On Thu, Jan 7, 2010 at 11:37 AM, James B. Byrne byrnejb@harte-lyne.ca wrote:
So, my desires are:
WANT:
Robust construction Reliable quality Reasonable weight (< 2.5 kg all in) Supported sound and video reproduction of reasonable quality 15-17" lcd screen Out-of-the-box support for wireless networking Battery life > 2.0 hrs. Not MS-Windows
PREFER:
64 bit core duo 2 2-4+ Gb RAM 120+ Gb HDD writable multi-mode DVD/CD drive CentOS-5+
Your system suggestions, both for hardware and OS, are most welcome.
I'm writing this on a ThinkPad T61 (used), which meets all your requirements. I'm running Fedora 12 for a couple of reasons: NetworkManager and power managment have matured a lot since F6/CentOS 5. Also, the current generation mulitmedia apps are easier to install on F12. All the hardware was recognized and supported out of the box. I haven't tried CentOS on it, but it should also work. (I'm hoping for CentOS 6 within the next year so I won't have to reinstall fedora too often).
Previously, I was using CentOS 5.4 on a ThinkPad A20 (500MHz 512MB), which was useable, but slow.
The website thinkwiki.org is a good resource for those looking to run Linix on a ThinkPad.
You might also search for service manual for the laptop. That will tell you whether the manufacurer think it is serviceable.
A MacBook is another idea. They have genuine UNIX, better than average sound, a well-integrated system, no Windows.
Jim