[thechat] laptops for linux

[Judah McAuley]

I'm planning on buying a laptop soon and am pondering what sort of setup 
I want. I've gone round and about with the Powerbook/OSX vs PC/Linux 
debate and while I generally like OS X and the Powerbook, I'm currently 
pricing comparable Dell Inspirons and Powerbooks and the Powerbook is 
coming out $700 more. I'd accept a little price difference, but that is 
just too much.

So now I'm soliciting advice on PC laptops for use with Linux. Optimally 
I'd like a screen in the 14 or 15" range. Widescreen aspect ratio is 
nice, but not required. I need a gig of ram and at least an 80 gig hard 
drive. I'm not a gamer, so 32 or 64 MB of video ram is fine. I do need a 
dvd writer drive. I don't currently need Firewire, but the option 
wouldn't hurt. Ideally I'd like a 3 year warranty that covers accidents 
as well as defects. Lighter is of course better.

Anyone have good/bad experiences to share? Things I should watch out 
for? I know some folks really like IBM's laptops for linux use. I've had 
several Dell desktop machines, but haven't had a laptop from them.

And suggestions for distros that support laptops well? I'm currently 
leaning towards trying kubuntu, but I haven't installed it anywhere yet.

Thanks,
Judah