Which light-weight yet powerful laptop should I buy? I like the Sony Vaio Z, followed by the MB Air and the Thinkpad X200. Am I missing any models? [more inside]
posted by bkudria on Dec 10, 2009 - 22 answers

Which one of the multitude of Linux distros should someone who's never used Linux before give a go? [more inside]
posted by n3rt on Aug 18, 2009 - 34 answers

When it comes to re-purposing old laptops, it seems like the only option people really talk about is to turn it into a picture frame. There's got to be more that an old iBook can do... right? [more inside]
posted by alexherder on Apr 2, 2009 - 20 answers

My fantastically unstable IBM T42 (which is on it's 3rd, soon to be 4th, life) died a little while ago, no longer booting into Ubuntu. However, it loves to boot into Windows. How do I nuke both? [more inside]
posted by tmcw on Jul 11, 2008 - 8 answers

Syncing between laptops: How can I easily and automatically sync files and documents between two laptops using Bluetooth? Ideally I want to load up one machine in the vicinity of the other and have all my recent data (documents/data/RSS feeds etc.) syncronised with NO hassle. Any good apps out there? [more inside]
posted by 0bvious on Jul 9, 2008 - 8 answers

What's the best-performing OS for a Toshiba Satellite 2595 CDS with 64 MB RAM and a Celeron 400 MHz processor? [more inside]
posted by Otis on Feb 21, 2008 - 19 answers

It's that Linux/laptop question again. Desperate geek seeks cheap, durable gear. [more inside]
posted by nebulawindphone on Jan 19, 2008 - 20 answers

What do do with all these laptop parts? Knight Rider, perhaps? [more inside]
posted by cdmwebs on Dec 3, 2007 - 3 answers

AVI,MPG,WMV video files will only play sound but no video (with the exception of Web based Flash videos like YouTube....they play fine!!??) on my Dell latitude D620 running Feisty Fawn 7.04 when playing to external 1708FP Dell LCD monitor....why?? (see explanation) [more inside]
posted by stevyb on Jul 9, 2007 - 6 answers

Installing Ubuntu Linux (or windows, if it's easier) on my Gateway Laptop with a dead DVD Drive. Is it possible to do with PXE? Or from an external HDD (it has working USB ports, and can (theoretically) boot from USB) with the CD image on it? If so, how? [more inside]
posted by TrueVox on Mar 8, 2007 - 14 answers

I have a three year old HP laptop with no hard drive. Is there some sort of cd I can pop in it to see if its working otherwise? [more inside]
posted by miniape on Dec 29, 2006 - 8 answers

What is the best laptop to run linux on? I need it to be fast and to support at least 2 monitors - three would be better.
posted by jclaborn on Dec 25, 2006 - 8 answers

I just made the jump to Linux (Ubuntu). Any good note taking software for this strange new beast? [more inside]
posted by Blandanomics on Jun 25, 2006 - 9 answers

Can I "stream" video files from a WinXP desktop to a Linux laptop? [more inside]
posted by skryche on Apr 15, 2006 - 7 answers

Linux for a web designer! Need advice of what versions to use. [more inside]
posted by spinko on Feb 21, 2006 - 12 answers

How can I safeguard a Linux laptop with dial-up Internet access? [more inside]
posted by acoutu on Dec 28, 2005 - 14 answers

I recently acquired a vintage laptop with Windows 95 installed on it. I would like to install Linux on it. [more inside]
posted by cloeburner on Nov 17, 2005 - 30 answers

I've a dual boot windows/linux laptop which is periodically attached to a novell network. Does anyone know of a utility to copy files from a drive on a laptop to the network, where they'll get backed up, without me having to remember to do it?
posted by handee on Nov 16, 2005 - 7 answers

Anyone know where I can get a nice laptop with linux preinstalled, especially Red Hat Enterprise 4?
posted by The Jesse Helms on Sep 30, 2005 - 3 answers

LinuxLaptopFilter: Can you recommend me a laptop for Linux? [more inside]
posted by xpermanentx on Sep 26, 2005 - 10 answers

I know nothing about Linux but would like to try it on my spare laptop... [more inside]
posted by words1 on Jun 27, 2005 - 15 answers

I'm posting for a friend who was using an old laptop running win95. One day it wouldn't boot, so they took it to "Geek Squad" at compusa or wherever, and they said they couldn't help. [more inside]
posted by craniac on Jun 3, 2005 - 9 answers

My laptop is basically toast. I guess I need a new laptop. I was heading toward an iBook/Powerbook, but it suddenly occured to me that a Thinkpad with Linux or BSD might be good. Whatchall think?
posted by five fresh fish on Apr 21, 2005 - 24 answers

Laptop from the late silurian period, want to run linux. Specific problems inside.[+] [more inside]
posted by Mayor Curley on Feb 3, 2005 - 4 answers

So, I've come to the decision that I need a laptop, and I need to get it sometime within the next month. It's not quite as simple as all that, though, because I'm trying to find a good deal... [more inside] [more inside]
posted by wanderingmind on Nov 22, 2004 - 19 answers

I finally took the plunge into Linux (Fedore Core) and almost everything went perfectly, except for my screen. Using a sony laptop with a ATI Raidon 345m graphics card, which I have found is not directly supported by Sony or ATI. However, any linux techies know how to fix it? I can view stuff, but FC likes to reduce my screen size and if I mess around to make it bigger, then the enlarged screen image burns onto my screen which I'm guessing is not a good thing in the long run. Anyone help or solved this problem in the past? (Also assume while I know a lot about Windows, but know nothing about the functionality of Linux).
posted by jmd82 on Aug 4, 2004 - 10 answers

i just got a toshiba m30-s309 laptop and i'm trying to get everything working in mandrake linux 9.2, especially APM so i can get the battery indicator working. i plan to upgrade to kernel 2.6.1, but does anyone have specific advice they could offer as to how to get APM working? do i just append apm=on to lilo?
posted by callicles on Jan 28, 2004 - 7 answers