[HacktionLab] How t buy a laptop that will work with Linux

[Ben Green]

Quoting Andy S <andys at bristolwireless.net>:


>
> If in doubt: http://www.linux-on-laptops.com/

Though for newer laptops they probably won't be on there. Sadly that's  
also where you'll find the most issues with linux.

The trouble is the driver release cycle. Whereas with Windows you get  
mainly third party drivers for newer hardware, with linux you have to  
wait for it to be in the kernel.

For your last laptop penguin, that you sold to your brother, what was  
it and what were the problems?

http://www.novatech.co.uk/ - novatech have a thing of about linux  
compatibility, and sell OS free computers.

If you are buying from eBuyer, the comments can be very useful, though  
not as useful as they used to be when you could filter by OS used.

Also, for the one you are thinking of getting I did a search for  
"Lenovo ThinkPad B5400 linux", which results in the following page:  
http://www.ubuntu.com/certification/hardware/201308-14055/components/
"The following components are contained in the Lenovo ThinkPad B5400  
notebook, which has been awarded the status of Certified Pre-Install  
for Ubuntu."

So there you go, should be fully compatible. Lenovo don't have a  
particularly good reputation for build quality.

Not wanting to end on a low note though, here's an ascii kitten:

\    /\
  )  ( ')
  (  /  )
   \(__)|

Cheers,
Ben