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| DATE | 2015-06-05 |
| FROM | Rick Moen
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| SUBJECT | Re: [NYLXS - HANGOUT] Linux Laptops cheap
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Quoting Paul Robert Marino (prmarino1-at-gmail.com):
> who cares that just tells you that you wont have a problem installing OpenSuSE!
It actually does _not_ guarantee that. All you know is that Dell offers
a preload based on Ubuntu on it -- but that might depend critically on
proprietary drivers not normally furnished in installation images of
Ubuntu, OpenSUSE, or both, and that might be even theoretically
functional only with certain Linux kernels and not later ones (or
earlier ones).
This is one of the reasons why hardware OEMs' OS preloads should not be
depended upon by users having the technical ability to do without them:
The mere existence of a preloaded image tells you very little about how
well supported the unit's hardware is with that OS. And then there is
another reason to not depend on the OEM's preload: It's difficult to
know what's in it. There could be any number of 'ratware' applications
(to borrow Don Marti's term). Sure, those are a fixture only in the
MS-Windows preload market so far, but I'd personally rather know exactly
what my OS contains and how it was installed, and the best way to know
that is to install it myself.
With any PC unit, I personally start by identifying the chipsets. In
person, one can do this by booting a Linux live CD and using lspci and
friends to jot down chipset identifiers. When remotely considering a
unit on the Internet, the task is somewhat more challenging, as
meaningful chipset data will be rare and swamped by meaningless babble
from the PeeCee press -- but you can usually get there if you persist.
The hardest nut to crack in that area tends to be Dell Computer, the
firm that consistently acts as if all you need know about the unit is
the make and model label on it.
But anyway: Dell Inspiron? Really? Pretty low-end stuff, mostly.
Host models compete with HP Pavillion. By contrast, Dell's Latitude
line is less chintzy.
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