Re: Obtaining a laptop or portable computer to run Linux

Re: Obtaining a laptop or portable computer to run Linux

[Bryan Smart]

At 09:06 AM 5/6/98 +1000, you wrote:
>portable computer and a speech synthesizer. What kind of portable or
>laptop computer would you recommend for use with Linux?

That question is highly dependent on personal preference.  I use a Gateway
Solo 2300 together with a docking station.  Linux supports all of the
hardware on this machine.

You, of course, need a machine that meets the suggested hardware
requirements to run Linux.  This info is in the FAQ and the Hardware HowTo.
 I believe that this is something like a 386 with 4MB of RAM and an 80MB
drive.  Obviously, you'll want more than this setup.  As with all computer
work, though, you'll need to decide where to stop :].

Another resource that you might check is the Linux on Portables page (don't
have the URL right now....you should do a net search for it).  It lists
many different models of portables and gives any special information that
is important to know when using them to run Linux.

>Would the DECTALK
>PC 2 fit into a portable system, or would the DECTALK Express be a better
>choice? Are there any organisations which sell DECTALK synthesizers at
>good prices and which would be willing to export to Australia?

The Express is probably your best bet, although there is some support for
lower cost synthesizers such as the DoubleTalk-LT.  I'm not sure how well
they work with Linux-GNU access software such as Emacspeak.  I'd encourage
purchasing the DecTalk Express if you can afford it.  The Express connects
to a serial port, while Synths such as the DecTalk-PC series are expantion
boards.  Although some luggables used to support one or two of these, I
haven't seen any newer laptops that continue to do this. 

I'm afraid that I can't provide info about overseas shipments (I've never
had to concern myself with them), but you should shop around when
purchasing the DecTalk.  Many places (such as many vendors of screen
readers) are selling the Express for the full $1195.  Many mail order
places, including where I purchased mine, sell them for under $1,000.

I purchased mine from Office Systems for the Physically and Visually
Impaired (800-253-4391).  A friend purchased one from them a few months ago
for $956.  I suggest that you give them a try.

>Also, I would prefer, if possible, to obtain a machine which could be
>updated in the future by replacing the main board, installing a new hard
>disk, etc. Given a network card, I could also connect it directly into the
>university's network.

Many systems support removeable hard drives (that can easily be
upgraded/replaced), as well as adding features (Network support, modem,
etc) through PCMCIA cards.  Still, when you purchase a laptop, you are
limiting your upgrade options.  The processor can not often be easily
upgraded, and when such a thing is possible, you'll probably need to track
down your local tech-geek to do the rigging for you, as many laptop vendors
don't even bother with this.

Best,
Bryan

--
Bryan R. Smart
E-Mail: bsmart@pobox.com
Phone: (843) 953-2721, (843) 953-2571

Re: Obtaining a laptop or portable computer to run Linux

[Lar Kaufman]

If you are happy with your Toshiba (a well-built laptop, if I recall) you
should not automatically abandon it just because it is difficult to upgrade;
all laptops are, more or less.  The 386 gives much better performance running
Linux than DOS/Windows users could imagine.  And, as one who has faced the 
same decision--I shopped for a new laptop, not even state-of-the-art, and
recoiled at the price--I have to suggest weighing actual costs carefully.

If you don't use X windows, Linux can still be stuffed into 4 MB of RAM,
which is what I used to have on my Lexmark laptop (an IBM 486SL processor,
actually a fast 386, since it lacks the (387) math functions).  I found
an aftermarket card for an early IBM laptop that converted my system to 
12 MB of RAM, at the cost of giving up the parity bit in memory.  Lexmark
doesn't make PCs anymore, so my system is an orphan, and I wasn't able to
replace the battery pack when it stopped holding a charge.  Finally, it
failed entirely, and wouldn't even boot with the battery pack installed,
so I cut open the battery case and pulled out the actual power cell, which
was made by Duracell.  The NiMH power cell had a part number, and I found
that Duracell was marketing a battery for the Compaq Contura using the 
same P/N.  I bought one and put it in, but it wouldn't charge, though I
knew my powerpack was good (it ran the computer, at any rate). So I bypassed
the inner contacts on the powercell, and soldered in the circuitry from 
the original Lexmark battery directly to the computer leads that formerly
connected to the cell, and connected the powercell only by its + and - 
contacts. Voila, it worked.  I had to leave one side off the battery pack
to stuff the reassembled battery pack into the computer, but it worked.

(Sorry for this discursion, but I'm hoping to encourage you with options
to get your system up to snuff--bear with me.)  My biggest problem was 
the lack of disk storage.  I got a parallel-port-connected Syquest EZ-135
removable hard drive system, and it's met my needs running DOS and Windows;
I don't have a lot of storage to play with, but I can swap 135MB hard 
disks out to provide the applications I need, and use the system disk for
data internally, with backup to another removable disk.  Even very old
IDE-controlled laptops can now be upgraded easily to 2, 4, even 8 GB data
storage, though, and I'll probably put in an IBM 3.2GB disk drive this 
summer, when I get serious about installing Linux in my system.  I have a
PCM/CIA port that I have put a SCSI controller in, and if you can get a
SCSI controller on your laptop you need not worry about ability to expand
the system.  Old SCSI-1 controllers support up to 7 devices, and SCSI-2
controllers support up to 15 devices.  This can include disk drives, 
CD-ROM drives (including some with built in sound "card" chips), scanners,
printers, and more.  I also have an old Trantor (now owned by Adaptec)
parallel port SCSI controller, which is relatively slow but works; I 
believe it is also supported by Linux now.  Indeed, investing in SCSI
peripheral equipment has served me well, since I use the same peripherals
on my PCs running various OSes, my Digital Alpha running Linux, my Mac
660AVs (one of which will be switched to NetBSD this summer) and any new
computers I may buy in the future.

Ask yourself whether you need a high resolution color display before you
buy that new laptop, because that is mostly what you will pay for--that 
and the ability to run Windows, which is too big and too slow to run on
older systems.  But if you are running Linux, you probably just don't need
the new equipment.  And as expensive as the memory upgrade module is,
it is undoubtedly less than the cost of whatever newer laptop you may
be considering.  I'd suggest that you weigh the cost of a memory upgrade
and a big hard drive vs the cost of that new laptop; add a SCSI controller
and get SCSI peripherals instead, and then your expansion hardware will
be an investment that continues to be valuable, rather than discardable.

Admittedly, I've become very dependent on GNU emacs as an integrated
interface (and need to get up to speed with the Black Dog/ASTeR extensions
this summer) and Emacs loves memory.  But Linux and Emacs can live 
comfortably on a 12MB 386 system, and perform nicely at 20 MHz.

 -lar
  "If what Is is not Ought, then what is Ought?"   ~   Lar Kaufman
  - E.O. Wilson, 1998, discussion following a      ~   Polymedia Services
   a Concilience lecture at Harvard University     ~   lark@walden.com
                                                   ~   Concord, Massachusetts

Obtaining a laptop or portable computer to run Linux

[Jason White]

I am contemplating the acquisition of a new laptop or portable computer,
with which to run Linux and Emacspeak, whilst still preserving a small
partition on which to run DOS and a few applications that require it. My
existing portable computer is a Toshiba T5200 system: it contains an 80386
processor, 20 mhz, with a 100-mb hard disk and 2 mb of RAM. Apparently,
these machines are no longer being manufactured, and the only upgrade of
which I am aware consists of rather expensive memory modules. The speech
board is very old and can not operate on a computer with a processor
running at more than 25 mhz.

Thus, I am considering the prospect of buying a new system, both a
portable computer and a speech synthesizer. What kind of portable or
laptop computer would you recommend for use with Linux? Would the DECTALK
PC 2 fit into a portable system, or would the DECTALK Express be a better
choice? Are there any organisations which sell DECTALK synthesizers at
good prices and which would be willing to export to Australia?

Also, I would prefer, if possible, to obtain a machine which could be
updated in the future by replacing the main board, installing a new hard
disk, etc. Given a network card, I could also connect it directly into the
university's network.

Jason.