# compatible laptop

## kraylus

hey all,

was just wondering what's a good laptop for linux (as far as hardware compatibility goes.) i would hate to pay much bucks for a nice laptop and not be able to use it to it's full extent.

side note, are pcmcia modems difficult to setup in linux? what about ethernet?

thanks,

ryan

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## Hypnos

If you want a truly compatible laptop that's not already obsolete, break out your wallet and buy from Emperor Linux.

If you can't spend that kind of money, do what I did and look for laptops that meet your requirements, dig up the specs, and see if the components have Linux support.  You will have better luck with business laptops (e.g., IBM) whose components/specs have been standardized for a given model, but these cost more than home user machines.

I ended up with a Compaq Presario 2800T.  ACPI has been a bit of a bitch (I had to hack the ACPI BIOS tables, and use a hacked DRI dist for suspend-to-disk to work right), and the modem driver required me to revert to vanilla sources (and is flaky anyway).  Also, if I'm running DRI, the LCD backlight won't shut off nor can you adjust the brightness.

C'est la vie on the bleeding edge.

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## delta407

 *Hypnos wrote:*   

> If you want a truly compatible laptop that's not already obsolete, break out your wallet and buy from Emperor Linux.

 

Drool...

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