Thanks for these responses; very helpful.<br><br>I like the warranty on Asus, 1 year accidental damage, 2 year parts and labor.<br><br><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Feb 11, 2010 at 8:22 AM, Andrew Gould <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:andrewlylegould@gmail.com">andrewlylegould@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"><div class="im">On Thu, Feb 11, 2010 at 8:20 AM, Vu Pham <<a href="mailto:vu@sivell.com">vu@sivell.com</a>> wrote:<br>
><br>
> On 02/11/2010 05:29 AM, Ken Moffat wrote:<br>
>><br>
>> Sorry, OT, but I'm soliciting opinions on decent laptops that would<br>
>> allow dual boot, windows 7 and Debian/Ubuntu. Looking at 15" screen, HP,<br>
>> Acer, Lenovo, Asus, maybe Dell. I'm thinking of longevity. Opinions?<br>
>> What to avoid?<br>
>><br>
><br>
> I do not have any particular model to mention, but I get into this problem<br>
> and just want to share. If you think you are going to need a lot of memory<br>
> later, prepare for that when you get your notebook. A lot of notebooks can<br>
> only support up to 4Gb of memory.<br>
><br>
> Vu<br>
<br>
</div>I read an article, that I can't find, that reviewed laptops in<br>
general. The general message was that you get what you pay for, so<br>
don't expect a lot of durability from cheap netbooks. Lenovo and Asus<br>
had good reviews. I have a Dell Inspiron 8100 (circa 2000) that won't<br>
die. Dell computers and laptops appear to be the most common retail<br>
computers that live long enough to be sold at used computer stores.<br>
<br>
I like business purpose laptops because the more fancy-schmancy<br>
multimedia hardware, the more likely there's going to be some<br>
incompatibility. HP, Dell and Lenovo (Thinkpads) have had Linux<br>
friendly laptops in the past.<br>
<br>
Toshiba has a netbook that comes with OpenSolaris. I'm guessing it<br>
should be Linux-friendly as well. Before you buy a Toshiba, however,<br>
find the model at a store and put your hand under the battery to check<br>
for heat.<br>
<a href="http://www.opensolaris.com/toshibanotebook/" target="_blank">http://www.opensolaris.com/toshibanotebook/</a><br>
<br>
IXSystems has a PCBSD/FreeBSD laptop that comes with WinXP as an<br>
option. If you like the specs, you might call them about<br>
compatibility with Linux and Windows 7.<br>
<a href="http://www.ixsystems.com/products/bsd-laptop.html" target="_blank">http://www.ixsystems.com/products/bsd-laptop.html</a><br>
<br>
On the negative side, my family has had bad experiences with Sony<br>
laptops (running Windows). We will never go there again.<br>
<br>
Advice about purchasing from Dell: If you hate pushy salesmen,<br>
remember: Games are enjoyed best when both parties come to play.<br>
(The definition of a deal in Texas is an arms-length agreement where<br>
both parties are screwed, just a little.) Do your research on Dell's<br>
website and find the model and configuration you want, but do not<br>
purchase the computer online. Make sure you have some questions about<br>
the laptop which may make you not buy the laptop. Call Dell and go<br>
through the process of configuring the computer to find out how much<br>
it will cost. Ask your questions and get the answers.<br>
Then....hesitate. "Maybe it would be better to think about it some<br>
more and speak with my spouse." The Dell representative is motivated<br>
to get you to purchase the item before you hang up. He/she is<br>
authorized to give a little more on the price or add an accessory for<br>
free or at a discount.<br>
<br>
Good luck,<br>
<font color="#888888"><br>
Andrew<br>
</font><div><div></div><div class="h5"><br>
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</div></div></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Ken Moffat<br>kmoffat at modizzle dot net<br>