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Thread: free (ancient) laptop running Ubuntu in Austin TX -- who wants it?

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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Austin, TX
    Beans
    21

    free (ancient) laptop running Ubuntu in Austin TX -- who wants it?

    Seriously! I'm giving away this laptop just because we have no use for it; maybe it can be of service to someone here on the forums. My first experience with Ubuntu was in trying to install it on this old Compaq Armada 4210T. The CD-drive isn't bootable but thanks to the forums here, I learned about Smart Boot Manager and was able to install. It took all night, but it worked great. The only odd thing I've noticed is that it seems to have a backward conception of what each mouse button should do on the Synaptics touchpad; it behaved like a left-handed mouse until I selected "left-handed mouse" in the mouse preferences, and now it behaves like a right-handed mouse ;^) Oh, and the touchpad itself is a little bit wonky; the cursor jumps around a bit, but you can always hook up a mouse or just keyboard-navigate.

    Make no mistake, this is a really old, really slow laptop (specs are still out there if you root around the HP/Compaq support pages for this model). Chances are, whoever takes it will probably want to strip it down, maybe remove the desktop environment and use it for some non-desktoppy purpose or experiments or whatever. Hell, it's free, so you can smash it up with a sledgehammer, put it on a pedestal, and sell it as modern art if you like.

    I'm in Austin, TX, and would really like to avoid the hassle of shipping it, so the first person who promises in this thread that they'll arrange with me to pick it up here in town before the end of this year can have it, no strings attached. Any takers?


    UPDATE: IT'S OVER

    Someone in Austin has stepped up via PM to claim the laptop.

    To those of you who requested shipping, I'm sorry I couldn't accommodate your requests, but please believe me when I say this thing is so heavy enough that the shipping fees to almost anywhere would almost certainly exceed its value. Hopefully there'll be a giveaway like this near you someday.
    Last edited by RwL; November 10th, 2005 at 04:24 AM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Beans
    Hidden!

    Re: free (ancient) laptop running Ubuntu in Austin TX -- who wants it?

    wow, that's pretty old. Good pc to load a light WM on to just check email etc.

  3. #3
    poptones Guest

    Re: free (ancient) laptop running Ubuntu in Austin TX -- who wants it?

    Man, I kinda wish I was back in Austin. And not just for a free laptop.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Beans
    40

    Re: free (ancient) laptop running Ubuntu in Austin TX -- who wants it?

    I'm a poor collage student, who like doing things with computers. I'm sure it can be of my service as a desktop/server/firewall/many others.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Parts Unknown
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    9,213
    Distro
    Ubuntu Development Release

    Re: free (ancient) laptop running Ubuntu in Austin TX -- who wants it?

    It looks like a prime candidate for something like this:
    laptop picture frame
    what's a troll? | my blog | my writing | Ubuntu Unleashed

    Don't ask support questions in PMs--post a thread so everyone can benefit!

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Texas
    Beans
    2,434

    Re: free (ancient) laptop running Ubuntu in Austin TX -- who wants it?

    Your offer is tempting.
    Those folks who try to impose analog rules on digital content will find themselves on the wrong side of the tidal wave.
    - Mark Shuttleworth

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Not-So-Sunny Hawaii
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    Hidden!

    Re: free (ancient) laptop running Ubuntu in Austin TX -- who wants it?

    is hawaii too far away?
    So... a 1337 java programmer walks into a bar...

  8. #8
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Poznan, Poland
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    284
    Distro
    Dapper Drake Testing/

    Re: free (ancient) laptop running Ubuntu in Austin TX -- who wants it?

    I've sent you a PM
    Switched to ArchLinux (Pacman rox!)
    Linux registered user number 391475.
    War is not about who is right, but who is left.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Beans
    2

    Re: free (ancient) laptop running Ubuntu in Austin TX -- who wants it?

    hi there,

    thanks for the generosity

    i don't have a laptop -- am in oregon -- would appreciate if you could send it to me. will pay for mail.

    thank you.

    BR,
    ~A

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Austin, TX
    Beans
    21

    Re: free (ancient) laptop running Ubuntu in Austin TX -- who wants it?

    OK, it's over...

    Someone in Austin has stepped up via PM to claim the laptop.

    To those of you who requested shipping, I'm sorry I couldn't accommodate your requests, but please believe me when I say this thing is old, slow, and heavy enough to incur shipping fees that exceed its value. Seriously.

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