Re: [vox] Laptop purchase recomendation

["Justin Cummins" <sul3n3t@gmail.MAPScom>]

On 9/25/06, Joshua Morris <bullring@gmail.com> wrote:

On 9/25/06, Don Werve <donw@agentsix.net > wrote:

On 09/25/2006, at 20:36, Joshua Morris wrote:

> Hi Everyone,
>
> I am shopping for a new laptop and am looking for suggestions on
> laptops that work well with Linux.  I have been looking at HP's
> dv9000t  with the core 2 duo chip set.  At < $2,800 i'm scared to
> exaust my student budget on it if it is not going to do what I am
> looking for.  This is the configuration I am looking for:

Um, you're a student. Get something used or refurbished and save
yourself the money; you'll find plenty of other things that you need
to buy.  If you're going to buy new, go for a low-end unit; you can
get some very decent new laptops for around $600/$700, plus around
$150 for a RAM upgrade, that will run Linux very nicely.

I thought about the refurbished route but would like a warranty that covers accidental damages and things just in case something happens. 

Accidental damage... expensive warranty plan! I am not sure what apple offers, but retailers like CompUSA and BestBuy either charge ridiculous prices for accidental coverage or make unenforcible promises on what their plan covers regardless of the legal speak. I'm not saying don't go for it, but I hope you already have it factored into your budget.

If you're planning on studying abroad, get a Mac[1].  Actually, my
general advice is to get a MacBook, and load it with 3rd-party RAM.
Under $1300 out-the-door.

What are you planning on doing with your laptop?

I would like to work more with virtualization since the SA field is slowly going that direction. I currently run Gentoo on my Dell C600(p3) and would like to run Gentoo & Xen in a domU kernel on a multi-core processor. I am a CS major  and do System administration and programing.

[1] AFAIK, none of the PC manufacturers will honor warranties
overseas; you have to ship your computer back to the US, and models
sold overseas are usually different from U.S. kit.  Apple at least
gets this one right.

That is a good thing to know, but i probably will not be doing much traveling for a while...

My other comment on HP (but applicable to many manufacturer) is beware the bios whitelist. Research the model for it. I even have a extra miniPCI card you could use to test for this because I was burned on a compaq.
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