[ltp] Suggested models?

[Syd Hancock]

On Wednesday 31 Dec 2003 9:57 am, Anthony Olszewski wrote:
> Are there Thinkpad models that are particularly good for Linux?
>
> Are there Thinkpad models that don't work well with Linux?
>
> Is one flavor of Linux better than another?

Yes, there are huge differences between the different distros, 
ranging from "easy-for-novices-to-get-started-with" to 
"requires-technical-knowledge-and-lots-of spare-time". Some contain 
only FOSS s/w and can be freely given away (e.g. mandrake, debian) 
others contain proprietary code and have licences which restrict 
distribution e.g. Suse, RedHat. 

Take a look at DistroWatch http://www.distrowatch.com for lots more 
detail. I just checked the url and see that they have an article on 
choosing a distro at the top of the page right now. Could be worth 
a read.

I use mandrake 9.2 which is a 
"Good-for-novices-but-has-plenty-of-flexibility-as-you-get-to-know-what-you're-doing" 
distro.

T series Thinkpads have a good reputation.

I have a Thinkpad T23. This is a solid reliable laptop with a decent 
spec and there are lots of them available on ebay as corporates 
upgrade. They were shipped with a three-year warranty and mine does 
not expire until May 2006 for example. IMHO the T23 is a good 
balance of price/spec plus the usual IBM build quality/support.

With Mdk 9.2 pretty much everything worked from the start without 
setting-up e.g. sound, network, pcmcia, X-windows (needed a driver 
installed in 9.1 but not in 9.2), USB and the function buttons 
affecting volume, screen brightness and reading light. I'm still 
playing with suspend/resume but it works although with a few 
quirks.

HTH
Syd
Norwich UK
http://www.alug.org.uk