Netbook or laptop suggestions

[dougalkerr]

Hi Guys n' gals
I'm looking for a Netbook or laptop (something like an Acer) maximum budget is £300 for work. I need to dual boot with you-know-what mostly to prove Linux can cut it in industry for data collection from National Instruments interface cards which will in turn have the ability to output control to instruments, motor controllers, etc. I would also hope that what ever version of Linux I dual boot with (hopefully Ubuntu of some kind or perhaps CrashBang) will have a fast boot time.
I know this shouldn't be too difficult but, I am unfamiliar with the type of equipment used with Linux for this type of work.
Any thoughts are very welcome.
Thanks...

[will103]

Hi,

I don't know anything about the interface cards, but I do have experience running Ubuntu on both the Acer Aspire One and the Samsung NC10.

Ubuntu runs pretty much out of the box on the Acer but there are some small tweaks to get the fan to work quieter.

Ubuntu works without any modification on the Samsung Nc10.

I would recommend either machine.

Hope this helps

WIll103


Hi Guys n' gals
I'm looking for a Netbook or laptop (something like an Acer) maximum budget is £300 for work. I need to dual boot with you-know-what mostly to prove Linux can cut it in industry for data collection from National Instruments interface cards which will in turn have the ability to output control to instruments, motor controllers, etc. I would also hope that what ever version of Linux I dual boot with (hopefully Ubuntu of some kind or perhaps CrashBang) will have a fast boot time.
I know this shouldn't be too difficult but, I am unfamiliar with the type of equipment used with Linux for this type of work.
Any thoughts are very welcome.
Thanks...

[pasmeh]

Hey mate,

Iv been using a Samsung NC10 with ubuntu 9.04 (Netbook remix) for quite a while now and it runs sweet as :)

Would defiantly recommend it! :KS

[Skwerly]

Hi,

I’m running the ASUS Eee netbook with an 8.9 inch screen. It is a wonderful little machine, and I only paid 200 for it out the door. They have come up in price a tad since I got mine, but they are well worth the bucks.

http://www.itechnews.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/asus-eee-pc-1000h-notebook.jpg

[maverick340]

Asus Eee PC 1000HE , runs everything beautifully. Little heavy but great performance , actually _the_ best in the current netbooks

[bluelamp999]

+1 for the Samsung NC10. Great battery life...

[NormanFLinux]

Any flavor Dell will do. I picked up both a Dell Inspiron E1505 and a Dell Mini 10 for under $500. If you look around eBay, a good bargain can be had if you're willing to spend a little more.

Good luck

[macogw]

I was playing with the ZaReason Terra A20 (http://www.zareason.com/shop/product.php?productid=16216&cat=0&page=1) last week at Ohio LinuxFest. Really nice, and has an option for built-in 3G support. (Yes, they ship worldwide)

[NullHead]

I got an Asus Eee 1008 HA with 2GB of ram in it, and it's really nice. Granted, upgrading the memory in these thing is a pain to say the lease, but you could get the 1005 HA model that comes with a memory access door. The only difference is it's slightly taller, there's the N270 processor, and a .3 megapixal camera, vs. a N280 and a 3 megapixal camera.

They both come with a GMA950.

Asus Eee 1008 HA (http://gadgets.boingboing.net/gimages/asus_eee_pc-1008ha_3.jpg)
Asus Eee 1005 HA (http://www.tech2gadget.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/asus-eee-pc-1005ha-netbook.png)

[ssam]

I just got a lenovo S12 fromlinuxemporium (http://http://www.linuxemporium.co.uk/products/laptops/). its a nice machine. everything works, suspend, resume, wifi, bluetooth, webcam, etc. but its a bit out of you price range. they also sell an S10 (10 inch) which is cheaper.

i expect they could setup a dual boot for you, email them (they are very friendly).

[billdotson]

From what I have been looking at the Dell Mini 10v comes with Ubuntu 8.04 pre-installed. I would only assume that all the devices work with it since they put it on their system.
Also, unlike the HP netbooks I looked at the Dell Mini 10v does not come with a TPM (trusted platform module) chip. So, when I decide to make my netbook purchase, I will probably be getting that because: a) I don't want to add 1 user to Windows marketshare (even if you use linux getting a windows pc and wiping it improves their market share) and b) I don't want/refuse to buy any device with a TPM chip on it. I am not going to succumb to a 1984 world.

Inserting personal rant here: I don't see the use of a TPM chip as I think that their security features can be done other ways and they have the potential to restrict the rights of consumers through hardware DRM. An encrypted OS to prevent against bootkits can be done with the commercial PGP if you need that kind of security. TrueCrypt can do OS encryption too (and is free and open source), although there is one way (that sounds rather difficult to do and isn't really getting around the encryption as it is basically brute-forcing the BIOS I think)

Imagine if the next version of a TPM chip only allowed you to install Windows on your PC? What about if your job used a special word processor that saved your work documents so they could only be readable on their machines (thus making it impossible to bring any evidence to a judge or jury if your boss sent you a message telling you to do something illegal). Any time you are buying a new computer ask if it has a TPM chip on it. If it does tell the sales person that you aren't going to buy it and state that as your specific reason. Also, if you know someone who is going to buy a computer tell them what a TPM chip does (or has the capability to do) and suggest that they buy a machine without one.