need to call back for that RMA# I had originally called for. Mike "Merry Christmas and peace among men of good will." > ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: New HP dv6 laptop and Knoppix
> > > --- On Sun, 12/13/09, Michael Nolin wrote: > > > > The laptop I bought the kids for Christmas arrived and it > > did not boot windoz 7. After an hour and a half on the phone > > with HP tech support I got a case# and an order number for a > > new hard drive due to arrive on the 17. HP's diagnostics > > test 'hard drive:failed'. > > > > The BIOS on this laptop seems pretty weak: F2 'run system > > diagnostics' RETURN run windows normally. I had to remove > > the hard drive from the laptop to get the knoppix CD to run, > > I tried 5.0, 5.1 and finally 6.01 which worked. > > > > Perhaps I can upgrade the BIOS when I get a working hard > > drive? can I find a similar discussion in the archives? I > > checked last months but cannot remember any particular > > discussion. > > > > I did not originally intend to dual boot this laptop but > > now I fear this weak BIOS (if it is actually the BIOS I'm > > looking at) will lead to certain data loss or removing the > > hard drive to recover any data which will have to be done on > > another machine. > > reviewing (for the 4th time) hp.com/go/techcenter/startup and additional frantic F9 F10 pressing I was able to get to the BIOS configuration and change the boot order, to CD/DVD driver first and bad hard drive 2nd. The previous screen with 'F2 diagnostic' RETURN continue startup was effectively masking the BIOS I was expecting which can be accessed after pressing RETURN and pressing F10 quickly and frequently. > > Mike I'm glad that's working for you. On the Toshiba that I used to have I could get into the BIOS (the hard drive wasn't failing) easily enough, and set the boot order. But it ignored the boot order thus set. Having read past conflicting documentation, it was determined that I had to hit the C key at a critical point in the boot process, which presented a menu of devices to boot from. I'm sure that whoever wrote that thought that they were enhancing my user experience. Bill ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: New HP dv6 laptop and Knoppix
On Sun, Dec 13, 2009 at 10:43 PM, Michael Nolin wrote: > ... additional frantic F9 F10 ... F2 ... RETURN ... "Press lots of keys to abort" http://catb.org/jargon/html/P/plokta.html -- Ben ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: New HP dv6 laptop and Knoppix
--- On Sun, 12/13/09, Michael Nolin wrote: > The laptop I bought the kids for Christmas arrived and it > did not boot windoz 7. After an hour and a half on the phone > with HP tech support I got a case# and an order number for a > new hard drive due to arrive on the 17. HP's diagnostics > test 'hard drive:failed'. > > The BIOS on this laptop seems pretty weak: F2 'run system > diagnostics' RETURN run windows normally. I had to remove > the hard drive from the laptop to get the knoppix CD to run, > I tried 5.0, 5.1 and finally 6.01 which worked. > > Perhaps I can upgrade the BIOS when I get a working hard > drive? can I find a similar discussion in the archives? I > checked last months but cannot remember any particular > discussion. > > I did not originally intend to dual boot this laptop but > now I fear this weak BIOS (if it is actually the BIOS I'm > looking at) will lead to certain data loss or removing the > hard drive to recover any data which will have to be done on > another machine. reviewing (for the 4th time) hp.com/go/techcenter/startup and additional frantic F9 F10 pressing I was able to get to the BIOS configuration and change the boot order, to CD/DVD driver first and bad hard drive 2nd. The previous screen with 'F2 diagnostic' RETURN continue startup was effectively masking the BIOS I was expecting which can be accessed after pressing RETURN and pressing F10 quickly and frequently. Mike > > > > > > > > > > ___ > gnhlug-discuss mailing list > gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org > http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/ > ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
New HP dv6 laptop and Knoppix
The laptop I bought the kids for Christmas arrived and it did not boot windoz 7. After an hour and a half on the phone with HP tech support I got a case# and an order number for a new hard drive due to arrive on the 17. HP's diagnostics test 'hard drive:failed'. The BIOS on this laptop seems pretty weak: F2 'run system diagnostics' RETURN run windows normally. I had to remove the hard drive from the laptop to get the knoppix CD to run, I tried 5.0, 5.1 and finally 6.01 which worked. Perhaps I can upgrade the BIOS when I get a working hard drive? can I find a similar discussion in the archives? I checked last months but cannot remember any particular discussion. I did not originally intend to dual boot this laptop but now I fear this weak BIOS (if it is actually the BIOS I'm looking at) will lead to certain data loss or removing the hard drive to recover any data which will have to be done on another machine. I have another HP dv5 I ordered from newegg, I'm quited happy with the way it has been preforming since May running openSUSE mno...@linux-lap:/etc/sysconfig/network> uname -a Linux linux-lap 2.6.27.29-0.1-default #1 SMP 2009-08-15 17:53:59 +0200 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux openSUSE 11.1 (x86_64) If the new hard drive does not just work, I'll be forced to spend another hour on the phone with HP to get a RMA#. Mike ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
making a laptop mobile (dynamic display configuration) - mostly solved
Here is my writeup of how I enabled dynamic display configuration for my laptop. It may not work for you if you don't have an nVidia display card. I'm really happy with the fact that I spec'd my new laptops with the nVidia card [1] b/c it just works better [2] than the previous machine which had an onboard Intel graphics chip. I'm really happy with the dual 22" monitor setup that I drive (one on VGA, one DVI) using the Lenovo OEM docking station. Having two identical 22" monitors side-by-side makes it really easy for me to open up the dozen or more applications that I typically use. I can spread them out on different virtual desktops and flip through those desktops as fast as hitting ctrl+alt+<-> With compiz running, it even looks cool. Even cooler with Ctrl + Alt + mouse drag I'm also happy with the nVidia X Server Settings app that lets me easily configure the display(s) attached to my system. It's way better than having to manually configure xorg.conf and even better than playing with XRandR scripts. The problem is that I still can't just hit Fn+F7 to switch display layouts for presentations when I'm at a conference and want to hook up to the projector. I can't simply undock my notebook to go into a conference room and have my external displays collapse onto my notebook screen. I can't just boot my notebook in the conference room, and then set it into the dock where it automatically extends the display onto an external monitor. Recently when I tried to give a presentation, OpenOffice thought my screen was far bigger than what displayed on the notebook, and so the audience could only see half the presentation. As a result, I had to give the presentation in window'ed mode rather than full screen. I was determined to fix all this. I actually have another dock at my home office with a single monitor there, so the total number of configurations is: notebook display alone (aka "free to go anywhere as long as I've got battery mode") notebook diplay plus one external monitor (aka "docked at home") notebook (internal display off) two external monitors on (can't run three displays) - (aka "docked at work") notebook plus external projector (aka "giving a presentation") I found the disper project http://willem.engen.nl/projects/disper/ (PPA at https://launchpad.net/~wvengen/+archive/ppa) [3] written by Willem van Engen which is an on-the-fly display switching application. Disper is written in python and interfaces with the nVidia Settings tool and other subsystems like XRandR (note: only nVidia cards are currently supported, and the XRandR interface is minimal -- which is immaterial for nVidia cards since they don't use XRandR). After installing disper, I could see that it properly detected both my laptop display, plus the external monitor. $ disper --displays=auto --list display DFP-0: LEN resolutions: 512x384, 576x432, 680x384, 720x450, 1024x768, 1152x864, 1360x768, 1440x900 display CRT-0: ViewSonic VX2235wm-3 resolutions: 320x240, 400x300, 512x384, 680x384, 640x480, 720x450, 700x525, 840x525, 800x600, 960x540, 832x624, 960x600, 1024x768, 1152x864, 1360x768, 1280x960, 1440x900, 1280x1024, 1400x1050, 1600x1200, 1920x1080, 1920x1200, 1680x1050 And, it worked perfectly to switch from "Extended" display to "Single" notebook display. Yay, now I can undock my notebook via simple command line (or key stroke via key binding) rather than having to click, click, click through nVidia X Server Settings. I also found this article http://onlyubuntu.blogspot.com/2009/04/autodetecting-and-configuring-multiple.html which describes the additional scripting you want to do to make it all happen automatically - including moving the taskbar to the extended display. For me, that was as easy as making ~/bin/monitor.sh (and chmod 755 !$) #!/bin/sh # # Detect displays and move panels to the primary display # # disper command will detect and configure monitors disper --displays=auto -e # parse output from disper tool how many displays we have attached # disper prints 2 lines per displer lines=`disper -l|wc -l` display_count=$((lines / 2)) echo $display_count echo "Detected display count:" $display_count # Make sure that we move panels to the correct display based # on the display count if [ $display_count = 1 ] ; then echo "Moving panels to the internal LCD display" gconftool-2 \ --set "/apps/panel/toplevels/bottom_panel_screen0/monitor" \ --type integer "0" gconftool-2 \ --set "/apps/panel/toplevels/top_panel_screen0/monitor" \ --type integer "0" else echo "Moving panels to the external display" gconftool-2 \ --set "/apps/panel/toplevels/bottom_panel_screen0/monitor" \ --type integer "1" gconftool-2 \ --set "/apps/panel/toplevels/top_panel_screen0/monitor"
Re: buying a laptop either bare or with Ubuntu
On Thu, 2009-01-22 at 17:34 -0500, Bill McGonigle wrote: > On 2009-01-22 2:24 PM, Jerry Feldman wrote: > > Subsequently once you have Ubuntu (or other Linux) installed, you could > > install the proprietary Nvidia or FGLRX drivers so that you can get a > > good resolution. > > Excellent point. Somebody could do custom spin in Fedora-land with > revisor, Such as this? http://www.mail-archive.com/fedora-announce-l...@redhat.com/msg01470.html > or... heck, I can't remember the name of the other project that > lets you make recipes for spins and can't find it at the moment, Were you thinking of pungi? (its what the MythDora project uses to build its customized installer isos and live images). > but anyway you can make a bootable USB stick. And as mentioned elsewhere in the thread, you can even make a usb stick and add content to it after the fact, using remaining space on the stick as persistent storage overlay. --jarod ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: buying a laptop either bare or with Ubuntu
On Thu, 2009-01-22 at 17:20 -0500, Ben Scott wrote: > On Thu, Jan 22, 2009 at 3:41 PM, Jerry Feldman wrote: > >> Can the proprietary driver packages be copied to a separate USB > >> flash drive, and then installed into the in-RAM "live" system? > >> > > The simple answer is yes. What you would need to do is to is to open up the > > iso, copy in the appropriate drivers or packages, then make a new iso ... > > No way to just put the needed packages on separate media, and then > have the regular disc load them? > > I'm thinking the ideal scenario would be: > > 1. Obtain the standard Ubuntu/Fedora/whatever "live disc" (download > and burn, free sample, whatever) > 2. Download any additional driver package(s) you need > 3. Copy the driver package(s) to a separate USB flash drive > 4. Stick flash drive in PC, then boot from CD > 5. CD detects additional stuff on the flash drive, and offers to use it > > Slightly less ideal, but still very good, would be step 5 requiring > the operator to manually point the system at the flash drive, either > at the boot prompt, and/or in the GUI. > > For example, I know with Red Hat's standard installer, you can feed > it a driver diskette (or USB flash, etc.), which will add to the > "stock" capabilities without needing to rebuild the whole kit. (I > dunno if that works with their "live" system, though.) So far as I know, no, it doesn't work with the live system. However, the live images also have the ability to overlay additional space on a writable media (i.e. a usb flash stick) as writable, and you can update and/or install any additional rpms/files/etc. The only limitation is that you can't install a new kernel and expect to be able to boot it. But 3rd-party drivers and/or firmware, definitely. So yeah, you could, for example, have a usb stick that you've added nvidia binary video drivers and broadcom 802.11n wifi to. --jarod ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: buying a laptop either bare or with Ubuntu
On 2009-01-22 2:24 PM, Jerry Feldman wrote: > Subsequently once you have Ubuntu (or other Linux) installed, you could > install the proprietary Nvidia or FGLRX drivers so that you can get a > good resolution. Excellent point. Somebody could do custom spin in Fedora-land with revisor, or... heck, I can't remember the name of the other project that lets you make recipes for spins and can't find it at the moment, but anyway you can make a bootable USB stick. And if somebody were to write a script to detect exercise the most common parts on a machine, there could be some utility there. -Bill -- Bill McGonigle, Owner Work: 603.448.4440 BFC Computing, LLC Home: 603.448.1668 b...@bfccomputing.com Cell: 603.252.2606 http://www.bfccomputing.com/Page: 603.442.1833 Blog: http://blog.bfccomputing.com/ VCard: http://bfccomputing.com/vcard/bill.vcf ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: buying a laptop either bare or with Ubuntu
On Thu, Jan 22, 2009 at 3:41 PM, Jerry Feldman wrote: >> Can the proprietary driver packages be copied to a separate USB >> flash drive, and then installed into the in-RAM "live" system? >> > The simple answer is yes. What you would need to do is to is to open up the > iso, copy in the appropriate drivers or packages, then make a new iso ... No way to just put the needed packages on separate media, and then have the regular disc load them? I'm thinking the ideal scenario would be: 1. Obtain the standard Ubuntu/Fedora/whatever "live disc" (download and burn, free sample, whatever) 2. Download any additional driver package(s) you need 3. Copy the driver package(s) to a separate USB flash drive 4. Stick flash drive in PC, then boot from CD 5. CD detects additional stuff on the flash drive, and offers to use it Slightly less ideal, but still very good, would be step 5 requiring the operator to manually point the system at the flash drive, either at the boot prompt, and/or in the GUI. For example, I know with Red Hat's standard installer, you can feed it a driver diskette (or USB flash, etc.), which will add to the "stock" capabilities without needing to rebuild the whole kit. (I dunno if that works with their "live" system, though.) -- Ben ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: buying a laptop either bare or with Ubuntu
On Thu, Jan 22, 2009 at 3:58 PM, Lloyd Kvam wrote: > The HP laptop that was too slow did OK in casual store browsing. > However, once Steph started trying to do some real work on the laptop, > the screen scrolling was just too slow. That's almost certainly due to video drivers. Most likely, it was running the generic SVGA drivers, as Jerry said. They lack practically all hardware acceleration, so even simple scrolling means tons of data transfer between main memory and the frame buffer. If device-specific proprietary drivers are available, it will make a huge difference in performance. -- Ben ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: buying a laptop either bare or with Ubuntu
On Thu, Jan 22, 2009 at 3:27 PM, Jerry Feldman wrote: >> If you buy a Dell, I *strongly* recommend the "Gold Tech Support" >> package ... > > If you buy "Gold Tech Support", what do you get if you buy a laptop with > Windows installed and install another OS,, like Fedora or Ubuntu. I've never had anything less than excellent results from Dell GTS. I've switched versions of Windows, and while they've remarked that the system shipped with something different, were still perfectly willing to help. I believe their phone menus prompt you for the OS you're running; if not, they can transfer. Back when Dell's Ubuntu support consisted of a gift certificate for Canonical, it might have been difficult, but I think their support is better integrated now. While it wouldn't surprise me to hear you're still talking to a Canonical employee, I think you can go through Dell's phone system to get there (but don't quote me on that). Outside of the "regular" support avenues, Dell also offers a Linux wiki and some mailing lists, and quite a few top-level engineers hang out there. Often you're talking to the guy who actually wrote the drivers. There's an officially supported RPM/YUM repository for the Dell management tools, and an "unsupported" repo with various firmware and other utilities. If you're running a Linux distro Dell doesn't support/train on, that may limit how much they can do for you. However, I've generally found Dell's Linux people to be quite willing to help. For example, while Dell doesn't officially support Debian, there is an unsupported Dell APT repository with all their firmware and management tools as .deb packages. So you can just add that repo and do "apt-get install smbios-utils" or whatever. Or so I'm told; I haven't tried it. > ... Dell [warranty] is 90 days. I think it depends on the product line (Latitude vs Inspiron, for example). But their standard support is worthless in any event. Thick accents, heavily scripted, unwilling and unable to help. That's why I recommend the Gold support. With Dell, customer service is basically an option. You can pay for it and get it, or not, your decision. > WRT: Gateway. We used them in 2 different companies I worked for ... I could tell endless horror stories. New systems shipped missing parts. Dust-covered, used parts shipped as new. Field service guys arriving without parts or any clue of what to do or even that they're working for Gateway. Unrecognized model/part numbers, and thus no way to get drivers. Component changes in models that they didn't know about, and thus getting the wrong drivers. Cats and dogs living together. Mass hysteria. You get the picture. -- Ben ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
in-store Laptop testing (was Re: buying a laptop either bare or with Ubuntu)
On Thu, Jan 22, 2009 at 3:41 PM, Jerry Feldman wrote: > On 01/22/2009 03:02 PM, Ben Scott wrote: > >> Can the proprietary driver packages be copied to a separate USB >> flash drive, and then installed into the in-RAM "live" system? >> >> > The simple answer is yes. What you would need to do is to is to open up the > iso, copy in the appropriate drivers or packages, then make a new iso, and > either burn a new CD or USB. You could simply grab the appropriate .rpm or > .deb files to install by hand. Knoppix has a good tutorial on how to > customize, but since you don't know the target system, just copy in the > appropriate packages and install them after boot. > Has any one played with the "Make a USB Startup Disk" tool in Ubuntu 8.10? I think it just showed up when I upgraded from 8.04 but maybe I installed it a while ago and forgot. Find it Under System > Administration > Create a USB startup disk. It looks pretty sweet. Could be just the thing for speedier testing and installing propritary drivers. ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: buying a laptop either bare or with Ubuntu
On 01/22/2009 03:58 PM, Lloyd Kvam wrote: Yes they do have units you can try. Most systems work OK with Linux and when Steph and I were shopping around, the main issue was the laptops with numeric keypads - the keypads did not work in our quick fiddling. I assume that could be remedied with a bit of work. The HP laptop that was too slow did OK in casual store browsing. However, once Steph started trying to do some real work on the laptop, the screen scrolling was just too slow. I assume that could have been fixed within a few weeks, but she did not want to wait. For me, the main concern would be proving that the wireless chip set worked OK. I'd expect to get the other components operational eventually. (My current laptop has a camera and bluetooth that have never been used. The built-in camera device is not recognized, but I never had any need to use it. I never got around to buying a bluetooth mouse or keyboard which would have forced me to discover if the bluetooth radio works.) One thing a LiveCD cannot do well is judge speed. Not only are some components loaded from the CD, speed is limited by the amount of memory available. Most of the lower cost laptops have the minimum amount of memory for the installed OS. GNOME and KDE are very memory intensive. I would probably want a minimum of 1GB to run GNOME or KDE. Additionally, some graphics chips (probably most on low-end laptops) share memory with the host computer. A live cd with lxde might be a better measure if you are going to test it in the store. A number of mail order companies, like eCost, have factory refurbished systems at some decent prices with full factory warranties. -- Jerry Feldman Boston Linux and Unix PGP key id: 537C5846 PGP Key fingerprint: 3D1B 8377 A3C0 A5F2 ECBB CA3B 4607 4319 537C 5846 signature.asc Description: OpenPGP digital signature ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: buying a laptop either bare or with Ubuntu
On Thu, 2009-01-22 at 12:55 -0500, Bill McGonigle wrote: > On 2009-01-21 3:33 PM, Lloyd Kvam wrote: > > 2. was purchased at Staples, but, after installing Ubuntu, the > > screen driver was simply too slow to tolerate. We returned the > > laptop after running the Windows restore. > > I've seen the Dell sign in the window at Staples, but didn't look at the > display - do they have demo units to try? I'm thinking an Ubuntu LiveCD > or USB stick could be useful here. > Yes they do have units you can try. Most systems work OK with Linux and when Steph and I were shopping around, the main issue was the laptops with numeric keypads - the keypads did not work in our quick fiddling. I assume that could be remedied with a bit of work. The HP laptop that was too slow did OK in casual store browsing. However, once Steph started trying to do some real work on the laptop, the screen scrolling was just too slow. I assume that could have been fixed within a few weeks, but she did not want to wait. For me, the main concern would be proving that the wireless chip set worked OK. I'd expect to get the other components operational eventually. (My current laptop has a camera and bluetooth that have never been used. The built-in camera device is not recognized, but I never had any need to use it. I never got around to buying a bluetooth mouse or keyboard which would have forced me to discover if the bluetooth radio works.) > -Bill > -- Lloyd Kvam Venix Corp DLSLUG/GNHLUG library http://dlslug.org/library.html http://www.librarything.com/catalog/dlslug http://www.librarything.com/rsshtml/recent/dlslug http://www.librarything.com/rss/recent/dlslug ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: buying a laptop either bare or with Ubuntu
On 01/22/2009 03:02 PM, Ben Scott wrote: On Thu, Jan 22, 2009 at 2:24 PM, Jerry Feldman wrote: Subsequently once you have Ubuntu (or other Linux) installed, you could install the proprietary Nvidia or FGLRX drivers so that you can get a good resolution. Can the proprietary driver packages be copied to a separate USB flash drive, and then installed into the in-RAM "live" system? The simple answer is yes. What you would need to do is to is to open up the iso, copy in the appropriate drivers or packages, then make a new iso, and either burn a new CD or USB. You could simply grab the appropriate .rpm or .deb files to install by hand. Knoppix has a good tutorial on how to customize, but since you don't know the target system, just copy in the appropriate packages and install them after boot. -- Jerry Feldman Boston Linux and Unix PGP key id: 537C5846 PGP Key fingerprint: 3D1B 8377 A3C0 A5F2 ECBB CA3B 4607 4319 537C 5846 signature.asc Description: OpenPGP digital signature ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: buying a laptop either bare or with Ubuntu
On 01/22/2009 03:02 PM, Ben Scott wrote: On Thu, Jan 22, 2009 at 2:24 PM, Jerry Feldman wrote: Subsequently once you have Ubuntu (or other Linux) installed, you could install the proprietary Nvidia or FGLRX drivers so that you can get a good resolution. Can the proprietary driver packages be copied to a separate USB flash drive, and then installed into the in-RAM "live" system? Although I am not a fan of Dell's for the most part they put out a decent product ... If you buy a Dell, I *strongly* recommend the "Gold Tech Support" package, or whatever they're calling it these days. The difference is night and day. With it, I'm a happy Dell customer. Without it, I wouldn't touch their stuff. ... unlike Gateway. At %DAYJOB%, we're a former Gateway customer. They are slowly evaporating. They spun off, and then liquidated, their business division. Their consumer division is now showing signs of stress as well. I don't expect them to live through the current economic mess. You are going to run into this problem in most systems today. Sadly true. Free Software was finally gaining serious traction thanks to Linux, and now it's being challenged by hardware that's closed-off for no good reason at all. :-( WRT: Gateway. We used them in 2 different companies I worked for, and both companies experienced an over 90% flawed on arrival. I opened the box, and found the secondary IDE port was DOA. I know a few people who bought Gateways, and only one of them got a system that worked perfectly out of the box. If you buy "Gold Tech Support", what do you get if you buy a laptop with Windows installed and install another OS,, like Fedora or Ubuntu. Many of the proprietary chips are now being opened up, but ATI and Nvidia who do support the Linux and FOSS community, do so with closed-source drivers. Broadcom is the same way. While we now have a generic Broadcom driver, the firmware needs to be obtained. In the Ubuntu Community, Canonical provides these drivers in their restricted data bases, and Fedora uses RPM Fusion, and SuSE uses Pac Man. Additionally, most printers (Epson, HP, and Brother) are well supported by Linux. My last 2 laptops have been HP, and have been abused. The older one served me several years, and used a rubber band to keep the power plug in the jack (it was loose resulting from a few falls). My current one goes to work, home, MIT, Amtrak, New Orleans, and Atlanta. I don't know if the HP warranties have changed, but it used to be that the standard HP warranty was 1 year where the Dell is 90 days. My HP nx6125 had a 3 year warranty. -- Jerry Feldman Boston Linux and Unix PGP key id: 537C5846 PGP Key fingerprint: 3D1B 8377 A3C0 A5F2 ECBB CA3B 4607 4319 537C 5846 signature.asc Description: OpenPGP digital signature ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: buying a laptop either bare or with Ubuntu
On Thu, Jan 22, 2009 at 2:24 PM, Jerry Feldman wrote: > Subsequently once you have Ubuntu (or other Linux) installed, you > could install the proprietary Nvidia or FGLRX drivers so that you can get a > good resolution. Can the proprietary driver packages be copied to a separate USB flash drive, and then installed into the in-RAM "live" system? > Although I am not a fan of Dell's for the most part they put out a decent > product ... If you buy a Dell, I *strongly* recommend the "Gold Tech Support" package, or whatever they're calling it these days. The difference is night and day. With it, I'm a happy Dell customer. Without it, I wouldn't touch their stuff. > ... unlike Gateway. At %DAYJOB%, we're a former Gateway customer. They are slowly evaporating. They spun off, and then liquidated, their business division. Their consumer division is now showing signs of stress as well. I don't expect them to live through the current economic mess. > You are going to run into this problem in most systems today. Sadly true. Free Software was finally gaining serious traction thanks to Linux, and now it's being challenged by hardware that's closed-off for no good reason at all. :-( -- Ben ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: buying a laptop either bare or with Ubuntu
On 01/22/2009 12:55 PM, Bill McGonigle wrote: On 2009-01-21 3:33 PM, Lloyd Kvam wrote: 2. was purchased at Staples, but, after installing Ubuntu, the screen driver was simply too slow to tolerate. We returned the laptop after running the Windows restore. I've seen the Dell sign in the window at Staples, but didn't look at the display - do they have demo units to try? I'm thinking an Ubuntu LiveCD or USB stick could be useful here. This might not be a valid test. If the notebook, for instance, has an Nvidia or ATI chipset, the LiveCD driver would most likely be a generic VGA driver. Subsequently once you have Ubuntu (or other Linux) installed, you could install the proprietary Nvidia or FGLRX drivers so that you can get a good resolution. Windows comes with the proprietary drivers installed. Although I am not a fan of Dell's for the most part they put out a decent product, unlike Gateway. What you would need to to with Ubuntu is to install it, and set the software sources to include proprietary drivers and multiverse. These are check boxes. I suspect that once you have added the proper software sources, the appropriate drivers will be installed and you can get good resolution. You are going to run into this problem in most systems today. -- Jerry Feldman Boston Linux and Unix PGP key id: 537C5846 PGP Key fingerprint: 3D1B 8377 A3C0 A5F2 ECBB CA3B 4607 4319 537C 5846 signature.asc Description: OpenPGP digital signature ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: buying a laptop either bare or with Ubuntu
On 2009-01-21 3:33 PM, Lloyd Kvam wrote: > 2. was purchased at Staples, but, after installing Ubuntu, the > screen driver was simply too slow to tolerate. We returned the > laptop after running the Windows restore. I've seen the Dell sign in the window at Staples, but didn't look at the display - do they have demo units to try? I'm thinking an Ubuntu LiveCD or USB stick could be useful here. -Bill -- Bill McGonigle, Owner Work: 603.448.4440 BFC Computing, LLC Home: 603.448.1668 b...@bfccomputing.com Cell: 603.252.2606 http://www.bfccomputing.com/Page: 603.442.1833 Blog: http://blog.bfccomputing.com/ VCard: http://bfccomputing.com/vcard/bill.vcf ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: buying a laptop either bare or with Ubuntu
On 01/21/2009 03:33 PM, Lloyd Kvam wrote:
On Fri, 2008-11-14 at 12:02 -0500, Lloyd Kvam wrote:
On Fri, 2008-11-14 at 10:53 -0500, Ben Scott wrote:
The question is, did you avoid paying for it anyway?
Vista Home Premium appears to add $30 to the cost.
The Vista laptop allows for some lower cost options that are not
available in the Ubuntu configurations. Once all the hardware got
equalized, the Vista quote was higher by $30.
We finally got our laptop on the third try.
1. was the Dell Studio documented in this thread (lcd screen did
not support Ubuntu's resolution choices)
2. was purchased at Staples, but, after installing Ubuntu, the
screen driver was simply too slow to tolerate. We returned the
laptop after running the Windows restore.
3. is a Dell Inspiron. While Dell sells these with Ubuntu, there
was a discount code that saved ~$200 as compared to the Ubuntu
version with equivalent hardware choices. I did grumble to Dell
about being forced to buy Vista. Ubuntu 8.04 worked OK and the
upgrade to 8.10 went smoothly. The GUI tools work well enough
that my daughter appears to be self-sufficient with the sysadmin
tasks. Bluetooth has not yet been tested.
I'm not a fan of Dell computers. In general they cause us the most
issues in installfests. I've personally had good luck with HP/Compaq as
well as Lenovo. I think your problem might be that Ubuntu did not have
good support for the installed graphics chip. Generally, before I buy a
laptop, I check online to see if there are any Linux issues.
--
Jerry Feldman
Boston Linux and Unix
PGP key id: 537C5846
PGP Key fingerprint: 3D1B 8377 A3C0 A5F2 ECBB CA3B 4607 4319 537C 5846
signature.asc
Description: OpenPGP digital signature
___
gnhlug-discuss mailing list
gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org
http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: buying a laptop either bare or with Ubuntu
On Fri, 2008-11-14 at 12:02 -0500, Lloyd Kvam wrote: > On Fri, 2008-11-14 at 10:53 -0500, Ben Scott wrote: > > The question is, did you avoid paying for it anyway? > > > Vista Home Premium appears to add $30 to the cost. > > The Vista laptop allows for some lower cost options that are not > available in the Ubuntu configurations. Once all the hardware got > equalized, the Vista quote was higher by $30. > We finally got our laptop on the third try. 1. was the Dell Studio documented in this thread (lcd screen did not support Ubuntu's resolution choices) 2. was purchased at Staples, but, after installing Ubuntu, the screen driver was simply too slow to tolerate. We returned the laptop after running the Windows restore. 3. is a Dell Inspiron. While Dell sells these with Ubuntu, there was a discount code that saved ~$200 as compared to the Ubuntu version with equivalent hardware choices. I did grumble to Dell about being forced to buy Vista. Ubuntu 8.04 worked OK and the upgrade to 8.10 went smoothly. The GUI tools work well enough that my daughter appears to be self-sufficient with the sysadmin tasks. Bluetooth has not yet been tested. -- Lloyd Kvam Venix Corp. 1 Court Street, Suite 378 Lebanon, NH 03766-1358 voice: 603-653-8139 fax:320-210-3409 ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: USB enclosure for a laptop IDE drive?
On 12/31/2008 02:41 PM, Alex Hewitt wrote: Bill McGonigle wrote: On 2008-12-30 6:02 PM, ord...@gmail.com wrote: On 12/30/08, Ben Scott wrote: On Tue, Dec 30, 2008 at 4:09 PM, Ted Roche wrote: The folks at GotInk4You (*) sell a "USB 2.0 to SATA/IDE" cable& connector pretty cheap /// Not an enclosure but I've heard good things about this gizmo. Anyone have any experience? http://www.newertech.com/products/usb2_adaptv2.php Mark I have this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812232002 and it works perfectly. It looks very similar, I assume there's an OEM who makes them in customer plastic. -Bill I have the same one Bill has but recently I found this "docking station" at Newegg and I'm very happy with it. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153066 It only does SATA 2.5/3.5 drives but it's very nicely done... - This is the unit I got for my 3.5 in IDE drive I removed from my old computer. I think I paid under $10.00 at MicroCenter. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001NACBEE?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=nextag-ce-tier1-delta-20&linkCode=asn I don't know the brand of my 2.5in. Again this one I bought at MicroCenter for about $5.00. I think it depends on the use. The only reason I use the 3.5 in for is for temporary stuff because the drive is very loud. If you are planning on using it to recover some data then probably the cheap ones might serve you well, or if you plan to use it full time, you may want to consider things like heat dissipation. -- Jerry Feldman Boston Linux and Unix PGP key id: 537C5846 PGP Key fingerprint: 3D1B 8377 A3C0 A5F2 ECBB CA3B 4607 4319 537C 5846 signature.asc Description: OpenPGP digital signature ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: USB enclosure for a laptop IDE drive?
Bill McGonigle wrote: > On 2008-12-30 6:02 PM, ord...@gmail.com wrote: > >> On 12/30/08, Ben Scott wrote: >> >>> On Tue, Dec 30, 2008 at 4:09 PM, Ted Roche wrote: >>> The folks at GotInk4You (*) sell a "USB 2.0 to SATA/IDE" cable& connector pretty cheap /// >> Not an enclosure but I've heard good things about this gizmo. Anyone >> have any experience? >> >> http://www.newertech.com/products/usb2_adaptv2.php >> >> Mark >> > > I have this one: > > http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812232002 > > and it works perfectly. It looks very similar, I assume there's an OEM > who makes them in customer plastic. > > -Bill > > I have the same one Bill has but recently I found this "docking station" at Newegg and I'm very happy with it. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153066 It only does SATA 2.5/3.5 drives but it's very nicely done... -Alex ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: USB enclosure for a laptop IDE drive?
On 2008-12-30 6:02 PM, ord...@gmail.com wrote: > On 12/30/08, Ben Scott wrote: >> On Tue, Dec 30, 2008 at 4:09 PM, Ted Roche wrote: >>> The folks at GotInk4You (*) sell a "USB 2.0 to SATA/IDE" cable& >>> connector pretty cheap /// > > Not an enclosure but I've heard good things about this gizmo. Anyone > have any experience? > > http://www.newertech.com/products/usb2_adaptv2.php > > Mark I have this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812232002 and it works perfectly. It looks very similar, I assume there's an OEM who makes them in customer plastic. -Bill -- Bill McGonigle, Owner Work: 603.448.4440 BFC Computing, LLC Home: 603.448.1668 b...@bfccomputing.com Cell: 603.252.2606 http://www.bfccomputing.com/Page: 603.442.1833 Blog: http://blog.bfccomputing.com/ VCard: http://bfccomputing.com/vcard/bill.vcf ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: USB enclosure for a laptop IDE drive?
On 12/30/08, Ben Scott wrote: > On Tue, Dec 30, 2008 at 4:09 PM, Ted Roche wrote: >> The folks at GotInk4You (*) sell a "USB 2.0 to SATA/IDE" cable & >> connector pretty cheap /// Not an enclosure but I've heard good things about this gizmo. Anyone have any experience? http://www.newertech.com/products/usb2_adaptv2.php Mark -- "Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd." – Voltaire ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: USB enclosure for a laptop IDE drive?
On Tue, Dec 30, 2008 at 4:09 PM, Ted Roche wrote: > The folks at GotInk4You (*) sell a "USB 2.0 to SATA/IDE" cable & > connector pretty cheap /// I got one of those, it's pretty neat. 40-pin and 44-pin (laptop) parallel plugs molded right into the ends of it, plus a SATA socket. So for laptop drives, you can just plug it right in. For larger drivers, there's a separate power brick with a 4-pin Molex, plus a Molex-to-SATA-power adapter. A short (5"?) SATA cable is also included. My only complaint is that on some hard disks, the USB cable/molding blocks access to the Molex socket on the drive. Amazon has it too, if someone wants pictures (but buy local, blah blah blah): http://www.amazon.com/USB-SATA-5-25-Cable-Adapter/dp/B000YJBL78 -- Ben ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: USB enclosure for a laptop IDE drive?
Neil Joseph Schelly wrote: > Does anyone local to Billerica or the Tyngsboro/Nashua area have a USB > enclosure for an IDE laptop drive that I can borrow for some disk recovery > I'm trying to take care of? > -Neil The folks at GotInk4You (*) sell a "USB 2.0 to SATA/IDE" cable & connector pretty cheap, and they're local (Nashua) and open 9-6 M- F, though you may want to call to confirm they've got them in-stock and aren't in holiday-hours mode. (*) http://www.gotink4u.com/ -- Ted Roche Ted Roche & Associates, LLC http://www.tedroche.com ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: USB enclosure for a laptop IDE drive?
On Tuesday 30 December 2008 15:45, Mark Komarinski wrote: > I just found this over at slickdeals: > > http://www.eforcity.com/pothsata2501.html?efwebwkspban081230=pothsata2501 > > -Mark That is a good deal, but I'm not looking for a SATA one. That said, I've gotten good response so far and should have an enclosure to use tonight from some other folks on this list, so thanks for the responses. -N ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
Re: USB enclosure for a laptop IDE drive?
Neil Joseph Schelly wrote: > Does anyone local to Billerica or the Tyngsboro/Nashua area have a USB > enclosure for an IDE laptop drive that I can borrow for some disk recovery > I'm trying to take care of? I just found this over at slickdeals: http://www.eforcity.com/pothsata2501.html?efwebwkspban081230=pothsata2501 -Mark ___ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/
