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Re: Best "new" laptop



Sorry for that last post, I accidentally hit send.  Here's the full version of
what I wanted to send:

>>>>> "Heather" == Heather  <star@starshine.org> writes:

    Heather> Anyways I have to agree that if you're buying from IBM - at least
    Heather> at the moment - you're at least supporting a company that cares
    Heather> somewhat about linux users' opinions.

You'd think so, eh?  Remember, we're talking about IBM, where the left hand
doesn't know what the right hand is doing. ;-)  (Anyone remember OS/2, and the
"support" it got from IBM's PC division?)

    Heather> x 1280x1024 resolution ... I'll settle for 1024x768 if the screen is
    Heather> 11" or smaller.  Let's just say I use lots of screen space.

Don't forget to make it a TFT screen.

    Heather>   * video chipset that is -actually- supported by X 4.  I'm
    Heather> strongly interested in moving that direction, but since my current
    Heather> systems work, I'm not terribly interested in half measures or
    Heather> putting up with bleeding-edge vendor bull.  Wish me luck.  I think
    Heather> this is my pickiest feature request.

All features of the chipset should be supported by X 4.  If it's supported, but
doesn't accelerate, it might not be worth getting.

    Heather> x Memory is more important than CPU, after all, I live on a 233
    Heather> MMX for goodness' sake.  Skipping stright to Crusoe is tempting
    Heather> tho...

I agree.  If you get too little memory you'll spend all your time in your swap
space, which can be very painful on a laptop since laptop HD's are typically
slower than desktop ones.  Memory is probably one of the easiest things to
upgrade on a laptop, though.

    Heather> * I prefer arrow keys in a T configuration.the ctrl key wider
    Heather> enough than the Fn key that I can feel the difference before
    Heather> hitting it, backslash above the Enter key/below the backspace, and
    Heather> Esc at the furthest top left.  This is the current case on my
    Heather> desktop keyboard and the magio, and I'd rather not have to fight
    Heather> with my own fingers.

And the ~/` key to the left of `1' (unlike Toshiba's layout).  If you're an
emacs user, you may want to make sure you have a second set of Alt and Ctrl
keys on the right side, although it's not completely necessary since you can
just use xmodmap to change it (as long as there's a physical button there that
you can press).

    Heather> Ignoring: - trackpoint/eraserhead vs glidepad.  All mice suck, but
    Heather> I only care that it is responsive enough I don't feel forced to
    Heather> get an external.

If you do a lot of copy/paste with your mouse, you'll want to get a laptop that
has three mouse buttons (IBM), or one where you can hit both buttons with one
finger (Dell, Sony, probably others).

Hubert

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