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Linux-compatible partsLinux-compatible partsPosted May 16, 2003 14:47 UTC (Fri) by tjc (subscriber, #137)Parent article: Where are the Linux laptops? If the Dell, Toshiba and other big vendors started demanding Linux-compatible parts, it wouldn't take long before their upstream vendors responded. Yes, this would be a nice intermediate step between buying a laptop with Linux preloaded and buying a laptop not even knowing for sure what's going to work and what's not when you get it home. Taking a "test drive" with a Linux on a CD with a live file system is currently the best alternative, but this is hard to do, since a lot of sales people will think that you're trying to upload a virus onto one of their systems if they see you doing this. It doesn't really pay to ask permission, since the answer will usually be "no", or "let me ask my manager" following by "no" a few minutes later. If you live in a big city, the trick is to pick out 4 or 5 stores and move around a lot. :-) And, when they have offered Linux they didn't offer a dual-boot system with Windows as well, something Durey says many of his customers are looking for. This is probably due to their contractual agreements with MSFT. I don't remember if this was changed as a result of the anti-trust trial or not. It should have been.
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Linux-compatible parts Posted May 17, 2003 11:34 UTC (Sat) by tres (guest, #352) [Link] And, when they have offered Linux they didn't offer a dual-boot system with Windows as well, something Durey says many of his customers are looking for.This is probably due to their contractual agreements with MSFT. I don't remember if this was changed as a result of the anti-trust trial or not. It should have been. This is fixed on paper as a result of the anti-trust settlement but you can bet your bottom dollar that Bill & Steve have made it very clear to the OEMs that depend on Microsoft for survival that pissing on their campfire is a no-no. None of these OEMs advertise deals with Linux and the ones that are available are usually difficult to find on thier websites. The possible exception to this might be IBM's Linux campaign but that is more for the bigger systems not the desktop/laptop market.
Linux-compatible parts Posted May 18, 2003 1:59 UTC (Sun) by zonker (subscriber, #7867) [Link] Taking a "test drive" with a Linux on a CD with a live file system is currently the best alternative, but this is hard to do, since a lot of sales people will think that you're trying to upload a virus onto one of their systems if they see you doing this. It doesn't really pay to ask permission, since the answer will usually be "no", or "let me ask my manager" following by "no" a few minutes later. If you live in a big city, the trick is to pick out 4 or 5 stores and move around a lot. :-)This is irresponsible advice -- don't "move around a lot" and try to boot Linux from CD without talking to the sales folks. If they won't let you boot a Knoppix or other CD, then don't buy from that store. If you get caught booting Knoppix or whatnot without permission, you're likely to get yourself bounced out the door or worse. I asked sales folks at Best Buy, Microcenter and CompUSA in Denver if I could boot Knoppix to test a laptop before I bought it when I was shopping for a laptop earlier this year -- not one person said "no" after I explained what Knoppix is and what it does.
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