[NCLUG] Linux on laptop - can I buy any laptop I want, or do I still need to check for hardware compatibility?

[Brian Wood]

On Saturday, August 28, 2010 11:42:20 am John Gilmore wrote:
> I'm going to be buying a couple of laptops of my children, and maybe one
> for my wife, and since I haven't looked at hardware compatibility levels
> in years I have to ask.
> 
> Last time I bought a computer, I checked to be sure that the video chip
> supports 3D acceleration under linux. I'm assuming that with a laptop I
> also have to check that the wireless chip is supported? Anything else that
> may cause big problems?
> 
> I'll be buying used laptops, probably about 2-3 years old. Do I still need
> to check for linux compatibility? Or havce things improved to the point
> that any 2-yr old laptop will work fine? Any suggestions as to how to
> check quickly and efficiently so as to not delay bidding?

Since most laptops have a trackpad, you might want to check into that.

Just about any trackpad will "work", but things like multi-tap, sidescrolling, gestures and the like may or may not work 
the way you want them to.

I ran into this when I installed Kubuntu on a G4 iBook, you needed to have a recent Synaptics trackpad in order to get the 
sidescrolling working properly, which meant checking the serial number and/or manufacturing date.

Of course the best thing is to get comments from someone using the same machine with the Linux distro you like, but even 
machines with the same model number might have slightly different hardware.

Of course if you plan to use an external mouse none of this matters.

You also might want to think about any special buttons your potential machine might have. Multimedia controls and buttons 
are sometimes nice to have working.

Sleep and suspend are probably more important for a portable machine than a desktop, and can be problematic. Again, the 
best situation is if you can get a report from someone who has succeeded (or failed) to get this to work with the machine 
you are considering.

Probably the most important thing is making sure you have return rights, in case things don't work out.