Buying a laptop with no OS (to install Linux on).
in [UK Linux]
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From: chris on 25 Mar 2010 05:26 On 25/03/10 08:17, jasee wrote: > The best advice (I think) is to suck it and see! > > Get whatever distros you fancy as live cds. AFAICT, they will all work like > that by default. Check that everything works and then go for it! > > Personally, I'd dual boot with whatever version of Windows 7 you get: modern > laptops have so much disk space nowadays! Windows 7 is a hell of a lot > better than Vista, and some things you do unfortunately need IE for. I don't think that's an option for OP as he explicitly no MS tax. ies4linux is a good option for running IE on Linux if you have to use it. TBH, I've not had to use IE for anything for a few years now.
From: chris on 25 Mar 2010 05:37 On 24/03/10 17:38, ian wrote: > Poster Matt wrote: > >> Hi, >> >> I'm intending to buy a new laptop and install Linux on it. Searching >> around I've found it very hard to find a laptop for sale with no operating >> system on it. In fact a company called Novatech (which I've used before) >> is the only one I can find. >> >> Are there any other companies that you guys know of that sell OS free >> laptops? It seems to me that there's a good chance that I will be forced >> to pay for Windows even though I don't want it, a kind of Microsoft tax >> achievable only as a result of their tremendous market dominance. >> >> Secondly - are there any laptop specific things I should keep in mind when >> buying a laptop to install Linux on? Driver or hardware issues and such >> like? I've never installed Linux on a laptop before. >> >> Finally are there any specific Linux distributions that I should think >> about using or ones that I should avoid? >> >> Many thanks and regards, etc.. > > > I found it cheaper to buy one with windows and over write it with SUSE Linux Sadly, that's very true. Even Dells which come with Linux are horribly overpriced as soon as you start altering the default configuration. Another alternative is linux emporium: http://www.linuxemporium.co.uk/products/laptops/ I've not used them though.
From: chris on 25 Mar 2010 05:42 On 24/03/10 17:46, Mark Hobley wrote: > Poster Matt<postermatt(a)no_spam_for_me.org> wrote: > >> Are there any other companies that you guys know of that sell OS free laptops? >> It seems to me that there's a good chance that I will be forced to pay for >> Windows even though I don't want it, a kind of Microsoft tax achievable only as >> a result of their tremendous market dominance. > > It is actually anti-competitive practice to refuse to unbundle Microsoft > Windows from the laptop. You should be able to get the full amount off for > the software. If the suppliers refuse to do this, then file a complaint with > trading standards. (You can probably do this online now). Except Windows is now free: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/03/18/dell_windows_7_free/ > We really need the European Commission to start fining suppliers for this. > Getting the complaints going is at least a start. > >> Secondly - are there any laptop specific things I should keep in mind when >> buying a laptop to install Linux on? Driver or hardware issues and such like? > > Yes! Make sure that your laptop works, by asking on here before purchasing. > Also make sure that the graphics chipset is made by Intel or ATI, so that it > works properly with the open source drivers. Avoid Nvidia based graphics > chipsets. Also, check on linux laptops (http://www.linux-laptop.net/) to see if someone else has reported your laptop as working. I disagree re nVidia. If you're happy to use the proprietary driver, you'll have very few problems. I've always used nVidia over the last 6-7 years with no serious problems.
From: chris on 25 Mar 2010 05:49 On 24/03/10 18:30, Tony van der Hoff wrote: > I seriously considered Linux Emporium, but decided that at their prices > I might as well buy something with Windows installed, and chuck away the > 'doze; it would still be (considerably) cheaper. I know it's not playing > the game, but sense must prevail over principle. That's the problem, though, isn't it? MS have such a stranglehold on the market that doing anything different has additional costs for the manufacturer. They like uniformity as it makes their production line and support much simpler. However, it's us the consumer that loses out as MS can churn out whatever they like at whatever price as they know people will buy it because it's windows. Admittedly, they have improved since Vista, but they got seriously burned by it and people /chose/ OS X and Linux over Windows. Just because Win7 is better/cheaper doesn't mean there's less of problem with MS.
From: Jim A on 25 Mar 2010 06:08
anahata wrote: > On Wed, 24 Mar 2010 17:58:13 +0000, Jim A wrote: > >> Poster Matt wrote: >>> Are there any other companies that you guys know of that sell OS free >>> laptops? >> The only one I'm aware of is Linux Emporium >> http://www.linuxemporium.co.uk > > Linux Emporium sell laptops with Linux installed, which isn't quite what > the OP asked for, but it's a good plan because it means the problems of > selecting suitable hardware and configuring drivers to work properly with > it have been solved, always more of a worry with laptops than it is with > desktop PCs. > > They all seem to have Ubuntu installed. > Beggars can't be choosers! :-) There are so few options out there some kind of compromise is inevitable. -- www.slowbicyclemovement.org - enjoy the ride |