[GLLUG] New notebook purchase advice: Summary

[Brian Hoort]

I'm posting a follow-up to my request for laptop purchasing advice.  As 
normal, the situation has changed.  I fixed my laptop.  :)  So I can't 
justify buying a new one :(

The fix
I took the laptop apart completely, and when I pulled the motherboard from 
the last bottom piece and flipped it over, I discovered that there was one 
of those "oops, the board schematic was wrong" wires soldered on a chip pin 
and wrapped around the other side.  The solder had broken loose from the 
pin.  I soldered it back on and now it works.

However, I did some research on laptops, and I'll share some of my 
thoughts, here.  Laptops are such a personal decision.  I find it difficult 
enough to decide myself, let alone generalize for others.  There were sites 
that sell used laptops from companies for $400-800.  But the warranty is 
practically non-existant, and you get a pretty damn old machine for the 
$600 (average).  You can buy a brand new Dell for $800-1200 with a 
rock-solid warranty and support.

The linux-specific laptop manufacturers tend to lean toward the larger, 
"desktop-replacement" notebooks.  This isn't really what I want, and I 
didn't see any that got me hot and bothered.

There is a low-cost manufacturer that won an award in PC Magazine.  They 
target students as their audience, and I must say, just looking at the web 
site, I'm very impressed.  I recommend you check out their stuff.  I 
particularly like this model:
http://averatec.com/notebooks/3200series.htm
The warranty is a little skimpy at one year, and I didn't see anything 
offering to buy up another year or two.  Despite having Windows, I think 
this was my second choice, and would probably win out due to price ($1000).

I'm in love with this, as my first choice, but doubt that Linux would work 
easily on it, plus it's $1500, (but a bargain at that price!):
http://usa.asus.com/products/notebook/s5series/s5200n/s5200n_overview.HTM

So, that's the news from lake woebegone.

Brian