jsbean, my recommendation is never to buy recent hardware as it isn't always
well supported by free software when it is released (not all bugs are ironed
out yet or it isn't supported in older software or the older software
requires configuration in order to use the new hardware). You can always buy
second hand computers or refurbished ones and it is usually much cheaper too
- for instance the gluglug x60 is only around 200 pounds and also comes with
a free BIOS.
If you are looking for a larger screen like your Acer laptop then a
refurbished T60 is also much cheaper and it can be used with a much better
screen than yours (up to QXGA resolution - 2048x1536). I'm currently using a
T60 with a QXGA screen and it works very well with Trisquel.
I encountered similar problems to yours in the past. For instance, in order
to get my webcamera to work on my old laptop in GNU/Linux I needed to compile
a free driver for it as it wasn't supported by the kernel I was using.
Regarding Parabola: If you use it you must update it at least once every
month or two - otherwise you'll have a system that you can no longer install
binary packages on. Bear in mind that it is a rolling release so the system
requires more effort to maintain. There is actually a video covering the
installation process online here:
http://alfplayer.com.ar/parabola/other/videos/
