[lug] Cheap laptop for a neophyte

[Steve Sullivan]

What would you recommend for a not-so-newbie looking for a more
full functioned laptop - DVD RW, wireless, larger screen and
keyboard?

My main concerns are:
  - I install my own Debian, so don't want a machine that
    requires much customization when installing Linux.
    For example, hopefully no vendor-supplied custom drivers.
    
  - In particular I'm interested in the wireless adapter.  Many laptops
    don't handle wireless well under Linux.

  - And of course how well does the vendor support it.

Thanks!

Steve

On Wed, Apr 08, 2009 at 08:54:56AM -0600, Michael J. Hammel wrote:
> Just my 2 cents:
> 
> On Wed, 2009-04-08 at 08:26 -0600, Bear Giles wrote:
> > Dell is running sales on 12" inspirons.  
> > The main thing to do is to check their website daily and not panic when 
> > the price jumps.  They try a different combination of base price + 
> > discounts every few days and the bottom line can shift by as much as 
> > 20%.  Just be patient and ready to act when the prices drop again.
> 
> Why would anyone want to do business with an outfit like that?  I
> personally don't buy Dell because they treat their employees so crappy.
> not to mention the Dell's at work (which I did not buy) have been more
> trouble than the off-the-shelf stuff I put together from component
> purchases.  But ignoring that, why would you buy something from a vendor
> who changes the price by the minute?
> 
> > Elyse M. Grasso wrote:
> > > A computer user at work wants to buy an inexpensive laptop for home 
> > > use 
> > > She would like something under $600. She doesn't want a netbook: she 
> > > wants a larger screen and keyboard.
> 
> NewEgg has some good options.  The Samsung Via Nano (a netbook) has a
> 12.1" monitor and runs $549.  The lowest price laptop they list is a
> Toshiba Satellite pro dual core Pentium with a 15.4" XGA screen for
> $529.99.
> 
> I can vouch for excellent service from NewEgg.  They even catch my posts
> about problems on a particular item and notify me when the *vendor*
> responds to my negative posts (in order to address my concerns).  For
> now at least, I wouldn't buy hardware from any place but NewEgg.
> 
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834131031
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2034940032%
> 204021&name=%24500%20-%20%24750
> -- 
> Michael J. Hammel                                    Principal Software Engineer
> mjhammel at graphics-muse.org                           http://graphics-muse.org
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> When his IQ reaches 50, he should sell.
> -- From a real employee performance evaluation.
> 
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-- 

========================================
Steve Sullivan    sullivan at mathcom.com

http://www.mathcom.com
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