So it did take over two weeks--and they did screw up one of my distro
requests (got vanilla Debian 7 instead of the requested XFCE)--but:
I'm satisfied with the Strata so far. It's much heavier, and a little bigger
than I was after, but it does have a solid and polished feel to it so far.
If I had it to do all over again, I wouldn't change my choices, except that I
probably would have gone with the 15.6" (at TP, or ZA) from the start.
My overall take. You're paying a premium for freedom. And another premium for
a good chance at it "just working" with your Linux of choice. If you've got
the cash to throw at, consider the extra money a donation to a good
cause--real companies trying to turn a profit while kicking against the Borg.
That's how I think of it.
If you've got more time than money, go ahj's route above. It's got a lot to
recommend it too.
And now, onward. I see that Gnewsense finally dropped a beta3 after what,
four years? That's intriguing, and I've got a nice empty partition just
crying out for an install ...
