Journal: first laptop

Well, after trawling the net for days straight, I have finally decided on my new laptop.

I'm going to go for the IBM R50 (Thinkpad).

It has all the main features I want at the price I want to pay and good linux support.
The only compromise is the resolution: I would have liked to get 1400x1050 res. but it adds $600 to the price so I decided to compromise and go for the 1024x768 model.

Spec. is as follows:

- 1.5GHz Pentium M
- 512MB RAM
- 40GB HDD
- 32MB Radeon 7500
- 15" TFT
- DVD-CDRW combo
- IBM 11a/b/g Wi-Fi wireless
- 56K modem
- Intel PRO/1000

From everything I've read, thinkpads seem to have the best linux support. The integrated wireless should work with the ndiswrapper, madwifi, and linuxant drivers.

I took a MandrakeMove cd into the store tonight and booted an r50 up on that. It booted no problem. I didn't have time to check much cos the guy in the shop was all touchy about it, but I played a dvd and graphics and sound seemed ok.

From what i've read, the inbuilt network card should be supported by mandrake 10.0. The inbuilt modem should also be supported or possibly smart link or other drivers may be needed.

Another good thing about IBM notebooks is that they come with an international warranty, which is perfect for me as i will be travelling soon after buying this laptop.

Anyway, I'll post further laptop adventures once i get it.