Laptop recomendations

[John Bowden]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kwan Lowe" <kwan at digitalhermit.com>
To: <fedora-list at redhat.com>
Sent: Saturday, March 10, 2007 3:55 PM
Subject: Re: Laptop recomendations



> I'm running FC6 on a Dell 6400/E1505 right now. Widescreen display
> works, touchpad works, wifi works, usb works, card reader works, VGA
> output works.

I have a couple of these also... The only thing I can say about the Dell is 
that it
was cheap and fairly decent processor/memory when I bought it. The build 
quality is
crap though, and the service is crappier. But it was the cheapest by about 
$200
versus a similarly configured HP.  I'll probably go with a Toshiba next 
though:


For the Linux specific stuff:

1) Try to get an NVidia video if at all possible. I've had nothing but grief 
trying
to get the ATI drivers to work properly on FC6.

2) Upgrade to the Intel wireless card for $10. Both the Dell default (some 
Broadcom
card) and the Intel work, but it was much easier (at least for me) to get 
the latter
to work.

3) On the Windows side you can disable how the media button acts, but pretty 
much
just set it to do nothing or try loading the Windows EXT2 drivers so you can 
read
the Linux side from Winders.

4) For the front keys it's a matter of playing with xev and finding the 
keyscan
codes. Then you can put them in KDE or your xinit to launch/control stuff.
Supposedly XMMS can be controlled this way but I've not tried.

5) BTW, the glossy screen is an option. I think it's called "Truelife" and 
it's $20
or so more. I like it, but it is annoying if there are bright lights around 
you
because of the glare.

6) Sleeping/hibernate worked once, stopped working after one update, started 
again,
stopped again.. Haven't done any troubleshooting yet. It does as well in 
Windows so
I can't really blame Fedora.

7) Oh yeah, Dell support is utter crap for Windows. I can't imagine what 
it's like
for Linux.


> Problems:
> 1) DON"T TOUCH the Media button. It goes looking for NTFS paritions
> and ERASES EVERYTHING when it doesn't find one. Lost my first FC
> install that way. I peeled off the Intel Inside and Vista Ready
> metallica stickers from the front of the unit and put them over the
> media button to prevent accidentally hitting the damn thing.
> 2) Bluetooth has proven elusive, but I haven't tried very hard to get
> it working.
> 3) Sometimes when returning from sleep/hibernate the keyboard nor
> mouse work. So it's 5 seconds on the Power button to power down and
> power back up.
> 4) The media buttons on the front of the unit seem to be decorative
> only. Can't get them to do anything other than light up blue.
> 5) Although I was able to control the backlight from the built-in Fn
> keys when I first installed Fedora, I can no longer do that. I'm not
> sure if it was an upgrade or something else, but I can no longer
> adjust the screen backlight.
> 6) The machine is built from pressed crap. The keyboard is nice to
> type on, but the screen is glossy, the rubber shoes fell off in less
> than a month, and the machine gets scratched just by breathing on it.
>
> Also, know that Dell provides NO HELP to the linux community, in
> contrast to HP. At least, as far as PDA's go. I'm sorry that I
> purchased a x50v and swore that it would be the last of my Dell
> hardware. But I was stupid and gave them my money for this lappy. I'd
> suggest pressuring Dell by NOT buying their equipment.
>



-- 
* The Digital Hermit   http://www.digitalhermit.com
* Unix and Linux Solutions   kwan at digitalhermit.com

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I think I will give Dell a miss. I will also investigate what the network 
and graphics chips are to make my life easier