Re: [tlug] Newbie buying a computer and installing Linux on it

[Joseph Essertier <essertier@example.com>]

Stephen J. Turnbull wrote:
> > > > > > "Joseph" == Joseph Essertier <essertier@example.com> writes:
> > > > > >           
> > > > >         
> > > >       
> > >     
> >   
>
>     >> Word doesn't work all the well on MS-OS either!
>
>     Joseph> I see.
>
> Well, my experience is that Macs have *lots* more problems.
I'm glad to hear i'm not the only one.  I know Japanese people who are
just fine with Word on Mac, but when i hear from a Japanese woman that
she is having the same problems as i am on a brand-new Mac with the
latest version of Word, and does her important writing on her old
Windows computer, i wonder.
>     Joseph> Someone told me today i could order a laptop from the
>     Joseph> States and have it shipped here without paying duties on
>     Joseph> it.  Just make it look used.
>
> If you're a street person, maybe.  This is really risky, though.  You
> can and mostly will get away with it, but you risk having your box
> impounded, having to make a trip to Yokohama to rescue it, and paying
> five times the duty you would have otherwise paid.
Okay.  So it is risky.  
But how hard is it to get an American keyboard on a laptop in Japan?
 (And i'm leaning towards a laptop now).  I imagine one could order one
new from a store here, but it would take extra long to get it. 
>     Joseph> Windows 98 runs on the same computer as Mandrake, and it
>     Joseph> runs faster than i've seen XP running on much faster,
>     Joseph> brand-new computers.
>
> Are you sure you can actually buy a computer with Windows98 installed,
> though?
No, not at all.  
Thanks to your message and Lyle's last message, i'm leaning towards W2K
now.  

> I haven't seen anything but XP boxes.  And iwth a modern box,
> you run the risk of having to dealwith drivers not on the Win98 disk.
> Yuck.
>
>     Joseph> I have to reboot all the time on the Mac, but it sounds
>     Joseph> like i wouldn't have to do that on Linux, at least not as
>     Joseph> much.  Which would be wonderful.
>
> There are two reasons for rebooting Linux.  (1) You've installed a new
> kernel.  Well, you don't have to do that if you don't want to.  I may
> be the last person on this list running a 2.4 kernel (except on their
> Zaurii), but "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."  (2) The kernel
> "oopsed".  That's happened to me once in the last five years, on a
> beta kernel.  Maybe a dozen times since 1995.  So don't worry about
> that, either.  (OK, maybe somebody kicked the plug out of the wall,
> but that's not what we're talking about here, right?)
Sounds good.
> Everything else can be cleaned up from the command line.  Often it's
> easier for to reboot and get coffee.  But with Unix (except Mac OS X
> on rare occasions) it's your choice.
>
>     Joseph> I have noticed that Dell computers have been recommended
>     Joseph> many times before here.  Why is that?  They are
>     Joseph> well-built, i seem to remember reading in a previous post.
>     Joseph> Any other benefits of Dell?  Are they easy to install
>     Joseph> Linux on?
>
> They're the industry standard (for IT departments that can't afford
> IBM, anyway), they have good warrantees and service, they conform to
> applicable standards, and they're common enough that Dell-supplied
> hardware gets drivers fast.
>
> There are plenty of good alternatives, but if you want to know what to
> buy in a word, "Dell" is a good one (despite the character count ;-).
Okay, thanks.
Joe
>