[lug] How to purchase a dual (linux/windows) boot machine

[David L. Anselmi]

Siegried Heintze wrote:
> I just had a prospective client tell me I might need to supply my own notebook 
> computer to work 1099.

I just bought a notebook.  I looked for install experiences and got one 
that "just worked" with Ubuntu.  And the guy who wrote the article 
mentioned that everything that I cared about was supported under Linux.

As it happens, the 2.6.18 kernel introduced a bug to the (tg3) NIC 
driver.  So I couldn't do a net install and I didn't want to burn a 
bunch of CDs.  But I had an old PCMCIA NIC (old but never used) and that 
worked fine.  Now that I'm installed the regular NIC is fine (the bug 
causes issues if the NIC is downed and upped but there is a workaround).

Nothing is surefire, especially with notebooks where your ability to 
pick components is limited.  So get something with a good return policy 
and if it doesn't work easily enough just return it.

I like the Linux friendly suggestions given here too.

Dave