[Novalug] Stock Ubuntu powered notbook

William Warren hescominsoon@emmanuelcomputerconsulting.com
Tue Feb 6 17:54:10 EST 2007


I'm waiting for the used market to have these relatively powerful 
machines start being dumped for this very reason.  Spend under 500 bucks 
for a good laptop that will never see windows on it..<G>

luigi12081@cox.net wrote:
> dollar-wise, it's till cheaper to buy a windows laptop and hope for the best when installing.
> 
> Headache-wise, Sys76 has a bit of a rep in the ubuntu community for "just working."  That's a definite plus when you want Linux and ONLY linux on your laptop.  
> 
> I'm using a seven year old IBM Thinkpad 570e laptop.  When new, my whole loadout would have cost me four grand.  I've sunk too much money into it now, but I'm in for about $250-300 for the lappy, a dock, a floppy drive, and two new batteries.  
> 
> Advantages:  runs linux just fine (if I choose my packages carefully).  Best portability for the money.  Not a great target for a thief.
> 
> Intended use:  Note-taking (I'm going to law school next year *touch wood*) with vim.  
> 
> I already have a nice enough desktop, so all I wanted was something to carry.  Those who want their lappies to do everything would probably be the ones who are considering Sys76.
> 
> -Luigi
> (Brunellus on the ubuntuforums and freenode)
> ---- Ken Kauffman <kkauffman@headfog.com> wrote: 
>> There's going to be multiple perspectives, but it's interesting to see who
>> are truly advocates, who's being thrifty and who are just being
>> cheapskates.
>>
>> I know a few people that have bought spanking new laptops (with Windows)
>> just to save a few bucks, drop Linux on them and then act like Linux
>> zealot evangelists.  But when asked about buying a Linux based laptop say
>> it's "too expensive".
>>
>> I really don't care either way, but I thought it would be an interesting
>> topic.  :)
>>
>> Ken
>>
>>
>>
>> On Tue, February 6, 2007 14:41, Bonnie Dalzell wrote:
>>> On Tue, 6 Feb 2007, Ken Kauffman wrote:
>>>
>>> KK >-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
>>> KK >Hash: SHA1
>>> KK >
>>> KK
>>>> http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/05/system-76-unveils-ubuntu-powered-darter-ultraportable-series/
>>> KK >
>>> KK >This got me to thinking.  Because support offering would initially
>>> cost
>>> KK >more for Linux based machines, would you be willing to buy a standard
>>> KK >Ubuntu laptop and pay a little more than it's Windows enabled
>>> 'brothers'?
>>> KK >Novalug mailing list
>>> KK >Novalug@calypso.tux.org
>>> KK >http://calypso.tux.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/novalug
>>> KK >
>>>
>>> This is an interesing point. Here is my comparison. Ubuntu takes less
>>> power under the hood than even Windows XP, much less Vista. So suddenly
>>> there are going to be a lot of used Notebooks available which CANNOT run
>>> Vista.
>>>
>>> A couple of months ago I went into the local Computer Renaissance store
>>> with an Ubuntu live CD and asked to see their cheapest used laptops. The
>>> absolutely cheapest one they had was a Gateway 700 mgh Pentium III
>>> Solo 5300. So we turned it on and stuck the Ubuntu Live disk in it. Hmm
>>> did not complete the boot. So we stuck more memory in it. Boots fine. So I
>>> purchased the laptop for  $195 and the additional memory for $95 (bringing
>>> it to a 1/2 gig of RAM) and took it home and installed not only
>>> Ubuntu but also my Amiga OS emulator Amithon on it as a dual boot
>>> machine. I also was sold a used Comcast Wifi card for $10 and the thing
>>> instantly found our house's Mac Airport and went on line.
>>>
>>> After a couple of weeks I decided a 10Gb harddrive was a bit small so I
>>> went back and purched a 60GB harddrive and put it in and I spent another
>>> $80 getting it a second battery.
>>>
>>> I also bought it a back pack so I can look like a female version of the
>>> geek in the Mac spoof ads which include Linux.
>>>
>>> So for under $500 I have a very workable Linux/Amithlon dual boot
>>> laptop and the linux install was trivial and painless. I am not sure
>>> what one means by initial support being more expensive than with
>>> Windoze.
>>>
>>> The Linux install was done without booting into windoze - in fact when I
>>> did it the second time (with the later purchased larger harddrive) it
>>> was done into a completely naive harddrive.
>>>
>>> My take on this is this:
>>>
>>> Places like Computer Renaissance try and sell their used machines with the
>>> latest Windoze OS on them - suddenly there are going to be a whole lot of
>>> machines incapable of using Vista, what a boon to people who want to run
>>> Linux on a laptop. I am sort of sorry I purchased the Gateway when I did,
>>> I could probably get a more powerful machine for the same price more or
>>> less today.
>>>
>>> So $2000 for a Ubuntu Laptop, not until I look around at used machines.
>>>
>>> 1 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>>>                        Bonnie Dalzell, MA
>>> mail:5100 Hydes Rd ---- Hydes MD USA 21082-----EMAIL:bdalzell@qis.net
>>>
>>> freelance anatomist, vertebrate paleontologist, writer, illustrator, dog
>>> breeder, computer nerd & iconoclast... Borzoi info at www.borzois.com.
>>>
>>> Editor Net.Pet Online Animal Magazine  - http://www.netpetmagazine.com
>>> HOME http://www.qis.net/~borzoi/          BUSINESS http://www.batw.com
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
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-- 
My "Foundation" verse:
Isa 54:17  No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and 
every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt 
condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their 
righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.

-- carpe ductum -- "Grab the tape"
CDTT (Certified Duct Tape Technician)

Linux user #322099
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