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/
