laptops and ubuntu

[TimG]

So I'm going to get a laptop soon and I want to dump microsoft and put ubuntu on it.

I've looked at the laptops System76.com sells but I'm not digging them too much.

What laptops have people successfully installed ubuntu on with little or no headaches?

[boredengineer]

Probably just about any laptop will work unless it has some really really weird hardware or really new components... Make sure you buy something with an nvidia card(Nvidia has better linux support than ATI just facts not a preference on ATI vs Nvidia) if you get a non integrated graphics card. Oddly dell(Not a fan of some of their stuff but hey it works for millions of people out there) is usually a pretty safe route to go since so many people use them and drivers are usually written pretty quickly. That and you can actually buy factory loaded ubuntu from dell. http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/ubuntu?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

Installing is usually pretty easy on just about any platform but if it is your first time it can be a bit hairy if you run into driver issues. Worst comes to worse you could get someone from here to help you install it...

[TimG]

i thought that it was only dell USA that sold systems pre-loaded with ubuntu? the dell canada site says that they don't offer them here.

[boredengineer]

Originally posted by TimG
i thought that it was only dell USA that sold systems pre-loaded with ubuntu? the dell canada site says that they don't offer them here.

Yeah that might be the case but either way you know that the hardware will work with ubuntu since all they do is change the OS. The same model in the states should have *exactly* the same hardware in canada. :thumbsup: Look if it is cheaper to buy the laptop with windows/freedos/ubuntu/etc... Sometimes the crapware decreases the price of the laptop by a fair bit :D

[cityhunter2501]

worth checking here
http://ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=135

but from experience I had less trouble with Ubuntu and SuSE than any other distros (Fedora, Debian, Slackware) on my school laptop (Toshiba Tecra A8)

I ran 6.06, 6.10 and 7.04 with no problem, except with the laptop speakers as last time I checked it wouldnt work properly wit 7.04

I tried installing Ubuntu on my pc, but it was confusing installing properly the drivers for my nvidia card so gave up for now.
boredengineer any tips/guide on succesfully installing a nvidia 8800 GTS in ubuntu?


btw go get the latest Ubuntu versions mailed to you for free at http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu
got like 10 each of 6.06 and 7.04 (can be of any combination of CDs, DVDs, x86, x64). takes like a month for you to get it though.

[TimG]

If i dl and burn the cd with the live image of ubuntu and bring it with me to, say, future shop or bestbuy, can I try it out on a laptop before I buy it? If it works it should mean that i won't have a problem installing it on the toshiba or hp laptop, right?

[boredengineer]

Originally posted by TimG
If i dl and burn the cd with the live image of ubuntu and bring it with me to, say, future shop or bestbuy, can I try it out on a laptop before I buy it? If it works it should mean that i won't have a problem installing it on the toshiba or hp laptop, right?

Yes that *should* mean it will work IF everything works... You need to check things like the wifi, scroll pad, etc... Pretty much all the hardware to make sure it is functional. As an aside even if it does not all work correctly, a little tweaking might make it work. Running linux is pretty much buyer beware because the hardware you are getting may or may not work correctly.

Personally I would not buy *anything* from futureshop or bestbuy since the sales people are clueless and just try to push items you don't need for more comission. I rather buy from memoryexpress or dell :\ I always laugh when I am in either of those stores and hear the sales pitches. That and they just have retardedly expensive prices for certain items. No joke I have seen printer cables at futureshop run for 45$ and I can buy them for 10$ at memoryexpress... That and the whole product replacement scam/racket...



boredengineer any tips/guide on succesfully installing a nvidia 8800 GTS in ubuntu?


That should be relatively easy. What exactly where the problems you were having? It should just be a question of downloading the latest stable ubuntu and dowloading the nvidia drivers from the nvidia website. See: http://us.download.nvidia.com/XFree86/Linux-x86/1.0-9755/README/appendix-a.html

[dr_jared88]

my macbook :)

[forced14]

I think there are still alot of problems trying to get the power saving options when installing any linux OS, depending on the hardware. As soon as you are trying to run just on battery, its going to drain really fast, so perhaps look into have a Windows partition at the same time.

Like I said, its dependant based on the chipset being used, so it might or might not support it. If it does not support it, I am not so sure there is a huge point in running a linux OS on your laptop unless you are close to a power plug.

Keep in mind, this information was when I was playing around with this months ago, it could have changed but not likely. Its still fun to play around and see what works.

--forced