[tlug] Laptop/notebook PC recommendations?

["Michael(tm) Smith" <smith@example.com>]

I'm looking to buy a new laptop/notebook. Any recommendations?

Needs:

  - runs Linux reliably, devices work under Linux
  - relatively big display -- preferably one that can handle at
    least SXGA+ (1400x1050)
  - 1GB RAM / 2GHz CPU
  - WiFi
  - internal/removable CD-ROM/DVD player/recorder

Non-needs:

  - don't need anything fancy as far as the video card (it's a
    work machine)
  - don't mind much if some hardware features that are not well
    supported (power management, sleep/hibernate, whatever).
  - Bluetooth would be a nice-to-have, but I really need because I
    don't have any Bluetooth devices except for my keitai
  - don't need an English keyboard (I'm accustomed to using a
    Japanese one)
  - would be nice to have something lightweight, but I wouldn't
    pay a big premium (more important to have a big display, and a
    machine with a big display can only be so light); and I'm
    already used to lugging a big, heavy ThinkPad T42p around

I recently tried out a ThinkPad T60 Centrino Duo, but couldn't get
anything running on it. I tried five different live CDs (Centos
and Debian-based Xen, Japan Knoppix, Kubuntu, Ubuntu), with no
luck. I also tried a dry run of with a Debian testing net-install
CD, but it fails at the point where it's trying to figure out what
driver to install for the CD-ROM drive.

  --Mike

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