Re: Why Linux on a Laptop?
> Hi
>
> I'm wondering what everyone's motivation is for using Linux on a laptop
> instead of Cygwin + Windows.
Cygwin was always too bulky; when I used MSwin, I use JP Software's 4dos
or Take Command. BTW there is a project called "Litestep" which replaces
MSwin's Explorer with an Afterstep like system environment - claimed to
crash less, and GPL'd. There are also Plus Pack themes to make a system
look like Gnome Desktop or a few enlightenment setups.
But that's not Debian.
> The way I see it, a laptop is basically a giant PDA.
I find most PDAs small enough to easily lose, hard to read, hard to write
in. They sometimes have better battery behavior.
I have a fairly small model laptop; it fits in my purse; I do keep on it,
many things which people would normally keep in their PDAs. Reading
material and solitaire, for example.
It isn't as easy to goof off during a meeting such that everyone will think
you're just taking notes, but I consider that feature a Good Thing.
> People usually use them for typing down stuff during classes, seminars,
> conferences,
Yes, but also so that my notes can be directly incorporated in the report,
documentation for the client, tickle me to email the right folks afterwards.
> in the library,
It *is* my library - one stop at a net connection, first. The same can be
true for your PDA. Ob Debian: sitescooper is a debian package. Highly
recommended. My hubby uses it for his Palm.
you forgot "on the airplane"
> for presenting (powerpoint) material,
I used Magicpoint, available as a debian package, at Comdex. Other
presentation packages exist but I enjoy that mgp uses plaintext files
and loose jpg's so I can control my presentations. I hear that VFBpoint
has more wipes and fades, and uses a text based format, but haven't tried
it yet.
As for "MS compatibility" go bug one of the commercial office product
vendors - Sun's StarOffice (tho if that works OpenOffice probably will),
HancomOffice, Applix... uh whoever bought them, I think that was Anyware.
Probably others.
And deeply consider whether you really need them to view your presentation
without you attached to it. If they do, HTML or PDFs are probably a much
better medium.
> or for
> keeping all their mail and personal archives in one place, etc.
*all* that stuff lives on my desktop; some people do live their entire
life on the laptop, though, that's true. In which case it gets used
for everything they'd do at a desk. plus often as a "giant PDA" as well.
At the rate I get mail, I really ought to take it on planes with me,
tho I often don't; it certainly wouldn't fit on a PDA.
What I do keep on my laptop are dev environments for client projects,
e.g. websites, chroot areas. And fun things I work on, e.g. gtk themes,
chroot areas. c.f http://www.LNX-BBC.org/
Much easier to cross compile for a PDA from a laptop than the other way
around.
> Laptops don't
> get used much as servers
They do have the best UPSs but most people don't seem aware of this.
I know of at least one laptop in production use as a server.
> or development workstations, are they?
Mine certainly does.
I don't see anything debian specific here. If you are asking our advice
about a laptop to buy, but are not sure that you might not stick with a
desktop... we can help much better if you tell us what YOU want to do with
it, not about how you expect that to work under the hood, or about other
people's usual reasons for doing the same thing.
Yes, you can have all the glitzy trimmings on your laptop, take your desk
with you everywhere, and for the price of actually having to make some
choices (a price many won't or find they can't pay) ... you get a lot more
choice and control, and to a certain degree more efficient use of the same
hardware resources.
The thing that first brought me to Linux to stay was the idea that when
one piece fails everything else keeps ticking along, and bonking a broken
task on the head rarely if ever leads to general meltdown.
So ... if you think you might want to head our way ... toward laptops and
potentially toward Debian... what are your required features, desired
features, and constraints (things you need to not see/use/encounter)?
If not, well, have fun, but have it elsewhere. I am available for consulting
in requirements analsyis regarding free software if you wish to contact me
privately.
* Heather Stern * star@ many places... consulting@starshine.org
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