Ellie K - Slashdot User

Journal Journal: Linux On Laptop (LOL)

Journal by mlinksva on Friday February 15, 2002 @02:17PM

Vendor support for Linux on laptops (preinstalled or just drivers for components) is still nearly nonexistent. When shopping for a Linux laptop, it seems there are three options, all ugly:

Pay someone like Qlitech, EmperorLinux or ASA a steep premium to deliver a laptop with Linux installed.
Buy a OEM laptop with no OS from someplace like this and investigate the hardware, track down drivers, hope after much pain everything works.
Buy a name-brand with Windoze preinstalled and paid for, investiage the hardware, track down drivers, hope after much pain everything works.

Linux-On-Laptops is a good resource, problem is very few of the models currently being sold have entries at LOL (heh).

A fourth option is to watch for a used model that is known to be well supported by existing drivers. This is also the most frugal route, which has a strong appeal.

Will this situation ever change? It could get worse -- the laptop market is growing faster than the desktop market, and the fastest growing portion of the desktop market (I'd bet), "slim" PCs, I suspect has more components in common with laptops than full scale desktops (meaning much worse Linux support).

Arrgh. What a PITA.

Journal Journal: First post

Journal by mlinksva on Sunday January 27, 2002 @07:33PM

Went to a small grocery at 18th & Mission (not Duc Loi, catty-corner from there) and loaded up on super cheap fruit and vegetables. Need to get to Japantown soon, I'm all out of konnyaku and natto.

Last 24hours, coded in Java, XSLT, SQL, Tcl, Perl, Bash. Hadn't really thought about it before, but such juggling of multiple languages in a single day isn't atypical. For the most part it's a case of using the right tool for the task at hand, though I'd love to replace Tcl and Perl with Ruby. Also glanced at Pliant, E and Haskell for my own amusement.

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