On Saturday 13 May 2006 14:26, Nate Bargmann wrote:
> * justin joseph <justinjoseph007@gmail.com> [2006 May 12 23:26 -0500]:
> > hello,
> >
> > I am planning to buy an IBM thinkpad T42 from the US. I have stayed
> > in the southermost part of India and have never moved from here. I
> > intend to ask my wife to get the laptop for me, she has currently gone
> > to the US.
> >
> > I understand from the IBM website that a sale is going on and the T42
> > with model number 2379R5U is available for 1099 USD. Is this laptop
> > and the current price a good buy. I would especially like to know if
> > I can install GNU/Linux sarge on it and get all the specific harware
> > like the video card working with the right drivers. I don't want to
> > get stuck up with generic drivers.
>
> I had a T42 from June of last year to February of this year. I had
> KNOPPIX and Debian Sid installed and used Sid the most. Everything
> "just worked" and it took a little effort to get ACPI working the way I
> wanted it to, but it wasn't too big of a task. The modem worked well
> with the non-free Conexant driver and the wireless worked great with the
> Madwifi driver.
I have a T23. I can tell you that Thinkpads are one of the best out there for
linux support. if you want more information, have a look at the thinkwiki
site:
http://www.thinkwiki.org
This site tells you all the details about the thinkpad models (technical
specs/additional options/cpu graphics upgrades etc..), their capabilities and
tips/tricks for getting full support from linux. This site helped me
immensely to pick the Thinkpad that most suited my needs and I highly
recommend a visit to see whats on offer.
> > I see that the graphics card is ATI radeon 7500, 32Mb. Does this
> > card have full compatibility with GNU/Linux and is this card suitable
> > and sufficient for me. I intend to use the laptop mostly for
> > programming, C programming mostly and not GUI design or programming.
> > But would like to have 3d because anyway the card does seem to have
> > that capability.
>
> I had Xorg 6.9.0 installed and 3D worked flawlessly.
>
I can second that. 3D and composite works on my laptop, allowing for pretty
visuals (I have a Savage card though)
> > I am also concerned whether this laptop is too much out of date and if
> > IBM is tricking people into clearing its prehistoric stocks.
>
> For me it had plenty of power (my personal laptop is a T23) and is in no
> way prehistoric and I think would be a reliable machine for several
> years. It is a nice unit, strongly built, quite light weight
> considering its strength and durability.
>
Agreed, one of the best built laptops I have ever come across. For one thing
taking them apart is so easy due to their modular construction. IBM provides
all the service manuals for free, which is nice.
Also the Thinkpads have a dedicated community around them, allowing for very
good support even after your warrenty expires. Thanks to places such as
http://forum.thinkpads.com/ and http://www.thinkpad.org/ I was able to
resurrect a failed T23 motherboard (something I never managed with another
laptop). Also spare parts are in abundance and replacement is far easier then
with other laptops.
All in all I bought my T23 a few months ago, it was made in 2001, and I have
been so impressed with it that I bought two more (and X20 and X23) for other
people. As it stands I swear by thinkpads for their reliability, durability
and support. But I my opinion is reserved for the new Lenovo models (as I
have not come across any just yet to try out).
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