[lug] Laptop recommendations for Linux?

[Maxwell Spangler]

I was at Best Buy tonight and accidentally found an Asus laptop that has
an LCD screen on hinges that allows it to fold back flat with the
keyboard.

This, for me, is a very important feature as I have this homemade stand
shaped like a triangle that lets me sit a laptop on it, resting on its
keyboard with the screen perfectly vertical.  This raises the screen
height and puts it perfectly ergonomically placed in front of me.  I use
an external keyboard and a trackball for interaction.

In one of those painful curses, laptops that can only fold their screen
back a certain extent have become the norm, leaving only things like the
high end Lenovo Thinkpad series that have high quality hinges and "fold
flat" like this.

If I had time, I'd order a Lenovo T510, load it up and enjoy that, but
I'd like to find something cheaper with an i3 or i5 processor that I can
get quickly.

I don't want you to do my shopping for me, but I'd like to crowdsource:

1) Are there other laptops that you know of that fold flat as described
above?

2) Any opinions of Asus, Acer, etc?  I've been avoiding Dell and Gateway
for historical reasons and despite having a beloved six year old HP, I
find their current trackpads awful.

3) Anybody used the eSATA ports on these newer x86 laptops with Linux?

4) Any sources in Colorado I should be aware of besides Best Buy and
MicroCenter in Denver?  I'd like to see things in person but my
opportunities, especially for things beside low quality consumer items
are lacking.

Thanks!



-- 
Maxwell Spangler
========================================================================
        Linux, Unix and Database Administration
        Currently: Boulder, Colorado
        LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/maxwellspangler

        

-- 
Maxwell Spangler
========================================================================
        Linux, Unix and Database Administration
        Currently: Boulder, Colorado
        LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/maxwellspangler