Laptop for truck driving job
What should I avoid when looking for a linux compatible laptop? Any other tips for being on the road with linux? Thank You. -Jeff
Will you be buying this laptop in a BestBuy or CircuitCity? If so take a knoppix cd with you and boot to it and see if everything works. You may not be able to use the networking part, but I guess you could just try pinging 127.0.0.1. I would say go with a laptop with Nvidia for video. Will you be using wireless? I don't have much experience with this but I hear orinocos are a good nic for wireless. I have a Toshiba Tecra M2 from work that I installed gentoo on, the only problems I had were with wireless (ipw2200) but that is now working, the native drivers had just came out when I was trying to get Gentoo on it. Thanks, Jonathan On Sat, 22 Jan 2005 15:43:52 -0600, Jeffrey Martin <dogshed@gmail.com> wrote:
What should I avoid when looking for a linux compatible laptop? Any other tips for being on the road with linux? Thank You. -Jeff
On Sat, Jan 22, 2005 at 04:05:04PM -0600, djgoku wrote:
may not be able to use the networking part, but I guess you could just try pinging 127.0.0.1.
But note that pinging the 127.0.0.1 address will most likely use the loopback device (lo) rather than an ethernet or wireless device. In fact, you could ping 192.0.0.1 successfully on a machine with no physical networking devices. A better alternative when using Knoppix would be to let it auto-detect, and then run /sbin/ifconfig to see if it gives you an eth0, eth1, wifi0, wlan0 or similar. If that doesn't work, try running lspci and lspci -v to get a good listing of pci info. To the original poster, if you're looking for rugged portability, you might also look into the Panasonic ToughBook line. The added benefit is that their repair center is in Leawood, so definitely a quick return time from the metro area. http://www.panasonic.com/computer/toughbook/home.asp http://www.heartlandsi.com Jeremy
Jeffrey Martin wrote:
What should I avoid when looking for a linux compatible laptop? Any other tips for being on the road with linux? Thank You. -Jeff
I would start here: http://tuxmobil.org/ and pay particular attention here: http://tuxmobil.org/apm_linux.html Then I would use (gasp) Windows XP anyway, perhaps in a dual-boot environment. Will you be driving in 48 states? It is my experience that Microsoft Streets and Trips is an indispensable tool when traveling, as directions are often so bogus in the world of 18 wheel trucking that they should always be rechecked. This has saved me many times from driving 77 feet of truck into places it simply did not belong in, or just saved me from making a possibly disastrous wrong turn! Unfortunately, I know of no successful attempts to run this program in Linux. I look forward to being wrong about that, so if anyone knows how ... Outdoor wireless in truck stops is another issue. It is a different animal at each truck stop ... different providers and equipment, different atmospheric and environmental factors (wet leaves on trees can really scatter a signal) ... sometimes you cannot find an open parking place with a clear view of the antennae. Remember, the signal will not penetrate the metal on your semi. That, of course, has little to do with your choice of OS. ANYWAY, I think Linux wireless drivers and signal detection tools need a little more work, and in time, soon I hope, that will be a non-factor in my choice of an OS for travel. I continue to use XP less and less, but I cannot lose functionality while traveling. When Linux can do everything on a laptop or desktop that XP can, and it will happen, then I will drop XP in a New York second ... or is it a New York minute? I use Linux as much as possible and XP as little as possible, because (are you reading this Jim H.?) Open Source has better vibes than XP. The passion and dedication of the Linux, GNU/Linux, Open Source ... whatever you care to call it ... community has tremendous appeal. The short but highly eventful history of the movement is inspiring. I therefore choose to support it in my own small way, and look forward to a complete transition from the realm of intrusive EULAs and software that tries to spy on me (like Windows Media Player). I do value freedom ... free speech AND free beer. And I don't really mind paying a fair price for the beer if it is drinkable. So why do I use Windows at all? I'm either a pragmatist or a whore ... perhaps a pragmatic whore ;-) I'll fully repent when it is convenient to do so. Safe travels, and thanks for putting up with my $0.02! Rick
On Sat, 22 Jan 2005 22:47:51 -0600, Richard A. Franklin <raldenfranklin@everestkc.net> wrote:
When Linux can do everything on a laptop or desktop that XP can, and it will happen, then I will drop XP in a New York second ... or is it a New York minute?
my vote for evoking rapidity goes to "in a Boston heartbeat" but there's something to be said for the entirely non-metaphoric "immediately." -- David L Nicol Communication is neither obvious nor inscrutable.
On Sat, 22 Jan 2005 22:47:51 -0600, Richard A. Franklin <raldenfranklin@everestkc.net> wrote:
Then I would use (gasp) Windows XP anyway, perhaps in a dual-boot environment.
It's not really difficult to set up the XP boot loader to chain to LILO or GRUB. The trick is to not install the Linux boot loader to the MBR. Instead put it in /dev/hda3 or whatever, and dd the first sector of that partition to a file, and add a reference to that file in boot.ini: multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /fastdetect c:\lilohda3.bs="LInux LOader on hda3" The only aggravation is that if I recompile my kernel, I have to repeat the process. If I get to where it's an issue, I can have a shell script that runs lilo, then dd if=/dev/hda3 of=/win/d/lilohda3.bs bs=512 count=1 and a batch file in StartUp folder of XP to copy that to c:\ (As I would not trust XP to write to my Reiser partitions, I don't trust Linux to write to the NTFS partition - A FAT32 partition is fair game for both.)
On Sun, Jan 23, 2005 at 10:34:27AM -0600, Monty J. Harder wrote:
On Sat, 22 Jan 2005 22:47:51 -0600, Richard A. Franklin <raldenfranklin@everestkc.net> wrote:
Then I would use (gasp) Windows XP anyway, perhaps in a dual-boot environment.
It's not really difficult to set up the XP boot loader to chain to LILO or GRUB. The trick is to not install the Linux boot loader to the MBR. Instead put it in /dev/hda3 or whatever, and dd the first sector of that partition to a file, and add a reference to that file in boot.ini:
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /fastdetect c:\lilohda3.bs="LInux LOader on hda3"
The only aggravation is that if I recompile my kernel, I have to repeat the process.
Yeah, that's what finally led me to abandon that approach--I just got tired of the rigamarole and was too lazy to script it and test it and rewrite it to the point where it wasn't a pain anymore. But that was all with LILO. I'd guess that one could avoid a lot of the hassle with GRUB these days, but I am but a bean when it comes to using GRUB still. -- Joe
I have had excellent results putting Linux on older IBM laptops, but because of the wide variety of hardware, your results may vary. I am using a 10 year old 560X right now that I take to work. It works better than the manager 3 year old Dell desktop with XP. It is faster, more stable and I bought it used from a friend 5 years ago for less than $500. Do a google search on linux compatible hardware. Linux is a great way (for me) to limit the impulse buying of computer stuff. You need to do your research before buying to make sure everything is compatible. Also check out the Linux computers online. Several sources offer Linux prebuilds that should be fairly stable. Spring for the extra HD space and get it dual boot. There are still a lot of companies that have invested heavily in the MS platform that are really slow about opening up to other platforms. While I have all the tool at home to run 100% linux and accomplish EVERYTHING I need to do, I find that I still have to 'doze on the laptop from time to time. That will change once I figure out how to get FC3 installed on the laptop. Jeffrey Martin wrote:
What should I avoid when looking for a linux compatible laptop? Any other tips for being on the road with linux? Thank You. -Jeff _______________________________________________ Kclug mailing list Kclug@kclug.org http://kclug.org/mailman/listinfo/kclug
-- If you examine how Bill Gates funded research into solving the social issues he is concerned about in 2003, you would notice that he is 14 times more concerned about the global threat of Linux than he is about AIDS.
I've supported IBM, Compaq, Gateway, and WinBook laptops in office environments over the years. Of the four, I would recommend IBM as the best quality. I know of a lot more older IBM's that are still going strong at five years old, while the others have been relegated to the old parts bin long ago. Service for IBM laptops was always very good, but we had corporate service contracts. I don't know what it would be like if you were a "retail" customer and didn't have a service agreement. IBM parts are well indexed and standardized. You can find them on eBay pretty easily. The design of the laptops is functional, and they are built to be serviced. Items that are known to be fallible are modularized, and don't require prying apart thousands of little metal tabs to replace - usually a few screws and a snap-in module. That said, you do pay extra for the IBM name. WinBooks will probably give you more for your money, but are not as servicable. When components start to fail at three years or so, it's time to think about replacements. I know Tom's pretty happy with the laptops he keeps getting from Dell, but I think they've had his computers more than he has in the last two years. Dell does not play very well with Linux, I have yet to find the specs for the motherboard sensors on my PowerEdge server.
On Sun, 2005-01-23 at 13:46 -0600, Jonathan Hutchins wrote:
does not play very well with Linux, I have yet to find the specs for the motherboard sensors on my PowerEdge server.
While this thread is about laptops, little side trip. Dell sells PowerEdge servers with RedHat and SuSE as options. While SuSE Enterprise 9 is a recent addition, RH has been an option for at least a couple years (first time I checked into Dell and Linux). Back to notebooks, I now own a HP zv5000 series (AMD), SuSE Pro 9.2 installed perfectly with everything working out of the box (though I must admit have not checked on modem). Including the touch pad, external usb mouse, and the xorg settings for a wide screen display. I've had the notebook for little over 6 months, and has worked great. I had a Dell notebook previously (pee3 700), and too, linux installed and worked out of the box. I had to service it 3 times in its 2 year life, but service was fast (overnight both directions), and never any hassles beyond not understanding the tech guy on other end :). I would buy a Dell again, but the HP was a much better deal and I liked its looks better.
On Monday 24 January 2005 03:22 am, Bill Cavalieri wrote:
Dell sells PowerEdge servers with RedHat and SuSE as options.
Right, but only certain models, and they do not provide linux support for the rest of their line. They try to have things both ways; take advantage of the Linux trend but don't put the work into really supporting it.
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Jonathan Hutchins wrote: | On Monday 24 January 2005 03:22 am, Bill Cavalieri wrote: | | |>Dell sells PowerEdge servers with RedHat and SuSE as options. | | | Right, but only certain models, and they do not provide linux support for the | rest of their line. They try to have things both ways; take advantage of the | Linux trend but don't put the work into really supporting it. We haven't had any problems with the PowerEdge 2400s, 2500s, 1650s, or 2650s. ~ Dell's installer is Linux based. It boots Linux, then starts X and then they've created a web interface using Mozilla as the WM. It's very slick. It can install any of the major OSs. - -- I digitally sign my emails. If you see an attachment with .asc, then that means your email client doesn't support PGP digital signatures. http://www.gnupg.org/(en)/documentation/faqs.html#q1.1 -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.5 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with Thunderbird - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iD8DBQFB9UIYE5xXU3JS1mQRAiYPAJ4kZTDz1LN+4SKo9yKg4eOFHEMpbACfRyLo 0ZvWuJatyY3X7Zln8qoai2Y= =wpmv -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
Jeffrey Martin wrote:
What should I avoid when looking for a linux compatible laptop? Any other tips for being on the road with linux? Thank You. -Jeff _______________________________________________ Kclug mailing list Kclug@kclug.org http://kclug.org/mailman/listinfo/kclug
one other site for Linux laptop info: http://www.linux-laptop.net/
participants (11)
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Bill Cavalieri -
Chris Bier -
D. Joe -
David Nicol -
djgoku -
Jeffrey Martin -
Jeremy Turner -
Jonathan Hutchins -
Monty J. Harder -
Richard A. Franklin -
Zscoundrel