[Linux-aus] SUMMARY: Laptop recommendations

[Daniel Baldoni]

G'day folks,

Well, it took a while but I thought I should post a "summary" of what I was
told by fellow members about their experiences with laptops.

Firstly, I'd like to thank everybody who took the time to reply.  I was
absolutely deluged with comments, recommendations, etc.

To put it briefly, it appears that just about everybody is happy with the
unit(s) they use.  That goes from the bottom-end and/or older units to the
"latest and greatest" offerings from HP, Toshiba, etc.

Before all this started, I was looking at the Compaq Armada M100 but there
wasn't an entry at linux-laptops.org and I didn't want to be the first to
try and get it all working.  That doesn't mean it won't do the job - I was
just feeling lazy.  :-)

To those who suggested a number of the Toshibas or iBooks, sorry folks - but
I really do need the larger screen and "touchpad" style of mouse.

There were far too many responses to list them all (they'd be longer than
this message) - but, again, my thanks to all of you.

Before reading any further, please note that I am looking to enter a reseller
agreement with the supplier of my chosen unit - so my opinions are now well
and truly biased.  <grin>

The unit I eventually decided on was an ITC Millenium 350.  It gives me a 15"
TFT with simultaneous floppy and CD-ROM (who needs DVD?) at a very
reasonable price.  Getting the on-board LAN and (HSP) modem working was very
easy - Both RedHat 7.0 and Mandrake 8.1 correctly identified the LAN and
video card without any prompting from me.  I had to download the HSP drivers
and install them manually - but they work just fine (although I've yet to
try out the FAX and/or voice capabilities).  My one gripe is the
documentation - the manual doesn't include things like the refresh rates for
the display; both text and X11 "look" okay (but would you trust the opinion
of somebody who's classed as "legally blind"?).

Ciao.

-- 
-------------------------------------------------------+---------------------
Daniel Baldoni BAppSc, PGradDipCompSci                 |  Technical Director
require 'std/disclaimer.pl'                            |  LcdS Pty. Ltd.
-------------------------------------------------------+  856B Canning Hwy
Phone/FAX:  +61-8-9364-8171                            |  Applecross
Mobile:     041-888-9794                               |  WA 6153
URL:        http://www.lcds.com.au/                    |  Australia
-------------------------------------------------------+---------------------
"Any time there's something so ridiculous that no rational systems programmer
 would even consider trying it, they send for me."; paraphrased from "King Of
 The Murgos" by David Eddings.  (I'm not good, just crazy)