[arch-general] preferred laptops.

[Roman Kyrylych]

On Wed, Nov 4, 2009 at 10:22, Eric Jacobs <eric at redechos.net> wrote:
> Hello fello archers..
>
> I've recently been going through a bit of a rough patch with my laptop
> usage.. I had a 15" macbook pro (dual booted with arch linux), which I
> recently sold because I thought it was ugly, the mouse didn't work very
> well, and frankly I was trying to de-appletize myself :)..
>
> I just received my refurbished dell studio 14z and got arch up and running
> on it, but I can't decide if I like it or not.. I haven't gotten used to the
> mouse yet. The resolution is less than desirable. (13 something x 7
> something). And there isn't a latch on the lid.. but I do like the size,
> aesthetics, weight, and the keyboard feels nice..
>
> So I'm asking you, if you have a laptop, what kind is it? Does arch run
> pretty well on it (synaptics, sleep/wake, etc.)? What window manager do you
> think works best with the touchpad (I'm using gnome now)?
>
> Any input would be appreciated.

Dell Vostro 1400 here.
I really love its 14" matte screen and magnesium alloy body.
LAN, BT, webcam, sound, multimedia keys, SD slot work out of the box.
I had to tweak touchpad via HAL, but I think it works
out of the box with the latest packages now.
My model has Broadcom wireless card, so a firmware is needed,
but it works without any problems (b43 driver).
There are also models with Intel wireless card.
The video in my model is Intel GMA X3100M,
never had problems wiith it and xf86-video-intel
(using Metacity's built-in compositor),
there are also models with Nvidia GeForce 8400GS.
I have not tried built-in mics (one jack and 2 around webcam),
firewire and 56K modem though, but according to the wiki they work too.

Unfortunately it's no longer available for purchase,
but I think most (if not all) Dell laptops work great with Linux.

Oh, and mine came with FreeDOS and printed GPL. :-D

-- 
Roman Kyrylych (Роман Кирилич)