Linux Laptop in Australia

[AndyCee]

Heya,

Here in Oz we don't have the Dell Ubuntu laptop options. I've googled a bit and found one or two Australian businesses who sell laptops with some linux pre-installed.

Has anyone else in Australia had any experience with a laptop with linux pre-installed? Any reputable dealers?

[Orwell]

If you're not looking for a powerful laptop, you could check out the Asus EEpc which ships with either Linux or XP...but I can't help but look at it as more of a kid's machine.

I'd suggest you check out the smaller retailers. Places like Harvey Norman, JB Hifi, Officeworks et al only offer Windows...yet your local pc store down the street may be more inclined to give the customer what he/she wants.

Recently, Officeworks signed a distribution deal with Dell so one would hope that eventually, if not already, Linux would become an option. *crosses fingers*

[mountain_goat]

Hey Andy,
I'm sure DELL used to make their system available with Ubuntu some time ago.
They do offer other Linux variants snip

I bought a new Latitude D830 off eBay recently, (DELL clearance special) it came pre-installed with Vista Business.

I downloaded the Ubuntu iso and am planing to move over to using this on the lappy.
Just getting use to it first on the main desktop machine first, and making sure I can run vmware and the win apps ok first before the big switch.

Have you considered doing this your self?

mountain goat

[AndyCee]

Dell do have Ubuntu pre-installed on machines, but not in Oz [mountain_goat your link has timed out].

I currently dual boot my wife's laptop with Hardy and Vista. I need to tinker with VMware (for uni) and don't want to do this in Vista, so i would rather remove Hardy from her laptop and have my own machine (Yay for casual-staff tax time!).

I'd consider the Eeepc1000 [with linux], but only the Eeepc1000H [with XP & no SSD] is available [What is it about good technology that can't cross Pacific/Indian Ocean?].

I'll have a look at the local computer fair, as they sell desktops with no OS, but a notebook is something I'd prefer to have a warranty for.

[mountain_goat]

Andy,
wow, you are right, the link has timed out, I only picked up the link a few hours ago!

For me, vmware vmplayer 2.0.4 was quite easy to install within Vista on both the DELL D830 laptop and DELL E520 desktop, no problems at all.

My desktop dual boots Vista and Ubuntu Studio AMD64, again no problems with the setup.
But if you are planing on using vmware within a ubuntu 64 bit system then you may need to also download the 32 bit libraries. Which I found out last night while having problems with it operating correctly.
I would advise checking out the forum for any other information which may be useful to know before hand.
Code

sudo apt-get install ia32-libsIf you are running 32 bit ubuntu I guess you wont as it will already be installed.

DELL do sell systems still with XP, so if that is of any help. Meaning you would own a legitimate copy of XP to build an image of for vmware.

Remember also that Vista will need a minimum of 512MB of RAM to work, so your system will really need to have 1GB plus,
preferably a minimum of 2GB for smooth operation and less swaps outs. Then if you do use Vista inside vmware you can offer it more than the 512MB.

Hope this helps somewhat.

mountain goat

[thisllub]

Laprops are cheap at the moment.
Tax changes have retailers overstocked.

I bought my daughter one on Thursday night.
Acer Aspire ~ 1.8 dual core 2GB ram 160 GB disk wireless bluetooth 15" screen... Vista Home something.

List price $777. After a little haggling I got it for $680.
BUT it also had a $150 manufacturers cashback making the final spend only $530.

All linuxs work on my Acer laptop but ACPI doesn't.
I only get about 30 minutes battery life with a 17" screen.
Tolerable as I use it at home and when I am working away.

My other daughter has a R61 ThinkPad.
Ubuntu works perfectly and she gets 4 hours of battery life.
These can be picked up at places like GraysOnline for around $700-$800

The small EEPC is under $400 and runs some type of linux.
I see it as more of a replacement for a PDA than a serious computer although with a USB keyboard and an external monitor it could be useful.

[lisati]

I'm not sure about the Australian network but here in NZ **** Smith have been selling some Asus machines which come preloaded with either Linux or Windows. From what I've seen of them, they look (to me anyway) little more than toys.

[squidfaceExtreme]

To be honest I've completely lost faith in the mindsets of people in this country. I would go and send a complaint to Dell about it, then find a laptop with either no OS preinstalled or one of the Asus EEE models that they actually did bother to put Linux on over here and sell that instead.

I'd just like to mention that the concept of "too small of a market" made by Dell Australia is absolute garbage since firstly they have no idea how disappointed people are at Microsoft for Vista and its price tag, and secondly I fail to see where they would make a loss considering you're not exactly making custom Linux hardware, you're just sticking Ubuntu onto Linux-compliant hardware and setting up a small support centre. We have universities pumping out IT students trained in Linux so finding a team sure isn't the problem.

[geekygirl]

This place also offers Linux/Ubuntu preinstalled on its notebooks and desktops.

http://www.pioneercomputers.com.au/default.asp

[RedPandaFox]

Im selling a 2gb eeepc surf with Ubuntu 8.10 Alpha installed on a 8gb SD card if your interested.

[wolfen69]

If you're not looking for a powerful laptop, you could check out the Asus EEpc which ships with either Linux or XP...but I can't help but look at it as more of a kid's machine.



the default OS on the EeePC may seem a bit toyish, but i got rid of that fast and installed Debian (DebianEeePC (http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEeePC) to be exact) on mine. its absolutely wonderful. it is now a real laptop.

[AndyCee]

This place also offers Linux/Ubuntu preinstalled on its notebooks and desktops.

http://www.pioneercomputers.com.au/default.asp

Awesome site. It's like Dell's, but with cool stuff.

[Tux Aubrey]

I think we worry too much about the "pre-installed" issue (although I really don't understand why Dell, HP and the others that sell Linux on their machines in other markets don't give us the same choice). The important thing for me is being able to buy hardware that is 100% Linux compatible.

I have recently bought a Linux Acer Aspire One (from DigitalCameras.com.au). But like someone else said, the preinstalled distro (Linpus Lite in this case) isn't very functional. I had Xubuntu installed within the first hour. Acer's specs for the Linux version of this machine are (IMO) too low - especially the poor SSD. If I was doing it again, I'd buy the Windows version (120Gb HDD and more RAM) and install my distro of choice.

[AndyCee]

Hey Aubrey, good to see you here.

I know what you mean about wanting linux compatible hardware.

I'm sure the standard pre-install arguments are known by know, but for me specifically:
1) I am currently in need of a laptop

2) I am currently time-poor
Though I love to break stuff, I can't justify the time right now, and I don't want to risk accidentally buying some foxconn-type (http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=2307) piece of hardware, or spend the time researching linux-friendly laptop hardware AND laptops which suit my needs AND have this hardware. I want a linux-friendly laptop.

3) I am currently(though usually) $ poor
Less $ for windows mean more $ for better specs

The site referred to me by geekygirl includes a Ubuntu pre-install option, as well as the option to [like the dell site] alter many of the specs of the machine. If it doesn't work with Ubuntu, I can send it back. No (direct, anyway) windows tax, no half-functional linux install.

*EDIT*
Admittedly, I've yet to buy anything yet. I'll post what happens when I do. Any other suggestions are still appreciated.

[AndyCee]

Finalish update:

*sigh* I had such high hopes.

My new pioneer dreambook is very nice. I am disappointed, however, because:

1) I was happy to see the Ubuntu boot screen. Very unhappy to be faced with the normal log-in screen. "Why?", you may well ask? "Because", I would reply, "I wasn't given a username". Anywhere. WTF am I expected to do with that? Being just savvy enough I was able to reboot into root terminal and add myself as a user from there. Not impressed. I did detect a 'test' account from there.

2) No drivers installed (in particular - video card). Not a big problem(detected instantly) - but seriously. Who sells a computer without the drivers? How hard would it have been to install/customize some of the fundamentals? Oh, there was a Windows driver CD included - which was nice of them.

3) Aubrey was right (Dammit!). No sound from speakers(workaround - headphones or external speakers). I half-expected something not to work with Ubuntu, but what's the point of packaging a piece of hardware that doesn't work? Admittedly, there is a driver disclaimer on the site.

*sigh*
*sighsighsighsigh*

On the plus side - It works well for all I need it for (though wireless is patchy at uni [wpa enterprise and hidden SSID]). Added to that I paid no Windows tax. It's very fast, is exactly what I want in a laptop (in terms of specs & the rest of the hardware)

I'm happy to have contributed to the "non windows" laptop purchase statistic, but may as well have selected "no-os". When pre-installation of Ubuntu reaches the level of quality of Windows, I'll be happy. Not until then, though. I appreciate that Pioneer have taken a step to appeal to a relatively small market, but it seems to have been a very lazy one.

[prule]

VGComputing sells Linux on laptops and desktops:

http://www.vgcomputing.com.au/