Laptop for Linux. Advices? Can I avoid paying for Vista?

[Kubunteando]

I need to buy a new computer for home to run Linux.
I live in Europe and in my country still are not selling Linux computers.

So far I have decided the following:

1- it will be a Laptop, not because I will travel much with it. Mainly because of far lower power consumption compared to workstations, easy to move inside home, and needs less space.

2- the graphic card will be a nVidia. Far too tired of ATI at this point.
They have "open sourced" the driver, but it will take at least a year until is half ready.

Currently high on my list is the Dell Inspiron 1520.
I have read good reviews about it.
Other option was the Acer 5920G, but I read about heat issues.

I would like to hear advices and good experiences with current laptops and Linux.

Also I would like to avoid to pay the Windows tax. But do I have really any chance living in Europe?

Thanks,

Kubunteando

[DeadSuperHero]

I think Dell is selling Ubuntu Laptops and PCs to Europe now, I'm not sure, though.

[aashay]

Windows Tax?? Of course you can get a Laptop without Windows preinstalled on it... its the law!! Just tell the dealer you want a laptop without any OS.. you can then install whatever OS on it yourself. Not paying for vista would really take a chunk off the price

[notwen]

http://dell.com/open =]

Unless you'll be doing graphic intense stuff, the 1420n(Intel chipset) or the UK equivalent may be an option.

[RAV TUX]

I need to buy a new computer for home to run Linux.
I live in Europe and in my country still are not selling Linux computers.

So far I have decided the following:

1- it will be a Laptop, not because I will travel much with it. Mainly because of far lower power consumption compared to workstations, easy to move inside home, and needs less space.

2- the graphic card will be a nVidia. Far too tired of ATI at this point.
They have "open sourced" the driver, but it will take at least a year until is half ready.

Currently high on my list is the Dell Inspiron 1520.
I have read good reviews about it.
Other option was the Acer 5920G, but I read about heat issues.

I would like to hear advices and good experiences with current laptops and Linux.

Also I would like to avoid to pay the Windows tax. But do I have really any chance living in Europe?

Thanks,

Kubunteando

Look into a convertible(converts from a notebook/laptop to a tablet) instead.

Fujitsu of all the manufactures makes the best convertibles, some as light as 1.56lbs, and best of all they are not made in China but Japan instead.

[Kubunteando]

Thanks for the quick answers.
I asked from Dell and still no Linux preinstalled available.
And in the Dell Linux Laptops nVidia Graphic cards are usually not an option. Intel is usually the only "choice"

[Wesseli]

Hi,

I have Dell Latitude D510 laptop

Works perfectly with Debian. I also used Ubuntu Dapper, Edgy and Feisty without problems.

40GB hard drive, wireless, bluetooth etc. I think this computer is "old" compared to newer ones, I bought this two years ago. But if you could get one on a second hand store or at discount, definitely you get some value for your money and painless installation.

cheers!

[Kingsley]

Windows Tax?? Of course you can get a Laptop without Windows preinstalled on it... its the law!! Just tell the dealer you want a laptop without any OS.. you can then install whatever OS on it yourself. Not paying for vista would really take a chunk off the price
Which law?

[Frak]

Get a Dell, they have Laptops with Ubuntu Pre-Installed.

@Kingsley, that law only exists in the EU, not in the US.

[elvis]

http://www.system76.com/
http://ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=158
http://mcelrath.org/laptops.html

[Frak]

http://www.system76.com/
http://ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=158
http://mcelrath.org/laptops.html
I forgot about System76, I reccomend them over Dell, because not only are they devoted to Ubuntu, but they also cost less than Dell for what hardware you get :)

[Pancetilla]

Ahtec (http://www.ahtec.net/) sells laptops without OS preinstalled in Netherlands, Belgium and Spain

[Kubunteando]

Thanks. Ahtec looks as an interesting option.
Have someone bought from there? Any issues with heat? Any info on warranty?

I have heard about System76. I will check it. But if it comes from the states, there may be some issues with EU customs, and it is difficult to know the exact price...

Can you tell more about the law you have been mentioning?
When I asked Dell in Spain, they said that what not possible to get a laptop without Operating System.

Thanks all!

[Frak]

Thanks. Ahtec looks as an interesting option.
Have someone bought from there? Any issues with heat? Any info on warranty?

I have heard about System76. I will check it. But if it comes from the states, there may be some issues with EU customs, and it is difficult to know the exact price...

Can you tell more about the law you have been mentioning?
When I asked Dell in Spain, they said that what not possible to get a laptop without Operating System.

Thanks all!
They said that because they have a contract with MS to push all computers without OS's to charge and introduce Window's onto it. Though, as I remember from an EU ruling, its illegal to force it onto the customer. Or something like that.

You should be able to get a White Computer.

[RAV TUX]

Another well respected option is EmperorLinux:
http://www.emperorlinux.com/


http://www.emperorlinux.com/inc/local/VO/thumbgen.php?size=76&image=/img/inv/models/x60s.jpg (http://www.emperorlinux.com/mfgr/lenovo/raven/) Raven (http://www.emperorlinux.com/mfgr/lenovo/raven/)
The world's smallest dual-core (http://www.emperorlinux.com/hardware/coreduo/) Linux laptop, the ThinkPad-based Raven (http://www.emperorlinux.com/mfgr/lenovo/raven/) X60s weighs 2.7 pounds and packs in EVDO (http://www.emperorlinux.com/hardware/evdo/), up to a 100GB HD and 2GB RAM.
Aug 31st 2007 EmperorLinux Scarab Upgraded to CF-52 Series The Scarab (http://www.emperorlinux.com/mfgr/panasonic/scarab/) gets an upgrade! Based on Panasonic's semi-rugged (http://www.emperorlinux.com/hardware/rugged/#semirugged) Toughbook 52, rugged features on the Scarab include a shock-mounted hard drive and full magnesium alloy case. New features of the Scarab include Core 2 Duo (http://www.emperorlinux.com/hardware/coreduo) processors, up to 4 GB RAM, ATI Radeon X2300 graphics, and a wide-screen display.

Aug 7th 2007 EmperorLinux Raven X60 Tablet is Linux Journal's Ultimate Linux Laptop We received our September issues of Linux Journal (http://www.linuxjournal.com/) today and were delighted to learn that the EmperorLinux Raven X60 tablet (http://www.emperorlinux.com/mfgr/lenovo/raven/) was named Linux Journal's ultimate Linux laptop. Linux Journal was particularly impressed by the Raven's ergonomics, our support for its tablet features (http://www.emperorlinux.com/hardware/tablet/), the biometric fingerprint scanner, and the EmperorLinux manual (http://www.emperorlinux.com/quality/value/manual/).http://www.emperorlinux.com/news/?year=2007&scrollid=1018#1018


Does EmperorLinux ship internationally? Yes, EmperorLinux ships internationally. For an estimate of shipping charges, please contact (http://www.emperorlinux.com/contact/) us.http://www.emperorlinux.com/order/international/


Q:Can I get a laptop without Windows? (Can I avoid the "Windows tax"?) ( by elf on Feb 07 07, 11:54 )

A:Yes. Dell (http://www.emperorlinux.com/mfgr/dell/) and Lenovo (http://www.emperorlinux.com/mfgr/lenovo/) are now offering some laptops that come without any operating system pre-installed by the manufacturer. This lets us offer the systems to you with only the Linux distribution (http://www.emperorlinux.com/quality/value/distros/) of your choice installed and without the "Windows tax." Contact our sales staff (http://www.emperorlinux.com/contact/) to find out which machines are currently available under this program.http://www.emperorlinux.com/faq/?cat=12



The choice of a Linux distribution is really a matter of end-user preference.

We offer several different Linux installs on our laptops (each significantly tweaked for the particular laptop you order). These include Fedora (http://www.emperorlinux.com/quality/value/distros/#emp), Debian (http://www.emperorlinux.com/quality/value/distros/#deb), Ubuntu (http://www.emperorlinux.com/quality/value/distros/#ubu), and Slackware (http://www.emperorlinux.com/quality/value/distros/#slk) at the base prices your see on the system pages. The standard "EmperorLinux" offering is currently based on Fedora 7 (Fed7).

We also offer 64-bit installs of Fedora, Ubuntu, and RHEL for those customers that are getting a 64-bit capable CPU, request a 64-bit install, and are aware of the limitations a 64-bit environment will impose on them. We ship 32-bit installs by default.

We also offer Linux laptops with the professional-edition box-set-included installs of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (http://www.emperorlinux.com/quality/value/distros/#rhel) (WS, AS, and ES), and SuSE (http://www.emperorlinux.com/quality/value/distros/#suse). As with our base-price offerings, all kernel-level updates and hardware configuration support continues to come from EmperorLinux. These distribution options are intended to give you enhanced availability of user-space package updates via the distribution packagers' network update portals.

We will let you have it almost any way you want. Call us; let's have a nice geeky talk about Linux.

EmperorLinux $0

Our own EmperorLinux (http://www.emperorlinux.com/) is currently based on Fedora 7 that has been specially modified for optimal performance in a portable environment. We tailor the system to best meet the needs of our customers, including the addition of our own custom kernel (the empkernel (http://www.emperorlinux.com/quality/value/kernel/)) and laptop-specific utilities to make using Linux on a laptop that much more enjoyable. EmperorLinux is fully compatible with all the most popular RPM updating applications (including up2date, Yum, and RHN) so if you have used Red Hat in the past, then we will recommend the Fedora-based EmperorLinux to you. We also offer Fedora Core 6 (FC6), FC4, RH9, and RH7.3-based installs if your company or research lab has standardized on those earlier versions.

Ubuntu $0

An offshoot of Debian and our second most popular distribution offering, Ubuntu (http://www.ubuntulinux.org/) builds on the Debian foundation by adding integration, ease-of-use improvements and features that are tailored specifically for Linux on the desktop. Ubuntu fixes many Debian problems, with its' primary strength being a 6-month release schedule, meaning nicely up to date packages in a named release without the need to use the "Unstable" Debian stream. We offer a customized installation of Ubuntu's "Edgy Etf" (v 6.10 LTS) or "Feisty Fawn" (v 7.04) release with all the usual EmperorLinux modifications. Of course you will continue to benefit from APT for your package management. If you are comfortable with the less time-stable "stream" nature of the original APT-based distro, see our Debian (http://www.emperorlinux.com/quality/value/distros/#deb) offering below.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux $0

We offer Red Hat Enterprise Linux (http://www.redhat.com/) (RHEL) to customers in the academic, government, and corporate sectors. Current version RHEL 5 in Client (Desktop) and Server (Advanced Platform) versions. Older versions WS, AS, and ES (vers. 3, 4, 4 update2 (4.2) and 4.4) also available. We recommend that you as the end user obtain RHEL entitlements directly from Red Hat, and simply pass on to us the credentials needed to verify those entitlements. Then, as your authorized service provider (http://www.redhat.com/solutions/industries/education/qualified/), we can load RHEL on your system. This saves you the ownership transfer problem, and very possibly saves you money if your institution already has an RHEL site agreement.

CentOS $0

We offer Community ENTerprise OS (http://www.centos.org/) (CentOS) (vers 4, 4.2, 4.4, and 5) to those looking for full RHEL compatibility without a support contract from Red Hat. CentOS is built from the same RHEL sources, with all copyright and trademark protected materials removed.

Debian $0

Debian (http://www.debian.org/) is a good fit for the experienced Linux user who wants the flexibility and power of one of the most mature and proven distros around. Debian features APT, the Advanced Package Tool, which provides the most sophisticated package installation and removal, dependency tracking and updating available in the Linux world. We offer a customized installation of Debian's Testing (aka. "Etch") stream on our laptops, which has been tweaked with all the usual EmperorLinux stuff like the empkernel, EmpTool, and our custom ACPI stack. Debian's Stable (aka "Sarge") release is also available, but has fallen a bit behind in hardware support (call for details). If you want a more cutting-edge APT-based distro with all the latest goodies, see our Ubuntu (http://www.emperorlinux.com/quality/value/distros/#ubu) offering above. Of course we include the empkernel (http://www.emperorlinux.com/quality/value/kernel/) to ensure full support of your laptop's hardware.

SuSE $0

Open SuSE (http://www.suse.com/), currently version 10.2, is based on the familiar RPM package manager and enjoys a high level of internationalization support. This is the Open SuSE edition that is freely downloadable. The Suse Linux Enterprise Desktop (SLED10) edition is also available for an additional $100, and includes the SuSE Enterprise Desktop boxed set.

Slackware $0

Slackware (http://www.slackware.com/), currently version 11.1, is, of course, the original Linux distribution (the Emperor grew up on Slackware before Red Hat existed), and, as such, has many followers in research and academia. It is a bit harder for the novice to configure, but Slackware lets you live very close to the hardware, if you are comfortable with that. Base Slackware does not include Gnome any more. Since the Dropline Gnome project does such a good job, we include Dropline Gnome in all Slackware installs.

Dual Boot

All of our systems are available dual boot (http://www.emperorlinux.com/quality/value/distros/dualboot/). We also can provide data interchange partitions and customized partition sizes.
http://www.emperorlinux.com/quality/value/distros/

The fact I can buy a computer from EmperorLinux with Slackware preinstalled, with the Tablet functions fully working and the Biometric Fingerprint reader working out of the box simply sounds awesome!...and all at 2.7 pounds!

[RAV TUX]

Another well respected option is EmperorLinux:
http://www.emperorlinux.com/

http://www.emperorlinux.com/news/?year=2007&scrollid=1018#1018

http://www.emperorlinux.com/order/international/

http://www.emperorlinux.com/faq/?cat=12


http://www.emperorlinux.com/quality/value/distros/

The fact I can buy a computer from EmperorLinux with Slackware preinstalled, with the Tablet functions fully working and the Biometric Fingerprint reader working out of the box simply sounds awesome!...and all at 2.7 pounds!

I still like Fujitsu's better. ;)

[Frak]

Wow $450 to install a Linux Distribution, I'll stick to the CD ;)

[newbie2]

http://lxer.com/module/db/index.php?dbn=14
;)

[Pancetilla]

Thanks. Ahtec looks as an interesting option.
Have someone bought from there? Any issues with heat? Any info on warranty?

Can't help you with this. I'm still making my mind up about getting one of this :)...but, if you live in Spain, they have some shops around the country, so my advice is to go to your nearest retailer and see it for yourself. Another option would be to have a look at noticias 3d forums (http://foro.noticias3d.com/vbulletin/index.php), it's a good source of hardware related questions (in spanish)

[Anthem]

Don't buy nVidia, buy a Centrino box with Intel Wireless+Wifi. You'll never regret it.

[Pancetilla]

Don't buy nVidia, buy a Centrino box with Intel Wireless+Wifi. You'll never regret it.

mmmhh? You can get a centrino laptop, with Intel wireless AND nvidia (or intel or ati...whatever suits you for graphic cards), AFAIK :confused:

[Sslaxx]

http://efficientpc.co.uk/laptops/ - check them out.

[aashay]

Which law?
The law that says buying an OS alongwith a computer isn't compulsory. Its implicit atleast here in India

[likemindead]

I just ditched my Acer Aspire 3003LCi due to terrible hardware. Now I have an IBM Thinkpad R50p and couldn't be happier. Definitely look into a refurbished Thinkpad.

[Kubunteando]

I found a new option looking quite good, but mainly in Europe:

http://www.zepto.com/

The quality seems to be quite high, and you can buy it without Operating System.

They have many different models. I have read good reviews about them. The pity is that they don't come with HDMI port.

[*grin*]

I bought my notebook laptop from Novatech 6 months ago - no OS installed. I've been running Ubuntu on it and it behaves perfectly (and is rather fast too!).

It's the NNB-542 - http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?NNB-542

Their customer service has been great.

The screen is really beautiful, btw!

Good luck!