On Thu, Jan 7, 2010 at 11:37 AM, James B. Byrne <byrnejb at 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